Burden and Blame Chapter 6

Blake was standing next to the doorway with Yang as Ruby and Weiss talked quietly, inaudible from across the room. Yang was slowly inching forward, trying to catch what was being said, but Blake noticed the small movements and came up with a plan.

"You know Yang, we could go on a walk by ourselves and talk alone and just let these two catch up. I mean, Weiss did so much to get this moment, she deserves it." Blake whispered in Yang's ear.

"Oh, well I guess that sounds more fun than eavesdropping on them. Alright, we'll go for a walk. But Weiss better not put any moves on my sister or her head's going to end up like the wall over there." She replied with a smile as she motioned with her hand to the fist sized hole in the wall with scorch marks around it. It was a lasting reminder of Yang's anger at Weiss, showing what exactly would happen.

"Let's just go already." Blake sighed, opening the door quietly and gesturing for Yang to get out of the room.

Yang left the room with one final glance back to make sure Weiss wasn't already crossing a line. Blake followed closely behind, closing the door with as much silence as she could get. Of course, as luck would have it, the door gave a large creaking noise just before it was shut. Blake wordlessly cursed herself, hoping she didn't ruin the moment for Weiss and Ruby.

"And you thought I was being rambunctious." Yang laughed. She knew that Blake always prided herself on being quiet, and that must have been a tough moment for her.

"Go, now." Blake commanded.

Yang began walking down the hall. Blake caught up alongside her, glancing over to see the thoughtful look on her partner's face.

"She's probably thinking of the many ways to injure Weiss without killing her. Ruby's lucky to have her as a sister; she does a good job." Blake internally commented.

Though there was a few details Blake didn't know, like how Yang was rooting for Weiss.

"This would be good for both Ruby and Weiss. Though, I hope this doesn't feel forced. Honestly, I don't know how Ruby would treat an advance from a girl. Would she go for it?" Yang sighed out loud and continued thinking, not noticing the occasional glance from Blake. "Well, Ruby saved Weiss for some reason… And it doesn't necessarily mean she feels anything in that way, but there was that look Ruby got when she saw Weiss for the first time after waking up…" Her thoughts were broken as a door slam was heard from somewhere behind them.

They had walked a considerable distance from their dorm, but both distracted by their own contemplations. Both Yang and Blake looked behind them, not sure of what had happened and where the sound had come from.

"I wonder what that was about." Yang said as she started walking again.

"Another team might be having internal issues, or somebody closed the door a little too hard?" Blake suggested as she shrugged, not caring too much for the topic.

Blake walked a few more paces before stopping to look out a window. "Surely not this late though. People are trying to sleep." Blake's eyes observed the largely cleared area through the window. The empty space was flat, but at its edge, a forest and hills overtook the flat land, the trees black in the night. Yang stood beside Blake, also looking out the window, straining her eyes to see as far as possible.

"You know if you stare at it long and hard enough, it seems like there's something moving in the distance." Yang commented, ruining the silence Blake so thoroughly enjoyed. Blake didn't respond, but she used her enhanced eyesight to see if what Yang said was true. Fear struck her as she realized what Yang thought was an illusion was actual commotion, and it seemed to only be increasing.

"Yang, you need to go tell a teacher we have a problem." Blake said with a dismayed tone, expression matching.

"Don't even try to mess with me Blake, it won't work." Yang chuckled.

"Yang, something's swarming, and there's more every second. Either that, or it's getting closer." Blake said in a way that spoke louder than she actually did.

"Let me look again." Yang said, pressing her face against the window. "Oh shit, those look like Grimm!" She jumped back, nearly knocking Blake over. "Why hasn't there been an alarm?!"

"I don't really know why, but you need to go fix that. I'll go tell Weiss and Ruby while you tell the staff." Blake said, not waiting for an answer as she turned and bolted down the hall.

Blake was panicking as she reached the door to their dorm. It had taken a good two minutes for her to sprint the distance back, and that meant time for whatever was out there to amass. She burst through the door immediately shouting information. "Ruby, Weiss, we've got a major problem! There's an army of Grimm on the outer edges of the forest!" Blake stopped as the lack of people in the room surprised her. Only Weiss, who hadn't seemed to be paying attention while sitting on the windowsill and looking out the large window, was the only one in the room besides Blake herself.

"Weiss, where's Ruby?" her question sounded horrendously dumb out loud.

"She's gone. I'm not sure where, or what I did, but she left." Weiss said, still not looking at Blake.

"What happened?" Blake's voice only seemed to shrink.

"We were talking about the past, so I brought up how we met." Weiss' voice sounded monotone and void of any emotion. "She got infuriated, yelling about how I always told her she wasn't good enough, and that she wasn't meant to be leader." Weiss' voice dropped into a barely audible whisper. "At least she remembers something about me…" Weiss hugged her knees to her chest, shaking from nerves and tension.

"Weiss, I'm only going to ask this of you because we're close to being attacked. I need you to suck it up, and be the fighter I know you are. I know I'm not usually the supportive type, but we're going to need you, and we're going to need Ruby." Blake's determined voice gained confidence with every word. "Now, tell me where she went, please."

