Climax! Be prepared folks, shit's about to happen!

Please support me on Pa-treon as 'The tanker' if you like my stories *less than three*

I do not own RWBY.

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Chapter 15: Wilted Rose

Ruby was rushed to the hospital along with that driver – meaning that she was still alive.

But none of them went with her on the ambulance, because they were too shocked to even react.

What Ruby was holding so tightly in her arms was a severely injured baby cat – she must've rushed to the road to save it from the incoming car.

The cat was dead when she was moved into the ambulance, so the paramedics just left it there on the road, along with Ruby's scroll and Crescent Rose.

Police arrived shortly after that, cleaning up the mess and taking the three girls to the hospital for shock treatment. Yang made sure to grab Ruby's belongings before they got inside the car; she put the scroll inside her pocket and the bloodstained Crescent Rose on her lap while holding it tightly.

None of them said anything during the journey. Witnessing such horrible accident – even if it wasn't the full process – was enough to cause them to go over PTSD.

Doctor Oobleck gave them clearance after he treated them, telling the female officer who brought them here that they only need to get a really good rest. He also gave some medicine just in case.

Qrow and Summer arrived then, asking the doctor about their daughter's condition. The girls were instantly being washed with guilt upon seeing the couple.

According to them, Ruby was still in critical condition as her head had sustained severe concussion. She was still in the surgery room at the moment, and they could only hope for the best.

They sat there in silence, each had a bit of distance with one another while waiting for the light of the tag above the door to go off, and hoping that the doctor's face would be a happy one when he stepped out of the room.

Two men and three women rushed to their respective daughters and sister when they had arrived at the hospital.

"Weiss baby, you okay? You're not hurt are you?" Weiss' father said while her mother hugged her tightly.

"Blake honey, are you hurt?" Blake's parents also hugged her; Beatrix checking on her for any injuries.

Both girl didn't say anything and instead just kept looking at the ground. They couldn't even cry – it felt painful, their chests were about to burst but at the same time it was hollow.

Like their hearts wanted to let the feel flow, but their brains were stubbornly refusing it, trying to block out this hurtful memory.

Yang looked at her friends' parents who were busy comforting their child. A slight pain slashed through her heart and she turned back to stare at Crescent Rose which was resting peacefully on her lap.

"Hey, firecracker."

Not just Yang; Blake and Weiss all had flinched listening to Qrow speak for the first time since they arrived. The Schnees and Belladonnas were quiet too, all looking at the victim's father.

"Yes, and you two." The man continued.

All the girls gulped simultaneously; Summer was smiling faintly beside him as he spoke.

"Don't blame yourself on this." Qrow said, his expression unreadable, "This is an accident. It's not anyone's fault."

Yang was the first one to break down as she covered her face with both her hands and sobbed intensely while mumbling the girl's name. Weiss turned to another side, unable to withstand such heartbroken scene as tears silently fell from her eyes. Blake just sniffed quietly, biting her lips until it bleed while clenching her fists tight.

They heard movements then, but none was in the mood to fulfill their curiosity.

A shadow stood in front of Yang, and as the girl moved her hands away she saw Summer.

The woman just smiled as she hugged Yang, not bothering about being careful to not touch her hair. The girl's face was buried in her chest, and she wasn't making any movement – she just sat there lifelessly while Summer stroked her back.

"It's not your fault."

The woman understood that all the girls would blame themselves over Ruby, but she also knew that the blonde needed a family to share her pain. Weiss and Blake had families, but Yang was alone.

That was why she approached Yang first.

"I'm…sorry…" Yang's voice was hoarse.

"Sssh. I told you, it's not your fault." Summer answered, then turned to the other girls, "And it's not anyone's fault either. Let's pray that Ruby will be fine instead of blaming yourselves, alright?"

Weiss stood up then, followed by Blake as they walked to Yang, each sat on her both her sides respectively. Summer released the blonde and walked back to her husband, the other parents present went to them to give them comforts.

Winter joined the three girls as she knelt down in front of them, telling them that it would be fine, that Ruby would definitely make it. The woman then offered to return Crescent Rose to Ruby's parents, and they all nodded as an affirmative.

The monochrome pair knew just how much Yang was wounded – first her mother, then Topaz, and now Ruby who was already her sister basically – all her loved ones were leaving her one by one.

But Ruby was different.

She hadn't left yet; she would definitely be alive. She would definitely get through this; she was a huntress, a hero wannabe that wanted to save the people from the most fearsome monsters ever existed.

Roman arrived soon and after making sure Yang was fine, he went to join the adults.

Several hours later, the light went off, signaling the end of the emergency surgery on Ruby. The gang stood up immediately as the doctor walked out; his expression however was covered by the mask.

"Which one of you are her parents?" The doctor asked.

"We are." Qrow and Summer said simultaneously.

"Your daughter is safe." The doctor said.

"Oh Dust…" Summer breathed a sigh of relief as Qrow wrapped his arm around her shoulder.

"However…"

Everyone present was trembling with fear as the doctor continued his sentence.

"She's in a coma at the moment and the chance of her…waking up is pretty small." The doctor paused for a moment, "Perhaps a miracle is required."

