Dream Theory - Ch. 2 (Patreon)

A room.  Four walls and a floor.

Oh, and a ceiling.

No, that was just a box - a very claustrophobic box.  But if Yang added windows…

The moment a window appeared in the wall of the box, she sighed in relief - until she noticed that, since she wasn’t sure what time of day it was, it was black outside.  And, now that she thought about it, how was there any light in the room when she hadn’t imagined any lights?

“Oh great…” she muttered when she suddenly found herself standing in pitch darkness.

For someone with a lot to dream about, she sucked using the Dreamscape.  Maybe she just wasn’t creative enough to hold the environment together in her mind, or maybe her sleep-state wasn’t stable enough to let her build while she slept.  Either way, this was the perfect example of why they sold prefabricated environments for people to dream in. The beach, lakes, yachts, malls - all great places to have a dream and far easier to use than trying to come up with everything from scratch.

Yang, however, liked to do things the hard way, which was why she found herself in a dark box in the middle of who-knew-where.  Blake had warned her not to start up the Dreamscape without having at least a foundation in mind, otherwise she could fall into a nightmare but...well, her life was pretty much a nightmare right now anyway.  Adding one more wouldn’t be a big deal.

“Ok,” she mumbled while trying not to let the darkness affect her.  “Just like she taught you. Focus on something...start with the biggest pieces.”

The ground was probably the biggest thing, and that was easy to fill in - grass.  Like a meadow - taller grass that swayed under a gentle breeze.

Looking at the field of gently-waving grass surrounding her, Yang did her best to hold that image in her mind while continuing to the next biggest piece.  The ‘sky’ was still black, after all - it should be blue - blue with a couple of clouds. When she focused too much on the clouds, however, the green beneath her feet began to fade.  So she scratched the idea of clouds and went with plain blue instead - a clear, blue sky with gently-waving grass.

Taking a deep breath and looking around, she smiled at the rudimentary environment she’d crafted.  Even though this was basically the bare minimum that someone could accomplish, it was still...breathtaking, in a way.  So lifelike, so realistic, and it was all in her mind, from her mind.

“You’re getting better at this.”

Spinning around at the silky-smooth voice, she immediately lost her focus when she saw the person walking towards her.  Slender and lithe, with long, flowing black hair and piercing amber eyes, Blake was a dream in-and-of herself. That’s exactly what Yang had thought on the day they met, and that’s exactly what she thought now as well.

Fortunately, Blake took over the dream as soon as Yang lost focus.  The grass swayed in a more realistic way - ribbons of wind bending some sections but not all at once.  Wisps of clouds flowed across the sky, matching the gentle breeze perfectly, while tall trees sprouted in the distance.  Birds started chirping, flowers sprang up amongst the tall grass - thousands of white and yellow daisies adding cheer and brightness to the landscape.

A path formed underneath Blake’s feet as she walked towards Yang - first concrete, then pavement, finally settling upon small cobblestones that spread to Yang and beyond.  Lampposts appeared every few dozen feet, even though they weren’t needed this time of day, and several benches appeared at various points around what was now a legitimate park.

It was gorgeous, but none of it compared to the girl standing in front of her.

“Blake…”  Yang breathed the name like a dream - because this was a dream, and because Blake was her dream.

Tilting her chin up, Blake caught Yang’s eyes and smiled.

“You didn’t wait long, did you?”

Still caught up in the beauty before her, Yang managed to shake her head at the question, which made Blake nod to herself.

“Good.  Want to take a walk with me?”

When Blake motioned past Yang, she turned and found that the pathway led across the meadow before disappearing between the trees beyond.  And, as usual, she was powerless to say ‘no’ in Blake’s presence - not that she wanted to say ‘no’ anyway. If she wanted to do that, she wouldn’t have turned on the Dreamscape, to begin with.

Instead, she followed Blake along another unfamiliar path together.  For the first few minutes, she couldn’t keep her eyes off of the girl beside her - who was, still, one of the most beautiful and effortlessly-sexy people she’d ever met.  Something about Blake’s walk, her voice, the slight tilt of her lips in a smile, filled Yang with an incredible desire to be closer - to be as close as they once were.

