Chapter Text
"This was reckless, Ruby," Weiss snapped, her boots crunching against the dirt path as they walked. "We should have waited at least another night to prepare. This isn’t just some minor skirmish—we have no idea what we’re walking into!"
Ruby huffed, crossing her arms as she kept pace beside Weiss. "People are in danger, Weiss. Right now. If we waited until tomorrow, who knows how many more would get hurt or worse? We don’t always have the luxury of time."
Weiss let out a frustrated sigh, pinching the bridge of her nose. "And we don’t have the luxury of knowing what we’re getting ourselves into, either! Strategy matters, Ruby. We barely had time to gather intelligence, and you insisted we move out anyway. I understand wanting to help, but you’re acting like an impulsive child!"
Ruby stopped walking abruptly, turning sharply to face Weiss. Her silver eyes were ablaze with emotion, her jaw set. "Impulsive?! That’s what you think this is? That I’m just running in without thinking?"
Weiss, caught off guard by Ruby’s sudden stop, halted as well, exhaling sharply. "That’s exactly what I think this is. You always do this, you act first, consequences second! It’s irresponsible!"
Ruby took a step forward, her fists clenched at her sides. "So what? We should have just stayed back and twiddle our thumbs while people get slaughtered? What if it were Atlas? Would you have waited if it were your people?"
Weiss stiffened, anger flashing in her ice-blue eyes. "That is not the same thing-"
"It is the same thing!" Ruby shot back. "It’s always the same thing! Innocent people are in danger, and we have the power to do something about it. I refuse to sit back just because the timing isn’t perfect. We’re Huntresses, Weiss. This is what we do!"
Weiss’s mouth opened and closed, her hands trembling at her sides as she struggled to find the right words. She doesn’t understand. She never understands.
"Being a Huntress doesn’t mean throwing yourself into danger without a plan! It doesn’t mean dragging your team into something they aren’t ready for! I’m responsible for you, Ruby!"
Ruby flinched at that, her expression flickering with hurt before she masked it with defiance. "You don’t own me, Weiss. You’re my partner, not my babysitter."
"Then act like my partner and listen to me for once!" Weiss snapped, her voice raw. "Do you think I like scolding you? Do you think I enjoy always having to reel you back in before you get yourself killed?!"
Ruby’s lips pressed together in a thin line, her breath uneven. "No. I think you don’t trust me."
Weiss reeled back as if she had been slapped. "That’s not-"
"It is true," Ruby interrupted. "You always act like I’m some reckless idiot who doesn’t care about consequences, but I do. I just... I just don’t want to waste time when lives are on the line. If that makes me reckless in your eyes, then fine. But I will not stand by and do nothing."
For a moment, neither of them spoke. The wind rustled through the trees around them, the distant cries of Grimm echoing in the background. Weiss could feel her heart pounding, the weight of unspoken words settling between them like a thick fog.
Finally, Weiss exhaled, running a hand through her hair. "Just... promise me you’ll be careful. Please."
Ruby’s expression softened, and she sighed, her tense posture relaxing just slightly. "I promise, Weiss. But I need you to trust me."
Weiss didn’t answer right away. Her chest ached with something unspoken, something she wasn’t ready to voice. Finally, she nodded, and they resumed their march toward the battlefield.
Neither of them knew that this mission would change everything.
The battlefield was pure chaos. The clash of metal against bone rang out through the desolate wasteland, accompanied by the violent crackle of Dust-infused explosions and the desperate cries of Huntsmen and Huntresses struggling to hold the line. The stench of burned fur and scorched earth choked the air, mingling with the acrid tang of blood. Shadows loomed through the smoke, monstrous forms with glowing red eyes lunging from the darkness, their guttural roars piercing through the cacophony of battle.
Weiss Schnee moved like a phantom through the fray, her form a blur of pale blue and white against the carnage. Myrtenaster spun in her grip, its blade flashing as she carved a path through the advancing Grimm. She was fast, elegant—every movement precise, every strike calculated. Yet, despite her training, despite years of relentless drills and combat experience, the sheer number of enemies pressing in around them was overwhelming. For every Beowolf she cut down, two more emerged from the shadows. For every strike that found its mark, another creature lunged, forcing her to pivot, to parry, to keep moving.
She and Ruby had been separated from the others. It wasn’t supposed to be like this. This was meant to be a routine skirmish—nothing they hadn’t handled before. The mission brief had been simple: clear out a nest of Grimm near the abandoned village and ensure the surrounding area was safe for the remaining civilians. Standard procedure. But something had gone terribly wrong. The Grimm weren’t just lurking in the village ruins—they had been waiting. Watching. And when the team arrived, the ambush was already in motion.
