"So… I'm not sure how much this mission was thought out, but how are we going to find this guy in the middle of a forest?" Ruby asked as she led Weiss through a relatively dry area of the swamp. The ground, once marshy was now hard and brittle under their feet. The only evidence of it being part of the marsh, the dead or dying plants that still sprouted from the dirt.

"I can't believe you have a point." Weiss mumbled under her breath as she trudged along. The hours they'd spent battling the swamp had left her mood in a somewhat dampened state, but at least they hadn't had to deal with any large grimm yet. In fact, the entire area seemed to be relatively free of the creatures barring the odd creep or small gatherings of the avian varieties.

"What was that?" Ruby asked, her voice saying just how much Weiss had failed to keep her voice unheard. Weiss internally sighed but froze when she heard something in the forest. Or rather, a lack of something.

"Ruby, shh… listen." Weiss hissed, bringing Ruby to an abrupt halt.

Ruby stood still for a moment, meeting Weiss's eyes questioningly. "I don't hear anything…"

"I know. Even the bugs aren't making noise." Weiss replied uncertainly. She concentrated carefully on her aura to test the surrounding area and found what she could only identify as a dark shadow of… something. The foreign aura poisoned the air, undoubtedly causing the sudden silence. And it was moving.

"It's coming this way, we have to move. Now!" Ruby jumped into action, pulling Weiss who was still holding her arm along with her.

Ruby drew her scythe and carefully rested it against the trunk of a large tree as Weiss crouched behind a nearby bush as the two focused on keeping their own auras hidden while tracking the incoming presence. The feeling was odd though. Weiss had practiced tracking with her aura fairly regularly in the past years but right now it felt different. The aura was too… clouded. It was as if it wasn't actually there… or as if it was in more than one place at the same time.

"Ruby…" Weiss spoke in a whisper just loud enough for her partner to hear. "I'm going to move. Stay where you are."

Ruby flexed her thumb off the grip of her rifle in a gesture that told Weiss she understood her motive. Weiss slowly rotated the cylinder of her weapon to the green vial of dust so it would look to anyone watching as if she were simply impatient. As she did so, she tensed her leg muscles. The second she felt the cylinder lock into place, she dove behind her partner while twisting and throwing up a glyph which she infused with the green dust that she fired out of her weapon.

She was immediately gratified by what was essentially an explosion as the glyph knocked whatever round was fired out of the air and into the ground as the wind dust activated in a blast. The mud and water exploded skyward creating a mask for their movement as Ruby pulled her back to her feet and swung her around the tree as she quickly scoped through her weapon and scanned the scenery.

"No ID!" Ruby called before diving to the side behind the tree and ducking next to Weiss as something moving incredibly fast literally ripped right through the tree where their heads would have been.

"What the hell was that?" Weiss cursed as she jumped with the assistance of her glyph to the next tree that looked somewhat suitable to provide cover. She peeked out of the side and caught a glimpse of a shadow about a hundred meters out as it swung out from behind a tree. "Found him!"

"Keep moving!" Ruby rushed past Weiss, scooping her up in the process as the tree she was standing behind exploded and a geyser of mud exploded into the air and froze where she'd just been. "The ammo uses dust."

"You don't say?" Weiss asked sarcastically. Ruby giggled as she let her partner down as the ground in front of them exploded. The round didn't seem to have any dust effects and Weiss took a quick glance to see what she could only call a large ball of metal in the hole. "Don't get hit."

"Really, well there goes plan b." Ruby giggled as she fired off three rounds in quick succession, punching holes through a tree at three different heights. The fifty calibre rounds were not as powerful as the cannon ammunition they were being shot at with but it was more than enough to go through a couple feet of solid wood.

"Let's close this gap!" Weiss said as she pulled up a glyph to block another round from hitting Ruby. Her glyph shattered on impact and Ruby just barely moved out of the way as it flew past.

"I can get behind that idea." She agreed while chambering another round. "Felt the wind off that one."

