This chapter contains spoilers for episode 15. Be warned.

Vacation. Everyone in team RWBY was ready for it. However, they were nor nearly as prepared for the little surprise Weiss has for them.

"So, I talked to my parent, and if you are ok with it, we are all invited to come to Schnee Castle."

Ruby jumped up in excitement "Oh cool, it'll be like a big sleepover."

Yang grabbed her sister and pulled her back. "Slow down, little sister. First of all, we already have a sleepover every night. Second of all, Blake, you ok with this, considering...?"

Blake thought for a second. "Well, I can't leave you alone in the big castle can I? You would probably break something." Yang laughed.

Ruby suddenly stood up again. "Wait, Weiss. Your parents. Us." And she pointed at Weiss and then back at herself. "How does that work?"

Weiss allowed herself a weak smile "I've told my parents that I have selected a suitor for me from my team. Someone I trust and hold dear. So in short, we are going to tell them. And they are going to be mad."

Yang hugged Ruby "Don't worry little sister, I'll take care of you."

Ruby pulled herself out of the embrace and mumbled "Oh great."

The next morning, Weiss was up early. As soon as Ruby woke up, she saw Weiss moving stuff into bags.

Ruby yawned "Good morning beautiful."

Weiss looked up. "Good morning Ruby. Better start packing soon, we leave at 10:00."

Ruby jumped out of her bed. "Not without a good morning kiss."

Weiss smiled, Ruby was still the same as always "Ok, but remember the rules: as soon as we get to the airship, no more kissing, or anything of that nature, until I tell my parents."

Ruby just nodded. They had gone over the rules last night. No kissing, no inappropriate behavior, be polite to everyone, and so forth.

Quickly, Ruby leaned forward and planted a soft kiss on Weiss's lips. The two had become better kissers the last few weeks, and it showed. This kiss, however was broken when they heard someone speak up from across the room.

"Getting some last-minute action before the whole show starts? Can't say I blame you. Hey Blake, you awake yet?"

For Yang, this was a surprising active state of being, so early in the morning. Normally it would take an hour and three cups of coffee to get her to be remotely active.

From behind Yang, a slender figure stretched herself out. Blake and Yang had started sharing their beds, with all the hilarity and issues that came with it. Ruby and Weiss had decided that they weren't ready for that, although lately Ruby had found herself wondering what it would be like to wake up next to Weiss.

"Let's get some breakfast before we go, shall we?" Weiss had already packed her bags, and was now sitting on her bed checking news on her scroll.

"Slow down princess, we aren't so quick in the morning as you are." Yang was busy picking up clothes and equipment to bring, and trying to fit it all in a bag.

Ruby jumped out of the bathroom, having just changed: "Well, I'm all set to go, we don't we just go and get some food to bring back."

"Ok, lets go." Weiss grabbed Ruby's hand and walked out of the room. Ruby had always found it interesting: Weiss loved to hold hands with her, almost as much as hugging or even kissing.

Ruby asked: "You worried about today?"

Weiss shook her head: "Not for me. Maybe for you."

At this, Ruby stopped walking, and looked at Weiss with a surprised look on her face.

"Me? Am I in danger?"

Weiss shook her head, although it didn't look very convincing.

"I shouldn't even be saying this, but my family has something called the Trial. It's designed to test people who want to join the Schnee family. It's based on the person's strengths. You being a combatant, makes it so the Trial will involve fighting."

Weiss looked down. "Just be prepared for anything ok? I don't want to see you hurt."

Ruby pulled Weiss into a hug, and whispered in her ear: "I'll be fine Weiss."

Weiss pulled loose. "Come on, we should get some food.

The airship was beautiful. Weiss barely looked impressed and just walked up, but Ruby felt her mouth hang open at the sight of it.

Weiss turned around and faced the group: "The ship is probably outfitted with listening devices, so watch your tongue in there."

The three nodded and quickly stepped in. The rear door closed behind them.

"Good afternoon, this is your pilot speaking. We will head directly for Schnee estate, expect a trip between half an hour to forty minutes, depending on wind conditions.

The four quickly sat down. Each of them pulled out their scroll and sat in silence, occasionally showing each other a piece of news or making a small comment. They were all afraid that saying the wrong thing would result in the ship being turned around, and any chance of Ruby and Weiss being together would be ruined.

"Good afternoon, we have arrived at Schnee estate airspace, however, it would appear that the landing area is not yet clear, so it might take a few minutes before we can land."

Weiss looked up. "More like an hour. This is standard diplomatic tactics: let the other party wait for a while."

Ruby looked up. "Well, we are not doing that." She stood up and walked over to the cockpit.

The pilot looked around to face her. "Sorry ma'am, could be a while before we land. May I request you take your seat?"

Ruby let a smile come to her face: "I have a better idea. Get us over a clear area, then open the rear bay door."

