Hello and welcome to chapter 4!

I'm sure by now you already know the unfortunate news regarding Monty Oum, so I won't add on here. Hopefully this story will manage to cheer you up somewhat.

"What's this about, Weiss?"

Paying her dolt of a leader no heed, Weiss steadied her breathing with well-practiced movements. It was almost a habitual thing now, which was starting to get on her nerves a little.

"I have something I need to tell you guys," she said at last, looking at her teammates. Naturally, they looked utterly bewildered, and Yang actually seemed somewhat amused. What was the blonde expecting?

"Well, don't keep us in suspense," Yang egged her on. "You know I don't like how you give us the cold shoulder treatment."

Apparently satisfied with the brilliance of her incredibly terrible pun, the blonde brawler flashed Weiss a smug grin, completely unabashed by the lack of laughter. Eyes twitching, Weiss cleared her throat.

"W-well, it's something a little odd," she went on. "I-I've been meaning to tell you guys for some time now, but… I'm half-Faunus."

Nothing else was said, and nothing more was spoken. Faced with an uncomfortably tense silence following her words, Weiss refused to meet anyone's gaze. She had no idea what expressions they were wearing, or what thoughts were flashing through their minds, but she did not look up; she did not have the courage to look them in the eye anymore.

"Why did you keep it from us?"

Even without looking at her, Weiss could tell from her voice how deeply hurt Ruby was. The distinct quiver in her tone, and how her question lacked any of her usual goofiness – she was so shocked that she could not even maintain her usual self.

But what hurt the most – even more than Ruby's tone – had been that question.

She was unable to answer. She knew that she had no answer to give. No matter what she chose to say, it would just end up being another excuse. Despite being her partner, she had kept such an important secret from Ruby; what words could mend the gaping wound in her heart now?

"A half?" Blake sneered. "You're not even a proper Faunus? What a joke. So you're nothing more than a freak in the end."

Something was amiss.

"And to think we trusted her," Yang spat, disgust smeared all over her face. "We've been fighting with a monster all this while. We're lucky she didn't kill us in our sleep."

Something was wrong. Something was very, very wrong.

"You don't belong here, Miss Schnee," Ozpin said from behind her. "My school isn't a place for… entities such as yourself."

This world was twisted, warped in so many places she could not stop it at all. Everything was falling apart, and there was nothing she could do to stop it.

"We should dispose of her before she becomes a threat to us all," Goodwitch added. "I've received permission from the SDC; they said that she's no longer related to them in any way."

They turned. They stared. With hard, unflinching glares, they directed all their attention towards her. Towards the monster clad in white, claiming to be named 'Weiss Schnee'. Their gaze, cold and unforgiving, reflected her own terrified expression. In their eyes, she was nothing more than a freak, a monster. And Huntsmen and Huntresses only did one thing to monsters.

They exterminated them-

Drenched in cold sweat, Weiss bolted upright, bumping her head on the bottom of Ruby's bed in the process. Without time to care about the throbbing pain in her forehead, the white-haired heiress panted, unable to stop the violent shaking in her body.

Her ice-cold fingers tightened around her blanket, clutching it so tightly it might tear. But she did not care; it took too much effort just to keep the tears at bay as-is.

What am I doing? she berated herself inside her head. My nightm- dreams are becoming so real Yang's even making bad puns in them. Is it stress? Have I been studying too hard?

Resting her forehead on her knees, Weiss inhaled deeply. It did nothing for her jackhammer-like palpitations, but what could? A nightmare like that was not something one just recovered from so easily.

"Weiss?"

Startled by the sudden voice, Weiss jumped, bumping her head again on the hard wood that was Ruby's bed. That thing was far too low for comfort, and one of these days it'd be the death of her. Though right now, there was a more pressing issue in front of her.

"W-why're you awake?" she asked the bobbing head of her leader and partner as it dangled upside down from the edge of her bed. "Shouldn't you be dreaming about cookies or something?"

"I don't need to dream about them," Ruby replied smugly, holding out a cookie. "I smuggled them from- I-I mean, they just appeared under my pillow! I-it must be Zwei, y'know? The glutton's always-"

"Ruby," Weiss said sternly, cutting across her innocent expression and horrible lying. "Why aren't you asleep?"