Weiss ran forward, using her glyphs to give herself better footing as Ruby followed with her semblance. She was already formulating a strategy as they moved, incoming rounds had slowed significantly as Weiss noted their attacker seemed hesitant to waste ammunition which indicated a lack of reserve rounds. But the sheer size of the rounds said that close combat would undoubtedly end poorly for them. Well, at least her. Ruby's speed with her sharp blade might be a fair deterrent but only until she took a hit. That meant they would have to keep things at a close range but far enough to manoeuvre around the shots he would inevitably take at them at such a point blank range.

Weiss watched Ruby dodge yet another round as it sailed into the tree behind her and Weiss almost didn't move as a round flew past herself. She chastised herself for being so concerned for Ruby and turned her focus back on the dark figure who kept dodging back behind a tree after every round he fired, giving them almost no chance to see exactly what he looked like.

Ruby started firing rounds with amazing accuracy at the tree with her collapsed scythe. Weiss could barely make out the slight pinging of the rounds hitting metal behind the explosive firing and the crunching of the tree's wood getting destroyed.

"He's got armour. Probably plate or heavier." Weiss yelled as she used one last glyph to launch herself skyward into an ark that would put her in the tree the enemy was using to hide.

"Got it!" Ruby used her scythe to cut down the tree which started falling as Weiss landed on it's trunk with her feet and launched back off it, sending it crashing down where their enemy was standing.

No sooner than it had started racing toward the ground, the bottom of the trunk exploded as another cannon ball ripped through the trunk and send the small bit of the end flying toward Ruby who ducked under it and fired off another round before dodging to the side.

Their enemy was finally visible to Weiss and what she saw was horrifying. The man, if you could call him that, was standing in what looked to be a giant suit of metal much like an Atlesian Paladin, except it was only eight feet tall instead of the twelve foot mechanical hulks that were popular artillery choices for high risk missions. The metal seemed to be molded around a person with no clear way to enter or exit the suit, giving Weiss reason to believe that there might not be a way to remove it. That would mean it would have built in life support systems that could be compromised.

But before she could think more on that topic, the man's gun caught her attention and a thrill of fear ran through her. Strapped to one arm was what appeared to be a cannon that would have normally been mounted to a turret in a grimm defence post. A cannon made to take down Goliaths. The back of it had been modified heavily to attach to a wire track that fed ammunition out of what she could only assume was a backpack that had originally been filled with the massive balls of death. It was already half depleted, but there were at least twenty of the things left.

Weiss summoned a glyph and jumped off it straight at the ground to attack the dark brown shape of heavy armour. She switched to her burn dust and activated it just before she speared her target, sending a wave of heat to cushion her impact as their target slid away in the mud with a plate of his shoulder glowing red as heat radiated from it. He didn't even flinch.

He spun and fired the cannon at Weiss who deflected the inaccurate round with a glyph before freezing the ground beneath the man as Ruby raced up to his rear and attempted to damage the heavy armour that encased him. It didn't work and small little spikes folded open as they sparked with the effects of what could only be electric dust.

"Ruby NO!" Weiss shouted but it was too late as Ruby's scythe bit into the electric spikes and the resulting shock of an explosion sent her to her back as her muscles twitched as she tried to get her scythe to aim in the right direction in the hopes that the round she had chambered would actually do something against the large man.

A psychotic laugh echoed beneath the metal mask as the enemy turned to Ruby with his cannon. Weiss's world seemed to slow as her adrenaline kicked into high gear. She used her green dust on a glyph she summoned beneath her to boost her speed, and then activated her burn dust again as she drove her weapon deep into the man's shoulder of the arm that had the weapon mounted. His laughter was cut off abruptly with a curse as his free hand reached over and grabbed the white-haired huntress before throwing her down next to her partner.

Weiss landed on her back and pulled up a series of glyphs as the man fired a round. It landed on the glyph Weiss had placed at only a slight angle, causing it to deflect into the distance as it started crackling with electricity. She jumped to her feet and ran at the man, knowing Ruby would still need a moment to finish recovering from the electric shock.

She saw the hilt of her weapon still embedded in the man's shoulder and felt satisfied that at least she'd been able to pierce the armour. She moved into range and dodged the fist that flew at her head. She summoned a glyph beneath them both and sent them skyward with a twist.

