One Last You
After the first and second orchestra there was an intermission. And during that intermission, teams RWBY and JNPR started to interrogate Dahlia and Aizen about Weiss' whereabouts once again. But neither the ice nor water Blade would relent.
In the end, Yang decided to occupy herself with trying to get the truth out of Dragunov at last. And this time, she had something on him.
So here she was at a corner of the lobby with Dragunov who she had managed to lure in.
"Is this about what I think it is?" Dragunov asked, sounding tired.
"Brighid told me." Yang said outright, earning a surprised look from the dragon.
And then his cracks glowed red, "That blue-bunned snitch."
"Oh no. You have no right to be angry at her." Yang said with a firm look, "She told me what Ryuko did to make you go Sun Dragon without me. But what I don't get is why you're so stubborn about keeping your mouth shut."
At this, Dragunov looked at Yang like she claimed the Sun to be pink. "Are you serious?"
"Yeah. I mean, being turned into brainless bimbo doesn't sound fun, but nothing that can do that exists in the first place." Yang said.
"Did Ryuko say that?" Dragunov asked with a suspicious look.
"And Brighid confirmed it from some evidence they found." Yang added, "Even if you believed it, I don't see why you got angry enough to go Sun Dragon. Or better yet not tell me."
"...Ryuko didn't tell the whole story." Dragunov declared.
"What?"
"If you and Brighid are able to act like it's not a big deal, then I'm guessing Ryuko didn't tell all the things she said would be done to you." Dragunov said with a stony face, but his cracks glowed gold.
"...Okay, what's the full story then." Yang asked, even though she wasn't sure she wanted to know.
"It's really better that you don't know." Dragunov said as the glow of his cracks shifted from gold to orange, and then red, before fading completely.
"Oh no. Now I want to know." Yang said tensely, "Because I want to know what was bad enough to make you go Sun Dragon without me." Then something clicked in Yang's head, "You're trying to protect me." Yang's eyes turned red at the surprised look Dragunov had. "Oh, you son of a-!" Then she slapped him across the face.
"You know that doesn't hurt me, right?" Dragunov asked with a bewildered look, not even flinching from the impact.
"Yeah, I know. Not the point!" Yang said in annoyance, pointing a finger to his face for effect, "You've never treated me with silk gloves, why are you starting now?"
"You saw how I reacted to those threats. I don't know how you will." Dragunov explained, now annoyed himself, "And I'm not interested in finding out. But now that you know why I kept quiet, you hate me for the rest of my life, right?"
"First: Don't be dramatic. Second: No. I'm annoyed at you for starting to treat me like a glass-" "Shut it!" Dragunov snapped, surprising Yang which made her eyes go back to lilac. "Don't ever call yourself glass." And now it was the dragon Blade who pointed a finger at her face.
"Well, if I'm not glass, then why are you hiding this from me?" Yang asked, putting her hands on her hips. "If you truly believe me to be a gem, then act like it!"
"...Even a diamond can only take so much before shattering." Dragunov replied firmly, crossing his arms.
"Drag... After everything we've been through, do you really think that something like this would break me?" Yang asked, now sounding hurt.
And now, Dragunov winced. "...If I tell you. Will you promise you won't get angry at me?" Was the offer he made.
"I promise I won't get angry at you if you tell me." Yang said, giving her Blade a look.
Dragunov looked around to see that no one was close to them. Including all their friends. Some of which were watching them with varying levels of worry. Dragunov then leaned in and covered his mouth so he could whisper into Yang's ear all that Ryuko had said during their fight.
Yang's eyes widened and her mouth went slack during the explanation. Then Dragunov backed away. "You're joking." Yang said, unable to believe what she heard.
"Do I look like I'm joking?" Dragunov asked, crossing his arms once again.
Yang shook with rage. "And I actually felt sorry for her about being that guy's Blade." Yang gritted through her teeth. Her eyes now red, almost glowing.
"That's not even the worst part." Dragunov said, "I was able to keep it together up to that point. But then she had to say, and I quote, 'That would be the greatest happiness someone like her could ever know.'" The dragon's poor attempt at imitating smug Ryuko was not doing anything to calm Yang down. Then Dragunov dropped the act, "And that's the last thing I remember, before finding my weapons in Rex's hands."
"...Okay, now I understand why you went Sun Dragon perfectly." Yang said, feeling like the rage inside her might make her explode. "If I had known this, I would have let you destroy her." And as soon as she said that Yang's rage deflated at the memory of those two being the closest thing Gyro and Pierce had for a mom. "...But I think I'll settle for sending Ryuko flying if I see her again." Yang said calmer now, though her eyes were bleeding back to lilac instead of instantly changing.
"Can you not send her flying? I still owe her a punch of my own at least." Dragunov crossed his arms. Cracks were not glowing anymore as he managed to calm down too.
"You blew up her arm when you were Sun Dragon." Yang countered.
