This clearing in the nearby forest was the spot they'd decided they would give them the best chance to fight. Branches and leaves from the large tree she sat in tickled every inch of Weiss exposed skin. Her calves were stretched tightly from the angle she stood, crouched and clutching a branch above her head. The air was cool—a sign that rain or possibly snow was in the offing. She could see mist with each breath she took.

They were blanketed in darkness. The only light coming from the base in the distance that was depleted by the forest between them.

All they could do was watch and wait for Ruby and Blake to appear. Weiss had to credit Winter's soldiers, she knew they were scattered throughout this same forest but she couldn't see any of them. Not that it mattered, she'd fought with this thing once and that was all it took to realize how focused its mind was. She was nervous with anticipation and worry, her hands shaking and her stomach in knots. This was so dangerous and even though she wasn't in a very high tree she still felt so far away. Her mind was racing with possibilities of how this could end—most of them weren't good. Thankfully, Winter broke through next to her.

"You know father will never approve."

"What do you mean?"

Winter gave her a derisive look—even though it was nearly pitch black she could feel the annoyance at her stupid question. "Don't play dumb, Sister. It's not befitting of a Schnee. You know exactly what I'm talking about."

"Well," Weiss huffed as she pushed a branch out of her face. "I don't care what father thinks."

"That's easy to say when he isn't here." Weiss's confidence faltered. She knew how true that was. She'd told herself a thousand times that if he came to take her from Beacon she'd fight him. Yet when he showed up after the fall she cowered and agreed with everything he said—even as he dragged her away from her friends.

"I care for her." Weiss said, hoping her tone would carry the weight of her feelings.

"I don't doubt that, you nearly drove me insane when Qrow and I found you and we put her to sleep with the tranquilizer. I thought we were going to have to sedate you as well."

Weiss rolled her eyes. "Well you two came out of nowhere with a giant airship and demanded we come with you."

"Would you have rather we left you to run through the woods?" Winter challenged.

"Well…no, but how did you even know where we were?"

Winter seemed to stiffen just a bit next to her—her breath drawing a bit shorter. "We…Qrow and I have maintained a business relationship after the events of Beacon. With Ozpin disappearing and Ironwood locking down that section of Vale it was evident that whatever happened that day was not a singular event. More trouble would be coming at some point and it was in our best interest to be prepared. Qrow set out to follow Ruby as she went to Haven, but naturally he fell behind and lost her—because that is his way." Winter growled with disgust and Weiss fought off a laugh at how easily Ruby's uncle drove her sister insane. "However, when you found her, you slowed her down enough for Qrow to catch up and when he told me that she had found her way to you, well…I decided it was a good time to check in."

Something about the way Winter said that stirred venom in Weiss. After all that time it took Ruby arriving to finally make it necessary for a visit? Despite communicating frequently over their scrolls and even more so as Weiss' position at the Schnee Dust Company started to take shape, it would have been nice to have a sister that wanted to actually spend time with her.

"I'm glad you could take time out of your busy schedule to check on me." Weiss spat venomously and Winter snapped a look in her direction.

"Excuse me? I've visited when I could. I have been extremely busy, Weiss. We've been preparing for potential war."

Weiss shook her head. "Yes, and I've been living in that prison we called a childhood home."

"You're being dramatic."

"I'm father's pet." Weiss' grip tightened on Myrtenaster as she looked down to see Ruby and Blake finally stepping into position. "Forget it, Winter. You wouldn't understand—this isn't the place for this discussion anyway." Weiss ended the conversation and fully focused on her friend below. Even though she could feel Winter's eyes still lingering on her.

Ruby looked tense and Weiss couldn't contain the worry that seeped into her mind. Ruby was not okay—not at all. The more she tried to pretend that things would be better if they stopped this thing chasing her, the more she realized she was lying to herself.

Next to Blake, Ruby was fidgety and constantly reaching to her weapon for reassurance. Weiss knew Ruby was scared, but at the same time she knew that Ruby was unpredictable. Her own safety meant nothing to her in the face of those she cared about being hurt.

"Weiss?" She turned at her sister's call and saw Winter holding out a blue cartridge. "The tranquilizer, for your rapier." With a nod, Weiss accepted the dust and pulled Myrtenaster free. The metal of her blade was cold from the chilly night air. She carefully inserted the dust vial and spun the chamber. Watching the colors dance in front of her, Weiss felt a hand drape across her shoulder. "I'm sorry, Weiss." She turned to see Winter was frowning slightly—as uncomfortable with speaking this apology as Weiss was hearing it. "When this is finished we can figure this out. We'll…I'll help you sort out a better future for yourself."

