Locked Out

Chapter 1: Locked Out

A/N: Hello all! Couldn't sleep last night so this ended up being made in my restlessness. It was like 2 A.M so I am sorry if there are any grammatical mistakes, I tried to root them all out but they always can sneak past. Regardless, here you go! Hope you enjoy. If you guys like it I can continue, just let me know! Have a good day!

The day was supposed to go just like any other.

It all began on the simple Sunday afternoon. Partially cloudy skies allowed some heat to pass through from the sun on the calm fall day. A duo of girls, Weiss Schnee and Ruby Rose, made their way along the streets of the Kingdom of Vale. It was a beautiful day, one for fun and excitement as Ruby had finally convinced the Schnee heiress to go into town with her. Weiss, stubborn at first, gave into Ruby's begging after giving Weiss the puppy-eye look, the one that no one could resist. Ruby was overjoyed with the prospect of having more time to spend with her team mate, absorbing every second of time they shared together outside of the battlefield and classrooms. Ruby considered Weiss to be her best friend, someone who she could count on for anything. She hadn't a clue as to how Weiss felt in return, but she hoped with all her heart that she returned the sentiment in the very least. Confiding in the rest of her team, Ruby admitted to Blake and Yang but a few nights ago that she held feelings towards the Schnee heiress, more than just the bounds of mere friendship. The duo were equally as happy, congratulating the girl on admitting her feelings instead of repressing them. Upon their orders, Ruby asked Weiss on this adventure into town to just hang out. It certainly beat being stuck in the dorm all day doing God-knows-what and being extraordinarily unproductive.

"How much further is this store?" Weiss asked as she complained, clicking her designer heels as the pair walked side by side towards their destination: a local clothing store. Blake had suggested it to get a solid gauge on how Weiss liked Ruby to dress, and for Ruby to imprint such ideas on Weiss in the process. It would be a good time to test the waters, and develop their friendship as well. Ruby loved hanging out with Weiss. She was the first person she met at Beacon, and now she considered her the bestest friend ever.

"Not too much further." Ruby chirped back her response, gleeful as ever. She really was a walking ball of happiness. Weiss didn't really mind. She liked the company of Ruby whenever she wasn't being a complete and total dolt. She was like a little puppy, she would describe. Adorable yet somewhat irritating when they peed in the house. That last part didn't apply to Ruby, Weiss noted, but the idea still stood. Ruby was a handful at times, as was that sister of hers.

Turning a corner of the shopping strip, Weiss and Ruby exchanged in typical dialogue about homework assignments and their recent test grades. Ruby was not performing anywhere close to the range Weiss resided at, ending with Ruby praising the girl for her academic skills. Weiss loved compliments, and accepted them with a smile.

That smile.

Ruby loved that smile.

She liked to see Weiss happy. It made her happy. She liked happy people. Whenever someone was feeling down or sad, she felt compelled to talk to them, maybe even break through to them if she was lucky and make someone's day. That's why she wanted to be a Huntress. She wanted to help people. That's all she ever wanted to do with her life.

Weiss admired that about Ruby. Her drive made up for what she lacked in academics. She knew Ruby was a prime Huntress in the making, it would just take time. Weiss was proud of the girl.

There the store was, just at the end of the strip. The flashing neon lights worried the Schnee as to what she was getting into, but the happy look on Ruby's face made her press onward. She promised to follow her leader wherever she went, and this still counted under that rule.

Weiss looked over at Ruby and smiled, and Ruby smiled back, laughing with closed eyes as she bumped into the Schnee jokingly.

That's when it all changed.

A young Faunus man dashed between the duo, knocking Ruby to the side as he went on his way. Not even bothering to say sorry, the icy heiress immediately reacted in a negative manner.

"Excuse me?" Weiss snorted in her prissy tone that she usually reserved for those she didn't know, crossing her arms defiantly. "How rude!"

"Sorry friend, it was my fault. Take care!" Ruby instead spoke before the man turned around suddenly, leveling a magnum towards the Schnee heiress.

