The ride back to Signal Academy from Summer Rose's final resting place was unremarkable, except for one stop. The Grimm, which fed on anger, fear, and hatred, would find no food in this couple as the feeling of contentment was sublime. Weiss drove back, mainly because Ruby wanted to sit behind her girlfriend and hug her close, her head on Weiss's back.883Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTmcyTMGv2i
"Should we let everyone know we're on our way back?" Weiss asked over her shoulder.883Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ70rPfHM6O3
"No. I really want to keep where we went secret from as many people as I can. I don't want anyone following or stopping me the next time I need to visit."
"So you think the nightmares may come back?"
Ruby squeezed Weiss a bit closer. "I don't think so, but who knows for sure?" A little time passed as they continued to share the moment together. Quiet really wasn't Ruby's style though, so after a bit she said "this is so much different than the last time I was here. Last time I had to walk it, which wasn't so bad, but I must have been filled with sadness on the return because the Beowulf pack that met me was huge. Well beyond what I normally see. I was just lucky it was only beowulfs. If it had been ursa I would likely have been dead. This time though I'm leaving happy. Thank you Weiss for coming with me."
Weiss still wasn't entirely comfortable with displaying affection or receiving that display, especially love. She'd never felt it before. The closest she had before Beacon was her mom and she had died when she was eight. After getting to Beacon she had a few flings. Some people she could call a boyfriend, but they had only been infatuations or lust. So when confronted by Ruby's show of love, and feeling them herself, it always made her feel a little uncomfortable. She imagined it wasn't too far from receiving a reward that you weren't sure you deserved.
Normally they were face to face so Ruby could see the conflicting emotions and know what they meant. This time she couldn't. "Did I say something wrong?" Ruby asked, feeling the sudden tension in Weiss's back.
The ATV slowed, and then stopped. There was little doubt that Ruby was starting to get worried. Weiss turned around and faced her directly. "You twit. Of course I came with you. You didn't give me a choice in the matter," she said with an annoyed tone; trying to return to Ruby's question and away from the tension in her back. "I love you too much too..." She hadn't realized what she was going to say until it left her lips. Part of her wanted to take them back, to make the world forget she had said it, but the vast majority of her being was overjoyed.
Ruby had said it every day, and showed that love in undeniable ways before, during, and after saying it. Weiss hadn't. Those were three words she had never been able to force past her lips for anyone past or present, and she had tried. It was rude, honestly, to not reciprocate what Ruby said so often.
And now it was out between them, and Weiss meant every word. She loved Ruby, and her mouth had finally said what her heart had known for two years now. Why did it take so long?
Ruby's face showed a shock that must have been a mirror of her own. It didn't last long. "Oh Weiss! I love you, I love you, I love you!" she said between an unending torrent of kisses. She didn't seem to be able to stop, but then again that was Ruby for you. She wore her heart on her sleeve and when she was happy she couldn't not show it.
Weiss was stoic throughout Ruby's attack, yet knowing and feeling all of it. Her heart was doing things that her body wasn't able to display. When Ruby finally stopped to take a breath, Weiss cut in. "Yes dolt, I love you." It came out easily now. How come it had been so hard before? Whatever the reason the wait had made this moment more profound. Still, she was practical. "Now let's get going. We'll be late getting back to Beacon if we doddle much more."
"Anything you want my Love."
Someone help me. She's not going to stop the entire flight home, is she? she thought.
The flight time between Beacon and Signal wasn't that long. About two hours with a good tailwind. It was a simple jump. Weiss expected to be home just after dinner, and finished convincing Yang not to kill them about an hour after that.
She should have set her expectations much lower.
Weiss was admiring the view, a small smile playing on her lips now that Ruby was concentrating on flying and not her. The skies were perfect with soft clouds dotting the air. She had never seen the water look so clear. The breeze as she got onto the plane cooled her as the sun warmed making the temperature the most pleasant of the year. The world was picturesque. The grandeur of the view had nothing to do with those three words of course.
"What the..." Ruby said out of the blue.
Surprised out of her reverie Weiss asked "Ruby?" looking for an explanation.
"We're losing altitude!" Stress was starting to build in her voice.
