Episode 4 - Ice Queendom

"So, Weiss is now trapped in her dream," Ruby said. "Getting her out is going to be hard."

"Especially considering that the Nightmare had time to sink its roots deep," Blake said.

"Joy," Weiss sighed.

"I wonder what we'll see inside her dream," Yang wondered.

The Schnee emblem appeared, followed by a wall of ice, which soon cracked.

Ruby woke up, finding herself surrounded by bare trees in a snowy landscape.

Ruby let out a breath, the air fogging as the cold condensed it.

"Figures you'd be the one who volunteered," Jaune said.

"As if there was any doubt," Ruby said.

"But why only Ruby?" Pyrrha asked.

"Perhaps this is only a reconnaissance mission," Professor Ozpin suggested.

"The place certainly fits," Qrow said. "Cold inside and out."

"This dream is far more complex than the one Mr Arc was trapped in," Professor Goodwitch said.

"There's nothing here," Ruby said.

Ruby finally took note of her new appearance. Gone was her usual outfit, in its place was a practical red winter jacket, cap and skiing goggles, as well as Crescent Rose on her back, now looking like a snowboard in its compact form.

"Is this?" Ruby said as she reached for Crescent Rose on her back.

The snowboard shifted into a scythe as Ruby tested it.

"That's pretty cool!" Ruby said and smiled.

Ruby had stars in her eyes. Crescent Rose with a snowboard form!

"Have you ever been snowboarding before?" Weiss asked, already guessing her partner's thoughts.

"No, but you have to admit it's fitting considering the environment," Ruby said.

[OP]

Ruby got onto her new snowboard and started exploring Weiss' dreamscape.

Taking off her goggles, she noticed an odd metal structure that looked like a signboard pointing toward everywhere.

"What's this?" Ruby asked as she looked at what it was telling her to do. "It's telling me to do a bunch of things at once. How am I supposed to know what to do? That's just like Weiss."

"And what's that supposed to mean?" Weiss demanded.

"Well, you can get a little prickly at times," Yang said.

"Still, what an odd structure to have in her dream," Winter said.

Noticing something, Ruby walked over to the edge, finding train tracks at the bottom.

Going through her coat's pockets, Ruby took out several coins and counted a dozen of them. Keeping all but one, she flicked it into the air, where a parking meter suddenly appeared to accept the coin.

The parking meter then turned into a phone. Opening the phone's casing, Ruby picked up the handset and waited for it to connect.

"It's me," Shion said over the phone.

"Ah, this is Ruby," Ruby replied. "Can you hear me?"

"So that's how we called Shion when we went into Jaune's dream," Ren said.

"Those coins must be part of their Semblance," Professor Goodwitch said.

"Such a fascinating ability," Professor Ozpin said.

"Yes, I can hear you," Shion confirmed. "Have you found the gate?"

"There's snow everywhere," Ruby informed Shion. "I don't see anything. But I did find a weird road sign and train tracks."

"Did anything appear on the tracks?" Shion asked.

"Anything?" Ruby looked back at the tracks, where a train was approaching.

"A train is coming!" Ruby said. "It's from Weiss's family's company."

The flag of the White Fang was raised as out of nowhere, dozens upon dozens of White Fang moved down the cliffs towards the train. The White Fang themselves did not look like regular Faunus but like humanoid Grimm.

On the train itself, several panels opened to let out security droids which began firing on the attackers.

"Well, this looks familiar," Blake said.

"What's with the White Fang's new look?" Nora asked.

"That must be how Miss Schnee perceives them in her mind," Professor Ozpin said.

"Not a very flattering image," Yang said.

Weiss just squirmed a little. Sure, she knew that not all Faunus were bad, but that didn't change that the White Fang often targeted her family.

"Oh no, the train is under attack!" Ruby informed Shion. "They have Grimm... no, White Fang markings. I've got to help!"

"You mustn't, Ruby," Shion said.

"Huh?" Ruby asked.

"You must not intervene in things there yet," Shion said.

Two blocks of ice were dropped on the tracks in front of the train.

"But..." Ruby's argument was cut short as the train was derailed by the White Fang.

Crushing a Schnee Dust Company plate and raising the White Fang's flag, the White Fang cheered at their successful attack.

"Yet another train robbed," Weiss said bitterly. Even in her head, she wasn't safe from them.

"That's far bolder than what they usually do," Ironwood noted.