Time seemed to freeze on the spot as Weiss barely had time to realize what was happening before the boy fired the gun. Weiss was lucky Ruby was paying attention at the time, as the younger girl pushed Weiss over with her enhanced speed. Dodging the bullet as well, Ruby quickly jumped at the boy in an attempt to disarm him. Weiss was laying on the ground, frozen with fear as she did nothing but sit there.

Ruby wrestled with the gunman before he whacked her to the side, knocking her to the stone ground before firing off three consecutive bullets into her chest. Ruby went limp beside Weiss as the heiress screamed out in fear, thrusting out with her Semblance and sending the boy flying into the nearby fountain. Nearby policemen tackled him to the ground as he tried to go after the Schnee, who was now crawling over to Ruby's side in a frenzy.

"Ruby!" Weiss screamed at the younger girl, who just laid there still. Weiss could hear her breathing gently as her lungs filled with blood, gasping for oxygen. Her silver eyes flickered with life for but a moment, looking horrified and scared.

"W-W-Weiss..." Ruby coughed out as she shivered. "C-Cold..."

Weiss had tears streaming down her face, unable to control her emotions as Ruby suddenly went limp once more. The heiress panicked and began to shake the girl's still body, crying out at the top of her lungs to her friend. This couldn't be happening. This had the be some sick twisted nightmare. The paramedics that came minutes later had to pry Weiss off of the still form of Ruby Rose, shouting obscenities and curses out towards the paramedics as they wheeled Ruby towards an awaiting ambulance, chasing after the vehicle as it tore into the distance. Weiss dropped to her knees, alone and afraid. She barely realized when Blake and Yang arrived, having been summoned to the location by the police alongside a concerned Glynda and Headmaster Ozpin himself. Weiss was stone cold, unable to feel. She hadn't felt this way in so, so very long.

Ruby had taken the bullets meant for her. And she just watched as he ripped apart her best friend.

"The situation is rather grim." The chief doctor assigned to the task of reviving the girl spoke to Headmaster Ozpin in a hushed tone outside of the ER. Nobody besides hospital staff were allowed inside, leaving the group of students and professors to their own thoughts and prayers. Ozpin, after Yang, was informed of what was going on behind the scenes. Yang was sitting by Blake, not wanting to talk to anyone after speaking to the doctor. Weiss had to assume things were not good.

The image of Ruby being executed by the gunman, so lazily done, looped over and over in her head. She feared the worst for the girl, that she would succumb to her wounds in the cold embrace of the operating table. Weiss kept to herself, having tried to reach out to Yang the moment they arrived.

"Yang..." Weiss managed through her own tears. "Yang I'm so sorry..."

"Save it." Yang brushed her off. "Just don't. I don't want to hear anything."

Weiss knew it was just the stress and fear talking through Yang, but the hurt still remained.

Ozpin nodded as the doctor bowed out of respect and returned to the operation. The mysterious Headmaster loomed over Weiss as she looked up slowly, having been deep in thought.

"Miss Schnee." Ozpin sighed deeply, looking very troubled. "Walk with me, please."

Weiss hesitated before taking his waiting hand. The heiress and Headmaster went on their way down to the other end of the hallway, turning to another sector of the building with a view of the surrounding city. Ozpin considered what he was to say before speaking up, careful with his wording.

"Weiss." Ozpin spoke as the heiress looked up at him. "I've been informed that Ruby is quite likely to make a full recovery, over time that is."

Weiss felt a flutter of hope in her heart, wanting to scream. Everything was going to be okay. Ruby wasn't going anywhere.

"But, unfortunately I can't speak, nor can the staff, for her psyche." Ozpin continued on.

"What do you mean?" Weiss didn't get it.

"Traumatic events can... alter a person. The Ruby Rose you spoke to hours ago may not be the very same one you will greet in the future. I simply want to make sure you are aware of this, and know that I am here to help you three through this... process." Ozpin expressed. "Do you understand what I have said?"

"Yes... yes I do." Weiss gulped quietly as she looked down at the white tile floor below.

