BIG NOTE: Okay everyone. It's almost time for the grand finale, so here's a final note to explain everything.

We have finished all of our pre-planning for the final battle, and it is a doozy. Like, seriously massive. We can finally say with certainty that we have mapped out the final chapters, and Let Us Be Your Poison will officially be coming to an end at Chapter 120. Yes. We're serious. The final battle/epilogue(s) is 14 chapters long. That means that when all is said and done, this final arc will make approximately one-third of the entire story. That is honestly crazy massive, though when you consider how much has been covered here, it does kind of make sense.

Therefore, we have a few important updates. First, we have broken The End arc into two distinct parts, with Chapter 100 being the end of part one. This formatting stuff pretty much only matters to us, but if you'd like to know, there you go. We think Chapter 100 is a good dividing line between the Belle-Faunus sections and the Fable-Grimm parts. Second, the actual final battle will begin in Chapter 108. That means there will be one more chapter between now and the ending. What will that be? It's a surprise. You'll find out soon enough.

More importantly, we are going to take a small break from updating after that point. Yes, this is literally the worst time to leave you in suspense, but the last thing we want to do is rush into the finale. We have been writing this story at a crazy pace recently and we really want to calm down a little bit. We're not super extremely happy with that Raven-Yin chapter honestly, and we really want to make sure we feel satisfied with the final battle before we upload it. Because if we fuck that up, then the whole thing is kind of ruined, isn't it? See Game of Thrones. Don't fuck up endings. Anyway, here's a chapter. Enjoy.

"So, yes," Blake finished her ten minutes of talking points. "I know. I know everything I just said sounds really stupid. I know that it's stupid to trust any of you to uphold your words. Like, for fuck's sake, I know who I'm dealing with. After all the shit you've done, I'm not expecting anything really, especially not holding up your promises. But if you don't do this, a lot of people are going to die, and you guys are assholes, but are you really gigantic assholes? Like, come on. This is just as bad for you as it is for me. And like, there's some benefit for you, too. I mean, you'd get to fuck this bitch up. Doesn't that sound good? You can have her all to yourself if you want. I don't mind. Just help me this once, and then everything is officially even between us. So, what do you say? Will you help me?"

Blake waited for their response. She expected more talking, more thorough discourse. She was asking a ton here, and if this didn't work out, she was beyond screwed. Yet, what she expected to take a long time ended up being resolved in around ten seconds.

"Okay," he said to her. "You had her at, 'fuck this bitch up.'"

Ruby sat on her back porch, notebook in hand, trying her best to come up with another answer. "Okay. Try concentrating on the spot you'll summon from."

"That's what I'm doing."

"Well, try a little harder."

Weiss grunted, holding her hand out in front of her. How the hell did this become her good hand? She was still dealing with torn ligaments in her shoulder from her Trials, but at least the pain was less than in the shoulder where Blake stabbed her. By default, that made it her good hand, or at least her better hand. Thank the Gods for modern medicine. Otherwise, she'd be sprawled out on the couch in constant agony. She wouldn't be able to fulfill her destiny as Ozpin's chosen one if that were the case.

Ozpin's chosen one—even thinking those words left a bad taste in her mouth. Being manipulated by that bastard like a puppet on strings was foul, but the things that he had done to her for the sake of destroying the Grimm were unforgivable. Openly putting her on a team with people who hated her. Lying to them. Making them constantly fight one unstoppable foe after the next. And yet, here she was trying to do exactly what he wanted from her. That was maybe the worst part of all. She was doing this to be a hero. She was going to help people. She had finally rejected her family's control of her. She swore that she was going to follow her own path, but if she walked away now, thousands of people would die. Weiss was right back where she started, except one could argue that now, it was even worse. At least back then no one expected anything from her.

Okay, enough self-pity. She had to concentrate. She stood just in front of Ruby, staring off into the snow-covered backyard. She was going to summon a giant toad right there in the center. Right there. She extended her fingers, straining her palm, trying to put as much focus as she could into bringing forth the creature. She narrowed her gaze. Cleared her mind.