"It is all in her head," Winter said.

"They derailed the train," Ruby said.

"Are the train tracks all right?" Shion asked.

"Yes," Ruby said.

"Try following the tracks," Shion suggested. "Remember to set markers along the way."

"Understood," Ruby said.

"The enemy will be hiding in unexpected places," Shion warned. "Be careful not to overlook any signs."

Ruby placed the handset back onto the receiver, the phone disappearing after she had done so.

"Signs?" Ruby asked herself and looked back at the odd metal sign there.

Jumping off the cliff, Ruby looked at where the derailed train was and then flicked another coin into the air. Another parking meter appeared to accept the coin, this time turning into a door with a lightbulb over it.

Seeing the light flicker on, Ruby looked at the path where the train tracks led. Following the tracks, Ruby was soon outside a fortress with spiked walls.

"Well, that fits Weiss to a T," Yang said.

"It did take a while for you to warm up to the team," Blake said.

"Won't you let us in, just a little?" Ruby asked.

"You dolt," Weiss said, though fondly.

"Either way, this must be where the Nightmare is," Winter said. "And Weiss too, no doubt."

Standing at the closed gates, Ruby noticed that there was a window near the top blocked only by a few bars of metal. Using her Semblance, Ruby snuck inside.

Moving around, Ruby noticed the vines that were everywhere inside the fortress.

"Is this a maze?" Ruby asked herself after walking around for a while. "Just let me in already!"

Jumping over the maze, Ruby had a bird's eye view of the place. Pass the maze was a multi-layered city, with a giant statue in the middle overlooking everything.

"Where are you, Weiss?" Ruby asked.

"Just like you, going where you're not supposed to," Weiss said.

"Well, you don't exactly make it easy," Ruby replied. "And your mind is a big mess."

"A sign of sophistication," Weiss said haughtily.

"Is that... Nicholas Schnee?" Ironwood said as he looked at the statue.

"That's one big city Ruby needs to search," Nora said.

"Maybe not," Jaune said. "Obviously, Ruby just needs to get to that building in the centre. Getting there's the hard part."

Back in the physical world, Weiss and Ruby were covered in the threads Shion used to send people to their dreams. Professor Ozpin, Professor Goodwitch, Yang and Blake were there with Shion, waiting to hear about what was going on inside Weiss's head.

The phone rang and Shion picked it up.

"It's me," Shion said.

"Ruby here," Ruby said. "I found a really big city."

"Did you pass through the gate?" Shion asked.

"Um, I think so," Ruby said. "There was a door and a maze, and I kinda just jumped over it all."

"Keep setting markers and proceed very carefully," Shion instructed. "If you get caught trespassing, reconnaissance will become difficult."

"Understood," Ruby replied.

"Also, be careful to not waste the coins," Shion said as the flowers inside the hourglass representing her Aura dropped. "Each one consumes some of my Aura. If you run out, I won't be able to help you."

"So, there is a time limit," Winter said in worry.

"Couldn't expect the help to be without limits," Ren said.

"Jaune's was so much less complicated," Pyrrha muttered. They got in and freed him in minutes, unlike what Ruby was doing in Weiss's dream at the moment.

"So this is what a Nightmare is truly capable of," Professor Ozpin said.

"Okay," Ruby said. "Oh, also, my clothes and weapon and stuff have changed. Why is that?"

"What you're seeing is how Weiss views you," Shion said. "Which means that there's another you in her dream."

"So, you see Ruby as some kind of snowboarder?" Yang asked. "She can't even skateboard. The one time she tried, she kept tripping."

"Yang!" Ruby complained.

"Hmm, I wonder what we all look like in there," Blake said.

Team JNPR were curious too.

"There's another me in here?" Ruby asked.

Yang and Blake walked over to where the bodies of their teammates were.

"It's gone for the time being," Shion said. "If you replace one of the dream's characters, it's harder for the Nightmare controlling the dream to spot you. If you were someone like me who isn't close to Weiss, you wouldn't have a character in the dream, and you'd be recognized as alien."

"So Weiss actually thinks we're close," Ruby said happily. "Understood, Professor. All right, I better keep moving." Ruby hung up.

"Of course, we are, Ruby," Weiss said.

Winter was just happy Weiss had made real friends at Beacon.

"How does it look?" Professor Ozpin asked.

"She's trapped more deeply than I expected," Shion said. "This may prove troublesome."