Ruby. That's all she could think about.

When the time finally came for Weiss to be allowed access to her team leader, it came after Yang, Blake, and Ozpin in that order. Ruby specifically wanted to see Weiss last. Weiss assumed it was because she wanted to speak to her the longest, or something of that variety. The heiress quickly entered the hospital room Ruby was resting in, recovering from her injuries at the hand of the gunman. Weiss learned that day whilst waiting for news of Ruby that it was a White Fang assassin, one sent to kill her. Ruby simply got in the way.

"Ruby!" Weiss was overjoyed to see her best friend alive and functioning, the girl sitting up in her all white bed. Her silver eyes lacked the usual shine they had, staring blankly at the television suspended in the corner of the room.

"Hello, Weiss." Ruby spoke with an almost emotionless tone, still looking at the television. Weiss moved to sit just beside her in a chair, resting a caring hand on the bedding.

"I was so worried! I... I'm so glad you're alright!" Weiss cried out with a tearful smile.

Ruby barely reacted. "I am fine."

Weiss sniffled as she looked over at the television, wondering what it was that was taking up most of her attention.

It wasn't even on.

"Ruby. You saved my life, Ruby." Weiss change the subject. "I... I'm so happy you're going to get better. I was so very scared!"

Ruby just sat there, looking almost bored. Painfully bored.

"I know. And I don't care." Ruby sighed.

Weiss shuttered within. What? What did she mean?

"Ruby?"

"I saved your life, and this is what happens." Ruby looked to the floor. "I get hurt. I can't even feel my legs, Weiss. What's the point? Why should I feel grateful? Feel proud? Why should I feel anything?"

"Ruby... what do you mean?" Weiss didn't understand.

Ruby lazily looked to the heiress. Her piercing silver eyes shot bullets towards the Schnee, just as that gun had done. The usual spark in the girl just seemed... gone.

"Just leave me alone." Ruby decided not to answer. "I don't want to talk anymore."

"Ruby, I-"

"I said I don't want to talk anymore." Ruby growled as Weiss flinched.

"Okay..." Weiss stood up and took a few steps back. "I'll just... I'll give you some time."

Weiss exited the room and slumped down on the floor against the cold metal. The heiress looked down at her hands and clenched them into fists. This wasn't supposed to happen. This felt wrong. This wasn't how Ruby was supposed to be acting. Weiss honestly thought the smaller girl would have jumped up and down at the sight of Weiss entering the room, shocked that Ruby would choose to just stare at a blank screen over her. She didn't know whether to feel insulted or feel bad for the girl.

The next few days were excruciatingly long for the heiress. Ruby wasn't allowing visitors in besides Yang, leaving Weiss almost completely alone save for Blake, who was under similar treatment.

"You know it's just the trauma." Blake tried to reason with Weiss. "This is a fairly common thing. I've seen it happen before. It's not unusual for someone to develop depression after an attack."

"Tell me then." Weiss looked towards the cat girl in the cafeteria at Beacon, the pair sitting alone at the end of a table. "Did they get any better?"

"Some." Blake poked her food with her fork, pushing around some mashed potatoes. "It took time, and it wasn't easy. When someone is hurt like this, Weiss, it leaves scars. Not just physical ones, mental too. She's probably a mess of emotions inside right now, scared and sad. I don't think Ruby really felt anyone was capable of being that evil, to just shoot a person on the street."

"What about Roman?" Weiss asked as she noticed Blake grip her fork ever so tight.

"All he ever does is rob people. That's a significant downgrade from shooting a person." Blake expressed. "All I am saying is she just needs time."

Weiss looked at her nearly full plate. "She said she doesn't want to talk to me."

"Weiss..." Blake wasn't sure how to respond without angering the already tense girl before her. She had to be careful. "That man was trying to kill you. Ruby thought she could help you fend him off. Then she ended up being in the same position you were in. Yet she was shot. You weren't."

"What do you mean?" Weiss asked before she straightened up. "Are you trying to say she thinks this is my fault?"

