Howdy!

I knowit'sbeen a very longtime since I've updated this story, and I'm really sorry about that. School more or less absorbed my time to the point I updated only one more story a month ago.

Anyway, today marks a shift in the narrative. We will be following Weiss's point of view this chapter, if only to give our favorite Ice Queen's side of the story now thatshe'swaking up with a broken arm and leg despite going into the fight with full aura!

Should be fun…Unless she gets mad at me.

Quick, to the story before I get discouraged!

Waking Up

The first thing I remembered was pain.

Liquid fire raced through my veins as my leg and arm dangled like twigs from a windblown tree. Then, blackness joined that pain until a soothing coolness rained over me and I finally rested.

From there, my mind was blank, wandering an endless abyss for who knew how long. The only thought that haunted me the entire time seemed so trivial when looked at objectively, but it followed me all the same.

Is Ruby ok?

I don't know how long that thought echoed through my mind, but I do know that when my eyes opened, the sun was just peeking through the windows.

Wait a minute, I thought with an all too easy frown, Windows?

As my mind further waved away the fog enshrouding it, my gaze started to recognize other things around me. Beds, white sheets, curtains, heart monitors…

I gasped and tried to sit up, but pain lanced through my right arm and left leg. I barely kept myself from squealing from the pain, a Schnee did not squeal, after all, but it was close. After the pain faded to manageable levels, I looked around with a clearer, more alert mind.

What happened? I was talking with Ruby about our battle plan,thenI went flying. After thatit'sjust… pain.

My eyes finally landed on the source of my pain, my right arm and left leg held in slings and immobilized by plaster.

Ok, sothat'swhy I'm in such pain.However, my Aura was nowhere near depleted while we were fighting, I could have taken a pair of tank shells with what I had and kept going.

I groaned, my eyes narrowing in anger. Geez, now I have to deal withXiao-Long'steasing and Belladonna's insufferable smirks. Not to mention Ruby being all fussy-

My eyes flew open, my thoughts screeching to a halt. "Ruby!"

Apparently, I'd yelled that with my mouth, not my mind. It was only through the grace of fate that no one was there to see me make a fool of myself. However, it was a small, indignant part of my mind that sighed in relief at that fact. The rest was making my eyes cast about for my erstwhile partner.

Thankfully, Ruby had the courtesy to be easy to spot and close by. In fact, her head was right next to my uninjured arm, with little snores rising from her form. Relief flooded my mind, the sudden relaxation nearly sending me back to sleep, but I picked up some whimpers that just didn't… seem like Ruby.

"No… don't leave… I'll be good… Mom…"

That last word made me frown. There had been little talk of our personal lives, none of us were that close, with Ruby and Yang being the obvious exception, but this felt wrong. I remembered little of my mother, other than that her death had made father into a cold, cruel man, and how she'd sing a lullaby to me when I was a child.

So, why did it sound like Ruby's mother left her? Who would ever dare break the heart of such a sweet girl?

My thoughts were interrupted by the sounds of a door swishing open, an older woman with light brown hair and wearing a white coat walking in. She saw me awake and sent a gentle smile my way as she approached. "Well, it looks like our other patient is awake. How do you feel, any pain outside of the casts?"

I smiled at her, my old lessons telling me to be polite to the doctor. "I'm ok. A little parched, but ok."

My voice sounded parched too, crackling in the morning air. The doctor nodded, and held out a bottle of water to my good arm. "Good, good. Well, not to ruin your morning or anything, but you'll be in here for a few days. Medicine may have made great strides and your Aura may be strong, but broken bones always take time. After that, it'll take another few days of light training before your muscles get back to normal."

I sighed, not very happy with that prognosis, but I was smart enough to realize she was being serious. "That's… disappointing, but not all that unexpected. Um, is she ok?"

I looked to Ruby, who was now mumbling about cookies, rather than a mother that was leaving. The doctor smiled at her, but I spotted a glint of frustration in her eyes. "Ms. Rose is ok, just exhausted. Headmaster Ozpin has requested that I keep quiet about anything further until you both are awake, and your team can join us."

I narrowed my eyes at her, but her face had the look of someone that would not budge. "Very well then. Can you inform Headmaster Ozpin that I have awoken, then? I would like to speak with him, about how I got here with my partner."

The doctor nodded, a scroll appearing in her hand before she started tapping away. "Oh, I'm Dr. Nadya, so you know. I'm the head doctor this year, since our previous head retired a few months ago. I'll be checking in on you from time to time."

I smiled politely. "A pleasure, doctor. Not to be rude, but when do you believe Headmaster Ozpin will arrive?"

Dr. Nadya rolled her eyes, pointing to the door while she did so. "Three… two… one…"

Right on cue, the door swished open once again and Ozpin walked in, flanked by Professor Goodwitch and Doctor Oobleck, while Belladonna and Xiao-Long followed behind them.

A blonde blur that could only be Long flew towards my bed, stopping just short of wrapping her younger sister in a vice grip. "Ruby!"

Poor Ruby squealed in alarm as her rest was interrupted, nearly jumping clean over my bed. It was with some consternation that I watched… Yang, it was easier than Xiao-Long, don't judge me, jump after her.

Ozpin left that pair of dolts to Goodwitch's tender mercies, instead taking a seat next to me. "It's good to see you up, Ms. Schnee. You and Ms. Rose gave us all quite the scare, when Professor Goodwitch found you broken and bleeding next to the beast's corpse."

I shook my head. "What… what happened, Professor? The last thing I remember was making a plan with Ruby, and then nothing."

Ozpin sipped at his coffee, like always. "Well, Ms. Rose explained it to me last night, after she woke up. Apparently, the Qurupeco was able to sneak up on the two of you, and clubbed you into a tree with its tail. Your Aura subconsciously flew to the protection your head, neck, and torso, which is why you're not in a full body cast, by the way, but left your limbs vulnerable. They pulled you in with four compound fractures."

That information made me turn equal parts pale and green. My frown must have been more severe than usual, because Ozpin smiled at me. "Now, to at least spare you the worry, the rest of your teammates made it out without any broken limbs. The worst anyone had beside you was Ms. Valkyrie suffering a gash on her arm."

His gaze became serious as death. "Unfortunately, I do have to tell you all some bad news. Ms. Belladonna, Ms. Xiao-Long, please come here. You too, Ms. Rose."

Blake, I'll call her by her first name too I guess, didn't look all that interested. When it wasn't a mission, the girl had the disposition of a lazy cat. Yang rocketed back to my bed with Ruby in tow, her grin at odds with the fearful glances she kept throwing Goodwitch's way.

Doctor Oobleck finally spoke. "Headmaster, are you sure we should share this without Team JNPR present? They are just as deserving to know of this."

Ozpin shook his head. "They still sleep and I do not wish to wake them now. They will learn of this in short order, I assure you, but those closest to the issue must know immediately."

Oobleck frowned but acquiesced. "Very well, but I must return to my lessons. So you girls know, the after-hours training will be suspended this week to allow for Ms. Schnee's recovery. But, in the meantime, I want you all to discuss your battles, and come up with a plan for each beast. I want a copy of that plan on my desk by the time lessons resume."

He turned on his heel and blurred from the room. I heard Yang groan at the prospect of having to write a report, but I, for one, welcomed the idea. The last thing we wanted was to be as unprepared as we were this time, especially since that unpreparedness nearly got Ruby and I killed.

Ozpin stared at us, his mug going to the side table before he spoke again. "Now, first things first. I commend you all on taking down a pack of the beasts, two of which you had yet to fight. But, there is far, far more to criticize."

His gaze scanned over us. "First, you split up. Against creatures that can tear through Death Stalkers and Nevermores like they don't exist, that is the height of foolishness."

Yang protested. "Wait, if we didn't split up, they could have attacked the other students!"

Goodwitch answered. "Do you really believe I would let the uninvolved students anywhere near the hunting grounds? While the initiative is to be applauded, none of you are experienced enough to fight these beasts in anything less than full teams."

Ozpin nodded. "Precisely, and this goes along with my second point. You approached this fight as a Grimm hunt, even though these are not Grimm. The Qurupeco hunted Ms. Rose and Ms. Schnee down by following their scents and the sounds of their voices, and used your inattentiveness to its advantage. Had there been simple Grimm, you could have discussed for hours, but that was not the case."

He steepled his fingers. "In other words, you approached this mission far too lightly. Had there been not but three-star threats, I have little doubt some of you would be dead. In fact, the most important thing I need to tell you is the only reason Ms. Rose and Ms. Schnee are still with us."

Our heads were all facing down at the end of that lecture, my pride especially taking the blow hard. He was right; we had approached the mission far too lightly. We went in with the confidence that we were still facing things only a little better than Grimm, and we paid for it.

We needed to be better, all of us.

Even with that introspection, I did note Ruby trying to curl in on herself. She was covering her left arm specifically, the one I remembered that cursed bird breaking in its jaws. I barely had time to think on why she was doing it when Ozpin spoke again. "The reason they still breathe is because Ms. Rose did something that had only been theorized, never tested. To put it simply, her power overwhelmed her and she went feral. It granted her power far beyond that of the Qurupeco and she slaughtered it, to the point the body was unrecoverable. But, she almost attacked Professor Goodwitch when she arrived, and it was only the onset of exhaustion that kept Ms. Rose from suffering quite the headache."

His eyes scanned over all of us, but my attention was on Ruby alone. "This could happen to any of you, especially in desperate situations. We fear that, should this happen often enough, the power will overtake your minds and render you permanently feral. At that point, you are a threat to all those around you and you will be eliminated."

He sighed and stood. "Forgive the bluntness, but I felt you deserved to know the truth. Ms. Rose, when you feel ready, show them the markings your episode left. I must go inform the other half of team JMPR of what's going on, in addition to their part of the lecture."

He gave us one more look-over, before leaving. Goodwitch was still there, but I wanted to know what Professor Ozpin had meant. "Ruby… what marks is he talking about? Did you hurt yourself?"

Yang glared at me like I'd committed a grave sin. "Did you hurt yourself, Rubes? You can tell me, at least."

Her eyes went from me to her sister and I felt downright insulted. Did she think so little of me that I couldn't ask? I wanted oh so badly to give her a piece of my mind, but Ruby hadn't answered yet.

As I had learned over our time together, and over several years of correspondence, a silent Ruby was not good. If she was silent, she was both nervous and scared to the point of muteness or was plotting truly epic revenge.

My lien was on the former.

Ruby didn't speak, instead shakily holding out her left arm for us to see. At first, I didn't see anything too out of the ordinary, just some dark spots, but when I narrowed my eyes I felt gorge rise in my throat.

The spots were actually a series of images that were connected by faint lines; they depicted scenes of violence and death, each showing a large, wolf-like creature tearing into a variety of creatures, ranging from Grimm to humans. The worst was that it seemed to… pulse, for lack of a better word, with red, every second or so.

Blake shied away from it. "That… doesn't look nice."

Yang grabbed for the arm, her eyes turning red, while flame started sputtering from her hair. "What is this, what does this mean, are you ok?!"

Ruby's head curled against her chest, a quick flash of watery silver eyes making my oft-neglected protective instincts rise from the dead. "Let her breathe, Yang! You don't see me screaming in her face!"

Yang rounded on me this time. "Well excuse me for being worried! Besides, it's your fault she got into that mess in the first place; you don't have the right to be worried!"

Pain shot through my limbs as I tried to move, but anger kept my mouth going. "Excuse me?! I have just as much of a right to worry about my partner's health, specifically because my actions led to her getting hurt! I want to do all I can to rectify my failure."

Yang's hair started swishing of its own accord, the normal gold lightening to a yellow-white. Goodwitch chose then to step in. "Girls, calm down. Ms. Xiao Long, may I remind you the one you're arguing with is currently injured? And Ms. Schnee, there is no need to raise your voice here either. Now, give Ms. Rose some space, and calm your egos."

I huffed, but let my anger slide beneath my usual mask. It only made the pain more acute, but I could live with it. Yang took several deep breaths, before her hair settled down, and her eyes changed back to their usual lilac.

Blake scooted closer to Ruby, leaning close and whispering something I couldn't hear. Whatever it was, it made Ruby look up and put on a brave face. "Sis, Weiss, its ok. I'm glad you're both worried about me, but I really don't want you two to fight. It took us long enough to just be friends, so I don't want to be the source of any wedges, ok?"

