Disclaimer: RWBY is owned by Monty Oum of Rooster Teeth.

At Night

A Two-shot

The lights of the team's common room were dimmed to the point only the bulbs were visible. And it was just the way Weiss liked it.

She ruminated as she kneeled in front of the computer system. The autumn night was only starting, giving her a break from the daily training and classes she attended. She pressed the power button, and instantly the room was illuminated as the screen came to life, and she allowed a small smirk touch her face. Already her hands were itching to play. Plugging in a headset into the base of the system, she meticulously inserted a disc. The computer ate it up, already working to process the data. With a deep sigh, the heiress pulled out the swivel chair before easing in.

"What are you doing?" a voice chirped from behind her.

Instinctively, Weiss spun, unsheathing Myrtenaster from her side, ready to defend herself. To her surprise, the tip of her rapier poked the throat of a familiar silver-eyed girl.

"Whoa!" The sudden counter made Ruby stumble back, and would've caught herself if it wasn't for her arms occupied by a stack of books.

Weiss leapt out of her chair, gripping one of the younger girl's arms to steady them both. The momentum almost sent them toppling onto the coffee table. "Ruby," the heiress said between breaths, heading toward the door and turning up the dial, fully brightening up the room, before she turned back to her teammate. "I don't like surprises." A second thought came to her mind, and she sheathed the rapier at her hip.

Ruby shrugged her shoulders, clearly embarrassed. "I was crossing to Blake's room, Weiss. We sort of have a study session every week."

"Oh." The white-haired girl's face flushed. When have I been so forgetful? She sighed, rubbing her temples as she dropped onto the swivel chair. Staring back at the screen, she noted with satisfaction that the game title had popped up. Surveying her surroundings, she wondered how to crank up the fear factor.

Unfortunately, Ruby hadn't moved from her spot on the floor.

"So, what are you playing?" the younger girl set her study load onto the coffee table, watching Weiss hop onto the sofa, leaning towards the windows as she flipped the blinds closed.

"…A computer game." The heiress deadpanned, returning to the computer, extending the draws to reveal a keyboard and a mouse, brushing off the dust that'd collected from the days it went unused.

Ruby plopped onto the sofa, watching idly as Weiss hung her jacket over the chair spine. Sitting down, she stretched her palms and cracked her knuckles before opening the title screen. Reaching for her headset, Weiss realized she had an audience. "Ruby?" she asked, turning to face the younger girl. "Isn't Blake waiting?"

"Yeah." Ruby replied. Suddenly, her eyes lit up, a familiar look whenever she had an idea. "Weiss, could I watch?" the older girl hesitated. The inner confliction must've shown, because Ruby clasped her hands, begging. "I can cancel my plans for tonight? I'm sure Blake wouldn't mind."

"It's for mature audiences." Weiss blurted, but a twinkle in the girl's silver eyes shown she wasn't deterred. "And it's…terrific." At the terrible lie, she had the urge to roll her eyes.

"You're seventeen." Ruby pointed out.

"Ruby, weren't you going to the armory to polish Crescent Rose?"

"Already done!" the younger girl replied. "Come on, Weiss."

The heiress bit her lip, holding an icy front as she met Ruby's stare. Was it worth it? But she was wasting time, and this was Ruby. Resistant Ruby.

The alliterative nickname weakened her resolve, and she sighed in exasperation. Ruby would be begging her all night if she wanted to. After all, she'd given the younger girl a warning, along with her time was going down the drain.

"Tell Blake while I get another chair." She said at last. She earned a grateful smile as Ruby gathered up her books, strolling over to Blake's sealed door, giving it a light knock.

"Do you need a headset?"

"I have my own!" the younger girl called back, her grin widening as she stepped backwards into the dorm room, with the door sliding shut, hiding her from view. Weiss rolled her eyes, raking her eyes across the room for a spare chair. I'm going to regret this.

As Weiss had promised, when Ruby departed from Blake's room, minus her books, she found an extra chair placed by the computer. Already her headphones were plugged into the system. The heiress sat at the front, with the keyboard nestled on her lap and her left hand gripping the mouse, with her blue eyes fixed fiercely on the computer screen as it loaded. The headset she wore had designs similar to Ruby's, made with silver and white tones with the Schnee family symbol printed on each cushion.

"I need to tell you something." Weiss started, pulling off the headset and rising to her feet. She paused, seeming to contemplate something before she opened her mouth. "Ruby, this is the horror genre. I have this thrill for facing death and…" she seemed to be considering her words, "…escaping it."

