Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

This is just something I thought of a while ago and felt a desire to write it.

The biggest problem Salem had is that she was tired. Tired of seeing the same sights, tired of the Grimm, and especially tired of the people. All she wanted was to finally leave this world. Yet no matter how much she tries, Ozma repeatedly gets in her way every age. Though she had to admit the wildness of the frontier era did have its enjoyable moments on occasion.

Salem walked through her palace halls, passing sentry Grimm and hearing random howls or growls from outdoors. A normal thing to hear in the dark lands. As she came to two large double-doors, she snapped her fingers and they flung themselves open for her. When she stepped in, she swung her hand to the side and they shut behind her.

Every era has it's pros and cons, and this eras number one benefit had to be the sheer level of technology man has managed to create. Even she, a master of magic and the arcane, someone who's lived for hundreds upon hundreds of years had to acknowledge its benefits. Things even magic found impossible random humans managed to make in their garages. Although it did take them a few hundred years to get it right.

She approached a large machine in the center of the room. Its shape was that of a gazebo, however it was made of metal and had wired, tubes, rods, and plenty of other parts she didn't quite know or understand. Along with a large tube in it's center. It was something she had Watts put together for her. It was a bit of a side project to plundering the maidens and obtaining the relics.

Lifting her hand up, she pulled a lever on the outside support of the machine. The tube in the middle retracted, lowering itself into the floor. The machine was simple in function. For most of her life she's tried to end it. What the gods did to her was magical thus it required a magical solution... However she could never figure out how to go about it. She's tried experiments in the past and none of them worked, but this was the first time in history in which technology reached such advanced enough levels that she considered giving it a shot.

However magic was still involved of course. Salem lifted her hand up and a magic sigil appeared floated in her palm. With another wave it was flung to the floor of the machine and a magic circle spread under it.

The machine was powered on all kinds of dust and then electricity, it was essentially a very powerful and very deadly generator of sorts. Made just to creating as much power as possible. Combine that with her own magic and who knows, maybe she'll finally be able to die. She figured worst case scenario it blows up, she's perfectly fine, then she continues to plan against Ozma.

… But if it was to work... Oh, how happy she would be. Or not be. Even she wasn't entirely sure what was after death. Ozma was brought back from somewhere after all...

She stepped into the circle and above where the tube lowered. With a flick of her wrist, she used magic to push the lever back up and the tube raised to surround her. Another flick and another lever was pulled downward. This turned the machine on.

Gears turned, electricity howled, sparks flung around her inside the tube. She flinched when one hit her and grunted in pain, but the injury quickly healed itself. If this was to work she had to ignore such things. Taking a deep breath, she pushed away the pain she felt time and time again when the electricity zapped her, instead focused on her magic. The magic circle under her began to glow a bright purple and the machine responded in kind, generating power even faster. The gears began to smoke and she was sure a fire started somewhere on it already.

Power swelled inside her. Each time she was zapped, it was like getting a boost of energy. Though it was more and more difficult to contain. Her body began to crumble from the damage, regeneration be damned. If she collapsed before being able to absorb enough and release it properly, this experiment would be a failure.

So she tried to stay calm and keep it contained as best she could. Grunts and grumbles of pain left her mouth and she soon found herself nearly collapsing against the tube's walls.

"More... More!" She told herself and her body, bloody and damaged was also glowing a multitude of colors. Her aura, something she hasn't seen in hundreds of years was now powerful enough to push through her Grimm exterior.

Her emotions grew. Hope, something she hasn't felt in over 500 years swelled inside her. The idea that this might actually work made her smile regardless of the pain.

"Please work...!" She begged and the let out a scream.

Light shined off her as a powerful magic explosion took place from the very center of her soul. The glass shattered, the machine melted, and the room, as well as part of the palace was in ruins.

Smoke rose from where she was standing but Salem, along with all her Grimm-like ooze was gone.

Weiss was tired. Ruby's immaturity was nothing praiseworthy. She had no idea how someone so young got into this school let alone became leader of a team. Worst of all, it was her team. Doesn't help that her sister encourages the little brat. Pyrrha, the one whom she desired to partner up with the most was glued to that blonde pest, Jaune, who finds a new way to ask her out every week!

She decided to get away from everyone and just take a nice walk through Beacon's halls. No Ruby to to annoy her, no loud Yang, brooding Blake, or pestering boy. She took a deep breath through her nose and exhaled, calming down a little. Just a nice relaxing wa-

"Well this is certainly new."

"Huh?!" Weiss gasped and quickly turned around. Upon seeing no one around her, she turned again, and again. Then actually looked up and down. An expression of confusion etched her face. She could have sworn she heard someone... A woman, and they were very close.

She sighed and rubbed her head. "Ruby must be getting to me more than I thought." She assumed.

"Hello, I'm still here."

Weiss swung around again, this time her voice raised. "Okay, who's there?! This isn't funny!" She demanded with a frown.

"Quite, child. You don't need to shout, I'm right here."

"Right where?" Weiss questioned and began glancing around. She didn't shout this time, more confused than angry now. They sounded far too close. Was it a semblance of some kind?

"This is no semblance, girl."

Weiss' eyes widened. "How did yo-" however she cut her question short.

"You're reading my mind... Yo- you're talking in my head!" Her frown came back and she looked furious. It had to be a semblance, and they seemed to be abusing it. "How dare you! This is a huge invasion of privacy!" She shouted out loud.

A couple other students close by faltered from her outburst. They seemed to just be walking through. Weiss turned to them and looked a little nervous. "O- oh, no! Not you! I uhm-"

"You shouldn't talk aloud like that, people might think you're crazy."

"Shut up!" Weiss thought while gritting her teeth. Then turned and quickly walked away from the two other students and stormed into the girls bathroom.

"Okay you! I don't know who you think you are but stop reading my thoughts this instant!" Weiss demanded and crossed her arms, frowning in anger.

"To be honest I would, but I don't think that's very possible in my current state..."

"Huh?" Weiss scoffed aloud. "What game are you getting at? Stop using your semblance and- In fact, tell me who you are! This will be reported directly to Professor Ozpin!"

"Are you hard of hearing, girl? I already said this is no semblance."

Weiss' eyes squinted and she shook her head. This person must be messing with her. "I said get out!"

"I'm sorry!" a voice came from the stall and Weiss quickly snapped over to it. There was a flush and the doors opened a second later. It was that Faunus girl Velvet. "I- I'll be out of your way!" she stammered and then sped-walked for the door.

Weiss looked surprised and then reached out. "Huh?!" however the girls bathroom door closed shut as Velvet left.

"I did suggest you not to speak aloud like that."

Weiss was already having enough of this. Not only has this person made a fool of her multiple times now, but this is certainly breaking multiple kinds of privacy laws!

"Stop reading my thoughts!" Weiss demanded once more.

"I told you already, I can't. Besides this isn't by choice."

Weiss didn't quite know what to say anymore. "What do you mean?" She finally asked.

"I mean I'm not reading your thoughts and mind. I'm inside it."

Weiss' eyes widened and without thinking, turned to look towards one of the mirrors in the bathroom for some reason. Almost like she was drawn to it. There she saw her own reflection, but then also saw something more. Standing behind her in a strange ethereal form was a beautiful, tall, and long blonde haired woman with fair skin, wearing a light purple dress.

They smiled.

"I suppose introductions are due. Hello there, you may call me Salem."

