A/N: Haha, haha, ha... Yeah, it's been three weeks. Yeah, I procrastinated for three weeks. Yeah, I wrote other stuff for three weeks... It won't happen again... probably.

Darkness. That's what greeted Weiss as she slowly came to consciousness.

Or.. at least she believed she was awake. As far as the faintly aware girl could tell, the darkness below her eyelids was exactly the same as the one she sat in. The only thing that proved to the woman she was blinking was the feeling of her eyelids separating, otherwise she wouldn't have been able to tell.

A low groan left her lips as she slowly gained more and more awareness. The cold numbness was slowly lifted from her body, restoring her senses as her vision cleared. First, the hot sensation of pain in her wrist, and her back, then the feeling of rope tied tightly around her wrists and ankles. She could feel that she was tied to a chair, rather tightly she could add. She would've looked around, but the black around her was pure. She wouldn't see anything even if she wanted to.

A small kick at her swollen abdomen made her tired eyes glance down, looking to the bump beneath her shirt. She had used a lot of her aura protecting her spine when she was thrown when her aura was already strained. She took a deep breath, focusing on what was left to the pregnant bump. It flashed a bright blue for a second, before the wave sunk back beneath her skin.

The rest of the pains hit her then, especially the rough throbbing of her wrist. Her fingers were numb, a sign of the bone being likely broken. The lack of aura to the fracture wasn't helping her situation, but Weiss would much prefer her unborn child being protected than healing a broken wrist. Bones could heal by themselves after all.

Suddenly, a bright beam of light lit up above her, enveloping the Rose in a warm white light as a low hanging light turned on above her. She winced at the sudden atmosphere change, squinting as her eyesight readjusted. It carried a warmth, a sign that it wasn't very far from her head. Through her squinted eyes, she saw a figure move in the dark- no, two figures shifting in the darkness. The light barely bounced off them, as if they were made of the shadows themselves.

"Weiss Rose, you've finally woken up," a familiar voice growled from the depths. Sharp, golden eyes found her blues as the figure emerged, the bulky panther Faunus from before appearing from the shadows. Weiss glared at him, not daring to part her lips. If there was one thing her father had told her, it was not to show weakness during a ransom.

He had also told her to die for the cause, the cause being withholding the Schnee Dust secrets. Weiss was willing to uphold the second half of her training, but she wasn't willing to sacrifice herself to the criminal scum who held her captive. She had a family to return to, to raise. She refused to let this be her final stand.

The panther chuckled, sharpened fangs slipping past his lower lips in a wicked grin, "Silence will get you nowhere Schnee. We're not here to play around." A loud crack resonated through the (large? Possible, judging by the echos) room as the giant man cracked his knuckles. Weiss held her firm features, unflinching at the threat.

In the corner of her eye, the snow-haired woman watched as a white wolf faunus emerged beside her. She recognised him from the attack, shooting him a warning glare before turning back to the towering male. The panther leaned in close, grabbing Weiss' chin between his thumb and index finger, moving her head around as to examine her. Weiss held her breath at the smell that assaulted her. He smelt like cigars, and the metallic stench of blood. She forced back a gag.

"What do we do now, boss?" The wolf spoke up, bringing what looked like a crowbar into his free hand. The panther hummed, letting go of Weiss and reaching out for the bar. Weiss scoffed, watching as the wolf meekly handed the tool to the bulky male. He smirked again, his feline teeth poking from beneath his lip again.

"Now, Cody, now we have some fun."

.

Back, forth, back, forth, back and forth.

Ruby turned on her heel again and again, her teeth gnawing into her knuckle as she paced around the kitchen floor. Rose petals covered the tiles in a thin layer, the layer kicking up each time Ruby turned for another cycle. If Weiss was here, she would be furious. She had a tolerance for the little red petals that came from Ruby, but she had her limit, and Ruby had definitely crossed that limit on her second rotation.

But Weiss wasn't here, and it was all Ruby's fault.

Blake watched apologetically as Ruby spun for another rotation, muttering words beneath her breath. Her feline ears were back against her head, trying to block out the incoherent mumbling as Yang worked on cleaning the cut that was struggling to heal against the felines temple. The elder sister bit her tongue as she gently wiped the dried blood off her partner's sallow skin, before gently pressing the alcohol-soaked cotton medical pad against her head. She felt Blake jerk away as she pressed down on it, flinching at the stinging sensation as it burned the wound..

"Sorry," Yang said quickly, tearing off a section of white tape with her teeth and pressing it to the pad to keep it secure. Blake didn't respond, her clouded eyes still watching Ruby as she paced. Yang tried to meet her glance again and sighed, standing and closing the first-aid box in defeat, "There, all done."

Blake looked down to the table, struggling to contain the guilt that was threatening to burst from her chest, "It's my fault. I should've been more aware of my surroundings."

Yang closed the cupboard that the first-aid box was stored in, turning to look at her partner with a soft frown, "Blake, I've already told you. It's not your fault. You were jumped-"

"That's what my semblance is for!" She interrupted, her fingernails digging into the wood as she stared at Yang. Tears brimmed in her golden eyes, "I saw Weiss get thrown and I just- I got careless!"

"Blake, you need to stop," Yang sat down across from Blake, placing her warm hands onto the feline's fists gently. Blake looked up to Yang with glassy eyes, earning a soft smile from the brawler, "It was an unfair fight, we're lucky you weren't taken too. We can't help Weiss if we're too busy pitying ourselves. We need a plan."

Blake looked down to the oak table, pulling one hand from beneath Yang's metal one to wipe the tears from her face. She sniffed, nodding, "Yeah.. yeah, you're right."

Ruby turned to look at Yang, who had begun to fish around in her pockets for something. She exaggerated her movements with her arms, "Do you have any ideas, Yang? Because I'm fresh out of them, and we have zero idea where they took Weiss!"

Yang looked at her frustrated sister, before finally grabbing hold of what she wanted in her pocket. She pulled it out, revealing her scroll. She turned it on, unlocking it with a quick swipe of her finger, "Well, I've got one."

Blake's ears lifted slightly, as both her and Ruby exchanged unsure glances. Ruby's frustration seemed to sizzle away slightly at the sight, being replaced with a hint of curiosity. They both looked back to Yang, who smirked as she began to scroll through her contacts, flying past dozens with single swipes of her finger. Blake frowned, un-balling her fists as she perked up.

"Care to share?"

"Well, Weiss has an older sister, right? Ah, what was her name again..? Frost? No, uh..."

Ruby folded her arms, cocking an eyebrow slightly, "Winter?"

Yang pointed to Ruby without breaking eye contact with her scroll, "Yeah Yeah, her! And who does she work for..?"

Blake's ears perked up, slowly catching into her partner's plan, "The Atlas Military..."

Yang smirked, looking up from her scroll to look over at Blake. She pointed at her with a smirk, pressing one of the last contacts on her scroll with her thumb, "Bingo."

Ruby walked closer to the table as Yang laid her scroll against it triumphantly, Winter's icon lit across the screen. The Rose's eyes widened, swiping the device from the table and checking through the contact in disbelief, "How did you get Winter's contact? Doesn't her scroll scramble her number every few weeks or something?"

Yang turned to look at her sister with a victorious smile, folding her arms across her chest, "Weiss gave it to me in case anything ever happened. She made sure to let me know to only use it in emergencies. I'm pretty sure this counts as one."

Ruby looked over to Yang again, before back down at the scroll, checking over the credentials another time, "Why wouldn't she give it to me.."

Yang huffed, leaning back into the wooden seat across from Blake, "Ruby, you'd contact Winter every two seconds. Weiss didn't want you to have that kind of power."

Ruby opened her mouth to retort, however chuckled softly as she struggled to find one, "That does sound like something she would say."

"Why did you want to call Winter Yang?" Blake asked.

"Well, she works in the Atlas Military, right? She has to have access to some super high power tech. If she can't find Weiss, I don't know who can."

"It's the best shot we have," Ruby agreed with a nod, before pressing on the dial function.

The scroll rang a few times, the ringing sound echoing through the deathly still kitchen. Yang had opened her mouth to say something when a serious voice picked up on the other side, "This is a private number. Please don't call back."

"Winter..! It's Ruby, Weiss' wife."

The voice hesitated for a moment, enough time for Ruby to share an anxious glance to the other two, "Ruby? Why are you calling me? Is something the matter?"

Ruby gulped, rubbing the back of her neck, beginning to shift on her feet. Winter was even scary to talk to over scroll, "Something happened.."

"What's wrong? Is Weiss hurt? Was there.. Did something happen to your baby?"

"No! No- well… not exactly…I don't know.."

"Speak then, you buffoon, or stop wasting my time "

"Winter, Weiss was… she was.." Ruby took a breath, calming her fraying nerves as fresh tears formed in her eyes, "Weiss was kidnapped, b-by the White Fang."

The air grew still as Winter grew quiet. Ruby looked up to Blake and Yang as the silence grew longer, who both shared an unsure glance at each other. Winter was different to Weiss. She was much more refined and proper, and steadfast. Whatever affection she gave Weiss was always tough love, and for a second, Ruby found herself faltering. What if Winter was like Weiss' father? What if she didn't care what happened?