"No." Blake made clear. "I'm just saying that she probably thinks she could have avoided all of this. That none of this had to of happened. She slipped into a depression, Weiss. It's not uncommon for people to believe false realities."

"Such as?" Weiss raised a brow.

"Well, that you could have just watched as she was shot. Perhaps she thinks this was the case, that you just allowed her to be hurt." Blake offered as she saw Weiss tense up. "No... Weiss, tell me you didn't. Please."

"I froze, Blake." Weiss dropped her silverware down. "I saw the gun and I froze. Ruby saved my life, and I just watched as he tried to take hers. I just sat there Blake."

Blake considered her next action. "You do not tell any of this to Yang."

"But-"

"No buts. If Yang feels you caused this to happen to Ruby... You know how Yang gets, she gets angry easily." Blake frowned as she took a bite of a salmon. "Yang would try to kill you."

"I get the picture." Weiss sighed as she looked to the ground.

"I'm not on your side with this, but I'm not going to abandon you here." Blake rubbed the top of Weiss's left hand with her own. "We are friends, Weiss. I'll help you here. You messed up, but I won't allow two of my team mates to end up in a spiraling loop of sadness."

Weiss looked up to Blake. "Thank you."

Yang sat down next to Blake, a plate full of food as she took a long sip of water.

"Hello, Yang." Blake spoke. "How is Ruby?"

"She's still not talking much. They put her on some drugs and are helping her practice walking with crutches. She won't be fighting anytime soon." Yang grit her teeth. "They said... they were worried about the strain Crescent Rose will put on her spine. She's a strong girl, but with her injuries..."

Blake held the girl's hand tight. "It's okay."

Weiss just watched as Yang sniffled to herself.

The heiress looked to Yang. "Yang... I..."

"Yeah?" Yang asked, looking to Weiss. "What is it, Weiss?"

Blake looked at the girl and nodded. Weiss took this as a step forward. At least the brawler didn't lash out like before.

"I'm sorry." Weiss sighed. "I'm sorry, Yang. This should never have happened."

"I'm sorry too." Yang closed her eyes and repressed her rage. "I'm sure you did all you could to help her at the time."

Weiss put on a false neutral face, screaming internally as her heart sank. She hated lying. She hated lying. She hated it so, so much. Especially to her friends, the very ones who trusted her with their lives.

And she almost cost them one of those lives.

"Yeah." Weiss lied.

"Did any of you manage to take a copy of Oobleck's notes? They haven't said if they are considering excusing her from the midterm exam or the project we have due in a few weeks. And we all know she isn't the best at studies." Yang sighed deeply.

Blake just shook her head, winking to Weiss.

This was indeed as good a place to start.

"I'll see what I can do." Weiss decided as Yang looked up to her, then to the table as she nodded her head along.

"Okay... okay, that's good." Yang sighed out of relief. "Thank you, Weiss."

Weiss nodded and raised a brow towards Blake in a gesture of thanks. Blake nodded and began a conversation with the brawler, allowing Weiss to make her way out of the cafeteria and towards the library.

She had work to do.

Weiss was ready.

It had taken her nearly all of yesterday and the night to get herself prepared. But here and now, she was done.

The heiress had taken it upon herself, at the mentioning of Yang and the push by Blake, to go up and beyond when it came to assisting Ruby with her studies while she was in rehabilitation from her injuries. Weiss felt it nonsense that the school still required her to do work, even if she was pardoned from field exercises. She still was hurt and healing would take time. Work would just burden the already shattered girl. So, Weiss did more than just the mere bare minimum. The heiress made copies of all of her notes from as far back as the first exam, then rewriting them in a way she knew Ruby would be able to understand easily in order to solidify her understanding of the concepts being covered in the midterm exam coming up. Weiss, with the begging to professor Oobleck and with permission from Goodwitch, was able to get an early sneak peak at the upcoming project that was due relatively soon. Weiss spent the entire night, literally so as she hadn't slept one wink of sleep, working on the project. At the very end of her work, the heiress filed everything into their appropriate folders for easy access, stapling the papers together by topic and chapter, and organizing everything into a nice folder for Ruby. All she need to do with the project was slap her name on the top right box and she would be set with an A-plus. Weiss didn't care about her own grade on the material, shoving off the assignment for a later time as this was of the upmost importance.

