Unconsciousness, it seemed, was similar to the sensation of having a warm blanket wrapped around you. You're warm and cozy, just to the point of not caring about anything that wasn't the maintenance of keeping yourself in that state. Weiss's limbs buzzed with the fuzziness, almost as if they weren't a part of her anymore. She couldn't feel the constant abuse and torture on her body from the last few days. Has it been a week? Weiss didn't know anymore. She'd lost the ability to keep track the first time she'd passed out. Pure nothingness surrounded her. Endless, silent and unwavering. It was addictive, holding Weiss within its merciful embrace and not letting go. If she was any more aware, she might've thought it similar to an obsession. No matter how much she struggled to get free (in a few attempts she had made, at least) she wouldn't get anywhere. She'd lose herself in the passing of time. A floating soul without a body, until finally the darkness took control of her, and she'd lose sense of who she was. She disappeared, and never returned.
She strangely favoured having no real senses; it was almost bliss. No pain, no fear, no worries or responsibilities. She didn't have to worry about the seemingly endless rage that her Father fueled, or the fears of letting her teammates down. Weiss greedily soaked in those ideas, desperate not to let go. She'd never felt this truly free before. She could lament on thoughts that had previously upset her, or shift through memories that she'd buried deep in her mind, not feel anything while watching them. She let her mind wander in limbo for as long as she wanted, until she saw fit to finally face whatever torment that awaits her. Sure, there were moments where her eyelids would flutter and her vision would fill with pure, blinding white or blue, like a thunderstrike in the night, or she'd feel a single pinch on her arm and hear a sourceless slow beat. Her body would flare in temperature too, from a constant, stabbing veil of ice on her shoulders to an almost unbearable inferno that coursed through every vein in her body like molten lava, but it had been nothing but the lonely, inky abyss for a long while now.
If anything, she would've been glad to stay in her warm, painless realm as long as she wanted. There was nothing worth waking up to, not as long as she remained in the White Fang's grasp. Their little "conversion" sessions left a lot to be desired, and although Weiss couldn't feel any pain, she did recognise the uncomfortable shifting in her chest, and the unnatural angle at which her wrist stuck out. She knew that the second she woke up, she'd be objected to the torture of her own body, the cold, writhing agony that accompanied every twitch and ripple of her muscles.
That annoying beeping was back again, too, returned from the unknown that it had faded to earlier. Weiss only wished she had a way to turn it off. It was as if it was waiting long enough for her to start to fall into the limbo of sleep only to start up again, like an alarm clock too far out of reach.
There was a foggy, dull light ahead of her, and blurry shadow-like specters surrounding it. The beeping was coming from there, Weiss realised, moving her lead-weighted body to move towards it. She found her footing beneath her suddenly, her knees buckling beneath the weight of herself as she lost the sense of weightlessness she'd grown to appreciate. She scrunched her eyes at the discomfortable feeling in them as the fuzziness faded from her toes, replaced by relentless cramps that echoed through her calves. She forced herself to her feet, her fingers cramping after touching the flooring beneath her. Each heavy step she took, she got near to the light ahead of her and the nearer she got, the less blurry the world seemed. The weight of it almost became lighter as she reached out, the warm white glow enveloping the tips of her fingers. As soon as her skin brushed off it's warmth, it rushed at her, swallowing her into a void of blurry sight.
Weiss closed her eyes in fright, burning at the sudden brightness that assaulted them. Her eyelids felt heavier than she remembered, weighed, closed and fighting against her as she tried to open them again. She could slowly feel her sensations returning to her. Her hearing, her sense of smell, her sense of touch-
Everything hurts.
Her body felt foreign to her, a heavy weight pinning her soul beneath it. A nauseous feeling filled her stomach as the pain returned, dull throbs racking her shoulders and back with long, sharp claws. Her joints feel stiff and sore, and the skin along her neck and down her torso feels tight and raw as it moved. She was all too aware of the rising and falling of her chest and how the scarred tissue moved with it. Strangely though, she felt calm, surrounded by a comfortable buzz and that ridiculous, annoying beep beep beep that came from somewhere beside her. She wanted it to stop, slightly shifting her hand.
Weiss hesitated.
Her wrists were free.
She thought for a minute. What had happened before she passed out? She tried to search the inky abyss she'd just escaped. Foggy images and dull voices originating from somewhere, but they were undecipherable and jumbled. No matter how much focus she tried to gather.
Listen to your surroundings, Weiss. Just like Marion told you.
"Hey, look!"