"Hmm..." Professor Ozpin hummed in reply.

"So, Weiss is a serious case," Winter said in worry.

"Don't worry," Ruby said. "We'll get her out!"

"I wonder what other cases looked like," Professor Ozpin wondered. "You aren't always in close vicinity to people close to you after all. What if she was out alone on a solo mission?"

"That sounds like what makes these Nightmares so fearsome," Ironwood said.

"Um, what if we all fight the Grimm together like we did with Jaune?" Yang asked.

"It's not time yet," Shion told her. "The Nightmare has spent time burrowing into Weiss's heart, and has hidden itself. We have to find it within the dream first."

"I can't believe I didn't even notice," Blake said, feeling guilty. "I've only been thinking about myself."

"Jeez, I'm the one who needs to think about what being a good teammate means," Yang said, remembering what she had said to Weiss when they were looking for Blake in Vale.

"We were kind of busy with the whole Blake is a Faunus and former White Fang thing," Yang mused.

"We all had issues, didn't we?" Weiss said.

"You are teenagers," Professor Goodwitch said. "If you didn't have issues, it would be a miracle."

"Stop blaming yourselves," Professor Ozpin said. "Instead, focus on your dangerous and terrifying opponent, the Grimm. Now is when Weiss needs her loyal friends. She needs your help."

"If we tried to enter her dream, we would be rejected," Professor Goodwitch said. "You are the ones Weiss believes in. For now, prepare for battle."

"Weiss, reject a professor?" Yang said jokingly. "Perish the thought."

"Okay," Blake said.

Yang sighed and placed a hand on Blake's shoulder to get her attention.

"We're the ones who'll save Weiss," Yang told Blake. "It isn't too late. Right?"

"Yeah," Blake nodded.

"Better steel yourselves, kids," Qrow said. "This looks to be a tough fight."

Team RWBY nodded.

Back inside Weiss's dream, Ruby counted her remaining coins.

"I have a bunch left," Ruby said. "I should be fine."

She used another coin to create a door.

"Um, the train tracks from before," Ruby told the door.

The light flicked on and Ruby opened the door. On the other side, the door opened to the one Ruby had made earlier near where the train had been derailed.

"Wow! That's so easy!" Ruby exclaimed before closing it.

"That does make things easier for me!" Ruby exclaimed.

"Now, if only we had someone with a Semblance like that in the real world," Ironwood said. "Evacuations would be so much easier."

"Hmm," Qrow thought about Raven and her portals.

Using her Semblance, Ruby jumped down the wall towards the city streets. The whole place was empty, not a person in sight. Smoke left the chimneys of factories and the eyes on statues and posters of Jacques Schnee moved about, keeping an eye on everything.

"Jacques Schnee is watching," Blake said blandly.

"What is this, a police state?" Jaune asked.

"It's one run by Weiss," Yang said. "About what I expected."

"Hey!" Weiss complained.

"Still, that's very creepy," Pyrrha said.

"Are those things on the lookout?" Ruby asked herself.

"And now, today's news," the loudspeakers blared. "Another Company train has been attacked. There appear to be no survivors. What an unspeakable act. We must exact retribution from the hated White Fang."

"Yeah, that's basically Atlas media," Weiss said.

Ruby walked down the stairs but hid when she saw a giant droid approaching.

"Big Nicholas!" the droid saluted.

"What kind of salute is that?" Ruby wondered.

"Nicholas would be mortified at that," Ironwood said.

"You met my grandfather?" Weiss asked in surprise.

"We've met," Ironwood said. "I wasn't a general yet, but we worked together to keep the Dust mines safe. It was a different time before your father took over."

Ruby walked another way, only to run headfirst into another one.

"Hwaa!" Ruby backed away from the giant droid.

"Intruder detected!" the droid said and aimed its right arm, which was a tri-barreled gun, at Ruby.

Using her Semblance, Ruby ran behind the droid, knocking it down by accident.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to!" Ruby apologized to the machine.

"Well, that didn't take long before you started wrecking things in there," Weiss said.

"I'm sorry!" Ruby cried.

"Intruder detected!" More giant droids were coming towards her.

"I said I was sorry!" Ruby said as she was surrounded.

She aimed Crescent Rose at the two droids in front of her and fired, only to shoot down a droid behind her.

