Locked Out
Chapter 6: Scornful and Brash
A/N: Hello all! Bit of a dramatic chapter compared to all else we have seen so far. Fair warning for... sensitive topics, I suppose. Special thanks to my new Beta Reader: catsan! Here are the latest reviews!
RWBYGuy2015: Undoubtedly, you are probably right. Enjoy.
bestkingbing: Best review right here. Love the name!
Guest/Haley Earthstone: Fantastic pun!
Vanitas Lunar: Everyone is afraid of square one! And yes, watch out girls! Cinder is after you!
True Support: Good questions! In the order you asked, first we will have to wait and see how Weiss interacts with her guilt. Second, I am not sure. I suppose fairly long. This is very fun to write, as I love the angst and the idea that anything could happen. As for the election, I'm Canadian so I don't really have a say! It was fun watching room mate squirm watching the news though. I don't really care about American politics.
BlakJakXXI: Blake is indeed worried! CRDL are a bunch of jerks, I know! And we shall see what sinister plot Cinder has in store!
Hope you enjoy! Love you all!
Crash
Weiss carefully balanced the tools she worked with, wiping the smudge of black oil from her forehead as she raised a Glyph upwards. She was definitely in control here.
Crash
Or perhaps not as much as she figured in the first place.
Oil splashed at her once more as she let out a groan of frustration, dropping her tools on the table set before her. The heiress hated this type of work, but it was necessary as of now. Her hair was soaked at the ends in the substance, aggravating her immensely. But she wouldn't cease. She didn't want to leave this for a last minute thing. Everything had to be ready. Her pet project yearned for completion, and she did as well. Completion of her plans, she wanted nothing more.
Besides Ruby being better, that is.
But this would solidify her standing, the heiress figured. If not, she didn't know what would. A last resort, one could say. Placing on a pair of welding goggles, the heiress lifted a long thin piece of metal, took a deep breath, and shattered it with a mallet.
Blake stalked around campus.
The Faunus warrior stretched as her back ached, having slept on it wrong. She couldn't complain. Things could have been worse. Much worse.
Ruby walked before her with her new crutches tucked under her arms, making her way around as she tried to apply more pressure on to her legs as she went. She needed the practice with the weight unbalance, her nerves and skeletal system not following proper protocol without needed temperament. She would be back in shape soon enough, Blake figured. Time just needed to pass.
The Faunus looked down to her Scroll as she hummed in thought, wondering what the rest of her team were up to. Weiss had vanished in the morning, telling the girl that she had some business to take care of. Yang was off studying for an exam she had put off for some time, most likely staying there for the rest of the day. Blake thought on what the icy heiress could be doing, having given little to no hint as to where she had even gone. Sending the girl a message via her Scroll, Blake offered to meet the girl in the cafeteria for lunch, clicking the device shut as she pocketed it with a sigh. All these secrets, Blake could see no end in sight. How many more lies would the heiress pile up before the truth became like water to a thirsty desert? Was what she held so close worth her obvious fear? It was so... distasteful, in the very least.
The Faunus watched as Ruby turned a corner, muttering something to herself as the Faunus was just out of hearing range. She seemed to be speaking almost frantically to herself aloud, just low enough for only herself to hear clearly. She looked almost nervous, conversing alone as she went on her way down the corridor. Blake clicked her tongue as she followed, feeling bad for the smaller girl, despite her progress. She was still so broken, but things were getting better, somehow. Ruby had improved much physically, doing well to learn to walk again. It was a harsh process but Blake had faith in the girl.
Ruby stumbled briefly as she was distracted, Blake stepping forwards to help her before pausing. Ruby raised a hand out to halt Blake, the girl stopping as Ruby took a deep breath, shifting herself back to normal standing. Her eyes shut tight for a few moments, the girl relaxed and caught herself back to well being. Ruby looked to Blake and nodded her head, signaling that she was well.
"Just a little stumble. Can we get back to the room? I want to rest a little." Ruby asked as Blake complied, walking over to the girl and moving close by at her side.
"Sure thing. You did well." Blake congratulated the smaller girl who gave a small smile in response. The pair made their way down the hall towards the dormitory structure, both ready to rest their heads for different reasons.
Weiss cracked her hands as she worked, grunting as she coughed from the black smoke polluting the air around her. The girl gagged as the smell was repulsive, fanning her hand across the air to repel the stench. Weiss groaned as she cleared the room by opening a window, the gust of air from the height she was at sending the dark matter out of the chamber immediately. The girl rested as she sipped a glass of water, sweating from the heat in the room in which she sat. A small vibration tugged at the pocket of her jeans, plucking out the device as she read the contents of a message.
