I don't own anything from RWBY, that honor belongs to the fine people at Rooster Teeth.

Chapter 5

Slowly blinking her eyes open, Weiss felt… warm and cozy.

The feeling was strange but… nonetheless comfortable. To think she felt like that, in the Schnee Manor of all places was certainly a new sensation. As she pulled off the covers and looked around, she found Ruby lying on the floor, her tail, fur and ears all visible as she slept. Rubbing her eyes as she got up, Weiss merely smiled seeing and put the covers that were earlier on her, onto Ruby.

Upon hearing Ruby murmur softly as the covers were laid onto her sleeping body, Weiss was… surprised. Surprised just how easily she was able to do something for someone. After years of her father telling her how sympathy was a weakness, and in the end, there was no one she could truly trust. And yet, the little time she had with Ruby felt so much more meaningful than anything her father had promised her all her life.

Whether it was the simple act of caring for each other, or just the knowledge that Weiss had a friend, someone she could actually trust was something truly special. Something her father would've never left any time for. As she sat down on the sofa, blinking her eyes open, she wondered what she could do for Ruby. She had mentioned an elder sister, Yang and given how close they seemed to be, the best idea she could come up with was finding her and reuniting her with Ruby.

Unfortunately for her, she had no idea where this Yang was and even then, where she was now. Ruby's memories were still a little fuzzy around the details, but she had been able to tell her that she was from Vale. From what she could gather from Ruby, it would be unlikely that Yang would've stayed in just one place, so finding her wouldn't exactly be easy.

Right now, her biggest concern was figuring out how exactly she could help Ruby navigate her memories. Besides her memories, Weiss had another reason to be concerned. A day ago, she looked up a little more about werewolf cycles. At first, she wanted to do it to figure out when would be the best time for them to go outside together.

Instead, she found out that Ruby's werewolf form was far more inconsistent than most weres. Given how that inconsistency had also showed up today, Weiss was pretty sure that there was something else also affecting Ruby. Unfortunately for her, Weiss was still figuring out how weres… worked. But if her memory served her right… she might've known someone who did.

Bringing out her scroll, she scrolled through her numbers list and began to look for one name in particular.

Coco Adel.

It had been a long time since the two of them had even seen each other. They weren't particularly close, but compared to most other people at school, back when she was still pursuing her further education, she wasn't the worst person to be around. She certainly could've done worse and the two of them hadn't ever been on bad terms.

However, the real reason she wanted to talk to Coco was because she had remembered that she had been learning a lot about weres. Of course, Weiss never really had any interest in such a venture. While she wasn't quite sure what happened to Coco after she left, it was still better than nothing.

As she dialed up the number, hoping for a response, Weiss wasn't sure what to say. Maybe a quick hello? Or maybe she should go straight to the point?

"Uhm? Hello?" came a voice from the scroll, putting her on the spot.

"Uhm… hi Coco. It's… Weiss." Weiss replied, awkwardly.

"Weiss? It's been some time. What have you been up to?" Coco asked, her tone much warmer than before.

"Ah not much, I suppose. I… ended up dropping out after a series of verbal disagreements with my father. And when his health deteriorated, I eventually filed a case against him and won." Weiss replied, briefly summing up almost everything that had happened. Of course, she hadn't told her what made her father eventually lose his mind, but that was a topic for another day.

"Dang… that's pretty rough."

"It was at first, then I sold the company."

"You what?"

"You heard me correctly, I sold my father's company." Weiss repeated.

"Wow Ice Queen, I knew you were bold but this? This is like, my level." Coco replied, her tone not implying anything in particular. "So, what have you been doing over the last couple of months?"

"I've been staying at home. Not particularly doing much of anything. It sure got a lot quieter once everyone moved out." Weiss replied.

"I'm… really sorry Weiss. Would you mind if I came over?"

"That's actually why I called you up. You mentioned, knowing a lot about weres right?"

"Yeah. I'm dating one myself." Coco replied, surprising Weiss.

"Wait… is that why you-" Weiss began, questioning Coco.

"No, not the only reason. You see I'm trying to branch out the Adel brand into something for everyone, that includes weres, getting to know a bit more about my girlfriend was also a plus." Coco replied, surprising Weiss, with the fact that much like herself Coco was also a lesbian. "You still there, Weiss?"

"Yeah of course! Just a lot to take in. For what's it worth, I think that's wonderful, how you're trying to be inclusive towards everyone." Weiss replied, being as genuine as she could be.

"Okay, who changed your opinions on weres cause, I sure know it wasn't your father." Coco replied, some of her usual snark bleeding into the conversation.

"Well… a few days ago, I met a were and I brought her home. She and I've been staying home ever since, trying to make-"

"I knew there was a reason why you always kept on refusing every boy you came across."

"It's not like that!" Weiss protested, her face flushing in embarrassment.

"Ohhh, I'm sure. So, tell me, has she marked you? Have you sle-" Coco asked, teasing her constantly. One of the things Weiss certainly hadn't missed.

"Coco Adel!"