There was a shuffle. Clothing moving off itself, someone moving to look at her. An aura brushed off hers, warm and friendly. The beeping got faster, taunting.
"Is she waking up?"
Weiss bit the tip of her tongue lightly, noticing the familiar feeling of her aura around her, protecting her. It was like a comfortable shawl around her, fitted perfectly to her slimming body. She missed that familiar sensation.
"Weiss?"
"Weiss..." A hand landed on her chest, bloody. Weiss looked up, terror in her eyes as blood dripped onto her face. "Hey now, that look doesn't suit you. Smile."
Her eyes flew open in panic, her body following suit as she shot up with a harsh and painful gasp. Her hand clawed tightly at her chest, each breath she took only magnifying the agony that resided there. She was cold, freezing actually, her hair cascading down either side of her head and blocking out her view. She stared emptily down at her hands as she clutched at her chest, heaving, fingers curled tightly around the fabric. She could taste copper at the back of her throat, and the beep followed the increasing rate of her heart beat.
"Weiss?!" Soft hands landed on her shoulders, holding her tight as she swayed. Calloused thumbs pushed comfortingly into her shoulder blades as Weiss's racing heart began to slow, each beat of the organ slowly easing the pain that coursed through her. She let out the breath she hadn't realized she was holding, wincing as her shoulders moved with her. Her stomach churned, and she swallowed as watery saliva filled her mouth.
"Weiss- Weiss! Hey, listen, you need to relax or you'll hurt yourself!"
Her world was spinning, the silvery waterfall of her own hair swirling and waving. She was struggling to catch her breath, each inhale cut short as agony assaulted her ribs. Her hand loosened on the fabric on her chest as she started to get her breathing under control, eyes watering beneath scrunched eyelids and furrowed brows.
Everything hurts. She wanted it to stop.
"Deep breaths, okay?" Another palm landed on her back, rubbing soothing circles at the base of her neck. "In and out, you can do this."
Weiss nodded slightly, focusing on taking a long breath in and a short one out. She spluttered a few times upon her first few attempts, but finally after what felt like a lifetime, she finally grasped the hold of herself again, adrenaline burning out of her system. She gently lowered back to the base of what she could only assume was a bed, grimacing uncomfortably as pressure was reapplied to the painful portions of her lower back. She gritted her teeth in discomfort, feeling as someone brushed her hair out of her face.
"There you go," a voice hums close, no doubt the person who fixed her hair for her. Weiss grunts slightly, fluttering her eyes and wincing at the bright white that meets them. She closes them again.
"Light…" she croaks out, her voice hoarse and throat dry. There's another shuffle beside her, and a quick click before the light beyond Weiss' vision dulls a bit. She squinted her eyes slightly, only to find the blinding glow has been replaced by a duller white, one much more manageable than before. She felt her body relax under it as the last of her adrenaline died off, her head sinking deep into the pillow beneath it.
"Better?"
"Yes," she whispers back, finally finding the courage to open her eyes again. She'd met with two relieved - and frankly quite exhausted - faces. Blake and Yang towered over her, in a mixture of mild surprise but overwhelming relief. Weiss would have cried if she wasn't exhausted (despite only waking up, she was already desperate to fall back asleep). Her bottom lip quivered for a heartbeat. "You're...here."
Yang's shoulders jolted, either from a hidden sob or a chuckle Weiss couldn't tell, "Of course we are, Ice Queen. Couldn't leave you behind, y'know?" She sat down to Weiss's left, leaning onto her knees. She pinched something out of her eyes. "It's good to see you again."
"Yang.. crying?" Weiss almost didn't believe her eyes. Is this really Yang Xiao Long? The blonde oaf who punched through their bathroom wall trying to kill a spider. That Yang Xiao Long? She huffed weakly, "I guess I really am dead."
Yang chuckles warmly, "Not yet, though you really tried your hardest. Really gave us a scare for a while there."
"How do you feel?" Blake asked, shuffling her chair closer to Weiss's side. Weiss pondered her response, trying to find a word that accompanied all the agony that was coursing through her.
"Like death." she decided, lifting a shaking hand to look at her wrists. They were wrapped in bandages, but Weiss could feel the bruises underneath from the shackles. She felt a strange freedom at the ability to move her arms without being restrained.
Weiss swears she heard a purr break from Blake's voice, "That makes sense, considering how we found you." she hesitates a moment. "Well, how Ruby found you."