Intel they hadn’t received proved to be desperately needed. The enemy was stronger, smarter. A horde of Alpha-class Grimm surged from the ruins, creatures far more vicious than anticipated. Beringels with reinforced bone plating, massive Ursai with jagged spikes protruding from their backs, and worst of all—an Apathy lurking in the distance, its eerie, droning wail creeping into Weiss’s bones like ice. The tide was turning against them, and fast.
Weiss sidestepped a lunging Beowolf, driving Myrtenaster through its skull before kicking its lifeless body away. Her breath came in sharp, measured exhales as she activated a glyph beneath her feet, propelling herself upward just as a Deathstalker’s stinger smashed into the ground where she had stood mere seconds before. She twisted midair, her blade singing as she sent a flurry of rapier thrusts into the beast’s armored hide. Sparks erupted from the impact points—too thick. She needed a weak spot.
Where was Ruby?
Panic clawed at Weiss’s throat, but she shoved it down, her grip on Myrtenaster tightening. She caught a glimpse of crimson through the thick of battle—a blur of red petals weaving between the Grimm with impossible speed. Crescent Rose cleaved through a Beringel’s arm in a spray of black ichor, the silver scythe a deadly arc of motion as Ruby spun, reloading mid-swing with a metallic click. She was holding her own, but Weiss could see it—the exhaustion creeping into her movements, the ever-so-slight hesitation that came when she dodged just a fraction too late.
Weiss pushed forward, cutting down another Beowolf as she fought to reach her. “Ruby!” she called, her voice barely carrying over the noise. Ruby’s head snapped up, silver eyes locking onto her. Relief flickered across her face, but it was fleeting—because in that moment, Weiss saw it.
A hulking figure rising behind Ruby. “Behind you!” Weiss screamed, lunging forward, but she was too far away.
The Alpha Beringel roared, its massive fist already swinging down toward Ruby. Time slowed to a crawl. Weiss barely had time to react before she sent out a glyph beneath Ruby’s feet, pushing her just out of the way as the beast’s fist crashed into the ground. The force of the impact sent Ruby tumbling, but she recovered quickly, rolling onto her feet with a sharp inhale.
“Thanks!” she shouted, giving Weiss a breathless grin before launching herself back into the fight.
Weiss exhaled sharply, feeling her pulse hammering against her ribs. She didn’t have time to revel in the relief—more Grimm were surging toward them, and they were running out of options.
“We need to regroup!” Weiss yelled, slashing through another Beowolf. “We can’t keep this up forever!”
Ruby nodded, twisting her weapon into its rifle form and firing a series of explosive rounds into a pack of charging Creeps. The blasts sent dust and debris flying, briefly obscuring them from sight. “I saw a clearing back that way!” she called, pointing with her free hand. “If we can make it—”
A piercing shriek cut her off. The Apathy.
The sound sent an immediate wave of exhaustion crashing through Weiss’s limbs, her energy draining like water through cupped hands. Her knees nearly buckled, the weight of her weapon suddenly unbearable. She gritted her teeth, forcing herself to stay upright. Not now. Not here. She refused to go down like this. But the Grimm knew. They could sense it—weakness, vulnerability.
They came at her all at once. Weiss barely had time to react before a Beowolf lunged, claws outstretched. She raised Myrtenaster in a desperate attempt to parry, but her movements were sluggish. Too slow. The creature’s claws raked against her aura, sending a jolt of pain through her body. She stumbled back, vision blurring. She could hear Ruby shouting her name, but the sound was distant, like it was coming from underwater.
Just as the Beowolf reared back for another strike a blur of red and silver shot past her. Crescent Rose gleamed in the dim light as Ruby severed the beast’s head with a single, decisive slash. She landed beside Weiss, breathing hard, sweat dampening her bangs.
“Stay with me, Weiss,” Ruby said, her voice firm despite the worry in her eyes.
Weiss clenched her jaw, nodding. She wouldn’t let this be the end. Weiss grit her teeth, spinning on her heel as she dispatched another Grimm with a precise thrust of her rapier. She barely had time to recover before another lunged at her. She lifted Myrtenaster to parry, but she was too slow. The weight of exhaustion was dragging at her limbs, and she knew that she wasn’t going to make it in time.
Another blur of red. "Weiss! Look out!"
