Hello everyone! Welcome back FINALLY to another chapter of BOA. This took, a fuck-long ass time to make, I'm sorry. Topaz and I have been really busy. At the time we started this, I was in exams and shit and Topaz was working. And even now, I've been working my ass off for the summer break. So yeah, I apologize for the long ass hiatus and stuff. NO THIS STORY DIDN'T DIE, as my buddy and I have promised it wouldn't. We've just been busy in our lives.

Story Notes: WARNING! Contains attempted suicide, BE FOREWARNED

Floor 1: Town of Beginnings, Outer Rim. Dec 04, 2022. 8:30 p.m.

The stars littered the sky and illuminated the path as Ruby walked down the stone walkway. The day felt long and dull to the girl, and seemed to be ever since the accident that broke their team apart. The days went by without a second thought, the girl had practically given up, finding solace in those long walks which Yang and Weiss left her alone as to not disturb her. Occasionally they'd accompany her, but for the most part, they let her be as she could handle on her own. Truth be told, Ruby was only truly still there because of her sister. She didn't want to burden her with being an only child, but her willpower was faltering. Her motives drying up and her sadness corroding away at her. She felt useless because they had to help her, it was no choice for Yang, and Weiss only felt obligated to assist due to her sister telling her to while she fought in the front lines.

A slight breeze rolled through the quiet fields as Ruby blocked it with her hand, lowering it as it subsided before continuing the trek down the cobblestone pathway. Soon, she came up to a long, straight stretch of walkway that seemed decent enough in Ruby's mind. Opening her inventory, she removed her hooded cape, dropping it on the ground along with her main weapon as she walked over to the railing. Ruby climbed atop it, holding onto the nearby light post for support as she finally stood. She let out a pained sigh, looking up to the sky as she stared at the luminous crescent moon, joined by the millions of tiny, digital dots that shone ever so brightly in the night sky. Ruby smirked as a single streak fell down her pale avatar's face. Her complexion softened as she looked down at the cloudy abyss below Aincrad.

"This is it," Ruby said softly, taking one last deep breath of air as she closed her eyes.

"Goodbye."

About 10 minutes earlier

Weiss searched left and right for Yang's younger sister, mentally scolding herself for not keeping a close eye on the girl. She had a tendency to wander frequently, trying to avoid them. 'Damn it! One task Weiss, and you let her walk away without even noticing!' She spoke frustratedly in her mind, searching frantically for the smaller girl. A sudden idea popped in her mind as she remembered one of the key abilities given to players. The heiress opened her menu as she started scrolling through her friends list, coming up to Ruby's name as she pressed the 'track' option on the menu. Suddenly, her footsteps appeared as it followed out of the town. Weiss followed the tracks in a brisk walk as she soon found herself in the outer parts of the map. She soon began to run as she looked all across the fields for the little redhead. Soon, she saw a red figure from afar as the girl scrolled through her inventory.

"There she is, Ruby!" Weiss called out. Her voice seemed to not have reached the girl as she started dropping her cape and weapon on the ground. Weiss watched in confusion as she wondered just what she was doing. 'That's like her favourite cape, I think she even sleeps with it on, what is she-oh my god!'

Ruby got on top of the railing, holding onto the light fixture for balance as she looked up to the night sky. Fear gripped the heiress as it finally sunk in what Ruby was doing. And so, with a sudden jolt, Weiss sprinted to the girl as quick as she could in heels.

"Ruby NO!" She screamed as she finally got close enough to reach the girl. Ruby finally realized her presence as she wrapped her other half around the pole, using it as leverage between her and the white haired girl as the latter grabbed hold of her free hand.

"What are you doing? Do you think for a minute that jumping off this railing is going to solve anything?" Weiss scolded, getting a better hold of the girl as she planted herself in the ground. "If anything, you will cause even more distress! What do you think Yang will think! What will she do if she just found out her little sister just died?!"

"I don't care!" Ruby shouted back as Weiss gave a shocked expression. "I know I'm just an obstacle in yours and Yang's way, you can't deny it. So give me a good reason why I shouldn't jump?!"

"Because we still care! Do you know what would happen to Yang, to me, if you jumped right here and now?! I'd be scarred for life, Yang would fall. And what about Penny's dying wish?"

"Penny's dead because of me! If it wasn't for my stubborn and recklessness, she would be still here!" Ruby shouted back.

