Chapter 43

"That's not possible though" spoke Yang as she looked to the doctor. He turned to regard her with a raised brow. "I've seen her in pain, seen her try to scream. She doesn't make a sound" she answered.

The doctor scratched at the side of his head with the end of his pen in thought. "It might be that she's convinced herself she can't speak, perhaps... trauma related or some such. A mental block. Something in her past that would have made her come to that maybe" he answered.

"That can actually happen? Even when they try to scream?" asked Yang once more.

"The brain is a stubborn thing" noted the doctor as he consulted his notes once again. "If you want you could try and convince her to speak, maybe if she tried hard enough of her own volition she might be able to do something about it" he answered.

Blake's golden eyes glanced to the door that Neo and Weiss had left through, "So we're sure she's not just acting it all out?" she asked.

"If she is she's very good at it" answered the man, finally turning his attention back to Winter. "Anything else you need while I'm here Miss Schnee?" he asked.

"No, thank you" nodded Winter from her bed as her eyes looked to the doctor. He nodded in response.

"In that case please get some rest. The General will be visiting again soon" he answered before turning to leave the room.

After he had left Yang's lilac gaze drifted over towards Winter, "Well that was news I guess. What else can we do to kill time?" she asked. After Weiss and Neo had left earlier in the day they decided to try and learn more about their mute companion, seeing as there was currently nothing else for the three to do.

"Get her to talk?" asked Winter as her eyes turned back up to the ceiling.

Yang smirked, "How would we even do that?" she asked, already deciding that it would be a nigh impossible task.

"You forget that we have something she wants. Or, well, someone" answered Winter as her eyes glanced back over towards Yang.

"Absolutely not" stated Blake firmly, eyes narrowing in disagreement towards Winter.

A soft sigh came from the woman, "I am not implying something so vulgar. All Yang would need to do is ask her to speak. Maybe offer a hug or a kiss, though you needn't actually give those if she manages. She's head over heels enough for her that it might actually work" she answered.

"Still no. She's finally calmed down" protested Blake once more, crossing her arms. She clearly wasn't keen on the plan.

"Yeah, okay" spoke Yang rather nonchalantly as the startled Faunus looked back at her.

"You can't be serious" she spoke, her expression worried.

"Blakey, it's not like anything is gonna happen" answered Yang as she looked to her girlfriend.

"It's more that I'm worried you're going to re-ignite her behaviour, she's unstable and you teasing her won't help" replied Blake, voice becoming sterner.

Yang raised her hand up apologetically towards Blake, "It'll be fine, if she starts up again I'll just shoot her down harder. Besides, think how easier things will be if she starts talking. We could tell her to shut up. I've always wanted to tell her to shut up" answered Yang.

"What? But she can't talk" answered Blake, confused at her partner.

"Exactly, so I never get a chance!" replied Yang.

The Faunus brought her palm to her face and sighed, "Fine, but don't say I didn't warn you if things get out of hand again" she answered as her golden eyes peered between her fingers down at Yang.

"Okay I hear you, but don't hide that pretty face when you're talking to me" smirked Yang. Blake lowered her hand from her face only to lightly slap at the blonde's shoulder with a soft smile of her own. Winter's expression cringed slightly as she continued staring up at the ceiling, romance was awful.

Weiss was returning with a cup of water, Neo walking alongside her with a smile as her eyes idly glanced about. Once again Neo had attempted to take Weiss somewhere more private causing the heiress to explain to her that if they were gone for more than five minutes Winter would suspect something. Thankfully the girl didn't seem too upset about the rejection as they walked down one of the many halls of the hospital.

There were approaching the last corner and could hear two voices. Weiss came to a halt and held out her hand to halt Neo as she peered around it. It was two soldiers partaking in what sounded like casual conversation but their words quickly caught her attention as she listened in.

"Have you been on patrol around the industrial estate lately?" asked the first soldier, folding his arms.

The second soldier shook his head, "No, why?" he asked.

"Nothing important, I just think we need to replace the Paladins over there" responded the first soldier.

"Are they still using the older models?" asked the second.

