Gone But Not Forgotten (ch2)

2-DAY EARLY RELEASE FOR ALL OF MY PATRONS!! THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!

This chapter starts off with a flashback in the form of Weiss' nightmare. Liara's concept and name was created entirely by Bjorn Jeppsson!

Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY.

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													Chapter 2. New Future

She was young.

It was ten years ago to the day.

Back then she'd ensured long hours of training, studying, and whatever else her father had planned for her.

She only had one thing to look forward to.

That chime of the doorbell.

Whenever it happened, Weiss quickly finished whatever it was she was doing at the time and rushed to answer the door.

Liara was her best friend. Her only friend once Winter went away to school. She was all Weiss had left.

Liara resembled Weiss in many ways. She was quiet and studious, yet she had the most wonderful laugh. Weiss had never known the sound of her own laughter before she'd met Liara.

When they were together they were inseparable. In some ways, Weiss was close to Liara like she was close to Winter, a bond that resembled that of sisters.

They'd studied together, trained together. They'd planned on going to Beacon together, in spite of their families' wishes. They were going to be partners, teammates, the best huntresses Remnant had ever seen...

And then one day it all shattered.

They'd been sitting at the piano together, working in perfect tandem to create a beautiful melody. Years later, Weiss realized the sound of their song and their laughter had drowned out the alarm.

They never knew there'd been a break-in until the masked people were already swarming the room.

Shouting. Cursing. Enraged. They overturned every piece of furniture, smashed every lamp, shattered every window.

The girls could only run for their lives.

Weiss did her best to keep hold of Liara's hand, squeezing her palm for dear life. But in their panic they'd tripped and Weiss let go. She could still remember the consuming terror in Liara's eyes, the same terror Weiss felt swallowing her from the inside out with every beat of her heart.

All they could do was run.

What Weiss failed to realize at the time was that this was her mansion. She knew it better than Liara did. She knew the crawl spaces, the hidden rooms, the moving bookshelves.

She had a better place to hide.

In the end that's what saved her life.

And cost Liara hers.

Weiss had been pressed back against the wall, concealed by a bookshelf, save for one tiny space that allowed her to peek through.

And she watched them drag Liara out by her hair, wailing and screaming.

She watched them put a gun to her head and demand she tell them where Weiss was.

She watched Liara bite one of their hands in defiance.

She watched them pull the trigger.

She'd been too frozen to even scream, to even breathe. She couldn't comprehend what she'd seen, not even with all the blood, the lifeless body of her best friend lying on the parlor floor.

It was only a nightmare. That's what she'd told herself.

That's what she'd been telling herself for ten years.

And so that's what it had become.

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Blake, Ruby, and Yang found out about Liara after doing a little bit of research.

Blake got a few hints from Weiss, who kept mumbling in her sleep.

It was Yang who eventually pulled up an old news article from a decade ago:

//Schnee Mansion Attacked, Young Girl Murdered.//

The three of them read it over in solemn silence. Halfway through Ruby whimpered and had to look away, hugging Yang for comfort.

"That's... that's horrible... Poor Weiss..."

"No wonder she's been so out of it lately," Yang murmured.

Blake finished reading and went straight to Weiss' bedside. She sat down beside her and gently brushed the back of her hand across the sleeping girl's forehead. Blake leaned down and held a small kiss to her temple. She could feel tears welling up.

"You should've said something..."

But at the same time she knew she couldn't blame Weiss for keeping quiet about something as personal and tragic as this. The anniversary of her friend's murder was today, so it was no wonder Weiss hadn't felt up for their little party, despite their good intentions.

None of them were really sure what they could do to help this, or if there was anything they could do.

Weiss was always so collected and poised. Even after being together for almost a year now, she was only just beginning to show her emotions to her teammates.

But something like this must have been too great a burden for her heart to handle. She was trying to keep it quiet, trying to keep it bottled up inside, trying to suppress it and wait for the anniversary to pass.

But she'd been doing that for ten years now, and it seemed Weiss was beginning to crack. It was cause for both awe and dismay that she'd managed to keep it inside for this long.

Blake didn't think there was anything she or any of the others could do for Weiss without first making things worse. They'd have to let Weiss know they were aware of what had happened ten years ago, and that would mean bringing up the exact incident.