For so long, all she ever wanted was help to escape her father. Ruby gave her enough reason to run, but Winter was the only chance she had at true freedom.

Shifting, Weiss wrapped her free arm around Winter's neck and hugged her. "Be careful."

Winter's hand fell across her back and gently patted her. "You as well."

A moment later, Winter's scroll went off, loud enough for those around to hear.

It was coming.

The waiting was the worst. Weiss didn't say a word as she watched Ruby and Blake standing below her. Qrow was nearby, she knew he was located with a watchful eye…somewhere near Ruby. Weiss could only imagine what Yang and Ruby's father were going through inside. To not be here now, protecting her family, she couldn't imagine that feeling.

A sudden rustling in the trees drew Weiss' attention and she felt the branch bow a bit when Winter leaned forward for a better look.

As expected, the beast strode out into the opening with powerful, purposeful steps. From here, Weiss could see every bit of it. The thing was almost jagged with the armor it wore—there was no space for exposure or weakness. It had long, red tresses of hair that hung from it's head and down across it's back. Weiss couldn't tell if they were a part of the armor or whatever was underneath of it.

The glowing red blade it held was sheathed, but it's right hand was gripping the hilt when it approached. Even from here, Weiss could see the glow of it's eyes—she could only imagine how Blake felt seeing it for the first time.

"What do you want from me?!" Ruby shouted and caught Weiss off guard. Her voice broke under the strain of her scream. "I'm tired of this! Tired of running! You ruined my life! It ends now!"

"Ruby," Blake grabbed onto Ruby's cloak to hold her back, "Relax."

The mechanical sounds of Crescent Rose fully forming filled the night air and Weiss saw the beast draw its own blade. Blake wouldn't allow Ruby to rush, they wanted it to come to them—to come to where Winter and Weiss were waiting and where Qrow could protect Ruby.

However, Blake was not prepared for the sword in it's hand to suddenly transform into a massive spear.

Before either girl on the ground could react, the spear was launched towards them and in a flurry of glowing red light.

As if in slow motion, Blake turned to face Ruby and began pushing her to the ground. She wasn't fast enough to dodge the weapon entirely though as Weiss watched it break straight through her aura and drive into the back of her left thigh.

Blake screamed in pain, a sound Weiss had never even imagined from the Faunus and it was one she never wanted to hear again.

Just as Weiss prepared to leap down into the fight, a hand grabbed her.

"Not yet," Winter whispered and Weiss tugged at her. "Stop! We need it to move closer or we'll risk losing it. This is our one chance, Weiss. If we fail, your friend might not be mentally capable of going through this again."

As if on queue, Ruby cried out Blake's name and rolled them over so Blake was on the ground. She was examining the damage when Blake suddenly started screaming again. Ruby pulled back just enough to give Weiss a view of the spear tearing itself out of her leg before flying through the air and back to the beast's hand.

Weiss' mind picked up on the motion it made, how it drew it's own weapon back to it almost like some kind of…polarity.

Suddenly she saw the red hair spilling from beyond the armor and her mind was racing.

There was no way, absolutely no way. Weiss read the reports in the paper. She listened as Qrow explained on the airship how there was nothing left—how she had died fighting. She was gone.

That was the word Qrow said over and over again. Gone, she was gone. There was absolutely no way.

Suddenly, the monster drew it's weapon back and charged. Ruby let out a primal scream as she pushed up off the ground and unleashed a flurry of bullets from her sniper rifle. They did no damage, but did cause it to have to deflect some of them which allowed Ruby time to take a few haphazard swings that missed wildly. This left her vulnerable to a brutal kick to the stomach.

When Ruby sailed backwards onto the ground, Weiss had seen enough.

"It's close! Do it now, Winter!"

The shift on the branch next to her told Weiss that Winter agreed. She leapt from the tree and Weiss watched her sister land perfectly behind the beast and split the dagger from her rapier and start attacking. Winter was majestic, faster than anything Weiss could ever imagine. As much as she trained at home, Weiss was not a full huntress like Winter and these strikes and movements were almost inhuman.

She was so fast—but at the same time the result was the same.

The monster was ready for everything. Each blow Winter struck was met with resistance, even as Ruby regained herself and started fighting, each strike was met with a counter.

Weiss could only remember what had worked for her, she struck it in the heel when it wasn't prepared and that had been enough. She told Winter this, Ruby had seen it, but there was no chance either of them had to make that strike.