"I-I was studying…" Ruby mumbled. She couldn't see the lower half of her face, but Weiss was pretty sure she was pouting. "I figured I'd eat some cookies to keep myself awake, and, well…"

"You ended up having one too many and can't fall asleep?" Weiss sighed.

"Um, no…" Ruby looked away guiltily, dragging out the last syllable. "What makes you say that?"

"Well, whatever," Weiss grumbled, lying back on her bed. Her head still hurt, but she wasn't going to bother with chatting right now. "Just close your eyes and eventually-"

"Did you have a bad dream?" Ruby asked.

Weiss turned away from her, opting for the silent treatment. Just because she looked adorable did not mean that Ruby could just ask what she wanted and expected a proper reply every time. That was cheating of the highest order, and Weiss was not going to give in at all. Well, not anymore, anyway.

"I hate bad dreams," Ruby sighed, her voice overlapped with a series of creaking noises and the sound of rubbing fabric. "I used to have them a lot too."

Just as she began wondering what Ruby was doing, Weiss flinched. A pair of warm, soft hands had made their way around her waist, gently tightening themselves around her. She could feel a strange, unfamiliar warmth against her back, snuggling up against her comfortably. It didn't take long for her stunned brain to process that the culprit was Ruby, but by then it had already been too late.

"Then Yang started sleeping with me, and the nightmares went away," Ruby went on, her voice soft but her words loud against Weiss's ears. "She snores like a train, though, so you'll have to make do with me instead."

Her fingers, trembling feebly, reached for that warmth. Her body, shaking against the unworldly cold, longed for her comfort. However, before she could ever touch that source, Weiss stopped herself.

She did not deserve this warmth. She did not deserve her company. She did nothing to earn the gesture, the kindness, or those words. This was the girl she had deceived, and even now she placed her life in her hands. For all that she did, Weiss had no right to hold that hand.

"It's okay to be afraid, you know," Ruby whispered. "It just means you're a living person like everyone else."

Don't be gentle to me.

"Someone great said this, didn't they? That 'courage isn't the absence of fear, but the overcoming of it' or something like that."

Don't treat me nicely.

Her mind screamed, but her lips refused to move. Her brain was bursting with things she wanted to holler, but her throat was stuck. She had so much she wanted to say – to reject Ruby's goodwill – but Weiss's body refused to obey; instead, it just lay there, powerless, as it listened attentively to every word.

"I…"

When she finally gave in to her body's whims, Weiss found her own lips moving to form words. Her mind was no longer working, and her brain stopped thinking altogether, but she could hear her own voice, pouring out of her mouth like a prayer, beseeching to be heard.

"I'm afraid."

I'm afraid of being rejected.

"I'm terrified."

I'm terrified of being feared.

"I'm scared, Ruby."

I'm scared of the monster that I am.

Without prying further into the meaning of her words, Ruby merely tightened her hold on Weiss, further enveloping the heiress with her warmth. She didn't need to know exactly what was going on, until Weiss felt the need to tell her.

"It's okay," she whispered. "We're here for you. I'm here. I won't go anywhere, so you don't have to be afraid anymore, Weiss.

"No matter what happens, I'll be there for you, okay?"

Two trails of white-hot liquid poured down her cheeks, staining the pillow beneath her head. Breathing became difficult, and her chest started to hurt. It was a sharp, constricting pain, and no matter what she did Weiss could not get rid of it.

"If I…" she managed, nearly choking from the effort. "If I have a secret I've been keeping from you all this time, will you be mad?"

Save me.

"As long as you haven't been stealing my cookies, I'm fine," Ruby replied. She was definitely smiling while she said it, too.

Please, save me.

"I have… something to tell you tomorrow," Weiss said. It may not have been the wisest choice to make, but she was going to go through with it. "I have something to tell everyone."

"I understand," Ruby replied. "Then for now, just close your eyes and try to sleep, alright?"

Despite the situation, Weiss could not help but smile, even if it was just a little. Tomorrow would come, and she would deal with it then, and even if she was to be hated, she would hold on to this warmth for as long as she could.

"That's my line, you dolt."