Here we are at Chapter 5. Things are growing dire for Team RWBY as they're running out of time to save Ruby. I do not own RWBY Ice Queendom. They belong to roosterteeth. Here's chapter 5. Enjoy.

Chapter 5: True Feelings

Weiss, Blake, and Yang bolt up as they wake from the dream, catching their breaths.

"Are you alright? That was far too close," Shion asks.

"We were... pulled from the dream," Yang looks around.

Weiss turns to Ruby, "Ruby's still asleep..." she notes sadly.

"Are you all okay? It seems like things got intense in there," Professor Ozpin says.

"Please, tell us everything you saw," Goodwitch requests.

"We... got deeper into the castle. There's no doubt that Ruby is there, but we still haven't found her yet. We've managed to narrow down the possible locations though," Blake says.

"That woman... the one Weiss fought against. We fought against her here, but..." Yang hangs her head. "It was my mom, Summer Rose. That's who attacked us,"

"Your mother?" Shion looks to Ozpin.

"Summer Rose was once a student here at Beacon Academy. She was even on a team with Ruby and Yang's father, Taiyang Xiao Long. They were Team STRQ, and Summer was their leader. She's much like Ruby: kind, brave, and caring. She was an amazing huntress... and an even better human being. She passed away a long time ago, unfortunately," Ozpin explains, making Yang sad at the painful memory.

"I apologize for asking, but how did Ruby feel about her mother/' Shion asks.

"Ruby loved Mom. She idolized her. Mom was the main reason Ruby wanted to become a huntress. To be just like her. Like the heroes in the stories she read to us when we were kids. She was Super-Mom," Yang explains.

"Yang," Blake mutters, concerned for her partner.

"If that's the case, that would explain her being in the dream. The Nightmare is using Ruby's memories of Summer Rose as a means of keeping you away from Ruby, and keeping control over her. It would also explain why she's so strong. Ruby must think that nothing could defeat her mother, and so that became the case in the dream," Shion says.

"What do we do now, Professor Shion?" Weiss asks.

"It will take some time for my aura to recover. However, the situation has become that dire. The Nightmare has burrowed deep into her heart. You must find a way to reach her and free her from its grasp. If you fail again, however, then Ruby... will die," Shion says, causing the trio to look at Ruby with worry. "Please, take some time to think about what you've learned in the dream and come up with a new strategy. Keep in mind though that I can't sense the markers you left behind anymore. The Nightmare must've destroyed them. When you go back inside the dream, you will have to start from scratch," Shion explains.

Weiss can only stare at Ruby for a moment before she leaves with the others.

"What are we supposed to do?" Blake wonders.

"I need some time alone, guys," Yang starts to walk off in a different direction.

"Yang, we need to talk together and come up with a plan here!" Weiss tries to stop her.

"I need to be alone!" Yang yells, freezing her.

"Yang... easy," Blake says slowly.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I just... do you have any idea what it's like? To fight an enemy who's trying to kill you while wearing your mom's face? While speaking with her voice? I love Ruby, but I also love my mom too. What am I supposed to do with that? Please, I just... need some time to clear my head," and with that, Yang takes her leave.

"Okay. Let's meet back here in an hour to come up with a new plan. I think we all need some time alone to think about things," Blake says before leaving too.

Weiss watches them go before sighing. She decides to head to their team dorm room for a few minutes of rest and to think herself.

…

Blake finds herself at the edge of the landing platforms in front of the school, looking out at the city beyond.

"Hey, what's got you so bummed out?" she looks to find Sun behind her.

"Sun. Do you always just wander off to random places without a second thought?" Blake asks.

Sun sits next to her, "Eh, it's a gift. So, you look gloomier than normal. Everything okay?"

Blake sighs, "No... It's not,"

…

With Yang, she ends up on the second floor of the school library, away in a corner behind a few bookshelves.