Unfortunately, they could share the same sights and sounds in this brief space together, but that was as far as it went.  Holding hands was out of the question. Hugging was out of the question. Kissing was way out of the question.  The best Yang could do was marvel at Blake’s beauty and remember the good ‘ol days.

It wasn’t until Blake caught her staring that Yang turned away, opting instead to admire the serene environment surrounding them.

“You’re really good at this,” she said, but Blake waved off the compliment.

“It’s my job.  At least, it was.”

They both caught the slip-up, but Yang let it slide.  Blake didn’t like to talk about her job when they met here; she said they didn’t have enough time together as it was - why waste it talking about work?

“Anything exciting happen today?” Blake asked instead.

“Oh, you know, the usual,” Yang replied with a laugh, not failing to notice that they talked about work anyway - only, her work.  “Ruby doing awesome stuff. People doing awful stuff.”

“That does sound like the usual,” Blake mused, her eyes following a small, blue butterfly as it fluttered across their path.  “But I’m sure there was more to it than that.”

Yang wasn’t sure if Blake asked for details because she was interested in Yang’s day, or if she asked for details so that she wouldn’t have to provide any of her own.

“Chased down a would-be robber,” Yang added, opting not to try to figure out the motives behind Blake’s decisions.  “Got him in a nice tackle.”

“No injuries?”

“Not a scratch.”  

Yang held out her arms to show that she was uninjured, although the gesture was meaningless.  Her injuries wouldn’t show in a dream unless she willed them into being. Considering she was hardly capable of dreaming a basic meadow on her own, adding injuries probably wouldn’t happen anytime soon.  Regardless, Blake looked at Yang’s uninjured arms and smiled.

“Good,” she said with one of those satisfied smiles Yang had always loved.  “What were you doing chasing down robbers anyway?”

“Ran into him by mistake.”  When Blake resumed walking, Yang fell back into step by her side.  “I was looking for leads on a case, and he decided to rob the store I was standing in front of.”

“Unfortunate for him,” Blake replied with a short laugh.  “What case are you working on?”

Catching the glance Blake sent her, Yang shrugged and tried not to make it too obvious that she was always looking for leads about the bombing.  For obvious reasons, Blake didn’t like talking about that day, and she really didn’t like the idea of Yang becoming too involved in the investigation.  Fortunately, Yang had plenty of other cases to talk about.

“Still searching for whoever broke into the art museum last month.”

“They must be quite the thief if you’re still looking for them.”

“I’ll find them,” Yang replied with a confident nod.  “No way they’re getting away with it - not if I have anything to say about it.”

When Blake chuckled at the response, Yang realized she might’ve gone a little overboard with the confidence.

“I have no doubt you’ll catch them.”  Pausing in the middle of their walk, Blake turned towards Yang and smiled.  “You’re one of the most talented and dedicated detectives I’ve ever met. If you say you’ll find them, you will.”

The compliment made Yang’s heart swell with happiness and pride.  During her rookie years on the force, there were plenty of moments when she questioned what she was doing and why.  Everyone told her that feeling was normal, especially when particularly stressing events happened, but no one had a magic answer as to how to get through it.

Thankfully, she found her answer - Blake.  Blake believed in her when she didn’t. Blake supported her when she didn’t believe she deserved any support.  Blake listened to her on the worst of days and somehow convinced her that she was strong enough to move forward.

“I’ll let you know when I do,” she replied, flashing a grin that grew when Blake smiled back at her.

“Please do.”  After sharing that smile for a few more seconds, Blake looked away.  “Do you want to sit down?” she asked, motioning to a bench that hadn’t existed seconds prior.

“Do you ever think about erasing my seat while I sit?” Yang asked in lieu of an answer while the two of them sat on the bench.

“Of course not.”  When Yang gave Blake a look of disbelief, she smirked.  “Not anymore, at least.”

