Mirror, Who's the Loneliest of All?

Disaster

It was their first solo mission. Weiss looks around as they approach the North Wall. They pass the old hospital, still in use, but not by many. It's a military hospital, more commonly used during wartime. Weiss gets the chills as they pass it, like someone walked over her grave. They pass a few destroyed homes from the Great War. The windows are shattered and doors hang open at odd angles. The four of them walk pretty close together, none of them willing to admit to how creeped out they were.

Finally they reach the North Wall, and they sigh a relief as they cross to the other side of the wall into Grimm territory. It's another simple task of getting the Grimm population under control. Ruby suggests they work in pairs and split up as they search the forest for the monsters, so Weiss goes with Ruby, and Blake and Yang go together in the other direction.

Ruby is in huntress mode, so Weiss doesn't even try making small talk. Which was honestly a blessing since the knot in her stomach was seeming to get tighter. She couldn't shake the feeling of familiarity. They patrol in silence, looking for any signs of their prey.

Weiss trips on a stump she doesn't see and goes sprawling with a pained yell. She twisted her ankle on her way down thanks to her blasted heels.

"Weiss!" whispers Ruby as she tries helping her up. Suddenly, as soon as Weiss is up and standing on her good foot, the telltale growl of an Ursa sounds from directly behind them. They whirl around and the next thing Weiss knows she's on the ground clutching her throat trying to cry out, but it's too painful. The Ursa had backhanded her, and she was lucky that was it. Had that paw been going the other way, her throat would be wide open.

Ruby is caught off guard by Weiss getting taken down and she tries to help Weiss before taking care of the Ursa. Weiss' throat prevents her from warning the blow that seems to come in slow motion. Weiss watches in horror as the Ursa's big paw comes towards Ruby's side in a forward slash, and rips across her arm and sends her spinning to the ground crying out. Weiss scrambles up grabbing Myrtenaster as the Ursa turns to mauling Ruby. Weiss activates the fire dust and attacks the Ursa. She stabs it five times before it even registers the attack but by that time it's too late for the Ursa.

Weiss leaves Myrtenaster burning the corpse as she gets down next to Ruby, tears stinging her eyes. She hears screaming coming from Yang and Blake's direction, and she knows they're not doing much better than her and Ruby. Weiss turns her attention to a gaping wound on Ruby's stomach.

Weiss holds the wound closed with both hands. You're going to be okay, Ruby, she tries to say, but all that comes out is pained squeaking in between her sobs. Ruby doesn't respond. She's lost too much blood already. Her eyes are glazed over and her breathing ragged. Weiss squeezes tighter and lays her head down on Ruby's chest. This is all my fault, she thinks. This wouldn't have happened if I had been watching where I was going.

A shriek rips through the air above them, and Weiss looks to the sky in horror as a Nevermore descends on them. Weiss spots a signature black bow matted in blood hanging from its beak.

Weiss screams painfully in unison with the bird as it swipes it wing at them. A mass of feathers are launched at them, and Weiss moves to dodge them, still getting one stuck through her arm. Weiss lays on the ground bleeding, unable to move now. She turns her head to see a sight that makes her scream again.

Ruby has been impaled by one of the sharp feathers through the shoulder.

A fatal wound.

Weiss' sobs come back with full force as a familiar figure bursts into the clearing with a fierce battle cry. Yang moves to attack the Nevermore. Even in her fading state, Weiss could see the blood covering the blond girl.

Weiss fades from consciousness.

---

Weiss drifts back to consciousness on the ground next to Ruby's body, still impaled through the arm. Yang is a wreck, crying over her little sister. She's not looking too good, either. Her hair is colored red from both Ruby's and her own blood. "She didn't deserve this!" Yang is shouting. "Let me take her place! I don't want to live in a world without her or Blake! Please." Weiss just lays there watching, unable to speak. The world blurs again and she knows she'll soon bleed to death.

She tugs half-heartedly at the feather, drawing Yang's attention seemingly for the first time. "Oh my gosh, Weiss. We need to get you to someplace safer." She breaks the feather and lifts Weiss in a bridal carry, applying pressure to her more severe wounds. Weiss wants to tell Yang to worry about herself, that she herself is done for. Yang wobbles under the weight combined with pain, but starts walking. Past the fresh Nevermore corpse, past the bow of Blake, past the body of Ruby.

Weiss drifts in and out of cosciousness some more, she knows, because the wall seems to get much closer all of a sudden, at one point disappearing and giving way to the old hospital. Then she's dropped onto tile. She hears muted voices around her, but can't see anything but blobs of color. She fades out one last time on the floor of that hospital.