"Oh." Ruby spun to stare around the dimly lit room. Weiss had managed to make it almost pitch black, with only the computer screen as the light source. It gave a sinister vibe to what the heiress was suggesting. "That's why everything's off, isn't it?"

"Yes."

"Are you a hardcore gamer?" the question fell out of her mouth.

There was a moment of complete silence, and the black-haired girl was afraid she'd gone too far. But a rare smile graced Weiss' lips. "…I might be." She finally said.

She returned to the screen as Ruby joined her, pulling her knees to her chest as the older girl expanded the page as the game came on. Finding the discarded cover, she plucked it up. "Amnesia: the Dark Descent." She read aloud. "Someone's gaining back their memories before they lose their mind?"

"Maybe." Came the vague reply. It was accompanied by a series of clicks as she went to load a file. There were a scary number of files, mostly completed, Ruby observed. Weiss sure had a lot of time on her hands whenever she finished the assignments, along with the time left over studying next exams a week before they were due. Maybe this is her pastime. "Is this a game where you endure and survive?" she asked, pulling on her headphones as Weiss set her hand on the keyboard.

"It's a survival game. Hide-and-seek from the monsters without the use of weapons…and puzzles."

"You can't fight back?" Ruby murmured, a sinking feeling settling into her gut. The dark room suddenly felt vast, and the void on the screen seemed more intimidating. But she was curious.

At the crestfallen look on the younger girl's face, Weiss frowned. "Ruby, are you willing to watch me play the game?"

"Yes!" She said, forcing a smile on her face.

"That doesn't convince me." The heiress' frown dissolved into a look of concern. "But if you would like to…alright. While we're not on the same level of fright, I'm still…afraid."

For a second, the scythe-wielder thought she could see Weiss mouth, "They still give me the heebie-jeebies." She decided to let that pass.

Ruby could feel the little confession sink in her mind. "I see." She felt comforted, to hear a few bits of Weiss' secrets given to her, the trust implicit. "Don't worry, Weiss! We're together, so I'm sure it won't be as scary." To prove her point, she kicked her feet off the floor, rolling the chair to the point she could hear the heiress' warm breath on her ear.

"I'll introduce you to the demo, and then you could play a chapter I'm working on."

Ruby nodded, raising the volume on her headphones slightly as the front screen appeared, revealing a chamber-like entrance, with a lone torch blowing lightly in a breeze. The title font was grotesque, and the setting was like a dank, foreboding-like version of Beacon Academy, with fear-provoking music playing in the background. "This is a warning, Ruby. This game isn't for the frail." Weiss chose a new game, the cursor hovering over the option yes. "Ready?"

"Yeah." Ruby pulled in her knees tighter, tensing as another screen began to load, the artwork of a seal as the focal point. She took a deep breath, steeling herself as the music grew more intense, with the pitch sounding like wailing voices.

"You okay?" Ruby turned to Weiss when felt a warm hand slip into her open palm for a moment, before being replaced with cold air. She managed to give a grim nod, and the heiress returned her eyes to the screen. From what she could assume, she was a veteran at this game, and it barely fazed her.

As the intro appeared, Ruby heard a voice—a man's. It came out with a series of footsteps and syncopations, as the screen showed a blurry view of a castle hall, everything murky as the character staggered forward, nearing unconsciousness.

"Don't forget…some things mustn't be forgotten. The 'shadow' hunting me…I must hurry. My name is Daniel; I live in London at…at…Mayfair. What have I done?"

"Pillow fight?"

Blake shook her head. Her eyes never left the page as she caught the pillow Yang had thrown. She tossed it back, nailing the blonde in the face, making her drop back onto the bed with a groan. "I don't want anything broken, Yang."

With a sigh, the blonde pushed the pillow aside, contemplating as she faced the window panes. The action wrinkled the bed sheets on Blake's bed. "You know I don't like being confined in here."

"Don't you want to go outside?"

"Blake, it's late, it's raining…" Yang sighed, hopping out of the bed, messing the sheets further. "Do you want to play rock-paper-scissors?"

"I prefer you play with Ruby." Blake replied. When she had arrived, the younger girl had suddenly abandoned her mindset over the history of Dust, quickly promising they would do the session the following night.

Between the two, they'd managed to scrape up a few minutes of studying before the blonde had quit, and went to tinkering with every belonging Blake had up to examine. It ended up with Yang commenting on every hardcover the amber-eyed girl on her bookshelf.