"And I can't remember that." Dragunov argued back, "Besides, I heard it happened because she disarmed me." Dragunov waved his left arm which he heard he had simply reattached afterwards. "Besides, threatening you with that kind of fate and daring to so much as suggest you would love it? I take that as a very personal insult."
Yang snorted at the emphasis Dragunov on the last part. "I knew you loved me." Yang teased.
"Excuse you?" Dragunov asked, looking at Yang like she was crazy.
"It's fine, it's fine." Yang waved him off with a bright smile, "I know saying it out loud would deal critical damage to your manly ego."
"...I feel insulted and worried about your sanity at the same time." Dragunov said, not grasping Yang's thought process.
"Good for you." Yang said before patting him on his fleshy upper arm and strutting off, putting a sway in her hip as she went. Leaving Dragunov to wonder what just happened.
With some of the others, Blake immediately approached Yang with a worried look, "Is everything okay Yang?"
"I'm fine, I just learned that my Blade can be very stupid." Yang replied with a grin.
"I heard that, blondie!" The said Blade called back.
"Love you too!" Yang resisted a snicker as she could feel her Blade thinking she was insane or something.
"What?" Blake asked, looking to Dragunov who looked like he had no idea what was happening.
"Don't worry about it." Yang said and patted Blake on the head, which earned an angry hiss. Which in turn caused the blonde brawler to immediately retract her hand in slight panic.
"Nox, don't hiss at Yang." Blake scolded her Blade who was next to her. Was he always there? Yang could swear he wasn't.
The ninja rolled out his scroll with his head hung low. "My apologies, my lady. I thought her touch was inappropriate."
"It's Yang." Blake said like it would solve everything. Something that made Yang smile. But Blake then gave the blonde a look, "Just don't make a habit of patting me on the head. I'm neither a pet or Ruby."
"Sorry." Yang apologized thinking she messed up bad.
"Yang, I'm teasing you." Blake said and took her partner's arm and started leading her back to the others. "But seriously, don't pat me on the head."
The only answer Yang was capable of giving was nodding sheepishly.
"Why won't you answer us?" Ruby demanded from Dahlia who had a sympathetic look.
"I told you, Ruby. Weiss will join us later." Dahlia said simply.
"But she's going to miss the last song, right?" Nora pointed out.
"That's none of your concern." Aizen butted in.
"How can you say that?" Jaune asked, glaring at the nobleman Blade. "We haven't heard from Weiss for a while and then when we finally hear we can see her, she's not even here."
"Oh, miss Schnee is here." Aizen corrected, "But like we keep saying, she will join us later. Try some patience."
"We thought she was kidnapped!" Ruby whined.
"You thought that, Ruby." Roze corrected.
"Whose side are you on, traitor?" Ruby demanded despite still clinging to his arm to avoid stumbling.
"Yours, considering where I'm standing." Roze said with a winning smile. Nora actually laughed at Roze's joke while everyone else stared at the reaper Blade. "What?" Roze asked at the looks he was getting.
"Since when did you make jokes like that?" Dahlia asked, not remembering Roze making jokes on purpose.
"I'm not sure what you mean?" Roze asked, looking confused.
Ruby looked annoyed at her Blade for making fun of her. "Meanie."
"Sorry, Ruby." Roze said, while not looking sorry at all.
"Oh look, the intermission is about to end." Aizen said, sounding almost relieved as he saw concert attendees beginning to file back to their seats, "And now for the moment we have all been waiting for."
"I can't wait." Dahlia agreed with the nobleman, actually shaking in place. Which made certain parts of her body bounce very noticeably. Making most of the human males to turn their heads away. But then she calmed herself and turned towards Nora, "Nora, I'm sure Otohime has already lectured you on manners in the concert, but just in case, if you or even Electra do something to ruin this final performance, Weiss will never forgive you. And neither will I." The busty bunny Blade gave an ice-cold stare which would have made her Driver proud.
"Got it." Nora said, clinging to Ren as she felt very cold all of a sudden.
"I wonder why those two are so invested in this." Nia let out to Mythra, Pyra and Rex.
"Well, they did say Weiss helped in setting this together." Pyra suggested.
"I think there's more going on." Mythra said with a suspicious look.
Rex happened to meet the gaze of Yang who waggled her eyebrows at him, which made the boy blush.
"Rex' what's wrong?" Pyra asked.
"Nothing. Why do you ask?" Rex said, trying to stay confident.
"Because Yang is making you flinch when you see her." Mythra said with a suspicious look. "Did you do something?"
"Or did she do something to you?" Nia asked, giving a suspicious look to Yang who dared to look innocent before moving on.
"No! Nothing happened between us." Rex said, looking scared.
"Oh you…" Mythra wound up her arm for a slap but was caught by Pyra.
"Mythra! Rex wouldn't do anything. You know that." Pyra said with a firm glare.
"…You're right. I'm sorry." Mythra reluctantly apologized and then relaxed her arm. Which prompted Pyra to let go. Then she realized that they had fallen back from the others. "We're falling behind!"