"What am I supposed to do?" Yang mutters. Her mind keeps going back to the fight with the Summer Rose in the dream. "Can I really fight my own mom?"

"Yang, are you okay?" Yang looks up to see Pyrrha standing over her.

"Pyrrha, what are you doing here?" Yang asks as she gets up.

"We noticed you walk in and head over here. Is this about Ruby?" Pyrrha asks.

Yang sighs, "Yeah..."

Pyrrha offers a smile, "Why don't you come sit with us and talk about it?" she gestures to her team waiting for them at a nearby table.

…

Weiss lays down on her bunk in their dorm room, staring up into space, "How can I fix this? If Ruby was here, she'd probably come up with a plan that would be so crazy, it would actually be crazy enough to work," Weiss gets up and ends up climbing onto Ruby's bunk, laying down on it. "Ruby..." she thinks back to what the Summer Rose in the dream said. "Ruby... treasures me? Why? Why would she after all the horrible things I did to her? The horrible things I said to her here and in my dream?"

Laying there, her face in the sheets, she detects the faint scent of strawberries. Ruby's scent from her scented body wash. Before, she didn't understand, but now she misses that scent, and who it belongs to. Her hand reaches under Ruby's pillow and touches something hard underneath. Weiss pulls it out and sits up to find a small notebook in her hands. Curious, she opens it up to find notes written within.

"Deary diary... This is Ruby's diary?" Weiss reads.

She wants to put it away to respect Ruby's privacy, but stops when she notices her name written on one page.

"Dear Diary, I finally made it to Beacon and things are already going great. I ended up on a team with Yang, and I was even made the team leader. I never expected that to happen. Oh, I'm so excited! My other two teammates are Weiss and Blake. Blake doesn't talk a whole lot, but she seems cool. Plus, she likes books, which is a plus. Weiss, on the other hand... Well, let's just say our first meeting didn't go so well. I ended up on her bad side, even though I just wanted us to be friends. It sucks too because when I first saw her... my first thought was 'how beautiful this girl is'. She looks really pretty, but she's very hard to approach. I really hope we can become good friends. I really want her to accept and like me," she reads one entry.

"Ruby thought I was beautiful," Weiss mutters, flipping onto another page.

"Dear Diary, after some stuff happened, I realized I need to step up as leader of Team RWBY. So, I have to be at the top of my game, whether it's fighting grimm or studying. Weiss and I kind of got into a fight. She said she didn't want to be on a team lead by me. Professor Ozpin said that it wasn't a mistake that I was chosen as team leader, and gave me some good advice. Afterwards, Weiss made me coffee and said that she wanted to support me as team leader. I don't know what happened, but I'm really glad that we've made up. I really don't want to have to fight with her. I just really want her to like me. I get the feeling that she works so hard because of how she was raised. I don't know a whole lot about her family, but it feels like she had a rough childhood. I just want her to know that I'm there for her, and I hope she'll be there for me when I need it. I really don't want to fight with Weiss," the entry reads.

Weiss looks on bitterly, reminded of her past transgressions towards Ruby, before turning the page.

"Dear Diary, we had an incident involving Team JNPR the other day. Jaune was possessed by some rare grimm called a Nightmare. Luckily, Team JNPR went into his dream thanks to Professor Shion and managed to wake him up and defeat the grimm. I was so relieved. I'd never want that to happen to any of my friends. Especially Weiss. I'd be scared stiff if that had happened to her. I mean, yeah she comes off cold sometimes... or a lot of times, but I still think she's a good person. And pretty... very pretty, especially when she's smiling. She should really smile more. Maybe if I get some cookies for her, she'll be happier. Oh, maybe we could share them. Heh-heh, sharing cookies with Weiss... Ah, what a sweet dream. It be nice if that would really happen," the entry goes into weird giggling and repeating the idea of sharing sweets with Weiss.

A part of Weiss is weirded out by this, but also touched that Ruby is thinking about ways to make her happy. She turns to another page.

