Disclaimer: RWBY is owned by Rooster Teeth and Monty Oum, not me. This is merely a fanwork meant for entertainment purposes only. Cover image courtesy of Jan Chrt (jeni-cek on deviantART). All rights reserved.

Weiss glanced between Ozpin and Bianca, noticing the latter's increasingly distressed manner.

"Professor, what exactly are you asking Bianca to do?" Weiss asked, a note of concern in her voice, "From the sounds of things, you aren't really giving us the whole story."

"It is...no more dangerous than a standard hunter mission." Ozpin answered evasively.

"Maybe I haven't been around for a few decades, but I still don't think 'imprisonment of the soul' is generally considered one of a hunter's work hazards." Bianca snarked back.

"Looks like someone didn't read the terms and conditions…"

"Does anyone read those?" Ruby cut in.

"Only when things go wrong." Ozpin replied dryly.

"The point is, I am not going anywhere near that sword, much less in it." Bianca declared, "I mean, Jaune's a nice enough guy, I suppose, but you're essentially asking me to wander into a zombie-infested graveyard to dig up a corpse, with a high possibility that I not only don't find the corpse, but also that I become one. Nuh-uh, not in a million years!"

"Is there not some other way of doing this, Professor?" Weiss asked desperately.

"None that aren't purely theoretical, no. It's possible that retrieving Mister Arc's original sword might allow him to regain consciousness, but that would be a temporary solution at best, assuming it even works."

Weiss frowned, deep in thought.

"What if...what if someone else went into the sword?"

Ozpin raised an eyebrow.

"Last I checked, we only had one wandering soul around here, unless you happen to have another long-lost family member stashed in your equipment."

"No, but...what if Bianca and I swapped places? She inhabits my body, I siphon into the sword and then you perform whatever it was you were going to do to get Bianca inside Ater Mors."

"Weiss, you can't!" Ruby protested.

"And why not? It's not like I'm going to be much use until my legs heal anyway, and since it's at least partially my fault that Jaune is stuck inside that accursed sword, it should be up to me to get him out of there."

"But...what if you don't come back?"

Yang took Ruby's hand in her own, sending her an encouraging smile.

"Starting to doubt your teammates, eh, Rubes? That's not very leader-ish!"

"She's right, Ruby." Blake commented, "Besides, you should know how stubborn Weiss is by now; when her mind's set on something, there's no stopping her."

"Sounds like a certain black-haired beauty I know." Yang teased.

"I'm only stubborn about the important things."

"And the poptart incident?"

Blake paused.

"...no comment."

"Aha, gotcha! Yang one, Blake zero! First to score, as usual."

"Ahem."

The four girls swivelled to face an Ozpin putting on a fairly poor totally-not-amused face.

"Perhaps it would be an idea to get on with the task at hand, hm? Assuming, that is, that Miss Schnee is certain in her decision."

"I am." Weiss confirmed.

"And Bianca?"

Bianca shrugged.

"If Weiss wants to risk herself for noodle boy over here, I've got no problem giving her a hand."

"In that case…Doctor Lavender!"

The sound of someone sprinting echoed through the hallway outside as Lavender proceeded to zoom straight past the room. Ozpin kept his expression neutral, calmly finishing the last of his drink, all while Lavender muttered a string of curses, gradually decreasing in volume as she got closer to the shattered doorway…until she actually reached it, that is.

"Dust of the ancients, my doorway's turned into a door-away! Yo, if any of you could tell me who…no, wait, I've got it."

Lavender currently had her hands full with what looked to be some kind of wire-covered steel crown, but even so, she kept her eyes moving in the meantime, finally coming to rest on Yang's totally-not-conspicuous form.

"Xiao-Long!"

"Heya Doc! Long time no see!"

"Yeaah, not gonna lie, kinda grateful for that. Seems like every time you come in here you've broken something – or someone."

"Ehehe…it keeps you occupied, at least?"

Rolling her eyes, Lavender made her way over to Weiss, delicately placing the unusual crown atop her head with the same kind of care a true coronation might bring.

"I assume this has something to do with entering the sword?" Weiss asked, finding the device to be distinctly uncomfortable to wear.

"Mmmyeah, you could say that. Best way to describe it would be a weird key-hot chocolate combo, but I don't know if that makes any sense now that I've said it."

"It unlocks things and keeps you happy?" Ruby suggested.

"Right on, Rose! It'll also act as an anchor point so you have something to get you out of there when you're ready, though the way I see it that's just using the key in the other direction."

"So I just go in, find Jaune, and then come out again?" Weiss asked dubiously, "What if I can't find him?"