"I didn't know you were into detective novels." Blake said, as Yang mouthed the blurb of a famous private eye.

"Suspense and action." The violet-eyed girl replied enthusiastically. Her friend looked especially cheerful as she flipped to the first page of the story. "Y'know, when you balance—"

A bloodcurdling scream cut her off, and the girls bolted up from their seats; Yang activating Ember Celica while Blake grabbed Gambol Shroud by her desk. At the same time, the novel was chucked onto the bed, and Blake tried not to cringe as it bounced off the wall. While she was amiable with Yang, she had to keep herself from lashing out in book abuse.

"What. Was that?" The blonde whispered as she loaded her gauntlets with a fresh magazine.

"That could be Ruby. Or Weiss." Somehow, visualizing the latter wasn't convincing. "Yang, I'm checking."

Unsheathing her sword from the scabbard, Blake slowly turned the knob, carefully pressing her ear to the crack.

She winced at the sudden cacophony that assaulted her ears. And all of it was made by Ruby Rose, accompanied by Weiss Schnee.

Thank goodness every dorm is soundproof!

"WHAT IS WITH THIS MUSIC?" her teammate shrieked, and Blake heard a clatter of mashing keys. Her brow furrowed. How long have they've been on the computer?

"It sets the mood." The heiress' voice replied, composure behind the tone.

"I know, I know—oh my GOD, WHAT IS THAT?"

"Ruby, find a spot to hide. And turn off that lantern!"

"IT'S COMING! FACE THE WRATH OF MY—"

"That won't work."

"NO! A DEAD END. WHY?"

"Ruby…do you know how to use the controls?"

"Weiss, what do I do? WHATDOIDO?"

A high-pitched screech came, followed by another keyboard mash.

"Gotta hide, gotta hide."

"You're going the wrong way…oh, try reaching that closet—"

A series of expletives burst from Ruby's mouth, and Blake shut the door, leaning on it heavily. "They're on the computer." She reported, placing Gambol Shroud in its sheath. I'd like to add that your sister is in frenzy.

Yang shrugged. "It sounds like fun." She was suddenly aware of the vacant stare her teammate gave her, crossing between the lines of disbelief and uneasiness. "What is it?"

"I've just…I have never heard Ruby curse."

The blonde bolted towards the door, nearly barreling Blake over as she swung it open. "Ruby?" she heard Yang call. Everything fell silent, until another scream broke through.

"WHY HASN'T HE SLOWED DOWN?" The younger girl bellowed from the adjoining room. Blake could faintly hear the mouse button being pounded. "CLOSE. DOOR. CLOSEDOORCLOSECLOSECLOSE—NO, DON'T OPEN!"

Whatever had made the usually upbeat girl so terrified? It was unusually for Blake to hear a jumble of noises falling out of Ruby's mouth. "Yang, what did you find?" she asked, stepping out of her room. She poked her head around the corner to face the pair on the computer.

The sight merely made her blink.

The pair wore headsets plugged onto the system, facing the computer screen as Ruby controlled the keyboard and mouse furiously, eyes wide, stiffening at whatever popped up on the computer screen, mouth open in a silent wail. On her right, Weiss leaned forward, her bare elbows on the table as she observed the game in silent analysis. The screen showed a first-person running down an ancient hall, with a hand holding a lantern as the person flew down the steps, the vision murky as they rounded the corner.

"Oh no…where's that thing?" Ruby whimpered, directing the character into a cellar. Everything was in a terrible condition, with pink liquid in puddles on the floor, with barrels of wine discarded everywhere.

"Just finish the puzzle. I'll tell you when it comes."

"I know, I know!"

"Ruby, you don't need to light another torch!"

Whatever noise that was contained within the headphones made Ruby jump.

"I don't want to play anymore." Ruby looked openly terrified. Her fingers shook as they pressed hard on the mouse.

"Are you sure?"

"We—iss!"

Silently, Blake and Yang exchanged glances, stunned. 'What is going on?' Yang mouthed.

'No comment.' This was the time to take action. Striding toward the dial of the room, in a split second, she turned up the lights, gaining a pained yelp came from Ruby.

Yang joined Blake's side, a frown forming her features as they waited for a response.

The two swiveled around, both of them blinking rapidly to adjust to the sudden brightness. "Ruby, Weiss…explain." She ordered. With the lights, Blake realized how disheveled Ruby looked, with her hair mushed from the headset, paired with bloodshot eyes. Weiss, on the other hand, seemed unscathed.