And then the Aegis sisters each grabbed one of Rex's arms and were practically carrying him forward. Nia let out a sigh at this, wondering if she was going to regret agreeing to this. The Flesh Eater slapped her cheeks to clear her thoughts. "It's Rex." Nia told herself. And if she was forced to share him, well there are worse girls than Pyra and Mythra. "Now if only those two could settle their little problem." Nia thought as she picked up the pace so as to not lose the other three. Nia herself didn't really care about it, but the longer this thing drags out, the more irritating it will be for all of them in the long run.
Once the concert hall had again filled with all the guests, the curtain was closed on the stage, while the orchestra was prepared for the music that would go with the song.
"Wonder who the singer is?" Yang brought out. "And what the song is."
Blake shushed Yang as she noticed someone walking in front of the curtain.
"Ladies and gentlemen." The man in a fancy suit said with a grand gesture towards the audience. "As you all know, this last piece will be a song. The singer is not well known, but I can assure you, her talents are very real. And the song that will be sung is a song of an ending and beginning for our world. And our dear singer is singing this while thinking of her friends. But don't take this from me, listen for yourself. And without further ado, the final song will be appropriately named, One Last You. Sung by Weiss Schnee!"
"What?!" The Remnans and friends in their seats let out loudly, although their cries were drowned out by the tentative clapping from the audience. Just then, the curtain rose, revealing Weiss in a beautiful white dress, her hair done in a low braid as opposed to high. Although the permanently frozen Moondrop was still in her hair. The W of RWBY glanced towards the two balconies with a small smile before focusing on the slow piano music that just started.
[Play Xenoblade Chronicles 2 OST: One Last You. (Weiss Schnee vocals)]
Very end of eternity
The final day has come to an end, it's gone for good
I would then slowly close my eyes
And be cuddled by the shining memory piece
I will trace back all the memories with you
That's the only wish I have
As the teams were processing the fact that their friend was performing in this concert, Pyra and Mythra were really touched by the lyrics. Was Weiss thinking about them? The two hadn't realized that they had each grabbed Rex's hand. Not until their Driver gave their hands a reassuring squeeze.
The last day with you was truly magical
The frozen time began to flow
At last the longest night has gone and brought in light
I felt myself melt in the morning light
On JNPR's side, Nora had leaned in to Ren's shoulder despite Electra being on her lap. Ren in turn leaned his own head against Nora's head. Otohime noticed this and smiled faintly.
The final grain of sand has dropped
I will slowly so quietly fall into sleep
I see you gently fade away
Your silhouette has gone to the other side of the mist
And all the memories with no sound so quiet
Just like in slow motion it moves so slowly
Jaune had wrapped his arm around Pyrrha who leaned into him in response. Although the boy had yet to notice that the Fall Champion's eyes were pooling with tears.
And so the last day with you was truly magical
The frozen time began to flow
At last the longest night has gone and brought in light
I felt myself melt in the morning light
You have gifted many things to me
But I wonder if I could've done the same for you
If you would let me, I will give back a handful
If it would put a little smile on your face
Jaune then wrapped his other arm around Pyrrha in a full embrace, which made the girl break out in quiet sobs.
On RWBY's side, Qrow had glanced at Kasandra who was looking at him with a sad look. The veteran huntsman smiled and stroked her head which seemed to brighten the girl up significantly. Yang and Blake were now leaning against each other as if to remind themselves that the other is still here.
Behind the BY pair, Nox was giving a cross glare at Yang, which earned him a small slap on the head from Dahlia. The abyssal ninja hissed at her but otherwise didn't retaliate. Dragunov noticed this and shook his head in amusement. He might have to have a talk with Nox about boundaries that are no doubt to come with their Drivers. Not that the dragon will keep quiet if he starts smelling the two girls on each other.
Can I ask you, God? Despite all of this...
Could the sandglass somehow take back the time?
One last time is all I ask from you
Can you please spare me a time with the one man I loved?
I wouldn't care how and where it should be
But I need one last time I want to tell you, how I feel inside for you
I want you to know...
Roze felt a little discomfort as he looked down to see Ruby seemingly attempting to crush his arm like her life depended on it. The reaper Blade smiled and wrapped his free arm around his Driver's head in a hug. This seemed to be the right move since Ruby loosened her grip.
Nia was a little surprised when Pyra took her hand and moved it to be attached to Rex's own, the fire Aegis placing her own hands around them.
Aizen and Dahlia each made an expression that a proud parent would have as Weiss then gave a low curtsy to the audience which erupted into thunderous applause.
As soon as the curtain dropped, taking Weiss out of sight, everyone turned to face Dahlia immediately.
"Why was Weiss singing?!" Ruby asked first.
"When did she decide to do this?!" Blake added in.
"And where did that dress come from?!" came from Yang.
"That's what you're worried about?!" Dragunov yelled out in disbelief.