"Nah, they've just got this weird delay on them compared to the ones from the other districts. It's just enough to really piss you off, you know? Like, I can still do my job but it really grinds my gears" he sighed.

The other soldier nodded, "Yeah I know what you mean. Latency is a real bitch, no matter how small it is. Though saying that, the Knights over in the entertainment plaza started acting up" he replied.

"Didn't we just get those ones in?" asked the first soldier.

"Yup. Sometimes they just miss a word from an order, like their systems are being over-clocked or something" came the response.

"Probably the interference in that place, it's loaded with signal waves. We're getting the new optics in soon by the way, the ten eighties I think?" said the other soldier as the two of them started moving down the hall and away from the corner Weiss and Neo were behind.

"New optics won't make them hear better. I think we just need to get the vacuum and clean them all out" answered the soldier.

"Dude..."

"What?"

"Never use a vacuum" said the first soldier as he shook his head at the other.

"Why the hell not?" came the response as their voices started growing distant.

"Don't you know anything about static-..." they voices finally vanished as they turned a corner.

Weiss shivered slightly as she felt Neo's hand place itself upon her waist, "N- Neo, what did I say not three minutes ago?" sighed the heiress before turning the corner. She thought briefly on what the soldiers had said. They were having issues with their Knights and Paladins? She pondered if it could have been the storm that had passed over the city that interfered with them. Neo skipped after her as they drew closer to the entrance of their room. Weiss entered first and approached Winter, she noticed however that she was asleep. She frowned and placed the water besides the bed instead before looking over to Yang. "Where's Blake?" asked Weiss, the Faunus seemed to be missing.

"She went to get me some coffee, but I'd really prefer tea right now for some reason. Can you go chase her down for me?" asked Yang as she looked back to Weiss. The heiress smiled and gave a nod.

"Of course, anything to help" she answered, making her way back towards the door. She saw that Neo was already following her again but a voice halted the two.

"Uh, Neo, can you stay here? I need to talk to you" spoke Yang. Neo froze in her steps as she looked upon her with mismatched eyes. She then glanced back to Weiss and then towards Yang once more. She made her decision and started walking towards Yang. Weiss silently watched Neo, pausing far longer than she should have before leaving the room alone.

The silent girl reached Yang and sat down in Blake's chair besides her bed, tilting her head at her curiously.

Yang looked somewhat cautious as she spoke, "How are you doing?" she asked.

Neo's eyes looked up as she pondered the question. She looked back down and gave a nod.

"I didn't understand that" replied Yang.

Neo's gaze seemed to search the blonde for a moment before she shrugged her shoulders.

With a sigh Yang decided to just try and brute force the matter, "Why don't you talk?" she asked. To this question Neo paused as she watched her, eyes trailing down towards the ground. "Neo, I know you can. So why won't you?" continued the blonde as Neo's eyes turned to her, narrowing slightly. Perhaps she had caught on as to what the check-up earlier was. "Okay, how about this. Tell me how you feel about me, with words. Maybe then we can put most of what happened behind us, start a clean slate yeah? We could be like... friends" suggested Yang.

She managed to get a reaction out of Neo as her eyes seemed to widen slightly, she leaned forward in her chair as she opened her mouth in an attempt to speak. Her lips moved... but no words came out. At the realization she wasn't making sound her expression steadily shifted into a frown as she glanced aside, eyes shifting around as if in a slight panic. Yang watched her carefully, it truly seemed like she had tried to speak to her just then. Neo turned back up to face her, one hand clutching her own throat as her lips parted to try and speak once more. She shut her eyes tight and she looked although she would be yelling. Her hand curled into a fist as her face reddened slightly. There was no doubt, she was trying her absolute best.

This was progress though. It told Yang that she really must have some kind of mental block that was stopping her from using her voice. "Wait, calm down" spoke Yang in a soothing voice as she raised a hand out to her. Neo stopped and her gaze dropped to the floor, her lips quivered, she looked utterly sorrowful over the fact she couldn't talk. "Look- Maybe... Maybe you can write instead? That's easier right?" asked Yang, reaching to the side table draws and opening them. She leaned over to look inside and pulled out a pen and a small notebook. Turning she handed the two over to Neo who eagerly took them into her hands. She opened the notebook and pressed the nib of the pen down onto the paper.

