And here's the beginning of V5! I know V5 is a really divisive volume, so I hope that you will all enjoy this take on it. I was originally going to have all of the V5 Shorts done together in one chapter but due to my schedule I don't think I would be able to do that, so I'm breaking them up into 4 small chapters. I hope that is okay.

She opened her eye, squinting as the harsh fluorescent lights filled her vision. She couldn't open her left eye, a throbbing pain pulsating from her eye. She lifted a hand, trailing it over the left side of her face. She hissed as she felt the cloth over her eye.

Weiss lowered her hand, straining her head, looking at the room she was in. It was a hospital room, the walls, floor, and ceiling a sterile shade of white. She could hear muffled voices outside of the door.

"-an accident, my daughter is doing perfectly fine, I appreciate the amount of concern the people of Atlas has shown our family in this trying time."

Weiss sat up in the bed, gripping the sheets. Oh Dust, not him, please, not him.

She heard her father laugh at some unheard comment.

"Yes, of course, I'll make sure to do that," he said.

She held her breath as the door opened, her father entering the room. The face he wore for the press fell, his cold eyes glaring at her, his lips tugging down, his brow furrowing as he looked at her.

"So, the spoiled little princess is finally awake," he said. She lowered her head, looking at her bedsheets.

"I'm sorry," she said. Her father chortled.

"You had best be. Your little stunt has been a nuisance for our family. The press hasn't stopped with their questions." Her father motioned with his hands, raising the pitch of his voice "Is the Heiress okay? Why is she being hospitalized? What happened to her eye?" He lowered his hands. "If anyone asks what happened, you were injured during a fencing lesson, do you understand?" Weiss was quiet, looking down at her sheets. "I asked you a question."

"Y-yes, f-father, I understand." She whimpered. She looked up. She saw the smallest of smirks on her father's lips. He nodded.

"Glad you understand," he said. He straightened his tie and turned and left the room. The door clicked shut, the room returning to silence. Weiss leaned back down onto the bed, the white sheets enveloping her. She raised her hand, feeling the cloth over her left eye, looking up at the white ceiling, half of her vision filled with darkness. She grit her teeth, hissing as pain shot through her as her fingers trailed over the cloth.

The razor in her shaking hand

The pain as her flesh was cut

The hot tears and the sounds of her cries

The cold floor as she lay curled up on it

Weiss lowered her hand, letting it fall back ono the white sheets. She sighed, closing her eye.

Weiss rubbed her wrists as she walked through the door to her family's mansion. The butler who had picked her up from the hospital bowed awkwardly before hurrying off. She raised a hand, shifting the eyepatch she wore.

She walked through the mansion, her shoes clicking against the marble tiles. She paused, tilting her head as she passed the library. The door was opened a crack. She nudged the door open, peaking into it.

Her mother was passed out on the couch, a bottle of wine on the coffee table, an open book and chess board next to the wine. The chess pieces were scattered across the table, some pieces on the floor. Her mother was drooling, red stains on the whites of her blouse, her arm hanging off the couch.

Weiss hesitated at the door before entering, standing next to her mother. Her nose wrinkled at the reeking scent of wine. She reached over her mother, grabbing the blanket off the top of the couch, and laying it over her mother. She grunted in her sleep, turning over. Weiss' shoulders slumped, and she turned and left the library.

She made her way through the mansion to her room. She entered, leaning against the door as she closed it. She heard a soft melody play, and looked at her nightstand; her scroll was ringing. She went to it, picking it up.

WINTER

Weiss hesitated before swiping answer.

"Hello?"

"Hello, Weiss." Her sister said. Winter paused for a moment. "I heard on the news that you were injured in a fencing accident. Are you doing okay? What happened?"

"I…"

help me

"I'm doing okay. It was…"

i can't handle this anymore

"Was just a mistake. I didn't parry in time and I wasn't wearing my mask. The instructor slashed the left side of my face open and damaged my eye. I'm having to wear an eyepatch for the foreseeable future, the doctors are worried if I'll be able to see out of that eye again."

Winter was quiet.

"Is that what really happened?" she asked. Weiss swallowed.

please…

somebody…

"It is." Weiss lied. She heard Winter sigh.

"Be more careful next time then." Winter said. "I'll be visiting the next time I'm on shore leave. I can try and train you if you want or see what I can do to help about your eye."

"That sounds splendid. Thank you for checking in on me, Winter." Weiss said. Winter didn't respond for a moment.

"Remember that you can always call me Weiss if you need to." She said. Weiss lowered her scroll, watching the screen fade to black as Winter hung up. She tossed the scroll back onto her nightstand.

why am i even alive

She looked at her reflection, disgust filling her as she looked at herself.

She was thin, her icy blue eyes dull, her ivory white hair pulled back into a ponytail, a stupid tiara holding her hair in place. A white eyepatch covered her left eye, stitches covering parts of her cheek and forehead.

She lifted her eyepatch, grimacing at the pain. She could barely see anything when she opened that eye, the world nothing but shapeless, colorless blobs. She closed her eye and lowered the eyepatch back down.

Her right eye shot open as the eyepatch disappeared in her reflection, the stitches fading away. Her reflection smiled at her, holding up a hand.

"Hi Weiss," the reflection said. Weiss stared at her reflection, numb, dumbstruck. She raised her hand, struggling to find her voice.

"H-hi," she said.

"I noticed that you seemed kinda lonely. And that you needed a friend. You can call me Mirror. I hope that I'll be able to make you feel better," Mirror said, cocking her head to the side and smiling sweetly.

Weiss smiled back at her.

Weiss' eyes snapped open, her heart racing. She lifted her head up, looking out the window of the cargo ship, looking out over the open ocean, moonlight dancing over the waves. She exhaled, closing her eyes, tracing a finger over the scar on her eye.

Due to the pacing in V5, I don't really see any way to squeeze in original chapters. Instead, I will be adding original segments focused on Roman/Neo and Whitley into the canon episodes.
Also, I found out that Scars has its own tvtropes page!