She knew she could, Weiss knew that if she could just get down there she could land the blow. Holding Myrtenaster at the ready, she pushed off the branch and fell to the ground. Just as her feet struck the dirt and the bounce in her vision resettled, Weiss' entire body locked up.

Crescent Rose fell from Ruby's hand almost immediately when the red blade pierced through her. From this angle, Weiss could only see it sticking from her back—it had gone all the way through. Winter stopped fighting at the sight and Weiss was vaguely aware of the sound of Qrow screaming before he landed next to her.

She watched Ruby fall backwards, the blade slipping out of her skin like a hot knife through butter. When she hit the ground, Ruby's eyes were wide open and she didn't move—though Weiss could see her struggling to breathe.

"Ruby!" Another voice cried and Weiss looked to see Blake crawling towards them. Qrow had taken Ruby's spot in the fight and Winter was back at it as well but all Weiss could see was Ruby.

When Blake reached her, she laid her hand atop the wound on Ruby's stomach and tried to hold the blood in that was spilling out freely.

Weiss knew she should do something, but her body wouldn't move—her hands were shaking and she thought she might throw up with how tightly her chest was constricting.

Suddenly, her mind was filled with the idea of a world without Ruby. What would be the point of wanting a better life without Ruby? Who would there be to share it with? Ruby was the one she wanted to be free for—the one she wanted to travel Remnant with. There were so many things they hadn't done yet. Weiss saw images of nights spent together curled up in bed. She wanted to take Ruby to so many different places—to show her the world and be happy.

No. Weiss clenched her fist at her side. No! She was tired of being dictated to—tired of having her future decided for her. She was a Schnee. She was a huntress and a warrior who had lost so much. Turning back to the beast, she watched it disarm Qrow and send him away. Winter was struggling to keep her pace but she was still fighting and Weiss was done watching.

She drew Myrtenaster again but before she could, a glyph suddenly appeared overhead. The light from the glyph was beaming down and cast a white glow over the fight. Everything stopped and Weiss watched as a giant knight fell from the glyph and landed with a thud that shook the ground beneath them.

Weiss felt a connection to this knight—as if it were an extension of herself. When she looked at it, it looked to her and she knew it was listening. She nodded and looked at the monster again, watching as it drew it's weapon to attack. Weiss pointed Myrtenaster at the beast and her knight reacted.

Nothing, not even this emotionless creature that had hurt them all so much, could be prepared for the sheer force the of the knight's strike. Its massive blade obliterated the red weapon on contact and Weiss charged in a flurry as her knight struck a blow into the monster's chest.

The armor reacted, just as Weiss expected and tried to compensate for the impact—completely exposing it's back.

Weiss aimed for a killing strike, but she suddenly remembered what she'd seen in the tree. The way it turned the blade into a spear and how it controlled it like a magnet. From this angle, she could see the back of it's head behind the armor and noticed that the hair was, in fact, attached to the body.

If she was at all right, she couldn't land a killing strike—not yet.

On approach, she raised her weapon just enough and drove the dust enhanced tip of Myrtenaster right into the beast's shoulder. It cried out once more in unexpected pain and the armor tried to react. However, the knight struck another blow to it's front, this time sending the creature flying backwards and smashing hard against a thick tree. Weiss quickly spun the chamber of her rapier and fired a few well placed glyphs to latch it's arms and legs to the ground once it fell. Now completely restrained, Weiss raced forward again and plunged her rapier into the already open wound and let more of the tranquilizer release.

It screamed and quivered beneath her blade but she held strong, both hands on the hilt as it twitched violently—trying to break free. Weiss gritted her teeth, she could feel the strain in her muscles as Myrtenaster began to bow under the pressure.

"Weiss," a voice broke through her haze and she jumped at a contact to her shoulder. Her weapon was drawn when she turned but all she saw was Winter's worried eyes. "It's done—you've stopped it." Winter said and Weiss looked back to see that the creature was no longer moving, still locked down by her glyphs. When she faced Winter again, her sister marveling at the massive knight who stood ready to attack at a moments notice.

Closing her eyes, Weiss summoned it away and felt a surge of energy coarse through her unlike anything she'd ever felt before. Never in her life had she felt so powerful and so in control of a situation. The entire battlefield had been hers and nothing could stop her.

It was liberating and terrifying—but it had worked. She had stopped the beast but not before—

"Ruby!" Weiss cried and when she opened her eyes the world was dark again. Her looming glyph in the sky was gone, along with the knight and she raced over to where Ruby and Blake were lying.