The honest response made Yang laugh and shake her head.  It was impossible to ignore the warm, upbeat feeling Blake filled her with.  Even with simple conversations like these, she felt better than she had all day.  More like herself, less like the person deserving pity from all who knew her.

“What was the weather like today?” Blake asked, looking at the sky above them.

“Sunny for most of the day.  Warm. Only a few clouds.”

While Yang answered, she watched the sky shift - the clouds clearing away and the sun shining brightly.  The grass, if someone looked close enough, gained a shimmer of sunlight that looked not quite real. Well...it wasn’t real.

“How’s that?”

“Pretty good,” Yang replied, leaning closer to Blake.  Out of instinct, she reached for Blake’s hand but stopped herself when she realized it wouldn’t do any good.  Hoping Blake hadn’t noticed, she set both hands in her lap and focused on the space in front of her.

Tuning out as much as possible, she thought about a flower - a single rose - and watched it come into being above her hands.  It was red, because that was the color for love, with a green stem and a small green leaf sticking out of the side. As for the flower itself, it had lots of velvety-looking petals that scrunched together to look...somewhat like a rose.

“You’re getting better at this,” Blake said, smiling as she plucked the rose from the air and lifted it to her nose.

While Blake examined the rose, Yang kept her eyes trained on it for as long as possible so it wouldn’t disappear.  It wasn’t until something materialized within Yang’s hand that she turned away and found herself holding a gorgeous sunflower.

“Not good enough,” Yang replied with an amused huff, lifting the flower so she could better see the detail put into it - from the dozens of yellow petals that were creased and wrinkled in unique ways, to the feathery leaves and slight dust of pollen in the center.

“It’s all in what you can imagine,” Blake replied.  “The better you can visualize something, the clearer it becomes.  You also need a great deal of concentration to hold it together in your mind.”

“Probably why I suck at it - I’m too distracted by the pretty girl.”

When Blake laughed - her eyes lighting up with delight that matched the sound - Yang felt a huge smile spring into being.  More than anything in the world, she loved making Blake laugh. There was something so...satisfying...about the normally-stoic intellectual giggling like a schoolgirl.

Once Blake’s laugh faded, the two of them lapsed into a comfortable silence broken only by the sound of the breeze and birds chirping in the distance.

“I’ve always loved the challenge,” Blake added, drawing Yang’s gaze her way.  “Only bound by the limits of my imagination...it’s a freeing feeling, isn’t it?”

While she spoke, Blake cast thousands of stars above the meadow in front of them.  She then sorted through them - making them bigger, smaller, brighter, darker - before shrinking them down into a small galaxy.  The galaxy was then duplicated, and duplicated again - creating an entire universe that was small enough to fit into the palm of Yang’s hand.

Playing along, Yang imagined a little dragon and watched it flutter to life in front of her.  The creature looked more like a kid’s drawing than anything else, but it flapped its wings and managed to fly over to Blake’s masterpiece, where Yang made it look like it was going to eat the stars.

“Are you trying to destroy my universe?” Blake asked, watching Yang’s dragon with an amused smile.

“More like trying to eat it.”

Letting the dragon disappear with a laugh, Yang watched Blake shrink the entire orb of the universe until it fit into a small, clear rock on top of a silver ring.  Blake then pushed the ring towards Yang, letting it hover in the air as if held up by an invisible string.

“You’re my universe,” Blake said, her lips twitching up with a smile when Yang reached out and took the ring.  Upon closer inspection, she saw the specks of individual stars inside, still moving around in their respective galaxies.

It was gorgeous, just like the person who’d created it - the person Yang loved more than anything in this world or in the universe.

“Come home,” she suddenly said, lowering the ring and glimpsing the flash of pain in Blake’s eyes.

“Come home,” she repeated, knowing she was already too far down the rabbit hole to back away from the request now.  “I miss you.”

“I miss you too...”

“Then why don’t you come home?” she asked, reaching out to gently touch Blake’s cheek only to withdraw her hand when she realized she couldn’t.  Blake turned back to her anyway, wearing a sad, exhausted expression.

