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Building Better Worlds by TheTHICCWeeb

 Anime » RWBY Rated: T, English, Adventure, Ruby R., Weiss S., Yang X.L., Pyrrha N., Words: 182k+, Favs: 326, Follows: 386, Published: Feb 14, 2022 Updated: Mar 29, 2023 

 165Chapter 26

The small bell above the door chimed as somebody had entered the store.

"Welcome to the Tukson's book- Hey Blake. I'm sorry but no new parts of that series of yours." Tukson greeted with a knowing smirk.

"I'm not here for that." Blake lightly blushed. "Just decided to pay a visit to a friend."

"Hah, of course." Tukson let out a laugh. "Wanna have some tea or you are here only for a while?"

"I wouldn't mind." Blake already moved to the shop's backroom. "But I still have classes tomorrow so I will need to catch the last ride."

"Right, right." Tukson brought freshly brewed tea to the small room and put one cup in front of Blake before sitting down himself. "So, how is school?"

"Are you my dad now?" Blake replied with a smirk.

"No, but somebody has to make sure you are alright."

"I'm with Ilia, we can take care of each other."

"Your track record during your stay in the Fang would beg to differ."

"Those were calculated risks!"

"And both of you definitely skipped classes."

Thoroughly embarrassed Blake took a second to collect herself.

"It's been fine so far. The schoolwork is kinda hard but bearable." She started talking about her experiences at Beacon. "I'm partnered up with Ilia and guess what, I'm the team leader." She didn't know whether to celebrate or to despair. She was proud that Ozpin saw her fit for the role but on the other hand she had absolutely no idea what to do. It was exactly the reason why she tried to stick so close to Ruby. Despite the girl being two years younger, she was clearly more experienced than her when it came to the whole huntress thing and Blake hoped that she would be able to get some pointers. At least her team wasn't as volatile…

"So everythings great? Nobody gives you crap for being a faunus?"

"Hah! My bow worked perfectly." She was really proud of her disguise. "There of course are some bigots but nobody pays them any mind."

It was rather sad. For all the talk about hope, ideals etc. Beacon was playing by the rules of the jungle. Might made right, and to everyone's relief the strongest fighters in their year were all either pro-faunus or simply didn't care.

"Fine, I admit that maybe it wasn't the worst idea. I still think that you should at least tell your team but that's up to you to decide." Tukson took a long sip from his tea. "Speaking of teams, you said you were with Ilia, what about the other two?"

"They are good people. Ren and Nora, both are humans from Mistral but they are really good teammates. Nora can be a bit of a headache with all the unbound energy but Ren's helping with keeping her down. I'm pretty sure those two want to start a relationship but keep walking around the bush." Blake huffed at the end. It was painfully obvious yet neither of them was doing anything.

Maybe I should lock them inside the dorm for a day. Some scented candles, flowers…

"Good for you kid." Tukson flashed her a smile. "Any other interesting people?"

"Well… there is the team next door. We met during the initiation and hit it off. At least with some of them. Actually, Weiss Schnee is on that team."

"Right, I heard she wanted to go to Beacon… how is she in real life?"

"She is… a bit prissy, quite spoiled and a perfectionist. She is a bit tense around faunus but never insulted anybody. Well except all the yelling that was coming from their dorm for the first few days." Blake recounted.

"Some problems?"

"Yeah, a bit. She wasn't happy about not being the leader and made sure to let everyone know. They were also arguing about not having enough space for their stuff."

"Hoh? Somebody's been picking a fight with the Schnee princess?"

"Not really. Ruby's just trying to keep her weapons indoors while Weiss is doing the same with her dust. Oh, Ruby is the leader of their team. There is also her sister Yang and Weiss' partner Pyrrha."

"Pyrrha… as in Pyrrha Nikos?" Tukson asked in a mild disbelief.

"Yeah… I thought I would be able to get some good combat rating but so far I'm fourth." Blake shrugged.

They continued to talk for some more time, Blake sharing her impressions of the plenty of new people she met with Tukson giving his own thoughts on the matter. In the end Blake left in a hurry for the last ride back to school.