Qrow was there, tending to Ruby's wound as Blake had rolled onto her back in pain. Weiss fell to her knees between them—her gaze falling over Ruby who's eyes were closed as Qrow continued to hold her wound.

"Ruby—" Weiss croaked as the sound of Winter's footsteps approached behind her.

"We've seized the beast and we have wounded. Form up on my location, we're coming inside!" Winter's voice rang out into the distance.

Qrow was leaving no room for Weiss to help with Ruby, in fact he'd all but covered her up completely with his own cloak as he tried to stop the bleeding. Weiss moved to Ruby's side, all but slamming into Qrow.

"I can help, I can give her my aura and I can help her!" Ruby's eyes were closed and she looked frighteningly peaceful. It made Weiss furious—no way was Ruby going to die here. Weiss didn't care how much Ruby had spoken of it, or how much she wanted to die a hero like her mother—it was wrong and it would not be happening.

"You can't close a hole that big." Qrow said as he nudged her aside and continued to press down on the wound as a few trained medics finally arrived. "

"I can!"

Qrow's red eyes turned on her. "You can't! It's out of our hands! Let the medics do their work!

She wanted to punch him for being too slow—for being old and not getting to Ruby in time. She wanted to scream at a world that would let people like her and him come out unscathed when someone like Ruby had to continue to suffer.

"Weiss," Blake's voice carried over towards her and Weiss turned to the sound.

Blake was on her back, clutching at her leg as her face grew pale and her eyes darkened. She looked awful and Weiss crawled towards her.

"I need help!" She shouted in Winter's direction and her sister directed a few people towards them. Looking back to Blake, she felt a hand latch onto her own and squeeze. When she met Blake's eyes, the Faunus smiled weakly.

"Is she safe? Did we do our job?" Blake's voice was tired, she had lost a lot of blood and Weiss could tell that she was a little delirious. The medics and healers were tending to her, but she'd taken a hard hit right through her leg.

Weiss reached up and ran a hand through Blake's hair to reassure her. "We did. You did good, Blake."

"Good," Blake blinked slowly. Her voice was lazy—almost as if her lips were going numb. "Have to keep your…girlfriend…safe for you."

Weiss' eyes went wide. "Wh—what?"

She felt Blake squeeze her hand and give a weak smirk. "I'm glad…you two…have each other."

A wave of emotion overtook Weiss as the tears finally found their way through all the shock. Her mind was latched onto Ruby, but she trusted Qrow to know that he cared for her well being just as much as she did. For now, she could comfort Blake.

Leaning down, she pressed a kiss to Blake's forehead. "I'm so glad you're back."

"Affection from a Schnee," Blake laughed. "Can't say I saw that one coming." The calm lasted only for a moment before her leg was wrapped up and she cried out in pain again. Suddenly, a mask was put over Blake's mouth and nose to help her breathe and she was being put on a backboard. Weiss never let go of her hand, even though her eyes couldn't help but turn to Ruby, who was surrounded by so many medics that she couldn't see her anymore.

"Ms. Schnee!" A guard shouted and Weiss turned on instinct towards it. However, Winter was alongside her and stepped forward towards the call.

"What is it?"

The guard rushed over—Weiss could barely hear him over the commotion going on with trying to safely ambulate Blake and Ruby back to the base.

"It's a girl." The guard said and Weiss' breath hitched in her throat.

She had wanted desperately to be wrong. "Winter…" she breathed and her sister gave her a curious look.

"What is it? What's going on?" Winter asked both Weiss and the guard.

"The beast, it's armor has disappeared and all that's left not is the body of a woman."

"It's human?"

"Is she alive?" Weiss asked, turning back to Blake for permission to let her hand go. She quickly realized that Blake had been put under sedation or simply passed out from the pain. Either way, she was out like a light. Weiss gently laid Blake's hand over her stomach before racing by the guard, nearly knocking him over.

"Weiss, be careful!" Winter shouted but Weiss ignored it. She had to know.

There were scars painted all across the back of the girl who was lying face down in the dirt. Her hair was long, red and untamed. Weiss could see black…streaks that danced all across her body—they went up her legs and her back, like veins that had protruded from the skin.

Dashing as fast as she could, Weiss positioned herself to see the girl's face and knelt down. There were still guards surrounding them, weapons ready to strike, but the body laid motionless and defeated. When she finally found a proper angle to see the face, every one of her fears came to life.

"Pyrrha."

With a sniffle, Weiss wiped at her eyes again for what felt like the hundredth time and took a deep breath.

