Final Goodbye

Author's Note:

I seen this prompt on Tumblr, and I decided to take it on. I procrastinated a little bit as I had another project to complete, I'll admit, but. . . Here it goes.

The way I've decided to write this is a goodbye to somebody who was close to me, I lost them in 2014 to an unexpected accident and it still affects me today. So, this story is indirectly my goodbye to them.

She's Gone. . .

Nah nah, nah nah nah, nah nah
I miss you, miss you so bad
I don't forget you, oh, it's so sad
I hope you can hear me
I remember it clearly

The day you slipped away
Was the day I found it won't be the same, oh
Nah nah, la la la, nah nah

It couldn't be true. . . No, it was all just a nightmare, she wasn't gone, she couldn't be! When she woke up and opened her eyes, she would be right there beside her, alive and well, she'd be with her. Ruby couldn't be dead, she was Ruby, she was practically invincible! She was the strongest person Weiss knew. . .

"Ruby?"

"Weiss, the White Fang has me-"

"WHAT?!"

"Everything will be alright, trust me."

She was just dreaming-. . . It was real. Her scroll slipped from her hand and crashed to the floor, but she didn't hear it. She began trembling, her body was frozen and cold, tears stinging at the corners of her eyes as she returned to reality. Weiss dropped down to the marbled floor, her heart was tight inside of her chest, it felt as though a hundred blades had been forced into her and were twisting and turning to cause more pain. In a way, it also felt as though her heart was mercilessly being ripped into a thousand little pieces.

"Ruby, are you okay?"

"I'm fine, I'll see you when I get back home, alright?"

She'd never see her again. She wasn't coming home. She should've went with her, none of this would have ever happened! She promised her she'd be the best partner she could be to her, and she broke that promise! All because-. . . It didn't matter anymore. Ruby wasn't coming home. . .

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. . ." Weiss whispered, wrapping her arms around herself tightly as an attempt to stop the pain. It didn't help, she still felt like she was being torn apart from the inside. "I should've- I should've went with you, I could have- I could've protected you."

Her thoughts went back to earlier that week. Their argument, Ruby having asked her to join her for a mission involving the White Fang, Weiss rejecting the offer as she had 'more important things' to focus on, when in reality she just thought she needed some time away from her partner. She'd been so selfish. . .

"Hey Weiss?"

"Y-yes?"

"I love you, you know that, right?"

"Ruby-"

"I'll be alright. I love you, Princess. . . Goodbye."

The cracking of a gun was heard, followed immediately a loud BANG! The call was ended.

Her best friend was gone. She was never coming back.

Clutching her sides tighter, Weiss let out a wail. She's gone. . .

It's Not The Same!
I didn't get around to kiss you
Goodbye on the hand
I wish that I could see you again
I know that I can't
Oh, I hope you can hear me 'cause I remember it clearly
The day you slipped away
Was the day I found it won't be the same, oh

They never found her body.

They never found a trace of her. . .

Not her weapon, her cloak, nothing. . . It was as though she'd ever existed, everything proving her existence had suspiciously been wiped.

It's been three weeks since Weiss received a phone call from the anonymous number, three weeks since her best friend was killed. She was the only one who knew what had happened, and she'd tried so hard to trace the phone call back to the original source so that she could somehow avenge her death, but there was nothing. No matter how hard she tried, there was nothing that could lead her to Ruby's murderer.

All she knew was that the White Fang was involved. She wanted them destroyed, she wanted to run her blade right through them and tear them apart limb by limb. She wanted them to suffer, to pay for what they'd done. She wanted to go after them, but the rest of her team, friends, and her sister would not allow her to do so. Something about throwing her life away needlessly, running right into a death trap. . . She didn't care though, she didn't care if she were killed right at this very second.

Hell, she'd want to come back to life just to thank them for killing her.

Yang seemed just as torn as she was, she'd been on board for hunting down her sister's killers and assassinating them, but Blake had managed to talk common sense into her. Weiss, unfortunately, couldn't hear a word she said whenever Blake mentioned Ruby.

She would hear the sound of the gunshot, Ruby telling her everything would be alright, telling her that she loved her.

Ruby had loved her. She knew, and she took that love for granted.

"Weiss?"

Tired blue eyes glanced towards a concerned pair of golden, "You don't look too good. . . Have you been sleeping well? Have you eaten today?" No, and no. How could she sleep? She wasn't at home, Ruby wasn't here, she couldn't rest. . . She felt a familiar sting in her eyes at the thought of the redhead and she reached up, rubbing her temple as she turned to Blake. She probably looked like a mess. . . She felt like a mess.

"I'm fine." She replied bluntly, turning away from her faunus friend.

"No, Weiss, you're not." Blake growled at her, "I miss her too, Weiss. We all do! Yang especially. . . But she isn't letting it affect her because she knows has people who care about her, and you do too." Weiss shook her head, glancing over her shoulder. "You have us; Yang and me, Winter, Nora, Ren-"

"It's not the same."