From out of nowhere Ruby slammed into her, shoving her out of the way just as a monstrous claw slashed through the air where Weiss had been standing. The strike never reached her- but it did reach Ruby.
Weiss hit the ground hard, barely processing what had happened until she heard Ruby’s strangled gasp. Her head snapped up, ice-blue eyes widening in horror as she saw Ruby, her small frame crumpled against the dirt, blood spreading rapidly across her cloak.
"Ruby!"
Weiss scrambled toward her, ignoring the remaining Grimm as she fell to her knees beside her partner. Ruby's silver eyes were wide, unfocused, her lips parting as though trying to say something. Blood trickled from the corner of her mouth, and Weiss felt her own breath catch in her throat.
"No, no, no," Weiss whispered frantically. "Stay with me, Ruby! You hear me? Help is coming, you just need to hold on!" She pressed her hands against the wound, desperately trying to slow the bleeding. Ruby's body trembled beneath her touch, and Weiss could feel the warmth of her life slipping away far too quickly.
"You idiot," Weiss choked out, her voice breaking. "Why would you do that?!"
Ruby smiled weakly, her fingers twitching as if she wanted to reach for Weiss but no longer had the strength to do so. "Because you're... worth it," she murmured, her voice barely above a whisper before her eyes fluttered closed.
"Ruby!" Weiss screamed, shaking her. "Ruby, wake up! Please!"
Her own voice was distant in her ears, drowned out by the frantic pounding of her heart. She barely noticed when reinforcements arrived, barely registered Yang’s devastated scream as she rushed to her sister’s side. All Weiss could focus on was the limp body in her arms and the crushing weight of guilt pressing against her chest.
The air inside the medivac was thick with the stench of blood, but Weiss barely noticed. All she could see was Ruby—pale, lifeless, her chest barely rising beneath the medical equipment desperately trying to keep her stable. The rhythmic beep of the monitors was supposed to be reassuring, proof that Ruby was still alive, but to Weiss, it felt like a cruel mockery.
Her hands shook as she pressed them over the wound on Ruby’s abdomen, as if sheer will alone could hold her together. "Stay with me," she pleaded, voice breaking, raw from the screams that had torn from her throat on the battlefield. "You have to stay with me. Do you hear me, Ruby? You don’t get to leave. Not like this. Not now."
But there was no answer. Ruby didn’t so much as twitch.
Weiss’s breath came in short, uneven gasps. This wasn’t happening. It couldn’t be happening. She had seen Ruby take hits before—Grimm, bullets, blades—but she had always gotten back up. Always.
Not this time. This time, Ruby wasn’t waking up.
Her vision blurred, but she blinked the tears away, forcing herself to focus. She had to do something, anything. The medics were working as fast as they could, but it wasn’t enough. She had to help, had to stop the bleeding, had to—
A hand closed gently over her wrist.
"Weiss," Blake’s voice was soft but firm. "Let them do their job. You need to breathe."
Weiss wrenched her arm away. "No, I—I can’t just—"
Blake caught her again, this time more insistently. "You’re not helping like this."
"Blake, let go!" Weiss snapped, her voice shrill with panic. She couldn’t step away. She couldn’t leave Ruby. If she did, something terrible would happen—something even worse than what was already happening.
Yang’s hand suddenly landed on her shoulder, gripping tightly. Weiss turned, expecting resistance, but what she found in Yang’s face wasn’t anger. It was pain. And understanding.
"Come here," Yang murmured, and before Weiss could protest, strong arms wrapped around her, pulling her close. Weiss stiffened for a moment, her body trembling, her mind screaming at her to fight it, to push away and return to Ruby’s side. But then she felt it—Yang’s heartbeat against her own, the way Yang’s arms tightened ever so slightly as if to ground her, to remind her that she wasn’t alone.
And suddenly, Weiss collapsed into her, clutching at Yang’s jacket like it was the only thing keeping her from falling apart completely.
"She’s not waking up," Weiss choked out, her voice barely above a whisper. "What if—what if she never—"
Yang shushed her gently, pressing her chin against the top of Weiss’s head. "She’s strong, Weiss. She’s stronger than all of us."
Weiss squeezed her eyes shut, but it didn’t stop the tears from slipping free. "I should have—"
"Stop," Yang interrupted, her voice thick with emotion. "Don’t do that to yourself. Not right now."
Weiss wanted to argue, but she didn’t have the strength. So she just buried herself in the warmth of Yang’s embrace and let herself shake.