"Dear Diary, it's horrible! Weiss was possessed by a Nightmare! I'm so sad and angry and upset and wah! I always thought she'd be fine. How could I miss this? I'm a terrible leader! I can't let this stop me though. If I go into Weiss' dream, then I can save her. I won't let Weiss die from the Nightmare. There's still so much I want to do with her. I want to talk with her more, study together (as long as she doesn't go crazy with it), hang out together. I actually want to go shopping with her, maybe paint our nails, talk about romance and the like. I don't want to lose Weiss! I swear I will save her!" the writing looked like it was hastily written this time.

Weiss can feel tears edging in her eyes, "Ruby was that worried about me. She risked the dangers of entering my dream to free me from the Nightmare," she mutters before turning the page.

"Dear Diary... Well, I'm not in a happy mood right now. I did save Weiss from the Nightmare. She'll be okay now, but... in the dream, I met Weiss there. She attacked me and tried to kill me. Shion told me later on that it was the Nightmare's doing; using Weiss like a puppet. But, in that fight... she said some things that were truly awful. I know it couldn't have been how she really feels about me, but... I can't get past what she said. She said how pathetic I was... That I didn't deserve to be a leader or a huntress... That every bad thing that was happening was because of me... Was I the reason she got possessed by a Nightmare? It feels like everything is my fault. I just wanted us to be friends... and go from there, but... I don't think she ever truly liked me at all! Was I really that stupid to not see how much she hated me? How much I ruined things for her. Maybe that's all I ever do. Just do stupid stuff, make stupid mistakes, and get in people's way. I wanted to be a huntress, and I wanted to be a huntress alongside her and Blake and Yang. I wanted to do everything with her. I wanted to BE with her! And now I think she wants nothing to do with me. I just... I don't know what to do or how to feel anymore. I feel like my heart is falling apart... and there's nothing that can fix it," the page is stained with dried tear drops.

However, fresh new ones fall onto the page as Weiss covers her mouth, her tears falling.

"Ruby... I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry that I did this to you. I thought you were a child, a dolt. I thought you shouldn't be leader or a huntress. But, I was wrong. So, impossibly wrong. I got possessed by a Nightmare and you saved me. And then you got possessed because of me. All of this... is because of me. I'm sorry. I'm sorry," Weiss cries.

A knock comes at her door. Wiping her tears away, Weiss walks over and opens the door to find Professor Ozpin outside.

"I thought I might find you here," Ozpin notes.

"Professor Ozpin... What am I supposed to do? I don't know how I can save Ruby," Weiss admits sadly.

Ozpin keeps smiling however, "I wouldn't be so sure about that,"

…

"So, Ruby is possessed now, and you don't know how to get her out while dealing with all the bad guys in her dream," Sun summarizes what Blake told him.

"Yeah. In the dream, my counterpart apparently serves her by staying in the shadows. Keeping any threats from getting too close to her. I don't understand why I would be in that kind of position. Did she have me kill people in the dream? Was I some kind of assassin? Ninja often worked as assassins. At least, that's how they were in the books I read. I don't think Ruby would have me play that role though," Blake says.

"Hmm, maybe she just trusts you that much," Sun says.

"Huh? She trusts me? But, I kept so many secrets from her. I told you that I was in the White Fang once. I didn't kill people during that time, but... did hurt them. I never enjoyed any of that. It's not what I was fighting for," Blake stares at her hands. "How could she trust someone like me after what I've done?"

"Probably because she just does. Come on, how did she treat you before she found out you were a Faunus?" Sun asks.

Blake thinks back, "She came up to me first. She wanted us to be friends. I wanted her and Yang to leave me alone, but then... Ruby asked about the book I was reading. She told me that she wanted to be like the heroes in the books; that's why she wants to be a huntress. I told her that the real world isn't like a fairytale, but then she just said that that's why we're here: to make it better. Honestly, I was impressed and moved by her words. As we became a team and spent more time together, I saw that Ruby was genuinely a kind person. I got along well with her. She was still immature at times, but only because she's younger,"

"And after she found out?" Sun asks.