Then it hit her. Her partner wasn't here. Concern pooling in her gut for a moment, she looked around to make sure she hadn't missed the dolt behind her sister or the faunus, "Where is Ruby?"
"She's getting looked over by doctors before she can be discharged," Yang said, "She's gonna be so happy to see you awake. She'd sat by your bed for almost two weeks."
Two weeks? Was that how long she'd been unconscious for?
"You should go get her, Yang," Blake suggested, amber eyes watching her partner softly, "Someone has to make sure she doesn't hurt herself again running up here."
Yang let out half a laugh as she stood, stretching out her arms far over her head with a dull crack. It made Weiss feel uncomfortably small in her bed, "Sure thing. I could use a walk anyway." She looked down at Weiss again, a fond look in her face. "Please don't do any of that again. I don't know if Blake could restrain you like I did."
The feline beside Weiss let out an offended snort, "I have clones, Yang, and besides, I think you'll need to use all of your strength when you tell Ruby Weiss is awake."
"Uh-huh. That'll be fun," Yang turned and began to pace towards the door, "I'll be back soon, don't miss me too much."
Blake let out a dreamy sigh as Yang turned the corner, earning her a raised eyebrow from the Schnee beside her. "Did I miss something?"
The faunus looked up with a flush on her face, which sealed Weiss's suspicions, "I- I don't know what you're talking about."
Weiss frowned, "Blake, I may be injured, but I'm not dense." The ears atop of Blake's head drooped, her lips pressed tightly together. The Schnee sighed lightly, "You always seemed to get along. How is it beyond me."
"I can always share," Blake teased, earning a weak chuckle from Weiss that she immediately regretted, a twinge of pain spreading over her like lava.
"Tall, blonde and rowdy aren't my type." Weiss retorted, closing her eyes and leaning her head back as her wounds throbbed. Her hand still held the fabric on her chest, tightening every now and then as it flared. Blake watched in pooled concern, eyes flickering to the drip that resided beside her, and then back to her hands on her lap. She pressed her cat ears back, the slowed beeping and the raspy breaths of her white haired partner scarred into her brain. They resided beside her memory of first seeing Weiss the day they'd rescued her, tubes and wires attached to her bandaged body, the newly wrapped wounds already starting to bleed through.
"I'm sorry," Blake murmured, "I helped Ruby plan everything, I just... I didn't think she'd go to a black market of all things."
Weiss opened her eyes again, the stickiness on their edges threatening to pull her back to sleep, "It wasn't your fault. You're not-" she took a breath, "You're not a White Fang member anymore."
"I should've known they were planning something- They were too quiet." Blake mumbled, looking up as Weiss lifted her hand, reaching out to grasp hers. Blake held the bandaged hand delicately, like she was made of glass.
Weiss's eyes were tired looking, but they held a spark deep beneath them, "Stop blaming yourself before I get Yang back."
Blake fell quiet in shock for a second, before a shy laugh broke through. She gently squeezed the small hand in her grasp, placing her free hand to cup Weiss's fingers in hers, "I wouldn't like that."
"That's what I thought." Weiss hummed, looking down the skin on her arms. Fresh scars peaked out beneath some of her bandages along her forearm, little patches that would stay there the rest of her life. A small frown pulled at the corners of her lips, her brows knotting together.
"Weiss?" Blake asked curiously.
"Were they bad?" Weiss said quietly, her gaze unmoving from her wrist, "The scars?"
Blake took a breath, debating on lying to her friend about the state of her body before releasing it. Weiss wasn't always going to be covered in bandages, "They- There's a lot of them around your chest." She said, keeping her eyes low in an attempt not to stare towards the aforementioned spot, "And down your back. I don't know how many more there were, I'm sorry."
Weiss didn't respond for a while, staring down at her wrist silently. Complexion was something that ran through her family. White hair, crystal blue eyes, pale skin, it was what defined a Schnee, and it was to be maintained vigorously. For a moment, the thought of what her father would say flashed in her mind. She could remember his reaction to the scar over her eye when it first happened. Despite it being his fault to begin with, with the giant Geist-possessed puppet of her grandfather's armor sent to test her, disgust is what she has been met with. She could remember the harshness in his tone as he went on one of his rage filled rants, while she had been forced to sit and listen, the stitches on her eye still fresh and the cotton pad faintly patched with red.
"You will cover that disgrace," He had said, "See to it that nobody knows it is there. Am I understood?"