"Well, ever since Arc-man got himself into this mess, I've been doing a bit of reading into mindscapes, i.e. the thingy you'll be in when you enter the sword. The way I figure it, Jaune should be easy to spot since he'll be the freshest soul in there, kinda like spotting a regular strawberry amongst a load of rotten ones. Once you have him, just head to the exit and you're golden!"

"Sounds easy enough." Weiss commented.

"That's the spirit! I mean, that's also the spirit of anyone who thought marching through a bog would be a nice shortcut, but hey, that's not the point. Just try and have fun, mmkay?"

Weiss glanced over to Bianca, but the latter merely shrugged.

It'll be rough, but you should pull through. All you need to do now is locate the sword and focus on it. That crown should do the rest.

And what about you?

I'll be taking care of your body. You know, feed it, water it twice a day, that kind of thing.

Hilarious.

But seriously, I'll be here if you need me. Just say the word, and I'll help you get out of there, Jaune or no Jaune.

Weiss took a deep breath. Ruby squeezed her hand tightly.

"You can do it, Weiss. I believe in you!"

Slowly, she began reaching out with her mind, soon finding not only the now familiar point of Bianca, but another, darker entity. It seemed to be held a few rooms away, perhaps even a floor up, but with the crown, the sword's malevolent energy made itself known no matter the distance. Slowly, Weiss found that her vision was blurring, but just before she 'blacked out', she thought she spied Pyrrha at the edge of her vision, shouting…something.

Was it important? Possibly, possibly not. Not that it mattered anymore. Now? Now it was time to stare into the abyss.

Weiss could only pray that the abyss wouldn't stare right back.

A thick purple mist hung in the air as Weiss entered the mindscape, weaving between towering purple crystals that seem to vibrate in a regular, cardiac rhythm. The ground was a lifeless dark mud, the sort that one might find in a forest gripped by winter, with only miniature versions of the crystalline towers breaking the rolling blackness. As Weiss examined further, she realised that she was currently standing on a slope, and while one end simply lead towards an impassable-looking crystal, the other way lead to what she could only assume was her destination.

While it was difficult to know for sure from such a distance, the building seemed to be some kind of reversed pyramid, jutting up from an impossibly thin point and reaching a flat, smooth top, joined to the remaining mindscape by dilapidated rope bridges that seemed ready to snap apart at any moment. The pyramid itself, however, was in tip-top condition, its spotless white bricks creating an uneasy contrast between its malignant purple surroundings.

"Hm…it could be a trap." Weiss mused, "A kind of siren call to attract the occupants away from the real deal. Still, even if that's true, that doesn't mean Jaune didn't go there. What to do…?"

Weiss patted herself down, trying to discern what she'd brought with her into the dreamscape. Oddly enough, she found that the pale blue hospital gown she'd been wearing previously had morphed into a pure white mini dress she had worn to a picnic once, complete with a floppy straw hat that only just fit over her newly-acquired metal crown. Meanwhile, the form of Zinnia that had become such a staple of her current outings had been replaced by Myrtenaster's reassuring length, though for whatever reason, the dust canisters were only half-full at most.

"Time enough to contemplate the 'why' later." Weiss decided, "If this place really is as soul-crushing as it looks, it's imperative that I get to Jaune as soon as possible."

With that in mind, Weiss soon set off towards the nearest rope bridge, looking this way and that as she did so in case some horrible creature decided to launch an attack. Yet, even as she willed herself to remain vigilant, she couldn't help but notice that, aside from the crystal's beating, the area was an awful, deathly quiet. Not even her footsteps seemed to make any noise, the expected crunch of shoes on dirt simply evaporating into the mindscape's poisonous atmosphere. She could only hope that her body didn't follow suit.

"Jaune?! Are you up there?!"

Still silence. Gingerly, Weiss began inching her foot onto the rotted wood of the bridge, wrinkling her nose as a putrid stench began assaulting her senses. Nevertheless, as she continued to put more weight onto the rickety structure, she discovered that it was actually completely static, the ropes remaining stationary no matter how much she tried to pull on them.

"At least it's stable." Weiss muttered, finally putting both feet onto the bridge, "Nonsensical in every way, shape and form, perhaps, but certainly stable. Let's see..."

Drawing Myrtenaster, Weiss finally continued her trek across the bridge, keeping alert in case the mindscape realised what manner of impossibility it had constructed. Nevertheless, the bridge held completely still throughout, and after a minute or so, Weiss had managed to reach the top of the pyramid, stepping warily onto it and examining her new environment.

"Dust preserve me…"

Thick, rusted iron chains kept a haggard-looking Jaune rooted to the centre of the pyramid, his lack of shirt allowing Weiss to very clearly see that there was a hole going straight through his chest, though the cleanliness of the wound reminded her more of a paper cut-out than actual missing flesh. His bottom half, meanwhile, seemed to be dotted with the same crystals Weiss had seen rising from the mindscape's lower levels and, while it was happening incredibly slowly, she could swear that they were beginning to grow.

