Negative Remnant

So far, Ruby and I have yet to run into any sort of real trouble despite being this deep into the dreamscape. I wondered if Negative Weiss is on patrol, as we have yet to run into her.

" Halt!"

Speak of the devil... The little cookie monster turned around to see the military-uniformed snow princess that looked identical to her canon self in Ice Queendom with some troops and two Kleins, Sneezy and Grumpy. Ruby called out to Negative Weiss.

" Weiss, Silva, and I-!"

I raised my paw to stop the little cookie monster from talking and winked at her to trust me.

" Hey, Weiss, I decided to go out on a walk and dragged Ruby with me, and we... Kinda got lost on the way back to our rooms."

Let's see if she buys my BS or not. The snow princesses sighed and commented with exasperation.

" Typical..."

I had to stop myself from reminding Weiss she got lost during Beacon's Initiation, as now was not the time to poke fun at her, regardless of much fun it was. The snow princess then ordered both of us.

" Be quiet and follow me; I will take you back to your rooms. Grumpy, continue your patrols."

" Yes, Young Miss. You heard her; you lot with me!"

Grumpy left, and Negative Weiss walked past us. After walking a few feet, she turned her head to look at us and curtly told us.

" I said, follow me."

Ruby and I exchanged looks and followed behind the snow princess-turned-general. We continued to follow Negative Weiss until she led us to Sleepy Klein, and she called out with a bit of annoyance.

" Klein!"

" Ah! Oh, Young Miss, how may I assist you?"

The talking door yawned and looked ready to go back to sleep, and the snow general told him.

" Ruby has left her room; open up."

" Right away, Young Miss."

The little cookie monster looked at me, and I gestured for her to head inside as I could easily get her out later with Door To Darkness. Negative Weiss then closed the talking door after Ruby entered the room. She then glared my way and said.

" As for you, do not drag Ruby into your escapades and shenanigans, Silva Branwen."

" I make no promises; I get lonely."

I jokingly replied, and the snow general drew out her rapier and pointed at me as she warned me.

" I am serious! It's bad enough that both Mother and Sister like you for whatever reason that I can not understand and go along with whatever you want, but I will not allow you to mislead my team."

Hmm... Interesting, it looks like I might get somewhere with this line of conversation on understanding Weiss's views on me without resorting to Soul Archive.

" Weiss, Ruby and Yang, can be considered childhood friends of mine, and Blake is someone I know through her parents as I helped them reconnect because I consider them friends. With Willow and Winter, we got to know each it's only you that refuses to make any sort of connection with me. Heck, even Whitley talks with me about guy things on occasion."

Whitley was lost without his father telling him what to do, and Willow asked me to talk to him. I encouraged him to try to find something he enjoys doing, and he developed a hobby of drawing and sketching as he never had a chance to express himself creatively, with Jacques bearing down on him. I then asked Negative Weiss directly.

" What is it about me that you so greatly dislike about me, Weiss?"

She put aside her weapon and removed her sunglasses to look at me directly and said with her voice raised.

" You showed up out of nowhere, and ever since, MY Mother and Sister have nothing but good things to say about you, and even when they speak of your flaws, they smile at the thought of you. I don't understand how you wormed your way into their hearts, but you did, and there is nothing I can do about it... For now."

I know I shouldn't, LIKE really shouldn't, but I teased Negative Weiss with a wide grin.

" Weiss Schnee, are you jealous of little old me?"

I had to stop myself from laughing as I saw the little snow general pout of all things. I am going to turn this memory into a picture to hold over Weiss's head forever and a half. She replied as she turned around and walked away to lead me to my room in this dreamscape.

" As if I would be jealous of a shameless rapscallion such as you."

I, unfortunately, felt the urge to continue teasing her, and I did not resist it.

" Weiss, dear, if you want, I can teach you to be like me if you find me so incomprehensible."

She scoffed and continued walking. I then decided to switch to a more serious tone before I pushed her buttons too much.

" Weiss, in all seriousness, you do have one flaw that stops you from understanding why your Mother and Sister are so fond of me."

She stopped and looked over her shoulder to ask me with a calm tone.

" And that would be?"

" You have a tendency to only see the surface of what a person presents and not lie further underneath. The reason Willow and Winter like me is that they have gotten to know me better and understand me. The more you know a person there are only two outcomes, you either hate them or love them for who they are. You never tried to get to know me, at least not seriously. You may tolerate me since our heart-to-heart at the beginning of the year, but you ultimately kept your distance from me under the excuse of getting to know your teammates."

Negative Weiss turned to face me and replied.

" You once told me that I know nothing, and I will admit you were right at the time, but I throw your words back at you. You know nothing about me, Silva Branwen."

" I beg to differ, Weiss. You are inspired by your grandfather and want to follow in his footsteps to uphold your family name. You hated how your father turned your home into a cold and distant place and ran your family name through the mud with his amoral business practices but still viewed him as your father. You were disgusted with your mother when she drowned herself in drinking to numb herself, but she changed into someone you are now proud of with all your heart.

You see Winter as an example to follow for her strength in freeing herself from your father's control and bettering herself. You may be distant with Whitley, but you still care about him as he is your brother. You may have had issues with your team at first, but you have come to cherish them dearly. Need I go on?"

Negative Weiss looked at me dumbfoundedly and was silent for a minute before asking.

" How?"

I shrugged as I replied plainly.

" I am observant, in case you did not notice."

" I... See..."

After another moment of silence, she turned around and said, with hurried steps, as if to run away from me.

" I will take you to your room."

I easily kept pace with her and wondered if my words reached Weiss through this dream world.

***

Ruby was trapped, at least for now, as she had faith in Silva to bust her out later, especially since his portals work in this dreamscape. For now, she examined the room she was confined in, which was identical to her team's dorm room but bigger and more organized. Their bunk beds were there, along with all their stuff, but there were more of Weiss's things in here than in reality. There was a vanity table and a mannequin with a dress that she could easily imagine Weiss wearing.

What drew the little cookie monster's attention was the dream versions of Yang and Blake looking the same as in the canon of Ice Queen, with the exception of the ninja catgirl's cat ears being on full display. Ruby looked around the room for anything interesting and checked her bed to find a confusing signpost imprinted on her bed sheet with a red Knight Relic atop it, and she asked out loud as she picked it up.

" What's this?"