After Tukson cleaned up and closed his store properly he came back to his office and sat down at his computer. Few moments later he was already dialing a very important person.

"Hello? Tukson, did something happen?" Powerful yet kind voice greeted him when the call connected.

"Nothing of sorts chief." Tukson calmed him down. "Just thought that you might want to hear about how Blake was doing in school."

"Is that so? Give me a minute, I'll go get Kali."

-BBW-

Weiss was gaping at her like a fish out of water.

Maybe I should have talked with Ruby about this… Both Yang and Ruby knew something was troubling her but Ruby didn't want to be invasive. Which meant that she would ignore the problem until it became worse. Yang didn't have those reservations, and now was the time to at least take a look at what was happening with the girl.

"I don't know what you are talking about." Weiss weakly protested and tried not to look in Yang's direction.

"I know that you have two different auras in your body." Yang stated. "I also know that it's messing up your control. Are you doing something about it or not?" That was Yang's main concern. If Weiss knew what she was doing then she would leave it be. If not, then somebody needed to intervene.

"W-what? I'm sure you are imagining things."

"Tsk…" So she is in denial or just doesn't want to admit it. Time for a more direct approach! "Well, I hope this works."

To Weiss' surprise and indignation, Yang put her palm on her head.

I, who shall awaken

-BBW-

She wanted to scream. She didn't know what that brute was doing to her but it was terrifying. It wasn't enough that she was poking her nose into someone else's business but now she was… Weiss didn't have a slightest idea of what Yang was doing to her. One second she was trying to ruffle her hair, or at least that's what Weiss thought it was, and the next moment she gives her the mother of all migraines that only lasts for a second.

And now she was stuck in some sort of void. Was this what a coma feels like?

"You worry too much, dear sister." A familiar voice spoke up from behind her.

She was in her room. Her room that was in the Schnee manor in Atlas, a continent and an ocean away. She gracelessly fell down on the floor, an action that was followed by bloody giggling!

Her twin, how she would always refer to herself, was sitting on the edge of the largebed. Usually, she would see her as a reflection, so while the hair-style would change and the scar would disappear, she would always wear the same articles of clothing. Not anymore, it seemed. She was wearing a white military-style uniform, a large white coat over her shoulders and a white captain hat with a black snowflake was laying near her hand.

"W-what's happening?!" Weiss stammered out. She quickly got up from the floor and started looking around.

"Well… remember the stuff about going to your mind's palace to get your thoughts together? This is something like that. Or at least I think it is… I'm sure that Yang was trying to get into your head, literally." The doppelganger continued to sit on the bed while gazing out of the window. "It took some time to find a workaround that would allow it without giving you a severe brain damage in the process."

"Yang did this?!" Weiss cried out. "How? Why? What?"

"I would like to know as well." The 'other' answered. "Do not worry, I think we will get our answers soon enough."

With a flick of her fingers, the windows of the room had opened and Weiss finally saw what was her doppelganger staring at.

Endless plane covered in ash and cinders. No moon or sun in the skies, the only sources of light being the small embers and the white star shining above a single landmark. A tall mountain with a flat top.

"What is this?" Weiss asked again. She was slowly getting more and more afraid.

"I don't know." Her 'reflection' answered. "I was able to create the room, what you see outside, is Yang's doing."

Suddenly, a fireball was launched from the top of the mountain. Maybe it was a volcano, Weiss thought. Seconds later she noticed that the fireball was flying straight at them. Before she could do anything, not even being sure if she could, it broke through the window and landed in the middle of the room.

"A pleasure to meet you in person." Her clone politely greeted.

Weiss wanted to yell at her for treating a ball of flames in the middle of their room as normal only for the fire to fade away and for Yang to stand up properly.

Yang for her part took a look around, her eyes lingering at both Weiss and the second Weiss(?). One she was familiar with but the one that was sitting on the bed was new.

"I swear I'm not crazy!" The Weiss she knew was getting closer to breaking down in tears from all the curveballs that have been thrown at her within the last few minutes.

