Author's Note- Well I did not actually have this planned, this chapter was written after I got the idea from a review on my part to the 3 part collaboration I did with Kerrigor2 and AmbidextrousLion. So now the order for this collaboration goes In Time You'll Fly, Once the Sun Sets, Forever Falling, and The Pain We Share. Leave a review and let me know what you think and come down to the Reiss Steam group chat and talk to me, Kerrigor, and Lion about what you thought of this collaboration or any of our other stories. The poll on my page is still open if you want to vote on which pair I will write a one-shot (and possibly more) about. As a fair warning this chapter references my part and Kerrigor's heavily so it's best to have read both of those parts, not required but recommended. This story may be continued as a series of prequel chapters depicting Team RWBY before the start of In Time You'll Fly, leave me a review on your thoughts of this idea. Remember Read, Review, Favorite, Follow, and most importantly Enjoy!

Ruby was tired. Her muscles ached and her battered body hurt from the cuts and bruises that adorned her from the fight in Forever Falls. More than physically Ruby was in pain emotionally, her heart still freshly broken following the death of her beloved girlfriend Blake Belladonna. After her death Ruby had sat over her body and cried for hours, long into the night until she had passed out from exhaustion. For whatever reason her and the body of her love were not disturbed while she slept and when she awoke still in Blake's arms she had the faint hope that it was all a nightmare. This hope was quickly and painfully extinguished as she saw the blood that had dried on and around them, and felt the cold touch of her girlfriend; the touch that not even a day ago was warm and full of love, always able to comfort Ruby in her darkest moments.

"I'll never talk to her about books again." Ruby thought, her grief renewed as more tears spilled over as she forced her weary body to move. She still had something to do. Gathering Blake's body in her arms Ruby walked. She walked for miles that seemed to stretch on for eternity, past when her legs started to burn and screamed at her to stop but she continued on. She knew that she should know where she was heading, but the name escaped her anguished mind. After an unbearable amount of time walking Ruby reached her destination: Beacon Academy. But even then she still walked, hoping beyond hope that if she could just walk far enough, even if it killed her that if she willed herself to move farther she could escape this horrible thing called reality that was worse than any nightmare. Eventually her legs gave out beneath her as she collapsed on one of the paths that crisscrossed the Beacon campus. Ruby just stayed there on her knees with Blake in her arms, wanting to keep moving but her body refusing her. Dimly she heard a concerned voice calling out to her. The voice kept drawing closer and increased in volume as Ruby saw the edges of her vision closing in. Before she passed out again Ruby said one thing.

"I'm sorry Blake."

Ruby felt her pain before anything else. It had receded, but it was still there. A dull throb throughout her body that seemed to refuse to leave. As she opened her eyes Ruby was unsure of where she was. It looked to be a hospital from the surroundings, but she had no idea how she had got there. Her memory was fuzzy; there was something she should remember, but it denied her when she tried to think of it. Before she could put more thought into it she heard footsteps approaching. Ruby sat up groggily as Headmaster Ozpin and Ms. Goodwitch approached her bed.

"Good afternoon, Ms. Rose, sleep well?" Ozpin asked calmly as he took a sip from his coffee mug that he was rarely seen without.

"Good afternoon, Headmaster. Where am I?" Ruby asked confused, still unsure of her surroundings.

"You are in the Beacon Academy Infirmary. You have been here for one day." Ms. Goodwitch informed Ruby as the teacher looked up from her scroll.

"A day? How did I get here?"

"Mr. Arc and Ms. Nikos found you on the grounds as you collapsed and brought you here." Glynda told her. As Ruby thought about this she remembered more and more of before she got here.

"Where's Blake?" Ruby asked quietly. Glynda looked to Ozpin waiting for him to speak.

"Ms. Belladonna was beyond our help when you brought her here." Ozpin stated slowly. "Her wounds had already taken their toll, she was already dead. I am very sorry." He said while studying Ruby's expression. Ruby just stared straight ahead, she had already known this. She had seen the blood flowing had carried the cold body of Blake. Hearing it though from Ozpin and having it finally sink in made Ruby shake in anger. Anger at this world for its cruelty, anger at the Grimm for taking her love away, most of all she was angry at herself. When it truly had counted she had been unable to protect the one she loved just like with her mother. Ruby threw off the blankets covering her as she worked to stand up, her legs fighting against her.