Yang and Weiss found each other that morning, the latter's eyes surrounded by a noticeable shine of faint golden and stark black, a sign she hadn't slept one bit in a good while. Yang looked over the work Weiss did, thanking the Schnee girl dozens of times for everything.

"Weiss, I could have never come up with these kinds of results." Yang sniffled as she pulled Weiss into a deep hug. "Thank you, Weiss. Thank you!"

Weiss pat her back in return as she wasn't much of a hugging person when it came to Yang. She was far too brutish for the smaller girl, and far too rough with those melons she called a chest. Weiss was about to hand over the work to the girl when she hesitated.

"What's wrong?" Yang asked as Weiss refused to let go of the binder.

"Can... Can I maybe come with you to see her?" Weiss pleaded as Yang bit her lip in thought. Ruby had made it clear she had only wanted to see Yang, requesting that she wouldn't need to face Weiss or anyone else until she felt like it. And that didn't seem like it would be coming anytime soon.

Yang looked at the saddened look plastered on Weiss's face and shook her mind clear of those prior thoughts. After all, the whole point of Weiss and Ruby going into town that day was to see if Weiss actually cared about Ruby in a romantic sense, and judging by the way Weiss carried herself, it was clear something was up with the Schnee. Maybe this would be just what it would take for Ruby to get out of this funk she was so deeply in.

"Sure. Let me grab my purse and we can be off." Yang nodded as she handed back the binder to Weiss, pulling the Schnee back to the dorm.

Standing in the room while Yang looked around for her Scroll, Weiss looked out the window at the trees growing just beyond their reach. Weiss wished she could bring something to the smaller girl, something to show she really did care about her. Something to remind her of their friendship. Weiss ignored the chatter of Yang as she looked down out of the window at the flower garden blooming below her.

Bingo. The heiress saw her target.

A rose bush.

Initially not sure which one to pick, as if it really mattered on the size or shape of the flower, Weiss spotted a rather odd looking one at the very base of the plant.

There sat an all white rose, having failed to get the proper amount of sunlight to achieve its coloration. It was a unique specimen to Vale, almost one-in-a-million. These flowers were very much alive, simply rejected when it came to their value to a florist.

Weiss, exclaiming how she would be back in a moment, dashed down the staircase near their dorm room. The heiress broke through the double doors leading out to the courtyard, moving to the area just below their dorm window.

There it was.

Weiss gently plucked the rose from the bush, tending to it as she flicked the thorns off of the stem. She didn't want to make it seem like she didn't care about the flower, tending to it as to make it perfect. Deciding it looked fantastic, Weiss slid it into an opening inside of the binder, running up to rejoin Yang before they made their venture to the city hospital. It would be a long journey, as the hospital was on the complete other side of the city, but it would be worth it. Weiss had to see her. Weiss had to save her.

The hospital staff were very professional and strict in following the code and procedures outlined in their job. Yet, the mere muttering of Weiss's family name generated the slow but steady process of allowing herself access to the room which only Yang was allowed. Weiss didn't blame them, as they were only doing their jobs. Yet she had her own to do, and she would see this one finish herself. Eventually making their way up to the third floor of the hospital, the pair of Huntresses arrived at a cold and imposing figure that was the door leading to Ruby's room. Chills ran down Weiss's spine, nervous but ready to enter as she gave Yang a nod and pressed on.

