The house was silent, which worked against Weiss' chosen strategy of sneaking around without being noticed. Closing the restroom door behind her carefully, the silence made the creaking from the rusted hinges sound even louder, in Weiss' opinion at least. From here she would have to head downstairs and hopefully find the kitchen to get something to eat. Her aura was weak, a small ember that felt like it was on the verge of dying out, but that could change. That same ember could light an entire forest on fire, it just needed to be fed and trained.

Weiss' new thin lips pressed together tightly as she made her way towards the stairs. Aura was the representation, it being so weak meant that something else was at play here. Was it because of her new body? Did it recognize that Weiss didn't belong here? Her brain started working overtime. What happened while she was asleep?

Weiss took a small step down the stairs, her eyes focused on the railing where she could catch anyone's shadow. She was stuck in Taylor's home after passing out at the hospital, and woke up in bed with clean clothes. Did Taylor's Father change her and carry Weiss' unconscious body up the stairs and into her room?

Hm, definitely not with those skinny arms of his. He may have been able to pick up Weiss' original body, which was small and petite, but Taylor's was much taller and heavier. No offense to the mysterious girl who Weiss had never met or seen in her life before today, but it was the truth. Weiss weighed very little back on Remnant. Was Taylor still somewhere in this body? That would explain why her aura was so weak, having to fend off another soul.

Or, Weiss was the parasite here, stealing the poor girl's body, with her soul in a fight against Weiss', like in that book Blake liked to read. Now that made her feel guilty, even if it was a half thought out theory.

Her inner rambling was interrupted by the sound of someone knocking on the front door loudly, which just so happened to be right by the stairs at the entrance. A shadow and footsteps soon appeared once Weiss was halfway down the stairs. Taylor's Father headed straight towards the door, he didn't seem to have noticed her.

Weiss remained silent as he opened the door, wincing as she took another step. She was going to have to face him earlier than she expected. Lying and pretending to be Taylor made Weiss feel even more guilt, which made her stomach churn. She'd love to tell him the truth, that she wasn't his daughter, but Weiss had no idea how he was going to react.

"Thank you." Taylor's Dad said to whoever was outside, closing the door, now with a brown bag inside of a plastic bag. He didn't change out of his clothes, and the bags beneath his eyes looked darker, but relieved. He had his head down, staring at the contents in the bag for a few seconds before he finally looked up, finally noticing Weiss' presence.

He flinched when their eyes met.

"Taylor, you're awake." Taylor's Father's voice sounded meek. He looked smaller than he actually was. "The food just got here, I ordered your favorite." He held up the bag awkwardly.

So that's what it was like to have a Father that actually cared about his children. Weiss' family was just a mess, but at least she had managed to save Mother and Whitley before she fell into the void. Hopefully they were safe in Vacuo.

"Thank you." Weiss formed a small smile. She didn't know how Taylor's relationship with her Dad was, but being polite was always a good idea. He returned her smile with a sad one. Her eyes must've made him uncomfortable.

Weiss' guilt wasn't going to go away anytime soon.

Chinese food looked a lot like Mistralian cuisine, at first smell at the very least. Weiss' nose picked up on plenty of spices the moment Taylor's Father opened one of the plastic containers that held what looked like some type of chicken and vegetables drowned in sauce. Taylor's Father didn't let Weiss do anything to help, having her stay in her seat at the table while he grabbed plates and utensils from the cabinets.

He sat across from her after placing a plate and fork in front of her silently. An awkward silence filled the air in between them, but not in the way Weiss' family dinners had been. Her family's meals were awkward because of Father's attitude, and her Mother's drinking habit. Weiss couldn't remember the last time her entire family sat down to have a meal, happy and without a care in the world.

That was never going to happen now.

This awkwardness was between two people who didn't know how to speak to each other, or rather, between a tired Father, and someone who was stuck in the body of his daughter. Neither looked each other in the eye as they silently ate, which worked in Weiss' favor. Her metal fork stabbed a piece of thinly sliced chicken and stabbed a green vegetable that was covered in the same sauce.