"In order of the questions," Dahlia began explaining with a beaming smile, "Aizen convinced her. A few weeks ago. And the dress was custom made." Then she got out of her seat, "But I believe it would be best if we had this conversation with Weiss herself. If you want to join me, then please follow."
"Hey, wait!" Ruby yelled out as she tried to run after, but immediately tripped with her heels.
"Whoa, Rubes!" Yang immediately caught her sister, much to the dismay of Roze who only managed to get out of his seat at this time.
"...Can I get out of these stupid things now?" Ruby whined as she looked down at her feet to glare at her heels.
"Unless you brought another pair of shoes, then I don't think going barefoot is a good idea." Roze commented as he moved to help Yang keeping the poor girl upright.
"I think Dahlia is about to leave us behind." Qrow then commented as he nudged his head towards Dahlia exiting the balcony.
"After her!" Ruby immediately commanded, and everyone scrambled after the ice bunny. Fortunately, it looked like Dahlia did stop at the hallway to make sure everyone was following. Just in time to see Aizen leading the JNPR side out.
"I take it everyone is ready?" Aizen asked as he noted team RWBY, Qrow, Rex, Penny and their Blades exiting the balcony just as JNPR and the others were exiting his.
"Of course." Dahlia said, looking very happy, "Shall we?"
"We shall." Aizen commented with a faint smile and the two started to lead the gang to the employees only area.
They were stopped by a few guards, but Aizen and Dahlia were able to vouch for them as Weiss' Blades.
After a few turns and hallways, they finally came across a door that said, "dressing room". Dahlia knocked on the door.
"Who is it?" Came the voice of Weiss from the other side.
"It's Dahlia. I brought everyone here." Dahlia replied loudly.
"Oh! Give me a moment!" Weiss shot back in a hurry. After a few moments, Weiss called again, "Alright, you can come in now."
With permission given, Dahlia opened the door and filed everyone in. Aside from Herald who was told to wait outside.
The dressing room in question was spacious, but seeing as there was only one masquerading table it was a private room. And in the middle of the room was Weiss who looked very nervous. But instead of the luxurious looking white dress, Weiss was in an icy blue version of her prom dress. Although the skirt was ankle length and there were a few white snowflake embroideries along the skirt that looked to be swirling around the dress. Her hair was still in the low braid.
"Weiss, you were awesome on the stage." Ruby was the first to comment giddily.
"Yes, you were." Blake agreed.
"Nice going, ice queen." Yang gave a double thumbs up.
Weiss rolled her eyes at Yang with a smile before giving a look to Dahlia and Aizen.
"You were so beautiful on stage, my little snow angel." Dahlia said teasingly, causing her Driver's face to flush.
"I expected no less." Aizen added in with a small smile.
Jaune covered his mouth in an attempt to not laugh. This scene reminded him too much of his family and how they would tease each other like this. Though when it came to his sisters, Jaune tended to be ganged up on.
"Thank you." Weiss said, fighting off the embarrassment that Dahlia caused.
Mythra then stepped forward, "Weiss, was that song for me and Pyra?"
"Yes." Weiss said with a smile.
"How did you come up with it?" Pyra then asked.
"Well... When I was thinking about what to sing, I thought that this new Alrest came to be because of you two. So, I thought that I should sing about you... And I'm sorry if I overstepped, about your relationship to Rex as the Aegises." Weiss explained, looking sheepish at the last part.
"You didn't overstep anything." Rex said with a smile as he took each of the Aegises' hands, "I'm here for them."
Weiss seemed to relax at hearing that, "I'm glad to hear it."
"And Nia." Rex then said as he turned towards the Flesh Eater who flinched.
"What?" Came out of everyone else, except for Nia's Blades.
"Rex!" Nia cried out with her face flushed, "You bloody idiot!"
"Nia, come on." Pyra said as she made room between herself and Rex.
"You know you want to." Mythra teased.
"Shut up." Nia grumbled but stepped forward and grabbed Rex's and Pyra's hand hard enough to make them both wince.
"Whoa! I can't believe this!" Yang said, laughing heartily at the sight. "Rex here got himself a foursome on demand!"
"Shut up, you!" Mythra and Nia yelled out, while Rex and Pyra both blushed. Pyra a little more than Rex.
"Seriously, dude. What's your secret?" Jaune demanded.
"Jaune!" Pyrrha yelled out.
"Sorry!" Jaune winced.
"Umm... I guess... I'm just a greedy kid?" Rex said uncertainly. "But I'm going to do my best to make them happy." The currently suit clad salvager said more certainly.
"You better." Mythra said with a smile, while Nia rolled her eyes also smiling.
"Well... This is interesting." Otohime said, looking bemused.
"Your relationship is highly inappropriate and immoral." Joana said with a glare.
"Excuse you?" Mythra asked with a threatening look and retrieved her hand so she could stomp to Joana. "Are you trying to start something?"
"Polygamy is the definition of debauchery. Only monogamy can bring happiness." Joana said with conviction.
