The events of Volume 4 won't start for a few chapters, as I said before. JNPR helping Ruby in her trip to Mistral will still happen, but there's going to be a few additions to the group.

Also, this chapter is meant to be emotional. Expect quite a bit from Weiss this chapter, along with a super vulnerable Yang and a bonus scene from Loki that I'm sure many will appreciate.

Cadeliam12- Like I said last chapter, in order to get the Volume 4 events done in time for canon's Volume 5 to start, I'd need to throw out every chapter like this one and compress a number of canon episodes into single chapters, something I'm not too keen on doing. Content won't be abandoned as we move forward, I'm simply trying to decide what to do at that point. Also, the precise threat Dr. Watts presents to the Roses will be discussed in this chapter.

Chapter 37: A Dragon's Anguish and A Rose's Cloak

Patch, Outside the Xiao Long Residence, with Team RWBY, Aurelius, Adrienne, and Winter

Weiss let out a sigh, carrying Ruby's cloak as she walked alongside the men carrying the wolf faunus into the small house, Blake up ahead with Yang. Before they reached the porch, Weiss felt a hand land on her shoulder and turned to see Aurelius behind her. "Adrienne, can you keep an eye on Ruby for me please? Weiss and I will be back in a few minutes." Weiss went to protest when a glance from the Blue Rose silenced her. Adrienne nodded before heading inside while Winter followed behind. Aurelius started walking off into the woods, using his staff for support.

Eventually, the pair came to a clearing. Aurelius hummed as he sat down, Weiss following quietly. "This should be a good spot for us to speak. Now then…" Aurelius looked Weiss in the eye before he started. "What do you know about a Rose and their cloak?"

Weiss hesitated, thinking back. The memories of the first night at Beacon and the Nevermore piercing Ruby's cloak, as well as the girl's look of terror in both situations, were permanently burned into the heiress' mind. "Well… I know Ruby really doesn't like leaving her cloak out of her sight and she became terrified during the Initiation test when it was damaged… I know she did something to repair it, and there's only five instances where I've seen her without her wearing her cloak. The first is when she's asleep, but she insists on laying on top of it. The second is, presumably, when she takes a shower, but she takes it into the bathroom with her. The third was during the dance. The fourth was after she was… shot…" Weiss took a deep breath to calm herself down. "And the last one was when she gave it to me. Other than that, the times I've seen her without her cloak she seems unwilling to use the transformative aspect of her semblance."

Aurelius nodded. "Most people think a Rose's cloak is some symbol of a deep-rooted vanity, but that's not the case. You see, there's a… unique aspect to the Rose Storm that requires someone to be wearing a cloak or something similar for the semblance to awaken. When that happens, our cloaks become a focus for the Rose Storm's transformative rose petal aspect. It is far easier for us to convert our cloaks into a cloud of rose petals than it is for us to do so with anything else, but it also becomes almost impossible for us to use that aspect or the transitionary aspect without our cloaks."

Weiss listened quietly before she spoke up. "H-how… How does that work exactly?" Weiss swallowed nervously as Aurelius' face grew grim.

"The exact process makes our cloaks both our greatest strength and our greatest weakness. Once a Rose's Aura is unlocked or awakened, the next time they wear a cloak or something similar, part of their Aura becomes permanently bound to it, giving it a protection of its own."

Weiss blinked. "How would that work exactly? The only way any creature or object could have an Aura is if it had…" Weiss paled suddenly. "A-a soul?"

Aurelius nodded. "When a member of our family awakens the Rose Storm, part of their soul becomes permanently bound to their cloak…" He gestured to the red fabric in Weiss' hands, causing her gentle grip on it to become a protective embrace. "You hold in your arms part of Ruby's very being." Weiss looked down at the fabric, eyes watering as Aurelius continued. "No Rose has the fortune to know exactly how much of their soul is contained in their cloak, but the Aura protecting a Rose's cloak is always far stronger than their Aura on its own. As I'm sure you've discovered, it's powerful enough to banish any chill or allow them to endure heatwaves."

"Not only that, but this is also why a Rose will never be able to choose the color of their cloak. The shard of their soul within always ensures the color matches that of the rose that best defines who they are and what they want, just as the tips of our hair are always the same color," Aurelius stated.

Weiss looked up nervously. "So… W-what does Ruby's cloak say about her then?"

