Chapter 42: Some Nocturnal Introspection
Now that the plan is unveiled, what could possibly happen? Something exciting, something dramatic? Probably, but that's not the focus of this chapter. After all, pacing is important, and action can't be happening all the time. So, enjoy this nice valley in the action before we get back into the thick of it. Oh, and I don't own anything I write in here, but you already know that. To the story!
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When Blake and Yang had gotten around to letting go of their embrace at the snack bar, they made their way back to their dorm room. All the while, Yang munched on her previously ignored meal she ordered.
"Ihma ghonna thell Rhewby how mufch ah lhuv herr," Yang mused to Blake as she chewed a large portion of her sandwich.
"That's a good start," agreed Blake. If there was one place to start being the best loving person you could be, the best place to start was with family members.
Yang hummed in response and faced Blake as they continued walking. "Thenn Weissh. Shhe desurvhes et thoo," she continued with her mouth full. A few bits of chewed up bread and bacon flew onto Blake's face as Yang rambled on.
Annoyed, Blake wiped away the food on her face. "You know, you should swallow before talking," she pointed out.
"Shorry,". Yang swallowed and took a sip of her energy drink.
"Anyway, I've got a HUGE list of people I've gotta talk to. I have to show them that I'm a better person now," Yang thought aloud.
"Well, let's take things one at a time. For now, let's just go with Ruby and Weiss. Then we can move on from there," was Blake's advice.
"Right, right," agreed Yang before she took another sip of her drink. Then, taking another large bite out of her sandwich, she continued. "Ah mhean, Ah've ghot a nehw lhease awn lhife nohw,".
Blake reached over and held her hand over Yang's mouth. "Swallow. Unless you want to lose your mouth privileges,".
Yang swallowed her food and Blake lowered her hand. The blonde smirked as she replied, "Oh please. There's no way you can survive without my mouth,".
Blake paused in contemplation, before eventually replying, "Good point,". Yang wiggled her tongue at her for good measure. Blake sighed, "Don't push it,".
"Whatever," Yang dismissed as she took another swig out of her can of Abomination.
The girls walked on in silence after that. It wasn't like they could talk about much more, as the dorms grew closer and closer by the second.
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"We're back," Blake announced as she and Yang walked into the dorm room. Weiss and Ruby didn't reply. They were too absorbed in the movie they were watching on screen. Blake didn't mind all that much. It was their free time, after all.
Yang, however, strode immediately over to Weiss and Ruby were sitting together. Shoving Weiss aside, she wrapped her sister in a large, warm hug.
"Hey!" protested Weiss. Yang paid her complaints no heed. Instead, she completely focused on the red (brunette?) head in her arms.
"Ruby… I love you so, SO much! I don't know what I'd be without you! I never, ever want to stop being your sister! You hear that?!" Yang passionately cried.
Ruby was having the breath crushed out of her. It was as if she was wrapped up by a blonde anaconda who liked punching things. Except that was impossible, as snakes have no arms or hands. Still, the metaphor stood for what she meant by it.
"Y-yang…" Ruby choked out. "Th-thanks… but… let go… please…". By now there was so little air left in her lungs that outer space would be jealous. When she was let out f the crushing grip, Ruby sucked in as much air as she could.
"*pant* Why're you… *pant* saying all this? *pant*" Ruby couldn't help but ask. After all, it was natural for anyone who got nearly crushed to death do want an explanation as to why.
"I'm turning a new leaf, Rubes! I'm going to be the best person possible!" Yang proudly declared as she gestured to herself.
Weiss cut in. "That's nice and all, but we were in the middle of something here,". A large pout crossed her face. "You could have done this at a different time,". It was very obvious that she wasn't glad happy with the black and yellow duo interrupting her and Ruby's private time.
"Hey, I need this, okay? Sorry for having emotions," Yang spat back.
Crossing her arms, Weiss huffed, "Well, be more graceful next time. I may have gotten a bruise from your manhandling of me!".
"Manhandling? You're at an academy for fighting monsters, and you're worried about a bruise?" Yang asked incredulously.
Weiss lowered her head as she realized how petty that complaint sounded. "…Well, when you put it like that, it sounds stupid…" she couldn't help but admit.