The metal hulk seemed disoriented as it turned in the air, allowing Weiss to take the hilt of her weapon and pull it free. The man made a grunt as he landed upside down on the ground, the ammunition falling out of his loading mechanism as he collapsed onto his stomach.

Weiss landed with a fair amount more grace as Ruby unsteadily got to her feet. She shook out her arms and fired off a round that put a dent into the heavy metal as the two looked for weaknesses. They didn't have long as the man pushed himself up and fired a round at Ruby who dodged with a roll before firing a few more shots. Weiss noted that he still had three shots left as one of them was pulled into the rear of the weapon.

The man roared and took a step that shook the ground in Ruby's direction. Ruby immediately moved only to be blocked by a wall of dirt that had risen next to her. Weiss screamed as Ruby threw herself flat on the ground as the cannon ball flew over her and hit a tree which seemed to have been dead for a while as it exploded into large heavy chunks that flew everywhere.

Ruby was unlucky as she scrambled to her feet, taking a hard hit in her head from a large tree fragment. Seeing Ruby fall to the ground a second time made Weiss move on the attack to buy time even as more chunks of tree rained down around their opponent.

The man turned his attention to Weiss as Weiss could tell Ruby was out of commission. She attacked quickly, focusing on the joints to his weapon arm before switching once he started to defend them. Weiss counted down as she heard a clunk from the man's weapon which was promptly fired at her feet as she jumped back. The man seemed surprised that she'd dodged in the last possible moment, and equally surprised when she rushed through the geyser of dirt and sent her rapier through his neck.

Weiss huffed at the exertion of the fight as she listened to the man choke on his own blood. But listening more closely, it seemed almost as if he were still laughing through the choking noises. That was when Weiss heard the clunk of his weapon reloading and pulled up a glyph between the two of them as quickly as she could, pouring as much strength into the wall as possible before the cannon fired it's last shot.

Weiss watched as the glyph shattered and the world turned grey as it spun around her in a seemingly random pattern. A small part of her told her she had been in the air as she landed hard against a tree, knocking her head into the rough bark and allowing a burst of stars to join her darkened vision. She couldn't breathe as her vision swam and faded. But she was still able to make out their enemy falling on his back as Ruby slowly pushed herself up while clutching her head. Weiss watched through a tunnel as she sliced the mask off the suit of armour, nodding in approval before replacing her scythe at her back and turning to Weiss with wide eyes.

"…" Ruby's lips moved, but Weiss couldn't make anything out.

She tried to tell Ruby this but couldn't move her lips as her vision swam before her and faded to nothing.

"-ohol. Weiss, if you can hear me, this is going to hurt."

Weiss could barely make out Ruby's voice sounding like it was coming from underwater before the back of her head burned horribly. Then a sharp, stabbing pain erupted in her abdomen as she felt something cold and stiff enter her gut. She wanted to scream, but her body didn't respond to her commands. She felt her consciousness fade again as Ruby's voice, pleading her to stay with her, drifted back into the void.

"Paging Dr. Hunts. Bay three, code blue."

Weiss felt herself bump on some type of platform as air rushed by her. There was too much noise to tell what was happening or where she was going. All she knew was that she couldn't open her eyes and her body was on fire. Then she felt someone attach a mask to her face and her mind swam before falling back into nothingness.

Beep…

Beep…

Beep…

Beep…

Weiss woke to the sound of a steady digital beep that repeated on a fairly regular interval. She tried to remember what had happened, but all she could recall was the odd snippets she'd caught in between blacking out. Then she remembered what had happened and the machine started beeping so fast that it was almost whining.

She and Ruby had been fighting some man in armour and she could only remember Ruby getting hit with a piece of an exploding tree. She snapped her eyes open as noise suddenly rushed into her room and she took in two people in long white coats who rushed to the machinery next to her and one pulled out a syringe as she approached the intravenous bag.

Then she saw Ruby standing in the doorway, her face stained with tears and dirt and heavy bags under her eyes. But even in that state of disrepair, Weiss thought she was the most beautiful thing she'd ever seen. The monitor started to slow and she noticed the doctors exchanging mumbled words as the woman put away the unused syringe.