"Oh, shut up, you grumpy little tin can," Dragunov muttered, "Let the kid live out his fantasies."
"Don't say it like that!" Nia yelled out, also getting out of Rex' and Pyra's hands to glare at the dragon.
"Enough!" Otohime yelled out firmly. "Rex's relationship between these three are none of our concern. If they can make it work, they will. Leave it there."
Nobody had noticed that during this conversation, Ruby had looked up to Roze and her face tried to turn red at a momentary thought about what she could have with more male Blades.
"But Lady Otohime, polygamous relationships- ""I said, leave it there." Otohime said more sternly. She also gave a stormy look to Joana for emphasis.
"Very well." Joana conceded, clearly unhappy.
"So, Weiss." Ren quickly said in an attempt to redirect the conversation, "How did you come to sing in this concert?"
Weiss looked grateful for an instant before talking, "It was actually Aizen who convinced me to try and sing in the concert in hopes of building better relationships with nations of Alrest. Although the hard part was convincing the emperor to allow me to participate. Fortunately, we found a reputable manager who was impressed with my talents. From there, it was him who convinced the emperor to allow me to participate." Weiss looked very proud of herself halfway through the explanation.
"Speaking of which." Aizen chimed in, "He should be here any second now."
The water Blade had barely finished his sentence when a new knock came from the door.
"Come in." Weiss called out, and the door opened. Inside came a dark yellow Nopon wearing a lavish blue coat that was open. The Nopon also had a light blue rope around his tummy. On his head, the nopon wore a silvery cap and round dark glasses. On the Nopon's right arm was a golden armlet and a lavish necklace around the neck.
"Oh? Friend Weiss not alone?" The Nopon said in surprise as he waddled in while carrying a small chest with right wing.
"Hello, Tipitapi." Weiss greeted the Nopon, "These are my friends that I mentioned."
"That so? Friend Weiss' friends Tipitapi's friends." Tipitapi said before waddling to Weiss. "Has friend reconsider the offer of Tipitapi?"
Weiss smiled before answering, "I appreciate the offer, but I prefer working as a Driver."
"Bummer." Tipitapi deflated visibly at the rejection, "But how about friend accept this gift?" The Nopon that most of the gang now guessed was the manager offered the small chest to Weiss as he opened it. Everyone gasped at the sight of the contents. On the velvety interior of the chest was a Core Crystal. "The Blade inside this Core Crystal said to have musical gift. Friend Weiss sure to make use of such Blade."
"I... I can't accept this." Weiss said, looking shocked at being offered a Core Crystal of all things.
"Why not?" Rex said, "If you want a new friend, then go for it."
"But..." Weiss looked towards Dahlia and Aizen.
Both of them looked confused. "Why are you looking at us?" Dahlia asked.
"If you wish to awaken this Blade then do it." Aizen added.
"I mean, I'm tempted to. But..." Weiss looked hesitant.
"Weiss, are you really going to not awaken a new awesome Blade?" Ruby asked, looking at Weiss like she was turning down the greatest treasure in existence.
"It's not strange for one Driver to have a second or even a third Blade." Dromarch added in.
Then Nora had a devious smile as she reached for the Core slowly, "But if you don't want it, then I could-" "No." Weiss snatched the Core Crystal and turned around protectively. Then the Core Crystal started to resonate with her. "Wait, no! I didn't mean to!" Weiss freaked out as she couldn't let go of the Crystal. Soon enough, the Core Crystal flashed, forcing everyone to shield their eyes.
When everyone was able to look again, Weiss was the first to see her new Blade. And she was confused. "What?"
What was in front of her was a large white bear with cartoonish arms and legs. Black beady eyes that looked oddly cute. And it tilted its head at the sight of everyone. Strangely the bear didn't seem to have a Core Crystal.
"Is that supposed to be the musical Blade?" Blake asked, looking towards Tipitapi, "How can that be?"
"Tipitapi not know." Tipitapi said, "Tipitapi never seen the Blade before now."
"Great, so now we have a bear. What's your name?" Yang then said, wanting to get down to business.
The white bear let out a noise.
"Name please?" Yang tried again.
The bear let out another noise but didn't use words.
"When someone asks for your name, you respond." Yang was getting impatient.
"I don't think he can talk." Dragunov said as the bear then shifted its gaze to him. It almost looked offended.
Weiss then tried herself, "Hello there. My name is Weiss. What is your name?"
The bear tilted its head in the other direction but didn't answer.
Now Weiss was getting annoyed, "It's rude not to answer your Driver."
To that, the bear looked behind itself and made a noise. Then it turned to look behind from the other side and made another smaller noise.
"What's with this Blade? Why isn't it talking?" Weiss asked as she too tried to look at what the bear was trying to see, only for it to turn to the other side once again.
"Umm... Hello." A small voice then said, earning everyone's undivided attention.
"Did the bear just talk?" Nora asked, getting excited.
Then Aizen let out a chuckle, "Miss Schnee, on your left. Behind the creature."