I didn't say anything, not willing to look at how cute her face was. Yang looked away too, but she at least offered an olive branch. "Alright, fine. Look, Weiss, I'm sorry for yelling. I just get really protective of Rubes and it's been that way for a long time. I know she's strong and can take care of herself, but I'm her sister, ya know?"

I felt the sting of that unintentional reminder. "No… I don't. But, I understand what you mean at least. I apologize for raising my voice at you, and I apologize for making you uncomfortable, Ruby."

Yang grimaced, but Ruby reached over to take my uninjured hand. "It's ok, Weiss. Now, about the marks… well, they basically mark that I've gone feral once. By my guess, they'll get bigger and more elaborate the more times it happens. So… if we ever had incentive to get better, there it is!"

Her smile was at odds with the morbid statement, but it made me smile right along with her. If there was one thing I admired about Ruby, even though she was a dolt that liked to goof around a lot, was that she could make everyone smile right along with her.

Blake stretched and stood. "Alright, now that that's cleared up, I'm going to head back to our dorm. Doctor said you'd be out in a few days, right?"

The question made me finally remember the weight on my limbs. "Yes, sadly. Don't touch my stuff, and if I find my card maxed, I'll speak to none of you ever again."

Blake smirked but sauntered from the infirmary. Goodwitch shook her head, likely wondering about the swift change in atmosphere, before turning and following after Blake. Yang made Ruby tell her she was fine several more times, before she left too.

That left just me and Ruby, all alone in the infirmary. There was an awkward silence that stretched for what seemed like an eternity before Ruby tried to get a conversation going. "So… I forgot to mention this, but when I went feral, the power healed my arm. It was pretty messed up before that happened."

I sighed, cradling my head with my free arm. "Yes, please, brag to the girl with broken limbs. Why don't you help me out with those working arms of yours and bring a TV or something over here?"

Ruby chuckled awkwardly and went to find a TV. I just nestled back into my cot and tried to make myself comfortable, my thoughts turning to our adversaries.

If those were the low end of the spectrum, then what kind of demons are the five star beasts?

I shook my head of the thought, instead sending an exasperated sigh Ruby's way as she wheeled a TV before me. "Mind putting on a movie or something? Something that's not a cartoon this time."

Ruby smiled before pulling out a remote and taking a seat next to me. I slowly smiled as an old favorite of mine came on, and I settled in for a few days of boredom and Ruby.

The last part made it tolerable, if only just.

-?-

Rage…Pain…Rage…Pain.

That was all there was in that frozen moment in time. That, and a flash that had stolen away their victory, their moment of triumph over the creatures that had given the Old Enemy such strength.

Then, after an eternity, there was light. It was only a pinprick, but it was gripped with all the strength that could be given. Slowly, ever so slowly, the light widened and brightened. With it came smell, taste, hearing, sight…

Relief.

For the first time in millennia, a cracked maw breathed the breath of life.

All around the crevice, other forms stirred and stone cracked. Only the cracked maw that had breathed was of the great ones, but many of the lower ranks woke with it. After its first breath, the great one's tongue whisked over its maw, and it gazed out to the field of blue below it.

Its jaws curled into a vicious grin, the orange of its eyes flashing in the afternoon sun.

There was a whole sea before it to conquer once more, and a shining coast only a few miles away, where the few great boats it could see were heading. It leaned forward and fell from its perch, steam fleeing from its glowing skin as its metabolism kicked in again.

Steam erupted from the water at the bottom of the crevice, a dark figure slithering out into the sea.

A veritable horde of sea dwellers followed the venerable Lord of Hell into their old domain, each eager to await the time when they would spring from the seas once more.

All when the Great Elders woke.

Ch. End

Well, Weiss, it looks like you will be dealing with sea monsters far earlier than any of you were expecting. Hope you remember those lessons with ProfessorOobleck!

Anyway,I'dlike to thank everyone who's reviewed, followed, orfavoritedthe story thus far. Again,I'mvery sorry for the frankly unacceptable wait time between chapters, but I now bring you this as a peace offering.

Thought, I must ask. Can any of you guess the identity of that great lizard that leads the sea beasts?It'snot theCeadeus, I'll tell you that much!

Anyway, I hope you all enjoy the chapter. Next time we get some more character interaction before we have to deal with an angler problem and some overly large sponges!

Should be fun!