Giant toad in the center of the backyard.

Giant toad in the center of the backyard.

Giant toad right there.

Any second now.

Come on…

Weiss lowered her arm and groaned. "Dammit. Nothing."

Ruby sighed and crossed another item off her checklist. Her very, very long checklist. "Okay, let's take a break for now."

"No," Weiss insisted. "I can do this. I just need to focus."

"Straining isn't going to help," Ruby told her.

"It doesn't matter. I'm already strained," Weiss said, annoyed. "The attack is tomorrow. If I don't get this done—"

"Don't worry about it," Ruby said calmly. "We still have all day. I'm sure you'll figure it out."

"You said that yesterday."

"Because I mean it."

Weiss balled her hand into a fist, but eventually, she relented to Ruby's request. The fact that she was freezing did a lot to calm her temper. She turned back to Ruby with a heavy frown, and though Ruby took care to hide the contents of her notebook, Weiss was able to glimpse just enough of the crossed-out attempts to feel disheartened by it.

"Let's go inside," Ruby said uncomfortably. "Maybe the cold is getting to us."

It was while they were both sitting on the couch and enjoying hot cocoa when Weiss said what they were both thinking.

"So, you do have a backup plan, right?"

Ruby finished sipping her drink and took the time to carefully readjust her glasses.

"I don't think we need one."

"Yes, we do," Weiss said bluntly. "Look, Blake is off getting her 'backup', so we need a backup too. I'm not summoning anything. It just isn't working out. If this doesn't work—"

"It will work," Ruby said earnestly. Weiss simply glared at her as if daring her to try and say that with more confidence.

"Ruby, I appreciate all of the optimism. Really, I do. But a lot of people are about to die tomorrow. What are we going to do about it?"

Ruby had been mulling that question internally for a while. The unfortunate truth was that they already knew their answer: nothing. As far as they knew, Weiss's power was the only thing that had a chance of putting the Grimm down for good. They had weakened the monsters before. Ruby shot one in the eye. Yang supposedly severely wounded another in Forever Fall. But Ruby's shot was ultimately just a distraction, and Yang wasn't there. They couldn't contact the police. Calling in a bomb threat to the Embassy would just encourage Cinder to change targets. They need the Saeva family's gifts to permanently kill the Grimm or they would fail, and Weiss was the only person who could do that. Well, technically that wasn't true, but those weren't exactly options either. Weiss's father would never help them, and though Winter would be willing, she was incapable of disobeying her father's orders. They were truly on their own.

"Well…then we're going to just have to fight it the best we can," Ruby admitted. "We might be able to find a new weakness while we're battling it. If we don't come up with something, then…we do as much damage as we can and hope someone else can stop it."

And that was that, wasn't it? That very important thing that was sitting at the forefront of their minds that they didn't want to talk about. Sure, the lives of the people in Vale were counting on them, but all it took was a slight misstep, a simple mistake, and that would be it. Ruby had tried her hardest not to think of the specifics, but it had crept into her mind: an image of Weiss being trapped underneath the Grimm's body, its maw reaching down and tearing into her torso, the life draining from her eyes as the Grimm took her screams for its own. And the blood—so much blood dripping down her caverned torso that it flooded down the streets of Vale. It had only crept into her mind for a second before she went to sleep, but that was all it took to be permanently imprinted into her thoughts. She wondered if Weiss was dealing with the same thing and if that was part of the reason she was struggling so much. She had no idea how she was supposed to talk Weiss down from such a situation, mostly because she could barely deal with it herself. The only thing keeping her together was blind optimism, and as their day of reckoning drew closer, it became harder and harder to maintain that façade.

Weiss stayed quiet for a long time, but after finding nothing that could make her directly feel any better about their chances, she instead decided to change topics to something far more intimate. "Hey, Ruby, can I ask you a personal question?"

"Uh…sure?" Ruby said meekly, pulling her legs up onto the couch.

"Well, I was just thinking," Weiss asked carefully. "Since there is a chance that we could really die tomorrow—and if this is too much, you don't have to answer—but I was just wondering: do you…believe in a God?"