Summer broke down immediately; Qrow held her when she collapsed and hugged her tight, mumbling 'at least she's still alive' in her ears.

"I'm sorry, we've already tried our best. It was already a miracle that she survived the crash." The doctor shook his head, "I'll be transferring her to Room 4-25, you can visit her shortly."

The nurses then pushed Ruby out from the room. Her aura had healed almost all the external wound, but it wasn't powerful enough to cure her internal condition. Summer asked the nurses about sharing aura, but they told her that it wouldn't help much. The doctor told them that it was likely she had concentrated her aura on one side of her body to protect something in her arms, which was the main reason her head was injured that badly.

The girls immediately thought of the baby cat.

Ruby's head was bandaged; the left side of her body was completely fine while her right side had several bandages.

#

"Blake, where are you going?!" Beatrix shouted when her daughter ran away right before the gang entered Ruby's hospital room.

"Blake!" Her father chased after her immediately. Beatrix threw a look at Summer and Qrow and both of them had nodded. She then took off after her family.

"Why did she run?" Weiss said; her tone wasn't an angry one – it was more of genuine curiosity.

Why run away at the moment they had been waiting for so long? Why run away before seeing Ruby?

"Can't face it." Yang mumbled; she wasn't in the mood to care for anyone other than Ruby now.

Her fist was clenched tightly; her teeth gritting with anxious. She could completely understand why Blake ran, because she was just as afraid as the girl.

But she didn't want to run.

Not before taking at least a look at Ruby.

She felt Weiss grabbing her hand; it was cold as ice, shaking with fear and uncertainty - she knew the heiress was just as scared as she was.

Yang nodded, and the heiress mimicked her action.

Qrow and Summer had pushed open the door as the gang stepped inside.

Ruby was lying peacefully on the hospital bed with various equipment attached to her body. She was breathing with the help of an oxygen mask; there was a blue colored machine monitoring her condition as it showed her heartbeat, body temperature etc.

It seriously broke their hearts to see the girl like this.

Her parents walked to her first while the others were waiting at the back.

"Ruby…" Summer held her hand tightly.

"She'll definitely wake up." Qrow kissed his wife's head.

"Go." Roman whispered in Yang's ear, startling the girl.

"You too, Weiss." Winter gave her sister a gentle push.

Summer shifted from her current position to let the freezerburn pair see their beloved friend.

Yang gasped and covered her mouth with her palm, tears spilled from her eyes as Ruby came to sight.

Weiss on the other hand had collapsed to the ground; Summer holding her just before her knees touched it. She sobbed intensely, grabbing both Summer's arm and tried very hard to squeeze out a sentence.

"I'm…sorry…I…couldn't…find her…soon enough…I'm so sorry…" She suppressed the urge to shriek hysterically.

"Weiss honey, it's not your fault." Summer lifted her up and hugged her tightly.

"Yeah." Yang whispered, "It's mine. I shouldn't have suggested the game in the first place."

"Yang, please…" Weiss released herself from Summer's embrace and stood on her own feet, "It's mine…I should've…"

"Hey, stop, both of you." Qrow turned to both girls.

Their families were quiet the whole time, only sending them worried looks; no one dared to talk, for they didn't want to upset them by accident.

Just right before Qrow wanted to say something, a knock was heard coming from the entrance. The door was open, so they could see the guest – it was that female officer who brought the girls to the hospital.

"I'm sorry to interrupt." The officer said, "My name is Griffon. I believe you girls know…me…wait, where is Miss Belladonna?"

"Hello officer." Roman greeted, "Miss Belladonna had gone back with her parents as she wasn't feeling too well."

The rest of them just nodded; they didn't want Officer Griffon to stay in the room for too long.

"Alright." She then walked to Qrow and Summer, "I believe you are Ruby Rose's parents?"

The couple nodded.

"The police had carried out an investigation on the car crash." She paused a moment, then eyed the other people, "Do you want me to speak to you privately or…?"

"It's fine, they should be kept inside the loop." Summer answered.

"Alright." Officer Griffon cleared her throat when she took out a photo from a file that she was carrying.

She then showed the photo to all of them, asking if they recognized him, but all shook their head.

"His name's Vincent Lancaster." Officer Griffon said, "He's the driver that hit your daughter."

For a moment the room flamed with anger, but it had settled down after Summer cleared her throat and asked the woman to go on.

"He is dead." Officer Griffon said, "His alcohol level was point thirteen."

"Very drunk." Winter said.

"Yes. We believe he was drunk when he was driving. There was a dead baby cat at the crime scene, so it is likely that Miss Rose dashed out to save it from being hit by the car."

"Isn't Ruby's semblance speed?! Why didn't she use it?" Yang half shouted.

"Ruby can't use her semblance when she isn't able to focus." Qrow shook his head, "She's still training to improve that aspect."

"Damn…" The blonde cursed.

"So, it's not your fault, Yang and Weiss." Summer held both their hands, "It was the driver's fault."

It's lucky that that Lancaster bastard is dead. If he's alive I would've ripped his heart out by my own hand.