Aurelius smiled before he spoke up. "Love, romance, courage, and respect. A red rose stands for those four things and any Rose that has a red cloak is also driven by them. Ruby's cloak says that she's driven by a desire to find love and that courage is important to her. A warrior willing to put herself in harm's way for others, driven by a gentle heart."

"I-I see…" Weiss took a moment to process this when a thought crossed her mind. "What would happen if a Rose's cloak is damaged or destroyed?" she asked, silently dreading the answer.

Aurelius let out a sigh. "Any damage to a Rose's cloak results in mental, emotional, and psychological trauma as part of our soul is damaged or torn apart. This is partially because a Rose is intimately aware of anything that happens to their cloak on top of the spiritual damage. If that happens, a Rose can spend time to use their Aura to repair it, so long as parts weren't removed. If that's the case, each piece needs to be recovered and either melded back into the cloak or burned to release the shard of their soul contained within since the soul won't allow each piece to decay naturally for a long time, sometimes centuries after the Rose dies. If pieces are burned, the cloak can be repaired using a new piece of fabric, causing the displaced shards of the soul to bound to them."

Aurelius leaned forward. "As for what happens if a Rose's cloak is destroyed, that depends on each specific Rose and how much of their soul is contained within it. If they're lucky and a smaller portion of their soul is held within their cloak, they would be left in a daze while their soul returns to them. After that, they would need to bind their soul to another cloak to use their full strength again… Unfortunately, not everyone is that lucky and any Rose that suffers through their cloak's destruction when a large part of their soul is contained within will either go mad until their soul recombines or die instantly. Conversely, the condition of a Rose's cloak tells you a great deal about their state of mind. If a Rose is miserable and gives up on everything they care about, their cloak will quickly become tattered on its own."

"Is that why Ruby doesn't want to go near Yang when she's using her semblance?" Weiss asked.

"That's correct. While our cloaks are physical manifestations of our soul, they're still vulnerable to flames. Burn Dust, Burn aspect semblances, and corrupted Maidens are therefore the greatest threat to our existence," Aurelius stated. "Likewise, Frost Dust and Frost aspect semblances are often seen as a major blessing for us."

"When this was discovered the Rose family created a set of rules. A Rose must always ensure their cloak is in pristine condition, they can never take it off or leave it unattended in a room with people they don't trust, and they should never remove it during a fight or give it to someone unless they have absolute faith in them, and even then, only when the situation is dire." Weiss went wide-eyed at this.

"So… Why would she…" The heiress paused as she thought back to the Red Rose's interactions with her since meeting. Every cheerful smile the wolf faunus sent her way, every look of concern… Weiss smiled slightly, tears running down her cheeks. "S-she loves me…"

Aurelius nodded. "She loves you enough to go into a fight without her full strength and risk her own demise rather than risk you dying."

Weiss looked down at the cloak. "Yang told me Ruby was going to ask someone out to the dance but she saw them ask someone else out… I was trying to ask Neptune out to prove to myself that I wasn't falling for her and it didn't work. She must have already been in love with me back then… Even after that she was still willing to be around me, even if it hurt…"

"And it means that she'd like nothing more than to know her feelings were returned," Aurelius said, causing the heiress to look up at him.

"Thank you for telling me this, Aurelius…" Weiss said as she stood up. Aurelius joined her as she started walking back to the house.

"There's no need to thank me… And Weiss…" The heiress looked at the Blue Rose before he put a hand on her shoulder. "Just remember, no matter what happens, there's always a place in the Rose Quarter for you." Weiss' eyes lit up as she smiled.

"T-that means a lot to me…" Weiss said before the man started walking.

"Don't thank me yet, you still need Qrow's approval, and he's not the biggest fan of your family right now…" Weiss looked down, biting her lip at this.

"It doesn't matter… I'm not my family and I'll do whatever I need to do to prove it to him. Ruby's done so much for me and I want to show her I appreciate it," Weiss said.

"That's the spirit, Weiss… I need to head back to Bastion to coordinate the search and rescue operations and tracking down the rest of the White Fang in Vale. Before I go, I'd like you to have this," Aurelius said before he handed Weiss a Scroll with the Rose Crest engraved on it. "With the CCT Tower down, quick communication between the kingdoms is no longer possible. We're working on modifying the Citadel Tower to stand in for the Beacon Tower, but until then we've modified a few Scrolls work using the same principle as the Speakers as well as the CCT network. Even if every CCT Tower is destroyed, you'll be able to use this to contact anyone with another Scroll modified the same way, including Ruby."