There you go, hope you enjoyed the chapter. I have a few ideas I want to do for this story. Weiss and Salem can have some pretty funny interactions all while under Ozpin's nose lol

Chapter Text

Second Chapter, Here we go!

"Weiss thinking."

"Salem Thinking."

Weiss was currently sitting on a bench in Beacons courtyard. She didn't feel like she should be having any conversations inside the bathroom and decided to try and be discrete by being in plain sight instead.

"So you're telling me you're living inside my head?"

"Correct."

"And that you died to get there?"

"That's my guess, yes."

"And before all of that you were not only 'immortal', but also the queen of all Grimm?"

"That's the gist of it."

Weiss didn't know what to think in that moment. No words popped into her head which could communicate with this invader, just ideas or thoughts. She pinched the space between her eyes.

"Okay... Uhm... How, exactly?"

"Magic, I suppose."

Another pause. A few students talking passed by but paid her no mind.

"Magic."

"Yes."

"As in, the arcane?"

"Something like that."

This was becoming too much. If she wasn't positive this person was messing with her somehow she was sure now.

"I would sooner believe I was crazy than in mythical Grimm magic. No, scratch that- any kind of magic."

"You're not crazy, girl. And magic has been around for centuries."

Weiss scoffed at that. Now they were trying to convince them magic was real? How absurd.

"Magic? Really? That's your angle? There's no such thing as magic. And I told you, my name is Weiss!"

Salem seemed to ignore their outburst on there name and continued with the subject matter of their discussion.

"No such thing as magic? You're joking, right? Semblances, dust, aura. Things that can't be explained are all around you, yet you say magic doesn't exist?"

"Aura and semblances are part of our soul and dust is mined. They're things that can be monitored and observed."

"I am not getting into this ridiculous conversation for the thousandth time. Believe what you want, it matters not. The fact is we seem to be sharing a mind and to be quite honest I'm not too sure how to go about this."

Weiss rolled her eyes. Magic, how ridiculous. However she was right about not needing to continue this argument. She stood up. "Well I do. I'm going straight to Professor Ozpin and telling him someone is abusing their semblance!"

"What?! You shall not. Ozma can know nothing of this!"

Ozma? Was she talking about Professor Ozpin? She seemed to be worried about him finding out. Good. More reason to tell him.

Weiss smirked and started to walk towards the main lobby of Beacon, ignoring any pleas from this 'Salem' woman. "Sounds like that might cause some trouble for you. Which means it's what I should do."

"Listen, just sit back down and let's continue our talk. There's much you don't know yet."

Weiss continued to walk, now entering the main building. Just a few more hallways to pass by. She wasn't about to do what this person wanted. "And why would I do that? So you can keep trying to fill my head with fiction and fables?"

"Everything I've spoken is true!"

"Uhuh."  Weiss kept moving.

"I said STOP!"

Weiss eyes widened and glowed a bright blue for bit a moment. She suddenly felt like she lost all the air in her lungs as her feet completely stopped moving and she nearly fell forward, only keeping herself from falling by reaching out with her hand and stabilizing herself using the wall.

"What?!"

There was a pause, neither Weiss or Salem knew what to say or think in that moment. But it was clear- Salem seemed to have some control over Weiss' body. Something which was new information to both of them.

Weiss was irritated until this point. Now she was scared. Whoever this person was could read her thoughts, talk to her with telepathy, and now control her body. She took a moment to gather herself. She could move her legs again and checked every part of her body.

"D- did you... But I-"

"It seems I'm not as helpless as I believed I was." Their voice sounded a bit more haughty in that moment. It seemed that surprised them as well.

"This... This is impossible! How did you do that?! How are you doing any of this?!"

"I told you already, girl. Magic. There's so many things in this world that you don't know of yet. That Ozma has made impossible to discover."

Weiss thought about that for a moment but then took a deep breath.

"My name is Weiss." She stated and then kept moving.

"Where are you going?"

"To Professor Ozpin."

"I said no!"

Weiss' legs stopped moving again, though Weiss was ready for it this time. She gritted her teeth and hugged the wall, fighting with herself to move. Her legs were shaky, but they did slowly step forward. As did her hands and arms as she tried to drag herself forward. It was difficult, but she was making progress.

"This... Is my body! Leave it be!"

Suddenly all fight from Salem left her and Weiss fell forward onto the hallway carpet.

"Gah!" She groaned and caught herself on her hands and knees. "This won't make me stop!" She declared aloud and stood back up, walking. Salem not putting up any resistance.

"Fine, I see that I can't stop you. At best just delay you a few minutes."

Weiss continued to move, quickly speed-walking through the hallway until she reached the main hall.

"But I swear, everything I've spoken is the truth. And if Ozma discovers of my existence inside you, there's no telling what would happen... To either of us."

That admittedly made Weiss pause in her step. She was staring straight ahead at the main desk. Just a quick talk to the lady and she could be taking the elevator behind her straight to Professor Ozpins office.

"I see that got your attention."

"What are you getting at? Are you saying Professor Ozpin would do something to me?"

"Perhaps. He and I have been at war for many centuries. If he simply locked you in a cage then justified it as saying it was for the greater good, I would believe that."

Weiss was standing still now, thinking about what Salem just said. Being locked in a cage... Her memories went back to when she lived at Schnee manor. Being stuck in that mansion with nothing but her older sister to keep her from breaking.

Her fists clenched themselves and she took a deep breath, calming down.

"I won't fall for your trickery!" She declared. If she could read her mind, then perhaps she was able to see her memories as well. She could just be saying things to manipulate her emotions!

"Dammit, girl. I need you to listen to me!"

Weiss walked up to the front desk and got the attention of the lady working it.

"Hello, may I help you?" They asked.

Weiss nodded. "Yes... Sorry, but could I speak to Professor Ozpin? This is Weiss Schnee... It's uhm... Urgent."

"Give me a moment." They said and picked up their phone, punching in a couple numbers and waited.

"This will not end well."

"Shut up."

The woman began to speak. "Yes, it's Weiss Schnee. She says it's urgent." A pause. "Very well." She said lastly then hung up and looked at Weiss again. "You can take the elevator, he'll be waiting for you in his office.

Weiss nodded. "Thank you." Then walked over and into the elevator, closing it.

As it began to raise upward, her and Salem continued to talk.

"Okay, look, maybe we didn't have the best of first impressions. But there was never going to be a good impression here."

"Oh really?"

"But this is no joke. I can't go over the gravity of this situation within the seconds it takes to ride up an elevator. You must not speak of me!"

"Sure." Weiss answered dismissively.

"It seems your beyond convincing."

"What ever gave you that idea?"

"Fine. Then do one thing for me when you see him. Just one thing and it can prove everything I've spoken to be true."

Weiss was hesitant for a moment. She didn't quite know how to respond. Should she agree? It could certainly put some doubts to ease. Though she didn't know what they would request either.

"... Depends. What is it?"

The elevator doors opened and Weiss stepped into Ozpin's office. He was currently standing up with what seemed to be a cup of coffee as he stared out into the campus from his windows. He didn't move just yet.

"Hello Miss. Schnee. I have to say this was abrupt, but if it's urgent then come, sit and speak."

Weiss walked in a few more feet as he began to turn around, walking towards his desk.

"Right. Thank you for meeting me, Professor Ozma."

