Weiss staggered out of the rubble, holding her right arm as it bled freely. She had managed to dig herself out of the destroyed building, but now she had to find a way to escape. She leaned against a wall and thought of her options. She could make a run for it past the police barricade, but they might be able to run her down. She could fight it out, but in her weakened state that option was less than ideal. She concealed Myrtenaster as best she could as she approached the barricade from an alleyway.
"Stop!" A voice resonated down the narrow passage. "Who is that?"
"Help me! Please!" She said in a pleading voice. "I'm bleeding!" She pretended to stumble forward and fall to the ground.
She heard footsteps fast approaching. "Are you alright?" The voice asked.
She faked a sob and nodded, slowly getting up. "I can walk." She proceeded to be lead out of the alleyway by two police officers, right past the police perimeter.
"Let's get you to the hospital." One of the officers said just before Weiss' blade flashed up and ended his life. She quickly dispatched the second officer and walked quickly away, towards the outskirts of Vale. She gave no thought to wiping the blood off her weapon in her haste.
She managed to reach the edge of the city without being recognized, and quickly began walking down the main road out of the city. There were no vehicles anywhere near the blast site, so she used this to her advantage.
After about a mile, forest began to envelop the sides of the road. Weiss left the highway behind and ducked into the woods, not knowing that a small bit of her dress caught and ripped on a branch.. She walked about another mile before finally stopping to address her wounds. She sat down in a clearing and focused. She brought her aura forth and began stitching up the damage done to her arm. After a short time, there wasn't even a scar.
She managed to stand, dizzy from exhaustion. Using her aura took its toll. One thing she could not afford right now was rest. She forced herself to keep going, eager to place as much distance from the city as possible.
She was determined to continue on. She would not fail in her quest for revenge. All her life she had been preparing for the day when her vengeance would finally be realized. She would not fail in her mission. She had made a promise.
Weiss soon came upon another clearing and, having walked for the better part of the day, began bedding down for the night. She sat down and leaned against a tree, doing her best to make herself comfortable, and fell into an uneasy sleep.
Ruby sat in the infirmary as they patched up her teammates. Miraculously, she had escaped the explosion without injury, unlike her comrades. Blake had to get shrapnel removed from her shoulder and put her arm in a sling. Yang ended up with a broken rib and a sprained ankle. They all had to face the wrath of the headmaster.
Professor Ozpin walked through the door, "Well, well, what have we here?" He said. "It seems that you three had a run-in with an old friend, correct?"
Ruby shot a look at him and nodded. "We were just doing our job as future huntresses." She replied.
"Mmm, yes, and nearly killing yourselves in the process." Ozpin remarked. Ruby went to say something, but he held up his hand, taking a seat next to her. "You should've told me before you left, Ruby."
Ruby suddenly had an immense interest in her thumbs.
"I know Weiss leaving has been hard on you, on all of you, but that does not mean that you three have a right to go running off without my permission to try and save the world. I will let this slide once, and only once. Understand?"
The girls all nodded.
"Good. Now, it seems that you are still short one team member, and two of you are not going to do any fighting for a while." He gave Ruby a hard look. "Against my better judgement, Ruby, you can go and try to find her. She cannot have gotten far and she will have nowhere to go. I believe that you truly are the only one that can get her back here safe and sound, Ms. Rose." The look on Ruby's face made Ozpin laugh out loud.
"I...Thank you!" She replied.
"This is still your mission, and you must make haste. The more time we sit here talking is more time for her to disappear."
"Wait a second!" Yang said from her bed. "She needs some sort of support! You can't just send her to face Weiss alone!" She went to sit up, but quickly gave up because of the pain.
Ruby then stood and walked over to her older sister, "Yang, you have to believe in me. I know I can do this."
"I know you can! I just can't stand sitting here while you put your life in danger! Don't forget what happened last time." Yang replied.
Ruby nodded, "I've never forgotten. But I've also gotten stronger since then, much stronger. If we had fought for two more minute I would've won this time, I know it. And besides, this isn't about fighting." She continued, "Weiss is blinded by revenge. For what or who I don't know, but what I do know is that she is still a good person deep down."
Ruby's confidence was enough to erode Yang's defenses. "Well...I..."
"Yang," Ruby looked deep into her sister's eyes, "I won't fail. I made a promise."