“Yang…”

“Just tell me where you are, and I’ll come get you.  I can protect you - we can. Me and Ruby.”

For a second, Yang felt a false sense of hope - as if Blake might actually listen this time - but that feeling disappeared when Blake sighed and leaned forward as if to touch her forehead to Yang’s.

“But I can’t protect you.”

“What?  What do you mean?”

“Yang, please,” Blake replied, shaking her head and giving Yang a beseeching look, silently begging her to let it go.  But how could she let it go when they were still apart?

“Why can’t you tell me what you ran from?” she asked, feeling some of her built-up frustration slip through.  “You’re keeping me in the dark to ‘protect me,’ but I’m a little tired of living through dreams. I want my life back.  I want you back.”

This time, Blake sighed and hung her head.

“I wish I could come back, Yang,” she whispered.  “But I can’t yet...not until I figure out a way to keep everyone safe.”

“You realize I can help with that, right?  I work for the police -”

“This isn’t something the police can help with.”

The comment had such an air of finality to it, Yang scoffed but didn’t bother a response.  As usual, she didn’t understand. It didn’t help that Blake spoke in riddles and refused to give any information about who or what she ran from.  Something scared her - something sent her into hiding.  

Yang knew it had to do with the explosion at the transit station, which happened at the exact time Blake was supposed to board a train for a work conference, but that was it.  Blake refused to give her anything else to help.

“Can’t we just...be grateful that we have this?” Blake asked, reaching out for Yang’s hands before stopping herself.  “That we can still talk every night?”

Yang shut her mouth to keep the ‘no’ from slipping out.  Sometimes, it was hard to explain how unsatisfying this felt.  For years, Blake had been right by her side. Now, she was forced to live through dreams for a reason she didn’t know or understand.  

Maybe it would be different if this had been planned.  Maybe it would be different if this had an end date. But, as far as Yang knew, this was never-ending.  This was how it would be from here on out. Considering what they’d had before everything fell apart...she didn’t think it was unfair to want ‘normal’ back.

“I just...miss you…” she mumbled towards her hands.  She understood that her request had been denied, once again.  Blake wasn’t coming home anytime soon. They could still see each other every night - like they’d done for months now - but that was it.  Outside of the Dreamscape, Yang would still be the sad, unfortunate detective who lost her girlfriend in a tragic crime. She would still be the one pretending everything was fine.

This wasn’t fine.

“I miss you too...more than I can ever describe…”

Hearing the pain and sadness in Blake’s voice, Yang finally sighed and looked up.  For as much as this hurt her, she knew it was difficult for Blake too. Sometimes that was just...hard to understand when Blake was the one who made this decision.

When Blake gave a hopeful smile, however, Yang attempted a somewhat-reluctant smile in return.  Blake quickly took the reassurance and scooted closer. She then tapped the ring still clasped in Yang’s hands, and suddenly the meadow was gone, replaced by the cosmos itself.

“You are my everything,” Blake whispered, the light of nearby stars reflected in her eyes.  “I’d never leave you unless I had to.”

When Yang sighed at the words, which always had a way of melting the annoyance away, Blake smiled.

“I love you,” she added, glancing over her shoulder when the light became brighter, signaling the end of their time together.

“I love you too.” 

As Blake faded from view, Yang made sure to smile one last time.  And then she woke up, blinking her eyes as the ceiling came into focus above her.  Sun crept through the self-regulated window tinting now, adding a sense of warmth that hadn’t been there when she went to sleep last night.

“Save dream sequence?” an automated voice called out to her.

“Yes.”

After rubbing the remnants of sleep out of her eyes, she sat up with a sigh.  

Blake was right, in a way.  At least they had the Dreamscape.  At least they could see each other and communicate in some way.  But it never felt like enough.  Not when they used to talk for hours on end, sometimes staying up into the night discussing anything that seemed of importance to them at that time.  It didn’t matter if it was one of Yang’s cases, a book Blake just finished, or an advertisement they’d seen on the train - they loved to talk and laugh and spend time together.  Compared to that, the shortened night in the Dreamscape might never feel like enough.

