Weiss stared into open space after Lux had left the warehouse. Not only has Team RWBY been beaten by him, she allowed her target to escape!
As much as she wants to chase after Lux, Weiss' stamina was so low that it's unlikely that she'll catch up to him and it's doubtful that she can put up a fight now that her Aura is flickering. She had already spent enough Aura to summon the Arma Gigas to fight against him and yet it wasn't enough to put him down. Her fight with him was tougher than she thought. Not to mention that she can't leave her teammates alone while she chases after him.
What caught her attention though was why he refused to surrender to them. He mentioned to Ruby before the fight that he does not want to meet his younger brother and his father. Why does Lux want to avoid them after all these years? He did hire private investigators to find him, yet, it was clear that their client missed him. It seems that his relationship with them is estranged, judging by his curt answer. But why exactly do they want with him in the first place? Surely there's more to it than visiting his father before her final moments.
Lux's refusal to surrender, and the fact that he defeated her team just irritates her. Why can't he just surrender peacefully? Why is he being so stubborn about it? It would have been easy if he just obeyed them and bring him in to their client's home without the fuss. Seeing him being all so nonchalant and confident while he fought her and her teammates was infuriating, even when the odds are stacked against him by four to one. And that smile! Weiss really wanted to wiped it off of his face the next time she sees him.
Looking at the flower Lux gave her though; her heart flutters as she recalls the words he spoke to her. At first, it was scathing and almost borderline insulting that it triggered unwanted memories of people talking behind her back. Then, he complimented how beautiful she looks and how skilled she was at fighting. Weiss would have rejected it, thinking that he was just flattering her, but, to her surprise, she didn't. What does he see in her?
Hold on she thought. She grasps her own cheeks and felt the heat rising from her face. Why am I thinking about him?!
"Weiss!"
She quickly hides the flower in her back pouch when she hears her name being called. When she turns around, Weiss finds Ruby, who has managed to regain consciousness, waving at her to get her attention. Grabbing Myrtenaster on the floor and sheathing it by her side, Weiss trudges towards them, thankfully something to get rid of the confusion in her mind.
"Are you alright Weiss?" Ruby asks as she rushes towards her.
"I'm fine," she told her.
Ruby pressed on. "Did Lux do something to you while you fought against him? Did he escape?"
Weiss shifted her gaze. "Aside from beating me and humiliating our team, he didn't do anything much other than leaving the building" she responded, flustered at her partner's questions.
"Then why are you touching your cheek?" her partner pointed out. She gasped before Weiss could answer. "Don't tell me he decked you and left a bruise there after the fight?"
Puzzled, Weiss instinctively removed her hand away from her cheek once she realized what Ruby meant. How long has she been doing that? "I-it was nothing," she muttered. While Ruby didn't look thoroughly convinced at her response, she didn't seem to notice her blushing and remained worried at what Lux did to her.
"Hey!" Blake called out them.
The two looked relieved when they turned to see their teammate looking fine. They found Blake standing in front of Yang who still encased in ice. Their combination attack was supposed to immobilize Lux during the fight and bring him in to their client. To think that it was their fault that caused her to be like this.
"Yang…" they muttered at her somberly, feeling guilty at what they had done to her.
"How are we going to free her?" Blake wonders as she eyes at her partner with concern.
A metaphorical light bulb popped up in Ruby's head. "How about I shoot the ice?" she suggested innocently.
"Absolutely not!" Weiss responded sternly.
"I don't think chipping the ice by shooting at it would free your sister though" Blake added matter-of-factly.
While two of her teammates are pondering how they could thaw Yang out of the ice, Weiss had an idea on her own. She inspects her weapon first and checks if she has enough red Dust left in the revolver chamber. Once she knows that there are still some left, Weiss hops on top of the block of ice and uses Myrtenaster to stab at it, much to her Ruby and Blake's surprise. The blade of her weapon starts to glow bright red and heats up, causing the ice to steam and fizzle as it melts.
The ice starts to melt rather quickly than expected and, before she realized, cracks. Startled, Weiss falls down and lands on her butt as she sees the ice that is encased around her teammate fractures open. Yang then emerges before her, her fists tightly clenched as her eyes turned red with fury.
"Where is that guy?" she demanded. "I swear I'll–"
Yang suddenly sneezed. A sliver of snot was dripping from her nose as her body began to shiver from the cold. Blake pulled out a box of tissues from her bag and thoughtfully gave it to her. Yang thanks her partner and then proceeds to blow her nose. As she calms down, her red eyes revert back to its original lilac color.
"Ugh…" she sniffled, a sliver of snot continues to drip from her nose. "I can't believe the guy made us look like amateurs."