Weiss smiled at him. "T-thank you…" Weiss slid it into her pocket before walking into the house.

When she got to Ruby's room, she glanced around, smiling at the drawings on the wall and Grimm figurines on the shelf. "It's just like Ruby to have a room like this…" She glanced at the bed and her smile softened before she walked over. She leaned down and placed a soft kiss on Ruby's forehead before sitting down. Weiss placed the red cloak in her lap before grabbing Ruby's hand.

With Yang and Blake

Blake let out a sigh as she sat down next to Yang's bed. She gave the blonde's hand a squeeze before laying her head down, looking up at her partner sadly. She was starting to doze off when she felt Yang's arm move. The cat faunus shot up, wide awake as the blonde's eyes opened. "Yang? Are you okay?" Blake asked nervously.

Yang looked at her before letting out a groan, moving to rub her head with her right hand, causing Blake to pale. "W-what… happened…" Yang blinked when she noticed she didn't see her arm, glancing down at the stump. After a moment she went wide-eyed "No… No!" She let out a pained cry as she went to curl up in a ball, only for Blake to put her hands on the blonde's shoulders.

"Yang! Listen to me! You need to take a deep breath! Everything's going to be fine!" Yang glared at her partner, red eyes glistening as she started crying.

"Fine? Fine?!" Yang pointed at her stump. "How is this fine?!" A sob escaped her lips before she continued. "I'm never going to be a Huntress now! I can't go see the world like this! And I'll never know why my mom…"

Blake quickly wrapped her arms around Yang. "Yang… I know it feels hopeless, but you need to listen. This isn't the end of your hopes and dreams, okay? You're Yang Xiao Long, the most determined, noble person I've met. You've fought Ursai, taken out entire gangs, and you've helped me come to terms with my past. I know you'll get through this. You'll learn how to fight with one arm, you'll still be able to travel the world and help people, and you'll still learn why your mom left. And I'm going to be there for you every step of the way, because I love you!" Blake blushed slightly at the end, but kept a serious face.

Yang looked at her, eyes returning to their normal lilac as tears ran down her cheeks. "P-promise?" she asked meekly.

Blake wrapped her arms around the blonde, trying to show support for her. "I've never seen her this vulnerable… Have you always been so scared that everyone would abandon you, Yang?" Blake thought sadly. "I promise, Yang…" The blonde started sobbing quietly as the cat faunus slid onto the bed, gently rubbing her back. "I'll always be there when you need me."

Yang cried for a bit before she sat up, wiping her eyes. "I-I'm sorry, Blake. I shouldn't have exploded at you like that." Blake leaned in and gave her a peck on the cheek.

"It's fine, you handled it better than I expected," Blake said with a smile. "Are you feeling better now?"

Yang gave a weak grin. "Yeah, thanks for that, Blake. I'm kind of surprised Rubes didn't hear that. Is she out in town or…" Yang's smile faltered as Blake looked down. "Blake, Ruby's okay… Right?"

Blake looked up apologetically. "Physically, yes, but… She went up to the top of the Beacon Tower to fight Cinder. We're not sure what happened, only that Qrow found her up there out cold with a flash bang next to her. Considering how she uses her secondary in most big fights and how sensitive her sight and hearing are normally…" Blake let out a sigh, running her hands through her hair. "She's in a coma, Yang. Weiss is in her room keeping an eye on her."

Yang looked down, clenching her fist. "Why does that keep happening to her? It just seems like she can never catch a break…" Blake put her hand on top of Yang's.

"I don't know, I really don't. But I'm sure she'll be fine, right?" Yang nodded quietly before her stomach growled, causing Blake to roll her eyes. "Do you want me to get you something to eat?"

Yang rubbed the back of her neck. "Um, maybe something simple? A sandwich, some popcorn, something like that?"

Blake smiled. "Sure, we could watch a movie if you want. To help take your mind off things."

Yang smiled weakly. "Y-yeah, I'd like that… maybe ditch the bow for a bit too?" Blake smiled at the blonde.

"I'll think about it, okay?" she said, causing Yang to pout a bit. She helped the blonde up and started to lead her out of the room.

"By the way, Blake?" The cat faunus turned to look at her curiously as she looked down meekly, a light blush on her cheeks. "I… I love you too."

