Ah shit, here we go again

As per usual, started this months ago and finally finished it. I got the idea after watching the Dragon Prince season 2 and im like. oh. o wait. I can do something with this,,,,,,,

So here we go, enjoy

It had taken some time, but Team RWBY had convinced Uncle Qrow to allow the four to go out by themselves for a short outing; Ruby wanted more team bonding, just the four of them, after they finally touched down in Atlas. After buying new, warmer outfits (courtesy of the General), the team headed out of their admittedly large apartment and into the cold winds of Atlas.

Weiss had directed them to a small park almost in the centre of the city. The team was strolling through the Atlas Central Park talking and sharing stories of their time apart when Ruby heard it. While Yang told the valiant story of her beating up a man at the gas station, hurried footsteps were sounding off behind them and getting louder each second. Ruby turned her head and at the last second she tackled Weiss to the side and narrowly avoided a blade to her back.

"Ruby!" Weiss cried out. Blake was the quickest to retaliate and in a flash she unsheathed her new blade to slash at the attacker. The figure parried with their second blade and dashed away.

"What the hell?!" Yang reloaded her Ember Celica.

Ruby pulled herself and Weiss up off the ground and they all turned to face their attacker. Ruby grit her teeth.

"Tyrian," she growled as she pulled Crescent Rose off the back of her belt.

The man grinned at them and lifted his arms up as if in celebration. "I finally found you!" He bowed. "And may I say, you have gotten much faster since the last time we crossed paths!"

"What do you want?" Blake glared, leveling her sword to him.

He stretched out his arms as he laughed. "Well, my motivations have not changed! Although, I can tell the Rose has yet to mention me to you all." He dropped his arms and his eyes held a new, maniacal glint. "But it looks like she's rum out of time!"

Tyrian lunged at Ruby. He was almost unnaturally fast and slashing his blades towards her. Ruby sidesteps out of the way and without a second thought sent her scythe down at him. He spun around and stopped it in his tracks with his left blade. He booted Blake and Weiss away before they could even react and when Yang reeled her arm back for a punch, the man grabbed her arm and flung her aside.

He sent two sharp kicks to Ruby's face and was sent sprawling back.

Gambol Shroud whizzed through the air towards the faunus' head. He tilted his head so it flew by him; he took hold of the ribbon, and spun with all his power. He sent Blake flying into Yang, who tried and failed to properly catch her upon collision.

The grin on Tyrian's face was massive when he saw them land. He pulled out a round object from his coat and threw it as hard as he could towards them; it landed with a dull thump in the snow. He took out a fuse and pressed the button on it.

"No!" Ruby screamed.

Yang wrapped her arms around Blake as if to cover her when the explosion went off. The two were blasted into the air and sent flying far away.

"Smart man, he is!" Tyrian laughed. "I never thought that would actually work!"

Weiss summoned a glyph and used her dust to hurl shards of ice towards him. Tyrian sprinted forward, dodging ice as he went, while shooting his guns at her. Weiss had to quickly put up a barrier glyph, but it only made it easier for Tyrian to jump her. He vaulted over her, wrapped his tail around her ankle, and she was flung into the trees with a yelp.

Ruby used her semblance to speed towards her enemy. She reappeared in front of him and swung Crescent Rose down at him but he blocked it with both arms. He grinned at her and leaned forward, his voice held a dangerous growl. "Finally alone... now it's time for payback!"

He threw his arms up to knock Crescent Rose out of his way, and then kicked the young girl sending her flying back. She slammed into a tree and slid to the ground in a huff. She rubbed the back of her head in pain and tried to catch her breath when she heard a yell; her gaze shot up. It felt like she was moving in slow motion, as at the last possible second she threw herself to the side and narrowly missed the blades; they lodged into the tree trunk where her head had previously been. Ruby was on the ground with minimal time to do anything when Tyrian pounced.

A familiar chime sounded off, and by the time Ruby realized she was being pulled away she was at her destination. She was several metres away from Tyrian when she looked back and saw Weiss kneeling behind her. Her partner helped her stand and whipped out Myrtenaster.

"Where's Blake and Yang?" Ruby asked, keeping her eyes on the scorpion faunus.

"They're fighting another man just up ahead." As she said that they heard a small explosion. Probably Yang. "I sent a message to JNR," she whispered so their enemy wouldn't hear. "They said they would be here as fast as possible."

