This chapter was a huge pain to write. When I was halfway through I scrapped the entire thing and started over. I'm still not entirely sure this chapter is what I want it to be, but it does its job alright, I think, and I want to get on with the story.

To Guest: you don't have to worry about being critical here. I think a writer needs to be able to accept the opinions of other people, and I also believe that hearing other points of view can only ever be a good thing. People who blow up at legitimate criticism just need to learn not to take everything personally. Out of curiosity, however, I'd like to ask if there is a story on FFnet that portrays Ruby in the way you would like to see her written. I'm very interested to see what I would think of it.

Aside from that, thanks to everyone else who took the time to review, especially SodeNoZangetsu (FFnet doesn't like the dots), since you're always quick and constructive with your reactions. Now, let's get to the chapter. Enjoy!

Chapter Seven: Sick Day

I was in some kind of desert. A really narrow, very hot desert, and I was in a car. Also the desert was going straight up into the sky, and it was looping around. The car drove itself, and all I could was look around at the same sights, over and over.

I felt uneasy and wanted to get out of the car, but I couldn't. I tried to speak, but I couldn't do that, either. Round and round the car went. I was beginning to feel a bit panicked now. In the sky, images began to appear. Vague flashes of things I'd seen in my life. I saw all my friends, at many different moments, but the person I saw most was…


"Weiss…"

Slowly, I woke up from the dream. I could still feel the heat of the desert, but I began to realize that I was in a bed, not in a car. I was tangled up in the sheets and lying on my side. I changed positions to my back, unwrapping myself from the sheets in the process, and finding out the bed was soaked in sweat. I groaned at the grossness of it and opened my eyes. The curtains were still closed, but a faint orange light still came through them. I noticed that Weiss sat on her own bed, watching me with a very worried look in her eyes.

"Good morning, Ruby," she said softly. "How are you feeling?"

"Terrible," I croaked.

My voice sounded like I had turned into a hundred-year-old man who had smoked a thousand cigarettes a day. My throat was as dry as the desert in my dream had been. Weiss got up off the bed, grabbed my empty water bottle and walked into the bathroom to fill it up.

She handed the bottle to me and said, "You need to stay well hydrated."

I gulped all the water down in one go, and enjoyed the cold feeling in my throat as it went down. "Thanks," I said, sounding a little bit more like myself again. "What time is it?" I asked.

Last night, Yang and Blake had told us they had found out the location of the White Fang rally. It would be held in a warehouse on the outskirts of Mistral City's industrial quarter. The plan was to go there by and investigate the area, but Dr. Oobleck (and my teammates) had told me I couldn't go. I knew they were right, but it still annoyed me that they got do cool spy things while I was stuck here in a sweaty bed.

"It's eleven thirty," Weiss replied. "The others are already gone."

I shot her a surprised look. "Shouldn't you be with them?"

Maybe it was my fever, or the orangey light in the room, but I could've sworn Weiss was blushing. "Yang and I both didn't want you to be alone…and I convinced them to let me stay here because it's my fault you got sick."

I didn't tell Weiss, but I was really happy that she was the one who'd stayed with me, even though I didn't want her to feel guilty. I didn't think I'd ever really had a crush on anyone before, so I wasn't certain if that's what it was, but yesterday when that waiter asked us if Weiss and me were on a date my first thought was that it would be fun if we were. I also thought Weiss was beautiful and funny, and she could be really sweet. Still, even if I did have a crush on her, I wasn't going to do anything with it. I liked the friendship I had with her, and I didn't want to ruin that. Besides, I thought she liked Neptune.

So, setting aside my feelings for the moment, I looked at Weiss. "Isn't it boring to just sit here while I'm mostly out cold? Or, well, out hot, I guess…" I asked, as a wave of heat rushed over me and I saw stars for a moment. I blinked a couple of times to get my vision back to normal.

"Don't worry about me," Weiss said. "I've got my scroll, and I've got the TV as well. You just get as much rest as you can and get better, okay?"