Of course, Weiss had followed his order for some time. Every morning she'd stare in the mirror and hate herself for being so weak, even though she had, in fact, killed the knight in the end. The scar had been the bane of her existence, the layers upon layers of makeup covering her face only faintly covering freshly swollen, ribbed tissue that reached down as far as the bottom of her cheek. When she began to defect from his will, she slowly started putting less and less makeup over it. She still covered plenty of it, tidying it up to be nothing but a simple line over her eyelid and above her eyebrow, but certainly not as much as she used too.
That had been one small scar, what would he think about a selection across her entire torso? Weiss liked to wear sleeveless dresses that displayed her chest, but now, she doubted her father would even approve of that. If her scars were as big and obvious as they felt against her skin, she doubted she'd ever be allowed to see society again. She didn't even know if she could look at herself in the mirror, to see what she'd become.
Weiss used to be proud of her beauty. She'd always enjoyed her flawless skin, her sleek white hair and smooth body. It was why she showed it off when she could, with her dresses and even her combat outfit showing as much skin as modestly possible. It was something she'd enjoyed doing, and one of the few things she could enjoy about herself. Now she couldn't even do that.
"Weiss?" She looked up, finding Blake to be watching her with an empathic look in her eyes. "Scars don't define who you are."
A quiet huff was how the heiress answered. How was it that Blake always knew exactly what was going around her head? "My Father will beg to differ."
She could see the faunus tensed, her hands tightening somewhat on the hand still in her grip, "Your father doesn't have the right to. You were attacked, Weiss, you couldn't have prevented it."
She could have, if only she had brought Myrtenaster with her on that day, she wouldn't look like this. "A scar is a scar," she breathed, pulling her hand away shakily and letting it set in her lap, "It doesn't matter how I got it, especially to him. Beauty before health, especially for the heiress of the company." She sneered at that last comment, those words burned deep into her mind. Starved herself if she has to stay thin, don't work too hard to build up muscle. Men didn't like strong and independent women, so Weiss didn't like men.
"You shouldn't have to follow rules like that, as a huntress-"
Weiss sighed bitterly, "I've done a lot he isn't happy with." She pinched the sheets slightly between her fingers. "I'm.. I'm not particularly looking forward to meeting him again."
"Well, we'll be right here if he comes for you," Blake reached out and gently brushed her palm off the back of Weiss's bandaged knuckles, "We won't let him do anything to you."
Weiss smiled weakly, "Thanks, Blake."
The faunus smiled back. And not a moment later, the door to the hospital room swung open with a loud bang as it rattled off the metal stands. Weiss winced at the sound, turning to look at the source of the clattering sound only to be engulfed in a flame of roses that smothered her in it's scent. She let out a strangled sound, which made the body pull back as quickly as it had latched onto her. Weiss fell forward, arms holding onto the pale fabric over her body.
"Weiss! Oh my gosh, I'm sorry!" Ruby backed away, hands hovering in the air like she'd committed a crime. Weiss sucked in a wavy breath, her body throbbing from the force that had just slammed into her. Her heart monitor reflected it, the slow pace speeding up slightly. "Are you okay? I didn't hurt you, did I?"
"You need to be a little more careful around her, sis." Yang ruffled the top of the younger girl's hair, sitting back into her seat again with a huff. "She's still not better yet, she hasn't got super healing powers like you do."
"I'm sorry!" Ruby whined again, bowing her head. Weiss scowled as the wave finally passed, falling back into her pillows with a disgruntled sigh.
"You need to be more careful, you dolt." She grumbled. She debated flicking her partner's forehead, but judging from the hard-plastic support Ruby had on her shoulder, she was suffering enough. Ruby lifted her gaze from the floor, tears on the verge of falling. Weiss immediately felt a pang of guilt strike at her heart, her eyes widening. She thought Ruby would have understood Weiss hadn't meant that seriously. "Why are you crying?"
"I- I'm just.." She wiped at her face, the stubborn tears still falling from her glassy silver eyes, "I'm just glad you're okay. I didn't think- haha..."
A warm smile bloomed on Weiss' face as she realised why her partner was crying. She sighed, "Come here then."
Ruby looked up in confusion, still furiously wiping as salty tears dampened her cheeks, "Wh-what?"
"I'm letting you hug me, you dunce." Weiss said, closing her eyes and looking away as heat grew on her face. She could almost imagine the stupid smile that grew on her partner's face before she reached in, arms wrapped tight around Weiss's back. She flinched slightly, but kept her mouth shut. She could deal with the throbbing for a minute or two. She had a feeling Ruby had been desperately looking forward to hugging her, and Weiss didn't mind it so much either.