Ruby stressed was never a good sign. "Why?"
"I don't know," she replied, her voice definitely scared now. "Mayday, mayday, this is Bullhead seven three alpha kappa." A pause then "Shit. Radio's down." In the years she had known Ruby there was only one other time she remembered her utter a cuss word: when she had brought Weiss back from the edge of the oblivion at the garden. Ruby was terrified, and that scared Weiss.
The analytical portion of Weiss's mind concentrated on the cause of Ruby's fear. She needed the distraction before she fed off of her lover's emotions any further. This was hardly the first life or death situation Ruby had faced. She had always been remarkable at handling it. The answer became obvious quickly. In every other situation Ruby had been on the ground and able to fight back with her cunning and with her scythe. This was something new. Something she had no control over.
Weiss could see her girlfriend pulling back with all she had on the rudder controls. She could also see the water coming closer at an alarming pace. "I'm going to try for a vertical landing. Maybe we can at least make a safe water landing."
Weiss looked out the side window and watched the engine turn from their horizontal position to a vertical one. It did seem to slow them down but the nose was trying hard to drop still. "Prepare for contact in three, two, one," and right on schedule Weiss felt the jarring effects of a rough landing. Her restraints held her firm, but the tilt caused her to bounce forward and knocked the air out of her for a second.
"Ruby, are you okay?" Weiss asked anxiously. No answer. As quickly as her fingers would move the five point harness was taken off. "Ruby?" she asked again as she pulled the straps over her head and got out of her seat. Still no answer. The distance was too short between her seat in the back and the cockpit to call what she did a sprint, but it was a close approximation. On the second step she felt the plane shift under her as if something had hit them. She put it out of her mind, concentrating more on her lover. "Ruby," she said one last time as she got around the chair. She was unconscious, but by all appearances okay. Weiss guessed that the nose being lower had made the impact harder up front.
She remembered her first aid training and put it to use. She checked her pulse before anything else. She found that it was steady and strong which brought a sigh of relief from Weiss. She tried to wake Ruby with no success. She noticed her face was showing signs of pain even though she was unconscious. Unable to ask where it hurt she examined the rest of Ruby to find if there was any injuries. She hadn't moved Ruby in the unlikely case there was a spinal injury. She did however start touching portions of her body and watching her face for a larger reaction. Nothing in the legs or arms, but in the chest she jumped. Feeling gently around the chest she found two broken ribs where the top straps had been. One of them worried Weiss. It was broken in two places and it shifted easily which meant it had torn out of the muscle that held the ribs steady. it was free floating. She would have to be very careful or it could puncture a lung.
As far as Weiss knew laying horizontal was the best place for Ruby to ease her pain, so she laid her carefully onto the floor. Next she took her corset off. She knew any kind of compression over a broken rib was a bad idea. That done she retrieved the first aid kit, which included an O2 mask. She slipped that over Ruby's mouth to help with the breathing, then rolled her onto her side to help be sure that her airway stayed clear. Ruby wasn't in any real danger for now, but Weiss was worried that she hadn't woken up yet.
She pulled out her scroll once Ruby was cared for. They would be close enough to one shore or the other to call for help. Nothing. That simply didn't make sense. She closed her scroll with a mutter and looked at other things to improve their situation.
During this the bumping had continued. With Ruby taken care of as much as could be done under the current conditions, Weiss decided it was time to find out exactly what was causing it. First she tried the easiest and looked out all of the windows. All she saw was water no matter which direction she looked. The only blind spot was directly behind them. She had to assume that was where the bumping originated.
Bullheads were designed to float in an emergency like this one was, so the hatch would be well above the water level. She went to open it, and found it locked, which made no sense since the lock was on the interior. She tried several times, looking for the cause. Maybe it had been damaged in the landing somehow? It really didn't seem possible, but who knew?
Before acting rash and taking the door off with her weapon or her glyphs, she wanted to see if it was possible to take back off. She hoped that whatever was the cause of the forced landing had been a fluke. She doubted it. She tried the engines twice with no response, and then checked her gauges. The fuel tank showed as being empty. That was impossible. It had been filled with Dust right before takeoff and the crash had happened only ten minutes later.