"Well that's where you're wrong, it was a prolonged fight and you and Penny weren't the only combatants. We are all just as much to blame for it. And I don't know if you forgot but you promised her that you would get out of this world. And what about your friends and family? What about Taiyang and your uncle Qrow, especially your mom? What would she think if you just gave up? What would they all do if they never got to see you again?"

Ruby's complexion mellowed as she soon began thinking. Her eyes lowered to the ground as an uncertain look now formed on her face, though her intent still lingered. Weiss didn't know what else to do, at this rate it was going to end just like before. Then it hit her, the one thing she wished she had done for her friend so long ago.
With a sigh. Weiss began, "alright Ruby, I won't stop you," Ruby's expression then darkened a little as she began to turn back towards the edge,

"But I won't let you go alone."

"Wait… w-what…" Ruby muttered, turning as Weiss got on top the ledge and finally stood level with the girl.

"You heard me, you dolt. If you're going to jump, I'm gonna accompany you." Weiss spoke, giving the younger girl a serious face as she nodded.

"But… why?" Ruby questioned in a dumbfounded tone. "Why would you jump too?"

It took a moment for the heiress to respond as she looked down to the ground. She finally took a deep breath as she looked up to the night sky. "I had a friend once, who loved me the same way you loved Penny. The thing is, I didn't know at the time who I liked or what I preferred. I choked, and my best friend misread my reaction. We didn't talk for a whole week, and when I finally came to realize my true feelings, she… she committed suicide."

"Wait, she?" Ruby questioned.

"Look, Ruby, there's a lot of finer detail. The message is, I let a friend die because of my silence, I won't stand here and let myself make the same mistake. If seeing yourself as the cause of someone's death is reason enough to end yourself, then I figure my sin is at least as great as yours."

Weiss could see the gears in Ruby's mind turn, slowly coming to a conclusion. Her eyes soon shone fear as tears started to well up in her eyes. "I-I can't…" She wept, clutching onto the pole tightly. "I don't want to, I want to get down."

She slowly crouched down on the railing as she tried to kneel on it. Suddenly, her balance faltered as she slowly fell forward. Weiss' adrenaline-fueled instincts kicked in as she grabbed the girl around the stomach and leapt away from ledge back to the safety of the ground, doing a recovery roll to soften the latter's landing as they finally laid on the cool stone walk. The white haired teen panted lightly as she clutched the redhead firmly, before releasing the girl as she locked eyes with her.

"Are you alright?" Weiss asked softly, awaiting some form of acknowledgement. Ruby looked at her for a moment, a brief moment, before her tears reappeared and she gripped the alabaster teen with a firm might. It came as a shock to the heiress, who hadn't even noticed how close she was until she could feel her crying in the crook of her neck. A fluttering feeling arose in the former's gut, before she returned to reality and hugged the weeping girl back, consoling the girl gently as she whispered calm words and phrases to her.

Knowing she just saved her life.

The door creaked open as a pair of footsteps walked through the entrance. Though the lighting was dim in the inn, Yang could see clearly from the stairs to the second floor Weiss and Ruby's face, the latter looking rather drained as the former held a half-worried, half-satisfied complexion. The duo looked toward the stairs as they saw Yang waiting at the base, arms crossed as she leaned against the exposed beam. They walked over to the blonde at the stairs as Weiss told Ruby to go get ready for bed, to which the little redhead complied emotionlessly. After the red cloaked girl disappeared upstairs, Weiss pulled Yang back.

"Where did you find her?" Yang asked the white haired woman once they rounded the corner. The alabaster girl sighed as she clutched her arms to pacify herself.

"I found Ruby at the outer fields, about to jump off the ledge," Weiss spoke, earning an explosive reaction from the latter. She told her to quiet down before clearing her throat. "I was walking along the pathway, when I seen Ruby standing on the railing, her things on the ground behind her. I just barely managed to talk her down."

"How did you do that?" Yang questioned, half enlightened and the other scared.

"I… just talked, I managed to get her to confide in me, and we talked." Weiss replied bluntly, giving a rather half-hearted tone. Yang knew instantly, though, when her friend wasn't telling the full truth. She could see it straight in her eyes, the rather dulled look when she was trying to beat around the bush. With a firm, but gentle grip, The brute pushed the white haired teen to the wall as she gave her a serious look.