"She... she didn't change. She treated me just the same. In the dream, both of my ears were out. I guess it's because she rather I just show my true self. She doesn't care that I'm a Faunus. She only cares that I'm Blake, her friend," Blake realizes.

"That's what I'm saying. Ruby never minded that I'm a Faunus, or a stowaway. She strikes me as the type who wants everyone to be happy. But, then who makes sure she's happy? That's what her friends are for. I bet she doesn't have you close to her in the dream as some kind of assassin, but as a protector. Someone to protect her from all the bad stuff in the world. If you ask me, she seems like a really nice person. I wish there were more people like her. You're right, this world can be full of bad stuff at times. But, maybe that's why we need people like her to make it better, and people like you and me to watch their backs. That's what friends are supposed to do for each other, right," Sun explains.

Blake sighs, "How could I not see it more clearly? I want to be friends with Ruby. The White Fang wanted peace and equality. We wanted acceptance. And here comes Ruby, a human who accepted me before I was known as a Faunus and after I was known as a Faunus. Maybe with more people like Ruby, we can change the world and make it better. And that's why..." Blake stands up. "I'm going to fight for her. I couldn't change the world, but I believe that she can. And I'll be there by her side every step of the way. Thank you, Sun, for helping me figure this all out," she smiles at him.

Sun smiles back, "Hey, what are friends for?"

…

"So, there's a version of your mother in Ruby's dream, and you're scared to fight her, even though you must get past her to reach Ruby," Pyrrha says.

"Man, that's a tough one. I could never imagine fighting any of my sisters. Yeah, they've messed with me in the past plenty of times, and while I was annoyed by them sometimes, I never wanted to actually hurt them" Jaune leans back in his chair.

"Ruby must love her mother a great deal if she's in the dream," Ren notes.

"Yeah. I do too. That's why this is so hard. My mom died when Ruby and I were kids, so I know that's not the real her, but... I see her face, hear her voice. I don't know how to get past that," Yang rests her head on her table.

"I think you're overthinking this," Nora says.

"Huh?" Yang looks up.

"I mean, I can't speak for my mom way back when, but do you think your real mom would ever actually hurt you?" Nora asks.

"No, Mom would never do that. She'd get upset when we did something bad, but she'd never..." Yang trails off as sees where Nora is going with this.

"Nora's right. Even if your opponent looks and sounds like your mother, she isn't actually your mother. You will always love your mother, and your sister. And I'm sure your mother will always love you. But, right now Ruby needs her big sister. So, just do what comes naturally. I'm sure your mother would want you to do whatever it takes to save Ruby. Your mother's counterpart in the dream is protecting Ruby in her own way, but maybe you need to tell her that she doesn't have to worry about that anymore. That you'll be there watching over your sister in her place. Her, and everyone else you care about," Pyrrha says.

"Protecting Ruby in her place?" Yang mutters before slapping both her cheeks. "Argh, I'm such an idiot! All this time, I was focused on me when the one I should be focusing on is Ruby. You're right. I need to wake my sister up. And I'll smash anyone who gets in my way. I know now that my mom would do the same thing," she stands up. "Thanks for your help guys. I really needed it,"

Jaune waves it off, "Hey, I'm just glad we were able to help. Now go on, your sister's waiting for you,"

"We'll be waiting to hear the good news," Pyrrha says.

Yang nods before taking her leave.

…

Ozpin and Weiss are out on a balcony overlooking part of the school.

"You wonder why Ruby would hold you in such high esteem, despite your earlier interactions with her? While, yes, there was definitely some tension between the two of you, for which you both share some responsibility, you have improved. More importantly, for you to show such concern and worry for your leader shows how much you've progressed in your attitude towards her. Perhaps that is what Ruby was waiting for from you. After all, despite your prior arguments, what did she want from you most of all?" Ozpin asks.