"Lunch?" Weiss asked aloud to no one as she just nodded to herself, sending a reply back as she did feel hungry. Hard work had a way with making her stomach yearn for sustenance. The heiress decided that her work was done for the day, moving over to the table she had been working with and collecting the materials present. Weiss locked her items away in a drawer nearby, clicking the light switch off as she exited the chamber to meet with her team mate.
Thing were going well.
Almost too well.
Ruby was learning how to walk once more, Yang was overjoyed with Ruby's recovery, and Weiss seemed to be back on Ruby's good side. It was a fairytale ending.
Blake knew better.
She had seen the evils that this sort of situation brings. It wouldn't be long before the world around them came tumbling down. Real life wasn't a fairytale. She had learned this at a young age, and when miracles happen, she knew how to sense deception.
Sitting with Ruby as she practiced standing and sitting, Blake thought on how to proceed. The Faunus stared at the ring Ruby wore, a brief flash of the change she had witnessed rippled through her mind. She very much desired to contact Lie Ren, more than her love for tuna. However, try as she might, she lacked the proper means to that end. Blake wasn't one to publicly announce her Scroll I.D, and thusly did not have access to any member of team JNPR's contact information. The girl considered asking Ruby, yet shoving this line of thought away as it seemed foolhardy. She didn't want to risk Ruby worrying about Blake when she had better things to concern herself with, such as the betterment of her own health. Ruby's curiosity on matters rivaled her own, Ruby perviously known for her act first and ask questions later approach. Regardless if she were to get the information without fault, there was the matter of communications. She had no idea where the four were even located at this point in time, thus unreliable. Without team JNPR here to question about it, Blake was left to wait her concern away and rot. Ruby plopped back down with a small sigh, looking over to Blake as she seemed to be in her own little world. Ruby causally waved a hand in her direction, Blake snapping from her thoughts as she regarded the girl.
"Are you okay, Blake?" Ruby asked with worry in her voice as Blake waved her concern off, smiling back at the younger girl.
"I am perfectly fine." Blake smiled as she adjusted herself in her bed.
"I was just worried for a second..." Ruby spoke quietly, tapping her fingers together. "You were staring at me."
Blake nodded her head. "I'm sorry, I got distracted by your ring there." Blake admitted as Ruby looked down to the jewelry gifted by her partner.
"Oh." Ruby spoke up. "It's nice, isn't it?" The girl played with the object. "It's... shiny."
Blake nodded her head in agreement. "It suits you, I think. Doesn't your uncle wear rings as well?"
"A few." Ruby explained, clearing her throat. "I don't really like jewelry that much though... but Weiss said it was a friendship bond, so I figured I would... wear it."
Blake raised a brow. "Oh? That's nice of her." Blake flashed a happy smile to the girl. "Do you think I could see it?"
Ruby held her hand suddenly. "How come?"
Blake noticed the tension in her movement, taking note. "I just wanted to look at it. Weiss didn't tell me where she got it from, and I want to get Yang something similar."
Ruby nodded her head in understanding, holding her left hand in her other. The Rose carefully pulled the object up her finger, hesitantly taking it fully off as she felt a rush take hold of her being. Ruby shifted uncomfortably as she looked at the ring now in the palm of her hand, thinking for a moment as the gears churned in her head in thought. The Rose held her hand out to Blake, who took it in her own as Ruby sunk back to her bed.
"It's pretty." Blake spoke to herself as she looked at it, holding it up to her eye. "Weiss must have a good eye for the finer things, huh?" Blake asked as she looked over to Ruby, who just kind of... sat there.
Blake raised a brow as Ruby was slumped over on her bed, staring off at the floor below. Her eyes looked blank and almost painfully bored, and furthermore void of care. The light that had been shining in her for so long seemed gone in a flash, simply a shell of herself once again. A deep sigh sounded from her mouth as she laid on her pillow, looking to her pain medication. Ruby grabbed the bottle slowly and looked at it, setting it back down on the nightstand as Blake held the ring in between her fingers. The Faunus went to speak as she shifted her hand, feeling a sharp pull on her very soul a moment later. Blake held her heart as she glanced down to her chest, feeling her pulse skyrocket. The rapid pounding was odd for the girl, who had learned during her years as a White Fang member to control and slow her body to maximize her efficiency. This was... weird, to say the least. She could feel a smile growing on her face as her lips curled into a strange smirk, feeling her cheeks in response. The Faunus felt a heavy presence around her ring finger of her dominant hand, looking down to the appendage with concern.