"Weiss. You're not giving me a half-assed reply about my sister nearly jumping off of Aincrad. Tell me what really went on."

The heiress could see the seriousness piquing on the blonde's face, her eyes full with concern. With another sigh, Weiss cocked her head to the side. "Well. Most of what I said was true, I talked to Ruby, I tried to get her to reconsider. But nothing was working, and I ran out of any possible ideas to get her to come down. So.. I climbed up atop the ledge with her, and told her if she was gonna die I was too."

Yang's eyes went wide in shock, flabbergasted by the ivory girl's actions. Her mouth opened, trying to make a sentence or even a word, but all she could make was sound. Weiss noticed and continued on. "I briefly told her about Emerald, and what happened to her, confessing to her what I had done. Yeah, I know what you're gonna say. As much as you may think that it wasn't my fault I still blame myself."

Yang still stood with the same shocked expression, before her eyes readjusted and returned to her friend. Weiss looked down in shame and guilt, she had just saved a life by offering her own. She felt her stomach knot, and wished she could just leave everything now, just live in a cave some place away from it all, from the growing anxiety she could feel deep within. Then, something happened that she hadn't expected. Yang enveloped her in a comforting hug. Grasping her firmly as she rested her head on the heiress' shoulder.

"Dear Oum Weiss. What if both of you jumped? What if you two died? I'd be beyond devastated, because not only would I lose my baby sister, i'd lose my closest and best friend that I've known since I was little," Yang spoke from the girl's collarbone, a few tears dampening her shirt. "I wouldn't be able to live with myself, knowing both of you killed yourselves! You dunce!"

Weiss could hear the blonde's sobbing intensify as she gripped her firmly, though her body shook from the amount of emotion flowing through her. Her eyes started to well up as she soon too started to cry, grabbing the blonde in a fierce hug as well as the duo sobbed. "I-I'm sorry, I'm so s-sorry.." She spoke, letting out a few sniffles every now and again.

Meanwhile…

Ruby made her way slowly to her bedroom, hearing the faint muffles of the duo downstairs as they talked. She knew it was about her, about what she did. And she half-expected either a lecture, or a bear grip of a hug from her sister once they were finished. With a sigh, she opened the door to her room as she undid her cape and put it on the rack beside the door, closing said door with her opposite hand. Upon further notice, she saw a white jacket hung on the other side of the rack, along with a pair of high heeled boots on the floor. A door suddenly opened behind the redhead as a pair of heavy footsteps lead into the room. Ruby slowly turned her head, noticing Winter in a nightgown and not much else, though it covered almost all of her body. Her hair was out of its usual bun and seemed to be quite damp from showering. The alabaster woman turned her head to find Ruby standing there, and her expression soon mimicked the younger girl's.

"W-RUBY!" Winter shouted.

"AAAHH! I'msosorry!" Ruby shouted, thinking fast as she begun to stutter. "W-wait, What are y-you doing in my room?!"

"Your room?! This is my room!" She rebuked. Pointing to the door. Ruby quickly opened it, soon finding it to be not her room, but the neighbouring one beside hers.

"Ooohh... " The young girl replied defeatedly. "I must've walked in without even looking."

Ruby covered her eyes with her one hand, as to not stare at the woman. "S-sorry, I thought this was my bedroom." Ruby spoke, searching for the rack with the other hand in a blind fashion. "I-I'll just, get my cape and get out of your hair."

The older Schnee sighed as she walked over to her. "It's okay, you can look," She spoke. Ruby complied as she removed her hand from her eyes. The older Schnee grabbed her cape as she whipped it a couple times to straighten it out. "Here, let me."

"W-w-wait, I-I can-"

Before Ruby could finish, The older woman threw the cape around the younger's shoulders as she did it up with finesse. The redhead's face started to heat up as a small blush emanated from her cheeks. "T...thank you," She murmured in in slight embarrassment. Looking down at the rather plump chest that almost seemed to be pressing in her face. She couldn't help but look in slight surprise at the size of them. Even in a virtual game, they seemed realistically shaped. She soon realized where she was and what she was doing as her face heated up even harsher than her outfit as she quickly turned away. "S-sorryI'llleavenowgoodnight!"