"What?" Ruby checked her weapon again, finding the gun was on the bottom of the shaft instead of in the top. "Weiss, this is backwards!"

"Weiss! How could you get my baby wrong!?" Ruby cried.

"What? But I know which end it shoots from," Weiss said, confused. "And it's not like you know everything about Mythenaster."

"Of course, I do!" Ruby said. She began explaining every detail about the Dust rapier.

"Huh, maybe you do," Weiss said.

"Impressive," Winter said.

The other droids ran towards Ruby, forcing her to run away. Using another coin, Ruby created a decoy.

"I said I was sorry!" the decoy repeated as it bounced away, the droids chasing after it.

"That's useful," Qrow said.

"I am concerned by how many of Miss Zaiden's coins Miss Rose has already used," Professor Goodwitch said.

"She should still have a few," Professor Ozpin said. "And this whole situation is one we've never dealt with."

"Ugh..." Ruby said as she collapsed Crescent Rose. "I'll have to explain it to Weiss when she wakes up." She looked at the centre of the city. "Weiss and the Grimm must be over there..."

Ruby jumped onto the roof and used it to make her way to the city centre. There, she tried to run up the wall, only to be stopped by several of the Nightmare's vines.

"It's all thorny, just like Weiss!" Ruby exclaimed as her route was blocked. "Why can't you just let me through?"

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?" Weiss asked.

"You know what she meant," Yang said.

Several of the vines popped out of the wall and turned into loudspeakers.

"Unauthorized Semblance use is prohibited," the loudspeakers said. "Loyal citizens of the Empire must travel the true path."

"But what true path?" Ruby asked as she tried to find another way in.

"Empire?" Blake asked.

Nora pointed an accusing finger at Weiss. "You can't be queen of the castle. I'M queen of the castle!"

"Nora," Ren pulled Nora back into her seat.

Ruby hit another dead end. "I don't see a way in."

Ruby thought back to what Shion had told her before she entered Weiss's dream.

"There was supposed to be a map too, right?" Ruby asked herself.

Using a coin, a rudimentary map appeared. It showed the areas Ruby had already explored.

"What? It only covers the places I've walked?" Ruby exclaimed. "That doesn't give me any ideas where to go. I wasted that coin."

The map started to disintegrate.

"Oh, wait!" Ruby quickly used her Scroll to snap a picture of the map.

"A big building," Ruby said as she looked at the map on her Scroll. "Is this it? Professor Shion did say that the path in the dream would go through places important to Weiss."

An alarm sounded and Ruby turned towards it. A grill door opened up, letting out workers who marched in perfect order. Ruby decided to follow them.

"The Company proves the people with a place to work," a statue of Jacques said. "Dust mining, refinement, transport and sale. Just how many jobs do you think I've created for you?"

"The man sure loves the sound of his own voice, even in his daughter's dream," Ironwood said.

"About as many as you've destroyed in establishing your monopoly over the Dust industry no doubt," Blake sneered at the White Fang's hated enemy.

"My father-in-law Lord Nicholas was indeed a great man," the statue said. "He risked his life searching for Dust mines and brought peace to Atlas. But the one who brought wealth and expanded the Company was I, Jacques Schnee."

"Schnee... Is that Weiss's dad?" Ruby asked. "He doesn't seem very nice."

"You're not wrong," Winter said. "Neither is father. He did make the SDC what it is today."

"An unethical and corrupt company exploiting the downtrodden?" Blake asked rhetorically.

Winter didn't argue the point. She was old enough to vaguely remember things under her grandfather. It was very different then.

Ruby followed the workers into the factory.

Elsewhere, the Ruby doll decoy had been caught by the droids. A bat flew in and looked at the scene.

"Hmm? The heck is that?" Whitley asked.

"Why is little brother a bat?" Weiss asked.

"Well, he is a little shit," Yang said.

The decoy disappeared, leaving the droids confused.

Whitley laughed. "Well, isn't that cute? A decoy. Someone must be wandering around without permission. Track them down and capture them."

"Well, Ruby's anonymity is about to come to an end," Blake said.

"Heigh heigh heigh, ho ho ho, making Dust is fun, you know!" the bust of Jacques Schnee inside the factory sang. "It's a noble job, makes your head bob! Just come down and see the Dust factory!"

"... He doesn't actually have recordings of his singing play in his factories, does he?" Ironwood asked.

"I... don't know for certain," Winter said.