"Huh?" Weiss let out and then moved to her left to the other side of the bear which had also turned that way now. And she was surprised at the sight. It was a young girl with pastel blue hair, pale skin and large blue eyes. The girl was wearing a white woolen poncho, and she had two large sprigs of lily of the valley tied to her hair. The girl's hair looked shoulder length at first, but upon closer inspection, Weiss noticed that it was tied into two large pigtails at the back with the lilies. On the poncho was a blue gem in the shape of a three-leaved clover. But the strangest thing Weiss noticed was the girl's legs. They were bare with glowing snowflake patterns, but they were also transparent.
"Hello, how did you get here?" Weiss asked gently from the child.
"Um... You awakened me." The child said shyly, clinging to the side of the white bear that once again let out a noise. "Oh, umm... My name is Ursula, it's a pleasure to meet you."
"Hello, Ursula. I'm Weiss." Weiss said, looking giddy, "What were you doing behind my Blade?"
"Huh? Beary is my friend." Ursula said, looking a little confused and retreating slightly behind the bear.
"Beary?" Yang chuckled.
And then Dahlia also laughed, "Oh Weiss, you precious thing."
"What?" Weiss asked.
"Look at the pin on her poncho." Aizen said, looking amused himself, "That's a Core Crystal."
"What?!" Weiss let out and looked closer, despite Ursula's attempts at hiding. Sure enough, the pin that was on the poncho, looked to be glowing. But that would mean, "You are my Blade?"
"Y-yes." Ursula said, not making eye-contact with Weiss.
Suddenly Weiss picked the girl up and started cuddling her. "You're so cute! Yes, you are! We're gonna be best friends! And I'm gonna hug you every day! Yes, I will!" Weiss said rapidly as she rubbed her face against Ursula's head. The little girl blushing and stammering as she was cuddled by her new Driver. Soon Dahlia moved in and wrapped her own arms around the two in a hug of her own, rubbing her own cheeks against Weiss' and Ursula's heads in turn.
Everyone looked a little weirded out at Weiss being this affectionate with her new Blade. Especially Ruby as she kept trying to understand her partner's speech that devolved into baby talk about how cute and cuddly the new Blade was. Speaking of which, Ursula looked like she was about to hyperventilate.
"Weiss, I think Ursula is about to pass out." Dahlia said, releasing the two from her own hug.
"What?" Weiss let out and took a look at her Blade. "Oh, I'm sorry." And then she put the little girl back down. "You are just so cute." Weiss said, looking ashamed.
Beary let out a noise and scooted over to pull Ursula into a comforting hug. "Umm... Thank you." Ursula was able to say, still looking highly embarrassed.
"This is going to be troublesome." Aizen sighed.
"What?" Weiss asked her second Blade.
"She seems very shy. Almost like a mixture of agoraphobia and anthrophobia." The nobleman explained.
"Agro-what?" Tora and Poppi asked as one.
"Agoraphobia is a type of anxiety disorder where the victim is afraid to leave enviroment they deem safe." Joana explained, "Anthrophobia is a fear of people, especially crowds."
"Wait, are you saying, Ursula is afraid of us?" Pyrrha asked now feeling sorry for the poor girl.
"Or maybe she's just very shy." Dahlia said with a glare to Joana. But then she moved closer to Ursula who was hugging Beary. "I remembered that I haven't introduced myself yet. I'm Dahlia. Also, Weiss' Blade. I hope we can get along." At the last part, Dahlia gently stroked the small child's head. It seemed to have worked, since Ursula was able to look at Dahlia.
"I... I hope so too." Ursula said, sounding more confident. Which made Weiss squee in delight.
"Great. Now Weiss has baby rabies." Dragunov grumbled in annoyance.
"Excuse me?" Aizen asked with quirked eyebrow. But then he shook his head, "Never mind." He then stepped forward himself, "Hello, Ursula. My name is Aizen. And I too am Miss Schnee's Blade."
"Miss Schnee?" Ursula asked shyly.
"Our Driver's full name is Weiss Schnee. Aizen calls her Miss Schnee." Dahlia explained.
"But you can just call me Weiss." Weiss chimed in, still looking like the happiest person in the world.
"Okay... W-Weiss." Ursula stammered. As if on cue, Beary then stood up on his hind legs while hooking one arm under Ursula to carry her. The bear then let out a noise while looking at Ursula. "You're right, Beary. Nice to meet you all." Ursula sounded encouraged as she faced everyone in Beary's arms.
Everyone else gave varying levels of greetings, as well as introductions.
"How adorable." Otohime said with a fond smile.
"Not as adorable as my Electra." Nora boasted while patting her own Blade on the head. The said Blade looked excited about the newcomer.
But then Ruby looked like she realized something, "Hey, where is Ursula's weapon?"
"What?" Blake asked.
"I mean, I don't see Ursula's weapon. What is it?" Ruby then asked, trying to get closer to Ursula. The said Blade seemed to try and bury herself into Beary's fur.
