Elderfire1

So… the smut has actually gone down pretty well, but now back to the serious stuff!

JourneysEnd1

Aww… can't we… y'know, do another one?

Elderfire1

We haven't updated this stuff in ages!

JourneysEnd1

That wasn't a no~

We're back, folks! Hope you like it!

The Song Of Her Heart

Chapter 24

…As we were being torn apart…

Weiss charged forward, fire shooting out from her glyphs at the monsters who dared to attack this innocent shopkeeper. She couldn't fire directly into the shop for obvious reasons, but instead took out those that came out to attack them while Blake and the young man beside her faced off against those who remained. Their cries of "Die Schnee!" making it clear as to why they did so. She watched Blake's eyes shoot open in confusion and fear, clearly not sure as to why they were here and no doubt thinking the worst.

She wished she could speak to her… to sort this whole situation out… but right now, she needed to deal with these disgusting people.

The whistle of Crescent Rose's rounds flying past her and into the rifles of those outside of her fire's range, alongside the roar of Yang's guns as she flew past her with blood red eyes, showed that her friends were of the same opinion.

Her heel stamped down onto the mask of the White Fang closest to her, hearing the cheap material crack and push into their face eliciting a scream of pain from them, their mask splitting in two to reveal a thoroughly broken nose spurting with blood.

She watched as Blake wrapped her ribbon around one that had come up behind to attempt to slash at her, the worry on her face proving something to Weiss as she turned her attention towards the person beside her. The blonde man with blue eyes had her own open in worry as he slammed a knee into the wrapped-up Fang with a care free grin, nearly had her charging forward to embrace him and tell him to run, to get away before he made his injuries worse!

… Only for her to see the tail that swished back and forth as he stood by Blake's side with what appeared to be nunchaku/gun hybrid… it… it wasn't him… of course it wasn't him… She did her very best to not show the small tear that trickled down her cheek as the fear slowly left her system. Instead she focused her attention on the injured man who was gripping painfully at his cut ear.

Ruby, Yang, the stranger and Blake were quickly dealing with the Fang that had been attacking him, so she placed herself on removing the shop keep from the dangerous situation. In any case, all her teammates were better suited at close quarter brawls than herself, especially considering her glyphs relied on activating dust… suffice to say even if her friends were neutered of their more flashy moves so to not activate the refined dust with a misplaced strike, Weiss could quite easily blow the entire store sky high with a single glyph.

She gently took their arm and slung it over her shoulder, moving at the pained mans pace as she took them away from the fighting. He was near delirious for the most part, but the second she placed him down upon the corner of the street and away from the store, his eyes flew open and filled with terror as he stared at her… oh no… of course he would be afraid for what she would do to him… after all that had happened to him, seeing a 'Schnee' would no doubt make him all the w-

"My daughter!" he yelled, trying to get to his feet, but Weiss held him down with a worried frown… she had not expected this but if there was another civilian in there… "No, no you don't understand! My daughter, they took her into the backroom! They said they'd hurt her for not giving to their damn cause!"

"It's alright, my team are here, we'll save her" Weiss tried to sooth, but when he looked at her, it was with complete distrust, eyes flicking to her blue eyes and snow-white hair. Heh… of course she couldn't have gotten lucky. "I understand your distrust of me, my father is not a good person, I am aware of that. But my teammate, my… My friend, is a Faunus, and she opened my eyes quite recently to the fact that I have been making some quite harsh opinions throughout my life. I intend to fix those mistakes. So please, please allow me to help save your daughter"

He stared at her for a long moment, that distrust still in those eyes of his… before he sighed... an acceptance in the way his bloodied hand gently reach up and gripped her own.

"Please… the back of the store… she hasn't even got aura, if they do anything to her, I swear I'll-hak!" he coughed up a small amount of blood, releasing the grip he had on her and slumped back down onto the wall behind him and giving her a nod. With a sigh, she re-joined the fight.

Her friends had nearly finished off the Fang they had initially attacked, Weiss running up to try and warn them about the possible hostage situation when a roar sounded out from within the confines of the building. With an almighty slam the door to what she could tell was the back room was kicked open to reveal a hulking brute of a man with the typical Fang uniform minus the sleeves and a far more detailed mask. In his hands was what appeared to be a weaponised chainsaw that revved menacingly… was… was that blood on the blade?

"What the hell is going on here!? Did you kill tha-…" he paused, they saw the shock on his face even behind his mask, before an inhuman rage took over. "Belladonna! You dare show your face here? and on the leash of a Schnee!? No wonder the Faunus have fallen so low, if disgraces like you are allowed to live!"