"Probably not," Blake said. "There would have been a worker's revolution by now if he did."

"Death to the bourgeoisie!" Nora cried. "For the proletariat! Viva la revolution!"

Inside the factory, Ruby was also playing along, working on the assembly line.

"Your hard work and Dust will bring peace to the world," someone said over the loudspeaker. "You are all the true pride of the Company."

"This is boring me to death," Ruby said. "They all feel like slaves."

"Well, you would look good in a Company uniform," Weiss teased.

Ruby blanched at such a boring job.

Ruby used her Semblance to escape, the eyes of the Jacques bust tracking her.

Standing in a part of the factory with empty boxes, someone approached Ruby from behind.

"Big Nicholas!" the Kleinbot saluted.

"Hey, it's Klein!" Ruby said.

"So, Klein is here too," Winter said. "And so was Whitley. Stands to reason the whole family will be in Weiss's dream."

"Wha-?! I'm sorry!" Ruby cried as she turned to face the Kleinbot. "I'm not here to cause trouble! I just want to find my way through."

The Kleinbot looked at Ruby. "Hmm, you aren't a worker, are you, miss? You want to go to the other side of the wall?"

"Uh, yes," Ruby said. "And you are?"

"I'm Happy Klein, one of the Seven Butlers, and the director here," Happy Klein said. "Oh, that's right. The Dust shop next to the Sillies' jail is still open."

"The Sillies'... jail?" Ruby asked as Happy Klein walked away. Ruby followed the robot.

"Seven Butlers?" Pyrrha asked. "Sillies jail?"

"The mysteries of Weiss's mind are about to be revealed to us," Ren said.

"That implies there are six more of Klein there," Winter said.

"At least he's dependable," Weiss said.

"Master Jacques told us how fortunate the Company workers are," Happy Klein said.

"Huh?" Ruby said.

"Master Jacques told us that the best way for the company to grow is to make workers perform cheap labour," Happy Klein said.

"Of course he did," Blake said, unsurprised.

"Jeez, how hasn't your company's workers gone on strike if your father is like that," Yang said.

"A mystery for the ages," Weiss said.

Ruby walked away and left the factory. Walking into the street, she saw a shop there.

"Is that the Dust shop he meant?" Ruby wondered.

Ruby walked to the Dust shop and was about to open the door when someone greeted her.

"Hello, hello, hello!"

Ruby turned around, finding another Klein there, this time as the door to a jail with people inside.

"Oh look, another Klein," Jaune said.

"He's a door this time?" Blake said in confusion.

"Wonder who is in that jail," Yang said.

"What? The door is talking?" Ruby asked.

"Tee hee hee," the door chuckled. "I'm Dopey Klein. I'm one of the Seven Butlers! I'm guarding the Sillies here to make sure they don't escape."

"Sillies?" Ruby asked as she looked at the prisoners.

"I'm talking about real, certified dummies," Dopey Klein said. "If they get out, um, something really bad will happen!"

"I'm not sure this Klein is fit to be a prison warden," Ironwood said.

"Well, this is all in the kid's head after all," Qrow said. "He can be anything she wants."

"That's two Klein's," Winter mused. "Who are the other five?"

Ruby walked along the jail, looking at the prisoners until she reached one she recognized.

"Mew! Mew!" Jaune mewed.

Jaune, Nora and Ren were inside the cage, the only sound they could make was mewing.

"Aren't these the guys from team JNPR?" Ruby said. "Is this what Weiss thinks of them?"

Said members of Team JNPR robotically turned to look at the now sheepish Weiss.

"Uhh... other me?" Weiss said.

"Why's Pyrrha not in there?" Nora demanded.

"Probably stems from her resentment for not being on Pyrrha's team," Ren deduced.

"I'm sorry?" Pyrrha apologized in puzzlement.

"Miss, if you're a dummy too, you'd better get inside!" Dopey Klein said.

"Ah, I'm not," Ruby said. "Probably."

"Inside is warm and safe and fun and, um, warm!" Dopey Klein said.

"I'm sure it is but I gotta go," Ruby said.

"You can't act like a dummy, you know," Dopey Klein warned. "That's the Empire's number one law!"

"Got it, totally!" Ruby said. "Bye then."

"Because dummies lose the right to be Schnees!" Dopey Klein said as Ruby left.

"Just how much weirder can this dream get?" Ruby wondered.