"Now that you mention it... Ursula what is your weapon?" Weiss then asked, remembering that Blades came with one of those.
"Umm..." was all Ursula let out as she looked away.
"No need to be shy." Weiss said with a friendly smile, "Go on, show me."
Ursula still looked unsure. Then Dahlia tried a new approach, "Weiss will need to know what kind of weapon you have so that we can best help her in combat."
That seemed to have worked, since Ursula patted Beary's chest, which apparently was the signal to put her down. "P-put your arms forward." Ursula stammered.
"Like this?" Weiss asked, doing just that.
"P-please close your hands into fists." Ursula then said, seeing as Weiss' hands were open. As soon as Weiss did that, Ursula then addressed Beary. "Now, Beary."
The white bear let out a noise of affirmation and stomped towards Weiss and placed it's paws on Weiss' hands. Then the bear disappeared right in front of their eyes.
"What just happened?" Jaune was the first to question.
"What in the world?!" Weiss exclaimed earning everyone's attention as she brought her arms in front of her face.
That was when everyone noticed what earned that reaction from Weiss.
"Did your arms turn into paws?!" Nora was the first to screech out.
"No, you idiot." Dragunov let out in annoyance, "Those are obviously Knuckle Claws."
Sure enough, on Weiss' arms were Beary's paws with four bear claws at the front and one thumb claw.
"But...these are punching weapons." Weiss said, now looking sad, "I can't do hand to hand."
"A shame." Aizen said without meaning it.
"I'm sorry." Ursula apologized, looking down in shame.
"Nonononono." Weiss frantically said and pulled Ursula into a hug. "I'm sorry, I just... Well... I guess I just need training."
"Don't worry, Weiss-cream, I'll train you to punch with the best of them." Yang already offered confidently.
"I can help too." Dragunov said, though he had a sadistic smile on his face.
"What are you planning with my Driver?" Dahlia said almost threateningly, stepping between Weiss and Dragunov.
"What? I just want to train her with a new weapon." Dragunov said, not losing his evil smile.
"I would sooner believe that Jacques has a secret faunus family than what you are saying." Aizen of all people said. The worrisome part was that he sounded dead serious.
"Oh? I didn't know Weiss' father was living a double life." Dragunov said, now looking mischievous.
Aizen then turned towards Weiss, seemingly ignoring the jab, "Miss Schnee, I don't know about the blonde one, but I suggest you don't accept help from this mindless brute."
"You don't need to tell me that." Weiss said, as she stopped hugging Ursula. "Umm... Ursula, how do I take these off?"
Ursula visibly perked up and then said, "Beary, come out.". And then the white bear was standing next to Ursula with the claws having disappeared from Weiss' hands.
"That's handy." Yang commented as she then looked between Ursula and Beary.
Dragunov chortled while everyone else tried to ignore Yang's joke.
Aizen then looked towards a large clock against a wall, "Miss Schnee, I believe we have an audience with the Emperor in five minutes."
"What?" Weiss looked to the wall to see the clock herself. "Oh no!" Weiss quickly moved in front of the vanity mirror and checked herself. "Is my hair alright? No dirt of any kind on my clothes? Am I-" Weiss' beginning rant was interrupted by Dahlia having reached her and placing a hand on her back, stroking it soothingly.
"Weiss, you're fine. There isn't a single strand of hair out of place, and your clothes are impeccable." the bunny lady reassured her Driver. "You are representing Remnant in the best way possible."
That seemed to have worked as Weiss stood up straight and fixed a practiced smile, "You're right. I am a better representative than some in this room." At the last part, Weiss gave a pointed look to Yang and Nora.
"That was Drag's fault!" Yang complained, having an idea of what Weiss was referring to.
"I don't care. You made Remnant look like a world of savages." Weiss replied in annoyance, "Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to see the Emperor." Then Weiss turned to Dahlia, "Dahlia, would you kindly escort everyone to the lobby. I shouldn't take too long."
"Of course. See you later." Dahlia waved to her Driver before addressing Ursula. "Ursula, darling, Weiss will be in an important meeting for a while. And I think you should come with me. Is that okay with you?"
"Huh? Umm... Y-yes." Ursula said as beary picked her up and placed her around his shoulder where Ursula clung to the bear's head. Aizen on the other hand had moved to follow Weiss.
"Weiss and Aizen will be with us shortly, until then please follow me." Dahlia said and started herding everyone out of the dressing room and to the lobby.
As the concert ended, Gyro and Pierce had finished showing their apartment to their new roommates.
"Any questions so far?" Gyro was the first to ask Ryuko and Satsuki.
"Only about our Driver before Dreyf." Satsuki said, "I have seen the photo, but it makes me wonder what kind of relationship we had."
"I could get the photo album and we can exchange stories if you want." Pierce offered.
"I guess that could be fun." Ryuko shrugged.