"Can we please just stop and get back to the movie?" Ruby pleaded out of nowhere. Yang briefly shot Weiss an odd look, before sitting on Blake's bunk.
"What're we watching?" Yang asked.
"Cartoons, of course!" beamed Ruby. That sucked in Yang's attention immediately.
"Groovy," Yang chirped as she sat on Blake's bunk to watch them with her.
Blake groaned at what she had just witnessed. While it was a good step in the right direction, a small argument didn't need to happen. But, yet again, Yang did like arguing and fighting a bit TOO much, so that was pretty much natural for her. Oh well, Blake might as well go along with it. So, giving in, she sat next to Yang and watched cartoons with her. Sure, it wasn't the way she expected this day to end, but that didn't matter all that much. All that mattered to her was that Yang was helped out of her funk.
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A few hours later (but not many), the night unfolded over Beacon Academy. The students were asleep, the teachers were busy grading papers and being thankful they didn't have to talk to students for the time being, and the creatures of Grimm were finally at rest after violently ripping apart and devouring helpless creatures. Those deer, birds, and squirrels had no chance.
Alas, that's not the real focus here. Instead, let's focus on something else.
Many journals and other writings have been published on the subject of dreams. Now, there are many interpretations of what they are, or what they mean. Some people claim they're just random neural impulses visualized in your mind. Others say that they're memories being built in your sleep. And another group of study claims that they represent your subconscious thoughts, desires, and fears.
That was certainly true in the case of Weiss Schnee.
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In her mind, she was standing in a dimly lit office. It was just like the one at the Schnee Dust Company headquarters, except it was somehow… bigger to her. Seated behind the desk at the front of the room was a familiar figure. It was Mr. Schnee, cloaked with shadow.
"Whaa… why am I here?" Weiss asked herself as she looked around the office.
"Obligation. Or, perhaps destiny, if you believe in such things," the imaginary Mr. Schnee answered to her.
Weiss sighed. "You were always blunt, father. But, you were never insightful. Why can't you see that I never wanted to be a part of this… this legacy?" she asked the figure.
"As a Schnee, the choice is out of your hands. Your obligation is to what we represent, not selfish desires," the form replied coolly.
"Loving Ruby is not selfish! In fact, is it not selfish of you to force the name Schnee onto me? To deny my free will for the sake of a familial ideal?" Weiss questioned more.
The illusionary Mr. Schnee had no reply to that inquiry. Instead, he countered with an observation. "If you simply acted like a good girl and did what you were told, then maybe I would actually show you the love you want,".
That made Weiss' blood boil. "How dare you?! A father shouldn't hold love over his head, like some lofty reward! It should be given simply for its sake!" she ranted.
The figure countered, "No matter how much you fight me, or spite my name, you still desire what only I can give: a father's love. If anything, you only have yourself to blame for not getting it,".
That sent Weiss over the edge. She didn't hate that his words were cruel, as much as they held some truth to them. Sure, Ruby was a major source of love and caring, but Weiss still yearned for something she only tasted long ago, when she was a child. In her anger, she launched herself in a vault across the large wooden desk. However, before Weiss could fully attack her father, he disappeared in a cloud of mist.
Confused, Weiss looked around. He had to be around here, damn it! However, instead of being greeted by his figure again, she only heard his voice.
"You surely remember the times we had together, don't you?" the voice asked.
"I was so little… I can barely remember it…" Weiss admitted.
"But you remember that it was good, right?" the voice pressed further.
"I remember that," Weiss' voice replied. However, it didn't come from Weiss herself. Instead, it came from behind her.
Spinning around, Weiss saw a mirror image of herself, standing right behind her back. The faux-Weiss was smiling. Weiss hadn't done that genuinely regarding her father in a while. But, then she noticed something: the duplicate had no scar, no brand of shame.
"If you never bothered to test yourself in such a reckless manner, then you would be much better off. You know this to be true. All you had to do was wait a little longer, and maybe things could have changed," the faux-Weiss said, her voice sounding sickeningly sweet.
"It would have done nothing! I had waited far too long for something he didn't have anymore!" the real Weiss protested.