"Ms. Rose you should rest..." Glynda started before she was cut off.

"I don't care. Where is she?" Ruby asked harshly as she stood on wobbly legs.

"Ms. Rose we can take you to Ms. Belladonna later" Ozpin stated calmly.

"NO YOU"LL TAKE ME NOW!" Ruby shouted her anger briefly directed at the man who would deny her seeing Blake.

"MS. ROSE! You will speak to headmast—"

"It's alright Glynda," Ozpin said placating the teacher. "Alright Ms. Rose, we'll take you to Ms. Belladonna. Wait one moment while a cane is brought here. Despite your insistence you are still not at full health." He said motioning for someone out of Ruby's vision to get the cane. A few moments later it was brought by a nurse. A simple nondescript black cane, which Ruby took silently as she started walking with the assistance.

"Let's go" Was all she said as Ozpin and Glynda led the way.

After a short walk they were standing outside of a plain door, unremarkable from any of the others except for what it contained. This was the Beacon Academy morgue where the bodies of fallen students lied until final preparations could be made. The trio stood outside the door, the two teachers waiting for Ruby to enter first.

"We can come back another time if you are not feeling well," Ozpin offered, but he knew what the answer would be.

"No, I'm going now." Was all Ruby said, the anger in her voice barely contained as she pushed the door open and walked in. The room was small and on the main table, the center of the room was a body covered by a white sheet, and Ruby instinctively went to that body and gently pulled the cover off. It was Blake. Her normally pale skin ghostly white, the blood had been cleaned off of her body and the wounds healed. The most noticeable thing though was her face. The smile she had worn when she died was still present. Ruby felt tears fill her eyes once again as she looked upon the body of her love, looking no worse than she had a few days ago, but Ruby knew the truth she had seen it.

"I'm sorry Blake, this is my fault" Ruby cried, her shoulders shaking from the force of her sobs as she kept repeating that phrase. Ozpin came up behind her and placed his hand on her shoulder

"I understand how you feel Ms. Rose..." He started before Ruby pulled away quickly from him.

"AHHHHHHH!" she screamed as her tears streamed down her face while she started destroying everything in the room. She started knocking down jars and flipping tables and chairs, flipping the cane over she started hitting it against the wall and everything within reach, wishing that this mindless destruction could help alleviate her pain.

CRACK!

The cane sounded as it split into pieces after Ruby put all of her strength into smashing it against the wall. Ruby collapsed to the ground in front of Blake's body crying. She was lost, unsure what purpose her life had anymore without Blake. Ozpin and Glynda had just sat back and watched the red haired girl cause this destruction around the body of her fallen teammate.

"This world is unfair. First Summer and now you Blake." Ruby said between grief-racked sobs "Professor Ozpin, do you remember why I wanted to come to Beacon?" She asked him without turning to face the man.

"You said you wanted to help people" He replied recalling their first meeting after Ruby had stopped Roman Torchwick at a dust store.

"Well that was only part of it. I came to Beacon to get strong, to hone my skills so I would have the power to protect those I love, like I couldn't do for my mom." She said, her cries subsiding and replaced by the anger that had briefly been pushed aside, now regaining its hold on the girl. "I've trained here for three years now, I've gotten stronger, I've honed my skills, most importantly I found someone to love and protect. I did my best but it didn't matter, when it really counted I was still the little helpless girl I was when my mom died, still needing others to protect her." She said to her audience of two as she stood up and turned around to face them, her face a mask of pain and anger. "Tell me Headmaster, what is the point of going on?" She said nearly spitting the last words out as if they were poison. Ozpin merely looked at her unfazed by her actions and tone.

"I'm afraid I cannot give you that answer, that is something you must find for yourself," he said much to the displeasure of Ruby, who just rushed out of the room as fast as she could and heading for her room.