What Weiss saw in that moment was nothing short of absolute shock. No, maybe even some fear. Any expression she's ever seen or made herself paled in comparison to the one Ozpin has just then. It was like he saw a ghost.

SHATTER

He dropped his coffee mug yet didn't seem to mind. Instead his eyes were entirely focused on Weiss.

"... What did you just call me?"

Weiss didn't know what to say in this moment. There was a pause, one that had to be spoken through.

"Quick! Answer, and feign ignorance!"

Salems voice snapped her from her thoughts after just a couple seconds. Any more and it would likely rouse suspicion.

"A- ah... I said 'Thank you for meeting me, Professor Ozpin.'" She answered casually then looked down at his beverage with some concern. "Uhm... Are you okay?" She asked.

Ozpin continued to stare at her in disbelief but then let out a sigh and rubbed his eyes. "Of course... I apologize... I supposed I've been a bit stressed lately." He then gestured to one of the chairs. "Please, come in and tell me what's bothering you."

A tiny bit of a cliff-hanger but not too bad. 

Chapter Text

"Weiss thinking."

"Salem thinking."

Weiss was standing on one of the few balconies in Beacon, staring off into the Emerald Forest. It was currently dusk. She's been here for the last couple hours now taking in the fresh air and thinking about a lot.

Earlier she went to see Professor Ozpin about Salem being in her head. But when she saw the shocked look on his face, she faltered. Deciding to instead keep quiet about Salem and made up some excuse about Ruby as her reason for being there. It was a bit crude but she managed to scrape by and left without incident.

She took a deep breath.

"Salem, are you still there?" She asked.

"Of course I am. But I have to say, I've grown bored of the Emerald Forest by now."

Weiss ignored the latter remark. "I've decided to believe you."

"Oh? In everything I've said up until now?"

"Yes. If this was a semblance then you would've ran out of aura by now." She answered and then sighed. "And that look on Professor Ozpin's face when he heard me call him Ozma like proof enough, as you said it'd be. So for me to just pretend everything is fine isn't okay."

She wasn't sure how, but Weiss could feel relief in that moment. Was it Salem feeling it and not her?

"I'm glad you see it that way. Because everything is certainly not okay."

Weiss turned around and leaned back against the balcony's stone railing and crossed her arms. "So what now? Are you simply stuck in my head forever, or do you have some sort of plan we can work on?"

"Truthfully I'm not completely positive there is anything to do about our situation. However if anyone would know, it's Ozma."

Weiss made a confused expression despite not actually having anyone in front of her to see it. "But I thought you said Ozma can't know about you?"

"He can't. But that doesn't mean he can't help us." She answered and Weiss waited for her to elaborate.

"You see, Ozma didn't live forever like I did. He reincarnated into a new body each time he died. I'm unsure how it works, but during certain times throughout the centuries there were moments where he and another inhabited the same body, much like with us."

Weiss' eyes widened. Part of her still wanted to push all this talk of immortals and magic away, but she already decided to give Salem the benefit of the doubt. It wouldn't do her situation any good to just ignore her at this point. However one thing was irking her from Salems words.

"What do you mean there were 'moments'?"

"You're perceptive. It means that eventually he took over their body and mind. If our situation is anything like his, then you're on the clock, girl."

Weiss didn't really know how to respond to something like that and was silent in both in and out of her mind. Instead she felt a spark of fear travel down to her stomach. She was going to lose herself? Lose to this... This witch?

She lowered her arms and her fists clenched and while she did feel fear, she also felt anger. She wasn't about to just sit around and lose her mind. It seems Salem caught on to her fury.

"I like your enthusiasm." Salem said which took Weiss away from her thoughts. "If I were in your shoes, I'd feel that same. Which is why I say we help each other out."

"... And how do we do that?" Weiss asked after a moments pause.

"I didn't just randomly die, this is the result of my trying to kill myself."

Weiss' eyes widened. "You committed suicide?!"

"I've lived for over a millennium, girl. I'm tired of this life. So yes, I killed myself. Something I can genuinely say with pride now because it didn't work the first few hundred or so... Though I didn't intend for this result."

Once again Weiss wasn't sure how to respond. This was pretty heavy stuff... But if she thought about it, if you lived forever and could only die by your own hands... Was that wrong? She wasn't sure of the answer to that.

Weiss took a deep breath and pushed the whole 'suicide' issue aside.

"Okay. So what do you have in mind?"

"Ozma's lived through many generations, trying to help humanity as he did so. He's even wrote a few stories in his time. Many of which became fairy tales you know of today."

Weiss felt skeptical. "Fairy Tales? That's your grand plan? They're all made u-" However she stopped short.

"I see you've realize. Yes, there are many 'fairy tales' which are based off history and facts. However many of them have been tampered with throughout the generations. As magic became more secret and fictional, the stories lost much credit."

"... Are all fairy tales real?"

"Of course not. Only those written by Ozma or maybe those close to him. For instance 'The Girl who fell through the World' or 'The Story of Seasons'."

Now that was a shock to Weiss. "Wait, hang on now. The Story of Seasons had girls who could control nature! You're telling me that's true?!"

"I see you know of it. It is true, all of it. They were four girls Ozma bestowed power upon. The old man in the story was the current incarnation of Ozma at the time. He was quite the pest, giving them those powers. Changed the whole world doing so."

"He changed the world? How?"

"Those girls, Maidens of Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter, as they're referred to as in the books, their magic is still alive today. Each time they die, their magical powers travel to the last young woman they're thinking of."

Weiss was suddenly being overwhelmed with new information now. "So you're telling me that there's four super-powered woman out there?"

"Correct. Though two are currently... Indisposed if my latest intelligence is anything to trust. And the other two haven't made themselves known just yet this generation."

"Indisposed?" Weiss questioned.

"One's severely injured and the other's an old hag."

"... I see."

"Well, technically that's not entirely true. The Fall Maiden's powers are currently in a bit of a limbo. Half is in one person while the other half is in another."

"Is that normal?"

"No... A bit of an experiment gone awry on my sides part. Though it will correct itself in time."

Weiss pinched the space between her eyes. "Okay... Okay. Let's rest with the history lessons for now." She thought and didn't really want to know anything more than that just yet. She had to remind herself that she's apparently dealing with the Queen of Grimm. Maybe the less she knew the better.

"So our plan is to find these stories, read them, then hope they have some insightful information?"

"Basically. The older the text the better. The modern day versions don't give all the details. I've read a few in the past but it was far too long ago to recall every detail."

"At least it's something to go on. And I know just who to ask about this."

"Oh? Seems you know our next step then."

"My roommate is a big book-reader. Owns a few Fairy Tales herself. We can find the authors from her books and go from there to try and find the inspirations for their works."

"Excellent. Let us be off then."

Weiss pushed off the balcony railing and walked to Beacons doors, walking inside them.

This one was shorter then the rest, but it was a needed info dump for Weiss. Otherwise things would just be weird. I also didn't fully do the Ozpin scene because it would've just been Weiss making an excuse to be there which would be boring to write. Sorry if you were looking forward to awkward Weiss and Ozpin moments, but there'll likely be more interesting ones later.

Chapter Text

"Weiss thinking."

"Salem thinking."

Weiss walked into her dorm room to see it mostly empty of her roommates. Ruby and Yang seemed to be gone but luckily Blake was sitting on her top bunk, reading a book. Weiss approached her.