It took all of Weiss' self control to not gorge on the meal, and empty whatever else was in the pantry. Maintaining and increasing her aura levels would take a lot of calories. Silently chewing on what Taylor's Dad had called 'Kung Pao Chicken', Weiss was thankful that it tasted like it smelled. Mistralian food wasn't her favorite, but it was better than whatever Vacuo called a cuisine.

Weiss stabbed another bell pepper and was about to stuff it in her mouth, when she felt someone staring at her. She looked up from her plate full of fried rice. Taylor's Father was looking at her, with guilty, watery eyes. He looked like he had aged ten years since she saw him in the hospital, but there was something else there.

"I remember when you used to pick out the chicken and leave the vegetables for me." He said with a small chuckle. Weiss' gave drifted towards the bright red vegetable that sat on her fork. Shoot! She should've been more careful! She had no idea what Taylor's habits were.

Weiss released a practiced laugh, from her days as the Schnee heiress. "They taste good now."

Lying to him made the food Weiss ate sit like a rock in her stomach. He deserved to know the truth. Taylor's Dad gave her a smile and turned his attention back towards his own meal of sliced pork. The silence returned and was bearable.

Too bad the delicious food suddenly started tasting like ash in her mouth.

After eating her portion of the food, Weiss retreated back to Taylor's room, giving her Father an excuse about still being tired. She didn't want to engage in a long conversation that would expose her. Still, her hunger was sated for now, even if she did want to eat more. Once Taylor's Father went to sleep, she'd go down to find a snack.

"I want to go home." Weiss murmured under her breath as she closed the door. The former heiress didn't have a home anymore, Atlas was gone, and her team was missing. Still, she would do her best to survive and find her friends, wherever they were.

First off, Weiss needed to find information about this world. She wasn't like Ruby or Yang who liked to jump before they looked, Weiss would need to come up with a plan. If only she had her scroll, that would've solved most of her issues. She spotted a television when she was downstairs, but that would likely expose her to more conversations with Taylor's Father, which was the last thing she wanted.

Weiss gave the room another scan until they landed on the box with a screen that sat on a desk in the corner. That looked like a computer right? An ancient, clunky looking computer that looked older than Jaune's sword from the Great War.

"Well, it's better than nothing." Weiss slid into the desk chair without too much difficulty. She was starting to get used to walking around in Taylor's body, but it was going to take some getting used to.

A mechanical keyboard that matched the color of the computer's frame sat in front, along with a smaller device that was connected by a wire to the computer's back. Weiss allowed a sigh to escape her lips. "I hate analog."

This looked like it belonged in a museum.

She gently pressed the button that sat to the bottom right of the computer, just below its screen. It took a few seconds, but eventually a strange noise started coming from the machine, until some strange logo appeared on the dark screen.

Good, it was working. Weiss formed a triumphant grin which disappeared after a minute of staring at the screen. Why was this taking so long to load? She gave the top of the computer a light slap, causing the screen to update. Weiss didn't like what she saw, not one bit.

Loading: One Percent.

Weiss groaned loudly, throwing her head back as she grabbed her head. This was going to take forever! No scroll, no Dust, no Myrtenaster, she truly had nothing here! A sound came from the computer, causing her to quickly sit up straight.

Loading: Two Percent.

This computer was lucky Weiss didn't have any anger issues like Yang, who would've smashed the screen in an instant. The now brown haired girl was going to have to find another way to entertain herself while the computer loaded. She spun in her chair, until her eyes landed on the bookshelves that sat next to Taylor's dresser.

Books! Weiss was saved! She always enjoyed reading, the longer a novel or encyclopedia the better. Taylor's room was covered in books, this was perfect. And if this was going to be her new home, until Taylor's Dad kicked her out at least Weiss was going to have to familiarize herself with the new room. Weiss' grin soon returned. Hopefully Taylor doesn't have anything weird under her bed, that'd be embarrassing for the both of them.

Weiss couldn't look Blake in the eyes for a week after accidentally finding out what kind of literature her teammate liked to read in her spare time. Her grin turned into a sad smile. "Now that's a katana." She whispered.

Weiss was going to find her friends no matter what stood in her way.

A/N

These chapters really are coming out longer than usual, that's weird.

Much thanks to BluexXHorizon for helping out with the story. This would never have been published if it wasnt for them.We have a lot planned for the future.