But Weiss mentioning the TV had gotten rid of any desire I had to go back to sleep. "Could you see if there are any cartoons?" I asked.

I propped up my pillow and sat up, causing another heat wave to hit me like a brick. "Uuuugh." I held my head with both my hands and waited for the feeling to pass.

"Maybe you should just lie down again," Weiss said. "I'll adjust the TV a bit so you can see it."

I lay back down and sighed. "Thanks, Weiss," I said.

Weiss changed the angle of the wall-mounted TV a bit so I could see the screen clearly and sat down on her own bed with the remote. The first channel was a talk show. So was the one after. Weiss kept channel surfing, passing news shows with boring news, talk shows with boring guests and topics like 'My brother married his eggplant', a musical talent show where a man sang a really weird off-key song while a man in the audience moved to a completely different beat, and finally ending up on a channel that referenced about fifty shows I knew from my childhood.

It was very weird, because the main character seemed to be a talking brick, who was talking very slowly and sadly to the other characters on the screen. The brick itself constantly changed outfits to reference other series.

"What…what are we even watching?" I asked Weiss.

She shook her head. "I don't know, but it's too demented to turn it off."

The talking brick was now standing in an empty, white void without any attributes. There was a puff of smoke, and now the brick wore glasses.

"I am a nerd," it said.

The word 'NERD' appeared in the background in huge red letters, and the brick kept repeating that one sentence.

"Weiss? Is this my fever or am I really seeing this?" I asked her.

At this point, I really wasn't certain about anything anymore. All I know is that this strange made me think about the feverish dreams I had, and it really wasn't making me feel any better.

Weiss sighed and switched off the TV. "Okay, I changed my mind. I think that's more than enough of that," she said. "I will see that thing in my nightmares…" she muttered.

Once again, I could feel a wave of heat hitting me, more intense than the one I felt when I tried to sit up earlier. I threw off the covers to cool down a bit, but Weiss got up from her bed and pulled them over me again.

"You have to stay warm, Ruby." Her voice sounded like it came from very far away.

My mind was foggy. I turned onto my side and closed my eyes. I'd felt a bit better shortly after waking up, but now I was right back to being miserable. Then, I felt a cold touch on my forehead. Weiss was running her hand through my hair. It felt really nice. I felt a bit more peaceful. Weiss kept stroking my hair, and after a few minutes I fell asleep.


When I woke up, I felt much better than when I fell asleep. The weird rushing noise in my head was almost gone, and I didn't feel as hot anymore. Weiss looked up from her scroll when she saw me moving.

"Are you feeling better?" she asked.

"Yeah. How long did I sleep?" I asked her.

She checked her scroll. "You slept for most of the afternoon. The others should be back soon, I think."

I sat up in my bed. "Before I fell asleep, you were stroking my hair."

Weiss began to blush lightly when I said that.

"It felt really nice," I said. I think I was blushing as well. My theory of having a crush on her seemed to be true.

"I'm glad it helped," Weiss said. "It's something Winter used to do when was younger."

Before I could say anything in response, the door of the room opened and Yang, Blake and Dr. Oobleck came in. "Hey sis!" Yang said cheerfully. "Feeling better yet?"

I nodded. "Yeah, lots," I said. "So, what did you discover?" I asked.

Dr. Oobleck stepped forward. "The warehouse in question lies at the heart of the industrial complex. It's the first of three, and the White Fang appear to have mechs and weapons stored in the other two. We weren't able to ascertain just how much material they possess, however, because we could only see into the warehouses from a great distance."

"Guards were on patrol throughout the entire complex. They're not taking any chances," Blake said.

"Isn't it dangerous for them just to be there in such numbers in the first place?" Weiss asked.

Dr. Oobleck nodded. "Yes, that's why their presence there disturbs me greatly. If they can be present in such an open location, I fear the local authorities may have been compromised."

"Then we have to stop them!" I said.