"You know, I've always liked the idea of bunk beds. I always wanted one despite being an only child."

Weiss wasn't sure how to respond to that random bit of information. "They're... Fun, I suppose." She responded to Salem then looked up at Blake.

"Blake, where's Ruby and Yang?" She asked to initiate a conversation.

Without looking away from her book, Blake responded. "They went to JNPR's room to play some games." She flipped the page. "They were wondering where you went off to earlier."

"Is she the bookworm you mentioned."

"Yes. Hopefully she'll at least give us a starting point."

"I was just taking a walk." Weiss said. "Anyway, I was wondering if you had any Fairy Tale books I might barrow."

Blake looked down from her bunk now. "I didn't take you as someone who enjoys fiction, much less fairy tales."

"Well I've gained a sudden interest. Now do you have any or not?" She responded curtly.

"Easy child, we don't want to scare her off."

Weiss ignored Salem.

Blake turned her body and hopped off the top bunk, landing on the ground. "I have a few." She knelt down under Yang and hers bunk, pulling out a wide bin. When she opened it, there were books neatly stacked in a few rows.

"You've got more literature than I thought..." Weiss said.

"I like to keep myself busy." Blake responded as she looked through the books. As she stood up she handed Weiss a short stack of four. "Here. These are all the books I own based of fairy tales. Make sure you don't lose any of them."

Weiss nodded and walked over to her own bunk where she sat down and began to look through them. Meanwhile Blake jumped back onto her bunk and started to read once more.

"Not many here."

"We don't need 'many', just one... I hope. Now let's see..."

Weiss began to go through the books, the first one titled 'The Warrior in the Woods'.

"You think...?"

"No, I remember some details from this. It's essentially a story designed to scare children to not be alone in the wilds. However there's a lot of missing details in the modern day versions."

Weiss nodded and placed in on her bed, looking at the next one. It was titled 'The Grimm Child'.

"Oh, I know this one. It's about a ghost-like Grimm that takes over bodies, right? It killed its victims and possessed their corpses. There's a lot of media based on it."

"Ah, that was an amusing night. I first made that Grimm and sent it into a village to give it a test run close to 1,000 years ago. It went rather well considering it was my first attempt at creating a new Grimm. They're now labeled as 'Geist' Grimm by the world. Fun fact, the boy at the end does actually survive. He's actually the reason the Fairy Tale exists today."

Weiss didn't quite know how to feel about all that. Dealing with Salem as an uninvited guest was one thing, but whenever the 'Grimm' part of her was front and center it always made her feel awkward.

"... Right, onto the next one then." Weiss said to Salem and put that book aside to look at the next. It was titled 'The Infinite Man'.

Weiss' eyes examined it carefully. "This one feels right..."

"Perhaps. Who's the author?"

Weiss flipped the to the first page. "It says it was written by someone named Arthur Lang."

"That's not Ozma. He always tends to put 'Oz' in all his names."

Weiss looked dismayed for a moment but then noticed a note lower on the page. "Hang on, it says here that it was based of a direct recording of a journal by 'Oztis Riverback'.

"Now that is certainly Ozma. Keep this one."

Weiss nodded and placed it on the opposite side of her from the others.

"All that's left is this one called... 'The Man with two Souls' … This one feels right as well."

"The author?"

Weiss flipped to the first page.

"Ursula Berpdioloo? What kind of name is that?"

"One who isn't Ozma."

"There's no note saying it's origins, but it's saying it's based on a true story which is weird."

"May as well keep it just in case."

Weiss nodded and put it with the other one. Then took the two she didn't want and stood up, placing them on Blake's bed.

"Here, I don't want these two." Weiss said and turned to sit back down on her own mattress.

Blake took the two books back and looked at them.

"'The Man with two Souls' and 'The Infinite Man', huh? Despite being from different times, people theorize they're linked."

Weiss' eyes widened and turned back to Blake. "Really? Are they?"

Blake shrugged. "Who knows. Well, it's all a fairy tale. But there's fun fan-speculation that Ursula read 'The Infinite Man' and tried to make a more internal conflict story for him with 'The Man with two Souls'."

Weiss brought her hand to her mouth in a thinking gesture. "I see..."

"Well, enjoy. They're good books. I like 'The Man with two Souls' more though."

"The authors, do you know where they are?" Weiss asked.

"Subtle." Salem said sarcastically.

"We're- or I'm on a clock here."

She was given a strange look from Blake. "... Well, I know the author of 'The Infinite Man' has passed away. Though Ursula Berpdioloo lives here in Vale. She does public signings sometimes."

Not perfect, but Weiss could work with that. "Is she popular?"

"Not especially." Blake answered. "But uhm... Why are you interested in the authors so much?"

"I'm just curious."

Weiss stayed up through the night reading these books. Eventually Ruby and Yang came back from JNPR's dorm and things were loud for a while. Ruby was annoying, trying to get her attention but Weiss ignored her and continued reading. They weren't very long books and she considered herself a fast reader.

It was around 6 am when she finished both of them.

She let out a yawn and rubbed her eyes.

"I'm surprised you're able to stay awake."

"Sleep can wait. Besides, this isn't the first time I've stayed up all night to study."

There were things that had to be done after all.

"So what did you think of the books?"

"'The Man with two Souls' has potential. It portrayed a man being tortured by having another voice in his head. It was similar to multiple-personality disorder."

"So do you think you're crazy?"

Weiss looked down and thought for a moment.

"... No. There were too many similarities between our situation and the protagonist... Or rather protagonists in the book."

"Well I agree. Though I suppose that doesn't mean much if I was a figment of your mind." Salem chuckled a bit. "And what about 'The Infinite Man'?"

Weiss grabbed that book at looked at it's cover. "This story... At first I thought it to be a cautionary tale about putting all your chips in one basket. But if I think about my situation with you it becomes much different."

"Oh?"

"It's more like an autobiography turned into a story... He seemed... Almost like he was mourning." She sighed internally and an angry expression crossed her face.

"Were you the one who killed him in this book?"

There was silence for a brief moment.

"Not directly. I did hire the one who challenged him to do so. To be honest I didn't expect him to die the second time, but it was a pleasant surprise at the time."

Weiss frowned. A bubbling anger rose from her stomach.

"You...!"

"Careful. It's late and we don't want any attention drawn to ourselves."

Weiss pushed the unpleasant feelings down and gripped her blanket angrily.

"Why would you do that though? He was helping people!"

"Because, girl. He was in my way. He had an entire civilization created which stopped me time and time again from making any progress. It had to go."

Weiss let out a low growl, thinking about all the people who died and suffered because of Salem.

"I keep telling you my name is Weiss! Once I get you out of my head, I'm throwing you in the darkest hole there is!"

Weiss stood up and walked to the door.

"Where are we going?"

Salem seemed un-phased by Weiss' outburst.

"To look for the author to 'The Man with two Souls'. It's early, but the SDC's Vale chain bank opens up at 7 am. By the time we get there it should be open."

"What's at the bank?"

"The SDC sells more than just dust. Merchandise of all kinds are sold through second parties. They also keep a record of all their sales. It shouldn't be too difficult to find someone named 'Ursula Berpdioloo' if they've bought even one item commissioned by the SDC."

"Sounds like a good start. But out of curiosity, is this legal? I'm not very fluent in modern day law."

"Of course. Though that doesn't mean it should be."

I made up a few things here and there to keep some kind of plot going, but I think it worked well.