Upon entering the room, Weiss knew things were out of the ordinary right off the bat. The blinds were shut, preventing any ray of sunshine access into the chamber in which Ruby sat alone with her thoughts, as she wanted. Ruby looked horrible, seemingly malnourished if Weiss had to judge the girl on her initial appearance. Wearing hospital garb consisting of a light bluish robe which extended down to her knees, Ruby must have been freezing as the air-conditioner was cranked all the way up to the max setting. Weiss felt her heart sink. This wasn't the Ruby she knew, the Ruby she had grown to appreciate more than anything in the world. More than her family. More than herself. She felt like vomiting just to get the horrible feeling out of her stomach. Yet, even with this feeling deep within her, she pressed on brave to face her fears.

"Hey Ruby." Yang spoke quietly as to not startle the girl. "I know you said you didn't want visitors other than me, but Weiss needed to come see you."

Ruby barely turned her head to view the source of the words, looking Weiss over in almost disgust. A crack formed across Weiss's heart at the very gaze of Ruby. This couldn't be her. This couldn't be. What had happened to the Rose she knew so much about? The one that cared for her even though she had been so rude?

Ruby muttered something that Weiss couldn't hear, looking over to Yang with a somewhat happy tone of voice saying hello.

"Sorry again for letting Schnee here tag along." Yang felt very awkward. "She needed to talk to you about something and she brought something for you, so I'm just going to step out of the room and give you two a few minutes, okay?"

A very slow nod of Ruby's head let Yang know she wasn't mad, exiting the room just as slowly as she had entered. As the door clicked shut, Ruby turned away, looking at an empty glass jar perched by the window blinds. Standing there awkwardly for but a moment more, the white themed member of the team slowly began to approach the bed of Ruby. Standing at the foot rest of said bed, Weiss opened her mouth to speak.

"What do you want." Ruby bluntly stated rather than asked, eyes fixated on the glassware just a few feet away from her. She sounded bored, just as bored as she did when Weiss last saw her.

"I don't know if Ozpin or anybody from Beacon let you know, but they are still requiring that you participate in what classes you can in your condition." The heiress spoke in a casual tone of voice, tapping her fingers along the bedding. "So I took the liberty of preparing some notes for you to study while you were here during your downtime."

Ruby didn't say anything. She didn't even blink.

Continuing, the girl went on. "Also, I don't know if you noticed, but that big project is coming up and professor Oobleck let me look at the assignment early. I went ahead and completed the assignment for you, just so you don't have to worry about it and have nothing to stress over other than the midterm coming up. All you really need to do is just write your name on the top of the paper and I can turn it in for you once I get back."

Yet again, there was no reply.

Weiss gulped.

"Do you want me to just leave it here on this nightstand or...?" Weiss asked yet trailed off towards the end of her sentence, realizing that Ruby probably wasn't even listening to her at this point. She went ahead and walked to the side of the bed that Ruby was not looking at, moving over a glass of water and setting down the binder. The current leader of team RWBY in Ruby's absence opened up the gray covering of the binder and withdrew the rose that sat within. She carefully walk to the other side of the bed towards Ruby's line of sight.

"I got you something." Weiss continued to talk as Ruby just looked passed her at the glass vase. "I found this rare little rose just sitting in that bush under the window that you like so much. I thought that maybe would be something to look at... or something I suppose."

Ruby just blinked.

"Ruby." Weiss sighed the word out. Her heart felt so heavy. She had never felt like this before, so hopeless. So weak. "Please... talk to me..."

Ruby lifted her head up from her trance ever so slightly, looking the girl directly in the eyes. That's when Weiss noticed the empty look in place of the light that used to shine so bright.

Ruby opened her mouth to speak, then closing it. She just sat there looking at Weiss like she had no idea who she was. The younger girl looked away, sighing deeply as she shut her eyes.

"Thank... Thank you, Weiss." Ruby finally spoke to the girl after so long, glancing at her before looking away. Ruby took notice of the bags around Weiss's eyes, deciding she had deserved something.

Weiss didn't press, just nodding. Weiss gently set the rose into the nearby vase, careful not to damage it as she moved to the door of the room. The heiress turned back one more time and looked towards Ruby, who was looking at the flower intently. Weiss smiled and exited, leaving the girl in the room to herself.