With that, Pierce fetched the photo album and the twins took a seat on the sofa with Ryuko and Satsuki squeezing in. Satsuki next to Gyro and Ryuko next to Pierce. Praxis and Theory opted to stand behind the couch to look over their respective Driver's shoulder.
And then the six spent hours on looking over different photos that included the twins, scissor sisters and Azure in varying ways. Ryuko and Satsuki looked embarrassed at the one where the twins were curled up against them on the couch while they were sleeping.
"You two were so cute." Ryuko said before giving a look to Pierce, "What happened?"
"Hey!" Pierce complained.
Satsuki on the other hand looked thoughtful. "...Gyro, I'm sorry for asking, but did Azure ever... touch us?"
"Huh?" Gyro asked, looking confused.
"Did he ever... you know." Satsuki looked very hesitant.
Gyro looked like his mind didn't compute, until his eyes widened. "No! Azure never did anything to any of you! He hugged you and Ryuko at most, but he never did anything more. Right Pierce?" At the last part, Gyro turned to his brother. Who looked away. "Pierce?" Gyro asked.
Pierce shuffled in his seat awkwardly.
"What did he do to us?" Ryuko asked with a murderous glare.
"...Gyro, remember the day after our twelveth birthday?" Pierce said, looking awkward.
"Yeah, you were sleepy that morning." Gyro said with a worried look.
"...I couldn't sleep the night before so I went to get a glass of water from the kitchen, then I heard noises from Azure's room. "I went to see what it was about and... The door was ajar and Azure was on top of Satsuki, neither of them were wearing clothes."
"What?!" Came out of everyone else.
"Did he... force himself on me?" Satsuki asked with a look of dread.
"...I don't think he did. Not with what you were blabbing." Pierce looked ashamed as he recounted.
"Where was I in this?!" Ryuko demanded, "Why didn't I try to stop him?!"
"...When Azure and Satsuki were finished, I started to sneak away. I don't remember much after that, other than Ryuko yelling loudly, 'My turn'." Pierce finished, seemingly trying to shrink away from everyone.
"...Now that you mention it, you did act weird around those three." Gyro said, looking thoughtful.
Ryuko and Satsuki shared a look before looking down on the photo album that was on Gyro's lap. One of the pictures on it had Azure working in the kitchen with him looking surprised at the camera.
"Well...he looks handsome." Satsuki then said after a moment of silence.
"Definitely better than Dreyf." Ryuko added in, then she looked to Gyro again. "How did we act around him? Or with you?"
"Well, Satsuki always got us to do chores and if any of us slacked off she would scold us." Gyro said with a small laugh.
"Especially Azure and Ryuko for being a 'bad influence'." Pierce added in with a laugh of his own. "Speaking of which, Ryuko was the fun one. Always sneaking sweets for us when Satsuki wasn't looking. And she always had our backs."
"Like the time you picked a fight with that adult guy when you were 8." Gyro asked.
"Can we please forget about that?" Pierce said with an embarrassed look, " Satsuki grounded me for a week for that stunt."
"And Azure actually agreed with her that time. You were lucky Ryuko was there to save your stupid butt." Gyro said while slapping his brother on the back.
Pierce glared at his brother at that remark, "Says the guy who blew up the kitchen and got us both in trouble."
"One: You were eager to help. Two: How many times do I need to apologize for it?" Gyro said firmly.
"Let's not forget about that time you went and played with Azure's tools without permission." Pierce added in.
"I thought we agreed not to talk about that!" Gyro said in a panic.
During this, Ryuko and Satsuki shared a look as the brothers kept revealing their embarrassing stories. Praxis was covering her mouth so as not to laugh, while Theory just had her usual passive look.
"...I'm starting to understand why these two saw us as their moms." Satsuki said.
"Yeah, I guess you're right." Ryuko said as she looked to the photo album just before it fell from Gyro's lap as the brothers finally got physical with each other.
"Okay, that's enough of that." Satsuki said before getting up and yanked Gyro away from Pierce by the back of his shirt collar.
Ryuko also grabbed Pierce beneath his arms and started holding him back.
"Both of you quit it!" The two sister Blades yelled out in unison, causing the two to stop instantly.
"...Sorry." The twins said as one, looking like children who were caught trying to steal cookies.
Praxis and Theory looked at the four with bewildered looks. Or Praxis did while Theory had a quirked eyebrow.
"...Are we sure they don't have any memories of their time with Azure?" Praxis discreetly asked Theory.
"They shouldn't have." Theory said, "But I suppose some things never truly change, memories or no memories."
AN: And there we go. Weiss was one of the performes in the concert. And as a reward, her family set is complete. We have Dahlia the perfect mother, Aizen the improved father(notice how I say improved, not perfect) and last but not least, Ursula the perfect little sister. And it seems like the Scissor Sisters have been released into the twins' custody already. Although Ryuko will have to pray that she won't run into Yang and Dragunov.
I have heard about RWBY being bought out by Viz. I'm not sure what to think of it, but I suppose we'll see.