She heard a snicker, and glanced across Ruby's hood to Yang. The blonde held her hands together in a heart shape and mouthed "cute", which made the heiress frown in annoyance. This was merely a hug between friends- maybe she was jealous?
"Do you want one too, Yang?" Weiss teased, narrowing her eyes at the older sibling. Yang grinned in response, getting off her chair and marching over, wrapping her arms around both Ruby and Weiss together. The heiress's eyes widened in surprise, her head resting between Ruby and Yang's shoulders as she awkwardly glanced at the tallest of them all. She hadn't actually expected her to do it.
"I thought you'd never ask," she mumbled into her neck, her warmth comforting against her cold body. Weiss's lips quivered as a third presence hugged her from behind as Blake joined in. The faunus nuzzled into the softness of her hair, and Weiss could feel the care that came off all of them in waves. It was almost suffocating. Tears slipped from her eyes as a hoarse laugh erupted from her throat, her face nestled into Ruby's cloaked shoulder to hide her shame.
These people, Weiss mused, they're all insufferable, getting all weepy just because I'm alive. They'd risked everything for her, despite how mean and cruel she'd been to them in the past, despite how easy it would've been to leave her behind and move on. Weiss wasn't as integral to team RWBY as the others were, at least in her opinion. They would've been able to function without her easily, considering she only played as a supporting huntress. They didn't need her, but they still risked their lives to save her, and for some reason, Weiss couldn't appreciate that choice enough.
She'd been scared, terrified even, when she had been in Torchwick's grasp. Even though she'd tried to be brave and stone-faced, she'd never been in so much fear in her life. Every day she longed to be home, to be back in Beacon with Yang teasing her, and Ruby being a nuisance, and Blake just watching in amusement from behind a filthy novel. She'd dreamed of that every aching hour she was there. She hadn't expected to survive, she'd been ready to accept death, to never see her friends- no, her family, again. But they had come for her, and now, being here, smothered by all of them in this tight, emotional embrace… She was so, so thankful.
"Thank you." She mumbled, her voice muffled by the soft red fabric her face was pressed against. "Thank you all so much."
Weiss had been expecting her father to visit her at some point, but she hadn't been expecting it so soon.
Staring down at her new scroll that sat uselessly between her fingers, the warning message her father had sent about his incoming arrival flashing on the blue hue. She watched it as if the man was going to crawl through the screen itself and drag her back through it.
"I'm coming to visit."
Who knew four words could be so threatening? Weiss certainly hadn't, nor had she expected the crimson painted glare that had filled Yang's eyes when she'd seen the message.
"What do you think he wants?" Blake asked timidly, having noticed the heiress's concerned look over the top of her book. Yang and Ruby both looked up in dread, aware of the weight of the conversation that was incoming. Weiss took a deep breath and sighed, leaning back against her propped up bed, her gaze lost on the wall opposite her for a moment.
"I don't know, frankly." Weiss flatly said. "I was expecting a phone call, or something of that caliber, not an in-person appearance."
"Why wouldn't your father see you in person?" Ruby asked, leaning against the supportive railing on Weiss' right. "I mean, he's your father, and you're in a hospital."
Weiss huffed, glancing down at the message again, "My father isn't like yours, Ruby. His affections are only a front for the public." She noticed how Ruby's eyes grew downcast at that comment. However, Weiss wasn't one to hide the bitter truth. Jacques Schnee wasn't a nice man behind the public eye, and she wasn't going to start acting like he was. Weiss had doubts he even liked having children, that it was only a necessity rather than a pleasure. "He's likely only visiting to tell me how being captured was a bad public image."
"It sounds like your father is a douchebag." Yang commented casually, leaning back in her wooden chair.
"Yang! Language!" Ruby cried out.
"I'm only telling the truth." the blonde shrugged, "The fact that he's visiting so soon is kinda sketchy considering that you were gone almost a week and he made no effort to, y'know, look for you?"
Weiss hummed in agreement, but she already knew the reason for Yang's second comment, as much as it pained her, "I'm expendable in his eyes. If I did die, he simply would've passed the heritage to Whitley, my younger brother - appeared on public news for a statement and moved on." She felt something tug at her heart as her own words left her. "It's just how he is."
