Weiss Schnee

She recovered faster then everyone else around her. The only one in their private booth even remotely as strong as her was Clover, but pure stat wise she left him in the dust... not to mention it was Ruby's roar, she had heard it before... hell, she had been hit by a stronger version of it before.

It took more effort then she'd like to admit - and a bit of magic - but she managed to stand, and once out of her seat moved over to the railing to get a look at the arena... the last thing she had seen was Ruby laying on the ground before the screens had cut out, and it had been only a few seconds after that when the roar came. Weiss was worried to say the least. Why had Ruby used her Ingrained spell? Was she in trouble? Did Carmine attack her? What was going on?

Out of all the answers she could have possibly arrived at, none were even remotely close to reality.

Instead of witnessing Ruby fighting or even her in danger... she saw a Dragon stalking a dying woman like a predator stalked cornered prey. Nothing about this situation screamed a fight or even a struggle... Weiss was forced to try and justify it in her head for her wife, but any attempts at condoning Ruby's actions came up short as she bore witness to the results before hearing her side of the story. This wasn't a dispute or an argument or even a fight... it just looked like a murder.

"Ruby... what are you doing...?"

She trusted her wife... she trusted the woman she loved... she trusted Ruby. But... this Dragon in front of her, this person she had become... Weiss was struggling to tell if they were even the same anymore.

What was it about this world that seemed so set on changing Ruby?

Her approach was slow and methodical, Weiss didnt understand it at first... it appeared that Ruby had every intention to kill Carmine, yet she was taking her time? She realised soon after that Ruby was most likely talking to her, speaking through telepathy and perhaps looking for information...? Weiss was grasping at straws, anything to try and convince herself that Ruby wasnt taunting the wizard. The fact that she could even think Ruby might be doing that said more then she would have liked to admit. Carmine's 'body' was both arms, a torso and a head. Her lower body had been completely torn off, and it even looked like one of her hands was missing as well... the blood around Ruby's jaw was enough to figure out what had happened, but the nature of the attack itself raised even more questions... it was so unnecessarily brutal, especially for her Ruby.

Weiss noticed the other people in the booth start to regain some control over themselves. This private area was one of the furthest places from the arena itself, so the rest of the onlookers were most likely still too dazed or disoriented to see what had and what was happening. Those effects should last a bit longer, but Ruby seemed to be finished with her talking anyway... The Dragon let out a growl and charged the almost corpse of a woman... Weiss hesitated.

She could intervene. Even pregnant her magic was still free to use, she could summon her Gigas between them, while maybe not enough to stop Ruby as she was now... it could at least delay her right...? But did Weiss even want to stop her? What if Ruby was doing the right thing afterall?

"Do I trust her?"

It was a question she luckily didn't have to answer.

A slam of yellow lightning carried by a spear slammed into the red scales of the Dragons side, the creature was sent flying to the edge of the arena as a woman with red hair rushed across the ground. She made a beeline for Carmine immediately and without a second to waste the soft green light emanating from the torso grew much brighter. Weiss was greatly concerned as Ruby stood again, the Dragon pulling itself from the wall and now sporting a large wound on its side... like a few of its ribs had been broken. The spear returned to its owner and she ignored Ruby as the Dragon approached again, baring down on who Weiss could recognise as Conquest... before the other Harbinger intervened.

Weiss didn't see him move or even approach Ruby. One second she was charging at Pyrrha, the next a figure in a pitch black cloak stood in front of her... and she crashed onto the ground. Falling unconscious most likely and sliding to a stop on the hard floor. Qrow's cloak disappeared as he moved over to assist Carmine... and Weiss glanced to her side as the other rulers of the kingdoms met her at the railing... save for her human father who had been rendered unconscious by the roar.

This was going to be a long day.

Ruby Schnee

"Ow."

Not a good first thought to have when regaining conciousness. Ruby's side hurt like crazy, she could feel her ribs... that wasn't normal. Then again, the feeling of cold metal on her wrists also wasn't normal... actually this room was kinda cold too-

"Oh shit."

Her eyes burst open quickly and she shot up, greeted by a lovely view of a room she had gotten acquainted to from the outside only days earlier... a cell in Beacon. Specifically the cell Neo had been held in. Though since Ruby was probably something stronger then Neo, apparently someone had also elected to put anti-magic cuffs on her as well.