Rushing back to the hatch she pulled out Myrtenaster. She had several glyphs to use, as well as dust fueled attacks from her sword. She unleashed all of them in the course of five minutes. By all accounts the door shouldn't exist any longer, let alone still be attached. Stubbornly it was still there, mocking her and her attempts.
It didn't make sense. None of this made sense! What had forced them down? Why had the nose gone down first? What was the bumping? Why was there no signal? How had the tank been emptied, and most importantly why was the door refusing to open! It couldn't all be a series of coincidences. Everything about this felt sinister.
There was only one last place to attack. Most of the windows were too small to go through, but there was one glaring exception: the forward windshield. The glass was reinforced with mundane manors as well as dust to stand up against bullets, minor explosions, and, most importantly, magic. I direct close ranged attack should be enough to overwhelm those protections. Using her glyphs she prepared her signature thrust, and then released moving forward. She felt the sword's tip hit the glass, pierce slightly, and then bounce off. Forward momentum caused her to run into the glass next, her rapier flying to the side uselessly.
After recovering her balance she looked closer at the glass. She saw exactly what she was afraid to see: dust. She hadn't noticed because the difference was minimal, but the light through it was diffused a yellowish brown. It was only a slight layer, but that's all it needed it to be. She recognized this dust by color; it was one strong in the earth element. It would enhance the glass's natural properties to resist being broken. She tried another attack and noticed that the tinting intensified slightly. One last time to be sure and there was no doubt that the dust got thicker with each attempt and some of it was filling the small holes she did manage to make.
If she had wanted any more proof that this was an attack she had it. It was an attack when a huntress was weakest. When they were unable to defend themselves with the weapons and skills they had honed for at least half of their lives. It was a coward's attack as far as Weiss was concerned. She did have to admire the use of dust though. Her father's company was centered on dust so she had an understanding of it that few experts could match. It wasn't just that dust had been used; it was the way it was used. There was a supply of it located on the plane, most likely on the roof and somehow he, she, or they, were manipulating it without the need to touch it. There were a few semblances that could do that, but they were rare. She didn't bother trying anywhere else. It was a waste of effort. Even if it wasn't covered with dust it would be almost as soon as she tried.
She sat next to Ruby, who still hadn't stirred, and worried about why she hadn't woken up yet. She was starting to get scared for her. Whoever had planned this was well prepared. Did she want to be trapped in a cell made of her own transport, or risk being in the open sea and the elements? Would Ruby be able to deal with it as she was right now?
No, whoever was doing this was too well prepared. She couldn't afford to let him choose the battlefield. "Come on Ruby, we need to go," she whispered knowing that her love could not hear her. She grabbed the O2 tank and wedged it between herself and her girlfriend's limp form. It was entirely possible the last exit had been covered as well, but she didn't think so. If they were using dust it would have washed off underwater.
She latched both of their weapons onto her belt, though Crescent Rose wasn't designed to be carried on hers. Ruby had a special clip for it on her belt.
Going to the back she dropped the loading hatch and with relief felt the water rush around her feet. She wasn't prepared for the rushing water. In seconds she was knocked off her feet and washed to the cockpit. The hatch was large, making the cabin fill up quickly. Desperately she clung to Ruby and made sure the mask didn't dislodge from around her nose and mouth. She prayed that all of the movement wasn't moving that fragmented rib.
As the water covered the forward windshield, she saw the layer of dust wash off; confirming her earlier guess of that limitation. When the cabin was half full Weiss realized Crescent Rose was too heavy for her to swim with. With no choice she unlatched it and swam up as the water level rose.
Once free of the plane she looked around under water, preparing herself for an attack. It didn't come which she was thankful for, but she did catch sight of a humanoid figure swimming away. It was dark and hazy with distance making it look more like a shadow but one thing was easy to pick out: a grimm mask.
Once on the surface Weiss used some of her dust to freeze a patch of water and used it as a float. Myrtenaster only had a few charges of that dust left. Judging by the warmth of the water each charge should last about five hours. With the use of her glyphs she could make a charge last indefinitely, at least until she ran out of aura or fell asleep. She hoped rescue came soon though.