"Weiss…" Yang warbled sadly. Shaking her head slightly, Weiss looked back at the blonde with a downcast gaze. It was quite sad, if she was being honest with herself. She had tried all her life to appease her father by training, by studying into the late hours of the morning and slowly teaching herself to fit under his ideal of perfection. She'd bent her personality so much to try and be the perfect heiress, and the ideal daughter, but no matter how much she did, no matter how many grimm and how many top of class exams she did, it never seemed to impress him. She always seemed to be outshined by Winter, because Winter was second-in-command in the Atlesian Army by the age of twenty, while Weiss was down 'playing with children' as her father had put it.
A knock at the door brought her back out of her thoughts and put her attention towards the entrance to the room. A nurse timidly peeked her head around the corner of the door as she opened it, a fearful look on her face, "Miss Schnee? Your father is here to visit you."
She felt anxiousness pull at her heart, swallowing thickly with as faint of a nod as she could manage, "Thank you, you can send him in." The woman disappeared with a quick nod, her heels clicking as she moved further away from the door. Weiss gripped the sheets, "You guys should probably just wait outside. I doubt he'll be here for very long."
"Uh, no?" Yang said, standing from her chair. Weiss could feel the heat of her semblance warming the room again, faint embers flickering off her golden mane, "If your dad is gonna be a jerk, then we're staying right here."
Weiss sighed, "And I appreciate the thought of that, I do, but I would rather see you all after I leave the hospital."
Yang's face twisted in confusion, but thankfully, Blake was there to clear it, "Would he really take you away from Beacon?"
"If he thought you were an unsuitable team, yes," Weiss looked up at them, and then to the door, "I haven't even notified him that Ruby is the team leader, and that I am not. I think it would just be better if you guys weren't here when he does find out." She looked to Ruby, who was watching her with concerned silver eyes. If anything, Ruby would listen to her, right? "Please."
Those silver eyes studied her for a moment, before relenting with a breath and standing up, "We'll be right outside if you need us." Blake stood from her left and joined Yang, who looked torned at her sister's decision. Ruby, however, didn't budge. "Weiss, if he does anything…"
"You'll be the first to know," Weiss offered with a frail smile. Ruby slowly got up after that, her gaze lingering on Weiss for a heartbeat longer before turning and leading the other two out of her room. The door closing behind them finally left Weiss alone to compose herself. She hoped they hadn't noticed her shaking, but the traitorous beeping of the heart monitor beside her had happily indicated her risen heart rate. If anything, it sounded to be a normal pace, but considering how slow her heart had been beating before, it revealed otherwise.
What would her father say to her? Nothing good, she knew that much at least. Maybe he was here to transfer her to a hospital in Atlas, where he could hire a watch on her, and ensure the public that she was alive and in the best hands possible. That also meant the unrelenting force of the press, all eager to learn even a sliver of what exactly had happened to Weiss when she was missing.
She froze, a deep panic rupturing through her chest. A coldness rushed over her at the mere thought of having to relive what happened again.
Roman frowned, tilting his head so he could line up the piece more, "I always wanted to know what would happen if you put purified Dust inside a person." An evil glint formed in the back of his eyes as he met Weiss's scared blue orbs, "And there's no better test subject than the heiress to the Schnee Dust Company herself."
The beeping got quicker, and Weiss got colder, images flashing across her vision. There was so much blood, the warmth of it sticking to her body and melting to her skin like iron. There was a horrible, sick wheezing above her, and suddenly a weight. Her heart hurt, her body hurt, the ground beneath her was hard and the overwhelming cheers of exhilaration around her echoed in her mind.
"Weiss…" she croaked.
"Weiss."
Weiss snapped out of her panic as her father's voice broke through the haze. She stiffly looked up to the tall, foreboding man, his wide and strong frame towering over the side of her bed. Steel blue eyes familiar to her own pinned her down, cold and emotionless. Weiss knew she'd looked like that once. She swallowed thickly, clutching her shaking arms closer to her stomach as the cold sweat on her body dried into her skin. "F-Father."
"Don't stutter, it's unbecoming," he said. Weiss swallowed, nodding silently. Her father tucked his arms behind his back, his chest pressed out pridefully even as he stood over his daughter. "Use your words. We don't communicate by gesturing."
"Yes, Father. Apologies," Weiss said, eyes locked onto spots on her hands where the blood had soaked through bandages. He was missing the usual edge on his voice, Weiss realised quietly. Usually his voice was much harsher, especially when he was correcting her grammatical errors. The idea of her father potentially being concerned crossed her mind for a moment, and quickly died.
"Father, what brings you to Vale?" Weiss asked nervously after a moment of silence, "I'm assuming you didn't leave your busy schedule just to visit me in a hospital."
He hummed, his brows lifting in mild surprise, pulling at the cuffs of his suit jacket, "I am here to ensure you didn't leak any of our family secrets to the ruffians that took you."
Ah, so that was why he came so urgently. Weiss let out a soft sigh through her nose, closing her eyes as a headache began to form again. She felt like she was being interrogated for something she didn't do. "I don't think so."
"You either did, or did not, Weiss." He said, the iciness in his tone reforming and breathing across Weiss' skin. The heiress leaned back into her bed, her fingers curling a strand of her hair around mindlessly.
She nervously skimmed off the surface of her memories, not willing to dive deep enough through the murky ocean that held the past to find out if she had shared anything crucial. There were long periods of time where she couldn't remember anything, darkness blocking out certain images like her own body was censoring her past, the only important detail that would've mattered to her father was: "They had- they used purified dust."
"Purified dust?" He echoed with his eyes narrowed, to which Weiss nodded unconsciously at. He grumbled, turning his back away and pacing away from the bed Weiss laid in, "Where is it now?"
Weiss gulped, looking down at her arms and the thick bandages that covered them, reaching up her limbs and disappearing under the hospital gown she was wearing, "It's… They injected it into me. It's in my blood."
"I see," The older man hummed, glancing at the beeping monitor that filled the silence between their words and then back to his daughter. His eyes held something akin to morbid curiosity, eyes moving up and down the bandages like he was examining her. Weiss curled closer to herself, a cavity formed in her chest as anxiety latched on and fed off her fears.
"Did you distribute any other classified family secrets?" He asked after another pause.
"I don't know."
"Weiss-."
"I was unconscious for most of my abduction, father! I apologise but I can't remember." Weiss growled, frustration building in the back of her throat. It was only after the words had left her mouth that she'd realised the tone that had sprouted from it, and she grew stiff, her heart skipping a beat."I'm-"
"You have some nerve to raise your voice at me!" he yelled, and suddenly Weiss wanted the bed to swallow her whole, to protect her from the onslaught she was about to become victim to, "I am being extremely patient with you and your attitude, girl, allowing you to stay in Vale and allowing you to be a part of a team you are not even in charge of, without returning my calls."
Weiss opened her mouth to defend her actions but her chance to speak was taken from her before she could. Her father turned back to face her, a scowl on his face "I am not finished speaking. Do you think I was foolish enough to not find out about you and that Rose girl?"
Weiss froze cold, the air around her becoming frigid, her breath forming clouds. "I'm not aware of what you're referring to."
"Do not play games with me, Weiss." He snapped. "I told you to become acquainted with someone equal to your skill, who would make the family proud. That was one of the conditions of going to Beacon Academy, and yet here you are, 'partnered' with a child who skipped two academic years yet shows no social power nor skills."
A part of her relaxed when she realised that her father didn't know about their romantic date, although another part of her came alive with a protective urge, a raw nerve struck with his comments on her partner.
"Ruby Rose is a suitable partner. I would even suggest that her combat abilities far exceed mine." Weiss grumbled back, eyes narrowed, "She is also the team leader, and is far more capable than you give her credit for. In fact, she is the one who rescued me from the White Fang."
"Rose is also the primary reason you were kidnapped, or did you forget that?" He said snidely, standing back from the bed and straightening himself. Weiss furrowed her brows in frustration. Talking to her father was like trying to speak to a brick wall. "No matter. If you wish to live out your limited time with a band of misfits, then I will allow it."
"...Limited time? What are you talking about?" Weiss asked, something uncomfortable settling in her stomach. Her father pulled at the cuffs on his wrists again, a sly look in his eyes as he started to turn back towards the door. Weiss narrowed her eyes, following him as he paced over to a nearby tabletop and picked up a clipboard. He flicked through one of the pages, scanning the contents.
"Chronic Dust Poisoning, powered by an unknown dosage and unknown strength of dust with unknown properties," he half turned back to face his daughter as the words settled in, the look of horror spreading across her face. "The survival rate is 8.3% with normal, crystalline dust."
"What...?"
"But, of course, purified dust has never been experimented on with humans. Nobody knows how it will react in the long term," He put the clip board down, "You could survive a few weeks, a few months, or you might not experience any side effects at all," he started to move towards the door, before pausing briefly, "The public is not to know about it, and should they find out I shall make sure to remove your little team from your life indefinitely. Am I clear?"