"Ah, alright I'll stop. So you mentioned having a were girlfriend, which by the way if I can just say, good job on-" Coco carried on teasing, this time with a lot more snark than she had expected.

"She's not my-" Weiss protested again, her face reddening up even more.

"Why do you want me to come on by?"

"She's… been having some memory issues, and I'm not sure if her transformations are consistent."

"That last part… is a little concerning. What exactly are you talking about?"

"You think you can help?"

"Yeah of course, if I didn't Velvs would kill me over it."

"Velvs?"

"My girlfriend, she's a total sweetheart but get on her bad side and well… let's just say that bunnies have much bigger tempers than they let on." Coco replied, making both of them laugh, slightly. "So back to your were. Speaking of which, what's her name?"

"Ruby. She's a werewolf."

"Okay, uhm do you know where she was before you met her?"

"No. That part of memory isn't returning."

"Mhm, okay. And what's up with her transformations?"

"It's… strange? I've checked the lunar cycle and cross referenced it with most were cycles today and… her transformations are off. Days when she should be having everything, she only has her ears. Some days, when her ears are supposed to be there, her tail is instead. I'm not sure why her cycle is like that." Weiss explained, thinking back to when she had been doing her research while Ruby was asleep.

At the time, she hadn't bothered to bring it up with Ruby, but upon review, she could tell a lot more was off with Ruby than just her memories.

"Huh… that's weird. I'll come over soon and see what I can do to help out." Coco replied. "And… Thank you for calling up. It's good to hear you're doing okay." Coco replied, making Weiss feel…something, strange. She couldn't quite put her finger on it, but it felt… warm.

"Thanks… Coco." Weiss replied, shocked at how well the conversation had gone.

"Well, I'll be coming over soon after talking to Velvet, see you soon."

"Goodbye."

As she hung up the phone and took a sigh of relief, with Coco's help she might be able to figure out what was up with Ruby.

Speaking of which… she found Ruby's silver eyes boring inquisitively into her own, surprising her.

"Oh! Hello Ruby… I was just uhm-" Weiss tried to explain before being cut off.

"Who were you talking to?"

"A friend of mine from college. She knows a lot about weres, so I figured she might be able to help you out with what's been bothering you the most." Weiss replied, truthfully. Now wasn't the time to lie.

"College?" Ruby asked, jumping onto the sofa with Weiss, all her werewolf features on full display.

"I dropped out… after well… my father went insane." Weiss replied, a little uncomfortable by the topic.

Picking up on her distress, Ruby's ears lowered as she said. "I'm sorry, you don't need to tell me Weiss."

"It's alright, you had no idea of knowing and… I'm sure one day I'll be ready to talk about it. But not right now, okay?"

"Alright Weiss."

"But back to the point, uhh Coco's a nice person! She… runs the Adel brand of clothing and she's been recently trying to move into were-fashion. I think I saw a couple of headlines in the newspapers some time ago." Weiss explained to Ruby's clear disinterest.

"She's also one of the only people I know who knows about weres. Hell, she's even dating one herself." Weiss continued, much to Ruby's surprise.

"Wait really?" Ruby asked, her eyes widening.

"Mhm, her name is Velvet, but that's beside the point. I'm fairly sure she might be able to help you out with your memories and your transformations."

"My transformations?"

"Yeah… I checked the normal were cycles online and yours aren't matching up."

"Well… I mostly only transform in my sleep… so I don't really… know what's up with that." Ruby replied, confused.

"Do you feel okay?"

"Yeah! I feel fine! Just a little drowsy every now and then." Ruby replied, laying her head on Weiss's lap, making her blush once again.

"Well, whatever the case, I'm sure… Coco might be able to help out with-" Weiss continued before she noticed Ruby's head had gone slack. "Ruby?"

As she moved her head around, she found Ruby's silver eyes were wide open, but she wasn't responding to anything. Placing her head against her chest, Weiss was horrified to hear… nothing. No rise and fall of her chest, no response to the environment. Just two silver eyes looking up at the sky in horror.

"Ruby?!" Weiss asked, panic setting into her voice. "RUBY?!"

As she pushed her chest desperately to get a response, she only ended up hearing the loudest howl she had ever heard. Her head practically splitting in pain, Weiss nearly fell to the floor as Ruby got up, her entire body slowly growing more and more fur all over her. As she watched in horror as this… thing suddenly grew teeth and fur nearly everywhere on her body, she heard Ruby's voice, desperately whimpering.

"Weiss! Get out of here! Lock me up someplace and don't open it till the night is over!" Ruby screamed desperately, tears welling her eyes as she clutched head in her hands, howling in agony.

As the werewolf in front of her howled into the night, Weiss desperately grabbed the werewolf and pushed her into the bedroom and locked the door shut with a key. Heart pounding in fear, and shocked beyond belief, Weiss… nearly fell onto the floor from exhaustion, when she noticed… her pocket was glowing.

As she reached into her pocket, she pulled out a silver crystal. Much like the ones her father tried mining. Just holding the thing was making her tired. She had to destroy it.

