Chapter 51: How She Was Found

We're standing at the edge now. How could things possibly play out? Will everything come crashing down, in an unstoppable crescendo? Will the day be saved, with everyone tearfully re-uniting? Or, possibly something in between? Who's really to say? It's the characters who make the story, not anything else.

xxx

Ruby lifted her head off of the desk. She had been woken up by the office door slamming shut. It was a shame too, her dream wasn't bad, not bad at all. She had been dreaming of the day she and Weiss would meet again, in the place without shadows, without darkness to obscure people's hearts. Of course it would be a metaphorical dream. Maybe that one small voice in her head was trying to get through to her somehow.

Velvet dropped a plastic bag onto the desk. "Oh, I'm sorry, did I wake you up?" she apologetically asked.

"No, it's cool," Ruby yawned. Then, she looked over the bag. "What's in there?".

Velvet began to take out a bunch of packaged foods and cans of soda. "Well, I thought you might be hungry, so I brought you some food," she explained. She then held up a long, plastic package. "Do you like black licorice?" she offered.

Ruby shrugged. "I like red better, but I'm not that picky," she said as she reached out her hand. Obliging her, Velvet dropped the pack of licorice into Ruby's hand. With the frantic hunger of a dozen wolves, Ruby easily devoured the contents of the package. A small burp signaled the end of the defilement of food that she called eating candy.

Velvet sat in the seat opposite of her, and looked at her intensely. It looked like she was trying to see if Ruby was hiding something, or if she was acting very out of character. Eventually, she flat out asked, "So, uh, what are you going to do now? I mean, you can't live in here forever, right?".

A sigh escaped Ruby's lips. Here she was, hoping that Velvet wouldn't bring that up. It wasn't that she was wrong, it was that Ruby was hoping that she wouldn't have to face her problems any time soon. Going back out there would be nothing short of being filled with uncertainty again. At least here, in the Theater Club office, she was safe.

"I don't know. I wish I could…" Ruby grumbled in response.

"Well… I'll be there for you, Ruby," Velvet said, reassuringly. Even if her friends was taking up a large chunk of her space, Velvet would stand by her side regardless. After all, what were good friends for?

Silence grew between the two as Ruby and Velvet ate some of the vending machine food that was scattered on the desk. The silence would have lasted longer, but a knock on the door dispelled any hopes for that.

The two of them froze in fear. The club rarely got visitors, outside of their circle of friends. If one of them was asked by Yang where Ruby was later, then the whole deal would be ruined.

Ruby quietly mouthed, "Don't answer,". Velvet responded with a confused shrug.

Another knock was heard against the door. Then, after a brief pause, a voice was heard on the other side. "Hey, uh, Velvet? Are you there? It's me, Yang," the voice said.

Velvet instinctively got out of her chair to answer the door. But, she was stopped by a frantically waving Ruby. Her head was shaking rapidly as she mouthed, "No, no, no!".

"Hey, I know you're in there. Can I talk to you for a bit?" Yang asked from the other side of the door. Damn, she was persistent!

Velvet gave an apologetic look as she shuffled towards the door. She was a bit miffed over disobeying Ruby, but she wouldn't just ignore her other friends. So, she slowly opened the door and poked her head out to answer Yang.

xxx

"Hey there. What can I, um, do for you?" Velvet politely asked Yang. Then, she noticed Blake standing right by Yang's side.

"Yo, Velvet. Mind if I ask you a quick question?" Yang asked. She looked stressed out and tired. The small bags forming under her eyes easily gave that fact away.

"S-sure," Velvet stuttered. Her poker face was failing her already. If Yang was going to ask about Ruby, then she wouldn't be able to lie her way out of this.

"Have you seen Ruby anywhere? She's… not okay. She ran away. I'm really, really, worried, and I just want to make sure she's okay," Yang pleaded with Velvet.

So much for Velvet's hopes. Her anxiety threatened to give her a sheer heart attack. Nervously, she tried her best to bluff her way out. "R-Ruby? No, I-I-I haven't s-seen her,". Velvet's eyes briefly flicked back into the room, giving away her credibility.

Yang picked up on that tell almost immediately. "Really? Are you sure? I mean, I know you two are good friends and all…" she drawled out as she tried to put the pressure on Velvet.

"P-positive," confirmed Velvet.

Now Yang's suspicions were put into overdrive. "Mind if we talk about this inside the office? I don't want to clutter up the hallway, after all," she pressed further.

"No! I m-mean, no, I've, uh, g-got…" Velvet desperately tried to find an excuse. She needed something bad in order to scare Team BY off. "…Dirty magazines? Yeah, that! Of like, a l-lot of guys and s-stuff!" she tried. Judging by Yang's expression, she didn't believe a word of it.

Now it was Blake's turn to step in. She too had picked up on Velvet's lack of a poker face. "We don't mind. Can we just please come in?" she politely asked as she gently pushed aside Velvet to look into the office.

"I wouldn't!" Velvet desperately cried as Blake opened the door.

Yang and Blake stared at the tired Ruby Rose seated behind the desk. A look of pure shock and terror was across her face, as if she was completely horrified that she had been found hiding. Everyone stood still, waiting for the next move to be played.

Yang decided to move first. "Ruby… You had me worried sick!" she cried as she charged into the room to give Ruby a large hug. Cradling an unmoving Ruby in her large arms, Yang choked out, "Don't you ever, EVER run away again, you hear me? It would KILL me to have you leave for good!". Yang's emotions got the best of her, like a parent who had found a lost child.