After everyone was brought back to the base, Ruby was quickly rushed to the medical wing. Weiss couldn't follow her all the way into surgery—despite throwing her last name around in a desperate attempt to intimidate every doctor and nurse in sight, she was simply denied. Instead that left her with the task of telling Yang and Ruby's father that she'd been injured.

It was an incredibly short conversation that ended with Yang nearly knocking her over and Taiyang racing out after her to be with Ruby.

Weiss spent the next twenty minutes wandering until she ended up in Winter's empty quarters. There was nothing she could do. Winter was dealing with the body of…Pyrrha.

Part of her couldn't help but wonder if she'd imagined it. There was so much wrong with the body of the girl she saw. Her skin was covered with dark, black veins that covered her arms and legs. She was pale and riddled with scars.

How could that be Pyrrha Nikos? She had died, Ruby had seen it and though Weiss didn't know the details, she knew well enough to know that when they buried Pyrrha a few weeks later, there was no body left to put into the ground.

There was too much trauma tonight, Weiss' mind felt like it was in sensory override and she simply buried her head in her hands and cried.

Time moved slowly, it seemed as if she were waiting in Winter's room for hours before her sister finally returned. When she did, her eyes were shadowed with dark circles and she'd shed the jacket she'd been wearing.

Weiss stood at her presence and put her hands behind her back—this was not at all Schnee behavior, to need and desire contact. But Weiss didn't want to be alone and with her team occupied and Ruby hurt, this was the only place she knew to go.

"It's late," Winter said tiredly and Weiss nodded.

"Did you hear anything about Ruby?"

Winter shook her head. "I haven't, but she's with our best. They had her stabilized in the field, she'll be fine, Weiss." She could only nod and continued to stand awkwardly in front of her sister. Winter steadied a gaze on her and Weiss tried to keep her bottom lip from quivering.

Finally, Winter closed the gap between them and pulled Weiss into an embrace. The moment it happened, Weiss sunk into the contact and buried her face in her sister's collar.

Weiss could only blame Ruby for this sudden need she had for contact. If that dunce wasn't okay and deprived Weiss of the hugs and touches she'd grown used it, Weiss would never forgive her.

For now, Winter was an excellent substitute, though the embrace didn't last very long, it was warm and comforting.

When they finished and Winter stepped away, Weiss quickly wiped her eyes. "I'm sorry," she shook her head. "It's been a long night. What did you do with Pyrrha?"

Turning away, Winter put her rapier away and began sorting through her closet. "It's been transported to our secured cell, heavily sedated and we'll being evaluating it tomorrow."

"It's not an it, it's a she. It's Pyrrha Nikos!"

Winter froze, her back to Weiss, as she carried her night clothes. "Pyrrha Nikos died during the fall of Beacon."

"Winter! That's her! I know it's her! I saw her face; you have to believe me!" When Weiss had called Pyrrha's name in the field, Winter had quickly quieted her down and informed her soldiers to take the prisoner away.

"It's late, Weiss. We should rest, we've been through a lot."

Winter's dismissal was infuriating and when she turned to move to her bathroom, Weiss stepped in front of her. "You have to believe me!"

The light, blue eyes of her sister studied her for a few moments before she exhaled dramatically and put her clothes on the bed. "Weiss, perhaps you're right. Perhaps that is, somehow, the body of Pyrrha Nikos. Does that change what's happened?" The question felt like a punch to the stomach and Weiss' strong stance deflated. "Does it change the fact that the girl you've told me you care about so much was hurt tonight, your teammate has a hole in her leg because of this beast. That very well might be Pyrrha Nikos' body, but I know Nikos—I've heard stories of her heroism and that…monster is not the same girl who died protecting the innocent."

At Weiss' silence, Winter picked up her clothes once more and stepped past her sister and towards the bathroom.

Just before she shut the door, Weiss spoke. "I can't pretend I didn't see her." Weiss looked up at Winter again. "I have to do something."

"We will, but tonight, there's nothing left for us to do and we'll be useless tomorrow without sleep. In the morning, you'll be there for your team and I'll being deciding what we're going to do with the crea—" Weiss frowned and Winter shook her head. "We'll figure it all out in the morning."

There were a dozen things Weiss wanted to be doing. She wanted to be with Ruby or try and support Yang, she wanted to see if that really was Pyrrha or make sure Blake was okay.

But her body was starting to shut down, she was so tired. So when Winter stepped into the bathroom, Weiss crawled into her sister's bed.

Minutes later when Winter returned, she did not kick her out.