"I… Yes, Sir…"
Weiss stared silently after him as he left her again, her throat clogged and her body trembling like a leaf. Why hadn't anybody told her she had dust poisoning? She had expected a certain degree of it, it was only natural with so much dust injected into her system, and the coldness that lingered, but…
She hadn't realised she was crying until she took a breath, the air catching and winding around the lump in her throat as she did. Time bled together into a blur as she sat there, her breathing and that annoying beep beep beep of her heart rate beside her keeping her company.
She didn't notice the sound of the door sliding open, or the presence of her team until they appeared at the edge of her vision. She didn't look up to meet them, instead shutting her eyes as she tried to keep her breathing under control and turning away, her teeth digging into her bottom lip as she tried to silence herself.
"Weiss?" Ruby asked nervously. "What- What happened?"
"If that bastard did anything-" Yang growled nearby, somewhere Weiss didn't care to look. She could hear the hard hammer of her own heartbeat echoing around the room,"I'll ask him myself if I have to."
Blake spoke up next, a soft tone surrounding her words, "Yang… just leave it."
"Weiss…?" Ruby prodded cautiously again, concern radiating from her aura like a lightbulb. Weiss looked away in shame, despite Ruby's attempts to catch her eye again.
"Why didn't… you tell me?" she whispered. It almost felt forbidden to say, like if she said she was dying, her heart would give up on the spot and end her life in a breath."Why didn't you tell me that I was… that I didn't have much time left?"
There was a guilty silence after that spoke volumes, none of her teammates dared to open their mouth. Weiss's eyes stared hollowly at one of the wires connecting the machinery around her to an outlet, tucked away beneath a wheeled cabinet. Ruby draped her cape around Weiss' shoulders as she noticed her shivers, the blanket that laid on her lap held too tight in Weiss' white knuckled grip that Ruby didn't even attempt to use it.
"You won't… They'll find a cure," Ruby hummed softly, "Winter- she's looking for a cure. We're not going to let you die, okay?"
"You don't…" Another tug at Weiss's gut brought forth more tears, "There is no cure."
"Then we'll find one, make one." Yang said finally, moving closer to the pair. "We just got you back, Princess, we're not letting you go again. Not for a long time."
Weiss hummed, flinching gently as Ruby's thumb reached down to wipe some of her fallen tears off her cheeks. The edges of her vision were starting to water, letting her body slowly fall back against the overly soft pillows. A soothing set of fingers crawled through her hair, brushing it through with a touch so soft that Weiss hardly registered it.
However, as she looked up to meet silver eyes, a searing memory raced to the forefront of her mind at the sight. Bi-chromatic eyes staring at her in a body not their own, mocking and evil as they watched her resolve fall away like dead leaves.
Weiss jerked back with a breathy whimper, shutting her eyes to block out the sights of the world around her. The hand pulled away like it had been burned.
"Weiss?" came Ruby's voice, small and concerned. Weiss didn't look, tears squeezing their way through clamped eyelids.
"You should get some rest," Blake said from somewhere nearby. Weiss finally opened her eyes again, staring down at the crumpled sheets that rested on her torso. "It's been… a long day."
"Yeah, go get some sleep." Yang added, moving her side and resting her hand on Ruby's shoulder. Ruby looked upset, holding the hand Weiss assumed she'd been using to brush through her hair like it betrayed her, her thumb massaging into the palm. Weiss looked away again, nodding solemnly.
"Okay," she mumbled, loosening her grip on the blanket in her hands.
"We'll be in touch, okay?" Blake said, shuffling the new scroll they'd given her closer to Weiss's reach. "And if you need anything, we're just a message away."
Weiss stared at the device, before sighing and looking up to her friend, "Thank you, Blake."
Blake smiled back at her, her faunus ears lifting from their previously drooped state, before she turned and slowly paced away from the bed. Yang followed her, leaving Ruby lingering awkwardly by Weiss's side. She looked up and opened her mouth, but no words came out.
"I'll visit tomorrow." Ruby muttered, half-turning as she started to leave, "Goodnight, Weiss."
Weiss watched after her, a desperation clinging to her chest. She didn't want to be left alone. She didn't want Ruby to leave her alone. She swallowed thickly, her breath trembling as her partner left her to fend for herself against the void of her own memories. "Good… Goodnight…"
A/N: Let me address this here for whoever reads BPS as well. It will probably be finished, but I am going to rewrite the whole thing, so the original ending is probably going to be scrapped! Hopefully I can get working on it soon, but please bare with me. I have a lot going on outside writing atm as well ^^;