The pilot looked confused: "Ma'am?"

Ruby turned around and walked away: "Team RWBY could use some combat drop exercise. Just do it."

A the plane turned, jumped forward for a few seconds, then hang still.

"We are hanging over the fields now. Opening bay door in ten seconds."

Ruby grabbed her bag, slung it over her shoulder.

Around her, the rest of team RWBY also grabbed there stuff and moved to the door.

"5... 4... 3... 2... 1... opening now!"

The noise was deafening. The roar of the engines was barely audible inside, but now Ruby had to scream to make herself understandable:

"Last one on the ground carries my bag." And she jumped.

Ruby felt herself falling faster and faster, the wind in her face and the ground coming up to crush her. Unsheathing Cresent Rose, she fired round after round until she slowed down almost enough. At this speed, she would probably break something, but with enough aura, she would survive.

Of course, breaking anything wasn't the plan. At the last moment, Ruby activated her Blink, moving so fast she disappeared then reappeared on the ground, perfectly fine.

Next to her, a Glyph slowed Weiss's movement enough to land safely on the ground. Looking up, she saw Yang firing Ember Celica to slow her momentum. Her landing was the most explosive, as the large amount of aura Yang had to use to slow her fall resulted in a small firestorm.

Then she spotted Blake. With no way to slow her fall, Blake had to rely completely on her Blink ability to slow down. One mistake could be fatal.

Ruby saw her fall. She saw her go too fast. "She's too far down. BLAKE NOW!"

Blake seemed to realize that she was too far down, and attempted to blink to slow her down, but she was still going too fast. This was going to hurt.

Then, a flash of gold jumped up and grabbed Blake just as she was about to hit the ground.

"Gotcha."

Blake just stood there for a second, just breathing in and out.

"Thanks Yang. I really need to work on that."

Yang just padded her on the back.

"No problem sweet... uh Blake. That's what teammates are for."

"PUT YOUR WEAPONS DOWN AND YOUR HANDS IN THE AIR"

A booming voice, probably a megaphone, sounded across the field.

Quickly complying, Ruby noticed Yang just standing there.

"Sis, put your hands in the air!"

Yang looked at her: "But they also said to put our weapons down. I don't know what to do."

"Sis, this isn't the time for jokes."

Weiss grabbed Ruby's shoulder. "Relax, it's just security."

Ruby turned to face her. "Yes, and we just made a combat drop on the land they are guarding."

A dozen soldiers, all carrying high quality gear, ran up.

"FREEZE."

Weiss walked forward.

"Gentleman, stand down. Everything is under control."

One of the soldier walked forward.

"Miss Schnee? Yes ma'am."

The soldier quickly tapped a couple of buttons on a device strapped to his arm.

"Command, situation under control. The guests are here."

Then, turning to the four girls, he said:

"Follow me please."

Arriving at the front door, they were greeted by two older looking people, a man and a woman.

Weiss walked up and introduced everyone: "Team RWBY, may I introduce Martus Schnee and Lily Schnee, my father and stepmother. Father, mother, may I introduce Ruby Rose, Blake Belladonna and Yang Xiao Long."

The man walked up to his daughter and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek.

"Welcome home. You are early."

Weiss couldn't suppress a small smile.

"My apologies. Our team captain decided we could use some combat drop training, so we jumped."

At this, the woman looked shocked.

"You jumped out of a plane? With a parachute I may hope."

Ruby stepped forward.

"Ma'am, aerial deployment is standard issue for hunters and huntresses. And no, we didn't use a parachute. Hunters and huntresses are to use their own abilities to land. Weiss's landing was excellent. Yang was ok, Blake... you need more training."

Martus looked like he suddenly remembered something, and looked at the four girls.

"Is this everyone?" He asked, a confused look on his face.

Weiss's smile suddenly disappeared.

"Yes, this is everyone."

Her father stood there, deep in thought, until he shook up and said:

"Where are my manners? Come in, come in, you must be thirsty after your flight. Tea?"

All four girls agreed, and the team walked in.

Sitting down at what appeared to be a large dining table, Ruby placed herself next to Weiss, while Blake and Yang sat down on the other side. Next to Weiss sat Martus, next to Yang sat Lily. Martus was the first to break the silence.

"Weiss, is there something you want to tell me?"

Weiss looked at her father, a small smile on her face.

"Perhaps. Why do you ask?"

At this, Weiss's father looked at Ruby.

"Just that you told me that you had chosen a suitor, someone on your team who you trusted and respected, but before me I see four girls."

Ruby looked at Weiss, who's face betrayed no emotion. Martus continued:

"And I've told you before, I would prefer your suitor to be a man, so you can continue the Schnee heritage. However, I... I'm getting older Weiss. And I've recently started regretting a lot of things."

The man's face revealed no emotion, yet Ruby felt like she was part of a very personal conversation.