I tried to get out of bed, but Weiss stopped me. "You have to stay in bed, Ruby. You're still sick," she said sternly.

"You can't be serious," I said. "That you keep me out of the spying part was bad enough, but now you want to keep me out of the fighting part too?"

"If all goes well there won't be any fighting. Miss Rose, the one great advantage we have over our enemies is the element of surprise. In your current state, your judgement is jeopardized, as are your reaction times should it come to a fight. It's simply too dangerous for the mission to have you along. I hope I needn't remind you that the mission comes before personal feelings," Dr. Oobleck said.

I looked at him, and while his words had been stern his eyes were sincere. And, of course, he was right. "Alright," I said, a bit unwillingly. "I'll stay here."

"Actually, since it's possible the local authorities have been infiltrated, we will no longer be using the hotel as a base. We shall go back to Henry's house, where you will be able to recover. Henry was also prepared to look after you, should you need anything, since I want Miss Schnee to accompany us this time," Dr. Oobleck said.

I looked at Weiss, who looked strangely sad at the thought of going with the others on their mission. I wasn't too happy about it either, although that was probably for different reasons. I doubted Mr. DeZwart would stroke my hair until I fell asleep. I also doubted that even if he did, it would feel as nice as when Weiss did it.


It wasn't raining for once when we walked to Mr. DeZwart's house. I also wasn't feeling nearly as bad anymore as I had last night, or even this morning, so the walk was pretty easy. So, instead of being shoved into a bed as soon as we got to Mr. DeZwart's place, he gave me a blanket and told me I could lie on the couch when the others had gone for their mission, so I could watch some TV.

First, though, it was time for dinner. As with everything in Mr. DeZwart's house, the dinner table was very small. We sat shoulder to shoulder and we could hardly use our forks and knives without elbowing each other in the side. Well, at least the food was tasty.

Then, it was time for the others to go the White Fang rally. "Now, Miss Rose, even though you will not be present I will at least share our plans with you," Dr. Oobleck said. "We will infiltrate the rally and gain as much information on their intentions as possible. Then, we shall sabotage their equipment and make our escape. If all goes well, we shall return here after we're done."

"What if something goes wrong?" I asked.

"Then we shall make our escape into the western swamps, whereupon we shall contact you regarding our location, so you will be able to join up with us again."

Yang gave me a bear hug before she left. "Don't worry, sis, I'll tell you all about it when we get back," she said.

"We'll have plenty of work left after this mission," Blake said. "So get all the rest you can and get well soon."

I smiled at her. "Thanks, Blake. You too, Yang," I said, smiling at my sister as well. They walked outside, where Dr. Oobleck was waiting.

Only Weiss was still inside. "Be careful, okay?" I said.

"We will," she said. It sounded like she wanted to say something else, but then she just said, "Don't stay up too late. See you tomorrow, Ruby."

She turned around and followed the others outside, and I went back into the living room where Mr. DeZwart was reading a book. He looked up when I sat down on the couch and threw the blanket over myself, more out of gratitude to Mr. DeZwart than wanting to get warm. My fever had gone down a bit, but I was still plenty warm for my tastes.

"It doesn't feel right, does it?" he asked.

I looked up at him. "No, it doesn't." I said.

Mr. DeZwart closed his book and put it on the small table next to him. "When I was in training, many years ago, I also got sick once. I couldn't go on missions with my team for nearly two weeks," he said.

"So what did you do in that time?" I asked him.

He smiled. "I read. The Academy had many books on all kinds of subjects, and I decided that if I couldn't fight I would learn instead. That period of time is what led me to become a scientist."

"I don't think I'm cut out to be a scientist," I said. "I like to read, but I read about knights in shining armor. That's what I want to be; what I've always wanted to be."

Mr. DeZwart nodded. "A noble sentiment. If there were more people like you in the world, the Grimm would be far less of a problem, I'd wager," he said.