Doing that would only make it even fresher in Weiss' mind, make her remember every horrid detail she'd been trying so desperately to forget. But pretending they didn't know and weren't fit to help her with this might be even worse.

Blake dug her teeth into her bottom lip in frustration, though her fingers threading through Weiss' hair were still very gentle. She didn't know what she could do for her.

At the very least if Weiss was ever willing to talk about it, Blake would listen, but she wasn't even sure if that was an option. Helplessly, she looked back over to Ruby and Yang, ears flat and voice low.

"What can we do...?"

They were equally as lost. Ruby just shook her head and wiped her eyes.

"I don't know..."

Yang pulled her in again and patted her head.

"There might not be anything we can do," she sighed. "This isn't really our place to interfere."

"What do you mean?" Blake hissed. "We're her teammates!"

"I know that," Yang grunted back. "But we can't force her to talk about this. Do you want her to relive all of that? What if it were you?"

The comment took Blake by surprise and she flinched.

Of course she had plenty of unpleasant memories from her past as well. None as terrible as being forced to watch her best friend be murdered, but a combination of others that might've dared to come close. Things that made her stomach churn just to briefly consider them.

She understood Yang's point though. It wasn't fair for any of them to force any of the others to relive the pain of their pasts, no matter how badly they all wanted to help.

Sometimes it was best just to let sleeping dogs lie rather than try to coax them into the house for a bone. More often than not, they'd end up biting.

Blake heaved a sigh, her eyes returning to Weiss' sleeping form.

"Then what can I do..."

She wasn't really asking Ruby or Yang as much as she was asking Weiss herself. But none of them had or gave an answer.

Blake remained by Weiss' side even after Ruby and Yang had retired quietly to their beds. They left the lamp on for Blake, who simply continued to stroke her fingers across the heiress' scarred cheek.

"I'm so sorry..." she murmured. "Of course it was the White Fang... of course it was my people who did that to her... to you..."

Although she'd had no part in it and not even any knowledge of the incident, Blake felt guilty for the crime. She assumed Weiss' father had gone through great lengths to keep the incident buried in the media. He'd probably paid off every journalist in town to keep things quiet so a White Fang break-in on the Schnee mansion wouldn't be floating around.

That would've been a major blow for someone like him. It would've been seen as weakness, an inability to protect his own house, his own daughter. No one seemed to know about this except for the people who had been directly involved.

He'd probably told Weiss to keep quiet about it as well. She'd probably been made to act like it had never even happened.

Blake couldn't believe she'd been teammates – and girlfriends – with Weiss for almost a year now and it had never surfaced, not even when Blake had revealed her own past ties with the White Fang.

But she couldn't blame Weiss for keeping quiet about it. After all, Blake had her skeletons too. All of them did.

After a while she pulled her legs up onto the bed, intending to lie herself down beside Weiss. But before Blake could wrap the heiress in her arms, Weiss made a small pained sound.

"Nn..."

Blake's ears flicked and honed in on the sound, and her entire body tensed. When she curled herself around Weiss she could hear the girl's labored breathing, feel her jolting in her sleep. Blake's heart hurt for her. Gingerly, she pulled Weiss into her arms and went to kiss her forehead-

"S-Stop..."

Weiss' shaking voice made Blake freeze. She'd thought the plea had been meant for her. Cautiously she eased herself back, eyes flicking in the darkness.

"Weiss?"

But when she peered down she found her girlfriend's eyes sewn shut tightly.

"N-No... don't..."

Weiss' fingers were curling unconsciously into the bedsheets and her entire body was quivering. Blake hesitated, unsure of whether or not she should touch Weiss or recoil. But she knew for certain that she at least had to wake her and free her from the nightmare.

"Weiss..." She reached out to touch her shoulder, ever so gently-

Suddenly Weiss shot up in her bed with a scream.

"No-!"

Eyes wild with terror she nearly fell back over the edge. It was only thanks to Blake's quick grip on her wrist that she didn't.

"W-Weiss! It's okay, calm down-"

"No, th-they're... they're going to hurt her-"

"Weiss, please." Blake clung to her wrist in desperation, terrified by the effect this was having on Weiss. It was bad enough that the nightmare was bleeding over into reality now. She couldn't let it take Weiss.