She Had To.
I had my wake up
Won't you wake up
I keep asking why
And I can't take it
It wasn't fake
It happened you passed by

"How long has it been?"

"Two months. . ."

Weiss stared at the picture Yang had framed for her, a picture taken of all of them back at Beacon on Christmas Eve. Ruby had dragged them all outside to play in the snow for a 'Team Bonding Exercise' as she called it, it worked out well, they'd had fun and experienced sides of their friends they'd never seen before: The carefree, happy side. The picture had been captured by Nora right after a snowball fight (she and Ruby had won), Yang and Blake were half-buried in the snow with Ruby and Weiss behind them, all of them were smiling.

"It feels as though it's been a lifetime." Yang whispered, accepting the cup of coffee Blake offered to her before taking a seat beside her. They were gathered inside of Yang's new house, having made themselves comfortable in the lounge. The house was the one Ruby had liked, she'd claimed she would turn into 'Team RWBY's' House' someday. Yang had been saving up the money to purchase it since they'd first laid eyes on it, despite Weiss having offered to lend her the money.

"It does." Weiss responded, tearing her eyes away from the picture to look at her friends. "Well, I have to go. Let me know if you need anything, alright?" Her teammates nodded their response and she rose from the couch, starting for the door. "I'll see you guys tomorrow if you still want to see that movie."

Yang grinned, "Hell yeah I do."

Blake smiled, "Tomorrow it is then, see you later, Weiss!"

Weiss briefly waved and stepped out of the house, shutting the door behind her. Her shoulders slacked and she released a breath she didn't know she'd been holding, she ignored the pain tearing at her heart and made her way to her vehicle. She'd convinced her friends she'd sought out help and had gotten herself together, mentally that is. In reality, she had not. She was still suffering, she felt as though she were dying a little inside day by day. Her sanity was slowly slipping away, she could feel it.

She had to hold herself together, though, for her friends. . . Yang seemed to be doing well, so she had to be fine, too. The moment Weiss seated herself in her car and had locked herself in with the seat belt, she felt something inside of her snap. They'd gotten over Ruby's death so easily! They expected her to be just fine! They hadn't heard what she did. They didn't hear the very second Ruby had been killed, they hadn't experienced any of that!

"Yeah, I lost the most important person in the world to me. I heard it, I heard her DIE. They expect me to be happy-go-lucky and cheerful? They want me to be okay knowing I could have prevented this?!"

Ruby was gone. She couldn't accept that.

But she had to. . . This was her reality now.

Are You There?

Now you're gone, now you're gone
There you go, there you go
Somewhere I can't bring you back
Now you're gone, now you're gone
There you go, there you go
Somewhere you're not coming back

"You never went to a therapist, did you?"

"You didn't think I would just leave you, did you?"

Weiss' eyes jerked up to Blake and she drew in a deep breath, trying to calm herself down. She felt disoriented, her body was cold and jittery, she was trembling and she couldn't control herself. She slipped down to her knees, clutching the side of the sink for as long as she could. She curled up on the floor, covering her ears with her hands and whimpering out what sounded like weak apologies. Blake took a seat beside her, but whatever she said was drowned out by the loud gunshot playing on repeat inside of her head.

Three months.

She should be better by now! She should be over it, why was it still affecting her?! Was she that weak? Letting something so stupid destroy her? At the back of her mind, Weiss knew it wasn't stupid, she was just paying the price for refusing to seek mental help. She deserved it. . .

"She's not coming back." Weiss whimpered out pathetically, trying to swallow the lump in her throat, "I can't- I can't go after her." It was no secret to anybody that she and Ruby had saved each other's lives multiple times, "I couldn't save her, I didn't go with her." Yet this time, she hadn't been able to rescue her partner, and it was all her fault.

"Weiss, it's not your fault." Could Blake read her mind all of a sudden? "No, she's not coming back, but. . . I've thought about this a lot." Weiss forced herself up off the floor so that she could look at her friend, still riding out the aftermath of her panic attack. Though slightly disoriented, Blake had her full attention, "You said she told you the White Fang had her?" Weiss nodded, "We know Ruby, she could have fought her way out of that mess easily, she was strong."

Well, yeah.

"To have kidnapped her, they would've had something against her, something they knew would leave her with little to no choice but to come with them." Weiss said nothing, Blake took that as a sign to go on, "You said, a few weeks before it happened, that it felt as though somebody was following you."

Ruby was wanting to protect her. . . How could she have been so blind?

"You know, I've heard that spirits still linger long after their death. Try speaking as though Ruby was right there beside you."

"Ruby? Are you there?"

She Always Would.

The day you slipped away
Was the day I found it won't be the same, no
The day you slipped away
Was the day that I found it won't be the same, oh

Once she was back home, Weiss had locked herself in her bedroom and had taken a seat on her bed. She'd thought Blake's advice over, and it just sounded so ridiculous! Communicate with a ghost? Ghosts didn't exist! But then again, they'd seen many things they would have never imagined existed; so it could be possible. . .