"Miss Schnee? Can you hear me?" The male doctor asked as he pulled out a pen light. He shined it in her eyes independently as Weiss tried to get some moisture back into her throat.

"Ye…" She breathed quietly. Her throat wasn't exactly sore, but then again, her whole body felt a little numb. She guessed it was whatever painkiller they were pumping into her veins.

"Can you feel this?" He poked her foot with the cap of his pen. Weiss could feel it so she gave a slight nod. "Good, now try to wiggle your toes for me."

Weiss felt his hand rest on her foot and she tried to do as he asked. It was incredibly difficult to tell with the numbness that engulfed her, but she assumed he was satisfied when he removed his hand and placed it on her other foot. She repeated the action and he nodded and made a note. When he took her hands in his, she already knew what he was going to ask and moved her fingers.

"Excellent. What's the last thing you remember?" He asked as the other doctor guided Ruby out of the doorway. "Take your time."

"R-uby." Weiss choked out carefully, attempting to keep her throat under control. "Fight-ing…. She's… okay?"

"Oh, your partner is fine." The doctor dismissed as he made a few notes on a clipboard.

"G… girl-friend." Weiss corrected as the worry that still gripped her failed to dissipate even with the doctor's reassurance. But at least it was getting easier to talk the more she tried. She even felt the beginnings of her saliva start to rehydrate her mouth. "I need to see her."

"What you need is rest, Miss Schnee." The doctor said firmly. "You have five broken ribs, two of which punctured minor arteries causing massive amounts of internal bleeding, and we've had to realign your spinal column. It's very lucky that you don't seem to be paralysed, but we've had to place you on aura blockers to avoid you healing too quickly. The amount of internal damage you sustained would have killed you if your partner hadn't acted as she did."

"Get Ruby." Weiss replied. She knew she needed rest, but by the sounds of it, Ruby wouldn't rest until she knew she was okay. And she knew she wouldn't be able to rest well until she talked to Ruby. "Or I'll find her myself."

The doctor's eyes went wide as Weiss pushed herself up on her elbows. The pain was incredible, like nothing else she'd ever felt before, but at least it helped to clear out the numbness that had held her limbs hostage.

"Fine, I'll get her, but don't you dare try to get up!" He exclaimed as he carefully lowered her back to the bed. "Your spine is very fragile at the moment and there's a distinct possibility that you could end up hurting yourself by attempting to do anything without a doctor to supervise you."

"Looks like we have an agreement." Weiss smiled and closed her eyes for a moment as she tried to block out the last of the wave of pain that had been much more powerful than she had shown. Even if she wanted to, she would probably not try to do that again. Then again, it seemed she wasn't always as logical as she had come to believe.

She heard the doctor leave while mumbling about hunters under his breath, leaving her with only the sound of the heart monitor. A few moments later, she heard the hesitant steps of what could only be Ruby entering. She heard the door click shut and she opened her eyes to find Ruby looking at her with a pair of very red eyes.

"Hi." Weiss said as loud as she dared through her sore throat.

"Oh, god!" Ruby choked as she rushed to the bed, sobs already flowing from her throat as a fresh set of tears streamed forth.

"Ruby, don't cry." Weiss pleaded as she gently took Ruby's hand in her own. The movement sent a spike of pain through her, but she knew how tactile Ruby was. She needed contact right now and this little bit was the best Weiss could do in her current state. Luckily, Ruby's hand wasn't too far from her own.

"They wouldn't tell me anything for so long!" Ruby cried while trying to keep her face out of Weiss's vision. Of course, with Weiss holding her hand, it didn't give her much space to work with. "When they finally let me see you, they told me that you'd died four times in surgery! And then they said that your real fight was just beginning! They said you might not wake up!"

"Ruby, shh…" Weiss whispered as she stroked the back of her girlfriend's hand with her thumb. "It's all over. I'm okay. And according to the doctor, it's thanks to you."

"Weiss-"

"Ruby, just listen. I'm starting to get tired." Weiss said as she realized how tired she truly was. "None of this is your fault, or mine. What matters is that we're both still alive and we completed the mission. We did complete it right?"