The last thing to worry about was the surface. Ice had the benefit of floating, but it had the disadvantage of being cold. Ruby's cloak was an excellent insulator luckily, so she was in no discomfort from it. Weiss's cloak wasn't, so she folded it several times to increase its effectiveness and used it as a seat.
Once arranged she checked Ruby. The jostling of their escape had indeed moved the rib a bit more, and Ruby's breathing had become strained, probably from the pain. With the tip of her sword she broke off a chunk of ice and used it where they were broken to ease the swelling. The best interval was fifteen minutes on, fifteen minutes off. Unfortunately her scroll had been waterlogged from the swim and wasn't turning back on. She settled for approximations.
Worse than the broken ribs was the loss of Crescent Rose. People never appreciate the connection between a huntress and her weapon. They made them themselves, without exception, for a reason. In the creation process they bonded with it. Those who didn't never truly awakened their semblance, or gained complete controlled over their aura. Jaune was a prime example of what happened when they tried. He didn't make his own until his third semester and the difference was immediate. Their weapons were extensions of their auras and, quite literally, they became a part of them. To lose your weapon was the same as losing an arm, and if far enough away it could cripple the use of their Aura.
The bottom of the sea would do it.
Ruby was already injured. The loss of her weapon was adding strain. When they got back to Beacon Ruby would be able to make a new weapon and bond with it. Until then she would be a shadow of herself. Even when she regained consciousness it was unlikely she would be able to use her aura enough to heal herself, or even stabilize the wound.
Weiss wasn't sure where they were at this point. She knew that whoever was pushing their bullhead had moved them away from where the search party would have been looking, but she didn't know how far. She could have gotten her bearings if she had still been in the sea between Patch and Vale. She would have been able to see either Patch or Vale's shores, which she couldn't. That meant they were heading towards the ocean and well beyond where they should have been.
Unable to do anything else for her, she held Ruby's head on her lap and sang to her. She hoped that some portion of the song would come through to Ruby and comfort her. The first few notes were rough. She hadn't sung for almost six years, she had learned to hate that talent as she associated it with her father. Her singing wasn't out of love for him. It was out of a desperate need to please him. Then she found out about the underhanded dealings she was being used to cover up. That was the day the last note had left her throat.
But her voice remembered its training. She ran through the scales a few times to warm up and the notes got stronger with each one. It didn't feel the same, and she wasn't sure why. Her singing had always felt cold and unfeeling before, but singing for Ruby, even though she was unconscious, brought out something new. She hadn't realized it when she started, but she knew how she could express her feelings now. With tears that she couldn't afford to lose falling down her face, her voice rose with joy and release as she sang. The last song she had done all those years ago was one of sadness and isolation. This one was anything but. Unbelievably the feelings only grew stronger.
She sang that song now. Mutating it from the original, it now was a song of joy and love. It was rough, but the emotion behind it was pure. She sang the last lines knowing she would revisit these lyrics and perfect them; for her. "Mirror tell me something. Who's the happiest of all? I'm the most loved of all."
She wanted to sing more, to experience this pleasure and the pride in her voice she had never known. The practical side of her knew better though. This one song alone was more than she should have done. The tears were definitely over the limit. She needed to conserve as much water as she could, even her tears.
After an hour Weiss realized that the elements weren't going to be kind. The beautiful sky she had been admiring before was now beating down on them relentlessly. The heat wasn't the problem, of course. They were sitting on ice, but they were going to start to burn. She'd seen third degree burns during her training, and they weren't something to take lightly.
Weiss could exert a small amount of Aura to keep her skin from the sun's effects. A sun burn took time, so aura had little trouble keeping up with healing the damage. It required so little that she would replenish her strength faster than she was using it.
Ruby, on the other hand, wasn't going to be able to do that while unconscious. She hated to do it, but she stopped putting the cooling water on her forehead. That wetness would only magnify the effects of the sun. She also pulled her cloak so not only was it under her, it was over her as well.
Dehydration was starting to be noticeable after about six hours. She knew better than to drink the salty sea no matter how desperate she was for water. They only had three days she figured before they would be at risk of dying. Surely they would be found before that.