"Jaune?"

Jaune's eyes stared lifelessly into the distance, but as Weiss raised her voice, he began to whimper.

"No…no more…" he croaked, his voice thick with pain, "You already…have enough…please…"

"Jaune, snap out of it!"

"Can't…look at the ghosts. Makes the crystals…even worse."

Weiss glanced around once again, but from what she could tell, there was nought but her and Jaune on the pyramid top.

"What ghosts?"

"Just…leave me!" Jaune wheezed, "I'm already suffering…enough…"

SLAP.

"Ow!" Jaune yelped, his eyes suddenly coming into focus, "That was…sharp. I didn't think the crystals did sharp pain."

"That's probably because it was a slap!" Weiss piped up, oddly happy that the action had produced a sound.

"But that's not…Weiss? Is it really you?"

For a moment, Jaune seemed hopeful, but his heart soon sank.

"Wait, that means you're trapped in here, too. That's not good at all!"

"Do you really think I'd come in here without a way to escape?" Weiss asked, tapping her floppy hat, "If we can get you off of this platform and down to where I came in, we'll be able to leave this place forever."

"I can think of at least two problems with that idea." Jaune commented dryly, rattling his chains pathetically.

Weiss gave them a quick look over, frowning as she realised there was no place for a key of any kind around the wrist bindings.

"Have you worn these since you arrived?"

"I don't think so. I started out in the dark bit away from this place, and I thought the pyramid might make a safe haven from all the nasty stuff down there. As soon as I came into the centre, though, these damned chains tied around my wrists and, well…I've been a little too busy being haunted to find a way out."

Weiss ran an eye down Myrtenaster's length, frowning.

"This could be difficult. Ideally I'd need some kind of slashing weapon to break through those things, but Myrtenaster can only impale."

"I wish Crocea Mors was here…" Jaune whined wistfully.

"Mm, if only it wasn't…missing…"

Weiss glanced back to Myrtenaster, remembering that she had most definitely left it up in her Beacon dorm room.

"I wonder…?"

While her memory was far from perfect, Weiss nevertheless managed to cobble together the vague image of Crocea Mors in her head, adding more and more details until it almost looked like the real thing.

"Whoa, what the-" Jaune began.

POP.

"-hell?"

Now, instead of Myrtenaster, Weiss found that she was holding what certainly looked like Crocea Mors in her hand, though she found that the sword weighed far less than its non-imaginary counterpart. Still, with a few surgical cuts, she soon discovered that it had just the same sharpness as the original and, in a matter of seconds, Jaune was free from his chains.

"How did you do that?" Jaune asked in awe, "It just sort of..."

"Came out of thin air?" Weiss finished, "It certainly seemed that way, didn't it?"

"There's more to it, then."

"In a sense. I theorised that, since my clothes and weapon weren't anywhere near my original body, my mind must have created them itself. The next step was, naturally, to test if I could do the same on purpose."

"Right..." Jaune murmured, "Well, however you did it, I'm glad we have Crocea. If I have that, I can…uh…"

Struggle though he might, Jaune rather quickly discovered that, while he was no longer bound to the pyramid by chains, his legs were not obeying in the slightest. In fact, as he continued to weakly order them into action, the embedded crystals started flaring up, sending him tumbling to the ground in agony.

"I…I can't move on my own." Jaune wheezed, his voice wavering heavily, "You'll have to go on without me."

Wordlessly, Weiss discarded Crocea Mors and, after a little trouble figuring out where to grip him, picked Jaune straight up and onto her shoulder, prompting him to make a rather surprised yelp.

"…have you been working out?" Jaune joked weakly.

"I worked out that weight doesn't function how it does in reality, so yes, you could say that."

"Heh, alright then. Just try not to move too fast, okay? Seems like it makes the pain from these crystals even worse."

"I'll try and take it slow."

Despite a few pained protests, the pair were soon back on the same bridge Weiss had taken to get up to the pyramid, though she soon noticed that the purple mist from before was starting to gather in a rather worrying, tornado-like fashion.

"Do you see that?" Jaune murmured.

"The mist?"

"Yeah. Any idea what it's doing?"

"Trying to stop us from leaving, perhaps." Weiss suggested, readjusting her grip on Jaune, "Just hang on tight. This could get pretty uncomfortable."

As it turned out, the insistent tugging that ramped up every second was a little more than just 'uncomfortable', and Weiss was forced to keep a stern grip on the side of the rope bridge to prevent herself being pulled off. However, just as she felt herself being lifted up into the air, the sensation suddenly stopped, dropping her back to the ground like an anchor into the sea. Glancing around her at the gold hexagonal shield, Weiss quickly figured out why.