"Good job," Ruby praised. She hefted her scythe.

"Are you two done?" Tyrian groaned. "You know, you are so much more boring this time around!"

Ruby's gaze flickered to her partner for a moment. "Quicksilver."

Without even a nod, Weiss projected a glyph at Ruby's feet and the girl dash forward with enhanced speed. Tyrian slashed his arms in front of him, but at the last second Weiss created a series of new glyphs for Ruby to stop on and change directions. Weiss tilted it so Ruby jumped upwards into the next, then again so she was behind the scorpion faunus. She slashed her scythe at his back, relieved she got a hit in, but it was short-lived when her weapon was halted in place.

She took her eyes off Tyrian's face to see a healed tail wrapped around the handle of her weapon. She caught a glint of metal before she was thrown to the side.

Ruby groaned as she pulled herself back up again. "Got a new stinger?"

A menacing gleam appeared in his eye as he crouched, said stinger rearing upwards like a deathstalker. "I'm finally able to thank you for that."

Weiss used a glyph to shoot forward and stabbed at the man with her sword. He spun out of the way and aimed a kick towards her abdomen, which she blocked with another glyph. The glyph seemed to crawl up his ankle before it turned black and threw Tyrian a few metres away. Ruby compacted her scythe into a sniper and shot multiple rounds at Tyrian as Weiss stabbed her sword into the ground. A bright glyph appeared and slowly a small, lump of a figure emerged. Ruby grinned at her partner, and then along with the boarbatusk she spun towards the man in a burst of rose petals.

The petals barreled towards Tyrian at an alarming rate; with a growl, he aimed at the red blur and shot at her. The petals separated into three clusters and flew around him as the boarbatusk continued to speed from his front. Ruby reappeared and made another attempt at attacking his back with her scythe. Tyrian laughed as he blocked the Grimm with one arm and Ruby with the other. There was a chime of a glyph and Tyrian looked upwards.

This time, he wasn't quick enough.

Within a second Weiss was hovering over them on a glyph pointed downwards, Myrtenaster pulled back ready to deliver the blow. With a yell, she infused her blade with fire dust and sent it down onto Tyrian. It didn't pierce him, but he was so overcome by the heat that Ruby and the boarbatusk were able to overpower him. The Grimm slammed into his chest and Ruby raked her scythe across his spine. Weiss flipped around and kicked the faunus in the face with her heels. Tyrian was knocked over and his aura flickered. Ruby swung Crescent Rose down and Tyrian jumped as far away as he could.

Weiss stood up and the boarbatusk disappeared. Ruby brushed herself off. "Did you just kick him in the face?"

"Your sister is rubbing off on me."

Ruby snickered.

Tyrian got up off the floor with a growl. "Damn you," he spat. "Damn you!" His tail extended, a couple of clicks sounding off as it twitched and flinched around. "I am done playing around with you!"

He moved; faster than before. Ruby didn't even have time to think how that was possible. Tyrian was almost instantly behind them. Before Ruby could even turn around she felt herself get pushed down into the snow.

Then a shrill cry.

Her eyes shot up to see Weiss standing over her, her eyes wide in shock and pain. Myrtenaster fell from her limp hand to the ground. Ruby's gaze drifted down to see Tyrian's metal stinger imbedded in her abdomen. The vial of poison inside slowly draining. With a blood churning scream Ruby took up the rapier from the ground and threw herself at the man. She plunged the rapier through his gut, easily breaking through the last sliver of aura he had, and the faunus let out a gut wrenching wail.

"AH!" He howled. "YOU FUC—"

Ruby pulled out the sword and kicked him in his wound. Tyrian let out another wail and stumbled back several feet.

Ruby spun around to face her partner. Weiss' knees gave out and Ruby let out a gasp. She quickly wrapped her arms around her partner and helped her to her knees. The ex-heiress' eyes were screwed shut in pain and she was clutching her abdomen. She was breathing heavily and gasping at any small movement.

"W-Weiss!" Ruby panicked. "Don't worry, I'll fix this! I'll—!"

"You don't have time to do anything, bitch!"

The faunus charged at her again, blood seeping through his fingers of the hand that was covering his wound. An insane look flashed in his eyes that struck fear through the redhead. Ruby tried to cover Weiss as much as possible, and she shut her eyes.

Then she heard a gunshot.

She opened her eyes to see Tyrian had stopped in his tracks. When looking around she saw Jaune, her Uncle Qrow, Weiss' sister Winter, and maybe fifteen military bots were surrounding them.

"On the ground, now!" Winter ordered the faunus in a tone that radiated authority.

Tyrian growled. He took another step towards the partners, only to get three bullets to his chest. Ruby assumed electric dust was infused in the bullets because arcs of yellow sparks seemed to tangle around his body like webs. The man roared in a mix of anger and pain as he fell to his knees.

Ruby heard a wet cough and her eyes shot back to her partner. Weiss was shaking violently in her arms and she was gasping for breath.

"W-Weiss!"

It took a few seconds, but the girl's eyes finally focused on the redhead. A weak smile appeared on her face. "Th-thank me later..." she breathed between gasps.

The smile on her face was replaced with a grimace and her eyes shut tightly. Her arms squeezed around the middle to try and stop the pain. She was getting paler by the second and her breaths turned raspy. Ruby's eyes widened in panic and she felt tears start to form. She wrapped her partner in her arms carefully.

And she screamed.

Weiss was in excruciating pain. She thought she knew pain after the Arma Gigas gave her a scar so bad her aura couldn't heal it. She thought she knew pain when she had a burning javelin impale her through the abdomen and scorched her insides. But this...

She wouldn't wish this upon her worst enemy.

Ruby hadn't had time turn around. She didn't have time to block the attack.

But Weiss did.

Weiss had pushed Ruby away so she could protect her, taking the brunt of the attack. They seemed to have a thing going back and forth, saving each other. This time was Weiss' turn to save Ruby. Now she was in the most pain she had ever been in. She didn't regret it, it was just a fact.

Weiss felt as though her veins were pumping white-hot fire throughout her body. She felt a heavy amount of pressure on her abdomen as if an anvil was sitting on top of her, all the while her head felt lighter than a feather. Whenever she was jostled the pain got worse and worse. The slightest movement made the fire burn hotter and the weight on her chest grow heavier.

Weiss thought she began screaming at one point; she wasn't able to hear it; she could just feel her throat tearing. All she could hear was a deafening ringing in her ears.

Weiss felt herself being lifted and shifted around. Her screams scraped against her throat. The flames became too much to bear; the pressure was suffocating.

She fell unconscious.

By the time they finally got Weiss to hospital Ruby ran out of tears. Hearing her partner scream in agony until she passed out was absolutely heart wrenching. When she finally slipped into unconsciousness Ruby could still hear her partner's wails ringing in her ears. After the stress of getting Weiss to safety and making sure Yang and Blake were okay, finally Ruby was able to sit down on a chair beside Weiss' bed.

Yang and Blake were standing on the other side of the bed with, surprisingly, only minor injuries; their auras took the brunt of the explosion. The two had been picked up and flown to the hospital in a separate military airship, their opponent missing. When the two learnt what happened to Weiss they had immediately started to panic; Yang tried to get into the operation room and had to be held back by Ruby, Blake, Qrow, and a passing nurse. Blake had to take her outside to calm down.

A few hours later Weiss was taken out of the OR and brought to a standard patient's room that everybody was allowed in. Originally that doctor thought Weiss shouldn't have visitors for at least a day, but Winter... persuaded him, and they could all stay. That was how Ruby found herself sitting beside her partner for six hours.

The redhead had her head in her hands, breathing heavily. How could I let this happen? Ruby grit her teeth. Now Weiss is suffering because of me.

Every time she heard her partner gasp, the fist on her heart closed a bit more. It was painful.

Ruby took her head out of her palms and set her eyes on Weiss. She was still incredibly pale; paler than Ruby has ever seen her. The dark circles under her eyes were so dark they looked bruised, and her eyes kept moving under her eyelids as if she was experiencing a nightmare. Her fingers were twitching and every once in a while and she would whine.

While Atlas was far ahead in technological advancements, they weren't able to neutralize all of the poison's effects. They were able keep her alive for the time being, but since it was such a unique poison they couldn't neutralize it altogether. Not only that, but she still looked like she was in an incredible amount of pain. The doctor said that if her aura and white blood cells were capable of fighting the poison by itself she should be able to survive, but it's ultimately 'up to Weiss.' She has also been unconscious since they left the park, not even waking up after the surgery.

Rub was worried, scared, and able to do nothing but sit down and hope.

It was dark. So incredibly dark.

It was also silent. Weiss hated silence.

After growing up in a manor that was far too big for such few people that lived there, she had grown used to it. Then she had grown to despise it, for it just reminded her of how alone she truly was there.

Weiss kept turning in all directions, hoping to find a source of light. But there was nothing; she was alone. The only sound was her echoing footsteps.

Until she felt a heavy hand come down on her shoulder.

Weiss yelped and spun around but nobody was there. Instead, she found herself in the hallways of the Schnee Manor. A spike of anxiety hit her. The blue and white walls seemed to be close on her at an alarming rate. Panicking, Weiss stumbled backwards and started sprinting down the hall in the opposite direction. All she could hear was her heavy breathing and her loud heels clacking on the tiles.

But there was a shrill screech and suddenly she found herself on the ground clutching her ears.

"No no no..." Weiss gasped. "Damn it!"

The high pitch sound of claws dragging across the tile pierced her eardrums. Weiss struggled to get to her feet; it felt as if there were weights tied to her limbs to keep her pinned down. She nervously glanced over her shoulder and the hallway was slowly being consumed by blackness. Red eyes were glaring through the pitch. A scream was stuck in her throat.

All she could feel was despair, pain, terror. She was scared, so scared. Screaming that was not her own, nor the grimm's, found her ears. A sob threatened to burst out and tears formed in her eyes as she thought of her partner.

When Weiss lifted her head again she saw a familiar red cloak in the distance. Her feet slipped from under her twice before she was finally able to stand enough to start moving. She quickly stumbled down the hallway until she tripped over her own feet – she was barely able to catch herself against one of the pillars. A door across the hall swung open with a resounding bang. Weiss turned her head to look down the hall to see those things still stalking towards her. With a yelp, she pushed herself off the wall and staggered to the doorway. She slammed into the door frame, grabbed the handle, and slammed it shut again.

The silence returned, but this time she was thankful for it. Again, all she could hear was her own heavy breathing echoing against the walls. Her heartbeat was going a thousand miles per minute and it felt as if it was about to beat out of her chest. An odd feeling of peace started to wash over her and her breathing finally began to level out.

The sound of leather being pulled from cloth resounded behind her.

The fear returned instantly.

She was too afraid to turn around.

"Ruby, you need to sleep."

Ruby lifted her head from Weiss' trembling shoulder, careful to mind the tubes and IV connected to her. "I have to be here when she wakes up."

Yang's eyes were filled with pity. She sighed. "Ruby—"

"I have to be here!"

Yang looked taken aback. She crossed her arms and looked at her sister sternly. "You need sleep, Ruby. If Weiss wakes up—"

"When."

"—when she wakes up," she stressed. "She won't want you to be exhausted because you were up for hours waiting for her."

Ruby just gripped the bed sheets on her fists. "She's like this because of me." Her eyes shifted to look at the unconscious girl's face. "The least I could do is stay up for her so she doesn't wake up alone." Ruby gently let go of the blanket and laid a hand on Weiss'. She rubbed her thumb across her knuckles. "You know she hates being alone."

Yang sighed and walked across the room. She put a hand on her shoulder and tried to pull Ruby back to look at her, but her eyes were focused on Weiss. "Ruby, look at me."

When she didn't look up, Yang knelt down beside her sister. She gently touched her cheek with her finger tips and turned her head. She wasn't met with any resistance. Ruby looked incredibly tired; she had bags under her eyes and her eyelids were half-lidded like they were threatening to close. She hasn't slept since her fight, and was absolutely exhausted.

"Sis, you can't fault yourself for this. You didn't cause this."

Ruby's gaze shifted to the side. "I couldn't stop it, either."

Yang placed her fingers under her chin to lift her head again. "Hey, she's gonna pull through. And when she does, no more blaming yourself. You didn't do this to her, so stop acting like you did."

Ruby stared at Yang for a moment. Then the tears started to form and her lower lip trembled.

"Y-yang..." She sniffed.

Yang pulled her in for a hug, wrapping her arms around her tightly. She rocked her sister back and forth as she wept in her arms.

"... I love her..." She choked.

"I know."

"Turn around." The voice demanded.

Weiss was too afraid. Her heart rate picked up again.

"I told you to turn around!"

A familiar pang of terror rang through her as she spun around. Her arms were behind her back and her head hung low as her father stalked towards her. The metal buckle on the black leather belt in his hand glinted in the light. He was standing right in front of her and Weiss felt as if she were twelve again.

"F-father, I—"

"Shut your mouth!" Weiss shrunk back immediately. The man towered over her. "How dare you embarrass me like that?! Do you want everything I've worked for to go down the drain?!"

She stayed silent this time. The man roughly grabbed her upper arm pulled, throwing her to the ground behind him.

Weiss barely had time to catch herself before she face planted into the cold tile floor. Pain shot up her wrist when she landed. Behind her, she heard the sound of cloth being pulled as if he were loosening his tie. Weiss flipped herself over so she could face her father again. He towered over her, his form covered in shadows. All she could make out were his eyes; a wicked gleam shining through the dark.

"Now," his voice eerily calm. "Stay still, like a good girl."

The faint memory of glowing red eyes and shrieks played back in her mind. Her body froze and her chest started to ache.

Her father pulled his arm back, the belt buckle clinking.

He swung.

She shielded her face with her arms as a last line of defence.

A soft thud was heard; the clink of the belt rang again, but she felt no impact.

Hesitantly, Weiss lowered her arms and opened her eyes. Her gaze trailed up from the ground up.

Standing over her was a figure grabbing hold of her father's wrist. The shadow pushed against the man harshly, who stumbled back almost tripping over his own feet. Her father growled at the figure and held his wrist with his other hand.

"What the hell?!"

The figure slowly turned to face Weiss. What was previously shrouded in shadows was brought to light.

It was her. But it was different.

The Weiss currently standing before her looked less ragged and worn. She had life on her eyes and held herself higher.

She looked confident.

She's everything Weiss always wanted to be, but was too afraid to become.

The woman standing held out her hand to Weiss. "Take my hand."

Weiss felt as though she were entranced as she lifted her hand. She felt as though somebody was guiding her hand upwards into her doppelganger's hand, helping her. When her hand finally closed around the others, Weiss was pulled upwards until she was standing on her feet again.

The clone just smiled at her, not letting go of her hand. But she heard shuffling from behind the clone, followed by a low growl.

"Weiss..."

Her eyes flicked to stare at the rising form of her father. His grip tightened on the leather as his brooding shape grew tall. Weiss took a step back but the confident figure kept her from moving.

"He isn't going to hurt you."

Weiss' hand started to tremble again.

The grip on her hang tightened, but not painfully so.

"You are safe," the clone said. "You are strong. Stronger than he is."

Weiss shook her head. Her voice trembled, "I-I'm not..."

"You are." She stressed. "He is the weak one. You know this."

Weiss kept shaking her head. The foreboding figure of her father towered over them. Weiss stepped back in fear, but she felt a hand stop her. She turned her head slightly to the side to see a red cloak flowing softly from behind her.

Everything went quiet, and she could finally hear herself think.

Weiss turned her head to face her father again, her hand tightening around her doppelgangers. Her eyes shifted to look at the clone properly. The double nodded confidently at her, and with a grin she disappeared like a smoke into the darkness.

She felt a small nudge from the hand on her back, before she was alone with her father.

A growl sounded off. "You get over here right now," Jacques snarled.

She drew in a breath, and at long last said the word she's always wanted to say to her father:

"...No."

"I beg your pardon?"

"I said no!"

The belt was raised again in the air, but this time Weiss was ready. Jacques swung the belt, but this time it was stopped by Weiss herself.

A chime sounded through the room and a glyph was surrounding his arm, keeping it from moving. Her father yanked on his arm, but it wouldn't budge.

"You cannot control me anymore..."

He yelled at her. "You are nothing! Nothing without me!"

"No," Weiss breathed. "You are nothing. Nothing without me, or Whitley or Winter. Without mother, without this fortune, you are nothing."

Jacques started to shrink back down to size. When he wrenched his arm free, the belt in his hand caught fire and burned away in an instant.