Ruby laughed through her tears at how strange Weiss sounded worrying about a mission when she was lying on a hospital bed. "Yeah, you got him Weiss."

"Good." Weiss sighed as she let her eyes drift shut. "Just… don't leave, okay? We'll talk more later."

"Anything you want!" Ruby clasped her hand between both of hers for a moment before letting go and dragging a chair closer so they could keep the contact. Weiss smiled as she took in the quiet sounds of other patients being tended to outside the door.

"And Ruby? I… I'm not sure if it's the drugs talking, but… I think I might… I might be falling in love with you." Weiss said after a moment, knowing she'd be asleep soon.

"Love you too Weiss." Ruby's watery reply came from closer than Weiss expected before she felt the warm breath of the girl ghost past her lips. She smiled as Ruby ever so gently pressed their lips together in a way that made Weiss feel like she was melting. Everything was immediately better. Her pains and aches and even the numbness was less bothersome than before, as if Ruby's lips were the pain medication she really needed.

Weiss sighed in contentment and exhaustion as Ruby backed away and sat in the chair. She entwined her fingers with Weiss's and before long the two fell asleep.

Unfortunately for them, that sleep was not to last, as Weiss awoke with a start as her room was invaded by a nurse carrying a very old telephone.

"Miss Schnee, your father is on the line. He wishes to speak with you and your partner." The nurse said as Weiss came out of her pleasant dream. A wave of dread washed over her as Ruby took the phone. The nurse left after explaining which line he was on and how to activate the speaker phone if necessary.

"Are you sure you're up for this, Weiss?" Ruby asked hesitantly as her finger hovered over the line two button. Weiss hesitated as she watched Ruby hold the receiver to her ear. "If not, I can talk to him for you."

"It's fine. Put it on speaker." Weiss finally decided, relaxing back into her pillows as a wave of nausea washed over her.

Ruby pressed the button and waited a moment as the line emitted a sharp click before returning to silence.

"Hello father." Weiss spoke to the room with her best voice. "To what do I owe the pleasure."

"I'm sure you can imagine my surprise when I find out that you've been committed to a hospital for a near fatal injury." His voice was steel. Not a single emotion conveyed through the words he spoke, neither fear nor anger present in the man's speech. "Is it not within my right to find out how my daughter is doing?"

"Well enough, all things considered." Weiss responded simply. "You wished to speak with Ruby too?"

"Hello sir." Ruby spoke, making her presence in the call known. "Weiss is going to make a full recovery, so you don't have to worry!"

"Yes, I gathered that from the doctor's report." His voice seemed to take on an almost mocking sound, or maybe Weiss simply imagined it as Ruby gave no indication of detecting the same. "And I also hear that you are the reason she is still alive."

"Well… I wouldn't go that f-"

"Yes, she is." Weiss interrupted Ruby's attempt at modesty.

"Then my decision is made. Ruby, have you considered employment post graduation?" Mr. Schnee asked suddenly. Weiss wasn't prepared for the proposition, so it took her a while to soak in what was being said. "As the next generation of the Schnee Dust Company, Weiss poses a significant target for the company's enemies. And while I'm sure her skills are at a satisfactory level, this incident has made me consider additional security. Specifically in the capacity of a personal assistant for Weiss."

Silence reigned in the room for a moment as Ruby absorbed the words as well. Weiss looked to the shocked look on her partner's face and understood immediately what she was thinking. Almost as if her father had also picked up on the situation, he continued speaking as if anything he said would be able to change the girl's mind.

"Of course, I've already gotten a letter of reference from your headmaster, voicing a strong academic ability, as well as a sufficiently high skill in combat." He said quickly, getting to the meat of his argument. "If it is acceptable, I'd like for you to accompany Weiss on her leave of absence and give the role a trial run, as it were."

"Thank you sir, but-"

"What leave of absence?" Weiss asked, once again cutting Ruby off.