"Your upbringing being one of them. I always thought I knew what was best for you. But since you moved to Beacon, you've changed." He looked at Ruby. "You think she's ready?"

Ruby let out a breath she didn't realize she'd been holding. Weiss's parent weren't going to murder her.

"She's ready. Father, mother, I hereby request that Ruby Rose, Team Leader of team RWBY and Beacon student, be put through the trial of warriors."

Her father simply looked at Ruby. "And you, little girl. Do you think you're ready?"

Ruby had no idea. She didn't know what the trial of warriors was. She had no idea what she had to do. But she knew that she loved Weiss.

"Ready? I have no idea what I will face. But I would face death itself, if Weiss asked me to."

"Perhaps you will have to." The group turned around.

A man, looking perhaps 30, had walked into the room.

"My name is Kinit. I'm house Schnee's weapon master." He walked up to Ruby. "I assume this is it?"

Ruby stood up, facing the man. He didn't look too dangerous, but there was something to him, that Ruby found terrifying. It felt like he could kill everyone in the room and just walk away.

Kinit looked around. "Very well. You three" and he pointed at Weiss, Blake and Yang "please go to the armory. You will be instructed there. You" he nodded towards Ruby "come with me."

Ruby looked at Weiss "One second please." She walked up to Weiss, and whispered in her ear.

"I'm going to win."

Weiss laughed. "Ruby, you have no idea what you're getting into. Good luck."

Kinit brought Ruby to a big room, it looked like a hanger, except that the entire place had been cleared out. Two dozen soldiers stood there waiting.

Kinit started talking: "Normally, we would start with a questionnaire. I think we can better skip that and head straight to the fighting." Ruby just shrugged, the older man seemed to know what he was doing.

"These are some of my best men. They all have aura protection, so no worries about using lethal force."

Realizing where this was going, Ruby grabbed Cresent Rose.

"You made that yourself? Good job." Kinit turned to the soldiers. "Go get her."

Ruby had learned long ago that offense is the best defense. She charged right in the middle of the soldiers, Cresent Rose spinning through their lines quickly and effectively.

Not ten seconds later, most of the soldiers were laying on the ground, most unconscious or unable to get up.

Ruby felt good. If the rest of this trial was going to be as hard as the start, then this was going to be easy. Then she felt a little prick in her neck. Grabbing it, she found a little dart.

"You ready for more?" Turning around, she saw Kinit, with a katar on each arm. Quick inspection revealed two cannons mounted in the weapons.

Ruby felt herself getting dizzy "What... what did you do to me?"

Kinit laughed. "Just a little sleeping poison to even the odds."

Ruby attacked. No time to waste. Kinit managed to block her first two strikes, but after that, Ruby started getting through. Even with the poison, Ruby was faster then Kinit.

After a couple more strikes, Ruby backed off. Kinit dropped to one knee, his aura clearly low.

"Do you surrender?" The question was simple. Ruby hoped he would, because she felt herself getting weaker by the second.

Kinit laughed. Ruby's felt herself falling. Then everything went black.

When she woke up, darkness. Ruby tried to move, only to find that she had been tied to a chair.

Before her stood Kinit.

"So, look who decided to wake up." He moved closer, towering over Ruby.

"You failed, just so you know. You failed, and now you are going to pay the price."

He hit Ruby. Hard. Ruby barely felt it, as she realized what those words meant. She failed.

"Where is she? Where is Weiss?"

Another punch. "Don't talk like you can make demands. Miss Schnee is gone. And you won't see her again. Her parents decided that the best course of action would be to send her away for a while, so she could come to her senses."

Ruby tried to shake off the haze that was effecting her. Was this real? Yes, it was. Damn that poison.

Maybe there still was time. The ropes around her hands didn't feel too tight. Maybe she could escape, make things right. She had to find Weiss.

She looked up to look Kinit in the eye.

"Bring it on.

The strike hurt. A lot. But she felt the chair exploding into splinters, and she fell on the floor.

Rolling herself into a ball, she brought her hands in front of her. Still tied up. Oh well, no time for that now.

Kinit charged at her. Ruby waited a second, then used the rope to grab his head and bring it down onto her knee. One quick, hard strike, and he was out. Ruby could only thank Qrow for teaching her more than just Scythe techniques. Quickly, she bend down and used his katar to cut open her bindings.

Looking around, she saw a door, and ran for it. She found herself in a tight hallway, with no idea where she had to go.

"Ruby!"

Ruby spun around. Blake stood there, weapon in hand, looking quite tired.

"Blake? What is happening?"

Blake ran over. "They took Weiss to the hangar. They are going to take her away. We have to stop them."

Ruby nodded. "You wouldn't happen to have my weapon, do you?"

Blake shook her head. "No, but I would guess they take it to the armory. It's that way." She pointed down one of the hallways. "I'm going to the hangar, I'll see you there."