The other Weiss leered forward towards the real one. With a smile, she retorted, "How could you know? It was a gamble, what you did. Your finding of Ruby was just a stroke of luck. Everything else was monitored by your father. And you knew that it could crash down on you one day, right? But no, you decided to fight for nothing. And now, because of your blunder, you're about to drag the last person you cherish into an early grave. But, I suppose you already knew that,".
"R-ruby knew what she was g-getting into. She loves me, and would always stay by my side," Weiss shakily replied. The twisted mirror of herself knew all too well about her fears of destroying Ruby. And, in Weiss' mind, the faux-Weiss was correct about that.
"Hmmph. Poor, stubborn Weiss. Always struggling, even though you have the deck stacked against you. Your resilience is beautiful, in a way. But, how about Ruby's? Sure, she said she would stand beside you, but that was only out of loyalty. If anything, you forced it upon her much like papa forced you to follow the Schnee way of life,".
Horror forced Weiss' eyes to open wider. How… how couldn't she have seen it before? She knew Ruby was hesitant about her plans, but she still followed her anyway, out of her sense of love. It was just like what the young Weiss did with her father.
Weiss slumped to her knees, her legs resting against the soft carpeting. The faux-Weiss kneeled down and got on her level. Grabbing Weiss' head and forcing her to look at her face, the doppelganger continued.
"Your lust for vengeance has been nothing but the repetition of an endless waltz. You seek to rebel, and yet when the time comes, the revolutionaries repeat the same mistakes as their predecessors. I suppose the word 'justice' carries some irony with it,".
"No, no! You're wrong!" Weiss feebly protested. "No, no, no…"
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"NO!" Weiss shot up, now awake in her bunk. She could feel that she was coated in a layer of cold sweat. Looking around, she saw that her teammates were still asleep. Looking at the digital clock, Weiss saw that it was a little after midnight.
Dejected, Weiss flopped back onto her bed. Great, how could she sleep now? Everything the visions in her dream said was right. She couldn't just dead Ruby into a virtual suicide mission, all for some petty feeling of hers!
Wait, Ruby! Maybe she could fall asleep by her side! Maybe that's what she needed right now!
Springing out of her bunk, Weiss stood up and turned to face the sleeping Ruby. She looked so serene, lightly snoring in her sleep. Weiss couldn't help but feel a little bad for planning to disturb her rest.
She shook Ruby's shoulder until she was awake. "Huhh? Whazz it? Weiss?" Ruby questioned, now half-awake.
Weiss felt incredibly childish for what she was about to say. But, it was still worth a shot. Blushing, she said, "I, uh, had a bad dream. Think you can… sleep with me tonight?".
"Yeah… sure…" Ruby grumbled as she hopped off of her bunk. Taking a brief look at Weiss, then at the sleep-fighting Yang, she then slid under the sheets of Weiss' bed. She patted the empty space next to her. "C'mon, get in. We have classes tomorrow…" she said in a groggy voice.
Weiss complied and settled into the bed next to Ruby. Almost instinctively, Weiss draped a leg over the prone form of Ruby and wrapped her arms around the younger girl. She was going to be her comfort object for tonight.
"G'night, Weiss…" Ruby bid as she closed her eyes again. In response, Weiss gave her a small peck on the cheek. Ruby had a small smile as she entered a state of sleep.
The feeling of warmth beneath Weiss was comforting. It was as if Ruby was made for sleeping next to her. Weiss wouldn't doubt for a second that was the case. Firming up her hold, Weiss nuzzled herself closer to Ruby.
Before long, Weiss felt her eyes grow heavy. It appeared that her idea paid off. Before she went to sleep, her tired mind briefly thought:
"If that worked, maybe my other ideas will too,"
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Aww… how sweet. Well, I hope you all enjoyed that. Now, get ready for the character deaths in the next chapter. Ha, just kidding! If I was going to do character deaths, you would know they would be killed HARD. Like, setting off a dust-enhanced nuke hard. Huh, that's an idea for a story. Maybe I should look into that… Regardless, remember to just drop me a message or review on your opinions. You people are literally my Oprah. Except not really. I'm sure that a lot of you don't own your own channel. So, this is The Draigg, signing off, but not before you get a free car!