"Hey dude, only 'disgrace' here I see is you" The blonde Faunus remarked with an insulted expression.

"Don't act like you have the moral high ground you monster!" Weiss screeched, launching herself to stand beside her teammates. "You dare preach that you fight for the Faunus race and yet here you are, beating an innocent to near death for not joining your cause! Blake is my ally, and I'm glad she left you people. You are no better than Grimm!"

Her rebuttal to his disgusting words seemed to stun the Faunus for a moment, his body freezing before a dark laugh left his lips. His head threw back as he cackled into the night air with an almost insane amount of amusement at her words.

"You try and act high and mighty all you want, Schnee, but we know what you do to our kind, racist scum. Don't act like you care about what we do, walking around with your pets-"

"She hasn't done a single bad thing to Faunus you moron!" a red eyed Yang interrupted; a furious expression written across her face. "In fact, she just saved a Faunus you bastards were about to kill! Are you fucking kidding me with this bull right now!? You called my partner a pet just because she doesn't agree with your shit and you call my friend a racist!? Look in a mirror, hypocrite!"

"You claim you fight for our people, but you only fight for yourselves! You don't fight for peace; you just hate humans and love to hurt them! You're no better than those that enslave our people!"

Now all traces of amusement left his features, his blood seeming to boil as his chainsaw revved up, Blake's words seeming to hit harder than their own. "Any who don't side with us, are against us. I'll enjoy killing you all, especially the Schnee… I'm going to take my time with you… might even do you a favour and make you a woman before I kill you" he said with a sick amusement on his face, charging forward even as Weiss felt revulsion at his words. She made to join her friends in a charge at their opponent, save for the boom of Crescent Rose to sound, slamming into his arm and causing him to near drop his weapon as he let out a pained yell. If he had aura, he had not been able to bring it up in time to stop the bullet ripping through his arm and puncture through the other side.

Weiss turned in shock to find the dangerously narrow eyes of Ruby glaring beyond her at the man. It was a worrying sight to see the pure hatred in her eyes… this was not the Ruby she knew, not the leader she called friend, but then again… no one had ever said such vile words in front of her before. There was no worry for them, no worry that she may have crippled him… instead she said with cool words. She hated seeing this side to her friend, but she knew Ruby would have to come to terms with the world they lived in some day.

"Take him down"

"Wait, they have a hostage in the back, the daughter of the shop owner!" Weiss informed them, hearing the monster growl in annoyance. He charged them, revving chainsaw cutting into the tarmac at their feet as they dodged away. Yang shot fire dust shells at him which forced him to raise his weapon to block the shots, allowing Blake to strike into his back and dive away with a use of her semblance, meaning all he hit was her 'shadow'.

Ruby attempted to strike him, a blast of her weapon shooting her upwards and nearly hitting him with a slice only for him to pull a turn of speed and block it at the last moment, followed by another shot that launched her back towards them all as Weiss shot lightning into his body which drew an enraged bellow.

"Yang, Blake… and uh…"

"Sun!" he called, getting low to dodge a wild swing and delivering a strike of his own to the monsters' ankle.

"Right, can you take him?" Ruby asked with a worried expression on her face as she moved out of the way of another strike, a silent signal from her partner making it clear what she was to do. This time he could not block their weapons, he was too busy dealing with Blake firing rounds into him, Weiss' weapon hitting home in his midsection and Ruby's blade slicing across his back.

"Filthy humans!" a meaty arm slammed into both herself and Ruby, launching them back and in front of the store, Weiss gasping in pain at the force of the strike even through aura. She was glad that Ruby had a larger aura reserve than her at least, her leader only gasping a little and turning to her with a shaky grin.

They made to re-join their friends, to help them defeat this monster in the disguise of a man, only for Yang to stop them. "Go! We got muscles for brains here!" she yelled, looking to a wide-eyed Blake who nodded after a second, a grim determination on her face.

"I swore I would bring those behind the dust robberies to justice… even if it's the people I thought it couldn't be…" Firing her smaller calibre rounds against him, not that the goliath seemed to notice, charging forward with an almost calm pace to his actions.

"I got your back beautiful, let's kick some terrorist butt!" the young man said with an oddly chipper tone in his voice.

With a nod to her teammates, Weiss charged towards the backroom with her partner leading the way, her weapon compacted into a more conventional weapon size and pointed right at the door. Just as they were about to enter the door, Weiss placed a hand on Ruby's shoulder with a worried expression. She... she didn't want to have to say this to her innocent friend who believed in heroes saving everyone... but it needed to be done.