Weiss just wanted the ground to open up and swallow her.

Ruby finally entered the Dust shop, the interior looking like a normal shop, if lacking customers. What people that were there were merely shadows.

"I heard another train was attacked," a shadow said.

"How awful!" another shadow said. "I get chills thinking about the Faunus being so close."

The two shadows disappeared out of another door, Ruby opening it.

Outside that door, Ruby found another street filled with shops, all with shadow people.

"Big Nicholas!" the statue in the middle saluted.

"Hmm, I believe these might be impressions Miss Schnee has of everyday people she met in Vale," Professor Ozpin said.

"They do lack any kind of substance," Professor Goodwitch said.

Using her Semblance, Ruby appeared on the rooftops.

"There was a way inside that wall, right?" Ruby wondered.

Ruby used a coin to create another door, counting the coins she had remaining.

"I'd better make these count," Ruby told herself as she saw how many coins she had left. Unaware that up above, Whitley saw everything Ruby did.

Whitley flew towards the building in the city's centre.

"Someone is going to tell on you~" Nora said.

"Your little brother is one annoying little shit," Yang said.

"Try living with him," Weiss replied.

Blue flames were lit inside a fireplace and someone entered the room. It was Weiss, dressed in a more militaristic outfit with a robot dog following her.

"So that's what Dream Weiss looks like," Blake said.

Winter raised an eyebrow at how similar it looked to her outfit.

"Not half bad," Yang admitted.

One of the candle flames on the table manifested a face.

"Welcome home, Mistress," the Klein greeted.

"Oh look, this time Klein is a candle flame," Weiss said, not even fazed anymore.

A chair was pulled back and gloves moved to remove Weiss's cap and coat, while a hairbrush brushed her hair.

The gloves then removed a book from the robot dog and placed it on the fireplace's mantle.

"That's helpful, but what's with the book?" Ruby asked.

Weiss shrugged. "How should I know?"

Weiss removed her sunglasses.

"Thank you, Klein," Weiss said and sat down. "Report."

A screen appeared on the wall facing Weiss.

"Yet another train has been attacked," Klein told Weiss, the screen showing the White Fang attack on the train. "The White Fang inhabiting the valley grow stronger by the day."

Nearby, the shadow of Willow Schnee laughed as she drank her wine.

"How long will it be before we are safe to receive trains again?" Weiss asked, looking at her mother's laughing shadow.

"Mother..." Weiss and Winter sighed. They didn't even remember a time when she was sober anymore.

"Thankfully, there isn't a single Faunus in the Empire," Klein said. "But the girl in the black garments keeps appearing again and again. It's quite worrying."

"True, I can't get my mind off her for a moment," Weiss said. "Monitor her very closely."

Blake raised an eyebrow. "Is that supposed to be me?"

"Probably," Yang said. "Guess Weiss can't get you out of her mind, eh?"

Her friends groaned at Yang's bad joke.

The door opened to let Whitley in. He hung upside down on a vine in the room.

"There's a problem, Sister," Whitley said.

"Whitley!" Weiss said. "You were flying around without permission again?"

"I was flying patrols to make sure nothing happened that you would get blamed for," Whitley replied. "I don't want my dear sister to be punished for anything."

"That's so blatantly false it's not even funny," Jaune remarked.

"That's Whitley for you," Weiss said. "A less experienced and powerful version of father."

"State your business," Weiss demanded.

"I saw a dummy wandering around outside," Whitley said.

"What did you say?" Weiss said.

"After breaking a soldier in the factory town, she used a weird decoy to escape," Whitley said.

"A dummy's behaviour indeed!" Weiss said.

Ruby sulked. "Not a dummy..."

An alarm sounded and the roof opened to show another screen in the roof. The face of Jacques Schnee appeared on it.

"Big Nicholas," the hologram of Jacques Schnee said.

"Big Nicholas," Whitley said.

"Big Nicholas," Weiss said.

"Kill it with fire," Blake said with a straight face.

"Overbearing much?" Yang said.

"That's father all right," Winter said. "Won't be happy unless you conform to his will."

"Weiss, you carry a heavy responsibility," Jacques said.

"Tee hee hee," Whitley giggled.

The screen showed Ruby as she was sneaking her way into the city.

"Ruby!" Weiss exclaimed. "Why is she here?"

"Aww... so the Ice Princess does care," Qrow said.

Winter glared at the drunk, who let it slide off him like water off a duck's back.