Ruby stared at Weiss with disbelief. Not necessarily anger, though her confusion was palpable.

"Where's that coming from?"

"I mean, you know what I believe," Weiss stated casually. "We all know that Blake doesn't believe in anything. I mean, obviously. Yang has said that she doesn't really care. But we're literally going to be facing down demons tomorrow, and during all the time that we've spent together, I don't think I've ever seen you pray or talk about religion at all. I just kind of wanted to know what you think is going to happen if we die tomorrow—assuming that we die, of course. Like, if we'll go to an afterlife or be judged or anything."

Ruby took a very calculated sip of her hot cocoa while Weiss patiently waited for her answer.

"Um…"

"You don't have to say if it makes you uncomfortable."

"No, no. It's fine," Ruby said quickly. "I mean, yeah, I guess it's weird that I never talked about it. I just never really thought that any good would come from bringing it up. But I mean, I have thought about it. Everyone has. And it's not like it isn't relevant. With all of this Decum Luna stuff, I feel like we should be asking more questions. Though honestly, it's hard to even say that's relevant either since it's so far removed from actual godhood. You won't make fun of me if I tell you, will you?"

Weiss firmly shook her head. "Of course not. I don't care about what you believe. I just want to know what you think."

Ruby smiled briefly beneath the rim of her mug. Weiss being tolerant? If she had been asked that four months ago, she would have been chewed out for weeks. But Weiss was extremely comfortable resting on the couch, so slouched and casual that no one would have guessed the massive wealth and privilege she came from. Ruby knew she was being honest, and that enough for her to let her guard down, if only for a moment.

"Well, I guess when I really think about it, the truth is…" Ruby said somberly. "No."

Weiss's whole body shifted onto the couch, leaning intently toward Ruby. "Wait, seriously?"

Ruby smiled sadly. "Uh…yeah. I mean, I used to a long time ago. But honestly? I haven't believed in anything like that for a long time."

"Nothing at all?" Weiss questioned her further. "Like, no afterlife either? When we die, you think it's just…nothing?"

Ruby shrugged. "I guess. It's kind of depressing when you put it like that. That's why I don't really like telling people. It's not something anyone would expect from me."

"Well, yeah," Weiss admitted. "I always just assumed you were the quiet religious type. Why don't you believe anymore?"

"I don't really know. I don't remember when I stopped believing," Ruby explained. "I guess one day I sort of just…figured out that there probably wasn't anything there, and that was that. That's really all it is to it. I don't think it matters that much in the end though. I'm not living every day trying to appease something greater than me. I'm just sort of living. Each day is kind of special when you realize you won't get more of them. Isn't it?"

Weiss didn't have a counterargument. Actually, that was a complete lie. She had a ton of counterarguments. If she was fighting with Blake, she would be arguing with her for hours about the tiniest little holes in her beliefs. But with Ruby, she found that she didn't really care. Ruby was perfectly fine the way she was. It was a bit disheartening, but really, what could she do? It wasn't like her own beliefs were standing on solid ground either. If their theories were correct, her Gods weren't really Gods at all, which threw everything she ever knew into disorder. She supposed that the truth would find its way to her sooner or later—much sooner than she ever wanted.

"I guess so," Weiss said simply. "Thanks for telling me."

"You're welcome," Ruby smiled. "I guess it's nice to finally get that off my chest. I don't think I've ever told anyone about that. I mean, might as well let someone know, right?"

"Yeah. Right," Weiss said awkwardly. Getting things off their chests? If they were going to die tomorrow, then she supposed there really was no reason to keep things hidden anymore. Theoretically, it was the perfect time to confess anything she wanted. Anything at all. "Hey, can I tell you something?"

"Sure. Is it something religion-related?"

"No. Different topic," Weiss stated. She didn't really know how to state it cleanly, so she ended up blurting it out. "I've always—"

"Yeah?"

Weiss smirked nervously. "I've kind of always hated our team name."

Ruby was taken aback for a moment, but after realizing just how profoundly absurd Weiss's confession was, she could help but begin to laugh. "W-What?"