"Sanity is subjective." Yang opined. She was sure that neither her nor Ruby would be considered sane if all the things came out. Hell, some idiots were already calling Ruby a crazy scientist without knowing even a half of the stuff she made. "And you would be?" She addressed the other 'Weiss'.

There was a moment of silence until her cheeks reddened and she looked away "... I don't have a name." This was supposed to be her debut and she already botched it up! She couldn't be Weiss, that would be really confusing but she didn't have any other name in mind.

"Why are you doing this?" The real Weiss decided to join the conversation, especially after seeing her doppelganger screw herself over. Although she was feeling a bit sad on her behalf.

"Trying to make sure you don't fall apart from the inside." Yang answered like it was the most obvious thing.

"And that meant going into my head?!"

"It's not like I have done this before… I was improvising." Yang had to admit that this was probably a bad thing to say.

"Out! Get out of my head!" Weiss literally pushed her to the same window she came through while yelling at her.

Yang climbed out and gave her a slightly apologetic smile before both her and the scorched planes vanished.

Weiss was now left alone, in an isolated room with her apparent twin. She still had troubles accepting it but apparently this level of insanity wasn't only her thing.

She walked up the bed and sat down next to her.

"So… what will we do now?" She asked her newest sister.

-BBW-

"What are you doing here? I don't need your help." She tried to sound polite but there was an underlying threat in her voice.

"This is an unrelated issue. Focus on your own plan, I'll be leaving shortly." A gruff voice answered.

"Just keep it quiet. I don't have everything ready yet."

There was a grunt of acknowledgement after which the large figure turned around and left.

-BBW-

When Weiss woke up it was already quite dark. She didn't know how long she had been having a face to face with her newest sibling who was convinced that she was her twin. It was hard to process time when there was literally nothing around except the room they were in.

In the end they established that, yes, she was real and not just some coping mechanism of her mind. At least she thought so because Yang was also able to see and talk to her. Or maybe everything happening was her fever dream and she was still in Atlas. In that case nothing really mattered and she could just go with the flow.

Their dorm was surprisingly quiet. Usually this late in the evening they all would already finish their plans for the day and meet up here. Which always led to a lot of bickering, random shouting and Ruby trying to put a tactical nuke under their beds 'just in case'.

"Hey Pyrrha" Weiss called out to her partner, whose shadow she could see on the wall above her. "Where is everyone?"

She saw her twitch in surprise. "Oh, you woke up, Weiss?"

"Yes, I… had some stuff to deal with and was tired afterwards." She really wanted to avoid telling Pyrrha that she was dealing with her issues. That would cause a lot of possible misunderstandings. "About what I said…"

"Oh, right!" Pyrrha quickly apologized. "Ruby had been holed up in the forge the entire time after our spar and Yang went to pick her up." She answered. "Weiss… is everything okay?" It wasn't like her to take a nap in the middle of the day and she was looking a bit pale.

"Everything is fine, at least for now. It was just something I've been putting away for the last few months." Weiss assured her. It surprised her that she actually meant every word.

"Told you, it would be easier to get along instead of you being in denial."

Weiss had to resist rolling her eyes lest she get some uncomfortable questions from Pyrrha. "How did your spar with Ruby go?" Can you stay quiet for now? I can't focus on both of you at once.

The reaction was immediate. Pyrrha's smile grew wider and there was a small amount of her competitive spirit shining through her eyes. "It was exhilarating. Nobody uses scythes so it was quite an experience!" She seemed to realize that her emotions were getting the better of her and she composed herself. "Sadly we weren't able to finish. Ruby got some ideas for new weapons and training for me and ran off."

Weiss' mood turned somber. She may have started solving her own issues but it seemed that in the meantime her teammates would only further the gap between them.

"Ehm, Pyrrha?"

"Yes?"

"Would you mind giving me a few pointers? I'm feeling like I'm falling behind all of you." She could feel her pride's slow and painful death but if that was the price she had to pay to live up to her own expectations so be it.