"Keep…going!" Jaune called out, his brow furrowed in concentration, "I don't know how much longer…I can last!"

Nodding, Weiss stepped up her pace, breaking out into a half-run while still having time to avoid the occasional holes that cropped up in the bridge. Eventually, the pair made it down to the ground below, and while the landing area was now in sight, the mist tornado was beginning to move.

"Jaune-"

"Keep…going!"

Even as the shield surrounding her began to flicker in places, Weiss kept up her furious pace, darting this way and that as crystals began launching out of the ground, perhaps hoping to impale her and, as they proceeded to miss, were soon sucked into the tornado, adding an additional, sharper motivation not to be pulled in. Finally, as the ground around her began to struggle under the tornado's pull, Weiss came to a stop, recognising that this was the precise spot she had first arrived at. Now all she had to do was…

…what, exactly?

"Hurry!" Jaune exclaimed, the lower half of his body becoming more and more crystalline by the second, "This won't…hold forever!"

Moving Jaune to the ground, Weiss threw off her hat, reaching to the unpleasant wire crown and screaming in her mind with as much power as she could muster.

Bianca, get us out of here! Now!

No response.

Bianca?! Where are you?!

...

BIANCA!

Jaune screamed in pain as the crystals infected his lower torso, but even then, his arm remained outstretched, keeping up the fading shield as the tornado crept closer and closer. Weiss tried to focus her mind, tried to pull something from nothing that could save them, but it was no use; the top of the pyramid had been a paragon of tranquillity next to this chaos. All she could do was draw Jaune closer, watching as the shield around them tightened to accommodate the new shape and, despite the dying hope, continued trying to contact Bianca.

Please, Bianca! We don't have much time left!

The earth itself was torn asunder as the tornado reached the shield. By now, Jaune was up to his neck in crystal, and as he turned to face Weiss, his eyes were filled with fear.

"This…this is the end, isn't it?"

The sound of grinding metal pierced the air as the tornado pressed against the shield with all its might.

"I'd just like to say…thank you. For everything."

"What-"

In the blink of an eye, Weiss found that the shield had contracted around her, and only her…leaving Jaune outside.

"Jaune, no!"

Weiss pounded the shield with her fist, kicked it, tried to use her semblance…but in the end, all she could do was watch as the rest of the crystal crawled up Jaune's face, leaving it frozen in an eternal guilty smile.

It had all been his fault, in the end. He knew the sword was evil, he knew something bad would happen if he wielded it, but through the same foolish bravado that had prompted so many other mistakes, he had done it anyway. He couldn't undo the past, that much was clear…but in the end, he found that he could at least save another's future.

I'll be rooting for you, Weiss. Don't give up.

However, as the last of the crystal covered Jaune's broken form, he found that he could still see…something. Beyond his translucent prison, hidden within the tornado's swirling death…a light amongst the darkness.

"Once, in a manor deep underground, you told me that it was my time to die. Now, it seems I have to tell you that it is your time to live."

Bianca clicked her fingers.

"Don't screw it up."

The smell of ash assaulted Jaune's senses and, at the same time, something large, warm and incredibly heavy was pressing down on him. Coughing as he tried to repel whatever he was breathing in, he opened his eyes, finding that he was currently buried under what was likely a fairly substantial portion of rock and, with his arms and legs trapped in several crevices, it didn't seem like he was getting out anytime soon.

Suddenly, however, a penetrating metallic sound began echoing through the stone and, little by little, Jaune found that the weight pressing against him began to lift. As the pressure continued to relieve, a persistent muffled voice made its way through to him, though the words were unfortunately too quiet to understand.

Finally, after at least a few minutes of digging, a piercing light made its way to Jaune's face as the covering rock was tossed aside. Temporarily blinded, he was forced to use his ears to discern what was happening.

"It's…Jaune! Jaune's here!" Pyrrha's voice exclaimed excitedly, quickening her digging pace. However, with the majority of the rock now put aside, Jaune found that his previous attempts to escape now found more purchase and, with a heave, he managed to pull himself from the rubble and out into…into…

"Whoa, steady!" Pyrrha called out, just managing to catch him before he hit the ground, "You shouldn't try to stand up so suddenly. You could be hurt!"

Jaune glanced around, his spirit sinking lower and lower as he realised where he was.

"Is this…the infirmary?"

"It was." Pyrrha half-confirmed, grimacing, "But, well, while you were asleep…"

Pyrrha placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"Beacon's gone, Jaune."

I never knew you personally, but without your show, I would have never started writing fanfiction in the first place, and for that, I am grateful. May your legacy continue to live on beyond your mortal form, for when such a thing comes to pass, one may attain true immortality.

Rest in peace, Monty Oum.