The ring she had taken from Ruby was around her finger, having done so on accident while she wasn't paying attention to her movements earlier. The Faunus thought as she was flooded by warmth, able to sense something was wrong. The girl hesitated before pulling off the ring, feeling a burst of relief as her heart slowed down to its trained and refined beating very slowly, her face shifted back to a frown. The Faunus dropped the ring on to her bed as she slid a bit further from it, her mind racing as she felt her heart drop to her stomach.
It was a Soothe Ring.
The Faunus stood up and moved to the side of Ruby, placing a hand quickly atop her head. A small fever nibbled at her forehead as Blake retracted her palm, Ruby groaning slightly as she curled into her blankets.
"Ruby? Are you okay?" Blake asked out of worry as the girl just stared for a moment at the Faunus, sighing before looking away with a turn of her neck, not wanting to look at the raven haired girl any longer.
"Should I?" Ruby asked as she sunk into her bed, her left hand shaking a tad uncontrollably. Blake took note and took a step back, eyes darting around and she briefly remembered her past, encountering such a ring before.
It didn't end well.
"Blake... I don't feel good..." Ruby spoke quietly as she shivered, looking to the Faunus with a look of hope before it wilted away to a lack of empathy. Ruby just slacked into her position once more and didn't speak, just sitting there emotionless. The Faunus acted quickly, returning to the bed she had sat on once before and plucked the ring from the surface. The girl dashed back over and placed it back on Ruby's prominent hand, the girl shuttering as a calming wave was cast over her. Blake offered her a glass of water set to the side, Ruby taking it as she took a rather long sip.
Ruby set the glass to the side as she sat up, sighing as she felt significantly better.
"Thanks, Blake." Ruby spoke as she took a deep breath. "What just happened?"
"Perhaps it was dehydration?" Blake offered with a hint of sarcasm. "Or perhaps your Aura flared back up all at once."
Ruby nodded, accepting these as indeed possible. The girl relaxed into her bed with a small sigh of relief, deciding to put what had just happened behind her.
"Yeah... I guess so." Ruby curled up, resting.
Blake turned away and thought. Her mind was faced with a singular mission at this point. Ren and everything else didn't matter. She was going to get to the bottom of this.
And she didn't know what she would do when she found Weiss.
Blake arrived at the cafeteria, sitting down at her usual spot. Weiss had said she would meet her there, and Blake was anxious. Her foot tapped against the floor rapidly out of nervousness, not sure as to how to interact with Weiss. This was a dangerous game. Blake didn't know how she would react to being threatened with the news about the ring, but Blake's concern for this was overshadowed by her blinding outrage. A Soothe Ring! How could Weiss be so careless? There was a reason there were banned in the first place, yet Ruby wore one as of now. Blake hated the fact that she left the device on the girl, but knew it wouldn't do any more damage than it already had done. In her state without it, she might as well be in a hospital.
The Faunus chewed an apple quietly as she waited, just glaring off into space as the seconds turned to minutes. Friends came and went as they offered her a greeting, only to be shrugged off by a cold look from the girl. People knew when to leave Blake alone, and now was one of those times.
"Hello, Blake." Weiss's voice came from the right of Blake, a rather cheerful tone exerting from her mouth. The heiress quietly sat down before the Faunus with a small plate of various fruits, a fork in hand.
"Weiss." Blake regarded her, considering her choice of words. She had to be careful, no matter how she felt.
"Thank you for the invitation. Where are Ruby and Yang?" Weiss asked as she chewed a cube of watermelon.
Blake set down the apple. "Yang is studying, and Ruby is... not well."
Weiss froze as she swallowed her bite, setting her fork down.
"What do you mean by that?" Weiss asked, concern layered in her honeyed words. Blake narrowed her golden eyes on her ally, making Weiss awfully uncomfortable.
"You know what I mean." Blake stated coldly. "Why don't we chat about her jewelry, hm?"
Weiss frowned. "What about it?" She could hear the venom in the Faunus's words.
"Don't do this again." Blake sighed deeply as she shut her eyes for a moment to resist screaming at the Schnee. "The Soothe Ring. Where did you get it?"
Weiss paled more than usual. "I beg your pardon?"
"Don't, Weiss." Blake threatened. "I am well aware what you did."