Pulling the Dream Disk off her temple, she set it on top of the bed stand before grabbing her arm and fitting it in place.  As soon as the device powered up, she set her palm on top of the Dreamscape and waited for a soft beeping noise.

“Transfer complete,” the automated voice told her once the sequence file saved on her arm.  With that done, she ran a hand through her hair and got out of bed.

Part of her refused to accept that this was what their lives would be - that couldn’t happen when something could always be done.  Another part of her was resigned to the fact that this was what it was - there was nothing she could do about it except carry on as she had been.  What she couldn’t figure out, however, was which part of her would give in first.

A change of clothes and stop in the bathroom later, she hurried into the kitchen while placing a call to Ruby.

“Hello?” Ruby mumbled, still groggy with sleep.

“Hey,” Yang said, grabbing an apple for breakfast before leaving her apartment behind.  “I’m heading over now. Don’t know if you wanna call Weiss.”

“Got it,” Ruby mumbled before Yang heard the sound of covers rustling.  “Weiss -” 

“Oh, she stayed over there?” Yang asked, making sure to pull the door closed behind her before heading to the stairs.

“Yes, Yang,” another voice answered.  “See you soon.”

“Cool - see you.”

Ending the call, she jogged downstairs and shoved open the lobby door standing between her and early-morning daylight.  The day had just begun, and her little section of the world was waking up slowly. A couple of runners hurried past, several other early-risers headed to work or breakfast, but the hustle and bustle of the evening was nowhere to be found.

The quiet suited Yang just fine.  It meant fewer people crowding the streets while she headed towards the train terminal, fewer people waiting on the platforms, and fewer people crushed inside the metal tubes serving as the lifelines through the city.

“Morning,” someone muttered to her while stepping off the arriving train and hurrying away.

“Morning,” she replied with a nod before walking aboard and grabbing an empty seat near the exit.  When the doors slid shut and the train smoothly accelerated away from the platform, she took a bite of her apple and settled in for the short ride ahead.

Ruby’s apartment was only four stops away from hers - the perfect amount of time to eat an apple if she didn’t get caught up in conversation with someone.  Thankfully, that hardly happened when the train cars ran nearly empty at this time in the morning.

Four stops later, she dropped her apple core into the waste bin on her way off the train and away from the station.  Ruby’s neighborhood was nearly as lifeless as Yang’s, which made the couple blocks a breeze to walk.

For reasons Yang would never fully understand, Ruby chose the tallest apartment building in the area to live in.  A good twenty-or-so stories high, it towered at least five floors over its nearest rivals. And of course Ruby’s apartment was on the topmost floor of the building.

Which meant Yang had to wait for an elevator.

Smiling at a young man in a suit while he hurried through the lobby and disappeared outside, Yang tried not to let her impatience show - but she was impatient.

Ding.

As soon as the elevator doors opened, she slipped inside and jabbed the button for Ruby’s floor.  A few more seconds of waiting, and she was finally on her way, lifted into the sky by a series of pulleys and cables hidden out of sight.

The elevator slowed to a stop and let her out on the top floor, where she headed down the hall and rang the bell by Ruby’s door.  Of course, because this was Ruby’s apartment, ringing the doorbell by itself did exactly nothing. First, she rang the doorbell. Next, she set her hand on the palm reader and waited for it to scan her handprint.  Once that was done, she said: “Eagle One checking in.”

Once her voice confirmed her identity, several automated deadbolts slid out of place while the door unlatched itself.  Without waiting for anyone to greet her, she stepped inside the apartment and closed the door behind her. The scene in front of her made her smile while a feeling of contentedness washed over her.

Ruby sat at a dining room table covered in gadgets and bits of hardware.  Weiss set a plate of toast in front of Ruby, then briefly rested a hand on Ruby’s shoulder before walking to the stove to heat up some water.

“Morning, Yang!” Ruby greeted her before taking a big bite of toast and making a noise of delight.