Ruby ran down the hallway. None of the soldiers she had faced so far were much of a challenge, but she was getting tired. A door. Armory. Perfect.

She ran in, and saw Cresent Rose sitting right there. She also saw a dozen soldiers running in from the other side of the room.

Grabbing her weapon, Ruby charged the soldiers. No hesitation. No doubt. She took them all out. No killing, that wasn't her style, although she doubted they be getting up anytime soon. Grabbing one of the soldiers that was still conscious, shaking him around.

"Where is the hangar? Where did they take Weiss?"

The soldier could only point to the door they had came in through before collapsing. Oh well.

Opening the door, Ruby was hit by the sound of airship engines. Running forward, she saw Weiss, Weiss's father and mother, as well as a few soldiers walking toward the airship.

"STOP!"

All of them turned around. Ruby just looked at Weiss.

"Let her go!"

Martus pulled out a tablet and pushed a button.

"I can't do that Ruby. I'm sorry, but I really can't."

A giant robot stood up and walked in between Ruby and Weiss. Behind her, Ruby heard soldiers running in. There were too many of them, and Ruby almost fell over from exhaustion. She didn't have a chance.

Then she heard another voice over the chaos.

"You're not going to give up that easy, are you?"

"Yang?"

Turning, Ruby saw Yang standing there, Blake standing next to her. Ruby smiled. Maybe she had a chance.

"Yang, Blake, keep those soldiers off me. I got this."

Yang smiled: "There's my little sister. Go get 'em!"

The giant robot resembled a suit of medieval armor, complete with enormous sword. In moved quickly, and had no apparent weaknesses. It was in Ruby's way.

"Weiss, I'm coming. Hold on!"

Ruby charged, firing round after round into the machine, leaving not a scratch for her effort. She jumped up, and started bashing into it. That had more effect. Small pieces of what looked like stone started breaking off, but it wasn't fast enough.

She grabbed onto the armor, and collapsed her weapon into rifle mode. She pushed the weapon into the center of it's chest, and fired over and over again, blasting large chucks of it through the air.

Suddenly, she was grabbed by the robot's free hand and throw against the wall.

She felt down. She look up to see the robot towering over her. This was it. She was going to die. And the she heard it.

"Ruby!"

One word. And yet, Ruby felt something within her come free. She had to do this. She was going to save Weiss.

She stood up, pointed Cresent Rose at the floor, and fired.

Soaring through the air, she came face-to helmet with the robot. She swung Cresent Rose around, putting the blade behind the robot's head, and fired.

She tore through the helmet, and with that, the robot fell over, dead.

Yang and Blake ran up to her just in time to catch her as she fell down, the last strike having drained all of her power.

Then she felt a third pair of hands pull her up.

Looking up, she found herself eye-to-eye with Weiss.

"Weiss... you... we need to escape."

Weiss laughed. Ruby didn't understand anymore, what was going on?

"You dunce. This was all part of the Trial."

What.

Ruby felt some power return to her legs, so she stood up.

"Wait, what? You, that weapons master, that giant suit of armor, Blake, Yang?"

Weiss hugged the young girl.

"All in on it. It had to look real."

Martus walked forward.

"Sorry for the deception. But you succeeded the trial, and therefore, I will allow you to be with my daughter."

Ruby looked at Weiss.

"Weiss, there is something I need to ask you."

Weiss looked concerned. "What is it?"

Ruby pulled a little box from her cloak. Opening it, she showed it to Weiss.

Inside lay a pair of rings, on with a beautiful diamond, the other inlaid with a beautiful ruby.

"Will you spent the rest of your life with me?"

Weiss looked dumbfounded

"Ruby, are asking me... to marry you?"

Ruby just smiled "Yes, I am."

Tears started streaming down Weiss's face as she grabbed Ruby and kissed her.

"Yes, I will."

Ruby grabbed Weiss's hand, and very carefully, put the ruby ring on her finger.

"Now you'll always have a little ruby with you."

Weiss looked at the little box, gently picked up the other ring, and put it on Ruby's finger.

"Ruby, this must have cost a fortune. Where did you get the money for these?"

Ruby looked up.

"Well, as you know, my mother was a huntress, and a good one at that. She had a lot of money before she died, and she gave it all to me. Her will said to put it into something that will last."

"Ruby, you... I love you."

Forgetting her pain, forgetting how tired she was, Ruby pulled Weiss into a kiss, knowing that they would be together until the end.

Next to them, Blake turned to Yang and asked: "When are you going to get me a ring?"

Yang just smiled and said: "Who says I haven't already?"

It's over. Sort of. This is the final chapter. However, I have an idea for 'years later', so perhaps that will come. And, of course, I will keep writing.

As always, please leave feedback.

UPDATE: so the paragraphs were all F-cked up. Hope its better now.