Yang stood outside the room and pulled Weiss to the side, wanting to hear what she had to say about what occurred between her sister and herself.

"Tell me." Yang leaned against the wall with her arms crossed over her chest, wearing her casual wear of jeans and a brightly colored shirt. Her face wore a look of worry and intrigue.

"Tell you what?" Weiss raised a brow, standing before the brawler.

"What did you guys do in there? Did she talk to you at all?" Yang was curious, looking for a sign of hope for her sister. She needed this, some glimmer that she could be saved from this depression.

"She didn't say much. She thanked me, and that was it." Weiss shrugged. "Nothing much to tell. She hasn't changed much, has she?"

"Other than her rehab going somewhat well, not really." Yang sighed. "But in glad she at least said something meaningful to you. She doesn't even speak to the doctors or nurses when they visit. Just me. Even then she doesn't talk a whole ton like she used to." Yang explained as she looked to the floor.

"Hey." Weiss put a caring hand on her shoulder. "I'm here to help you. To help her."

Yang smiled slightly and nodded to the Schnee heiress. "Thanks, Weiss. You know, you aren't all that bad when you try to be nice. You should try this more often."

"Don't push your luck." Weiss rolled her eyes. "I am very much exerting myself when I say such things, especially to you of all people." Weiss felt a slight blush form on her cheeks, out of embarrassment of course as Yang taunted the Schnee like normal. This pretty much summed up their encounters.

The pair exchanged a few moments of laughter before they relaxed to their normal states, Yang saying bye to Weiss as it was her turn to enter the room and speak to Ruby alone. Weiss stood at the door and sighed deeply, moving off moments later to walk around for a little bit. Ending up outside on a bridge between towers of the hospital, Weiss ended up looking up to the open sky above.

Weiss shut her eyes, cursing herself for her actions. For allowing this. She should have been better prepared. She was on every radical terrorist's hit list as a top tier target. She should have had her blade with her. Winter would have slapped her good if she found out about that fact. A Schnee heiress, unarmed in the middle of a public area. What a joke. What a joke she was. If she just had her blade at the time, she would have been able to save Ruby from all of this. If she had just done something, anything! Weiss held her stomach as she started to cry, dropping to her knees moments later as she clutched her being tight. This was a nightmare. This was horrible. She just wanted out. She wanted Ruby to be herself. Her playful, adorable little self.

"Gaaaaaaaah!" Weiss screamed out in frustration, cursing the world she knew as it was far too unfair. She didn't deserve this. Ruby didn't deserve this.

Weiss continued to sob to herself as she didn't know what to do. The girl felt the rays of the sun beat upon her pale complexion like a drum, heating her up as she cried. The warmth lapped at her skin, almost as if it were trying to tell her something. Weiss sniffled to herself as she pulled herself up with the aid of the safety rail, looking out at the horizon.

There she saw it.

Hope.

The cloud would have looked like just an ordinary cloud to anyone else watching from the ground, but to Weiss, the outline formed a very familiar symbol, one she recognized and would never forget.

A rose. A simple rose.

Weiss nodded to herself and gulped audibly, using the sleeves of her white bolero jacket to dry her eyes. The Schnee daughter turned back to the hallway she came from, making her way back in order to greet Yang.

As if on cue, Yang exited as Weiss arrived. The brawler looked happy, obviously having broken through to Ruby in some regard. Things were looking up for the shattered members of team RWBY.

"How did it go?" It was Weiss's turn to ask the questions. Yang seemed far happier than usual. In her hand was the project papers, the chicken scratch that was Ruby's handwriting had her name printed in the top corner of the first page.

"She's doing better. Talking more to me than she did before. She said she liked the rose." Yang told the heiress who tried to hold in her tears. Yang took notice of the emotions swirling within the girl and pulled her into a warm hug. Weiss cried once more softly into her shoulder, Yang just rubbing her back gently to soothe her emotions.

"She's going to be okay, Weiss." Yang sniffled herself as she kept the waterworks back. "Just have hope."

Hope.

Weiss had something to hold onto.