AN: We're back in action! I hope this is a decent opening chapter :) -CakeLegends

The Ghost of Vale - Chapter 1

Weiss' fingers practically clawed the sides of her seat. A long moment of silence hung in the doctor's office. Weiss could feel her pulse beating. Was there hope? Was this a way out of her nightmare?

The doctor released a sigh.

"There are potential ways of fixing this Ms. Schnee." The doctor continued. "The chances are slim, but I'm guessing you'd take any chance."

The Heiress gave a somber nod.

"We could attempt to restore your optic nerves." The doctor stated. "It's still an option, even if the success rate is low. We would just need a donor. Their cells would give us the necessary biomaterial."

The Heiress swallowed hard. There was a light at the end of her tunnel.

But it was growing faint.

"How would I get a donor?"

"They would have to have an appropriate blood type. You could wait for your place on the list, or find your own." The doctor elaborated, placing his clipboard on his desk. "Given your family tree, I'm sure you have the...assets to find one quickly."

Assets. The word rang within the Heiress' skull.

"What should I do now?" Weiss mumbled. "Go home and wake up blind tomorrow?"

"Potentially." The doctor stated. "Ms. Schnee, make certain you return here after your sight completely fades."

"...Fine."

The doctor turned towards Ruby.

"Ms. Rose, make certain Weiss returns here after her sight completely fades. We can get started almost immediately afterwards."

The caped-girl felt her curiosity peaking. With brief hesitation, she nodded.

The walk out of the hospital was in silence. Weiss followed her lover through the streets of Vale, back to the dorm.

"I've got the door." Ruby mumbled supportively, opening the door for her partner. Ruby's heart stuttered. Weiss' head hung lower than ever. The occasional tear fell to land at her feet.

"I'm sorry..." The Heiress sniffled, wiping her tears away with the back of her hand. She felt frustrated. Her head was burning. "I'm..."

The caped-girl embraced her partner, holding her close. "We're going to get through this together, Weiss. You're tougher than you realize."

Ruby stepped to the side, leading Weiss by her shoulder.

The dorm was dark. Penny was powered off. Yang and Blake lay fast asleep. A small pile of wet clothes laid by the bathroom door. Ruby overlooked it for now. She closed the door behind them, shrouding the dorm in darkness.

Ruby let her eyes adjust. She felt exhausted. The night had been a tidal wave of emotions. She undressed herself absentmindedly, changing into her pajamas.

A thought occurred to the caped-girl: did Weiss need help finding her drawer? She turned towards the bed.

"Weiss, do you-"

Ruby's whisper fell to silence.

Weiss curled up atop her bed facing the wall. Her breathing was stuttered. Ruby's ears adjusted to hear her girlfriend's quiet crying. Her own eyes burned with empathy.

Ruby lifted the covers and curled up next to her. She wrapped a supporting arm around her torso.

Weiss cried in silence. She felt pathetic. Her path of mistakes had led her here.

The Heiress was crying herself to sleep.

It was midnight.

The acrobat shook the water out of her retrieved umbrella. She angled the handle against the window and shifted the umbrella, unlocking the window.

She slipped through the window silently. She released a small groan as her bandaged ribs shifted.

"Neo? That's you right?" Weiss whispered in the darkness.

The acrobat's silent feet stopped mid-step. She let out a shaky exhale. "You're still awake?"

The Heiress nodded. "...I'm in a bad place right now."

"Look..." The acrobat began. "I want to help out, but I have my own problems to deal with right-"

"I think we can come to an agreement."

Neo paused.

"We can help each other out." The Heiress reasoned. "I need something done for me, and you like money."

"What do you need me to do?" Neo's hoarse tone questioned.

"I want you to make a quick stop by the hospital." Weiss explained. Her voice was worn and unsettled. "I need a donor."

The acrobat's eyebrow rose. "I'm not too sure about-"

Weiss raised a silencing hand.

Her stomach turned. She ignored it- she would have to request this. Neo was the only option.

Weiss let out a soft sigh. "I didn't say it had to be your organs."

The night was calm and cool in Vale. The pale light of the full moon shined above.

In the central parks, a woman stepped into her car. She grinned maniacally: another body buried without a trace.

The murderer gripped the steering wheel. Children had proved optimal. She could hide their small bodies with greater ease-

A thin cord wrapped itself around her neck.

Her eyes flickered to the backseat. An unexpected visitor peered from the darkness.

"Relax." The hoarse voice commanded, giving a tug of the cord for good measure. The woman gulped, feeling her swallowing cut off by the wire.

The murderer awoke to the stinging brightness of an incandescent light.

She was strapped to a carpenter's table, in a beaten down shed. A small girl loomed over her, blocking the light.

"Blood type 0-, Under 30, Light blue eyes..." Neo was practically salivating. She leaned forward. "You are just perfect, Kate."

"It's Delilah." The woman corrected angrily. "Who the hell do you think you are?"

Neo stepped back from her plaything. The woman noticed a small pocket knife twirling between the girl's fingers.

"This is some type of fucked up entrapment. You fucking narks are trying to make me confess!" The woman barked as she wrestled against her restraints. "You're not a killer. You're a cop. The rest of your nark buddies are in the other room-"

Neo's sure grip held the woman's hand still.

With a rough slice, the acrobat cut off her ring finger.

The woman released a sharp shriek of pain. Neo pulled her wedding ring off of the severed finger.

The acrobat tossed the finger to the side. She smirked. 'This is a nice ring, Sauron.'

"You're not a cop...I get what you're doing..." The woman snarled through the pain. "You're trying to redeem yourself or something? By killing me? You're a fucking hypocrite! I'm no worse than you are. You should take that knife to yourself."

Neo smirked and shrugged. With a swift motion, she stabbed herself in the jugular. The woman's eyes widened in disbelief.

The acrobat giggled silently, pulling the now-mangled blade out of her skin. "Luckily, I'm not that tired."

"You're a Huntress." The woman realized. "Hunters are supposed to protect the people! You shouldn't be in this fucking city! You should be out killing monsters!"

Neo's blank expression rattled her victim's fleeting sanity. A deep rush of fear shot down her spine.

"I'm not a hunter." Neo mumbled. "But you are a monster, Debbie."

"It's Delilah-"

Neo's finger silenced the woman. She placed a soft kiss against her victim's cheek.

"Be strong, Carol. We're going to get through this together." The acrobat whispered seductively into her ear. "I'm going to make you scream."

The acrobat reached to a spot underneath the carpenter's table. She pulled out her tool for the task at hand.

A drill. She flicked the switch. Its droning buzz filled the air.

The woman's eyes widened. "You're fucking insane."

The acrobat released a small huff of a laugh. "And you talk too much."

She lowered the tool to her victim's face, whistling a song over the sound off her drill.

Ding dong, the witch is dead...