"Ruby… you saw the blood on his weapon… it may be best if I enter first…"

Ruby looked to her for a second, those narrowed silver eyes widening in realisation before she turned away with a frown, the light leaving her eyes for a moment.

"Yeah… yeah, you're right…"

With a solemn nod., Weiss entered the room, stalking down a small hallway and past broken security cameras and made to round the corner… only to have to jump back in fright when the bang of a gun sounded and a round pinged off the metal frame. The reason for such a thing happening was made clear a moment later.

"Back the fuck away! Stay the fuck away or I swear I'll kill her!" came a scream from the other end of the room, a panicked one full of terror that made clear to Weiss that whoever had just shot at them was not mentally stable at the moment.

Laying low, Weiss placed herself against the wall about level with a crate of what appeared to be empty dust vials and peered just over the corner.

There they stood, a panicked terrorist of a rather slender frame, shaking body and messy hair barely held back by the basic mask where a pair of small rat ears laid flat against his head. In his arms, he held a terrified girl wide eyes and blood dripping down her leg where her skirt had been cut away with what had clearly been a blunting blade… or many small ones… Pale ginger cat ears lay atop her head, flitting in the air in panic, green eyes wide with terror.

The hand closest to her throat, however, also held a knife that was pressing against her neck, threatening to draw blood at even the slightest amount of pressure. It shook, violently, in his hand with the amount of adrenaline that must have been flowing through his system. It was quite clear that he was new to this, scared beyond belief… he had more than likely been made to guard her as a sort of hazing. The gun he had used to shoot at them lay in his other hand, the barrel pointed at the floor as he made to keep the hostage as close to him as possible.

"Weiss… what do we do?" Ruby whispered to her, eyes wide with panic, both at the situation they were in and the fact that the rest of their team were risking their lives out there to face a dangerous foe.

"Leave it to me, Ruby, I have training in diplomacy… maybe I can convince him to surrender and let the girl go…" she replied, Ruby nodding her head but making it clear she was ready to engage at a moments notice. With a louder voice, she called out "I won't attempt to come closer, but to prove I am not going to attempt a sneak attack, would you be fine with me coming around the corner? You can keep an eye on me then"

"Wh-why should I trust you!? Why the hell shouldn't I just make a run for it out the back door here, huh!?"

"There is no back exit here you could get through, the owner is far away from here and he was the only one who had the key code to the back door, it's common practice with dust shops in Vale. If you don't believe me, there should be a panel on the wall next to the door with a numbered lock and a blinking red light showing it is locked. The only way to open that is with that key-card I mentioned"

They were quiet for a moment, the only sound was his heavy breathing, the shuffling of the girls feet and Weiss' heartbeat as she waited for his reply.

"Fuck! Yeah… fine! J-just do it s-slowly!"

Letting out a sigh of relief, Weiss prepared for the more worrying part of the situation… one that had her imagining the disapproving look that Jaune would send her way… the annoyance he would feel at for doing something he would see as so foolish… yet had he not put his own life at risk for her? Had he not selflessly thought he was sacrificing his life for her and not minded?

It's time I started to prove that my life was worth sparing that day…

She stepped out and watched as the both of them froze at the sight of her, it was funny how it hurt, even now.

"S-Schnee!? I knew this was so-some kind of trick!" he yelled, raising the knife closer to her throat making Weiss' eyes widen in panic.

"Wait! There is no trick! I have come to make a deal!"

"What kind of deal could you disgusting monsters make, huh!? Probably going to kill me the second I accept your deal!"

"Not in the slightest…" she said, holding her hands out in a placating manner and to prove that she was not planning to attack him at the moment. "But tell me… if you were to get away, would your commanders be happier with some random girl who did not want to side with you… or the Heiress to the SDC?"

"What!?" she heard Ruby screech in a whisper, Weiss letting out a tiny sigh of relief when the terrorist didn't react, more than likely too shocked by her words to hear her frightened partner. She knew that Ruby would not be happy with what she had done, Yang would more than likely throw a fit and smack the back of her head… but this was the right thing to do… this way, she could save the girl and then, when the terrorist thought that she was captured she co-

"Not a chance!"

Wh…what? She watched in horror as he began to laugh manically, blood beginning to trickle down the girls neck as it bounced in his grip.