Blake sighed. "Tell me about it" she agreed as her partner grabbed a handful of tissues. "We kept hitting him with everything we got. Honestly, I find it hard to believe that we lost. We're already experienced Huntresses."
Yang blew her nose. "He's lucky that he didn't cut a single strand of my hair though," Yang begrudgingly said as her body temperature began to rise significantly, warming her body in the process. "If he did…" her temper flared up while Blake rolled her eyes.
She turns to her younger sister. "How about you Ruby?" she asked, concerned. "I saw everything between you and Lux. I thought you had the advantage."
"That's what I thought too" Ruby whined as she ruffles her own hair in frustration. "I was going all out with my power to stop him" she frowned. "But he was tough and he made a barrier to knock me out. Can you believe that?"
Her older sister suddenly tackled her into a bear hug. "At least my little sister is alright!"
"She won't be if you keep hugging her that tight" Blake told her partner. Realizing that Ruby is practically trying to escape her bear hug, Yang releases her while she gasps for air. She stuck out her tongue in embarrassment and mumbled an apology to her younger sister while Blake shook her head before returning to the subject.
"Seriously, the guy is crazy" Yang remarked. "We were told that this Lux guy was really good at fighting. I guess we underestimated him a bit."
"A bit is an understatement there."
"But what are we going to do?" Ruby groaned. "We lost and we have no idea where Lux is."
Silence fell upon them. Most of their conversation would only lead to them talking about their target than the fight itself. The sting of their loss rang heavily in their minds.
When Ruby mentioned that they have no idea where Lux might be after the fight though, Weiss recalls what he said before he left: If you really want to capture me, why don't you and your team stop to by at the Chiaroscuro tomorrow.
So, she proceeds to tell her teammates about it and they were initially surprised and relieved that Weiss found their target's location. However, Blake points something unexpected at her response.
"Don't you think it's a bit strange?"
"How so?"
"The fact that he revealed his whereabouts to us means that he has something in mind by the time we arrived there. For all we know, it could be a trick."
Yang nodded. "How do we know that he's telling the truth?"
Weiss mentally berated herself for not thinking of that. They exhausted themselves trying to bring bring him in, only to be played like a fiddle and embarrass them. And yet, she found herself trusting his words despite it all. The question is why would he tell her about it in the first place? Whatever the case, it was the only lead they had.
"Guys, this is our only shot" Weiss insists. "While our client gave us enough information to find him and we just lucky to bump into him, Lux defeated us and managed to escape. On the bright side, our target just told us where he would be tomorrow and we'll have to risk it. If we don't take this opportunity, he'll be gone and we'll have no way of locating him.
Her teammates looked doubtful but she continued, "Don't tell me all of you are down because one guy defeated us. C'mon, we're Team RWBY! We fought criminals, psychopaths, evil scientists, and the Queen of Grimm! I don't think losing to one guy will be problematic and something to mope about. What's the worse that can happen?" Weiss paused, taking a breath before continuing for dramatic effect. "We'll get 'Lux-y' when we meet him there if we do this."
Her teammates were speechless and Weiss looked rather pleased with herself, especially with that pun she made at the end. However, Weiss grew uneasy at the silence until they suddenly burst into laughter.
"Why are you all laughing?" she demanded, flustered at their loud reaction.
Ruby wipes away the tear from her eye. "We didn't mean to laugh at you" she responded as she snorted with laughter. "It's just we didn't expect that kinds of talk with you."
Weiss huffed. "I was giving a rousing speech to keep our spirits up."
Even Blake bit at her lip trying not to laugh. "I have to admit, while your pun is not as terrible as Yang–"
"Hey!"
" –you make a good point." Blake smiled, an expression she rarely shows. "We had worse after all. This isn't the first time we've lost, and certainly won't be the last.
Yang slapped Weiss in the back. "Your puns are improving all right, but it's still a long road ahead to go to become 'Weiss-er' at the art of puns" She said, laughing at her own joke while Weiss, who was reeling in from the slap, cringed at her teammate's terrible pun. Ruby giggled at her older sister's joke while Blake simply covered her face with one hand and shaking her head, muttering something under her breath.
Yang then smacks her fists together and made a mischievous smile. "The next time we meet though, I'm going to beat him up so bad that he'll regret messing with Team RWBY!"
Weiss nodded approvingly. She was glad that her teammates' confidence is restored. Although she is already planning on their confrontation with Lux tomorrow, her main concern right now is to return to their base of operations at the Schnee Manor with her team and rest until their Aura is replenished. Hopefully this will keep her distracted from thinking about him.