"Are you not a proper daughter of the Schnee family, Weiss?" Jacques asked.

"That isn't at all..." Weiss objected.

"Sneaking outside without permission, talking to a commoner who is likely a thief," Jacques said. "Is that behaviour worthy of the Schnee family name?"

"It's not even your family name," Winter suppressed a sneer. "You married into it."

"Dummies aren't needed in this Empire, Sister," Whitley said as he flew down.

"Silence!" Weiss yelled at Whitley as Willow just laughed in the background, Whitley joining in.

"Ooh," Klein said.

Weiss walked towards the book on the fireplace and took it.

Flipping it open, she looked back at herself as the pages showed her reflection.

"I will make them aware that I, more than anyone," Weiss said as vines appeared in her reflection, "am a suitable heir to the Schnee family and descendent of Big Nicholas."

The vines glowed as Weiss made her vow.

"Please don't conform to your father's twisted vision of your grandfather's ideals," Ironwood said.

"Oh boy," Jaune said.

"The Ice Queen is about to enter the field," Nora said.

"Don't call me that!" Weiss yelled.

Back in the city, a blizzard blew in.

"Loyal Imperial subjects honour their duties," the loudspeaker announced. "Do not engage in unauthorized travel. Do not desire things that are unsuitable to the Empire. Respect your family."

In an alley away from the ever-present gaze of Jacques Schnee, Ruby called Shion.

"I still can't find Weiss yet," Ruby said. "Maybe she doesn't want to see me."

"Well, she's coming for me right now and I don't know how to feel about that," Ruby said.

"Terrified, like that time you forgot to do your Dust Studies homework," Blake said.

Ruby shuddered. At least Weiss had helped her finish it on time.

"Why wouldn't she?" Shion asked.

"I don't know," Ruby said. "It feels like she hates me.

"You mustn't let your heart be swayed by the dream," Shion said. "Have you ever swum in a fast current?"

"Um, when I was a child," Ruby said mind conjured a river. "Dad got mad at me and said I could've drowned."

"Damn right you could!" Yang said. "What were you thinking?"

"I was ten!" Ruby said.

"The river isn't deliberately trying to drown you as it flows," Shion said. "When you enter the river, the flow of the water changes."

"Um, what does that mean?" Ruby asked.

"A dream is a large river where many different souls assemble," Shion said. "If some are evil, others are good. Lies and truth are but small parts of a dream."

Ruby picked up one of the transparent flowers floating in the dream river.

"Don't let it swallow you up," Shion advised. "You must face it head on."

"Face it... head on?" Ruby said.

"I would like to explain in more detail but if we keep talking, you'll use up the rest of your coins," Shion said. "Is there anything else?"

"No, thank you very much," Ruby said as she ended the call.

"Face it head on?" Professor Goodwitch said. "Miss Rose is about to get her chance."

She looked at the picture she had taken of the now expanded map.

"I think it was this way," Ruby said as she ran.

Running out of the alley, she was confronted with many 'Wanted' posters of herself plastered everywhere.

"That's the girl," a shadow said before they disappeared.

"The Queendom's most wanted, Ruby Rose," Nora said.

"Well, you wanted to find her," Pyrrha said. "Now she's coming to you instead."

"Joy," Ruby sighed.

"There she is!" Grumpy Klein yelled as he and several droids ran towards her. "Insolent scoundrel! Surround her! Surround her!"

"Yet another Klein," Winter said. "Must be his grumpy side."

Ruby was soon surrounded by the machines, Crescent Rose was out and Ruby was prepared to fight her way out.

"A dummy wandering around on her own!" Grumpy Klein said. "You will return with me to the tower."

"Return to... the tower?" Ruby asked.

"Interesting, so Weiss kept Dream Ruby separate," Professor Ozpin said.

"This is going to be difficult," Ruby sighed.

The sound of heels could be heard and all of them turned to face it.

Weiss was here.

"Weiss! I've finally found you!" Ruby said happily.

"Be silent!" Weiss demanded angrily.

"Huh?" Ruby stopped in her tracks.

"Who gave you permission to speak?" Weiss demanded. "An immature, rowdy child without even the most basic manners, wandering around without permission. What an embarrassment you are."

Ruby was deeply hurt by those words.

"I knew it," Ruby yelled. "You're embarrassed to be around me!"