Chapter Text

"Weiss thinking."

"Salem thinking."

Weiss was walking down the streets of Vale. It was early morning and she left the SDC bank twenty or so minutes ago. She did indeed find the information she needed on this 'Ursula' woman. It was easy once she flashed her identification as Weiss Schnee. The employees practically gave her the keys to the building.

"Humanity's foolishness never ceases to amaze me..."

Weiss rolled her eyes as Salem's comment. "What are going going on about now?"

"About how all those men and woman in the bank simply gave everything to a child so easily."

"First of all, I'm not a child. Second, the Schnee name holds a lot of power like that. There's probably a few places I could walk into and be treated similarly despite not owning the place."

"Yes, I know all about the Schnees. Man always did put too much effort towards status."

Weiss continued to walk while talking to Salem in her head. Though she could begin to feel her feet drag. Pulling that all-nighter to read those fairy tales was beginning to take it's toll. But there wasn't time to stop. Their destination was close.

This Ursula person owned a small bookstore that she managed throughout the week. It was a bit passed 8am and it should be open by now.

"We've arrived." Weiss thought to Salem as she stared up at the sign. It read 'Atlantica Books'.

"So how are you going to get the information we need?" Salem asked her. However Weiss just let out a yawn.

"Honestly? I'm just going to ask bluntly. I'm too tired, let's just get this over with." She answered and opened the door, walking in. A small bell rang indicating customers entered as she did so.

Salem didn't say anything in rebuttal to the upfront approach. Sometimes simply asking did indeed work and there was no reason for them to be too secretive.

"Oh, welcome to Atlantica Books." A woman's voice called out and turned from the shelf she was managing.

Weiss stepped in further and focused her attention on the woman. The first thing noticeable is they were certainly on the older side of life. The second is that they were Faunus. Rather than having a head of hair, purple octopus tentacles took its place.

Weiss' eyes narrowed a bit at that. It wasn't exactly the most appealing thing to look at. However she held her thoughts on the matter.

"Hello... Ursula Berpdioloo?"

The old woman fixed her glasses and smiled. "Oh, yes. Did you need something? Are you a fan of one of my stories?" She chuckled to herself.

"Something like that..." Weiss answered and pulled out 'The Man with Two Souls'. "I have a question regarding this book."

Ursula looked at it for a moment. "Ah, The Man with Two Souls. It was always one of my favorites as well." She then squinted. "Ah, this copy even has my signature on it."

Weiss looked down at noticed it was well. She didn't pay it any mind until now though. "Ah... This is my friend's copy. I just asked to borrow it..." Weiss cleared her throat. "-Anyway."

"Right, ask away." Urusla said as he tentacle-like hair swiveled around her.

Weiss tried not to stare and just went ahead and asked. "... In the first pages of the book it says it's based on a true story. I was wondering if I could learn more about that."

Urusla seemed to give a surprised look and there was a pause.

Weiss felt a bit awkward now. "Is... That a problem?"

The old woman shook her head. "No, not exactly. You're not the first to ask but... It's not the sort of thing I enjoy sharing."

Weiss felt a bit tense now and looked down. "What now...? I still need answers..." She thought to herself before Salem chimed in.

"Don't just give up, girl. Push a bit harder. Being discourteous is a small price to pay for the information we seek."

Weiss knew Salem was right. This was their only real lead right now and she couldn't let it just fall apart so easily. She looked back up at the woman and dug her heels in.

"I'm sorry to ask again then, but I'd still like you to tell me." Weiss said to Ursula and the woman had a plain expression. "It's... Important."

The two stared at each other for a few moments after that.

Weiss feeling a bit nervous about their answer now. She knew if they still refused then she would have to push even harder. Perhaps even pay for the information if need be. Though she didn't really want to throw her lien around like that...

"We should have started with that option..."

Weiss ignored Salem's comment.

She heard Ursula let out a light sigh. "Oh, Very well... You seem rather determined."

Weiss felt a feeling of relief flow through her body upon hearing the woman's answer.

Ursula turned around and gestured for Weiss to follow her. "I don't know what you need it for, but if you say it's important than it must be."

The two of them walked behind the front desk and to a small back room with a desk in the corner. "Go ahead and take a seat." Ursula said and walked over to a small safe embedded in the wall while Weiss sat down.

They put in the combination and opened it up, retrieving a small book from it and then closing it. Ursula approached Weiss and handed it to her.

Weiss examined the book briefly. It was old but still looked like it was held together nicely enough. The woman obviously took care of it. "What is this?" she asked.

"It's the 'true story' you asked to read. 'The Man with Two Souls' was a story I wrote after reading my grandmother's journal. Most of it takes place during her childhood and teenage years but- Ah, well... You can stay in here and read it to see for yourself." They said and turned to leave the room. They still did have a store to run after all.

As Weiss was about to turn to the desk and open the book up, she noticed a coffee machine in the corner of the room.

"Great... More reading..." Weiss internally sighed. She wasn't against it, but she felt so tired already.

"Stop complaining and start reading." Salem told her and it made Weiss scoff.

"Erm- Do you mind if I make myself a cup of coffee?" Weiss asked.

"Feel free to help yourself." Ursula responded as she walked back into the front of the store.

Weiss spent the next couple hours reading through this journal and comparing it to the book. It wasn't very long so it was easier than reading a novel. She even took out some paper and began to jot down notes on information she felt was important.

The more she read... The more her heart sank.

The owner of the journal was named Rosie. The first many chapters was just about her daily life. She had a crush on her best friend, a boy named Austin. They grew up together but then one day Austin said he began to hear voices. They kept it a secret from their parents.

Though as time passed and they entered their teenage years, Austin began to change. He would talk to himself, act differently at times, and at other times fluctuate in personality. Sometimes he refereed to himself as 'Oz'. Eventually it settled on 'Oztin'.

Rosie felt like she lost him. He was still Austin but he was different, seemed more depressed than his happy self from the past. She didn't know what to do or how to help him.

The one day he told her that he had to go and just left. The journal's entries stop after that. However there was one more written in about ten years later.

She wrote that she laments not being there for him more. Blaming herself for not getting him to let her in.

Weiss sighed and closed the journal. It gave her a fair amount of information. A lot of it wasn't concrete, but it could be insinuated if she compared the journal to her own issues with Salem.

"So? What do you think? The boy in the story was definitely Ozma. It looks like there were some... 'Growing pains' as he took over the boy's mind."

Weiss narrowed her eyes at the thought of having her mind and body taken over by Salem. But she pushed the feeling away for now.

"Yes... Things certainly seemed bumpy. But judging from the journal, the book, and Ozma's naming conventions, I don't think it's a take over." Weiss stated aloud.

"How do you mean?"

"In the book it was about a man struggling to keep himself. While the journal was more... Personal. We got to see the thoughts and feelings of someone close to him. He still had the memories of Austin but was just... Different." Weiss surmised.

"True. Each generation we clashed he would have similar goals but at times a different personality. Though it was always hundreds of years apart so I just figured he was simply trying something different."

"If I had to guess... Rather than Ozma taking over his hosts, they... Merge or something. Hence why he doesn't just call himself 'Ozma' each time and instead combines the names. The boy, Austin wasn't completely gone after all."

"Hm... Hehehehe~ I see." Salem seemed to enjoy what she was hearing.