And with that, the redhead sped out of the room with great speed, due to her ability, leaving Winter in a flurry of rose petals that accompanied the ability. The white haired woman smirked as she caught one of the digital petals, feeling it with her thumb before bringing it to her nose as she sniffed it. Taking in it's realistic scent before moving on to her bed, the thought of the girl still dancing in her mind.

Winter awoke to the sound of her regular alarm indicating that it was 6 o' clock. She got up and got dressed in her usual attire, zipping up her boots before putting on her jacket and exiting the room. She went downstairs to the NPC behind the desk as she ordered her usual breakfast. Winter felt different today as she waited for her food and coffee to arrive. Felt brighter, and excited for some reason. She couldn't stop thinking about Ruby, her face seemed to cheer her up, even in the dullest of days in the field. And she couldn't help but feel motivated whenever she fought alongside her. Her food finally arrived along with her coffee, just how she liked it. As she took the first few sips of coffee, her senses alerted her of another person as a small figure walked down the stairs. She wore her cape with the hood up as Winter pieced together Ruby, having only seen her once with her hood up. Her eyebrows elevated in curiosity as she watched the girl walk out of the inn, taking a few bites of her breakfast and downing her coffee before walking briskly to the exit. She scanned the area around her, finding the hooded girl rounding the corner to the left of her as she jogged towards her. She felt devious, following her sister's friend's sister. But she felt almost obligated to follow her at the same time, for protection purposes. She turned the same corner and continued to walk behind the girl, following her out of town, past the prime locations of the map, to an almost secluded area on the first floor, surrounded almost entirely by trees and forestry.

Ruby finally stopped, checking her equipment and outfit as she did small stretches. Monsters started spawning all around her, Winter watched from behind a tree as they all started encircling the cloaked redhead. They weren't very strong, being almost ten or more levels below her. But there was a lot of them as they seemed to surround her. Like wolves hunting a lone fox. The hooded girl threw knives all around the place, instigating the monsters around her as they all started to close in on her. Winter felt her breath hitch as she was about to draw her blade, until she realized she had left it in storage in her room. Her only weapon on her was a hunting knife, and she knew damn well that it would do nothing against a horde that big. She drew her blade regardless, getting ready to run in once there was a clearing. But her body froze in shock and awe as the redhead jumped gracefully in the air and cleaved the first wave of enemies' bodies clean off, landing atop of the monstrous weapon's lengthy grip as she looked around the area to assess her attack. The next monsters ran up to her as they all prepared to attack. An ogre-looking monster had the first attack as it swung it's arms at Ruby. The redhead simply placed her foot underneath her grip and as she jumped, she pulled the blade with one foot and flipped it with the other in the air like a skateboard, cutting off it's head with a spinning aerial attack. She landed back on the ground in a crouched position as the monsters pursued her, doing a corkscrew cartwheel as the next bunch of enemies went flying away with ease.

Winter's jaw dropped as she watched the red scythe wielder jump and flip with said scythe as she cleared each and every monster with tactical finesse, it was like watching a lethal ballerina do the dance of death with everyone around the ballroom floor. She wielded such a big weapon like it was nothing more than a small hoe, when in reality it was a gigantic weapon that towered past her height. Before long, all the monsters were little more than decapitated beings, still crawling with every last bit of fight left in them. Once the area was practically cleared, the white haired girl finally left her hiding spot as she walked over to the deadly redhead. One of the still-fighting monsters decided to leap at Ruby from behind without her noticing, as Ruby turned her head she saw the approaching enemy as she braced for the attack, only for it to get hit by a throwing knife as it finally disappeared. Ruby turned her head to Winter as she walked over to her with a few knives still in her grasp.

"I watched you from the sidelines while the battle ensued," Winter spoke in her formal voice, hiding away the awe and excitement she held from watching such a glorious fight. "I must say, you are excellent with such an enormous piece of equipment, it's a shame you don't use that skill in further-advancing up the newest floors."

"O-oh, thank you." Ruby replied with a blush, holding her elbow from behind her back as she swung her foot like a pendulum.

"Why is it you don't join the front lines? Is it fear of not being good enough? Or do you just have no passion for such an extreme group?"

"W-well, it's not that per say. I'm just afraid, of what might happen." Ruby replied sheepishly, earning a confused look from the older woman.

"What possibly do you mean by that? Please, be more specific." Winter requested sympathetically, walking closer to the girl as she held her hands behind her back.