"She wanted... for me to acknowledge her. And for us to be friends," Weiss remembers. "And perhaps... something much more."

"I believe, despite everything that's happened between you two in the past, that Ruby has already acknowledged you. Not your family name, nor your family fortune. But you, Weiss. And she just wants the same from you. From what you explained about what you saw in her dream, Ruby may even value you more than her own sister. The question is: can you say the same for yourself? Maybe deep down, she has always believed in you. Now, you just need to believe in yourself. Don't you want to have another talk with your leader? To finally cleanse the air between you two? To start anew?" Ozpin asks.

Weiss holds a hand to her chest, "When I first came to Beacon, I was focused only on bringing honor to the Schnee name. To uphold my grandfather's legacy. I had been so focused on that and myself that I failed to see what was right in front of me. My grandfather was never focused on himself. He was focused on helping others... just like Ruby. And then I was the one that got possessed by a grimm first. I thought Ruby was the biggest threat to my time here at Beacon, but that couldn't be further from the truth. My biggest obstacle... is myself. And Ruby was just trying to help me. And I repaid her by hurting her. After learning some things, both in the dream and out of it, I realize that I want to speak with Ruby again. I want to atone for every bad thing I've done to her, but more than that... I want to be a part of her life. And her, mine. For so long, people looked at me as a prop, as a piece of meat, but never saw me for me. Ruby was the first aside from my sister to do that. She deserves to be our leader and a huntress, and I need to tell her that and more. I need to tell her that I NEED her. She saved me, and now it's my time to save her,"

Ozpin smiles, "You've certainly changed since I first saw you enroll at my academy,"

Weiss smiles back, "You can thank Ruby for that. I finally understand why you chose her to be team leader. You made the right choice,"

"Good. I believe we've kept your leader waiting long enough. Shall we?" Ozpin says.

…

Team RWBY return to Shion's room and explain to her the new plan they came up with.

"Hmmm, the plan isn't without risk, but there's a chance it just might work. That white rose you found must be the key to entering the core of Ruby's mind. Using your positions in the dream should allow you to get close to Ruby. If this plan of yours works, then you should be able to get close enough to unlock her mind, wake her up, and stop the Nightmare. However, that still leaves the issue of the Summer Rose in the dream. Let's call her Negative Summer to differentiate. What do you plan to do about her?" Shion asks.

"You leave her to me. Now that I've figured a few things out for myself, I know what I have to do. Blake and Weiss will focus on waking Ruby up," Yang says.

Shion nods, "It will not be any easy battle. If you can defeat Negative Summer, that might help free Ruby from the Nightmare's control. But, you'll still need to defeat the grimm itself to escape the dream with Ruby. I must warn you again. If you fail this time, my aura won't recover in time to go back inside her dream. If you fail, then Ruby will be lost forever,"

"We know, and we're going to succeed this time. Count on it," Yang says.

"Right. While Yang is dealing with Negative Summer, I'll deal with the knights in the castle. Weiss, we'll be counting on you to save Ruby," Blake adds.

Weiss nods, "Right,"

Team JNPR step up beside them, "We know you'll win and bring Ruby back. We believe in you," Pyrrha says.

Weiss smiles, "Thanks, you guys," she then turns to Ruby and leans close to whisper in her ear. "We will wake you up, Ruby. I promise. There's so much I want to talk to you about. You saved me from myself. Now, it's my turn to save you."

…

In the dream, Ruby stirs in her sleep as another tear falls from her eye, "...We...iss..."

And that's the chapter. Weiss, Blake, and Yang get some encouragement from their friends on what to do to save Ruby, while Weiss finds out about Ruby's true feelings for her. Now, the time has come to dive back into the dream one more time. Will they save Ruby? Will Weiss mend their broken relationship? Until then, please Read and Review.