As she heard the sound of wood being scraped, from the door, Weiss threw the crystal out of her room and through a window. As soon as she managed to throw it, she felt a lot better right up until she heard a low whimper from the door and a large thud as something large fell over.

Fear and Panic setting in, Weiss desperately tried to unlock the door… to find… Ruby lifeless on the floor.

"No. No. No! NO!"

As Weiss immediately came down to turn around the werewolf, tears welling in her eyes, she found herself almost unable to move Ruby at all. Checking for her pulse, Weiss tried her best to hear something, anything that would tell her that Ruby was okay, only to hear… nothing? The pounding in her head was making it hard to figure that out.

Struggling not to fall further and further into hopelessness, Weiss took a few deep breaths, enough to calm her down slightly before she tried rolling Ruby's body. As she struggled to roll Ruby on her back, her own thoughts ripped away at her. Maybe all of this would've been avoided if Weiss had been more careful. If she had just brought this up with Ruby a day ago, she wouldn't have ended up like this.

Maybe she had just lost the only friend she had ever truly made, all because she wasn't observant enough. Maybe… she was just destined to be alone.

As Weiss desperately placed her head on Ruby's chest to notice something, trying to ignore the whirlwind of sadness and despair her mind was putting her through, she was horrified to hear… nothing.

Tears running down her cheek, she tried checking again and this time… again, nothing. As she began to push into Ruby's chest with her hands, hoping, begging that this wasn't Ruby's end, she breathed a huge sigh of relief when she managed to notice Ruby's chest rising up and down, indicating she was breathing.

Breathing rapidly as she placed Ruby next to the bed, breathing sharply with every move, she felt completely and utterly exhausted. What should've been just one day where she got to figure things out with Ruby, nearly ended up a disaster. As she heard the doorbell ring, her heart practically soared as her mind went to Coco.

At least until she walked out the room and realized, there was no way Coco could've gotten here this quickly. Closing the door shut again and locking Ruby inside, Weiss was now on high alert. Grabbing the umbrella from the night she first met Ruby, she cautiously opened the door… to find a lady mostly covered in a black cloak, her amber eyes staring uncomfortably into her soul.

"Wh-Who are you? What do you want?" Weiss asked, hiding the umbrella besides the door. With the aura this woman was giving off, Weiss was pretty sure she was going to have to defend herself.

"Just looking for someone that belongs to me." The lady said in a hushed tone, her silky voice only adding to Weiss's worry.

"You mean something?" Weiss asked, a little confused.

"No. Someone." The lady replied, setting off more and more of Weiss's alarms.

The more time she spent with this lady and away from Ruby, the likelier it was that Ruby wouldn't be able to get the medical help she needed.

"Well, I'm sorry but I'm a little busy at the moment. So why don't you-"

"Tsk tsk, not so fast Weiss Schnee. I didn't come all this way just to be denied by some failure of an Atlesian Elite." The lady continued, further beginning to irritate Weiss. "I've come here for a very very simple goal. You can either help me out or pay the consequences."

Now this woman was just pissing her off. If it was a fight she wanted, it was a fight she would get.

"I'm going to ask you to kindly leave before I decide to call the cops on you." Weiss replied, reaching for her umbrella.

"Oh, I'll be going alright, just… not without your little friend you're housing." The lady said, shocking her to the core.

Did she mean… Ruby?

As she stood there transfixed in shock, she noticed the lady pull out the same stone Weiss threw outside her home, this time glowing even more intently. Hearing the sound of howling from her room, she turned around in horror to find the door to have been destroyed by Ruby.

Eyes wide with shock, her heart pounding in fear as Ruby began to walk closer and closer towards her, her once silver eyes now an empty black… staring intently into Weiss.

"I was planning on just erasing your memories of this whole incident and taking back my pet, but now I think I'm just going to kill you instead." The lady said, her smug aura finally revealing what she intended to do.

To kill Weiss, with Ruby as her weapon.

"Ruby?" Weiss tried to call out, praying that not all was lost.

As no response came, other than a low howl, she repeated again, only to once again be met with the same sound. As she began to move closer and closer towards Weiss, her dull, lifeless eyes scaring her more than any other nightmare she ever had.

Reaching for the umbrella, she found herself grabbed by the lady whose uncomfortable grip began to sear into her skin making her scream in agony. As she grabbed the umbrella with her other hand and whacked the lady across her face, Weiss was grabbed by her neck and thrown into the wall.

"A shame you had to come in my way, but I suppose with how little the Schnee name means in Atlas these days, I won't have much to worry about." The lady said, which did not deter her one but. But seeing Ruby by her side, and hearing this monster call her just a pet was only making her more and more angry by the minute.

"Kill her."

As she began to see Ruby heading closer and closer towards her, Weiss merely accepted her fate. She was going to die here, all alone as the one person she thought she could trust, being the one to kill her and then be taken away. As she was grabbed by the throat, with Ruby's brandishing her claws, ready to tear into it, she merely said.

"I'm sorry… I failed you… Ruby."