Could she do it, though? What if she didn't contact Ruby? What if ghosts didn't exist?

"Fuck it."

Weiss lay back on her bed, closing her eyes and releasing a soft sigh as her body relaxed. She cleared her mind of the paranoia and 'what ifs', allowing it to be open to the possibilities, but there was a little voice in the back of her mind telling her that it was pointless. She chose to ignore it.

"Try speaking as though Ruby was right there beside you."

Weiss chuckled, "I never expected Blake to be the one giving advice. . ." She whispered out to absolutely nobody, hoping beyond hope that her partner could hear her, "But I suppose it's worth a try. You always did seem to prove the impossible to be possible."

Was the air colder? She couldn't tell, but she felt oddly at ease, almost though she were being protected from something. It was. . . Familiar. "I'm sorry I wasn't there," Weiss whispered, trying to convince herself that Ruby could hear every word she was saying, "I should have come with you, maybe you would still be alive. . ."

She bit back the sob rising inside of her throat and closed her eyes, "I love you, I love you so much. . ." She still did, she always would. Tears stung at the corners of her eyes, she sat up and wiped her eyes dry. She couldn't cry, she'd promised herself she wouldn't cry. She had to stop blaming herself. . .

I Missed You
Nah nah, nah nah nah, nah nah
I miss you

Time seemed to have began to slow down for Weiss, the days seemed to stretch on forever and each one was longer than the last. She felt as though her body was growing weaker by the day and was failing her. She didn't know what was wrong with her, but she refused to seek medical attention despite her teammates' pleas, she'd convinced herself she was just overworking herself. She'd force herself to survive through the day, knowing she could relax once she was at home and in bed.

"Are you eating properly?" Her sister had asked her this question multiple times this year, Weiss would insist that she was fine and would be alright. She had to be alright, she'd allowed her leader's death to affect her far too much. She was trying to get back on top of things, take care of herself, and run the company. Everything she was doing was to keep her mind off of what had happened, otherwise she would succumb to her depression and PTSD.

"Promise me you'll be alright?" Of course she'd be alright, she was Weiss! She could handle this, she'd be back to her regular self in no time! At least, that's what she told herself. . .

Weiss set her bag down by the door as she entered her bedroom, closing the door behind her and approaching her desk to sort out the papers. After dropping the pile on the desk, a ripple of pain rolled through her body and she growled, gripping the sides of her desk. Shaking her head as the pain faded, she found herself making her way towards her bed, it was as though it was calling her name. Well, a few minutes of relaxation wouldn't hurt. . . She stared down at it, turning away from it and scolding herself for even contemplating relaxation before the day's work was done. She couldn't fall behind more than she already was, she had to-. . .

She turned back around and practically fell onto the bed, welcoming the comforting feeling it offered her. "To hell with it," Weiss thought, closing her eyes as fatigue washed through her, "I'll finish it in the morning." She closed her eyes, drawing in a deep breath and slowly letting it out. Eventually, the darkness took her. . .

. . .

. . .

"Weiss," she knew that voice, "Weiss, wake up." She would never forget that voice. Feeling a gentle kiss being placed on her forehead, Weiss opened her eyes slowly, just barely making out the blurred image of a person standing in front of her. Whoever it was, it wasn't important, they could leave. Wait. . .

She opened her eyes again, blinking them as familiar silver eyes smiled back at her, "Ruby?" She whispered as her vision cleared, revealing that the younger girl was indeed in the room with her. Weiss frowned, briefly examining Ruby, something was off, but she couldn't exactly put her finger on it.

Ruby was here, though. . .

Ruby was here?

Before she could say anything, the woman reached out and took her hand, "Good morning, sleeping beauty," she could feel the stinging of tears coming to her eyes, but nothing was there, "come on, let me help you up." Weiss sat up, and in the back of her mind she knew she should be freaking out. Ruby was dead, but she was here with her right now, she could see her, feel her, hear her. . .

The moment Ruby's arms went around her, Weiss felt a heavy weight lift off her shoulders, crawl down her back, and leave her shoulders. She felt warm again, she felt as though she'd been restored to her full health. She could run laps around the mansion and never grow tired. . . She wasn't in pain anymore, her mind was clear and any disturbing thoughts had been left behind.

"Are you ready?" Ruby whispered and Weiss allowed her to guide her towards the window, realization sank in as she glanced over her shoulder. She didn't care, though. . . She turned back to Ruby and smiled, giving her a brief nod. "Great! I'm not the only one who has been waiting for you. . ."

Over there, she wouldn't be alone, she would have her fallen friends and lost family members there with her. She would never be in pain again, never feel tired, never carry a burden on her shoulders. . . How could she turn away from that? Ruby was there.

"Hey Ruby?" The girl looked at her just before passing through the window, Weiss right behind her.

"I missed you."

Don't take things for granted. Pets, family, friends. . . They could be gone in the blink of an eye, so cherish those close to you. You never know when their time comes.

Song- Slipped Away
Artist - Avril Lavigne