"She just said she was going for a walk to clear her head." Weiss said, standing up.

Blake turned and walked out the door. "Come on, we need to find her quickly." Weiss shadowed her as both of them hurried down the hallway. "Where's Yang?" she asked.

"She went to go tell the teachers about what was happening. I'll show you where they're coming from so you can see what we're up against, but we'll have to hurry." Blake said as the brisk walk turned into a run.

Both of them reached the hallway. Blake pointed to the large windows that went down the hall. "Look out one. You're not going to like what you see." She whispered. Weiss walked over to the first in the hall. She stood, looking out over the field and trees. "W-what? How did that many get so close without a single person noticing until now?"

"I don't know." Blake responded as an intercom and a siren went of simultaneously. "All students must report to their dorms immediately and prepare for attack. This is not a drill." The siren continued to whir.

"We really do need to find Ruby, so come on. Yang will probably be back at our dorm room after we find her." Blake said over the siren as Weiss continued to look.

Suddenly, Weiss' jaw dropped in awe. "Blake, there's something you should know." Weiss turned and pointed behind her out the window. "I've found where Ruby went."

"What are you talking about?" Blake asked, confused. "I thought you said she was going for a walk."

"She's walking alright; straight towards the Grimm, and they're moving right at her." Weiss was completely dumbfounded by what was going on. First Ruby had flared up at her for something she didn't even know; now she was walking right at the innumerable Grimm. Weiss no longer had any emotion left to expel. It had all been used on the past month of Ruby's near death, coma, and amnesia.

"What in the world is she thinking?" Blake wanted to break the glass to jump down and chase Ruby to keep her from being killed.

Weiss watched, helpless as the girl she cared for approached closer and closer to the horde, and what could be her death. Ruby stopped walking, reaching under her cloak.

"Just get out of there while you can Ruby."

Ruby swung her arm and Crescent Rose sprang to life, spinning out into its scythe form.

"Hey!" Blake and Weiss turned to see Yang running towards them. "It's nothing to worry about, just a migration. They don't pose any threat to us as long as we leave them alone." Yang was cheerfully looking at everyone until she noticed her sister wasn't anywhere around. "Um, Weiss, where's Ruby?"

"You'll want to see for yourself." Weiss said in a cold tone as she pointed out the window.

Yang slowly approached the window, hesitant to know what the window had to do with why her sister wasn't around. She peered into the twilight, taking in what she was seeing. "She said she was going for a walk." Weiss added.

"You've got to be kidding me! That's not a walk! In fact, I think she's suicidal! What did you do in the few minutes we were gone?!" Yang continued to verbally abuse Weiss as Ruby made her advance.

Ruby charged, using her semblance to thrust herself towards the crowd of monsters. She stopped within point blank range of the first Grimm, shooting a round into the ground to propel the blade upwards and slicing off its head. Using momentum, she hurled the large sickle in a huge arc, putting deep gashes on the new line of advancing Grimm. Many creatures had encircled her, forcing her to keep slashing. Every one she took down was replaced by two more. Spinning in a circle, she shot the last three rounds in her clip to create a deadly whirlwind.

As Ruby started to stop, she instantly dropped the empty magazine and delved into her pouch for a fresh clip. Reloading had become instinctive with all the training she had done, and so it was in and bolted within seconds. A sea of black was near engulfing her.

"I have one shot; well, five. For the love of dust, please let this work."

She took her final slices and slammed Crescent Rose into the ground, blade and handle facing upwards. Stepping onto it, two shots lifted Ruby up like a rocket, and the final three to angle herself out and away from all of the Grimm. Ruby had gained a considerable distance from the large group of monsters and landed shortly after. Regaining her bearings, she faced the herd. Crescent Rose whirled up and over her head and into the ground, cutting deep into the ground. The empty clip was ejected, and Ruby reached back for another, more special clip in a pouch next to her weapon rack. The black box slid smoothly in, but on the click, a suction created an air-tight vacuum between the clip and rifle.

"We all better get away from the windows." Yang said bluntly, watching her sister load the all-to-familiar ammo. "She's either backed into a corner, or Weiss really pissed her off." The two did as she suggested, backing up to the opposite wall.

Ruby was ready. The Grimm were charging at full speed, but it still wouldn't save them. Ruby shot once, aimed more to the left, and shot again. Five shots in a line. Glowing black and purple trails formed behind the rounds in the darkening light. Five loud roars were heard as air was sucked into where the bullets had impacted. Ruby hit the ground, knowing what was about to happen. Light itself seemed to warp before being violently expelled along with the screams of creatures being vaporized in what was a small nuclear blast of dark matter. Dirt and debris were flung everywhere, creating a dust storm that whipped around Ruby, forcing her to use her cloak to shield her.

Shock waves rippled through the air, all the way down the field, and back to Beacon. Windows shattered along the walls, and the building shook as though it was about to come down. When the dust had settled a little bit, Ruby got up to look at the damage.

"What the hell have I done…"