Blake stared. Ruby was the only one on the verge of tears.

"Weiss introduced me…" the girl violently shivered, alarming the three. "…to Amnesia. We completely blackened the room and started to play at night."

"At night." Blake muttered, bemused. "Ruby, you were screaming very loudly. Why were you playing…is this a horror game?"

To their surprise, Ruby leaned heavily on Weiss, her sobs muffled by the front of the older girl's dress, who slowly rubbed a hand down her back. Yang directed her piercing stare on her.

"Well?"

The heiress opened her mouth, but closed it, looking awkward as she ran a slender hand down Ruby's short hair. It eased the sobs she had been making, falling silent when Weiss lifted her hand. "I'm sorry. She insisted—I wasn't intending to—" she cut herself off, her face turning pink at the sudden silence. "What?"

Weiss' face resembled a chili pepper as she found herself at the receiving line of Blake and Yang. "I-I've been found out, haven't I?" she muttered to herself.

"Weiss, you play these things?" Yang frowned.

"Yes." Blake could see how nervous the white-haired girl was, with how her eyes flitted back to Ruby, Yang, and then returning to Blake.

"I don't have the guts to do that!" the blonde exclaimed. Blake watched the heiress' eyes widen, caught off guard as Yang went towards the screen, reading the lines of the pause menu, Ember Celica retracting as she moved the mouse towards the quit button. "Do you mind if we find out what Ruby was playing?"

Hesitating, Weiss dipped her head, working to wake up Ruby as Yang went to the title screen.

"I've seen this before, once!" the violet-eyed girl said, picking up the game cover to read the manual, flipping it several times to see all the graphics. "You know, we I passed a few of the other dorms of some of the guys, they were all giddy over this stuff. I get it now. This makes grown men scream!" she added with a grin.

The heiress seemed on the edge of confusion as she set Ruby's headphones on the computer table. "I expected to be in trouble." She drew out the words, her fingers still skimming through Ruby's hair. "Yang, I've scarred your sister for life."

"Oh, she'll be fine!" The blonde patted the Weiss' shoulder, who almost jolted from the sudden contact. "You look like a boss at this! You don't mind if we watch along?"

"…Okay?"

Blake dropped onto the sofa, trying to maintain a vacant expression as the two girls coordinated on the screen, with their leader still piled on Weiss' lap. As the younger girl started to come to, the heiress lifted her up slowly, carefully stepping across the room to place her onto the sofa alongside Blake. "This is a pastime of mine." She blurted when she saw the amused expression on her friend's face. "I know it seems bizarre—"

Blake waved it off with a small smile, managing to rein in some of her excitement. "I've seen that title…Amnesia, Weiss?"

"It's not like I invest half of the day whenever you three aren't around." The flushed cheeks suggested otherwise.

"Would you like for me to make you feel better?"

"Anything, Blake."

The response became firm, and the black-haired girl folded her arms, considering the impact of her future verdict. Common interests were colliding between the two, she knew. And it felt like the right time to show it.

"I can introduce you to the sequel."

Blake would never forget the grin that crossed the heiress' face.

This was taken as a break from the OC story Miracles of Ancient Wonder, and used for venting as I experienced my first week of high school (it was exciting. Off the hook.). I have watched the ninth episode, and it has shattered my dreams of teams having deluxe rooms. But their room renovations were very quirky.

Amnesia: the Dark Descent is the first of this computer game series where a first-person experience of a character with a troubling history solves puzzles while avoiding monsters. There's a terrifying plot as well. And it is M rated, if anyone wants to know. Basically, I watched it a few years back to Let's Plays and reaction complications. Yes, Yang is right! It has made grown men cry and reduce them into sniffles. A choice of compilations I recommend are "Amnesia Milky Ways Original Video", "Amnesia Water Part", and "Amnesia Reaction compilation"(the background music comes as the Hall of the Mountain Lion). If you're not used to tackling things without weapons, don't watch at night.

This is also self-training to make my characterization standout more, and improve my dialogue.

I will take comments and criticism! RWBY one-shots have really made me interested.

I have this headcanon with Weiss loving fright, like it stimulates her to feel alive. And she decides to do this by herself in pitch darkness, and with headsets on. That's the etiquette of Amnesia: immerse yourself in the game and don't have a heart atttack in the process. I'm also having crazy headcanons with team RWBY, and I'm going to drop them out when they come to mind. They're all individual one-shots, so I am posting them as separate stories.

Honestly, the next one has a part taken from experience...