"You… you think I'm stupid enough to believe you!? You Schnee's are all lying bastards that enslaved the Faunus race! You even managed to convince traitors like this one-" he pushed the serrated blade even harder against her skin. Weiss unconsciously gripped Myrtenaster, when she did realise she was, she pressed the tip into the ground slightly to stop herself from drawing it. If he thought for even a second that she was going to attack… the girl would die… "- to work for you! Thinking that they will get treated the same!"

"No, I swear to you, I am not going to betray you, I want to make sure that girl is safe and if it means putting myself in danger… then I shall"

Deep in the dark slits of the mask he wore, she saw pale grey eyes widen in surprise, shock registering throughout his system. She saw the relief in the girls eyes as that knife slowly moved from her throat, even if the gun stayed where it was, and Weiss herself agreed with such a feeling. He seemed to be thinking it over, a small frown on his lips… only for a sickening grin to replace it.

"Her blood's on your hands, Schnee" he growled, thrusting the knife out and making to plunge it into her chest.

"NO!"

Something happened in the brief moment that the knife was coming towards the girl… something she could not quite understand…

His eyes looking at her with a grim acceptance… prepared for death, even growing a small smile on his bleeding lips…

It was an almost freezing feeling shooting through her entire form… her heart pulsing harder and harder as time seemed to slow, she thought she could feel herself screaming… but the world had grown so quiet.

Chest ripped apart by deadly claws which had left him bleeding out across the forest floor… seemingly not hearing her screams of his name, laughing gently as his hand touched her cheek…

Everything was muted save for the beating of her heart growing louder and louder, feeling as if her chest was growing to break with how the song beat against it. How it screamed throughout her in fury at the sight before her, each and every note the instruments of her soul played demanded she stop the monster before her.

The light fading from his eyes as he confessed to her… he confessed without a single regret that he…

Then… a glow began to form behind her, she barely noticed it in the moment that she roared in anger at the sheer audacity of he who dared to do this to an innocent person.

That he loved her…

A blade seemingly made of a ghostly blue mist shot forward, Weiss coming out of her daze to find a sword has impaled the hand of the terrorist to the wall behind him, his screams of agony snapping her out of it completely, Weiss seeing Ruby leading the terrified girl away while she herself saw the ghostly blade vanish into thin air… he dropped to the floor, both weapons flying from his hands that she saw Ruby scramble to grab as the girl bolted away and towards them.

It… it couldn't be…

She spun around, not able to believe the sight before her as she watched what appeared to snow blowing away as if in a breeze, despite the air in the hallway being near impossibly still… she was so dumbfounded, it took Ruby pushing against her with a free hand to bring her back to reality.

"Weiss! We need to get out of here, she's hurt!"

She looked to her friend, she was half carrying the hobbling girl with a worried look on her face, said girls neck had a small laceration and her leg was bleeding quite badly with the sudden movement having no doubt stressed her injury.

"Right…" she gingerly offered her hand to the girl who looked at her in confusion before she smiled thankfully and allowed Weiss to wrap her arm over her own shoulder. They left the screaming terrorist where they'd left him, with the pain he was in, there was not doubt he would not be moving for a while.

"Is… is my dad okay?" she asked as they led her out of the building, Weiss smiling at her despite how her mind was racing at the moment with what had just happened. There is no mistaking what that was... what I just did... but how? Any attempt I have made in the past has failed, so why work now? Weiss felt that if she thought about it enough, the answer would come to her, but at the moment too many things were happening at once for her to properly focus.

"Yes, I took him away to safety, it's thanks to him that we got you away to safety"

"Heh, shoulda guessed… thank you, by the way… Guess not all Schnee's are bad" the way she grinned, even if it was painfully, proved to her that the girl was joking, Weiss replying with a small one of her own as Ruby went back to her usual self and joking about how her partner was the best.

"Oh, we are, I just met a young man who showed me that I should not treat someone badly before they give me reason to… I'm trying to prove to him that I can be a good person" She thought back to the smile that had blossomed on his face when she had made it clear her stance on Blake... how he had told her he was proud of her... the thought turned her cheeks rosy even now.

"R-really? Huh… he single?" she asked, Weiss doing her best to not show the way her eyebrow twitched the way it did at the sudden words, near falling over as she registered them. She is not to know. She is not to know…

"Prooooobably not the best idea" Ruby joked, nodding her head to Weiss who silently thanked her partner for speaking for her at the moment, watching the ginger haired girl look to her in confusion before it dawned on her, the girl letting out a huff before she let out another grin.

"Damn… ah well"

"Yes. Quite" Calm, Weiss. Calm…

They emerged out into the store to find that the fight between Blake, Yang and the boy named Sun against the massive Faunus brute was still waging on.