Blake turned to the frozen Velvet as Yang held her sister. "Why did you lie?" she simply asked her.

"I-I just wanted to help her… she said she n-needed a place to stay," stammered Velvet.

Sighing, Blake shook her head. "Look, I know you wanted to help, but… try thinking before you act next time," she advised tiredly.

"Right…" Velvet lowered her head as she took her scolding. All she wanted to do was help…

Yang finally got around to letting Ruby out of her strong grip. Then, looking at her sternly, she told her sister, "Come on. We're going back to our room,".

"I don't wanna…" Ruby meekly protested. "Can I just stay here?".

"No, Ruby. We need to get you back to where you were," Yang shot her down gently.

Ruby looked at her sister with pleading eyes. "I can't go back there… I can't stand to think of everything there…" she mumbled.

"Running away never solved anything, Ruby," Blake stepped in. "Take it from me, running away only makes you feel worse about yourself. You need to be strong, for all of us,".

"Don't you get it?!" Ruby yelled suddenly. "I ran away because I wasn't strong enough for any of you!". Her voice grew quiet as she settled into a melancholic state. "I don't even deserve to lead you. Can't help you, can't help Weiss… What good am I?".

"Don't say that, Ruby!" exclaimed Yang. "We need you! Who else could pull off the crazy stuff we've done?".

"Like killing the Nevermore on Orientation Day?" Blake added.

Velvet decided to cast her lot in with Yang and Blake. If Ruby was feeling this bad, then maybe she could help the other two get her back into shape. "Or the concert? You made a dream come true!" Velvet chimed in.

"But… that was with your guy's help. It wasn't just me," Ruby sadly pointed out.

Yang put on her best sisterly smile. "You're the one who got us to do all that stuff! Heck, the music show would be dead in the water if you didn't push for it!".

"And you had the idea to come up that crazy slingshot trick! Face it Ruby, you're an excellent leader!" reassured Blake.

"But… why couldn't I help Weiss? I had to leave her behind because I couldn't help," Ruby frowned. Sure, her friends were right about those other times, but Weiss' situation was what depressed Ruby the most.

Yang's face dropped a little. "Maybe she isn't getting the right type of help. She's sick, and she just needs someone to be there for her. Even if you were just in the same room, that would help her out a lot," she drawled out.

"So… you're saying I need to try something a little different?" Ruby pieced together.

"Not exactly different… Just… Be patient with Weiss. She doesn't have anyone else in the world," offered Blake.

"Is she back at the room now? Can I help her?" Ruby honestly asked of Blake and Yang.

"She sure is. I think she'll love to see you by her side again," Yang said, her smile creeping on her face once more.

That was enough for Ruby. Slowly, she got out of the desk chair and stretched her back out. A few spinal bones popped back into place as she got ready to leave the office. Yang, Blake, and Velvet had good points. She DID help others in those instances. After all, without her urging her team to be the natural badasses they were, then they undoubtedly would have been killed a long time ago. Ruby meant a lot to her team, she just lost sight of that for a while there.

"Then, we don't have any time to waste. Let's see my Weiss again!" Ruby declared, her fighting spirit forming back into its once confident self.

"That's the Ruby I know!" Yang cheered as she clapped Ruby on the shoulder.

With that, Ruby, Blake, and Yang walked out of the Theater Club office. Velvet was left by her lonesome again. But then, Ruby made sure to poke her head back in. "Thanks for everything, Velvet," she said to the rabbit Faunus girl.

Velvet smiled back as the door of her office closed behind Ruby. Maybe having her here helped in some odd way after all.

xxx

The lifted spirits of Team RBY were dampened slightly as they reached their dorm room. Sure, their talk was big, but Yang and Blake had no real idea how Weiss would react to being around Ruby again. If a little over a day's separation had drove her to near madness, then there was not telling what she could do now.

As for Ruby, she was concerning herself with what words she would use with Weiss.

"I don't think she'll go or begging. Weiss'll just blame herself, and that would be bad. Or, maybe I should try to play it cool? Maybe another date? Yeah, that might work," Ruby processed in her mind.

As the group stepped into the room, they were greeted with the complete lack of Weiss' presence. That set off several alarms in Yang and Blake's minds almost immediately.

"I thought you said she was here?" Ruby asked the other two, confused.

"She was…" Yang said as she gave the room an once-over.

"Maybe she's in the bathroom?" Ruby suggested. The bathroom door was closed right now, and the light was shining through the crack under the door.

Blake and Yang released their held breaths. "Good point," Blake admitted.

Striding over to the bathroom door, Ruby listened for any noises behind the door. All she heard was water lightly sloshing around, probably in the bath. So, that's what Weiss was doing!

Ruby knocked against the door softly. "Hey… uh, Weiss? I-It's me, Ruby. I… I just want to talk, okay? You don't have to if you don't want to, and if you do want to then… just let me know," she said to the door.

She got no reply. Now Ruby was curious as to why Weiss wasn't replying. So, she tried knocking on the door a little harder. As it turned out, the bathroom door was unlocked. The rapping of her knuckles had opened a crack in the door.

"Weiss? Are you okay in there? …I'm coming in," Ruby announced as she opened the door and stepped into the bathroom.

Ruby was met by a horrible, terrifying sight.

It was something that would stay with her for the rest of her life.