A/N: Edited and then reposted as a full chapter 1. I plan on finishing this at some point. Enjoy!
Darkness.
Darkness and Ruby screaming her name are the last things she remembers during the fight between the grimm and her team.
"Ughh..ow" She groans as she tries to open her eyes. She's finally able to open them but all she sees is white everywhere "W-Where am I?" She groaned out before her vision begins to clear.
"Weiss! You're awake!" She gazes to the left to see Yang rushing up to her "I can't believe it! The doctors were wrong" She hands Weiss an unopened bottle of water "Here, you can have this since you need it more than I do"
Weiss nodded before grabbing the bottle and taking a sip.
Yang let out a sigh of relief before sitting down in the chair next to the bed "You've been unconscious in the hospital for two weeks and the doctors said you might not wake up again"
Weiss took another sip of water before giving the bottle back to Yang "Where are Ruby and Blake?"
Yang tensed up before looking down at the floor "Blake is at school and Ruby.." Tears began flowing down her face "Ruby's gone.."
Weiss gasped "W-What?"
"When that ursa major charged at you..Ruby suddenly flew towards you both and knocked it off the cliff taking herself with it" Yang wiped a few tears away before more appeared "Nobody could find her body..but there was lots of blood"
Weiss felt the tears build up in her eyes before she put her hands to her face and cried. Her best friend was gone and she was never going to see her again or tell her how she felt. Long before the fight, she had just figured out and accepted that she was in love with her partner but now she was never going to be able to tell her.
Yang leaned forward and pulled Weiss close to her "I'm sorry" She mumbled as she hugged her gently.
Long after weiss had finished crying, Yang left due to visitation hours being over.
-3 Months Later-
Weiss sighed as a nurse helped her to her feet "Thanks.." She mumbled then grabbed her bag on the bed before heading off towards the bathroom to change into her normal clothes. She looked up as she entered the bathroom and winced at the small scar across the right side of her neck. She closed the door then locked it and began to undress.
She was just about done getting dressed when she heard a knock. She quickly pulled her shirt over herself then grabbed her bag.
"Weiss?" Yang's voice could be heard from the other side of the door "The doctor told me you'd be leaving the hospital today so I came to help with anything I could"
"I only have my bag that had my clothes in it" Weiss replied as she stepped out of the bathroom and handed Yang the bag.
They left the room Weiss stayed in and headed down the halls.
"Did you watch the news yesterday?" Yang asked as she held the bag at her side.
"No, why?" Weiss wondered.
"The grimm reports have been getting smaller"
"So?" Weiss was a little confused on why Yang was bringing this up.
"That's not all" Yang's tone got very serious "People have been reporting rose petals being spotted near the forest"
Weiss gasped "Ruby?"
Yang nodded "Could be but nobody's been reporting seeing her at all"
"We should check it out"
"Let's get back to Beacon first" Yang let out a sigh.
Thoughts of Ruby filled Weiss's mind as she followed Yang out of the hospital 'It has to be her! There's no way it isn't'
"You're about to see a whole different side of me today, Weiss, and after it's all over, you're going to be like, 'Wow! That Ruby girl is really, really cool... and I wanna be her friend!'"
"Sisters, friends... Weiss!"
"We've never backed down before, and we're not going to start now."
Weiss let a long sigh as she curled up on her bed. All she could think of was Ruby and it hurt so much.
"Weiss, you can't stay in bed all day" Yang spoke as she walked over to Weiss's bed "Just because Professor Ozpin refused to let us go investigate the reports, doesn't mean you should pout about it"
"I'm not pouting!" Weiss snapped "I just want Ruby back! I..I just want her back here..leading us...as the goofy kid that she is" Her voice broke near the end.
"We all want her back but we need to wait until we're given permission to go"
"Well I'm not waiting!" Weiss jumped from her bed and stormed out of the room, grabbing her weapon on the way.
"Weiss! Wait for me" Yang rushed out after her.
They met up with Blake along the way out of the school.
"So what's the plan?" Yang asked.
"We're seeing if Ruby is in the forest or somewhere nearby"
"That's all?"
"Yes, why?"
"It's nothing" Yang replied.
-Forever Fall Forest-
"Let's split up so we can cover more of the forest" Weiss announced as soon as they arrived.
"Alright!"
Yang dashed off in one direction while Blake left in another.
"Please be here Ruby" Weiss mumbled as she began walking "I need you.."
Minutes into walking, Weiss began to notice how quiet the forest was which was usually full of noise. She quickly pulled Myrtenaster out and listened carefully for anything.
A loud snap to her left caused her to jump backwards and hold Myrtenaster up.
"Oops...sorry about that!" A woman with long faded red hair walked out of the bushes "Didn't realize someone else was in the forest"
Weiss kept Myrtenaster drawn as she eyed the stranger suspiciously "I-It's fine...Who are you?"