He stood before Weiss, but he looked less terrifying and more pathetic.

"You brat! I-"

"You stole the company from Grandfather," she snapped. "You stole mother's will. You stole our childhoods from us." The roles reversed and she started stepping towards him, while he stumbled back. "You beat us and manipulated us. You made us fear for our lives..."

Jacques tripped and fell onto the ground. His suit disheveled and the fire that blazed in his eyes dimmed to a weak flicker.

Weiss glared down at him. "You are nothing but a petty thief."

Jacques gaped at her. His mouth open and closed like a fish out of water. Out of his domain.

"I am no longer your puppet."

The man screamed and tried to attack her but much like the belt he once held, he too caught fire. His screams in anger turned into wails of pain as he burned away, leaving Weiss standing back in a dark abyss.

Ruby had fallen asleep in her chair while sitting with Weiss.

It had been just over a day and Ruby couldn't keep her head up after Yang had left that first time. She passed out beside Weiss, her head resting on the bed beside the girl's arm. Her fingers were intertwined with her partner's as she slept.

She was awoken by a noise coming from the bed. Ruby had gotten used to the constant beeping of the machines Weiss was hooked up to, but this was a new sound. Ruby heard the sound of ruffling of sheets coming from the bed. She felt groggy and used her free hand to scratch her head. When she heard another movement she felt wide awake. Her eyes snapped fully open and she stared at the girl on the bed.

Weiss was groaning and shifting around, kicking her legs. Her grip tightened on Ruby's hand.

"Eh-!" Ruby shot out of her chair with enough force to topple it over. "W-Weiss!"

The bedridden girl's eyes were squeezed shut and she was breathing heavily again. Ruby started to calmingly rub her shoulder. "H-hey, you're okay! Weiss you're okay! Please I- uh-"

I don't know what to do!

"Please, Weiss," Ruby cried. Tears threatened to fall and her voice trembled. "Wake up, please."

After a few moments of nothing, tears fell from her eyes as she dropped her head onto Weiss' shoulder.

There was a loud gasp and Weiss jolted. Ruby flung her head up to see her partner's eyes open – barely open, but still open. She was breathing heavily, trying to catch her breath, but she was awake.

Ruby couldn't help but stare at Weiss. Seeing her partner awake filled her with so much relief and joy she flung her arms around her and hugged her tightly.

"W-Weiss!" Ruby sobbed into her chest. "I-I'm so glad you're okay!"

Weiss blinked a few times before her eyes properly focused on Ruby.

"R-Ruby?" Her voice was scratchy and tired. She felt weak – probably an after effect from the poison - but she was still able to wrap her arms around her partner to return the hug.

Ruby sniffled. "I-I'm so sorry, I-"

"Why are you sorry, dolt?" Weiss lifted a hand to lightly bat at the back of Ruby's head.

"I-I should have kept you safe! You got hurt because of me!"

"Stop that." Weiss' voice sounded as firm as it could get in her condition. When Ruby leaned back to look at her in the eyes, Weiss wiped her tear-stained cheeks. "I wouldn't have done it any differently. Besides," Weiss smirked at Ruby cheekily. "It was my turn to save you. You still owe me a thank you."

Ruby stared at her for what felt like an hour before breaking out into giggles. Ruby cupped Weiss' face and leaned forward, pressing a gentle kiss to her lips.

Ruby nervously pulled back, hesitation clear on her eyes. "Was... was that okay?"

After a moment of shock, Weiss smiled softly at her partner. "More than okay."

She lightly grabbed the collar of Ruby's cloak and pulled her closer, both were savouring the kiss.

"Weiss! You're awake!" A loud voice boomed through the room.

The two pulled apart quickly and spun their heads to face the door. Yang stood there with a smug grin while Blake stood beside her; her smile more kind.

"I-I'm glad you two are okay," Weiss stuttered sheepishly. Both girls were blushing as red as Ruby's cloak.

"We're good!" Yang crossed her arms. "It looks like you're doing more than well-"

"YANG!" Weiss squeaked.

Ruby just hurried her face into Weiss' shoulder and Blake face palmed.

It looks like everything is starting to go back to normal.

Hope you enjoyed

I wanted Weiss to still be able to get through the nightmare thing on her own but also there's no harm in Ruby giving a helping nudge, amiright folks?