She reached out with her other hand as well, trying to touch her shoulder. But Weiss pulled herself free and stumbled out of bed.

"I-I can't... I have to go. I have to do something..."

"Weiss, stop!"

By the time Ruby and Yang woke up startled and Blake scrambled out of the bed, Weiss was already at the window. She pushed it open with the force of someone determined to stop a tragedy and stepped up onto the sill.

Despite the cries of her teammates Weiss didn't stop. With a flash of her hand she created a trail of glyphs which she used to guide herself down to the ground.

Blake was the quickest to go after her. She managed to reach the window and jump in time to use Weiss' glyphs as well before they vanished. But by the time her feet hit solid ground Weiss was already gone. Heart in her throat, Blake shouted for her.

"Weiss! Weiss, come back!"

By now Ruby and Yang had huddled at the window, tired and scared.

"Wh-What's going on?"

"Where is she going?"

Blake turned back to them and shook her head.

"She's reliving it. She thinks it's happening now and that she can still save her friend. We have to find her before she gets hurt-"

Blake choked on the word and closed her eyes, focusing her keener senses on the night around them. Past the screeching of crickets it was difficult to hear much else.

But it wasn't her ears that gave her the hint this time.

A tangy scent hit her nose, and when she reopened her eyes she glanced down at the grass to find it red. It wasn't a lot but there were specks of blood, indication Weiss had likely cut herself on the window in her haste.

Blake shuddered at the idea that these nightmares had such a strong grip on Weiss' mind that they could make her do things that could physically harm her.

It was the only clue she had as to which direction Weiss had gone. So as Ruby and Yang scrambled to get outside by using the stairs, Blake wasted no time in taking off into the shadows.

. . .

Weiss didn't know where she was going. But she knew why.

She had to find Liara.

Because she had to save her.

Because she knew what was going to happen to her if she didn't.

Those masked people would come again. They'd grab her and drag her by the hair and then shoot her in the head.

Weiss can still – no – already hear Liara's screams of defiance, her grunts of effort to free herself.

Then the blast and then...

Nothing. Nothing at all.

Weiss had to find her no matter what.

She used her glyphs to propel herself through the forests with that one goal in mind. Her heart was pounding throughout her entire body, slamming in time with her footsteps and shaking her to the core.

/I have to find her... or else she'll.../

And she wasn't exactly sure when it was that reality came back to her. But by the time she burst out of the trees she was back in her conscious state of mind.

And she knew.

She knew she couldn't save Liara. She knew it was ten years too late.

Her glyphs vanished as she found herself on the cliff freshman students began their first mission at Beacon on. With her energy depleted and glyphs gone, there was nowhere to go from here other than a steep, painful incline.

She didn't move, didn't even breathe. Her eyes simply stared out over the darkened forests, out across the blackened sky. There weren't many stars, and the moon was clouded over.

A sudden violent shiver shot up her spine and she took a step back. Her arms came up to clutch at herself, head bowing heavily as the tears began to fall. Somewhere in the back of her mind she heard a voice calling out for her. It was small, distant, scared...

"Weiss... Weiss-!"

Images of Liara flashed through Weiss' mind. The times they'd played together, how they'd planned to come to Beacon together and be teammates, how they'd wanted to help change the world one step at a time...

And then her screams of defiance cut short by a single, deafening, unforgiving pull of the trigger.

Weiss was still unable to comprehend it to this day. How one moment Liara had been there on the other side of that bookshelf. How she'd been kicking and screaming and fighting for her life.

And in only a single second, eight years' worth of friendship, ambition, and life had simply ended...

Somewhere in the cold darkness of the night, that voice calling her name got a little louder. And louder.

Until-

"Weiss!"

It wasn't Liara anymore.

It was Blake.

Blake.

Who had raced after her and skidded to a precarious halt right beside her, gripping Weiss' wrist with all her might and tugging her back away from the cliff-face. The strength in her grip alone outmatched all the strength left in Weiss' whole body, and the heiress collapsed to her knees.

And she cried. She cried harder than she'd ever cried before, weeping bitterly as harsh hiccups ripped through her chest.

Even at Liara's funeral she'd tried to suppress herself. And then for ten years afterward as well.

