Blake tightened her bandage-wrapped fist until the pain made her eyes cringe. How could I hurt Ruby, she thought when she knew she should be thinking, Why did Yang leave? She wasn't sure if she was angry at Ruby or herself anymore. After the grinding in her teeth began to hurt, she looked at Weiss casually sipping her cup of coffee. "Why did Yang leave?"
Weiss looked at Blake tactfully. "Well, I could tell you what everybody thinks. Or I could tell you what I think. Which would you rather have first?"
Blake looked at Weiss with an even more angry stare. How dare she act so calm, she thought. Blake remembered something. Stop it. This is your friend Blake. She's not going to hurt you like...like that dream Ruby did. "You decide," she blurted out in her confusion.
"Ok then. Everyone thinks Yang is on the run. Blake, they think she is the one who killed Ozpin. Goodwitch has every available police officer and hunter scanning the streets for her like some common criminal."
"But, why would Yang kill Ozpin?!" Blake shouted. She ran her hand across her face, sliding her hair backwards. "It doesn't make any sense."
"I don't think Yang would have had a good reason to kill Ozpin either, Blake. But the truth of the matter is that she ran away. The innocent don't run away, Blake. Whether she killed Ozpin or not, she has something to do with this.
"How can you say that!" Blake said, slamming her fist onto the table, knocking Weiss's cup over. The gash on her knuckle re-opened and a small trail of blood trickled down the length of her arm as the coffee dripped onto the floor.
Weiss wasn't fazed. She watched Blake hold her knuckle as she tried to keep the blood from escaping. The look in Blake's eyes was only comparable to guilt. "Look," Weiss said, "You've been asleep for three days. I know it's not ideal that you wake up and find out that the principle has been cut up like a pig and that your girlfriend might have something to do with it. But, this isn't the time to feel sorry, Blake. This is the time to be real. You, Ruby, and I have to figure out what is going on before more people end up like Ozpin."
"What do you mean?" Blake asked. "Are you saying another murder is going to happen?"
"I'm not sure," Weiss responded, pulling out her scroll. It contained a picture of several runes burned onto a scrap of old paper. "But this was left at the scene of the crime. No one knows what it means yet. But, I would guess that it's a message to join whichever sicko that did this's game. The bastard is toying with us."
Blake's eyes opened with shock when she realized the runes on the paper were the same she saw on the giant wooden door in her dream. She grabbed the scroll from Weiss's hand without thinking. The princess almost elbowed Blake in the face for it, but Blake didn't care. She found that the longer and harder she stared at the image, the clearer the words became.
Blake read the message as:
Hello Miss Belladonna. Did you enjoy your little trip? I hope you did. I made sure you would have a nice little welcoming present when you got back. I hope you liked that at least. But that doesn't matter does it? You're more concerned about what is going on I bet. Well, not to sound childish, but I'm not going to tell you. Actually, that's not true. I'm going to tell you everything you need to know. Just not in the way you will be expecting me. Let's just call this a race against time with your awakening being the starting gun. You have three days Mrs Belladonna. Three days until the next one's turn. Who will it be? Even I don't know! I suggest you start at where this all began. Oh, and best of luck. With regard, Mr. Habit.
Blake recited the words out loud to a confused Weiss. During her speech, Blake did not blink once. Nor did it look like she even took a breath. After she was done, she blinked back into reality, sweat dripping from her forehead. Weiss took her scroll back with a little trepidation. "Are you OK?" she asked.
"I'm fine." Blake panted, wiping the sweat away with her bandaged wrist. "We need to go back to the crime scene. I think we'll find a clue there.
"Blake, the police have been all over Ozpin's office. They couldn't find anything that even looked like a clue."
"Then maybe they just can't see it!" Blake yelled. The fierceness in her eyes wanted her to move now.
"Alright," Weiss said, raising her palms to Blake, "If you think that is what's best. I'll go get Ruby."
"What?" Blake blurted. Her vision flash backed to that dream night with Ruby holding Yang in her blood covered arms, smiling like she was alive for the first time.
"Like I said. I'm going to go get Ruby and we are going to go to Ozpin's old office." Weiss said walking to a nearby locker. She retrieved Blake's clothes from it and tossed them at her. "You should get dressed. You can't be running around with scrubs on all day. I'll be back with Ruby."
Before Blake could object, Weiss was gone. She wanted to follow her and stop her. But what would she say. Don't! She'll cut you in half? Blake threw her sweat stained scrubs to the ground and used a rag and the nearby sink to wash the dry sweat off her body. After drying herself, she changed into her usual attire. The air inside the room was filled with a solemnity that scared Blake.
Blake's heart stop once she heard the knock on the door. It exploded into rapid fire once she heard it open. Her vision went nearly hazy when she saw Ruby, the black eye scaring her beautiful face. "Hey Blake!" Ruby said before watching Blake fall to the floor.