Meanwhile, across the medivac, Blake had quietly taken Weiss’s place at Ruby’s side. She reached out hesitantly, fingers brushing against Ruby’s cold hand before curling around it.
She swallowed, leaning in slightly, voice barely more than a whisper. "Ruby, please. You have to wake up."
Silence.
Blake inhaled sharply, pressing Ruby’s hand between her own. "We need you." The beeping of the monitors remained unchanged. Blake bowed her head, closing her eyes. "I need you." Still, there was nothing.
A soft breath escaped Blake’s lips, but she didn’t move away. Instead, she held Ruby’s hand just a little tighter and kept whispering, hoping—begging—that somehow, somewhere, Ruby could hear her.
Darkness.
It stretched endlessly in all directions, pressing down on her, suffocating her. Ruby floated somewhere in between, weightless yet sinking deeper, unable to claw her way back up. Somewhere far away, she could still hear echoes of the real world—the rhythmic beeping of a heart monitor, the occasional shuffling of feet, the soft murmurs of voices she couldn’t quite make out. But none of it felt real. It was distant, like a dream she was barely holding onto.
What felt real were the voices in her head. Weiss’s voice. Sharp, biting words sliced through the silence, looping over and over in her mind like a cruel lullaby.
"You’re so childish, Ruby."
A flash of memory—Weiss standing before her, arms crossed, a disapproving frown on her lips. The look in her eyes, that withering disappointment, cut deeper than any blade ever could. Ruby had been trying to make her laugh, to ease the tension after a rough mission. But Weiss hadn’t laughed. She had sighed, shaking her head, and walked away.
The scene shifted. Another moment, another wound.
"You just don’t take things seriously! No wonder nobody trusts you with important decisions."
Ruby flinched, curling in on herself. She remembered that fight vividly. They had been arguing over strategy, and she had made a suggestion—one she thought was good, one she thought might help. But Weiss had dismissed it outright, brushing her off like she was a foolish child playing pretend. It had hurt more than Ruby had let on.
"I don’t have time to babysit you."
Cold. Dismissive. Weiss hadn’t even looked at her when she said it, too focused on her scroll as she studied battle reports. Ruby had laughed it off at the time, trying to ignore the sting, but now the words wrapped around her like chains, dragging her deeper into the abyss.
"You’re reckless. You don’t think. You just rush in and expect everything to work out. One day, that’s going to get you killed."
Maybe that day had finally come.
A strangled sob echoed in the darkness, a sound so raw and broken that it barely felt human. Was it hers? She didn’t know anymore. She didn’t know anything anymore. The weight of all those words—Weiss’s words—pressed down on her like an avalanche, suffocating, inescapable. They seeped into every fiber of her being, staining her, drowning her in the awful realization that maybe—just maybe—Weiss had been right all along.
Maybe she really was nothing more than a reckless idiot who never thought things through.
Maybe she was a burden.
Maybe she had never been anything more than an inconvenience, a childish, naive fool that Weiss had been forced to endure rather than someone Weiss had truly cared for.
The thought carved through her like a blade, twisting, digging, hollowing her out from the inside. Her stomach churned, and if she had the strength, she would have curled in on herself, trying to make herself as small as possible, trying to disappear. But she couldn’t even do that. She was weightless, lost in an abyss of her own making, trapped in the darkness of her own mind.
Had she been forcing herself into Weiss’s life, desperately clinging to the idea that she mattered? Had she been so blind, so foolish, that she never saw the truth? That Weiss had never truly wanted her around in the first place? That maybe, just maybe, Weiss had only tolerated her out of some misplaced sense of obligation?
No wonder nobody trusts you.
The words slammed into her with the force of a freight train, stealing what little breath she had left. They weren’t just Weiss’s words anymore. They were hers. They were Yang’s. They were Blake’s. They were the voices of every person she had ever let down, every person she had ever failed. They were the echoes of every mistake she had ever made, stretching back as far as she could remember.
Penny, torn apart before her very eyes, because Ruby had hesitated.
Pyrrha, killed by Cinder’s hand, because Ruby had been too weak to stop it.
Weiss, scarred by all the times Ruby had dragged her into danger without thinking.
Every failure, every loss, every misstep, they piled on top of her, burying her beneath their crushing weight. She had tried so hard to be a hero, to do the right thing, but had she ever really succeeded? Had she ever truly made a difference? Or had she simply stumbled from one disaster to the next, leaving destruction in her wake, forcing the people she loved to pick up the pieces?