"Blake, I-"
"I am not an idiot, so don't dodge the question." Blake growled like a feral beast.
"Blake, I don't know what in the world you are talking about." Weiss decided as she plucked up another fruit on her platter. Blake caught her hand and glared deeply into her icy eyes, marking her with a sense of fear towards the Faunus. For once in her life, she was genuinely afraid of Blake.
"Tell me, Weiss. When you lie to me is it because you think you can get away with it, or do you just not give a damn about the consequences?" Blake hissed out as Weiss dropped the cube of fruit, pulling her arm free. Blake retracted her own as Weiss rubbed the sore wrist, standing up.
"I'm done here." Weiss decided as she turned to leave, Blake standing up with the grinding of her chair against the floor.
"No, you are not!" Blake stormed after the heiress, following her down a corridor. Weiss quickened her pace, looking back to see Blake following her. The Schnee clicked her boots as she went, only to be cut off as Blake appeared before her, having utilized one of her Shadow Clones.
Blake pressed Weiss towards a wall, blocking her from exit as Weiss squirmed to leave.
"Get off of me!" Weiss shouted at the Faunus, Blake extraordinarily frustrated.
"How could you use such horrific methods! Do you even know what a Soothe Ring can do to a person? It is a crutch to lean on, not a replacement for the real deal!" Blake told the girl before her, who thrashed about.
"Leave me alone! You don't understand! You won't!" Weiss shouted back, a small group of students forming around them as they yelled at one another. Neither cared.
"She's a little girl! You just toyed with her to fit your agenda! How dare you think of only yourself!" Blake told the Schnee before her with eyes full of intent and anger. "You don't even know what you did, the danger you put her in!"
"I said leave me alone!" Weiss cried out as she swung her hand out of reflex.
Crack
Blake stepped back, her head tilted to the side.
Weiss lowered her own hand, looking down to it as it was dark red around the knuckles. The heiress trembled as she looked up towards the Faunus girl before her. Blake's cheek was slightly caved in, her jaw off balance as she made no sound. A shocked look on her face reflected back to Weiss, the cat girl spitting onto the floor below her.
Red matter fell.
Weiss looked down to her hands as she opened and closed them repeatedly, unable to form words as she moved her lips like a fish, unable to communicate. Her whole body shook violently as she felt tears stream down her face, backed into the wall as the crowd around them watched in horror.
Blake felt her face and looked to Weiss with wide eyes, not saying anything as well. Weiss breathed deeply and harsh, looking around like a deer in the headlights before bolting off, shoving students out of the way as she went.
"Weiss!" Blake called out as she took a few steps her way, stopping as she looked to the floor, down at the blood she had spilt.
And Weiss ran.
It took Blake hours to track down the missing Schnee.
Her first guess was the dorm room, where Ruby was. She figured Weiss would check on Ruby first before anything else, but oddly enough the Schnee hadn't come into the room at all. Ruby confirmed this as true, Blake having to trust in her friend that she hadn't seen Weiss come in. She much preferred facts to the mere trust of tongue, but she would take what she could get. Blake dialed up Yang numerous times to get her attention, warning her to call back if she were to see the Schnee at any point. While she was furious at Weiss for what she had done to Ruby, Blake refused to allow Yang in on the truth. At least not now. She didn't want to find Weiss in a body bag and Yang in prison over the course of the next few days. Simply telling Yang that Weiss had taken one of her books, the blonde was more than willing to let her friend know if she saw anything of the like. That left Blake to her own tools to track down Weiss.
The library, being covered by Yang, was avoided by the Faunus girl. She instead headed towards the gymnasium, wondering if perhaps she had ran to one of the private sparring rooms available for students to practice in. Blake searched all throughout the building, cursing under her breath as she went. Interrupting several team practices, Blake had no luck in her attempt. The girl then dashed to the next place she would have guessed, being the public park on campus. Her search bore no fruit as she left empty handed, running out of places to hunt as the day went on. She had half a mind to head to Headmaster Ozpin for his advice, then worried that Weiss would be treated criminally for her actions. Blake felt her jaw as she moved it in her mouth, grunting as it felt stiff. Weiss certainly knew how to throw a punch when she wanted to, that was for certain. The Faunus sighed as she walked down the hall of the armory structure, cursing herself for having allowed Weiss to slip away. Perhaps she was too threatening to the Schnee? Maybe so, maybe not. Blake just knew she needed to find Weiss before she did something... stupid. Like a cornered mouse, Weiss was trapped, alone, and overall, frightened. There was no telling what she would do next. Blake forced away thoughts she did not want festering in her mind, moving onward as she thought on where to look next.