At night she risked sleeping. Her glyph holding the frozen raft would disappear but it was necessary. She remembered how dysfunctional she had become when she avoided sleep to watch Ruby not that long ago. She couldn't get that way now, for both their sakes.
The second day was much like the first. Weiss had only slept five hours, even asleep she was conscious of the need to only sleep for short periods. Even with the covering of Ruby's cloak burns were starting to show. Her O2 had run out long ago and was now floating somewhere behind them. With any luck it might give the search party that had to be out there an idea of where to look.
Both of them were parched, lips starting to chap from the lack of fluids. She was starting to get drowsy but fought the need knowing it was an effect of the dehydration. She couldn't afford to sleep yet.
About the time the sun sat muscle cramps had begun. She couldn't walk them off. Their ice boat wasn't steady enough for that. All she could do was massage them. The worse was her fingers. Not in pain, but in the lack of function. It was odd to see her fingers lock into a crooked position as the forearm muscles contracted without her telling them too. Odd and scary as hell knowing this was only the start.
The painful cramps were coming from the larger muscles, primarily her legs. She knew Ruby had to be having similar problems though she had yet to regain consciousness. She massaged Ruby's muscles since she couldn't do it herself. That had the added benefit of working her fingers to keep the cramping to a minimum.
Once night had truly settled in she gave in to her fatigue and nearly passed out. She was afraid she might not wake up. She was also afraid that if she did the worse portion might start to settle in: the delirium and hallucinations. It might be a relief, in all reality, but losing one's senses is the terror that most warriors feared the most. At least in battle she knew that her death was in her own hands.
"Weiss, wake up," a familiar whisper came to her ears, so sweet and welcomed.
"Ruby?" her brain was foggy from the effects of the elements. She licked cracked lips to wet them and found her tongue was too dry to provide it.
The sun hadn't risen yet, so they were safe again, and now Ruby could at least try to fight off the effects of the sun. It would be hard though given how bad the burns were already, and the lack of Crescent Rose.
She felt her leg getting patted. It was past the point of hurting, having reached a level that the brain refused to accept. "Yes. Uhg. I don't know if I want to be though. How many ribs?" She was panting with the effort to talk but determined.
"Two that I know of, one in two spots," her voice cracked. "Don't move too much. I don't want that one to puncture your lung." She checked her mental calendar and wasn't sure how many days it had been since their crash. Two now? She should know, but it was getting hard to think. If she was right the dehydration was going to be severe enough to be life threatening tomorrow. Maybe that's why the final attack hadn't come. It didn't need to.
"Think we're going to die?" Ruby asked, her own voice more of a croak.
Weiss wanted to be upbeat and supportive, but she just couldn't. "Yeah."
She could practically feel the smile on Ruby's face. "I got to hear you say 'I love you' before the end," and then sang, very off key, "I'm the most loved of all."
"Dolt."
Not long after that unconsciousness claimed her again. This time it was not sleep, but a much deeper level. A dreamless place devoid of pain, of thirst, and of thought. It was peaceful, and on some level of the thoughtless void she knew that Ruby was near. Maybe dying this way wasn't so bad.
Into the darkness voices intruded and eventually brought her back to painful reality. She tried to register who, and if it was a hallucination. Those couldn't be much longer in coming. She wasn't sure. Everything was blurry, and spinning. Their words didn't make sense, sounding jumbled. She tried to say "Ruby first," but wasn't sure if her mouth had even moved. She felt a pinch on the inside of her right elbow, and then coolness rush down to her fingers of that hand. Unconsciousness claimed her again not long after that pinch, assuming she hadn't been asleep the entire time and this was all a dream.
A strong male voice, full of disappointment. "I told you to watch but not interfere."
"I saw an opportunity and I took it. I didn't have time to clear it with you." The scared voice said, sounding even more scared than before knowing he'd angered the other.
"They are to remain alive. I told you this," the voice said, strong, steady, yet terrible rage heard in its undertones.
"I'm sorry. I..," his voice was cut off suddenly.
A hand had reached out and pulled the scared voice's mask off. "Not enough."
Into the silence he mused. "They did manage to survive though, and a lot of useful information was gathered. This will be interesting."883Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrbU8GYQV3O