Weiss, uncharacteristically, hugged Ruby.

"It's not me," Weiss whispered.

"I know," Ruby whispered back with tears in her eyes.

"Yosh!" Yang joined the hug, pulling Blake into it as well. "Team RWBY isn't going to let a few harsh words from a Grimm break it apart, is it?"

"Please let me go," Blake pleaded as her face was to Yang's bountiful bosom.

Professor Ozpin smiled at the team interaction. It would seem the formation of Team RWBY wasn't a mistake.

"You found a good team," Winter whispered with a smile.

"I told you to be silent," Weiss said coldly. "All right, Sister Winter, your verdict."

Weiss opened her book, where an image of Winter appeared.

"The powerless return to dust," Winter said. "The wicked will wander the void. Punish the traitor to the Empire, and imprison them for eternity."

"You see me as a book?" Winter asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Uhh... I'm not sure what that's supposed to mean in my own dream," Weiss said.

"Easy," Qrow said. "She sees her dearest big sister as a font of knowledge. Hence, the book."

"I'm surprised you're even capable of deep analysis," Winter said.

"Hey, this job of mine isn't exactly all just killing Grimm," Qrow said.

Weiss closed the book.

"You have been judged," Weiss said.

Weiss placed the book inside a compartment of the robot dog that followed her. She threw away her cloak and drew Mythenaster.

"Prepare yourself, Ruby," Weiss said as she pointed her rapier at Ruby.

"It was all a lie, wasn't it?" Ruby asked as she was about to cry. "About wanting a bunk bed, about accepting me as leader? Even about Blake! We're doing this for you, Weiss!"

A tear fell from Ruby's eyes.

"But I don't care anymore," Ruby said as she lifted up Crescent Rose. "I'll snap you out of it, and then I'll never talk to you again!"

Weiss's composure broke for a moment before she hardened herself and slashed at Ruby with Fire Dust.

"I wasn't lying about the bunk bed," Weiss whispered. "And Blake... Okay, I haven't completely gotten over it but we've decided to start over."

"There, there," Winter said as she hugged her sister this time. "We know. This is all the Nightmare's fault."

"Man, this Grimm is insidious," Jaune said. "It makes friend fight friend, sows doubt in the team and plays with emotions."

"I'd rather deal with our standard Grimm," Pyrrha grimaced. "At least with them you know what you're up against and our weapons can do the talking."

Ruby dodged the attack and jumped onto a roof, roof hopping as she ran.

Behind her, Weiss used her Semblance to get ahead of Ruby and fired several attacks at her.

Using Crescent Rose to block the last one, Ruby struggled against the beam but was blown away.

Ruby landed painfully onto a roof, then a wall before finally hitting the snow-covered ground.

"Was she always this strong?" Ren wondered.

"No, this is still her dream," Professor Ozpin said. "It makes sense she's strongest in there. Not to mention the aid of the Nightmare."

"Get out of there, Ruby!" Weiss pleaded. "You found me. Your recon mission is over. Now get out before I kill you!"

"What happens if you die in the dream?" Professor Goodwitch wondered.

"I'd rather not find out," Qrow said. He needed something stronger.

Ruby took out two coins and used them to create a decoy and a door.

"I don't care anymore," the decoy repeated as it walked in a different direction while Ruby walked through the door.

Weiss cut the decoy apart when she found it.

"You won't get away!" Weiss declared as she ran.

The door closed and Ruby sat on the roof of a different building.

"Was Weiss always this tough?" Ruby wondered.

"Nope, that's the Grimm's fault," Yang said.

"Ruby is really at a disadvantage here," Blake observed. "Not only is she emotionally unbalanced, Weiss also has home field advantage."

Ruby stood up and looked at her last coin. "The last coin... I'll use it to escape."

Ruby jumped back down to the street.

"But I can't run yet," Ruby said to herself. "I have to do something about Weiss."

"No, we're going to do something about you," Weiss said from where she was waiting. She walked out of her hiding place. "Isn't that right, Ruby?"

Weiss used her glyph to propel herself towards Ruby, Mythenaster poised to strike.

"RUBY!" Ruby's friends and family cried.

"Wait, what's next?" Qrow demanded. "Come on! Don't leave it at that."

"As much as I agree with you, I don't believe demanding an empty theatre is going to get us any answers," Professor Ozpin said. "Let us just wait for the next episode to start."

Qrow growled but sat down.