“Morning, Ruby.”  Walking over to the table, Yang pulled out her customary chair and sat down.

As dumb as it may be, this was part of her morning routine, and it was one of the few things keeping her sane while this endless nightmare continued.  Ultimately, she knew this would have to stop eventually - there had to be a limit on how long Ruby and Weiss would tolerate the intrusion on their mornings - but until then...she was grateful they humored her for now.

“Guessing you have another video?” Ruby asked between bites of toast.

“You know it.”  When Yang lifted her hand - where the data was currently stored - Ruby grabbed her plate and motioned for Yang to follow her to the wall of computers taking up most of what should be the ‘living room.’

Where Blake had her books, Ruby had her technology - an entire room filled with the latest and greatest gizmos to play with.  Overall, it felt very similar to the setup she had at work, with what felt like way-too-many screens all in use at the same time.

“Load it up,” she said, gesturing towards the data pad before pulling a glove over her left hand.  Yang tapped her palm to the pad and watched a small screen pop up in front of Ruby, who immediately grabbed the file and moved it onto the middle screens.

“Good morning, Yang.”

Turning to the side, Yang smiled and accepted the cup of coffee Weiss offered her.

“Good morning.”

“Have something good for us today?” Weiss asked, taking a sip from her mug while watching Ruby expand the screen and pinpoint the moment Blake entered the dream.

“Honestly?  No.” Shaking her head, Yang sipped her coffee and watched the screen as Ruby pressed play.

The meadow sprang into existence on the screen, and Yang watched the most recent dream sequence she and Blake had shared play out a second time.  Heard the words, watched the minor miracles Blake worked into the environment...and searched for clues.

It was no secret that emotions and thoughts could slip into a sequence if someone wasn’t paying enough attention.  What Yang hoped to find was a clue - some hint as to where Blake was hiding or why. Anything that brought her home sooner…

By now, Yang had learned not to be embarrassed by playing her dreams for Weiss and Ruby to see.  She’d given up on the idea of doing this on her own - she needed their help and, most importantly, she needed their support.

“How the heck does she do that…” Ruby muttered when Blake created the universe of stars hovering above the meadow.  Yang smiled at the compliment but kept her eyes glued to the screen in search of anything she’d missed while taking part in the dream.  Was there anything out of the ordinary? Anything that seemed not quite right, even if it was only for a miniscule amount of time?

When the end of the video arrived with no results, her disappointment grew.

Not done yet, Ruby started a variety of programs created specifically to interpret dream sequences.  Or, at least, programs meant to take apart and analyze unexpected events in dream sequences. The programs ran quickly, drawing on the massive processing power Ruby had installed in the apartment.

“She’s too good at masking,” Weiss mumbled, standing near Ruby’s shoulder while the results appeared. 

“No kidding...but look at this.”  Scrolling through the results faster than Yang could even read the first page, Ruby rewound the video and pointed to the screen as it played in slow motion.  “You surprised her when you asked her to come home. A normal person would’ve lost focus, but look -”

Still pointing to the screen, Ruby zoomed in and showed them the very edge of the map.  

“This is the only thing she showed.”

Yang couldn’t even tell what Ruby was talking about - it looked like nothing.  It was just the trees at the edge of the park Blake had created.

“Did you see it?”

“Uh…”  Turning to the side, Yang was moderately relieved to find that Weiss looked just as lost as she felt.

“Watch it again.”

Replaying the video, Ruby drew a red circle around what she was referring to.  Only then did Yang see it. Not that ‘it’ was much at all.

“The leaves stopped moving?” she asked, still unsure if that was the right answer.

“Right.  The leaves froze for a split second.  But that’s it.” Sitting down in her chair, Ruby sighed and waved towards the screen.  “You need to throw her off somehow - like really surprise her.  Maybe then she’ll let something slip.”

“That’s a good idea,” Weiss agreed.  “You need a big reaction from her, much bigger than anything we’ve seen so far.”