"I hate it," Weiss said bluntly. "It's just…it's so dumb. The W serving as the U in RUBY? If anyone saw that written out without context, they would just think it's pronounced as an initialism. R-W-B-Y. No one would get 'RUBY' from that."

"But it's my name?" Ruby said dryly. "Don't you like my name?"

"Your name is great," Weiss said, stifling a laugh. "Don't get me wrong. But having your name be the same as our team name, and having it be misspelled. No. Too much. Dealbreaker."

"Okay, then. Well," Ruby said, fiddling with her empty mug of cocoa. "I don't like that you're always dressed in white."

"White's my favorite color."

"But you're so pale and your hair is white, too. You'd look so cool with more splashes of color."

"First of all: My hair is light silver."

"It's white."

"Second of all: Who are you to complain, Miss Red, Red and More Red?"

"I wear more than just red," Ruby protested.

"Ah, yes. How could I forget? Black. The most diverse of all colors."

"It's better than your fashion sense," Ruby said with a laugh. Weiss dramatically narrowed her gaze.

Shots fucking fired.

"You cannot even say that with a straight face it's such a bad take."

"No, I…I mean it," Ruby said, gesturing wildly to Weiss's clothes. "Look at that with the…with the hems and the stitches."

"This dress cost literally more than your net worth."

"And it's still bad."

Weiss opened her mouth to speak and raised her index finger, carefully selecting her target. Ruby tried her hardest not to burst as Weiss smirked in satisfaction.

"Your hair is hideous."

Ruby was going to fight back, but unfortunately, the damage she sustained was far too great to mount any successful comeback. Instead, she graciously accepted her defeat, bowing her head toward her opponent. Weiss beamed proudly. The past week had been miserable, but this? This was victory was as sweet as honey.

"Actually, if we are confessing things," Ruby said, a mild cringe in her voice. "I've always been super shy about the way I looked. Growing up next to Yang and how she ended up looking compared to me—"

"Oh," Weiss said understandingly. "I mean, you shouldn't feel jealous."

"But Weiss," Ruby blushed. "Have…have you seen her?"

"We lived in the same room. I have seen most of her."

"And she's looked like that since she was maybe eleven," Ruby said breathlessly. "Puberty hit her early and fast. That's a lot to compare yourself to. But the weird part is, I wasn't even scared that I was going to grow up not looking like her. I was actually worried I would look too much like her."

"That's weird."

"It is, isn't it?" Ruby said almost fondly. "I mean, how many people would kill to have Yang's looks? But I don't know, there was always a level of femininity that I was never comfortable with. I just never understood being very womanly, if that makes sense. Oh my God, when I first had to go shopping for bras, I thought I was going to die."

"Oh, you want a boob confession?" Weiss said with a laugh. "Winter's much older than me, right? I really grew up admiring her, and I used to steal her clothes and parade around in them."

Ruby gasped in delight. "Really?"

"Yeah," Weiss admitted, rolling her eyes at her childhood stupidity. "And I don't just mean her shirts. I mean…oh, jeez, this is so embarrassing."

"You would wear her bras?" Ruby asked, her mouth dropping open.

"Not in a creepy way!" Weiss insisted, her face turning a furious shade of red. "I just wanted to know what they were like. I would actually stand in front of the bathroom mirror, ten-years-old, stuffing entire rolls of toilet paper into these bras that just wouldn't fit no matter how much I shoved into them. All I wanted was to fill out those bras. I thought, 'If I can only get boobs like these, I can be as good of a Huntress as Winter!'" Weiss laughed out loud, covering her mouth with her palm. Ruby was more than amused, resting her chin on the back of her hand. It felt good letting it all out. There was no one left to judge her. Their world was ending. Why not indulge in those old fantasies for one day more?

"Okay, I can top that with something more embarrassing," Ruby promised. "One time I spilled chocolate milk over the most popular boy in the fifth grade."

"Here's a confession," Weiss said casually. "I totally cheated off you in our history class."

"Here's a confession. I already knew that and I didn't care."