It made Weiss narrow her eyes in confusion. "What's got you so happy? If it is a merge than we're both essentially dead when it happens. 'Weiss Schnee' and 'Salem' will cease to exist. We'll become...-" She thought for a moment. "Saiss? Weilem?... Weliss?"

"You're awful at names."

Weiss huffed.

"But to answer your question, I'm happy because this means I succeeded."

That made Weiss confused. "What do you mean you 'succeeded'?"

"In killing myself of course."

Weiss's eyes widened. She kind of pushed that suicide plot of Salem's away since she heard it.

"Sure, it might be in a roundabout way. But at the end of the day once we finish merging, 'Salem' will cease to exist. All this will be, as you said, 'Weliss's' problem. Even if it takes a few more generations, I'm nothing if but patient."

Weiss grit her teeth. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. She was doing all this work and stressing over survival while Salem was basking in the glory of dying. She stood up, angrily and slammed her hands on the desk.

"I am not going to stand around and just die!" She shouted in frustration.

It was then that she noticed Ursula standing at the entrance way, staring at her. Weiss' eyes widened and she collected herself. How long were they there for? Weiss forgot to speak to Salem in her head. Were they listening to everything she said?!

"-Oh uhm. Ms. Berpdioloo! Sorry, I just finished reading and it was- uhm..."

Ursula looked over at the desk to see the journal open along with the book and many papers full of notes. She then looked back up to regard Weiss for a few moments.

"... My grandmother would tell me that she wished she did more to help Austin. That maybe if she tried harder it could have worked out between them. Not that she wasn't happy, she got married and had a good life. But everyone has regrets." She said and approached the desk where Weiss was.

Weiss relaxed and watched them.

Ursula took the journal, closed it, and then handed it to Weiss. "Take it. It's yours."

Weiss' eyes widened and took it. "What?! B- but I-... Isn't it important?"

The old woman sighed and smiled. "It matters a lot to me, but I've no children or anyone else to take it after I'm gone." That made Weiss get a heavy feeling in her stomach. Too much talk of death recently. "Besides, it looks like you need it more than me."

Weiss stiffened and her grip on the book tightened as she stared at Ursula, trying to understand what they meant by that. "I, uhm..."

"I think my Grandmother would want you to have it. Good luck, young lady." Ursula said and turned away to head back to the main room.

"Hm... It seems like she has an inkling. I'm unsure if she's keen or senile enough to believe in something so mythical as two souls inhabiting one body."

Weiss ignored Salem's comment.

"Wait." She found herself speaking and Ursula turned around.

Weiss stared at Ursula for a moment, mouth opening and then closing. She sighed then spoke. "Austin... Or... Oztin, rather... He..." Weiss took breath. How should she word this? "I'm sure he's okay." she decided on.

Ursula's eyes widened a bit and her mouth opened but no words came out.

"... I like to believe he is as well." Ursula said after a delay and smiled at Weiss. "Thank you."

Weiss was now riding a bullhead back to Beacon. Both the book and journal under her arm. Salem's been silent since they left the bookstore. They both seemed to have a lot on their mind and left each other to their own thoughts.

Weiss let out another yawn. The coffee from earlier was nice, but it was now passed 12pm and she hasn't slept yet.

"Girl, I have a question." Salem finally spoke up.

Weiss internally groaned. Why couldn't the witch just stay quiet right now. "I keep telling you my name is Weiss. Now what is it?"

Salem ignored the name correction like always.

"Why did you tell that woman that?"

Weiss assumed she was talking about her final words with Ursula. "I just thought she deserved... Something, I guess."

"It could have went badly. This isn't the sort of secret we can let out carelessly."

Weiss shrugged. "It sounded like she already knew what we were going through. Or maybe she just had faith. Whatever the case, I doubt she has any malicious intentions."

"She might not but others could. I'm simply trying to say to be careful with who you trust."

Weiss let out another yawn and her eyes were drooping down. "I understand, okay? Now leave me alone. I'm too tired..."

"Impudent girl..."

Weiss just ignored that.

The bullhead finally landed and she walked out, heading into Beacon's halls. It was a weekend so students were all around, making noise and doing what they do. But she just headed straight to her dorm room.

When she opened up, her team was inside. Yang and Ruby were playing video games while Blake was sitting on the top bunk, watching them. Weiss walked in and Blake was the only one who looked at her.

"Where have you been? You were gone when we woke up." He voice didn't sound that of worry, just curiosity.

Weiss rubbed her eye. "Just went out for a bit." She answered and looked at Ruby and Yang. "Can you two lower that, I need to catch up on some sleep." She said and walked over to her bed, sitting down on the mattress.

She almost collapsed into it then and there.

The game they were playing made an explosion sound and Ruby pumped her fist. "Yes! Take that!"

Yang groaned and leaned back. "Damn..." She grumbled and then turned to Weiss.

"You not get enough sleep?" she asked.

Weiss simply shook her head while Ruby was lowering the televisions volume.

"Wake me up before dinner, okay? I don't want to ruin my schedule beyond repair." Weiss told them and then laid down.

Ruby shrugged. "Sure, we can do that. It's about lunch time anyway, so we'll leave you alone for now." She said and stood up. Blake hoped off the bunk and the three of them walked out of the room.

Yang turned off the light. "Seeya."

The door closed and Weiss was finally falling to sleep. Though hopefully she'll wake up from this nightmare.

This chapter felt a bit boring to write. I enjoy writing character interactions more than anything while this was more of a way for Weiss and Salem to just gain needed information. I'm looking forward to writing the chapters after this one more.

Chapter Text

"Weiss thinking."

"Salem thinking."

Darkness. That's all she saw. She was asleep, right? Why did she only see black? Was it a dream? A weird one. Though Weiss didn't normally be this conscious during her dreams. Especially not one full of 'nothing' like this.

"... Weiss..."

That sounded like Ruby's voice.

"Weiss..."

"Herm..." she grumbled, still sleepy.

"... Ruby? What is it? I'm sleeping." Weiss mumbled internally.

"Weiss!"

Her eyes opened up to to faced directly with Ruby's face while they shook her awake.

"Wake up. It's going to be dinner time soon. You wanted us to wake you up, right?"

"Oh, right. I was asleep." Weiss remembered. The previous day's events came flashing back. "Was that all a dream?" She went to rub her head but her arm wouldn't move. "Huh?"

"You have silver eyes."

The words came out of Weiss' mouth, but they weren't hers. In response Weiss gasped internally while her eyes widened. Salem. It was all real!

"W- wait. What?! Hey!" Weiss yelled in her head though it was ignored by Salem as they assessed the situation.

Salem lifted her body up as Ruby leaned away looking confused. "Uhh... Yeah. I do." They said with a confused expression. "... Are you okay, Weiss?"

"This cannot be happening! I've got to be dreaming!"

Salem looked down at herself. Lifting a hand in front of her face, looking at the palm and back of it and smiled deviously. She was controlling Weiss' body perfectly without the girl giving her trouble. She then turned to the silver eyed girl beside her.

"Oh, I'm fine. Just a weird dream is all." she assured the girl.

Ruby seemed to accept that and step away. Though that bewildered look was still on her face. "Well... It's almost dinner time. So we're going to go to the cafeteria. Come whenever you're ready. Yang, Blake, and the others are already there." She said then left the room. It seems she only came to wake her.

Salem turned her body to be sitting at her beds edge, feet touching the ground. It's only been a day, but it feels like it's been a while since she's had a body...

"Hey! Are you listening! Stop whatever it is you're doing!" Weiss screamed in her head angrily.

Finally, Salem answered.

"Yes, yes. I hear you. But I'm not exactly 'doing' anything. This is simply how we woke up." She said and stretched her legs before standing up and examining the rest of her body. She was a bit shorter and smaller in general that her original body. "Not that I'm complaining though..."

She could hear Weiss growl internally.

"We have to figure this out! Do something! Push or... scream. Don't you have magic? Fix this!"

A good point, actually. Salem lifted her hand up and tested to see if her magic still worked. With a flick of her wrist and finger while feeling deep down inside herself for her reserves, this would usually cause a tiny bolt of pure magical energy to be flung.

However nothing happened.

Salem frowned and did it once again. Then again and still nothing.

"What are you doing?" Weiss finally asked.

"Attempting to use my magic. But it doesn't seem to be working..."

A couple theories on why it didn't immediately came to mind. It could be part of their fusions 'growing pains' that they spoke of earlier. Or in the worst case, she no longer had any.

Eventually she stopped her attempts and let out a short sigh.

"Oh, how convenient." Weiss snipped.

Salem rolled her eyes at the insinuation. "What would I gain from hiding anything from you, girl? Not having magic at our disposal is bad for me too."

Weiss just huffed. "Well we have to do something! This is weird! I can only see out of my eyes but I can't move. I feel like I'm just... Stuck."

"Well now you know how I felt." Salem answered and then her eyes gleamed for a moment as she placed a hand on her belly.

"Well the difference is that it's MY body!"

Salem ignored Weiss and stared down at her stomach, feeling surprised.

"... I'm hungry..." Salem said aloud with a bewildered tone.

"What? Well... I guess it is dinner time..."

Salem licked her lips and smiled. "I... I haven't felt hunger in a millennia. How refreshing~"

"Huh? You mean you haven't eaten in a thousand years?"

"Of course I've eaten." Salem told her then straightened up and place her hand on her hip. "But it was never a requirement stay alive... I tried to eat but without the desire to, the taste never had the same... Feeling to it." She then walked over to the closet and opened it up, sifting through the clothes inside.

"Think of it like attempting to eat more food when your hunger is already satisfied. It just feels like your forcing food down your throat than actually eating a meal."

Weiss thought about that for a moment. "I... Suppose I could understand that..." It was rather awful though. She was no glutton but even she wanted to enjoy her meals.

"What are you doing?" Weiss asked as Salem continued to look through the closet's clothing.

"Looking for an outfit to wear to dinner. I am not going into public in the clothes you stayed up in all night and slept in." She said and turned to notice her reflection in the wall. Her hair was a bit of a mess as well.

"Dinner?! You're not going anywhere until we fix this!"

Salem, however looked unphased. "So what? We're to starve? We can consider our options and the situation while getting a bite to eat." She said with a smile while running a hand through her side ponytail.

"You just want to eat!"

"Yes, there's that as well." She thought casually. "Now the sooner I find an outfit to wear the better... Do you have anything that's not so... 'White'?"

Weiss groaned. "Just wear the school uniform... It should be hanging on the door inside the bathroom. The combs are in the first draw to the right as well."

Salem smiled happily. "Why thank you." She said and walked into the bathroom.

Though as she was getting changed she had to deal with Weiss ordering her to close her eyes and such. It seems they were rather self-conscious. Salem of course didn't oblige and simply did as she wanted while ignoring Weiss' outbursts on decency and etiquette. It was especially loud when Salem used the toilet...

She was now fully dressed in the Beacon uniform. The biggest change in appearance being that her hair was down with some of it draped over her shoulders instead of in a side ponytail.

Once they left the bathroom, Salem could feel Weiss' anger and embarrassment.

"Oh, is it really such a big deal? We're sharing a mind and body, you know. This was going to happen regardless even if you were the one in control."

Weiss grumbled. "I- It's just not right! Yo- you were touching- I mean... No one should be dressing me besides me!"

"Well someone needs to loosen up." Salem mocked.

"Excuse me?!"

Salem ignored Weiss once more and left their room, looking left and then right down the hallway.

"Which way is it to the cafeteria?" She asked.

After a moment of frustration, Weiss answered. "... Left. Then take the stairs down to your right and exit the doors to go outside. Then it's the next wing over..."

Salem followed Weiss' instructions and took in the scenery while walking to the cafeteria. It was almost dusk and quite a few students were walking around. She took glances at a few of them as she passed as well as the trees and environment.

"You look like this is your first time seeing civilization." Weiss broke their silence.

"I know a lot about the world due to informants, but I'm not exactly capable of entering society myself without causing an uproar. So yes, I suppose this is the first time I'm able to leisurely walk and take in the sights."

Weiss hummed at that information as they approached their destination.

When Salem walked into the cafeteria, she was bombarded with noise from student chatter. Most of the seats were filled and she glanced around.

"The food is up and too the left." Weiss said and Salem turned to see a short line which led to trays of food being given out.

Salem approached and stood in line for a few moments. When she was up the lady asked what she was having today.

"Hm... What might be on the menu?" Salem asked and the cafeteria lady pointed to the sigh above.

'Chicken Salad'

'Cheeseburger w/ Fries'

"Not many options..." Salem took note of.

"Well they have to serve many students so they make a lot of one or two meals daily. The variety is larger if you consider the whole weak" Weiss explained and it made well enough sense.

"Just get the Salad. I alre-"

"I'll take the Cheeseburger." Salem told the cafeteria lady.

"Hey!"

She was then handed a tray with a hard plastic plate. On it was a cheeseburger with a side of fries. She happily took it and continued on her way.

"Do you know how bad that is for my body? I can't be eating like that everyday."

"Well when you're in control then you can eat however you want."

"That is not how we're handling this!"

Salem looked around the large room, thinking where to sit.

"Weiss! Over here!"

Salem turned after hearing that call out and saw that blonde with the long hair waving their hand. She approached their table and sat down. It was strange eating around all these people For the last millennia she was always alone and even before that she only shared meals with one other person.

"Man, I almost didn't notice you with your hair down like that." the blonde said and Salem used a hand to slide it though some of her hair.

"Oh. I... simply didn't feel like putting it up." She lied. To be honest she found the side pony tail rather silly. This was more her style anyway.

"It looks nice." the black haired girl said. This was beginning to feel awkward as Salem didn't really know who she was speaking to.

"I need to know all their names. It would be strange otherwise." Salem told Weiss.

"Alright, alright. The girl your looking at is Blake Belladonna. She's partners with the blonde, Yang Xiao-Long."

Salem then looked at the girl with Silver Eyes and narrowed her own. "That's my... Partner. Ruby Rose." Weiss sounded like she was biting her own words. "She's also team leader and... Very childish sometimes.

"'Rose' you say?" Salem internal voice asked.

"... Yes? Something wrong with that?"

"... No, well. Nothing that needs to be discussed here and now. I'll tell you later."

Weiss paused for a moment but seemed to accept it for now. "Well... They're my teammates. So try not to do anything too weird around them. I don't want to get a bad reputation."

"Hmm..."

Salem then reached for her plastic fork and poked her cheeseburger's paddy. She then sank the fork in and used the plastic knife to cut it.

"You know, you're supposed to use your hands, Weiss." Yang said while holding a half-eaten burger in her hand. Grease was dripping off her fingers.