"Sure!" Pyrrha gave her a reassuring smile. "We are a team. And more importantly, I'm your partner."

"So you will help me?" Weiss had actually expected her to try weasel out of it so as to not be weighted down.

"Of course! But are you talking only spars or overall training?"

"I think… both? I think that my training wasn't good enough when compared to yours or Yang's."

Pyrrha then soon left the dorm, wanting to take a better look at the gym to see if there was everything she would need to bring Weiss up to speed. In the meantime Weiss decided to take a shower before going to bed properly. She may have spent most of the day cooped up in the room but it didn't mean it wasn't emotionally exhausting and she really wanted to rest.

"You are worrying too much, sister. Now that we are actually talking I can help you with glyphs" Weiss could hear the carre in her voice but she knew that even then the journey would be arduous. Yeah… are we going to start tomorrow?

"Preferably. Although I would like to try something out right now."

And here was the crux of the matter. Weiss may have agreed to acknowledge her presence but to hand over the control of her body still filled her with apprehension.

But she agreed to give it a try. So how do we do it?

"Hmm… Okay, I'll try to take over, you need to just let me do it. I honestly don't know what it will feel like."

Weiss took a deep breath and closed her eyes. For a few moments nothing happened.

"Did it work?"

"Yes, it did!" She heard her own voice call out in wonder. She opened her eyes and… damn, from a third person perspective she really was short. It was like having a front row seat to watching somebody else walking around with her body.

Was it even her body anymore?

"Oh how I missed this!" Her twin outright moaned as hot water trickled down her skin. "I'm spending the whole weekend in the spa!"

Weiss could only mentally sign. Sometimes she behaved like Winter, all mature and proper but other times she would be rather emotional and childish.

"Oh really? And when will we be training?"

She huffed and blew a raspberry at the bathroom mirror that acted as Weiss' point of view.

She took her sweet time in the shower, almost beating out Yang when it came to the time spent inside. When she finally decided to leave she took a long look around the dorm, for the first time seeing it from a normal human perspective.

Her childlike wonder was cut short when a keycard beeped and the doors opened.

"-...ing suit of armor is dumb idea. You don't even have the basics down and you want to strap- oh, morning Wei…" Yang walked into the room, Ruby right behind her. She quickly noticed that the person in front of them wasn't Weiss, even if it was her body.

Unfortunately, Ruby had no tact or inhibitions, so when she saw that the last 'member' of their team decided to come out she immediately went to greet her.

"Hey! I'm Ruby Rose! Welcome to the team! What's your name? Are you takingturns?Howdoyoufi-"

"Ruby!" Yang stopped her with a loud shout. "Let her get a word in." She then turned back to the newest addition. "You okay there? You didn't start a fight I hope."

She took some time to calm down. She may have known about Ruby from Weiss' perspective but dealing with her in person was very different. Adding the fact that she apparently knew the entire time and she was left very confused.

And again with the name…

Name was something given by parents and her biological parents didn't know She existed, much less give her a name. She wasn't even a real person, just a fraction of a soul that evolved and adapted to become somewhat functional.

"Well… if you are just something that came out of me." They both did their hardest to focus on the spiritual facts and not the possible implications of that statement. "Do you want me to give you a name?"

It was an earnest question. She wasn't Weiss Schnee but she wanted to be more than just 'that other soul inside Weiss' body'.

I… would like that.

"Very well, give me a second."

Ruby was getting worried. She wasn't the best when it came to people but so far she was able to get along with most of the people she met at Beacon. Did she say something wrong? Maybe she didn't want to be a huntress and Weiss had dragged her into it! Or she was even more bossy than Weiss!

While Ruby's mind was slowly spiraling into more extreme ideas, Yang watched as 'Weiss' straightened up and tried to stand properly and give them a formal greeting. It failed miserably

as she was still very short and was standing in the middle of their dorm, wearing only a bath towel.

"Hello Yang, Ruby. My name is Ivory Schnee, It's a pleasure to finally meet you."

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