Yang's eyes burned with crimson as she thought.

But it disappeared a millisecond after – because it wasn't totally that guy's fault.

Yang blamed herself.

Still.

"She was supposed to be a hero." The blonde said softly, hand running through Ruby's silky hair, "Not the sleeping beauty."

#

"Blake, please open the door." Beatrix pleaded.

"Trix, she's been there since she ran back from the hospital." Blake's father said.

"I know, Bart!" Beatrix turned to face the man, "Won't you worry about her?"

"I do." Bart sighed.

"Right." Beatrix took a deep breath; Bart and her had agreed not to argue anymore for the sake of their daughter – they had learned and tried really hard to control their temper.

"Trix, just let her be alone." The man put his hand on his wife's shoulder, "She needs time and distance."

The woman hesitated for a moment before nodding.

"Blake, I'll prepare some tuna sandwiches. If you're hungry, you can get them in the kitchen." Beatrix said as the both of them walked downstairs.

The Faunus' ears flattened on her scalp as she hugged her kitty pillow tight.

No matter how hard she tried to not run away, in the end she failed miserably.

She couldn't face Ruby; she couldn't bear to even take a look at that girl.

Because it wasn't Yang or Weiss' fault, it was her.

She saw Ruby dashing out to save that cat when the car came – and yet, she didn't managed to stop her. A part of her knew that Ruby was a capable huntress in training and that she had amazing reflex.

But the moment she saw how drunk the driver was, she should've stopped Ruby.

She should've.

But she didn't.

A driver that drunk wouldn't be able to slam the brake; hell, he didn't even seem to notice Ruby being in the middle of the road.

It was all her fault.

She witnessed it with her own eyes – she was trying to hide near that area, but her Faunus hearing had picked up a baby cat crying for help. So, she ran to the source of the sound, and as she reached the opening of the forest, a flash of red dashed by beside her.

Startling, she came to a halt and instead just stood there looking at Ruby running towards the cat. She wasn't using her semblance; Blake wasn't sure of the reason, but then the sound of a car approaching caught her attention.

She held out her hand, but before she could yell stop to Ruby, the car had already hit her directly.

She saw as her friend's body got thrown backwards like a puppet.

She saw her friend's blood soaking through that red cloak.

She saw how the car flipped and landed upside down, the driver's hand reaching out of the window for help but eventually passed out.

Her heart screamed, but no voice was coming out from her throat.

And immediately Weiss and Yang had come, both shocked too from the ghastly sight in front of them.

When Ruby was rushed to the hospital, she thought she could face her. She sat there for hours, thinking about how guilty she was – only she didn't have the courage to confess her guilt to the people around.

She didn't want the people she loved to leave her.

It was all her fault.

It was all because she didn't stop Ruby in time.

She was pulled out from the sea of thoughts running inside her brain by her parents, saying that they could visit Ruby now as she was being moved into a more comfortable room.

And then her heart sank.

Could she really face Ruby? Could she face the girl that was knocked by a car and fell onto the ground like a sack of potato, all because Blake realized it too late and couldn't stop her?

When Qrow opened that door, her legs started moving.

No, I can't.

I can't.

And thus, Blake ran.

She decided anywhere was better than the hospital.

But now she was calmed down and had more effort to think about it deeper – and then she realized that the reason she ran wasn't because of Ruby herself.

It was because she didn't want to face Qrow and Summer…and Weiss…Yang, or any other person in that room.

She didn't want them to know that she was the guilty one.

That's why she ran.

#

The window to Ruby's hospital room opened smoothly to the side, then a figure had leaped over it and landed swiftly without making any sound.

The room was quiet and dark as it was night time; only the sound of that regular 'beep' was heard other than Ruby's slow and rhythmic breathing.

A normal person might not be able to see anything in the room this dark, plus the moon was hiding behind the clouds. But Blake was a Faunus; she had excellent night vision.

Slowly she approached the girl.

Vale Mass General had a poor security system and that was the reason Blake broke in with ease to visit her friend. She didn't want anyone to see her, so she had waited until the visiting hour was over to sneak in.

When she locked herself inside her room and squirmed on her bed for hours, she finally came to a conclusion that no matter how guilty she was, she wanted to at least see Ruby - but without her parents or friends around, because she didn't dare to face them.

"I'm sorry…" She held Ruby's tiny hand as tears rolled down from her cheek.

She hated herself for being so selfish. What was her position to see the wilted rose?

She was the very cause of a blooming rose like Ruby turning lifeless.

"I'm really sorry…" She knelt down, still unwilling to let go of that icy cold hand.

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I'm sorry that this chapter is a little bit short compared to the normal ones. But I made sure it reached at least 3k (Forgive me pls)

Anyway that's it for this chapter. Poor them, all blaming themselves when the real cause of this accident is that freaking Vincent Lancaster.

For the sake of these cute little girls with flashy hair colors and cat ears (well one of'em) Please DO NOT drink and drive!

Thanks for sticking with me and please leave a review if you have any opinion!

Please support me on Pa-treon as 'The Tanker' if you like my stories *less than three*

I do not own RWBY.