AN: Soooo, heads up guys. This chapter kind of has some dark tones to it that include self harm, mental instability, and a panic attack. I felt I should warn you in case you're sensitive to that. Ideally, this will be the darkest this gets.

ooOOoo

"Ruby, that doesn't make any sense," Weiss furrowed her brow. "You've clearly been using one."

"Well, it's complicated," Ruby fidgeted nervously and she started to ramble. "I know I said I don't have one, but I do, but I technically don't?"

"You're not making a bit of sense right now," the heiress' pale complexion turned a bright red with her frustration. There were times when Ruby said things that seemed like wisdom beyond her years, but then she almost always had a moment that countered those pivotal moments and made Weiss realize just how frustrating she was. This was one of them. "Say what you mean, Ruby. I don't understand this… whatever-it-is that you're doing!"

"I'm trying," Ruby pouted to herself and fiddled with her pointer fingers. "You know everyone has Aura, right?" The heiress nodded. "Well, everyone also has a Semblance, even if it hasn't been activated yet. Aura is used to activate it."

"Yes," Weiss nodded. "This much is known."

"Well," Ruby's eyes drifted away. "Aura forms a protective layer over us that acts as a shield and reduces when we take damage. It also basically acts as a fuel for our Semblances, and when it completely drains, we suffer Aura Break. Sometimes that leads to serious injury, we can't heal, and we definitely can't use our Semblances anymore."

"Tch," Weiss let out a noise of irritation. "If I wanted to review common knowledge, I'd have asked."

"Yeah, but it's not the same for me," Ruby frowned. "I have to pick – Aura or Semblance. My body seals my Aura inside and I can't use it… I was still always super sensitive to detecting others' Auras and it heightened my other senses, which made me a really talented tracker."

"Then how is it that you are able to-," Weiss' eyes opened wide and swallowed hard. She was starting to have an idea of what was going, but she sincerely hoped that fate hadn't dealt Ruby that card. It was much too cruel. "Ruby… what happened to your arm? Nora and Ren mentioned some things, but they couldn't agree…"

"…you're smart, Weiss," Ruby looked down. "I should have died back then…"

"How did it happen?"

"The how isn't really important," Ruby shrugged. "Just the end result. My Aura didn't have a way to exit my body and now it does. That's all that matters."

"Did you…" Weiss swallowed again. The weight of what Ruby's words implied made her seem so much darker than Weiss had originally though. If she could make that sort of decision, what was she willing to do to accomplish whatever goals she truly had? "Nora said you still had your arm, but Ren said that you didn't… Did you…" She couldn't get the words out.

"You can ask, Weiss," her silver eyes were soft with her own sadness. "I won't get mad."

"Did you remove it?"

"Remove?" Ruby laughed darkly. "That's a word… Not exactly my finest hour, but yeah… I removed it…"

"Did you at least have a doctor do it?!"

"That… would have been a much wiser decision than the one that I made," Ruby rubbed the back of her head. "I wasn't thinking right and then when Nora saw it and she screamed, I don't know what I was thinking. It just made sense, but I didn't know I had this problem and it turns out I inherited my condition from my mom and I almost died, but there's a bright side!"

"…" The word vomit that came out of Ruby's mouth all hit Weiss at once and she was having a hard time catching up to where they were now. "How is there a bright side to any of that?! I know that they said you had to go through therapy, but I didn't realize it was for self harm! Is that what you were hiding?! I feel like that's important! If there's something I should know then-."

"No, that's not it. I was actually pretty fine once I got out of the hospital," Ruby spoke as if it were a normal thing. How could she be so desensitized to this sort of thing? She'd just admit to having cut off her own arm! She couldn't even look at her right now! That was horrifying! What kind of mindset did someone have to have to make that kind of commitment!

"Weiss," Ruby took her hands in her own. "Look at me." The cold metal touched against Weiss' own hand and she froze. Somehow, she couldn't bring herself to look the younger girl in her eyes. "Please." She hesitated, but she took a slow breath and slowly lifted her head to meet Ruby's metallic orbs. "The place we were at… kept saying these things about me - what they were trying to do to kids like me… They said we were lesser than human and ran experiments on those of us that showed the telltale signs of a Semblance called-"

"Aura Core…" Weiss finished her sentence and Ruby smiled sadly.

"Yeah," Ruby rubbed the back of Weiss hand with her left thumb. "Aura Core… There woman who was in charge… when she saw me, it felt like she recognized me and it felt like she really had it out for me. That's when they pulled both me and Yang from the group. She said that it figured there was another one just like that woman and that I was contaminated. If I was around the others, they might turn out just like me. I never did find out what exactly she meant… but lately, I guess I sort of have an idea… I'm just not sure, but I need to verify it, Weiss. I need to know if the reason my mom died was worth it and to do that, I need to be licensed. I need to be recognized as an official Hunter – just like her."

"Ruby…"

"Hm?"

"Did you… When she said you were contaminated was that why-," Weiss kept stopping as she tried to come up with the best way to phrase this. Eventually, she motioned to Ruby's arm. "Did she mean depression?... that you… did this to yourself?"

"Maybe it helped my resolve a little," Ruby smiled gently. "But containers have lids, right?" Weiss nodded her head slowly as she tried to figure out where Ruby was with this. "And you have to open them-" Weiss squinted her eyes as she processed this, but then it hit her. Her eyes open and she drew in a breath that sank to the pit of her stomach like cold, hard rocks. "To get at what's inside…"

"Ruby, that's not something-"

"My arm was just dead weight, anyway!… I was never gonna' be able to use it again…" Ruby's eyes shimmered, giving away just how much of a toll that decision had taken on her, but she tried to mask it with indifference. "I mean, it's not like I felt anything! It was literally dead weight!"

"You should have gone to a hospital for a procedure like that, Ruby!" The heiress was red with anger. "What if you'd gotten an infection? Sepsis can kill you! Did you even think about your sister? What abou-"

"I don't want to be around those kinds of people again!" Weiss stepped back in shock. That was the first time that Ruby had raised her voice. Her eyes were a mixture of fear and panic that changed to surprise and she withdrew herself. "Sorry, Weiss… I'm not mad at you… I'm not… I just… I don't like doctors. Not people like them…" Oh.

"Those people that… did things to you," Weiss started carefully. "Did they… disfigure your arm?"

"Yeah…" Ruby mumbled lowly. "What happened was their fault, however you look at it. No one else is to blame…" That was a… strange way to phrase that.

"Ruby, I understand that you don't like doctors and why," Weiss tried to approach the conversation carefully. "But people like you - with Aura Core - have a condition similar to hemophilia. Once the Aura starts flowing to the site of an injury, it doesn't stop. Their Aura doesn't register that a limb is missing and it constantly flows out of the body… Their Aura is their life force…"

"Yeah," Ruby said quietly. "So you could say that I quite literally fight with my life on the line…" Ruby shot fingers at her with an incredibly stupid smile and Weiss narrowed her eyes at her. "What, so only Yang can get away with that?"

"Your sister, at least, has the right timing," Weiss sighed in aggravation and palmed her head in her annoyance. "Even if her humor is among the worst crimes against humanity."

"But look, I already have an answer to that problem!"

"Your sister?" The heiress lifted her to quirk a brow at her. "I find ignoring her works well enough."

"No," Ruby giggled, relieved that Weiss wasn't as angry as she thought. She patted her arm confidently and smirked. "That's why I built this. It's how I monitor myself. It's synced up with Crescent Rose and you could say that it's like that sort… lid!... that I'm missing!"

"…I think what you're missing is my point," Weiss crossed her arms and have her an expectant look.

"If you want me to apologize or say that I could have made a better decision, I can't do that, Weiss," Ruby met her eyes stubbornly. "I wouldn't be able to be here, which means I couldn't be a Hunter… so I don't regret doing it," Ruby hugged her metal arm to her side and looked away. "But I could have done it a better – no, a safer - way. I just… this is our best chance to fix things… to be normal."

"Hmm," Weiss thought to herself for a bit and her eyes drifted to Ruby's arm… Well, at least one of the mysteries was solved, though it opened up a lot more questions and she seriously doubted she'd have time to hear all the answers in a single night. Still, despite all the darkness, she was starting to admire Ruby – if not for her intelligence, then definitely her sheer will power.

Weiss reached for her hand once more and looked over it fondly. Despite the cold metal, she somehow felt warmth within herself when she touched it. Ruby had mentioned using it as a lid, so maybe that meant her Aura flowed freely through it and that was amazing. No wonder she could still feel sensation – she had build actual living armor, but that raised another question. Was her Aura the power source?

Her eyes wandered up the metal appendage, taking in each crevice. She'd often scene prosthetics that housed some serious technology and sported easily dismantled coverings. This was made of banded metal sheets, that had some weight to them. There was padding at her shoulder, but she didn't see a socket for it to connect with and she grew curious about how truly worked. She supposed that Yang was the only other person that really knew, but… Would Ruby trust her enough to take it off around her?

"What?" Ruby's eyes were filled with panic and Weiss stepped away. She hadn't realized she'd said that out loud.

"I-I'm sorry," Weiss apologized. "I didn't mean to!"

"Why would you want that?" Ruby looked both upset and incredibly confused. "That's not something people want to see, Weiss! I'm not a freak!"

"I never said you were!" Was that how Ruby saw herself? Weiss' heart sank at the thought that she had broken the trust they had begun to build.

"Just… see me how you always have!"

Just call me what you always do.

"Say that again." Weiss went pale as she relived the little boy's words from back then and she started to shake. She pictured that moment blood had burst from his chest, but this time it was Ruby. This time, he was missing an arm… but this time, it was an infinite amount of Aura bursting from him. Everything felt cold and she suddenly felt like she couldn't breathe. No, not now.

"Weiss?... Weiss?" Everything started closing in around her and she tried to sit on the ground, but everything felt so dark and distant. She needed space. She needed to know she could be a decent partner – to not make the same mistake – not be useless. "Wei…. W… Hol…on!"

She needed to be more.

ooOOoo

"Seriously, what happened?" Yang was standing outside the infirmary with Ruby and Blake. When Ruby had called panicking, she'd rushed over and Weiss had already collapsed.

"We were just talking and then I got a little upset and she started having a panic attack," Ruby said. "I don't know what happened that set it off. I wasn't even that upset about it."

"What were you talking about?" Blake asked. "Maybe that?"

"No," Ruby started twiddling her thumbs. "We were just talking about my arm and the whole sort of Semblance-that's-not-Semblance."

"You told her?" Yang's voice held a fear in it.

"Not everything! It's not like I went into super details on how it works – just why it matters," Ruby defended herself. "It wasn't 'til I said I didn't want her to see me any differently."

"O…kay?" That was extremely confusing. Maybe the rest of the conversation would have been understandable, but not that. "Maybe she was holding it in until then?"

"Miss… Rose?" The three girls all looked to the nurse that had come from the room and Ruby stepped forward. "Miss Schnee is much better. It appears that she hasn't been resting well recently, so that may have added to any stress she's been feeling lately. She seems quite anxious. We've given her a mild sedative to help her calm down and sleep a little better."

"So… is she coming back tonight oooor?"

"She should be fine. She'll be along any minute," the nurse smiled. "But just keep an eye on her and if any of her symptoms get worse, bring her back." They thanked the nurse and waited for Weiss, but after about half an hour had passed, Yang was starting to get irritated.

"What's taking so long?"

"Um, I dunno," Ruby frowned. It was unusual, but still, Yang didn't need to be so… Yang about it. "You guys can go ahead, if you want."

"Nah, I'll stick around."

"Awww," Ruby poked at Yang's cheeks. "Are you… gasp… worried about Weiss?"

"What? No!" Yang blushed and swatted Ruby away. "I'd just rather not let you give her another panic attack. That's the last thing you need!"

"Ugh," Ruby growled. "It's not like it was on purpose!..." Ruby crossed her arms and huffed. A few more minutes passed and Weiss still hadn't come. "I'm gonna' go see what's up. Maybe she thinks I'm supposed to get her?"

"Pffft," Yang laughed. "What is she, three?"

"Yang, please be nice to Weiss," Blake scolded her. "At least, for tonight."

"Okay, Mom…" The feline girl glared at her and Yang stuck her tongue. At first, she got a kick out of Blake's reaction, but then a dangerous smile worked across the feline's face. She sauntered over to Yang and pinched her tongue between two fingers and leaned up to her ear.

"Cat got your tongue?" Blake backed away and looked her in the eye with a confident smile.

"…Touche, Kitty Cat… Touche…"

"Ew, are you guys done flirting?" Ruby's face twisted in disgust. "That's why I left you two alone this morning."

"Fl-flirting?!" Yang exclaimed and Blake let out a quiet laugh. "That's totally not what's going on."

"Yeah… right," the younger girl was completely unconvinced. "I'll be back with the Weissicle."

"Are you sure you don't want me to go?" Yang called to her. "I know you don't like it in these places."

"No," Ruby frowned at the implication. "I can handle this much. It's not like it's me they're looking at." Ruby sped off through the halls. One – no, she didn't like hospitals. Two - she wanted to get out of there before they started up again. Ugh, gross. She couldn't see herself being like that with anyone – all touchy-feely and up in each other's faces… in front of people! As she turned around the corner, she bumped into someone and backed up.

"Oh, I'm sor-… Oh hey, Weiss," Ruby laughed nervously and averted her eyes as she twiddled her fingers. "I… wasn't expecting you to… Weiss?" The heiress' blue eyes studied her timidly, but she didn't say anything. "Are you okay?... Aren't you gonna', you know, scold me?" Weiss blinked slowly and shook her head at an equal speed.

"No…"

"Weiss…"

"I'm… okay…" Though she was aware, the heiress was distant and Ruby expected that it might be because of whatever they'd given her. "…just tired…" Recalling the nurse's words, Ruby nodded and suggested that they return to the room. She took Weiss' hand in her own and guided her to the waiting area, where Blake and Yang were.

Yang's eyes immediately shot to their hands, noticing that Ruby was willingly touching someone else with her prosthetic. There was something that just didn't sit right with the blonde about the way Weiss was looking at it. How much had Rubes actually told her? What was Weiss thinking when she saw it? She'd have to get the details from Ruby.

It made the blonde uncomfortable how the young Schnee had been so quiet the entire way back. A look at Blake told her that she felt just as uneasy about it. She'd clearly been more upset than Blake by the sisters' earlier show of power and nothing about Ruby's arm should have caused Weiss to have a panic attack. Yang also didn't buy the lack of sleep excuse the nurse had come up with.

Once they'd made it back, Weiss immediately sat on her bed and stared at her pillow. Her demeanor had remained calm the entire time and she simply felt hollow. There weren't any particular thoughts going through her head, but she felt a strange weight looming over her. It felt like something was coming, but whatever they had prescribed her took off just enough of the edge that it barely mattered. It was a strange place for her to be. She wanted to dislike it, but she just didn't care. She was adrift in a sea of nothingness.

"Weiss said she was tired, so I'm gonna' keep an eye on her," Weiss caught Ruby talking to the other two. She didn't really need to do that. Weiss had been on her own plenty of times. This wasn't really a new experience for her. There had never really been anyone around to help her through this type of thing before – well, not since Winter left. Klein tried, but her father said that it wasn't anything some time well-spent alone wouldn't take care of. It would go away if she busied her mind and that's all she needed to do, so she did… but right now there was nothing in her mind at all.

"Rubes, you haven't eaten…"

"I'll be fine, Yang," the younger sister insisted. "I'll get something later."

"Yang, we can bring something back for both of them," Blake suggested. "It's not like they'll tell us no, especially if we explain the circumstance."

"…fine… Just… don't do anything weird."

"Weird?... We're not you two, Yang!"

"I haven't done anything weird with Blake! Why do you keep suggesting th- Blake, stop laughing!"

"Ruby, be safe," the raven-haired girl pulled the blonde out with her and the bickering faded as they headed down the hall. Weiss could have sworn that Yang was adamantly defending her position on how nothing was weird about the way they behaved. It didn't really matter though. She brushed her fingers against her pillowcase. Why hadn't she ever noticed the texture before? There were slight snags in the fabric from use. It wasn't the quality she was used to at home, but it wasn't the worst thing on the market.

"Weiss," Ruby's voice brought her from her thoughts and she drifted to look at her at a leisurely pace. "Did you want to lay down? We should get you changed for bed." She nodded, letting Ruby walk her through the process. The entire experience felt like she was floating just outside her body. Was she even really there anymore? It was all so surreal. How much time had passed?

"Here, lay down," Ruby pulled the comforter back and gave her a slight nudge toward the bed. She really didn't like how distant this Weiss was or how easily she was able to get her to do whatever she wanted. Hopefully, she'd be back to her normal self in the morning.

The heiress laid down and Ruby pulled the blanket over her. Weiss turned to face her, blinking every so often as she watched her. Ruby offered her a smile and moved to pull the chair from the desk in the middle of the room, but a pull at her arm stopped her.

"Stay…" The team leader looked back at the heiress' tired eyes. She could tell she was trying to fight off the sleep that was trying to claim her and Ruby smiled warmly.

"Okay, Weiss," Ruby sat down beside her and Weiss backed up a little closer to the wall to make room for her. She pulled a little and Ruby's eyes widened. Oh, that was what she meant. The younger girl nodded and laid on her side, after kicking off her boots. Morning-Weiss would probably not be too happy if she realized Ruby had been on her bed with them.

"You really do feel it," Weiss' eyes drifted to Ruby's arm briefly enough for her fingers to find their way to the metal grooves once more. Ruby might have felt weirded out by this, but she recalled from her and Yang's own experiences that texture helped to ground a person. Weiss might not have noticed it earlier, but she had caught what she was doing with the pillow. It made sense, but it also made Ruby wonder just how many times Weiss had done this on her own. "I thought maybe I was dreaming again. Nothing feels real."

"I'm real, Weiss," Ruby's metal fingers laced gently around hers and brought them up to her cheek. The distant girl's eyes followed them, focusing on where they ended up and then drifted to meet Ruby's silver medallions. "This is real."

"It is?" Her distant expression morphed into a strangely emotional one.

"Yes," Ruby smiled warmly. "And I'll stay right here til you want me to go… Sleep now?"

"I don't want to." Ruby could feel Weiss' body begin to shake, like she was getting worked up. "If you get hurt-"

"Weiss, nothing's gonna' happen to me, but you're exhausted," Ruby reached toward her slowly with her prosthetic. She couldn't remember the last time she had interacted with someone other than her family so freely with it. Weiss' eyes followed the metal digits as they brushed some hair out of her face and rested gently on her cheek. Her thumb brushed Weiss' cheek. "Is this okay?" The heiress nuzzled against her hand gently in acknowledgement and Ruby gave a small laugh that beckoned her eyes back to her.

"You mentioned you see me in your dreams?" Ruby teased her smugly. "I'm flattered!"

"Recently…" Ruby was at a loss for words as she searched her alabaster partner's eyes. There was no lie there. The younger girl's smile died down and she slid her hand down to the heiress' waist and waited for any sign of protest, but there was none. Weiss' eyes simply searched for any sign of ill intent and relaxed when there was none.

"Wh-what do you dream about?"

"A friend," Weiss said softly. "I thought I might love him when we got older, but he was taken from me…"

"Taken?"

"He died," tears welled up in Weiss' eyes, but she refused to shed them. "I couldn't protect him. I couldn't do anything for him… and now I can't even remember his name or face… Maybe he wasn't that important… but I thought he was."

"And now?" Ruby swallowed. There was a dark feeling in her chest – something like anger, but it wasn't directed at Weiss. No, this was for whoever had taken someone so precious from her. Her grip around Weiss' waist tightened a bit, but not enough to hurt her.

"I've been seeing you in his place," a single tear finally slid out and Ruby was overwhelmed by the desire to hug her. "In my dreams, he always begs me to say his name – just call me what you always do."

Oh… That was why. What Ruby had said was so similar.

"I'm sorry, Weiss," Ruby deflated. "I'm just not ready to show anyone, yet. I feel like a monster because of it and I don't want you to see me any differently. I only want to be normal here."

"Rely on me more," Weiss' hand drifted down to Ruby's waist and she slid in closer, burying herself in Ruby. The younger girl's heart started slamming against her chest and she forced herself to be calmer. After a moment, Ruby adjusted herself to get a better look at her. She seemed so at ease in her arms and Ruby felt a sense of responsibility toward her… If only she knew… "Don't leave," Weiss mumbled into her. "So I know this was real."

"You'll be mad when you wake up."

"No, I won't. A Schnee always," Weiss yawned. "Keeps their word."

"Heh," Ruby smiled warmly and held her closely. "You still awake, Princess?" There was no response this time – just the subtle sounds of her breathing against her. "For what it's worth, I never blamed you for what happened and I'm sorry it hurt you so much… I promise you'll be free."

ooOOoo

AN: So this had some kinda' dark parts to it, but I hope it kind of helps to see where Ruby is coming from. I know her "I don't have a Semblance" thing threw some of you off and I hope I explained it properly. It's one of those "Sounded better in my head" things lol. Anyway, if you'd like me to better summarize what Aura Core is, please let me know and I'll give it a shot! There's still some info surrounding Ruby that hasn't been introduced and will be coming in the next few chapters. Whole bunch of stuff is coming up, though the next chapter wraps up the Partners arc, then they'll get a mission, and then you'll meet the Sunrise Sisters. I actually think I have up to chapter 21 written out right now… So a lot of the questions that you guys might have might be something you'll find out in those chapters. Side note: Bumblebee is not an official thing yet in this story. Yang still has a bit of a ways to go. Anyway, thanks for making it this far!

Reviewer Response:

Hewhoislost: I'm sorry if I made you have to reread things for things to make sense. I know as of that part of the chapter, that cliffhanger did not make sense. I have dropped hints about it, but they are not exactly obvious since certain things haven't been brought up yet. They will make sense as things come out about Ruby though. I'm actually a bit surprised that there is a very specific thing when coming from Ruby's POV that no one has said anything about. I do hope I was able to clear up any confusion in this chapter. It was intentionally done this way to be a bit misleading to showcase that Ruby has times where she is bad at explaining things lol. As for the pairings, these are also my favorite ones to write and I'm glad you enjoy them.