Pursing her lips and crossing her arms over her chest, Yang stared at the screen rather than make eye contact.  The last thing she wanted to do was throw a wrench into the situation, but Weiss and Ruby were right - Blake was too good at masking her emotions.  If they continued like this, they’d never learn anything.

“I’ll think about it,” she muttered before finishing her cup of coffee and setting the empty mug on the desk.  She loved Blake’s ability to use the Dreamscape - it demonstrated her intelligence in a tangible, visible form.  These days, however, Blake’s expertise only served to keep Yang out, preventing her from gathering valuable clues that might help her figure out where or why Blake went into hiding.

“Not much else we can do.”  After letting the video run through to the end, Ruby saved it to a file filled with similar videos and closed the screen.  “Just...keep trying, I guess.”

Yang didn’t see another option.  Either she kept trying, or she admitted that she was stuck here alone until Blake came back on her own.  Fortunately, Yang wasn’t the type who went down without a fight. Unfortunately, she was starting to feel tired and...worn out...by the constant questions with no solution in sight.

“I think...maybe it’s time we consider that her reason for not coming home is that she can’t.”

Confused by the comment, Yang tilted her head and looked at Weiss.

“What do you mean?”

For someone who normally didn’t hesitate to speak her mind, Weiss suddenly looked rather reluctant to explain herself.

“Maybe,” she began, glancing at Ruby before finally meeting Yang’s eyes.  “Maybe she can’t come back because she did something. Something bad enough that it forced her into hiding.”

Understanding where Weiss was going with the cryptic comments, Yang shook her head.  

“No,” she said plainly.  “She would never do something like that.”

“Think about it from another perspective.”  Keeping her voice calm, Weiss motioned with her coffee cup in what was probably supposed to be a non-confrontational way.  “A crime occurs, and suddenly someone disappears - they don’t just disappear, but they’re more than happy to be pronounced dead and are unwilling to return.  I believe any detective would at least call that a lead.”

Listening to the reasoning, Yang still shook her head and paced the floor in front of Ruby’s computer screens.

“She wouldn’t.”

“Then why won’t she tell you what’s going on?” Weiss asked, keeping that same even-keeled tone.  “You, of all people. She should trust you. Why won’t she tell you what happened? Unless she can’t tell you what happened because she knows how you’ll feel about it.”

“She wouldn’t do that.”  Hearing the anger in her voice, Yang took a deep breath and ran a hand through her hair in an effort to calm down.  “I know you never met her, Weiss, but she’s not that type of person. She’d never hurt innocent people.  Never.”

“I’m only mentioning it because I think it’d be wrong for us not to consider every possibility.”

“That’s not a possibility,” Yang replied, knowing the answer to be more than true.  Weiss looked like she wanted to argue - probably by mentioning that anything is a possibility - but instead, she sighed and shook her head.

“I’m with Yang, Weiss,” Ruby added, gently picking up Weiss’ hand to garner her attention.  “Blake’s not that type of person. Secretive, sure, but not malicious.”

“Ok.”  After smiling at Ruby and squeezing her hand, Weiss turned back to Yang.  “Ok,” she repeated, using the word to calm the rest of Yang’s agitation. “I believe you.  But that means we’re back to grasping at straws.”

Feeling her composure return, Yang immediately regretted her reaction.  Weiss was only trying to help, and sometimes that meant pointing out what Yang and Ruby missed due to bias.  But Yang couldn’t believe that Blake had anything to do with the explosion. Something like that would be...unforgivable.  It went against the type of person Blake was - or at least, who she pretended to be.

“It’s hard to believe this was just random occurrence though,” Weiss mused to Ruby.  She then straightened her posture and crossed her arms over her chest, looking much closer to the version of Weiss that Yang knew from work.  “If we assume that, out of all the people who died and potentially could have died, Blake was the sole target - then why? Why kill a dream theorist?”  Narrowing her eyes, Weiss looked at Yang as if she somehow held the answer. “You’re positive she didn’t have any enemies?”