"Name's Crystal!" The woman spoke cheerfully "Yours?"
"Weiss" She replied "What are you doing out here, Crystal?"
"Collecting strawberries for a friend of mine! She wanted them and since she's bedridden, I'm out here"
"Strawberries?" Weiss suddenly let out a gasp "Does she have black hair with red tips and does she also have silver eyes?"
"Y-Yeah...you know her?" Crystal replied as she tilted her head.
"Yes! Her name's Ruby Rose" Weiss smiled as a tear fell down her face "Can you take me to her please?"
"Of course! I need to collect a few more strawberries though"
"Let me call the rest of my team over here" Weiss pulled out her scroll and began to call Yang when it was knocked out of her hands.
"It'd probably be best if only you came...she's been a bit agitated lately whenever a lot of people come to visit" Crystal glared.
"O-Oh...okay" Weiss gulped then picked up her scroll.
Weiss followed Crystal into her small cabin and quickly sent a message to her teammates before it could be seen. She put her scroll away then followed Crystal into a bedroom and gasped "Ruby!"
Crystal instantly put her hand on Weiss's mouth "Shh! She's sleeping"
Weiss nodded and closed her mouth after Crystal removed her hand then left the room "..Sorry" She walked over to the left side of the bed then pulled a chair nearby and sat down in it "Ruby.." She mumbled quietly. She reached out one of her hands and gently touched Ruby's cheek "I'm so glad you're alive and okay" Tears began to fall down her face "Now you...you just need to wake up..so that we can go back to Beacon.." She pulled her hand away then put her face into the palms of her hands "I really need you Ruby.."
"Nrrghh.."
Weiss jumped and looked up to see Ruby waking up "Ruby!"
Ruby looked up and gasped then tried to moved away from her "W-Who...Crystal! Crystal help!"
Crystal rushed into the room and over to the bed. She spoke harshly to Weiss "Weiss, get out! I'll calm her down then explain after you leave!" She pulled Ruby into a hug "Ruby it's okay!"
Weiss let out a sigh and left the room. She walked around the cabin until she found the kitchen "Lovely.." She muttered to herself as tears built up in her eyes before spotting a third of strawberries cut up on the counter "Looks like she was in the middle of that.." She walked over and began to finish cutting up the strawberries for Crystal.
"Sorry 'bout that, Weiss"
Weiss looked up to see Crystal walking over to her "Why was she so terrified of me?"
"I don't know...when I found her she seemed to have forgotten lots of her memory" Crystal replied "The last thing she remembers was her sister getting ready to leave for Beacon"
Weiss gasped "T-Then..." She felt fresh new tears begin to fall down her face "She doesn't remember...she doesn't remember getting into Beacon"
"Must be really strong and smart if she got into Beacon two years early" Crystal mumbled.
"She is.." Weiss smiled sadly then pulled out her scroll "I'm going to let her sister know where we are"
"Alright...that might help"
"Hello...Weiss? Was it Ruby? Where are you both?" Yang asked in a worried tone.
"Yes, it was but she...she seems to forgotten her time at Beacon" Weiss replied "She only remembers up until you getting ready to leave for Beacon"
"Shit...Where are you? Blake and I came back to where we first started"
"Do you see the part of the mountain with lots of trees filled with too many bird nests?"
"Hmm...Yeah...Yeah I do!"
"Head in that direction and you'll come across a small cabin"
"Thanks Weiss" Yang then hung up.
Weiss put her scroll away and finished up on cutting the strawberries then put them into the large bowl with the rest "I wanted to ask...why were you cutting the strawberries in half?"
"Oh...well it makes it look like more if I do it that way" Crystal smiled then let out a giggle.
"Makes sense" Weiss let out a giggle.
"Thanks for cutting the rest!" Crystal grabbed the bowl then walked off towards Ruby's bedroom.
Weiss let out a sigh as she walked over to a stool and sat down, putting her head in her hands.
-3 Months Ago-
"WEISS!" Ruby screamed as she used her semblance to knock the ursa major away from her partner but ended up taking herself and the grimm along with her off the cliff nearby "AHHH!" She screamed as she fell.
"RUBY! NOO!" She heard the loud fading voice of her sister as she hit the rough water below. She instantly blacked out from the force and was carried downstream.
A few days later she woke to the feeling of someone carrying her "Nrrgghh.." She groaned.
"Oh...you're awake!" A woman spoke as she stopped walking and knelt down "You were badly injured when I found you but do you think you'd be able to walk? You are quite heavy"
Ruby nodded then slowly climbed off the woman and felt a little wobbly as she tried to balance on her legs. She felt the woman grab her shoulder to help balance her "Who are you?"
"Name's Crystal Sterling" The woman smiled "Yours?"
"Ruby Rose" She replied then asked "Where am I?"