Finally it looked like she was going to be able to communicate with Neo clearly. But something was wrong. Yang looked down to Neo's hand, it was still, unmoving. Her hand was shaking as she pressured the pen further into the notepad, denting the paper inwards. Her expression was once more struggled, could she not even write? She understood how to read but did her mental block also prevent her from simply writing down what she would say? The blonde was startled as Neo stood to her feet and threw the notepad aggressively at the wall. She then took the pen in both hands and snapped it in half, the ink spraying over her clothes as she threw the two halves to the ground and repeatedly starting to stomp her boot against them.

"Woah! Neo stop, it's okay!" yelled Yang as she tried to reach a hand out towards the girl, her body ached as she extended herself too far however and so was unable to reach her.

"Neo!" yelled Winter's commanding voice from across the room, her eyes were staring right at the two. In truth she had been awake the whole time, as they had planned for her to be. But the short girl wasn't listening to either of them as she continued to stomp down on the broken pen in a rage. Was she so desperate to get her words across? Yang noticed that it wasn't simply anger in her expression however, she was crying.

The short woman turned as she began stomping her way to the door, "Wait!" called Yang, but as before she would not listen. The door opened right as she went to grab it, Blake was stood in her way with a briefly confused expression. In her blind state Neo slammed both her hands against her shoulders, pushing her harshly into the door and spilling the drinks she was carrying. Neo caught the glimpse of Weiss from the corner of her eye, and for a moment she paused as her expression appeared to soften. A fist crashed into Neo's jaw as her aura flickered and faded. Her eyes shifted into a startled white as she collapsed against the floor from Blake's retaliation.

"Neo!" yelled Weiss with concern as Blake narrowed her eyes at her with a furious glare, moving towards her.

"Blake stop! She's down!" came Yang's voice as the Faunus looked to her. Weiss slipped past Blake as she knelt down besides Neo, she was unconscious.

"What did you do?" asked Blake as she brushed some of the spilt tea from her clothes.

Yang frowned as she looked over to where Neo lay, "Nothing she just... She got mad... She was trying to talk, trying to write and then just..." she shook her head as she sighed.

Blake looked down to Neo and Weiss as the latter returned the glance, "How did you even break her Aura with your fist!?" she said in surprise.

The Faunus scoffed and glanced away, electing not to answer the question. "She's... delicate" came Winter's voice as she observed what she could of the scenario from her bed. Weiss frowned as she checked over her partner, a red mark already appearing where Blake had struck her.

"She... She looks like she was crying...?" asked Weiss as she did her best to try and lift her up from the floor, she glanced up to Yang, "What happened?" she asked.

"I told you, she just got really emotional when she tried to talk..." replied Yang, sounding somewhat saddened herself by the fact she had caused this mess.

Blake glanced over to the blonde, "I'll go get that tea again" she answered, sounding rather annoyed at the fact she was making a second trip. With that she exited through the door as Weiss struggled to push Neo into her bed before sitting down in the chair besides it.

"I grow more curious by the day to discover just exactly what happened to that girl to make her this way" came Winter's voice as her eyes glanced over to the window.

"Is that what you did?" came Weiss' voice. Winter narrowed her eyes and glanced over towards her younger sister. "You've been messing with her like some toy to find out why she can't talk? Why she's different?" asked Weiss again in an annoyed fashion.

Winter's voice sounded threatening as she spoke, "And just what has come over you, dear sister?" she asked.

Weiss' expression shifted as she tried to glance away from her sister's glare. "I think you should leave her alone, it's not fair" she answered.

"I agree. Were it to be true that we were doing as much as you accuse us of" answered Winter sharply in response.

Weiss frowned as she looked over Neo, after noticing that Winter had turned her gaze away she subtly reached her hand to gently clasp it over her partner's. She didn't find it fair the way they treated her, the way they seemed to stare and prod like she was some animal, some outsider that didn't belong. That wasn't what she was, to her she had become more than a friend in such a short amount of time. Her thumb brushed over the back of her dainty hand as behind her Yang's lilac eyes stared. She had discovered the truth about the two.