“Not that I know of.”  Yang shook her head and racked her brain for an answer to that question one more time.  In the days or weeks leading up to the explosion, had Blake mentioned anyone out of the ordinary?  Anyone bothering her at work? Even just minor annoyances or transgressions?

“She never had any issues at work,” she added with a sigh.  “She liked her coworkers, and they all seemed to like her.”

“Was she working on something important?”

“Of course.  She couldn’t talk much about it, but she seemed excited to tell me eventually.”

After pursing her lips and furrowing her brow for several more seconds, Weiss shook her head.  

“It doesn’t make sense,” she concluded.  “She got along with her coworkers, Dreamscape doesn’t have any competitors, and her personal life was fine.  Then why run?”

That was the question they kept coming back to, even after working through this same thought exercise at least a hundred times.  Unfortunately, only Blake knew the answer, and she refused to give them so much as a hint.

“You hate this, don’t you,” Ruby teased, nudging Weiss’ leg while she continued to stare at the screen.  

“I hate not finding the answer,” Weiss grumbled.  “There’s always an answer.” 

Yang agreed with that - there was always an answer.  Sometimes it took more digging to find, but it was there somewhere.

After the three of them stared at Ruby’s computer for another few minutes as if a solution might appear on the screens, Weiss finally sighed.

“I should go to work.  Or, I should head home so I can go to work.”

“You won’t be late, will you?” Ruby asked, grabbing ahold of Weiss’ hand in a silent protest of her decision to leave.

“My first meeting isn’t for a few hours, so no.”  Smiling at the concern, Weiss leaned over and pressed a long kiss to Ruby’s lips.  “I’ll miss you,” she whispered before finally pulling away.  

When the affectionate moment ended, Weiss smiled and patted Yang’s shoulder before heading towards the door.

“Oh, and Yang?” she said, turning back to the room with her hand resting on the doorknob.  “Next time you bump into me in the hall, I’ll have to berate you a bit.”

“Noted,” Yang called back, flashing a thumbs up while Weiss smiled and fit a holomask around her ear.  Before she opened the door, her long, white hair shifted to a dark auburn with a hint of curls, her icy blue eyes flickered to deep green, and her features softened.  Slipping on a pair of glasses that concealed her face even further, she disappeared into the hall and closed the door behind her.

“Did you make that one for her?” Yang asked while swiveling back to Ruby, whose attention was still glued to the screen in front of her.

“Yeah.”

“She looks good as a brunette.”

“She looks amazing with any hair color,” Ruby corrected, finally turning away from her computers and smiling.  “But yes, I like this one a lot. That’s why we’ve stuck with it for a while now.”

“The parade of gorgeous women coming to your door has finally stopped?” Yang joked.  Leaning out of the way when Ruby tried to slap her in the arm, she laughed. “If only we could all be as lucky as you.  Ruby Rose - tech-extraordinaire and wooer of all the beautiful ladies.”

“You’re one to talk,” Ruby retorted.  As soon as she said the words, however, her smile disappeared and she looked like she wished she hadn’t said anything at all.  Determined not to let the conversation get uncomfortable, Yang forced a smile and rustled Ruby’s hair.

“The only beautiful girl I’m seeing is in my dreams,” she replied.  “I should probably get going too, but I’ll see you at work.”

“I’ll be there soon!” Ruby called after her while she headed to the door.  

Without pausing, Yang waved over her shoulder and let herself into the hall.  Her next stop was the elevator, which was busier now that the building was waking up.  Once she made it downstairs and stepped outside, finding the sidewalk far more crowded than when she’d arrived, she hesitated on the stoop.

There was only one beautiful girl for her - and she’d already found her.  Unfortunately, she’d already lost her too. Now, she needed to find Blake a second time around.

The second time hurt more.  Maybe because Yang knew what she’d lost.  Maybe because they’d become so bound together that separation was excruciatingly painful.  Or maybe her heart just knew that it was missing its better half.

Hanging her head, Yang jogged down the steps and hurried towards the train terminal.  After another fruitless morning searching for answers, it was time for work to distract her from the aching hole in her chest.

But, if anyone asked, she was still fine.