Now he had my curiosity. "Why is that, Mr. DeZwart?"

"Please, call me Henry. And the reason I say this is because the Grimm are attracted to feelings of negativity. Most people in the world have a lot of negativity in their lives, and they let it be their guide, often unknowingly. They have a goal they wish to attain that is born out of dissatisfaction with their current situation, and they believe their lives will change for the better once they attain it. Even if they help people while reaching for their goal, they still have that negativity inside of them and thus attract the Grimm."

He paused for a moment. "You, however, are different. You say you want to be the knight in shining armor. The one thing that defines such a person is their selflessness. You want to change the world to make it better for everyone else, and not for a personal reason. That very wish speaks of a certain purity that Grimm heavily dislike. While it may not harm them directly, it does seem to make them less likely to seek out such people. For lack of a better phrasing, the Grimm fear people like you."

I didn't respond immediately to Mr. DeZwart's story. I didn't think Grimm had ever acted any differently around me than they did around others.

Mr. DeZwart must have seen I wasn't entirely convinced, because he smiled and said, "Don't misunderstand me, Ruby. The effect I just mentioned, coming from one person, won't stop the Grimm from attacking. Its real power lies in the ability to give hope to others. People like you inspire hope in other people through your attitude. Not only does that make them stronger in a fight, it also takes away the negativity the Grimm feed on. It's like killing two Nevermores with one stone."

I groaned at the lame pun, but inwardly I felt stronger because of what Mr. DeZwart had said. His story made me even more determined to help as many people as I could.

"Well then, Ruby. I think I'll go to bed. Should you need anything, don't hesitate to wake me up. Be warned though, I'm a heavy sleeper, so it might cost you some trouble," Mr. DeZwart said.

"Alright Mr. …Henry. Have a good night," I said.

Mr. DeZwart gave me a nod and walked out the room. I heard the stairs creak as he made his way upstairs. After a few minutes, I heard his bedroom door closing. I sat on the couch watching some TV, but I couldn't help wondering how the others were doing on their mission. What if they ran into trouble? Well, Dr. Oobleck was with them, so they would probably be fine even if the entire White Fang came after them, but still. Like I'd told Mr. DeZwart, I wasn't made to be a scientist. I wanted to fight to make the world a better place, because it's all I knew how to do.

I spotted my backpack on the floor near the living room entrance. I hadn't taken it upstairs yet. My eyes widened when I realized that with my backpack downstairs, I would be able to sneak out once Mr. DeZwart was asleep. If he was really that heavy of a sleeper, the front door probably wouldn't wake him up. I did feel a bit guilty about the plan I'd come up with, though. Mr. DeZwart had been kind enough to let me stay here and even take care of me if I got really sick again. But…I wasn't feeling that sick anymore, and I wanted to help my friends. I got up and looked around the living room and the kitchen for a pen and some paper. Once I'd found some, I wrote a note and placed it on the kitchen table.

"Dear Henry,

I'm sorry for sneaking out on you, but I can't just leave my friends when they might be in trouble. I hope you're not angry. Thank you for the encouraging story.

Ruby"

I picked up my backpack, silently opened the door and stepped outside. It was still dry, fortunately. I pulled the door closed behind me and set off into the night.

A lot of things in this chapter were based on reality. Ruby's dream, for instance, is an adaptation of a fever dream I once had. The TV shows Ruby and Weiss watched were based off things a friend and I saw on TV in Berlin when we were there for the LoL World Championships. The thing about the eggplants wasn't true, but the weird talent show with the off-rhythm audience dancer and the talking brick were real. I looked it up, and the brick is apparently a well-known character in Germany. He's called Bernd das Brot, and he's actually a bread (but since my friend and I thought it was brick at first glance, I made Ruby do the same). The whole 'nerd' thing is on Youtube, and is a bit different from how I described it, but you can look it up. In my opinion, it puts Eraserhead to shame in weirdness. Oh well, don't forget to leave a review, and see you next time!