He was bleeding from many small cuts across his body, but it was as if he didn't notice, Weiss seeing a glimmer running across his body… almost as if he was diverting his own aura and down to his weapon which glimmered in the night air.

Sun charged, using his apparently nimble fighting style to repeatedly attack his opponent while also dodging the heavy swings of his saw. This worked for a while… that was until Blake attempted to pull a surprise attack from behind once more.

He seemed to notice this, Weiss and Ruby crying out in shock when he suddenly grabbed the boy by the face and swung his weapon directly into Blake's midsection, throwing the two of them away and hitting Sun with his weapon in the process. They watched their aura glimmer like glass for a moment before shattering, the monster letting out a triumphant laugh… which was drowned out by the bestial roar of Yang.

He wasn't able to dodge, barely able to bring his blade down which Yang simply diverted to her side with her one gauntlet, hair glowing up a storm with eyes redder than blood as she struck him with force loud enough to resemble thunder. They watched him sail through the air and into the metal railing along the street, the metal bending in around him and trapping his unconscious body in it.

Yang ran over to Blake with a worried expression on her face, though Weiss and Ruby sighed in relief when she and Sun slowly pulled themselves to their knees. They smiled in relief… which quickly turned to shock and disbelief as Yang laid her out with a punch before pulling her back into a hug, Blake's dazed expression showing she too could not compute what had just happened.

Ignoring it for the moment, Weiss led Ruby and the girl down to where her father was breathing heavily and clutching at his ear, though she was relieved to see what appeared to a policeman attending to him.

"Calm down, sir, if a Huntress, even one in training, said she would save your daughter then she will-and look! I was right" he smiled, the girl darting out of their arms to her father, even if she did hobble as she went.

"Dad!" she yelled falling into the mans' arms as they laughed in sheer relief, Ruby and her exchanging a happy smile at the scene. The policeman chuckled, his moustache twitching and giving them a proud nod.

"Hello, my little Cheshire" he smiled, those eyes of his moving from his daughter to Weiss and Ruby. "Thank you... Thank you for saving my little girl" he said, the two of them nodding to him happily, the father and daughter getting lost in rejoicing in their combined safety. Ruby turned to the officer with a serious expression on her face.

"Can you call Beacon for us? Our friend is kinda hurt… just ask for Miss Goodwitch and tell her Team RWBY need her help in Vale and to track our scrolls"

"Of course, young lady… you two are very mature for your age, you know that?" Weiss rolled her eyes with a smile at the way Ruby blushed and hid her face in her hood.

"Well, one of us is, anyway… Will you two be okay?" she asked, looking towards the reunited family once more. "I will more than happily pay for any and all medical services you require… if I had been quicker, neither of you would have been-" A gentle hand touched her shaking fist, Weiss surprised to see the shop owner had took it and was giving her a gentle smile.

"It's alright, girl, you did your best, thanks to you and your team me and my little girl are still alive… though if you really want to foot the med bill I wouldn't say no, heh" he grinned, a golden fang glinting in the moonlight, even as his daughter smacked his shoulder.

"Heh… ignore the ol' coot, he tries to be funny but it's painful to hear, uh… sorry, I don't know your names"

"Heh, my sister's the same, believe me" Ruby grinned with an almost pained look in her eyes that Weiss understood well. "I'm Ruby and this is my besty, Weiss!"

"*snort* nice to meet yah… though I think you should go and help your friend… she uh… I think she's in trouble…"

Weiss and Ruby's heads snapped around to see Yang shouting at Blake and shaking her back and forth by the shoulders…

"Oh, for the love of…" Weiss and Ruby raced off, worried for what Yang would do to Blake.

"Do you have any idea how scared I was!? Do you know what you did to me when you ran off!?" Yang screamed, Blake not able to do much else other than wobble back and forth. Her jaw still hurt from where she'd been punched and her cheeks still stupidly warm from when she'd hugged her... Yang had been screaming this entire time, her eyes red and hair near on fire to the point that Sun, her possible stalker with how he had followed her around after meeting her in the streets when she'd fled earlier today, had to back away and shield his eyes from the glow. Blake had no such luck, but it came to an abrupt end when Yang… began to shake…

Those strong arms grew weak, her entire form beginning to shake as raging red turned to teary lilac… burning gold dimming to an almost dull blonde… Yang's entire body seeming to lose power as her head dipped with tears pouring down her face.

"How… how could you just run away from me, Blake? From me? What… what did I do wrong? Why did you have to run away like… like she did?"