"Forever Fall forest"
"What?! How the heck did I get here?!" Ruby began panicking as she tried to pull her scroll out of her pocket only to find nothing "My scroll! It's gone" It was only then did she notice she was missing her cloak "Where my red cloak?!"
"I-I don't know...I only found you near the river" Crystal backed away, slightly frightened by Ruby's outburst.
"I thought I was still in Patch! I should be getting ready to say goodbye to my sister Yang"
"Oh? Where is she going?"
"Beacon" Ruby replied then let out a sigh.
"But isn't school already in session?"
Ruby gasped "What?"
"It's been eight months since school started" Crystal replied.
-With WBY-
It had been a week since Weiss left the hospital but she still could not stop thinking about Ruby. She still remembered when she realized she fell in love with Ruby.
It was a month before the fight on a day they all had no classes due to an increase of grimm near the city. Ruby had insisted Weiss spent the day with her walking around the school. She at first refused Ruby's offer but after the girl kept pestering her, she finally accepted to walk with her. After they talked all day about their past and got to know each other, Weiss felt different and couldn't figure out why. She began to spend more time with Ruby after that day and the day before the fight with the grimm, she realized she was falling in love with her partner.
"Weiss...Weiss!"
Weiss flinched then looked up to see Yang and Blake walking over "Blake wants us all to study together if it's all right with you"
She could see the dark circles and bags on Yang's face and realized that her partner's sister hadn't been getting good enough sleep 'I didn't realize at first but she's really distraught at the death of her sister..' She thought sadly.
"It's fine with me"
"Alright, let's head to the library" Blake spoke up.
"Miss Xiao Long?"
Yang turned to see a police officer walking up to the group "Yes?"
"We found a slightly torn up red cloak downstream in the forest and-"
"Where is it?" Weiss asked as she stood up.
"The detective is inspecting it first before we give it to you" The officer replied.
"Alright"
"I'll have my buddy bring it to you once it's down being inspected" The officer then walked off.
"Yang..?" Weiss spoke up.
"Yeah, Weiss?" Yang looked at Weiss.
"C-Can I keep Ruby's cloak once it's returned to us..?" Weiss looked down at her shoes as she felt a tear fall down then off her face.
"Uh...S-Sure Weiss" Yang replied.
"Thanks"
-With Ruby-
"Eight months?!" Ruby screeched out.
"Y-Yup"
Ruby began panicking again "Was I kidnapped while sleeping?"
"Looks more like you were involved in a fight..?"
"A fight? But how long have I been unconscious?"
"How should I know? I merely found you on my way to collect herbs" Crystal spoke then asked "Can I take you to my cabin to stay for the night? It's starting to get darker"
"Yeah...I'm not even sure how far I am from Vale"
"I've lived here most of my life and even I do not know" Crystal giggled before leading Ruby in the direction of her cabin.
"OUCH!"
"Ruby, I haven't even touched you yet!" Crystal groaned.
"Oh...uhh...I knew that" Ruby felt her cheeks heat up from embarrassment.
"Suuuure" Crystal let out a sigh then gently pressed a wet rag against Ruby's right shoulder "Must've been some fight..even if you can't remember it"
"Yeah...it must have" Ruby mumbled then winced as the wet rag was pressed against her neck "Ow.."
"So...you mentioned having a sister earlier" Crystal dipped the rag in a bucket of water before squeezing it out and wiping Ruby's arm.
"Yeah, Yang is my older sister" Ruby said cheerfully "She's super strong!"
"I see" Crystal chuckled then set the rag on the edge of the bucket "All done, now we just have to bandage up your shoulder"
Ruby nodded and continued to sit still.
Crystal picked up a roll of bandages and began to wrap up Ruby's shoulder.
-With WBY-
"Ruby!"
Weiss jolted awake gasping for air while clutching her chest near her heart. She jumped at the sudden movement to her left and glanced over with frightened eyes to see Yang walking over.
"Weiss, was it another nightmare?"
Weiss nodded and began crying as Yang sat down beside her and pulled her into a hug.
Blake soon joined the hug.
After a while, Weiss calmed down "T-Thanks.." She hiccupped.
"Anytime Weiss" Blake replied.
"Yeah, we both know how upset you get whenever you think of Ruby or get a nightmare of what happened" Yang spoke up "I know how close you were with my lil' sis so its's understandable that you'd be so upset over her death"
"What about you? You haven't seemed that upset.."
"I'm still hurting Weiss...but...well...the day after the fight when I found out they couldn't find anything of her..I ended up crying all night and most of the next morning while in Blake's arms" Yang let out a sigh and looked away.
"Oh.."
"Yeah, Yang was pretty upset and didn't eat much for a few weeks" Blake said quietly "Took a while to get her to eat again"
'No wonder it seemed like she lost weight..' Weiss thought.
"I'm still upset but not as much..." Yang said quietly as she rubbed the back of her neck.
