The Bloodied Thirty Pieces

18 - Why, Oh Why, Can't I

The cafeteria was empty, eerily so. Team _WBY sat at one of the tables amid the large eerily silent hall. Yang and Weiss sat at the table with the faces vacant and their eyes hollow and dry with no more tears to shed while Blake sat between the two picking at a plate and shooting the pair glances.

The silence was broken by a door opening and two pairs of footsteps hitting the wooden floor, drawing closer to the girls. Blake looked up, Yang and Weiss failing to even register the noise, and saw Serena and Erika walking towards them with a purpose. Compared to her teammate Erika looked fine with only a linen bandaged wrapped once around her held holding a ice pack and cotton padding to her nose; also unlike her stern teammate Erika was smiling and eating an apple.

"Miss Belladonna," Serena nodded as she approached the table and stood around the far side so she could face all three of the girls; Erika behind her jumped up onto a neighbouring table and crouched down, quietly eating her apple.

"I am sorry." Serena said loudly, finally catching Yang and Weiss's attention who slowly looked up to the injured green haired student. "It was my idea to let you in to see her. I wanted to see if you could change her mind of accepting the surgery and setting aside her goal."

"Yeah, that plan went real well, didn't it?" Yang scoffed, lifting her clenched fist and resting it on the table. Serena turned her head to follow the movement, then looked to Yang's face and gave a slight smile.

"Actually, it did."

Yang recoiled as if Serena had slapped her, as did Blake and Weiss. Serena smiled again and continued. "Once she had calmed down again, Miss Rose called for professor Ozpin. She has accepted the surgery, as well as a cybernetic arm and repairs to the damaged regions of her body; she has, however, refused an eye. As well professor Ozpin is preparing therapists and specialist to help miss Rose recover mentally, to break this untruthful notion of her death and to help her with her actions."

"So," Weiss started, wetting her lips and leaning towards the second year student expectantly "Ruby's going to."

"Yes miss Schnee." Serena nodded and directed a smile to the heiress. "Miss Rose will live, barring any complications with the surgery."

Weiss fell back in her wheelchair, her mouth hanging open and her eyes wide in shock. Blake likewise had this expression plastered across her chest, only she directed it towards Serena and Erika. Yang had bowed her head, her shoulders starting to tremble.

"That's, that's wonderful."

"She's going to live. She's going to live thank God," Yang said under her breath, a few tears darkening the surface of the table. Blake dropped the shocked expression as she reached over and rubbed the blondes back, a overjoyed smile touching her lips as she looked to Serena again.

"Thank you."

"Don't thank me miss Belladonna. I did nothing." Serena said warmly. "Your teammates survival is all thanks to miss Williams, miss Scarlatina, the doctors and nurses, and you."

However as soon as the words were out of the second year's mouth her eyes then turned hard, and her smile dropped to a Goodwitch frown.

"However, do not celebrate yet. There is still that matter of what to do with miss Rose."

The joyous air turned cold and dread as _WBY looked again as if Serena had slapped them, harder this time.

"What, do you mean?" Yang asked, the anger in her voice building. Serena closed her eyes and reached up to push her glasses back in place.

"She may have been misguided on a untruthful vendetta, but she did kill two students. Two students with friends, and family. Professor Ozpin cannot overlook this, nor can he simply bury it. The school knows of these deaths, and the media has now caught word despite the teacher's best efforts. Miss Rose's identity has been withheld so far, but the description of the killer and their weapon has not been, and people might make the connection between the victims, the intended victims and miss Rose."