An intense pain shot through Blake's chest at the sight of it, brave and fearless Yang brought low by pain she had caused her… she wasn't sure who she was referring to, but it was clear to her that she had hurt her… just as she herself had. She hadn't even spoken to her properly after she had accidentally revealed her heritage to her, only accepting this obsession she had with thinking that she would hate her for what she was… and that no one would want to be around her after she had revealed her past.

But she had been wrong, hadn't she? Sun had found out, only spitting out his tea in shock when she had revealed her past affiliation with the White Fang… though she had the feeling that there was a reason other than him trusting she was a good person for his support of her…

They had clearly spent a long time looking for her, spent time trying to find her, not arrest her…

Ruby had smiled at her when she had raced past her to follow Weiss into the store, no anger… no judgement just… relief.

Yang, while furious beyond belief… had clearly been enraged when she had been hurt, beating Bane into the fence before racing over to her with panic in her eyes…

"Yang, I… I was scared… I thought you'd hate m-"

"How could I hate you, you moron!?" she screamed, Blake's body trying to jump away but Yang held her there with renewed strength. "Why would I hate you!? Just because you're a Faunus!? Big freaking whoop! Don't see me hating on chuckles here just because he has a tail, do you!?"

"B-but… I… I was White Fa-"

" 'Ooo, look at me, I'm Blake Belladonna, I was a stupid kid who got involved in something I was too young and influenced by to realise how bad it was! I made a stupid mistake!' You know who else did that? Me! I have literally gotten involved with known criminals and smashed up a night club just because they didn't have something I wanted! We've all done stupid things Blake! I openly face them, though, I don't run away like a coward… like you Blake"

It hurt… it hurt so much to hear those words, the complete and utter betrayal in her voice as those lilac eyes stared into her with a cold indifference… that was what worried her most of all… Yang was a girl who let her temper control her at times… but now? Now she just looked tired… so tired… not even able to muster up enough anger to let that familiar red bleed into her eyes.

"I care about you, Blake... I care about you in a way I've been trying to come to terms with for a little while" Blake's breath hitching and heart aching at the meaning behind those words. "Guess that's why it hurt all the more when you ran away, thinking that the worst of me..."

"I'm… I'm so sorry… I never meant to hurt you…" she whispered with a morose look on her face as Yang let out a cheerless chuckle.

"Yeah? Well, you did… you hurt me so much Blake… But guess what? We're going to have a good, long chat about how fucking stupid you were, do you understand me?"

"Yes... Yes we will, I swear to you I won't run away again"

Yang narrowed her eyes before nodding, letting her go, Blake slumping back into Sun who had lost his smile and looked at her apologetically, walking away after he propped her back up. Yang walked over to Ruby who pulled her sister into a hug while the last member of her team approached…

"Weiss…"

The person she most expected to have her arrested for this whole incident… simply looked annoyed at the moment, though that was mixed with a small amount of worry in her body posture.

"Blake… I believe we need to talk"

"I… Why don't you…?"

"Hate you? Oh, believe me, I do" The matter of fact way she said had Blake blinking, her leg moving back to make a run for it… when she stopped… No… No I won't run away I just swore to Yang I wouldn't. I won't hurt them again… I won't abandon her again… "I hate the fact you pulled such a moronic stunt tonight. I hate the fact you were foolish enough to think you and this random person could take on an entire platoon of White Fang and their rather dangerous leader by yourselves. I hate the fact you lied to us for so long, Blake…"

She hadn't expected that, not at all… and yet she found herself smiling at the implications of her words… before the guilt hit her full force.

"You have every right… I was… I was so scared, I thought you'd never accept me if you knew I used to be White Fang, that you'd never be comfortable around me again"

"Oh, believe me… it is taking all my self-control to not have a panic attack at the very thought of being close to you right, Blake" She shuddered, seemingly reliving something horrific. "Let me tell you a story, Blake. it may make things all the more clear to you as to why I feel the way I do"

"Okay, I'm listening, for however long you need me to" Despite her confusion over Weiss' words, now was not the time to go questioning them.

"My… my family employed a Faunus maid at the Schnee mansion when I was younger, who was kind to me, loving to me… I thought of her as more of a mother than my own… then, when I had a bad dream one night, I went to speak to her… to ask for some comfort from the horrid Grimm that had chased me in my nightmares. But do you know what happened? She saw me, smiling sweetly as she tore her blade out of the neck of the butler she had just murdered. Then... Then she slowly walked over to me, singing a lullaby that filled me with terror when before it had brought comfort. She would carve through the air with the knife as she made her way to me, while I was frozen there in pure, abject terror. The only reason I am alive today was my sister, my sister who was only there due to asking for time off from her studies for my 15th birthday that was coming up, she grabbed a rifle and shot a bullet that tore through the maids' skull…"

Weiss eyes dulled and turned misty… Blake had to do everything in her power to not run up to her and wrap her in a hug, to hold her friend close as she could and let her cry, but she knew that would only end badly. Weiss clearly needed to get this out Blake...? She would listen... even if her heart ached at what she knew was to come.