Blake rolled her eyes before giving Yang a quick kiss. "I know you do Yang. Come on, let's go watch a movie."

Bastion, Citadel Command Center, with Loki and Janus

"This is ridiculous! Do you know who I am?" a white-haired man in an all-white suit roared at Loki from the screen. The Prefect glanced at him disinterestedly.

"No, I don't believe I do. I'm afraid I missed your name the first five times you gave it," Loki said, voice dripping with sarcasm.

"I'm asking you for one thing, you hunk of scrap metal! I want to know where my daughter is!"

"I'm sorry, Mr. Schnee, but I can't help you with that right now. I know you're worried about your daughter's safety in what amounts to a warzone, but we can't allow any civilian craft into the area around Vale until we know for certain there's no anti-air defenses or White Fang waiting in ambush and we're currently busy trying to locate almost a hundred people in the ruins. I know this must be an extreme inconvenience for you, but orders are orders." Loki giggled quietly as a vein bulged on Jacques' neck.

"Listen here. I'm going to give you one last chance to do what I've said. If Weiss isn't on my ship in half an hour, I will bar Dust exports to your floating city!"

Loki made an exaggerated gasp. "Oh no! Please don't do that Mr. Schnee! Our city only has a massive self-replenishing Dust Crystal that could power us for eternity! Please don't rob us of the zero crates of Dust we need to import to keep our society alive!" Loki chuckled as Jacques turned red with rage. "Please, you seem to forget we don't need your company to function. You hold no sway here. You're going to have to follow the same rules as everyone else. When the situation is resolved, we will attempt to contact you to inform you. Once that occurs, you may go through the proper channels to locate your daughter."

Jacques growled. "I'll be back in a few days. I don't care if it's "safe" by then, I will be getting my daughter. Is that clear?"

Loki scoffed. "Only if you go through the proper channels Mr. Schnee. Now please, do me a favor and get out of my face." Loki quickly cut the connection, causing Janus to look at him.

"You are aware we're supposed to allow them to land in Bastion to see if they're here, right?" Janus said, causing Loki to shrug.

"Yeah, but I really just wanted to tell him to fuck off…"

Janus let out a sigh. "Of course I need to write a report about this situation now…"

With Winter and Aurelius

"So, Ironwood wants you to help out with the search and rescue before heading back," Aurelius stated simply, glancing down at the tablet in his hand. The transport shook as they continued the flight.

"That's correct. He feels that we need to show as much support for the people of Vale as possible and I was selected to stay behind to assist," Winter said.

"Strange. From what I heard, the assignment was volunteers only," Aurelius said, glancing at her curiously. She growled and looked away.

"I felt that it would be best if Atlas' most capable soldiers remained behind to assist." Aurelius hummed.

"They could have done well enough as it was. I'm more curious about why you selected this assignment when being around me seems to make you so uncomfortable."

"What do you mean?" Winter asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I've asked you a series of questions, on in each of our encounters beyond our initial meeting, and every single one either received no answer or an evasive response," Aurelius stated, causing Winter to blink. "I find it odd that you would fail to find an answer that would be acceptable or that you can't look me in the eye when you do attempt to find one."

Winter growled. "Perhaps it's because I get the impression you're judging or evaluating me for some reason whenever you're looking at me!" Aurelius glanced at her before responding.

"Perhaps it's because I feel as though there's more to you than the disciplined, strict soldier you appear to be and I'm trying to decide if that's true." Winter's glare faltered as the tablet chimed in Aurelius' hand. "Ah, it seems there's been an incident involving Loki…" He read through it before a slightly amused expression crossed his face. "I'm not sure how to handle this, but it appears he got into an argument with your father." Winter blinked in surprise before taking the tablet from the Blue Rose.

She glanced through the report before smiling slightly. "I doubt my father expected for anyone to ever refuse his demands. This should be… interesting." She quickly handed the device back to Aurelius, who let out a sigh. Winter glanced out the window, thinking quietly about what Aurelius mentioned earlier.

This chapter was fun to write. Bumblebee is now official in this, but White Rose is obviously still in the air and only one step from being official, depending on how I decide to have the next few chapters go.

I felt that having a scene with Loki trolling Jacques would be fun to do and explain why he doesn't show up and drag Weiss off immediately. Let me know what you think of it.

I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter.