A/N: Hello! Another chapter done! I hope you enjoy! Also, the song I was talking about last chapter was Unbound by Avenged Sevenfold. Check it out if you like rock or metal. Also, if you saw this chapter last night before i deleted it then I apologize. I shouldn't have posted it without editing it more. But it should remain up now.

The golden rays of the sun slowly slipped past my eyelids. Blinking rapidly, I slowly roused my mind and body from the clutches of sleep. Last night was perhaps the best sleep I had experienced in my life. I felt so warm and so protected. Almost as if Ruby had stayed and hadn't left me in the middle of the night. A warm puff of air on my neck and a subtle shift of the arms wrapped fully around my body denied my worst fears. She stayed. She never left and thought of me as weird. She was, apparently, a huge cuddle monster as shown by her arms and legs wrapped tight around my body. A quick wriggle confirmed my suspicions that I was trapped with nowhere to go. Blushing heavily, I slowly tried to free myself from the undeniably warm and inviting prison she had me trapped in. With some gentle arm movements, I freed myself from the jumble of limb and hair. As much as laying down with this undeniably attractive woman sounds nice, there are things we must discuss. Namely, what she mentioned last night.

Truth be told, I was scared. I couldn't handle the thought of me hating Ruby. Not when we've come so far. It left a queasy feeling in my stomach. I didn't like it. Still, if today was the last day I would see her, I had to look good. Slowly trudging my way over to the bathroom, I glanced at myself in the mirror. Huh. Instead of the usual dark marks under my eyes and pus leaking from my nose; I appeared...refreshed. Weird.

"You know, those pills cause that stuff."

Turning around, I was met with Ruby's piercing gaze and she leaned against the door frame of my bathroom.

"I didn't know you were awake. My apologies."

"It's fine. I suddenly felt colder and all of a sudden I woke up to you in the bathroom with pills in your hand. By the way, you definitely want to put those down. They aren't as good as anyone would lead you to believe."

I traced a line from her eyes to my hand which held the bottle of CG pills. When did I do that?

"I didn't... When did I do that?"

"They got stuff in them to make you slightly addicted. Not enough to cause withdrawal symptoms, but enough to make you subconsciously want it. Plus you've even taken them since you were a child so you have lots of muscle memory."

I had never considered that. There was so much I didn't know. I realized that now.

"Thank you, Ruby. I cant saw Say it enough. Thank you for... keeping me warm last night. Thank you for being amazing."

"It no biggie. Really. And how I keep you warm last night? You kinda lost me there."

Oh. She didn't know. Of course, she didn't. Did I really have to explain that she'd been hanging on to me like a puppy? An adorable puppy that smelled of strawberries, had a great laugh and smile, and loved life. But still. Did I have to explain this while blushing so much?

"Well, you see... you were... it's just that you were-"

Suddenly her face erupted in a huge blush. I'd never seen her like this before. It was unbearably cute. I needed to see her like this more often.

"Oh. I was cuddling you wasn't I? Sorry. I thought I stopped doing that ages ago. Gosh, I'm sorry I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable. Like I'm such a dolt all the time I really am. I just hopeless-"

As she rambled on about being sorry, I mused about her doltishness. She really was a master of being a dolt. How could she transition from being serious to such an idiot. It was beyond my comprehension but it certainly was exciting. Still, I had to end it soon. Perhaps I'd get to see her blush again.

"...if you don't want me to be around anymore that-"

"Ruby! It's fine. It really is. I sort of liked it. A bit." I mumbled under my breath.

Quickly, she snapped her gaze up to my blushing face and downcast eyes. A cocky smirk found its way to her face.

A finger lifted my eyes up to her head. A smouldering look made me feel weak in the knees. If this was friendship then I never wanted to leave. Not when it felt so good.

"So, I suppose I seduced you with my womanly charms. Not surprising, really." she said as she waggled her eyebrows.

I wonder if friendship, trust, and goofiness could combine together. They had to if I could slap my palm on my forehead whilst simultaneously feeling my heart drum wildly in my chest.

"Save that talk for a less couth encounter. It doesn't suit you."

Still wearing that same cocky smirk, she began speaking again.

"As much as I'd like to take this to the bedroom.", she said as I blushed lightly, "there's something we need to discuss."

Sighing internally, I should have known this would have come sooner. A part of me just wanted to run and hide. To ignore it and hide away from the world. But I had to face reality. Ruby taught me that if nothing else.

"You're right. As much as I hate to admit it, you're right."

"Come on Weiss, let's go downstairs. We need to talk. And then you can decide what to do."

A small frown fell upon her face. Why did she have to frown. It was so unlike her.

"I suppose we must. As much as I hate to do so."

Ruby let out a sigh as she turned to head downstairs. Looking back over her shoulder, she paused.

"I know you may hate me after I tell you everything, Weiss. Its just that I need to tell you for our relationship to work. Nothing is going to be held back. The good and the bad and the ugly. Whatever that may entail for us."

Without another word, she made her way downstairs and into the kitchen. Pausing momentarily, hoping for the best while expecting the worst, I made my way downstairs. As I sank down into my seat, I felt like a prisoner awaiting execution. I was unsure if Ruby was my executioner or my saviour. I wasn't entirely sure if her words would bring ruin or triumph to our relationship. But I had to know. Suddenly, Ruby interrupted my internal monologue with her voice.

"I guess we gotta start now. We need this."

"Yes, I suppose so. Let's get this over with."

"I'll start where all good stories start. At the beginning. When I was little."

"That far back? Is that necessary?"

Closing her eyes for a moment, she began speaking again. "You'll understand why."

~0~

"Mommy! Mommy!" an 8-year-old Ruby called out to her mother.

"Yes, my little rose. What is it?" Summer Rose asked as she prepared a meal.

"Look what I have! I tried to show Yang but she was in her room with Blake!" She exclaimed as she held out the bright red flower she had plucked not five minutes earlier.

Turning around, the smile on her face suddenly dropped away. She suddenly ran over to Ruby and snatched the flower away?"

"Where did you get that? When did Dad let you outside?" She whisper-yelled with a hint of panic in her voice.

"Mooom. Why'd you take you my pretty flower?" Ruby whined

"Never mind. Just get up into your room right now. Dad and I need to have a chat." As she spoke she began to feverishly check the room and windows.

"But moooo-"

"NOW! Please, darling, just listen to mommy."

"Alright... I'm sorry for making you mad." Little Ruby said as she trudged up to her room.

"No, no little rose. Mother just overreacted that's all. I'm sorry. Mommy just got scared that's all."

"Alright. Ill just go in my room." She said as she turned around to climb the stairs.

She turned around one last time to talk to her momma. Alas, she had her back to Ruby as she spoke into her phone. Slowly closing her mouth, she felt the tears in her eyes begin to form as she went upstairs.

"Will it ever stop Yang?"

"I don't know lil sis. Come here." Yang said as she opened up her arms.

Quickly, jumping into the embrace, Ruby settled comfortably into Yang's warm and comforting embrace.

"Thanks."

"Any time lil Sis. What kind of big sis would I be if I didn't protect my lil sis?" Yang said with a small smile. Her smile was quickly transformed into a grimace when a particularly loud shout rang throughout the halls.

They had been arguing all night. Arguments like this were are and rarer still did the go on for so long. Their shouts reverberating through the walls and shaking both Ruby and the house to the core. It had been hours. As soon as Ruby went inside her room the shouting began. Yells, circular arguments, and unmentionable clatters all served to make Ruby as scared as could be. Would it ever end? Thankfully, Yang was there. Yang was always there. They spent an unknown amount of time in each others arms; comforting and caressing each other.

"Imma go to bed sis. I'm pretty tired now." Ruby stated with a small yawn

"Sure sis. Just holler if you need anythin." Yang replied. But she knew that, in this case, go to bed meant curl up with her cloak and alone time. Yang understood. Ruby always did that when she was scared.

Reluctantly, Yang broke apart from her sis and with a small hug and smile, sent her on her way as she turned to her room. Ruby did the same shortly after. To distract herself, Ruby began clutching the cloak her mother made for her since she was a little girl. Its comforting warmth and the memories associated with it brought Ruby comfort. Its thin fabric prevents the sounds from below from reaching her ears. Ruby just hoped that it would end soon.

Yawning quietly, she slowly made her way to her bedroom window to close the curtains. As she was doing so, she saw what appeared to be a shadow move across the yard. Strange, but little Ruby was far too tired to care. Quickly, she put on her night clothes, made her way to bed, and jumped under the covers. As she quietly whimpered and rolled around in her bed, she simply hoped that this argument would die down.

"...we blew it and it's all your fault."

"We both knew it wouldn't last forever. It had to give sometime."

"Well maybe if you had watched Ruby closer we would have been fine and the old man wouldn't be down our throats telling us to get out. And maybe Ruby could have had a normal life and she would never have known."

"Well excuse me for letting our daughter out to play..."

Ruby was slowly awoken by thundering footsteps and loud shouting outside her door. What was going on? Without warning, the door to her room burst open and her mom and dad rushed in with panicked expressions and dishevelled hair.

"Hey my little rose; we need to go for a vacation." her mom spoke to reassure her.

"Momma? Whats going on. Why are we going?" She replied groggily

Dadda slowly picked her up and tossed her over his shoulder."Don't worry.", her dada added, "We just need to go. You'll meet all sorts of people and faces. Won't that be exciting?"

"Dada? Where are we going?"

"Some place nice and new. We'll meet loads of new faces and you'll meet an old friend of mama's and papa's. He's super nice." He said as he picked up Ruby's cloak off of the floor.

"Friends? I like friends." Ruby said as she got rid of the last clutches of sleep from her mind.

"Yeah, it'll be awesome. Trust dada."

Quickly making their way downstairs, they were met with a sleepy Yang looking around. Ruby guessed she had been woken up too. From there Summer picked up Yang on her shoulder and they raced to the car. Securing Ruby in her booster seat and helping Yang into her seat; Tai threw open the garage door and made his way into the passenger seat while Summer hopped in the driver's side and gunned the car down the road and into the swallowing darkness.

"Mama,", Ruby peeped, " why didn't you close the door? Do you want animals to get in?"

Instead of Summer, Tai responded instead as Summer was busy driving at break neck speeds.

"It doesn't matter now. We're not gonna be back for a while." He replied while looking around them with fearful eyes.

Looking over, Ruby saw Yang had slowly drifted asleep again. Her head was being jostled by the bumps and fast turns the car was taking. Ruby was soon taking after her sister and was about to fall asleep when she noticed a nondescript black truck pull behind them.

"Sum, they're right on our tail!"

"I know, I know. I'll radio and see if anyone is around." She said as she pushed a series of buttons on the dashboard.

"You know there won't be. We're the only ones here for kilometres around"

"I know, I just want them to take care of the kids. If we do-"

Large headlights filled everyone's vision and a loud crunch could be heard as a transport truck slammed into the side of the car. Darkness, shouts, and creaking metal were the last things Ruby heard before her vision went black.

"GO GO GO!"

"GET THE KIDS!"

"WE CAN'T WIN A LONG FIGHT"

Slowly, Ruby opened her eyes to see the world had gone upside down. The sharp cracks of gunfire and yelling pierced her ear drums like a hot knife. A stabbing pain suddenly found its way to her mind as consciousness came back to her. Blood trickled off of her head and made a lake of crimson on the roof of the car below her. Glancing to the right, she saw Yang in the same position except for the fact that she hadn't woken up yet. Up front, the driver's side was empty as was the passenger's side. Twisted metal and shattered glass made up the prison she was contained in. It was a recipe for a panic attack. Ruby's breathing became laboured and her mind began to spin. What was going on? In the span of a few hours she had gone from living in perfect harmony now she was ensnared in a war! It was crazy!

Suddenly, the door was wrenched open by a mechanical device Ruby had never seen before. Both doors suffered this fate as pairs of hands and masked faces came in to cut Yang and Ruby down from their seat belts. Quickly, making their way out of the vehicle. They were pressed into Velcro and metal as they were carried out admits the firefight. Looking around, Ruby saw dead bodies littering the streets, gunfire from both sides, and, worst of all, her momma and dada were nowhere in sight.

"Listen, kid, can you here me?" The masked man said

"uh huh" Ruby replied dumbly from going into shock.

"Ah shit, shes went into shock. Kid, this is gonna give you a nasty headache, but I really don't care"

A sting was felt in Ruby's neck and suddenly her whole started to turn black. The last thing she saw was her dada's body being dragged away from the carnage by her momma.

Ringing ears met Ruby as she awoke with a jolt. Panting, she took in her surroundings. A white hospital bed with matching sheets was placed net to a heart monitor clipped onto her finger. Taking it off, a monotone tone was created by the machine. Surrounding her were many empty and identical beds. She was in what appeared to be a large tent held up by several wooden poles. A power strip in the corner of the room acted as a nexus for all of the wires and such. It leads outside to who knows where. Throwing off the covers and standing on wobbly legs, Ruby slowly walked toward the exit of the tent. Just as she was about to cross the threshold of the door, a man with long black hair and a pink streak in it came in. His name was Lie Ren according to at the name tag on his lab coat.

"Well, well. I see you are awake. How are you doing Ruby.?"

"Uhhh. Good, I suppose. I mean I don't know where I am or who you are or anything at all. Also, how'd you know my name? And where are momma and dada and sis?"

"Calm down. Everything will be revealed in time. You just need to talk to the old man. He'll know everything."

"Ok, but I really rea-'

" I don't have the answer to your questions. The old man will. I'll take you to him promptly." He said

Deciding it was best to remain quiet for now, she let Lie lead her out of the tent an into the open air. What she saw drew a gasp from her. A bustling network of tents surrounded her. People of all shapes and sizes milled in and between the tents. The ground was patches of dry grass worn down over time. There was nary a tree or sign of vegetation in sight.

"Come on, we must see him soon."

Weaving their way through the countless people and tents, they soon found their way to the largest tent Ruby had seen. It was guarded by 6 of the masked men from that night. Or however many nights ago it was.

"Uhh, quick question, how long was I out for?"

"Just a night. The drugs you weer given only act for a day or so but they usually cause nasty side effects. Thankfully, we purged the drug from your system before the side effects took place."

Digesting the info, Ruby quietly made her way into the tent as Lie pushed her in.

"This is as far as I go. Its up to you now." With that, he turned around and left as quickly as he entered

Audibly gulping, Ruby entered the tent and found herself. In a large area with a table and map. Around the table were several chairs. Only one of them was occupied. A white haired man with wire-frame glasses with cane and mug sat facing Ruby. He wore a dark grey suit with hints of green trim.

"Come in. Sit. We have lots to discuss."

Taking a seat, Ruby waited for the man to speak.

"To answer your concerns, your mom, sister, and dad are fine. Your dad is...taking some time off. You can see him soon. My name is Ozpin. As for what we are, we are an organization resisting the corruption of or society as a whole. We are dedicated to fighting the brainless, sheep-like, and otherwise false lives we have been force fed. You probably don't realize how bad others lives are as your parents are our top operatives. Your parents have been a part of this organization for as many years as I can remember. They were supposed to pull out last week as they had gained too much attention but circumstances beyond our control prevented this. A shame, really. A bit sooner and things would have gone of without a hitch. Thankfully, there was a team of resistance soldiers pulling out at the same time. With their help we rescued you and your family. Due to your parents status as resistance members, they've spared you the worst this world has to offer. I go out in the field occasion but most times I remain here and coordinate resistance efforts."

Wow. That was a lot to take in. Organizations, operatives, and mean things to say about our world?

"As much as I enjoy this thought, I need to ask a question. Do you wish to join us? Do you wish to fight corruption and evil in this broken world. Do you wish to become like you mother?"

~0~

"And I guess you know what I chose. I mean I'm here aren't I?"

As Ruby finished her tale, I was absolutely gobsmacked. That was something straight out of a fairy tale. Gods alive. How was that even real? Still, I had to say something as to not be rude.

"So, your dad. How was he?"

A hint of sadness graced Ruby's features as if the world was on her shoulders. It made me want to get rid of that expression no matter what.

"He died the night of the car crash. I went to his funeral two weeks after I met with Ozpin. My mom broke the news to me. Shes still doing work with Yang. Not for much longer though."

"And your work is what?"

"Helping people. Helping people escape this life they've been given. Allowing them a choice. We never force people to come. We simply give them a choice. A choice to live their life or to come with us and experience something new."

"So. I was one of those people you wanted to save?"

"Yes. Initially, when you talked to Ozpin, he put in the word and we watched you for a week. I don't know if you ever felt eyes on you but if you did that's why. That night when we met. It wasn't an accident. It was planned. Me bumping into you was on purpose. Not only that, but I learned later that the CG government has been lying to us. War is coming, Weiss. We're not sure when, but it is coming. To be safe, we have to leave within the week. Our camp is safe as our data suggests they are only going to target the cities with the bombs. But we definitely need to leave"

Wow. That was a lot to take in. It was all so..ridiculous. How Ruby would ever think this charged anything. I don't care if she fell form the sky. She was staying.

"If you wish to not see me again. I understand and I-"

Light laughter started emanating from me. It quickly turned into full-blown, gut-wrenching, tears-in-my-eyes laughter. I couldn't contain it any longer it was all so ridiculous. Hilarious even. How she could think that. Staring up into Ruby's eyes, I was met with the most confused expression on her face I'd ever seen. Containing my laughter, I wiped the tears from my eyes and looked Ruby in the eyes.

"Ruby Rose you absolute dolt. You had me worked up over nothing. If you thought that would ever change anything then you are sorely mistaken. We are together now."

A dopey smile spread over her face and her eyes began to water up. Wiping the tear away, she composed herself. How could she be this beautiful?

"I'm glad. I'm so so so glad Weiss. That makes me so happy you have no idea. However, there's one last thing I gotta say before this night is done."

"Lay it on me." I replied smoothly.

"Do you wish to join me? Us? In our quest to help others. To free as many people as possible before this war comes. We cant save everybody, but we can save as many as possible. I know that you're new to this life but you could be a massive help in freeing others. Your connections to the CG Burner centres could be invaluable. We have nobody like this. Plus, I want to be with you much as possible. If that's alright. I promise that I'll be your best partner in crime ever." She said with a light blush.

Gods, another choice? What was I to do? How could I choose?

This was going to be tough either way. Still, no matter what, I would be with Ruby. And that's what matters.

A/N: Hope you enjoyed! Please review and let me know of any mistakes! Also, shoutout to people who don't know what the opposite of in is and shoutout to White_Rose_Trash ad Enigma0434. They are great and deserve reviews.