"Well… I'm just afraid, I'm gonna get more people, more of my friends, killed," Ruby spoke, Winter sensing an unusual decline in her mood as the caped crusader looked down. "I don't really care if I die, it's not something anybody can control really, but if someone I know or is acquainted with me dies, I just… wouldn't be able to forgive myself, haven't been able to since my mom died."

Winter felt her heart disintegrating as she listened to the red cloaked girl, a light of understanding came to her, and she quickly realized her other side as fast as she had learned her normal, more vibrant side. She had no idea what to say, how was she to understand? She had never lost somebody so close to her, but she knew how painful it was to watch. "I… I'm so sorry Ruby." She finally spoke, doing the only thing that felt decent as she enveloped her in a hug. The former let out a sharp gasp, but soon wrapped her arms around the latter as they released each other soon afterwards.

"Thank you Winter, for understanding," Ruby replied earnestly, doing a short bow. "Which is why I am gonna become a solo player."

"Wait, what?" was all Winter could muster.

"I don't like seeing other people die, especially with honour in their hearts. So I want to do this solo, to ensure nobody has to die."

Winter listened with more and more confusion. Though her motives were just and quite brave, her goal seemed farfetched, immature almost. She wanted to protect people, but who could protect them all? More importantly, who would protect her?

"I know it seems rather immature of me, I've been thinking a lot about it," Ruby continued, making Winter ponder whether she could read her mind. "But that's just how I am: immature and independent."

"B..but, Ruby-"

"Nope!" Ruby interjected. "I know this isn't the best way to leave, but could you tell everyone? I want to do this A$AP, also, could you give me some contacts to the frontliners?"

"Ruby…" Winter spoken sullenly, her eyes deteriorating of hope. "I want to come with you, please?"

Winter almost cringed at the sound of her pleas, she sounded like a ten year old in a matured woman's voice. She hoped Ruby didn't quite catch the tone and just said something, anything. But what she got was something completely unexpected, at all costs. Ruby walked up to her, the little kid of a player, compared to the tall woman, and patted her head. It caught her off guard, letting out a sharp breath as she felt the younger's hand rub her head, almost stumbling to the ground. She let go a moment later, brushing her hair to the side as she smirked. "Thank you Winter, for everything you've done. I would not be here right now if it wasn't for you, and your sweet sister too. I know you've feel guilty about Penny's death, but I don't hold you accountable. I never did, and I never will. So please, don't think you have to repay me for the sins I never held you responsible for."

Winter stood still, not able to make words or noises. She just listened, and felt a weight on her shoulders unclamp it's dug-in roots. Her face formed a straight line as she stood expressionless. "You are a really great person, so I know I can trust you to lead whatever team you might inhabit with pride and honour. I hope we meet again someday, soon even."

Ruby held out her hands this time, asking for an embrace. Finally, Winter made a single nodding motion as the younger smirked and embraced her once again, quite possibly for the last time in her life, or at most, for awhile. And so, she wrapped her arms around the younger player this time, holding her in a tight, yet firm hug. She prayed internally that nothing bad happen to her, that she survive on her own. After a few minutes, they parted as the redhead smiled in what seemed like forever, and walked back to the center of the forest.

"Oh, one more thing before I go," Ruby said, turning her head right before pressing the teleport button. "Tell Weiss I said thank you, and that I'll remember her."

And with that, she disappeared in a flash of blue light, leaving just the ivory woman standing alone in the forest. Her stomach started churning for some reason, and she could not stop it, no matter how much she tried. It wasn't a bad feeling, but it was weird to Winter in a sensation that she could not describe. And the only thing that ran in her mind, other than Ruby, was what might've Weiss done or said that made her so close to the redhead.

Topaz: Man that was not at all how I originally envisioned this. Then again that's probably for the better. The way I originally envision things is pretty bad.

But seriously Weiss get your woman in check ;) Can't let her run off and get herself killed like that.

In any case, as mentioned above this story isn't dead. Getting time coordinated to write while we are both in a mindset to do it is merely more difficult that we would like it to be. I promise we will deliver a final product to you.

*looks over at his pile of unfinished works*

Don't worry about those. I plan to start rewriting them come the 14th of october. Which by the way can I just say welcome to hype train?

You guys go ahead and do your reviews and let's just live another day and hope for the next chapter to be as good if not better than this one was.

Good night!