"Do you know why she did it? Not because I treated her badly, I shouted and screamed at another maid who insulted her over being a Faunus, making sure she was fired the very next day and hugging the woman I thought my friend, telling her that her viper scales were beautiful. Not because my family had ever done anything wrong to her or her family, they had been employees with a good wage for years, my Grandfather employing them with a contract that meant my father could not abuse them without severe repercussions. Not… Not even for revenge on what happened to other Faunus… She did it because she decided killing me and Whitley would bring her fame among the White Fang. She was a low-ranking member who had been indoctrinated and trained as a spy along with other members of the staff to keep tabs on us. She decided killing two innocent children who had no part in the hardships forced upon your people was a clever thing, that she would be made a commander for it… It wasn't just her either, the half of the staff that were in league with her made their attack that night and other half were either injured defending us, were forced to flee… or died. They never even made an attempt on my father, not the man whose death would actually change things with how much turmoil the company would be in… My personal Butler, Klein, took a knife to the shoulder to protect me from the gardener who had given to me a flower that very morning…"

Blake reeled back in horror, the look on Weiss' proved she wasn't dramatizing anything about what she'd just told her… in fact, the way she shook proved that she may have actually been downplaying the events… This… This wasn't possible…

But it is… This night had proven just that, that the Fang she thought she'd known was a lie. She knew that there were some good people in the White Fang… but these monsters were not. They were evil. Willing to murder innocent people for their twisted goals.

Weiss' own opinions of Faunus when she'd first met her were borderline racist, untrusting of any Faunus student that came near her… but could she really blame her now? Any trust she'd ever had in her people had been shattered with attempts on her life and betrayal of her kindness to them… including herself. Weiss had been ready to talk. To listen to her words and would have clearly been ready to understand she used to be part of the White Fang if her actions tonight was anything to go off of… but she'd just ran… ran away like a coward.

"I won't say that I trust you, Blake… in fact I believe I will ask that I be allowed to stay with Jaune again tonight, simply because of old fears being brought to the surface by the events of today… I want you to know that I wish things were different, but I can't help this almost primal fear I am feeling at the moment..."

"I… I understand, Weiss… I promise I'll do anything I can to help. The fact you're actually willing to even speak to me right now is more than I could've hoped for" She replied, feeling her guilt rise with every passing moment. "Weiss? Are... Will we be...?"

"Blake… We are not alright… But I am not going to let my fear of the group you used to be a part of control how I respond to tonight and the revelations we are facing. I believe it will take time, because I do care what you used to do, but I think it is in both of our best interests to try and sort this situation out. The old me would have thrown you in prison without listening to your side… but now? Now… I wish to try and understand where the White Fang are coming from, the people actually fighting for equality and not… not those monsters over there"

Blake looked at Weiss, she at her, both of them smiling gently at one another and keeping a respectable distance… it was the right thing to do.

"I'd like that, Weiss… I'd like that very much"

"Very good… Though I imagine your night is not done, Yang… heh, she is going to be wanting words" Weiss said, nodding her head to where Ruby and Yang were speaking to another Police officer that had arrived on the scene. "I don't know your feelings towards her, Blake… but please don't hurt her if you don't feel the same… someone I find myself caring a rather large amount these days was hurt by my harsh rejections and I truly wish to this day that I could take them all back… though I do believe that my worries are unfounded, judging from your cheeks"

She finally noticed the blood rushing to her cheeks as she did her very best to not give into the stupid emotions flowing through body at that moment, hearing Weiss let out a little huff of amusement that Blake reacted to without meaning to, her sarcastic nature shining through.

"Says the girl who was staring at Jaune like he was a snack"

She watched as Weiss' entire face flashed red with embarrassment, even the tips of her ears following suit. Then… then she let out a little chuckle, eyes holding a warmth she had never seen before, looking at her sweetly.

"I truly hope that we can trust one another again, Blake… I like moments like this"

"So do I Weiss… so do I"

Suddenly, the wind whipped up and Blake turned her head to find a trio of Beacon Bullheads making their way towards them.