Her breathing—if she was even still breathing—grew shallow, each inhale sharp and uneven. She wanted to cry, but the tears wouldn’t come. She felt empty, hollow in a way that went beyond the physical, beyond anything she had ever known. It wasn’t pain, not really. It was the absence of anything at all. An aching void where hope had once been.
Maybe it would be easier to just… let go.
The thought drifted in, quiet at first, like a whisper at the edge of her consciousness. But the longer it lingered, the more it solidified, becoming something real, something certain.
If she let go, she wouldn’t have to feel this anymore. She wouldn’t have to bear the weight of her failures. She wouldn’t have to be Ruby Rose—the reckless, foolish girl who never thought before she acted, the burden that everyone else had to carry.
Weiss wouldn’t have to deal with her anymore.
Her team wouldn’t have to keep saving her from her own mistakes.
The people she loved wouldn’t have to suffer because of her.
They would all be better off…
The realization settled over her like a cold shroud, and for the first time, it didn’t scare her. It didn’t feel wrong. It felt like the truth.
Maybe she had never been meant to be the hero. Maybe she had never been meant to be anything at all.
She closed her eyes—or maybe they had already been closed, she couldn’t tell anymore. The darkness was all-encompassing, wrapping around her like a blanket, pulling her deeper, deeper, deeper still.
No more pain. No more failure. No more burdening the people she loved.
The beeping of the heart monitor slowed.
The darkness around her thickened, pressing in, suffocating.
I’m sorry.
Then everything went silent.
Darkness stretched around Ruby like an endless void, cold and consuming. Time had lost all meaning. She wasn’t sure if she had been here for hours, days, or even years. It was a place without sound, without light, without life. A place where she felt like she was fading, dissolving into nothingness.
And maybe… maybe she deserved it.
She had thought that for a while now. Or at least, what felt like a while. She had let herself sink, let the weight of her regrets and failures drag her deeper, let Weiss’s harsh words echo in her head until she believed them. She was reckless. She was childish. She wasn’t worthy of being a leader, a fighter… or even Weiss’s friend. The pain of that truth had almost become a comfort, something to wrap herself in as she drifted further away from the world she once knew.
But then, something changed. A voice broke through the nothingness.
“Ruby…”
Her heart should have leapt, but it felt sluggish, heavy. She didn’t trust it at first, thought maybe it was just another cruel trick of the void. But—
“I miss you.”
A warmth, faint but real, stirred in the darkness. Ruby strained to hear more, barely able to make out the soft, almost broken words. Weiss. Weiss was here.
“I should have told you sooner… how much you mean to me.”
Ruby’s breath hitched—if she was even still breathing. That voice, usually so strong, so certain, was shaking. Weiss sounded… vulnerable. That was rare. That was real.
“I don’t know if you can hear me, but please, Ruby… I need you to come back.”
The warmth grew stronger, like a candle flickering in the night, fighting to push back the darkness. Ruby latched onto it, desperate, yearning. Weiss needed her.
More words floated through the void, some clearer than others, some barely whispers. Memories? No—these were real. Things Weiss was saying to her right now.
“You’re so brave, you know that?”
“I’ve always admired you.”
“I wish I could take back every cruel thing I ever said to you.”
“I was scared… scared of getting too close, scared of losing you. But I pushed you away, and now…” Weiss’s voice cracked. “Now I might have lost you anyway.”
Ruby’s chest ached. The darkness around her felt thinner now, like it was struggling to hold her. She wasn’t sure if it was Weiss’s words or the raw emotion in them, but something inside her was stirring. Something strong.
Then, finally, Weiss whispered the words that shattered everything: “I love you, Ruby.”
The warmth that had been growing inside her exploded. A pulse of light shot through the darkness, pushing it back, filling every corner of the void with something bright, something real. Her heart surged, the sluggish beats picking up speed. The nothingness that had held her so tightly began to crack and crumble.
Ruby gasped—or maybe she only imagined she did. Either way, she could feel again. The weight pressing down on her lifted. The sound of the heart monitor, which had been slow and weak, now sped up, responding to her will, to her desire.
She had to wake up. She needed to wake up.
Weiss loved her. Weiss loved her.
She couldn’t let this be the end. She wouldn’t.
With every ounce of strength she had left, Ruby fought. She clawed her way out of the darkness, reaching toward the voice that had saved her, the warmth that had reminded her of everything she had to live for.
The beeping of the monitor grew louder.
Her fingers twitched.