"Perhaps she left Beacon altogether..." Blake muttered to herself in audible thought, not paying attention to where she was going. If Weiss had left on an airship she could be anywhere, and that didn't bode well for anyone.
"Hello, Blake." A familiar chipper voice sounded before her as Blake was greeted with the sight of Velvet, one of the members of team CFVY. The accented girl was a friendly face, one Blake was happy to see. "How you going?"
"Velvet, sorry, I've been busy. How are you?" Blake asked as she stopped walking, standing beside her friend.
"I'm alright. Are you running around Beacon as well?" The rabbit asked as Blake raised a brow, curious as to why she would ask that.
Blake frowned. "What do you mean?"
"Well, I ran into Weiss a little while ago. She seemed in a mad dash!" Velvet explained. "Did something happen?"
Blake shook her head. "No, but I have been looking for her."
Velvet pointed out the nearby window, a large tower in the distance.
"She didn't say anything, but she looked to be heading towards the weaponry spire." Velvet offered as Blake thought. She hadn't investigated the tower yet, perhaps her words held a true claim.
"Thank you, Velvet. I'll see you later!" Blake gave her goodbyes as she dashed off, passing by a group of students as she went.
"Gah!" One of them fell as Blake went, growling as she stood up.
"Better watch out, Em." Mercury laughed, Emerald hissing upward at him as she pointed an accusing finger.
"Quiet, motor mouth." The girl taunted.
"Now, now." Cinder cooed the pair to simmer down, waving her hands between them. "Let is not forget our objective. Keep looking for any contenders, and for a date. We do have a dance coming up, now don't we?" She teased as they went on their way down the hall, continuing their sinister work.
Blake scaled the weaponry spire, heading to the open floors. Many sections were closed off for specific weapons testing and creation, most for professors teaching a specific class. The free rooms were towards the tip of the spear, available to all students whenever their weaponry needed repairs. Blake once wondered why it was so far off from the other structures on campus before recalling how dangerous some of the tools they used were. She didn't understand why Weiss would be here of all places. If anything, Weiss considered the building just that. A building. A rather tall building at that. Concern nagged at her mind as she put two and two together, moving faster as she checked room after room.
Weiss wouldn't... no, she wouldn't... would she?
Blake quickened her pace as room after room yielded nothing, dashing from door to door, floor to floor. She was running out of places to look, nearing the final floor at this point. Things weren't looking good.
Reaching the second to last door, Blake considered returning to the ground floor and looking around the forest below. If Weiss had... no, Blake refused to think like this. The girl took a deep breath and turned the door handle, pushing inward to the chamber before her.
Weiss stood just feet away, standing at a table at the far end of the room. A large window was open in front of her, blowing a stern gust of wind every few moments due to their height. Blake shivered at the temperature, going to step forwards when she heard a sharp crunch. The Faunus looked down as she raised her foot, noticing the piles of exposed powdered Dust across the floor, more than enough to detonate the entire floor of the tower. Blake gulped as she moved her foot away from the previous spot, looking over to Weiss as the door shut behind her.
"Weiss?" Blake asked as Weiss jumped at her voice, turning before taking a few steps back. Worry and fear were across her face, along with tears. Plenty of tears.
"B-Blake!" Weiss stuttered out as she looked around frantically. "I... I..."
Blake carefully took a step towards the Schnee who was backed into the table. Something sat behind her which Blake couldn't identify, but she held something in hand. A small piece of grey metal, a hilt of sorts.
Myrtenaster's handle. The weapon was broken.
Pieces of Myrtenaster littered the table top behind her, scattered in a mess. Various Dust types and canisters dotted the landscape of the room, Blake spotting Crescent Rose too upon the table.
It too was in pieces, albeit much less than Weiss's own sword. The mechanics of Ruby's signature weapon were out in the open to those witnessing it, the hard cover case of the weapon set aside nearby. Blake didn't get what was going on, confused. Was Weiss... building something?
"Weiss? What's going on?" Blake asked as Weiss raised her handle, the last bit of Myrtenaster she had left.
"L-Leave me alone..." Weiss demanded before turning back to her work, dropping pieces of her former blade into a large tub. Bubbling sounds began to form as she did so, Blake moving in on her carefully.
"Weiss?" Blake asked before she hesitated. "Listen, I'm not mad about what you did to me. Just calm down and come here."