"Well, naturally the one I've had approved by your headmaster." Her father spoke as if to a child. "Considering your injury inhibiting you from participating in most of your scholarly activities, I've seen fit to have you return to the SDC for the time being in order to complete your preliminary business training. I've also had Ruby's leave pre-approved should she feel fit to accompany you."

"And how long will this leave be?" Weiss asked suspiciously. "We only have a few months of school left, so postponing this until after graduation wouldn't be too much of an issue at this point."

"Correct, however there is the charity auction and ball that the SDC organizes coming up in a week's time." He said, putting emphasis on the word charity as if it needed emphasis. "It would be good for the company's image to show that the next generation takes interest in these occasions. Especially if it is an inconvenience to do so."

"I'm not the one who will be taking over the company, so why do I care? Plus if I must show interest, why can't I do it next year after I've graduated?" Weiss argued, though she already knew what was going to happen. As if on cue, her father sighed.

"I'm not asking if you'd wish to attend. I'm informing you that you will attend, and, given the opportunity, you will sing. So start preparing a song." He spoke quickly but not harshly, though Weiss could tell he was growing impatient with the conversation. And once again, as if on cue he cleared his throat and the sound of shuffling papers sounded from his side of the line. "I'll expect you in three days' time. And Ruby? I'd ask that you consider my offer, and ask that you at least give this role a trial over the coming weeks as it would allow you to make a more… informed decision regarding this matter."

"I'll consider it." Ruby replied diplomatically.

"Then good day to the both of you." He said before the line went dead. Ruby replaced the receiver and set the phone aside. She looked at Weiss who was already deep in thought. When Ruby's hand squeezed her own gently, Weiss snapped back to reality.

"Sorry about that. He can be… unpleasant when he wants something." Weiss said as Ruby shook her head in denial.

"Forget about it. We'll talk about it later." Ruby stated simply, rubbing the back of Weiss's hand. "So… a ball, huh?"

"Don't remind me." Weiss grumbled. "It's just an excuse for all the rich pricks, who think they're helping by throwing their money around, feel good about themselves."

"Well, I wouldn't want you to get bored…" Ruby hummed in thought as she tapped her chin with one finger.

"Ruby… you don't have-" Weiss cut herself off as she saw the look in Ruby's eyes. It was the look she always got when she'd made a decision and nothing on Remnant would be able to change it. Weiss sighed and smiled at Ruby as another idea struck her. "Ruby, would you be my date to the ball?"

"Thought you'd never ask." Ruby replied with a smile as she stretched over her girlfriend to place a gentle kiss on her lips.

"Good." Weiss smiled as Ruby resumed her seat. "Because I really don't want to have all the suitors my father invited fawn over me the entire time."

"Ah… now I see why you're going out with me." Ruby hummed thoughtfully, giving Weiss a look that said she'd just figured out the secret of life.

"Dolt. It's… a perk, maybe?" Weiss blushed and looked away. She cursed the painkillers, realizing they definitely were inhibiting her ability to stay composed if she was being so open and bashful with Ruby. Remember, Weiss. Don't get too attached. She scolded herself internally, already knowing how useless the reminder was. She'd been attached to Ruby since the second month of their first year.

Ruby perked up a bit at the unsure statement and giggled, looking at Weiss in surprise. There was something else… something unspoken that Weiss was thinking, and Ruby recognized the look as one she'd seen when strategizing with her partner before countless missions.

"What are you planning Weiss?" Ruby asked hesitantly, not liking the mischievous look Weiss had in her eyes, yet getting excited by it at the same time as her bright blue gaze seemed to devour her.

"Something that is completely crazy." Weiss replied. "And I'm on drugs at the moment, so maybe it's downright insane, but…"

"Yeah?" Ruby asked, leaning in slightly.

"It's a secret." Weiss replied, second-guessing her plan at the last moment. She knew Ruby would be thinking about this almost non-stop until she found the answer, but wasn't entirely sure her plan was even feasible. "I'll tell you when my head's on straight again."

A/N:

So this took a long time, and for that I'm sorry. I had at least six vastly different versions of this that I ended up scrapping because it just didn't end up working out. And with the greatly reduced time I have to write - let's just say it wasn't a good combination.

Thank you all for reading, and I'll see you next chapter!