And now it was all coming free and she couldn't stop it.

But Blake wasn't asking her to.

She was still breathless from her sprint through the woods to find Weiss, and finding her at the edge of the cliff had scared her more than anything ever had. Blake was still shaking as she wrapped her arms tightly around the heiress, refusing to ever let go again.

"Weiss... thank goodness..." Her voice spilled out in whimpers as she pressed herself close. Weiss trembled and wept in her arms, fingers curling limply into Blake's clothes for purchase.

"Blake... it's... it's all my fault-"

"Don't say that." Blake knew how the guilt could consume someone all too well, and she wasn't about to let it swallow Weiss after all this time of trying to drown her. "Weiss, that's not true. It's not."

"But it is..." She choked on a sob, hiding herself in the side of Blake's neck miserably. "They wanted me... she wouldn't give me up... if I had just-"

"Weiss, please don't... please don't say that." Blake squeezed her tighter, defiant. "If you'd gone then... then you wouldn't be here now..."

It pained her just to say it. And judging by the way Weiss jolted in her arms, it pained her to hear it said.

"But... then at least Liara would be here..."

"And she would be as torn as you are," Blake countered gently. "Would you want to see her like this? Do you think she'd want to see you like this?"

"It doesn't matter. She'd be alive..."

Weiss grew silent again after that, lost to the tears once more.

Blake bit her lip, ears flat as she blinked away her own tears. She had no response for that. She knew exactly what that felt like, and she wasn't about to tell Weiss everything was simply going to be all right with Liara gone.

It might've only been more painful, but the truth was all Blake had to give her now.

"Weiss... you can't change what happened. All you can do now is just... live on. Live for her, like she would've wanted... Sometimes that just has to be enough."

Blake buried her face into Weiss' shoulder and sighed, though her grip never loosened.

Weiss sobbed harder against her chest, shivering from the cold and the grief alike.

But in spite of it all, she knew Blake was right. This was how things were now. She'd only been a child at the time of the attack. Weiss couldn't blame herself for her inaction then. Had she acted, they probably would've killed her and Liara anyway. And as painful as it was to be the survivor, to come out alive when Liara's life was taken...

Weiss wouldn't trade her life for anything now. Her friends, her school, her teammates...

All of the things she had had only been made possible because of Liara. Because Liara had refused to give her up back then. Liara had given this life to Weiss.

So Weiss was going to live it. She was going to live through the pain and the anguish, as well as the better times. All of it was her life now, the gift Liara had given her in turn. In a sense, it was Liara's life now, too.

Eventually, everything took its toll on Weiss, and her conscious slipped away. Blake felt her go limp and carefully gathered Weiss into her lap. She wiped the tears away and peppered small kisses onto her cheeks instead.

Ruby and Yang got to them a few minutes later, weak with relief. Yang bent down to take Weiss and cradled her in her arms for the walk back to the building. Ruby helped Blake up and supported her along the way.

When they finally got back to their room, Yang laid Weiss down onto Blake's bed as per the Faunus girl's request. Blake hugged both sisters, thanked them, and then they all went back to their beds to try and get some sleep.

Now that the hectic events of the evening were behind them, Blake settled slowly into her bed, curling herself around Weiss, pulling the heiress in to her chest protectively. She let out a long breath and closed her eyes, but failed to fall asleep just yet.

In retrospect she was glad for that, because she felt Weiss stirring not long afterward. Blake eased herself back as Weiss made a small sound in the back of her throat. Slowly, the heiress opened her tired eyes, her voice nothing more than a rasp.

"Blake... I'm-"

But, sensing an unnecessary apology, Blake quieted her by bumping their noses together softly.

"It's all right."

"B-Blake-"

"Shh..."

As Weiss started to sniffle again, Blake pulled her close. Weiss wrapped both arms around her and clung to her back, and in turn Blake stroked slowly through her girlfriend's hair. She waited until Weiss' breathing had eased before pressing a soft kiss to her forehead.

She was relieved and happy when she felt Weiss plant a timid kiss on her lips. Blake let out a small purr and kissed back.

They didn't say anything else, but merely kissed each other to sleep after that, cuddled up close and warm and safe.

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A/N: I hope this was satisfactory for what the patron asked for! There will be a very brief epilogue!