Not that it mattered to Ruby, she couldn't cast strong enough magic to get out of here anyway.

Speaking of magic, all of her magic items were gone. All of them. She whipped her head around worryingly, hoping to catch sight of her cloak... no such luck. She let out a sigh as her mind finally fully woke up and the full blast of Pride she had set as active previously kicked in again.

"I'm in a cell because I tried to kill Carmine. My magic items are nearby in holding for now, this situation is probably only temporary. Carmine isn't officially the ruler of Vacuo, and I should have some kind of diplomatic immunity..."

Even with Pride, Ruby wasn't too sure on the laws at play there exactly. Attempted murder wasn't a crime to be ignored so lightly... but she could guess Weiss would be on her side still. And more importantly... she could guess how Weiss was planning on spinning this whole thing as well.

So, for now she kicked back and layed down into the surprisingly comfortable bed again. It was no where near as nice as her bed back at home, or even any of their couches... but it was definitely amazing for what it was. Save for the matt white colouring on all the furniture, which was only a bed, desk, chair, and a door... she was hoping that was the bathroom. But Ruby wasnt going to use that if she didn't have to.

An hour later, someone came by the barrier... well, multiple someones. One of the brave individuals that had stopped her, and the Queen of Vale. Ruby met Weiss's eyes with a gentle smile... but she could tell her wife wasn't too happy about this situation. Of course, neither was Ruby... she hated that this barrier was in the way.

But apparently Weiss agreed. With a nod to someone Ruby couldnt see thanks to the angle, the barrier dropped long enough for Weiss to enter. Ruby felt all the anti-magic in the room turn off as well... which was good. Being hit by a whole bunch of anti-magic at once wouldn't do any good for Weiss or their child.

"Hey honey-" Ruby's sweet voice was cut off nearly immediately by Weiss's authoritative tone.

"Turn it off." Ruby wasnt stupid. She knew immediately what Weiss was talking about... and even with Pride at full blast she couldnt argue with Weiss's full 'Queen mode' face. With a sigh she complied... mostly. She turned it down to what it was before.

"Ok, I did-"

"All the way Ruby." Weiss's gaze set into an almost glare, and Ruby felt herself melt slightly under the almost glowing Light blue eyes of the Queen... so... once again... she did as instructed.

"O-ok Weiss... I did it... it's turned off-" No outside interruption this time. No words were spoken as Weiss's expression softened and she reached down behind Ruby, gently undoing the cuffs and letting the girl stand. Ruby walked like in a daze, but she didn't move towards Weiss, no, she headed straight for that bathroom she swore not to use.

Her mouth... her... teeth. She could still feel it. The clamping down... the sudden lack of pushback as Carmine's body split in half... the rushing of blood and left over mangled pieces of organs falling into her maw-

Ruby let out a very undignified sound into the bathroom as her stomach regurgitated what little it had inside, luckily she had made it to the toilet. She was confident she hadn't swallowed any of the wizard... but... even thinking about that whole experience and what had happened... suffice to say she threw up to the point where all that came out was bile and stomach acid. At some point Pyrrha had joined her in the bathroom with Weiss, kneeling down behind her and holding back her hair so the pregnant woman didn't have to... which Ruby was definitely going to thank Pyrrha for later... she was probably going to thank Pyrrha for a lot of stuff later...

Her stomach only stopped once it couldn't give any more and then some. Her face felt a mess and her body feeling disgusting as she hugged her arms around it, almost trying to claw away at whatever she could reach of herself... to say she felt disgusted with her action's would be an understatement. Back before she had gotten 'control' of Pride, the things she did when transformed always made her uncomfortable... but apparently 'control' also meant it was more powerful... or maybe it was just no one had stopped her before she'd done something horrible this time.

There were no words to describe how much she wanted to find a spell to erase her memory of today... or whenever the fight was... she didn't know if perhaps she'd been unconscious for a day or two maybe. But Ruby was certain of one thing no matter how today ended... she was never going to forget what Pheonix tasted like... and that disgusted her to no end.

For now, the water Pyrrha offered was a small respite to all of it. Ruby drank what she could in small sips, all of it between gentle whimpers and a few tears here and there. Weiss had sat down leaning against the wall by now, and one look between them was all that was needed before Ruby essentially crawled her way over to the woman... well, after wiping her face anyway...

Ruby wasnt sure how long she layed against the cool tiles of the bathroom, her head leaned gently against Weiss's belly and listening to her wife and child's heartbeats... she couldn't count the time or measure how long they remained in that intimate moment. But as much as she wanted to focus on her family... her thoughts drifted elsewhere... how much had Pride been effecting her? At what point had she turned it up too far to stop being able to consider herself as... her...?

How long had it been since she'd been Ruby...?

She wanted to fall asleep as Weiss wrapped her arms gently around Ruby's head... she wanted to stop thinking and rest as her wife started humming a soft lullaby to try and make everything better... but things couldn't just be snapped back into place... Ruby knew that as powerful an asset as Pride was... it was something she could never use again.

Maybe one day Ruby would grow and mature into someone that could use it effectively... but this Ruby? The person she was now, and the person she planned to be for the foreseeable future? There was only one thing in the world that she could ever see herself using it for...

And she wasn't planning on looking at Rory's last memory anytime soon.

Qrow Branwen

"This is unacceptable!"

"I understand but-"

"What is being done about her actions??" Qrow was baring witness to an uphill battle.

Ozpin looked tired to put it lightly, whereas Gillingham looked ready to burst. Her face was flushed with rage and every word seemed to be spat with venom, though Qrow had sworn he'd actually seen some proper spit there as well. He barely kept one eye open while watching them, calmly leaning back in his chair as Gillingham yelled at Ozpin from their own places in the hospital room.

Honestly the hospital wasn't necessary. Between Carmine's own efforts, Pyrrha's help, and Qrow's own magic as well, the Pheonix was left without injury. Well, physical anyway. Her mana was nearly empty which had put her out cold temporarily, and Qrow was betting her pride would be a little hurt too. He wasn't worried about mental trauma or anything like that though. Carmine had definitely been through worse then being bitten in half, hell Qrow himself had been through worse then that.

Gillingham strutted back and forth, as if trying to carve a line in the floor with her steps. Ozpin sat on a chair to the opposite side of Carmine then the Queen, leaving the patient still asleep stuck in the middle of their 'argument'... really it was Gillingham yelling and Ozpin trying to calm her down.

"You'll be lucky if Carmine awakens!" Another empty threat, Qrow was as sure that Ozpin knew she'd wake up as he was sure of it himself.

"I assure you that she will be fine-" He let out a sigh as Gillingham cut him off with more screaming. Ozpin was basically just taking the brunt of her rage for Weiss, but knowing that she was making sure Ruby was ok was the only reason Qrow was here to help Ozpin... also because he wasn't sure if he could look at Ruby at the moment...

He felt guilty to put it lightly. No matter that it hadn't, or even couldn't do any damage... he had still technically attacked his neice... It took all of his willpower to not go get a drink, but over six months sober wasn't about to end now... not if he could help it. Besides, he was sure Ruby would be more upset at him breaking that streak then him using a spell against her.

That's what he had to keep telling himself anyway.

Qrow started listening to some of Gillingham's words. She was dancing around the subject, threatening Ozpin in every way she could without actually saying or expressing the idea of war. If she even suggested it there was the chance of Qrow killing both her and Carmine right this second. Not that Qrow was worried about a war with Vacuo anyway.

"No matter how stupid she might be... Carmine knows that Vacuo would lose that fight. This whole thing has just been further proof of that."

Ruby nearly killed Carmine. Sure, it had been a sneak attack, but even so she was only the fourth or fifth strongest person in Vale. Carmine was the strongest Vacuo had to offer, and if they started a war... it wasn't a fight they could win. That didn't mean that Ruby would go unpunished of course... but Qrow's neice had actually played her cards pretty smartly. Thanks to that roar she did before the attack, no one in the audience actually saw her strike Carmine... Qrow had made sure of that himself by asking Yang... thankfully Celica and Sun had been spared from that sight. But perhaps that was the point. Even though the situation was still a massive deal, it didn't have the same impact as it would have if nearly a hundred thousand people had seen it happen before their eyes, not even counting the millions that would have seen it if the screens hadnt been turned off. The festival was broadcasted to nearly the whole world afterall. Pyrrha and Qrow had been quick to clean up as well, so probably only the strongest people who woke up first saw the blood.

Obviously Ruby was going to be punished anyway... but as Carmine slowly opened her eyes and yelled at Gillingham to shut up... Qrow focused his gaze onto her with an almost glare.

"Why did she attack you?"

Weiss Schnee

With Ruby sitting back on the bed, Weiss slowly wrapped her cloak around her shoulders and gave her forehead a gentle kiss.

She wanted to comfort her for longer... for oh so much longer. As long as she could... but time wasn't something they had much of right now. She needed Ruby to understand first... later she would hold her wife till neither of them could stand eachothers presence anymore.

"Ruby...?" She sat next to her on the edge of the bed and gently whispered. Pyrrha had left the room by now and was keeping anyone from approaching the cell, though calling it that for now was inaccurate. Really Ruby had only been put here to further the credibility of their story... Weiss didn't get a verbal response from the girl, but a soft nod to tell her to continue was enough for her to keep going. "Gillingham expects you to be punished for this... my father and Atlas is going to support you-" Mainly because Ruby was still the only one that knew the Dragon Formula. "- and Leo has yet to take a side... we... We're going to say that-"

"That I was mind controlled..." Ruby finished her sentence with a soft voice, and Weiss gave her an encouraging smile as she spoke, just happy to hear her wifes voice again.

"Yeah... I know you can't lie, but I want you to try your best for me ok? And no, I don't mean using Prid-"

"I'm not going to use that again..." Ruby leaned to her side, resting her head on Weiss's shoulder with a gentle sigh. Weiss wrapped an arm around her with that same small smile. "Hey Weiss...? What's... going to happen to me...?"

"Well..." Weiss sighed gently. "I can't say you won't be punished... but it won't be anything extreme. To be honest, unless Carmine seeks retribution your punishment will be nothing but a formality." Weiss practically chuckled at that last part, but Ruby's body tensed up as she spoke.

"Weiss I... I nearly killed her..."

"That's the nature of our kingdoms Ruby. You may have done something... awful..." It hurt Weiss to say that, but it was weirdly probably what Ruby wanted to hear while she told her she'd get off scott-free. "But Vacuo isn't strong enough a Kingdom to seek war or revenge against us for it... especially with Vale holding an alliance with Atlas."

Ruby nodded almost solemnly... Weiss couldn't fathom what she was going through right now, and it hurt her to know that. Ruby probably felt like she had done something so disgusting and horrible that the world should never forgive it... yet the world at large would probably never know it had even happened. Only she could properly punish herself now... and all Weiss wanted was to convince her wife that she didn't need to.

But that was an argument she couldn't win...

"Hey Weiss...?"

"Yes Ruby...?" Their voices were soft, gentle whispers meant only for each other.

"I don't think I'm going to eat meat for a while..." Weiss let out a gentle chuckle, but nodded anyway.

"Your Majesty-" Pyrrha rounded the corner with Weiss's Scroll in hand, but paused for a moment when she saw them.

"Why does Pyrrha have your Scroll?" Ruby's whispered question was answered immediately.

"-You recieved a call from Ozpin-"

"That's why." Weiss gave Ruby a small almost smirk of a smile, before turning to Pyrrha again and inviting her to continue.

"...Carmine is awake, and she's decided not to seek a punishment for Ruby." That actually confused Weiss... out of everyone, she had expected that wizard to want to see Ruby put in jail or worse for her actions...

"What of Gillingham?"

"Apparently Carmine told her to..." Conquest blushed and shook her head gently. "I don't want to repeat the exact phrasing, but the summary was she told her to be quiet."

Weiss nodded, Carmine was technically the ruler of Vacuo... Gillingham was just keeping her seat warm doing all the work Carmine didn't want to do. She clapped her hands together and turned to Ruby.

"Well, that leaves your punishment up to me then."

Ruby settled her gaze onto Weiss, looking rather unimpressed. "You're actually gonna punish me?"

"Yep."

"Is this a weird sex thing?"

"R-Ruby...!!" Weiss's stammers were only complete with Pyrrha excusing herself from the room, and Ruby managed a light giggle at both of their expenses. Weiss managed to collect herself after a few moments and shook her head.

"No, I have an actual punishment in store for you."

"Ok well... what is it?"