"You won't understand..." Weiss held herself as she sat down into a nearby chair, dropping the remains of her weapon from her hands as it clanged to the floor.
"Let me." Blake pleaded. "Try me, Schnee. Just once."
Weiss looked to the Faunus with icy eyes, eyes full of fear and pain. Deep, well rooted pain. It was akin to a weed that ceased to die out. Blake theorized that she could cut her fear with a butter knife.
The girl calculated her thoughts, Blake stopping her movement completely as Weiss sized her up. The fears churned in her head, deciding the fate of what was to occur.
"I... I was desperate when you left..." Blake listened intently as Weiss began her talk. "Ruby wasn't doing well... she was breaking down as a person, as a soul... so when I found out the Soothe Ring was a thing, I... I..."
Weiss fell silent for a moment, once more thinking to herself before she opened her maw to begin again.
"I was so hopeful... and when she put the ring on and she started to talk to me... talk to me, Blake! She wanted to! It... It was great!" Weiss spoke to the girl a few feet from herself. "I was so... so happy... for her, for her to be out of her shell. For her to be herself again after so long... after what I did. What I allowed..." Weiss began to sniffle as she dug her nails into her sides, holding herself tight. "I... I know it was selfish, but I just wanted her back..."
Weiss turned her head back to Blake, eyes pooling with tears as the dam no longer could hold back the tide. Liquid streamed down her face with no sign of stopping any time soon.
"And... And when you came to me today... You were going to take all that away, weren't you?" Weiss asked without letting her answer. "I... I couldn't bear the thought... and I hit you... I hit my friend... Blake, I am so... I'm so sorry..."
"Weiss..." Blake spoke, her heart breaking as she said the name. Weiss's words sunk into her own heart, the Faunus feeling tears well up in her own eyes.
"I just... I want her back! She... She doesn't deserve this!" Weiss slammed her left hand down so sudden that it cracked the wooden handle at her side. Weiss looked down and retracted her hand, looking at the floor. "I... I just can't bear to go back to the beginning..."
"Weiss... I understand..." Blake offered genuinely, not a single droplet of deception to be found in her words.
"Do you?" Weiss asked, almost accusingly so. "Ruby... she..." Weiss trailed off as she stood up, moving to the other side of the table before the pair, near the open window. "She is everything to me... I don't care about my family, my money, even my pride! I just want... I want her back..."
Weiss looked to the open circular window, Blake thinking as her eyes began to widen.
"Weiss." Blake spoke sternly. "Stop moving."
Weiss looked to Blake.
"It would make her better... me being gone, wouldn't it?" Weiss asked. "Deep down, she hates me for it... I thought... I thought I could make things better..."
Blake moved to the table, Weiss still standing where she was.
"Weiss. If you even take one more step, know that I won't let you go through with this. I will follow you out." Blake growled, continuing. "And if you go through with what you are planning, I swear to the gods above that I will never forgive you." Blake stated with intent, taking it one step further.
"Ruby will never forgive you."
Weiss froze. "Stop it."
Blake clenched her fist. "No. It's the truth."
Weiss glared. "She hates me."
Blake challenged. "She cares for you more than you can fathom, even if she doesn't realize it."
Weiss bit her lip, taking a few steps back. She was nearly at the threshold of the window. "I said, stop it."
Blake shifted her feet, prepared to leap at the Schnee if she moved even one more centimeter away.
"Weiss, she loves you more than anything on this planet. You just can't see it. It's buried, but it's there!" Blake screamed out of frustration and as a final plea. "If you just throw yourself to the wind, what will that do to her? It would end her! Who knows if she too would do this in the end!"
Blake looked to Weiss with confident eyes, pleading the truth.
"Weiss, please don't do this. If not for me, for Ruby."
The wind that threatened to claim the Schnee gusted through the room, the two girls of ebony and platinum standing at an impasse. All was riding on Blake's final words, begging Weiss to stand with reason. The seconds passed by like hours, the pair locked at the eyes.
Weiss faltered first.
"I..." She began as she took a step, however small it was, towards the table again. "I..."
Blake leapt to her side, holding her close as Weiss fell to her knees, nauseous at the experience she had just gone through.
The pair held one another tightly, neither letting go as they embraced. Blake could feel Weiss crying as her body trembled, herself allowing tears to fall for once in a very long while.
Weiss was safe, and nothing else mattered.
A/N: More to come soon!
Coming Soon: Chapter 7: Rebuilding the Bridges