"Here's a confession. I once drank some of my mother's wine and ruined one of my dad's business meetings."

"Here's a confession. I have never been able to watch a full stand-up comedy performance without quitting halfway through."

"Here's a confession. I don't know any popular music."

"Ooh, here's a confession. Despite everyone thinking I only wear red, these socks are actually scarlet."

"Here's a confession," Weiss said with a relieved smile. She laughed and shrugged her shoulders, no longer caring enough to hold it in. "I think I'm gay."

Ruby stopped dead in her tracks, staring at Weiss with almost a sense of wonder. "Wait…really?"

"Um, yeah," Weiss just said like it was nothing. "I always thought I was straight, but well…I guess I found out that I'm not…entirely."

Ruby seemed to struggle with the right words to express herself, but after a few awkward seconds of silence, she smiled warmly at her close friend. "Oh. That's…that's awesome, actually. I'm glad for you."

"Thanks. I wasn't really sure how you'd react."

"No, I'm super happy for you," Ruby confessed. She laughed to herself and nervously stared at the couch. "Actually, since we're on the topic, I have a confession, too. I'm…"

"Yes?" Weiss said, leaning in hopefully.

Ruby shrugged it off. "I have no idea what I am."

Weiss's smile faded somewhat. "Oh. You don't?" Seriously, Ruby? She was sixteen and she couldn't figure it out. Weiss was dangling off a cliff edge here.

"Uh, no," Ruby said. Another blush appeared on her cheeks, but softer than before. She averted her gaze and cleared her throat. Maybe Weiss was hearing things, or she was expecting too much but…was that a touch of shyness in her voice. "You know, I never really had time to think about that stuff. I wouldn't know what to do in any relationship if I had one."

Weiss's disappointment quickly morphed into something else. Was it hot in that room? Gods, it was hot in that room. Must have been the cocoa.

"Well, um," Weiss said hesitantly. "Maybe if we don't die, we could—"

"Yes?"

"You know."

"Uh-huh?"

"Um…" Weiss pursed her lips and grinned. "Maybe we could figure out how to figure that out, like…together."

Ruby took a while to get the hint. For such a smart girl, she was incredibly naïve. However, after Weiss gave her a few seconds, she saw the blush on her cheeks intensify, and a very pathetic, nervous laughter came out of the young girl's mouth.

"Uh…yeah!" she said with tepid excitement. "That, well, uh, um…that sounds like a good idea."

Weiss looked at Ruby.

Ruby looked at the couch.

Weiss smirked.

So…was that it?

She thought that it would be bigger. She thought that her heart would explode out of her chest. But it was beating as calm as the ocean waves. She felt perfectly normal, and that was strange as hell because she was pretty sure that she just got herself a girlfriend. That thought never would have crossed her mind earlier in the year. Ruby? That stupid ditz who crashed into her on the first day of school and never shut up about weapons and strategies? The girl with the tiny little voice that would needle her brain and moralize with her? She was a Schnee. She was supposed to have standards and marry herself off to some rich executive somewhere, not fall for someone like Ruby Rose. The nerve of someone like her. What had that girl truly changed within her?

But that was the thing. She didn't really care anymore. No matter who Weiss Schnee was anymore, she was happy with it, and if all things came to an end tomorrow, she knew that she would die happy with it. That was a solace she had never held before in her life. Whatever relationship she had with Ruby, no matter how unspoken, she was better. She could sit on that couch with the person she cared the most about in the world, and despite everything being stacked against her, she felt like it could turn out okay. They would survive. After all, she had something to fight for now.

Nine-thirty at night.

The forest dead asleep in the light of the broken moon.

Ruby watched intently from the back porch as Weiss tried again.

Again.

Again.

"You got this, Weiss. I believe in you."

Weiss screamed, focusing, intently, diverting everything she had into her final attempts.

She outstretched her palm, and suddenly, a blinding light rippled across the clearing, fading just as fast as it first appeared.

Ruby stared in awe, letting out a triumphant cheer. Weiss, exhausted, broken down, and woozy, managed to smile.

The giant frog croaked at her.

She was ready.