"When?"

Ruby blinked a few times as she was drawn from her spiraling thoughts, rubbing the back of her neck nervously, "I- We're not exactly sure. Yang and I weren't here, and Blake can't remember. Maybe 3 or 4 hours at most."

"Where was she?"

"At home,

"Are you at your cabin?"

Ruby blinked, unsure how to answer the question at first, "Yeah?"

"Stay there."

The line went dead a second later. Ruby lowered the device from her ear, looking to her other two teammates with a overwhelmed look. Yang shifted in the seat, "Well?"

Ruby closed over the scroll, handing it back to her elder sister, "She's coming. You should probably call your lockers, I have a funny feeling we won't be staying long."

.

.

Weiss cried out as the panther brought the crowbar down against her shoulder again, the bruise that sat there growing angrier as it was repeatedly struck. She was almost sure it was broken at this point, if not shattered at the force of each hit. She whimpered in pain as the man backed off, biting her tongue painfully to stop the tears that brimmed on her vision, blurring it. She had felt pain before, of course she had, she was a huntress after all, but this was different. It was like lava was flowing through her arm, starting at her neck and flowing down, stopping to pool at her clavicle. She blamed it on the lack of aura in the area, most of the substance still focused on her pregnant bump,which had too been struck once or twice. The bruises there had already healed due to the concentration of aura there.

She reared her head back as her hair was yanked, gritting her teeth as the panther's claws dug into her scalp. She smirked slightly at the look of frustration on his face, his fangs having grown as his traits manifested. The male was growing more and more frustrated with the Rose's hour long silence.

"Speak!" He roared, his fingernails growing deeper into the woman's scalp. Weiss managed a pained grin, leaning forward slightly so that she was face to face with the attacker.

"Fuck. You," she said slowly, before spitting into his face. The cat recoiled back, wiping the wet from his face in disgust. The wolf behind watched in slight shock as the man recovered, looking from his boss to the Rose, who held a shitfaced smirk on her lips.

"You arrogant little bitch!" He hissed, his claws fully exposed from his fingers as he reached forward. He drew his claws across Weiss' ribs. The pale woman hissed in pain, warm blood rushing from the wound instantly. She curled around it, barely getting a second to register how bad the pain really was before a rough hand grasped her by the throat.

"You will not do that again!" He roared, his grip tightening around Weiss' small neck. Weiss wheezed, struggling to get any intake of oxygen to her lungs, nodding weakly. She had to be careful of boundaries. She may have had some aura, but aura could only block so much damage. If the brute got through it, there was no chance of survival.

"Boss, we were told not to kill her," the white wolf chimed in quietly, stepping out of the shadows again, this time playing around with a butterfly knife, "He only wants the infant.. disposed of, and made impossible to achieve again."

Weiss' stomach turned into knots as the male let go, stomping away from Weiss and roughly snatching the blade from the wolf's hands. The white canine let go off the blade in annoyance as the cat stole it from him, playing with the blade himself. They had kidnapped Weiss to get at their child? What kind of sick monster had hired these men? Weiss stood up straight despite the pain across her ribs, a deep scowl in her face as she forced her aura to regenerate around her stomach.

"I am aware, but we need to reduce Ms Rose's aura in order to get near her stomach," the panther growled, throwing the knife into the air and catching it perfectly on the blade, "Which means we have to break her first."

Weiss growled as the man came closer, knife shining in the pale light above her, "You can pry my child from my cold, dead body."

The panther laughed, a deep chuckle that echoed through his body, "If all else fails, that is the plan."

Without another word, the cat stabbed the knife deep into Weiss' leg, scraping off the bone and splintering into the other side. Weiss' scream filled the room as the cat stalked away, happy with his work for the time being. Tears finally surged free from the ex-heiress, soaking her face in the salty liquid before dropping onto her thighs. The knife blade was through her leg to the hilt, the very top of it protruding out the other side of her skin. She didn't try to move her leg, the hot agony making its way up her back being enough of a warning not to. She sobbed loudly, her body trembling as the light was turned off again.

Weiss was scared, terrified even. She wanted nothing more to be back home with Ruby, laughing over Yang's ridiculously inappropriate jokes while Blake read a secret book in the corner. She wanted to be at home, safe, holding her bump as she counted down the final months with Ruby. She wanted Ruby.

"Ruby.." Weiss whined, her head growing hazy and light as the pain began to overwhelm her vision, "Come find me... Please."

True darkness swallowed her whole not a second later.