Ruby rushed past other students. It was the weekend so everyone was out of class. They all moved out of her way with worried looks as she was still wearing the gown the infirmary had put on her for her extended stay. She didn't care, she only had one goal in mind and it was too get to her room. As she hurried past the doors to other people's room she stopped at her room, the room she shared with Blake. The thought brought her more pain, like another stab to the heart. Opening the door she was immediately assailed by pain as she looked around the room. There was the bed she shared with Blake, where she laid in the loving embrace of the Faunus the night before their last mission. The room was adorned with trophies, trophies that Blake had helped Ruby earned and pictures of the two girls together, either with each other or with the other half of Team RWBY. Ruby picked up one picture that stood framed on her dresser. It was her and Blake on their first date two years ago. Ruby wasn't even looking at the picture as a whole only taking in the sight of Blake captured in all her beauty. "What more can this world take from me?" Ruby thought bitterly as she put her back to the wall and sank to the floor still holding the picture. She wallowed in her sadness; the only thing that kept her floating was the knowledge that she was not entirely alone; she still had her sister and Weiss.

Weiss was tired. The pain she felt physically not matching the anguish she felt mentally as she sat in Professor Ozpin's office. She had returned earlier that day carrying Yang's body. She had immediately gone to the Headmaster's office, where Yang's body had been taken from her to be attended to at the morgue. She had then been debriefed by Ozpin, though she was only present in body. "I wish I could have done more to save you, Yang," she thought not listening to Ozpin as he spoke to her until some words broke through.

"... Ms. Rose returned a day ago after her mission with Ms. Belladonna." He said causing Weiss to pay attention remembering her promise to her violet-eyed love.

"How did their mission go?" she asked, causing Professor Ozpin to pause as he gathered his thoughts.

"Ms. Rose returned injured but not severely she was found by Mr. Arc and Ms. Nikos as she passed out on Beacon grounds," he said though Weiss noticed something he was omitting.

"What of Blake?" she asked fearful of the answer.

"She was carried onto the grounds by Ms. Rose; her wounds were much more severe. She had several broken ribs, a punctured lung, and severe bleeding she was already dead when she arrived. There was nothing we could do." He said this being the second time he had to deliver this news. Weiss was stunned into silence by this information. "Blake is…dead?" Weiss thought before she was filled with dread about Ruby. "How will I tell her? How can I tell her that not only has the love of her life died but her sister as well?" Weiss thought before talking to Ozpin.

"I understand headmaster. I will tell Ruby about…Yang." Her words were clipped and she felt her breath hitch on the last word.

"Again I am sorry for your losses." He said before he took another sip from his coffee. Weiss just nodded as she stood to leave. As Weiss stood outside his office she just wanted to go to her room, curl up, and let the tears flow down her face, but she had one last mission and she was a Schnee so her priorities were clear, her pain could wait. Walking down the hall past all the other smiling students, the sight made her sick "These fools, all of them happy. What did I and Ruby do to this world for it to be so cruel?" she thought bitterly as she pushed past them her dark thoughts filling her mind as she went to Ruby's room.

Ruby's door was nondescript the only thing that set it apart was the number on the side that identified it. Weiss gently knocked on the door unsure what she would say. Ruby came to the door slower than usual, but when she opened the door and saw Weiss her expression grew lighter.

"Weiss you're back!" she said giving Weiss a hug that the other girl did not have the heart to reciprocate.

"Yes I am, I'm sorry Ozpin just told me about Blake." She said softly, at the mention of her Ruby grew more somber

"Yes... Where's Yang I really need to talk to her" she said after a pause, Weiss' heart panged at this as she worked herself up to speaking.

"Yang… is..." she started before tears started brimming in her blue eyes; Ruby noticed this and realized what it meant.

"No…no it can't...no she's just hurt, right Weiss?" Ruby said pleading, more to herself than to Weiss who had started crying against her will. The tears not listening to her internal pleading or her Schnee upbringing.

"I'm sorry…I'm so sorry Ruby," Weiss said in between her sobs.

Ruby felt her world collapsing around her. "Yang...is dead?" she thought numbly as she sank to her knees, her legs unwilling to hold her up longer anymore. Not only was Blake dead, but so was Yang. As Ruby sat there on her knees with Weiss crying in front of her, the world seemed darker and the purpose of it seemed so futile now. "What's the point of living anymore?" she thought as she robotically stood up and just closed the door on Weiss, not wanting to be a part of the world that had done nothing but take from her anymore as she went and just curled up on the floor. She was too numb to even cry over her losses. "What's the point anymore?"