As if to prove things could only get worse, the sudden appearance of a Bullhead reminded Weiss that Ruby had called for assistance from Beacon. The visage of an enraged looking Miss Goodwitch riding the lead one, proved to her that this was not going to be a hero's celebration…

After the police arrived and the terrorists were locked up and arrested.

"I will ask once more, and I had better get a straight answer. What on Remnant were you thinking!?" Miss Goodwitch screeched, repeatedly slamming her riding crop against her hand so hard that her aura sparked against it.

She had been yelling at them for the past 10 minutes, calling them foolish, bull headed and, at one point, actually stamped her foot in sheer outrage… it may have been seen as comical if her Semblance had not activated and bent the nearest lamppost into multiple curls and swirls.

Weiss, and frankly the rest of her team, did their very best to not openly show their fear at the fury of the Headmistress. She very nearly jumped in fright when the young woman from before stormed up to Miss Goodwitch and glared at her heatedly.

"What they were doing, is saving mine and my dad's lives! If it weren't for them, my dad woulda gotten his head cut off and I'd be in teeny tiny pieces in the backroom! I think they deserve a damn medal for what they did! But you? You're here bollocking them!"

Miss Goodwitch, for once, was at a loss for words it appeared. Her eyes wide in open shock while the girl went off at her. Weiss looked to her team incredulously, only to find them doing the same... this was unprecedented! Miss Goodwitch was the one to deal out the shouting, not be the one receiving it!

"W-Well… I hope you understand that they are only students and therefo-"

"So freaking what!?" The ginger woman yelled back, crossing her arms with a disproving stance to her. "I swear, if you try and get them in trouble for this, I will personally make my way to Beacon and make it clear the Deputy Headmistress of Beacon treats heroes like criminals!"

For a long while, the air grew silent, every single person in view was staring in shock as the girl with a limp and covered in bandages shouted down one of the most powerful Huntresses in history.

Then, with an almost tired air to her, Miss Goodwitch sighed.

"Yes… you are quite right… I do believe I let my worry for the students overtake me for a moment and made me mildly irrational…" she admitted, the four of them giggling slightly at the red on her cheeks as she spoke, the second those green eyes met theirs however they ceased, her next words affecting Weiss the most. "I very nearly lost one of my students recently and have been a little high strung"

Ah... that would explain things... Weiss internally sighed, feeling her heart ache at the memory of Jaune laying in that bed once more.

"Students… thanks to you, the lives of innocent people were saved this night and a group of dangerous terrorists are now in custody. Take the Bullhead nearest to you back to Beacon… and don't worry about skipping class today… enjoy the rest of your night-"

"Aaand tomorrow, only fair I mean since, y'know, I'm alive right now" the girl added, turning to them with a wink and a Cheshire smile.

"… and tomorrow as well…"

"Right you are teach!" Yang smiled, a small amount of her usual chipper appearing as she traded numbers with the girl who introduced herself as Dinah* an odd name seeing as it wasn't related to a colour but most things about the girl seemed to go against the norm with what she'd seen.

As they boarded the Bullhead, Blake attempting to sit a distance from them with a sad look which was quickly stopped when Yang grabbed her arm and dragged her to sitting next to her and away from Weiss and Ruby, the two devolving into an argument that Weiss could tell held hidden meanings of worry for the other. Things would be rough between Blake and herself for a time… but she had a feeling they would get better.

Ruby smiled happily at the scene; her eyes brighter than they had been for a long time… ever since this whole horrid affair had begun. She proceeded to rest her head against the hull of the Bullhead and fall asleep, Weiss rolling her eyes good naturedly at the way she began to kick at the air slightly lie a puppy, glad tonight hadn't affected her too terribly.

Weiss herself? She was eagerly awaiting being able to tell Jaune about tonight, about what had happened… about her proving was a far better person now than the girl who had dared to treat him so poorly… She was better than the girl who would have treated Blake like a monster, had treated Ruby like an annoyance… and him like he was anything but a sweet, kind and loving young man…

Then there was her apparently unlocking the more potent half of her Semblance... she imagined the two of them could have a good laugh at the timing of it, considering her had unlocked his own.

Yes, she truly could not wait to see him once more, a simple and small smile spreading across her face as a dusting of red crossed her cheeks.

*Dinah was the true name of the Cheshire Cat from Alice in wonderland

BTW; We know there was no Jaune this week, but the next chapter is all him with Weiss and him reuniting in the one after that...

Aaaaaand scene! Heh, this was a fun one… ONTO PINK LEMONADE!