"... I'm not so uncultured." She answered swiftly and Yang sighed. Ruby giggled a bit at her sisters expense and took a bite of her own burger.

Salem finished cutting and took a bite. Her eyes widened as the meat hit her taste buds. Once she finished swallowing the bite she smiled. "This is delicious!" She said aloud. "The best food I've ever tasted!"

Humanity truly has advanced in culinary arts!

Blake gave her a confused look. "... You had that last week..."

Salem froze mid chew and quickly swallowed her second bite followed by dabbing her mouth with a napkin. "I- I see well... It was incredible that time as well..."

Yang narrowed her eyes. "You threw it away after one bite saying it was greasy and that you'd never get it again."

"Well... It seems I've changed my mind."

"Why didn't you tell me any of this?!" Salem chastised Weiss for the lack of information.

"I was trying to. You're the one who ordered without letting me say anything." Weiss answered smugly. It seems she was rather pleased with Salem's predicament. A few contradictions won't bring any suspicion so it was entertaining watching the witch squirm a bit.

Salem sighed. "No matter. It tastes good." She said and used her knife to cut herself another bite.

It was then that someone walked up to her as she was eating. It was a blonde boy wearing their school uniform. His hair was a bit unkempt and they seemed to look a bit nervous.

"Ugh. Him again." Weiss scoffed.

"Hi Jaune!" Ruby waved and he did as well.

"'Sup." Yang greeted as well. Though Blake stayed silent and ate her salad.

"Oh, just uh... Here to talk to Weiss about something." He chuckled nervously and looked down to her.

Salem finished swallowing her food and noticed Yang snickering while Ruby gave them an irritated look while whispering for them to stop.

"I... See your hair is down... It looks nice."

Salem turned back to the boy and lifted a thick line of hair off her shoulder, running her hand down it. "Ah, my thanks. You're not the first to comment on it."

"Don't encourage him." Salem heard Weiss say but still kept her focus on the boy, Jaune was it?

"Did you need something?" She asked him.

"Yes!" He answered immediately and reached into his pocket to grab two tickets out of it. "I- uh- Well, I went and got a couple tickets to this carnival out in Vale." He said and handed her a ticket. She took it and looked down at it.

I was- well, wondering if you'd like to... You know... Go with me? It's closed during the fall and winter and it's last day open is tomorrow so..." He scratched the back of his head nervously.

"This pest! Hurry up and send him awa-"

"Very well. I'd be glad to join you tomorrow." She answered aloud and lowered the ticket, giving him a friendly smile.

"WHAT?!" Weiss screamed internally.

She heard what sounded like forks drop behind her and turned to see Weiss's team staring at her in what could only be seen as shock.

"Pyrrha! Your food!"

There was another female voice from the next table over, behind Jaune that was just a few feet away. It showed a red-haired girl who just squeezed her burger so tightly that it turned to slop over their fist.

Odd.

"R- really?"

Salem looked back at Jaune who had a happy smile on his face. She nodded. "Sure. I've never been to a carnival before. It could be fun. What time should I be ready by?"

"No! Stop! Take it all back! What are you doing?!" Salem squinted at Weiss' pestering but tried to focus more on the young man asking her out than the girls outbursts.

They looked a bit surprised still. "U- uhm. How about by three?"

"That time works fine with me. I'll see you then." Salem said, giving him another smile. He returned it with more vigor She then turned back to her meal as Jaune happily walked away from her to sit at the table beside them.

She wanted to go back to eating, however Weiss' team was still staring at her in shock.

Salem cleared her throat. "Ahem... Is something the matter?" She asked.

All three of them flinched and looked away.

"Uhm- No... I uh... Guess not?" The blonde, Yang answered.

Blake settled down as well. "Yeah... Have fun tomorrow."

Salem nodded and looked back to her food, cutting it up before taking a bite. The other girls seemed to do so as well though they began to chatter with one another.

"What did you do all that for?!" Weiss yelled in their head a few moments later. Salem answered while chewing.

"Do what? Accept that young man's invitation?"

"YES!"

"It takes a lot to ask a lady out while she's surrounded by her friends." Salem answered casually while finishing her bite and then taking another. "He seemed nervous, but it's rare for a man to have that kind of positive audacity. So I felt compelled to take him up on his invitation.

"What?! That's absurd! He's asked me out every week since I've entered this academy!"

Salem's eyes widened at that. It did certainly change things.

"I see... I didn't realize you've already gone on an outing with him..."

"Excuse me?! I wouldn't go on a date with him even if he was the last man on Remnant!" Weiss scoffed.

That made Salem's eyes widen. "Hold on a moment. You're telling me you've never accepted his advances?"

"Of course not!"

"And he continues in his attempts?"

"Exactly! He's nothing but a womanizer who-"

"How bold~" Salem thought, her words cutting Weiss off. She swallowed her food then turned her head to give Jaune another look-see while smiling deviously. He was rather tall and his face was handsome enough. His unkempt hair and nervousness wasn't ideal but both can be corrected.

He looked rather well and his determination was something many men were missing. All things considered, he wasn't a bad catch. She was looking forward to tomorrow even more now.

Weiss on the other hand was baffled and disturbed by the flirtatious thoughts going through Salem's, and by extension her own head.

I've been looking forward to writing this chapter since I came up with this idea. Salem's now in control of Weiss' body for better or worse.

Weiss would say it's for worse lol

Chapter Text

"Weiss thinking."

"Salem  thinking."

Salem walked through Beacon's halls with Weiss' team. They had just finished dinner and were heading back to their dorm. The three of them were chatting while Salem walked in the back, examining the environment a bit more. Many students roamed the halls while others had their doors open, having people over. She had to admit that Ozma did indeed create a comfortable academy. Even if it was to create soldiers to thwart her.

One thing she noticed was that for the entire walk Weiss has been silent. In fact she hasn't said a word since the incident in the cafeteria.

Salem internally sighed. "Are you still upset, girl?"

After a moment, Weiss responded. "'Upset' would be an understatement... I'm having a difficult time understanding your intentions here."

"How do you mean?"

"I mean that I'm confused as to why you accepted a date with that blonde, scraggly, moron! Could it have been anyone and he was just the first to approach? Just what are you planning?"

Salem thought for a moment before responding. "Hm... Well, I suppose it could have been anyone within reason. I wouldn't accept an invitation by one whom I find wholly unattractive or rude. But as I said earlier, I found him to be rather bold in his advances." She answered. She also felt that he would clean up rather nicely if he put in a bit more effort.

Weiss grumbled. "How do you -like- the fact that he can't take 'no' for an answer? It's borderline harassment."

Salem rolled her eyes. "Oh, please. Back in my day it was noble for a man to put themselves out there. But if I must answer, I suppose it's due to the first and last relationship I was involved in was with a man who refused to give up as well." Salem closed her eyes and fondly remembered her first few decades with Ozma. At the time he was everything to her.

Weiss even got a quick glimpse of him in their head as Salem pictured it all.

"He grit his teeth, fought for me, and refused to compromise. Even with me." Admittedly it didn't work out in the end, in fact it was down right terrible. But Salem left that part out.

Weiss huffed. "It sounds like you just prefer stubborn men..."

Salem chuckled internally. "Perhaps. Though if you look at it a different way then it's determination which I feel fond of."

Weiss simply scoffed at that. It seems their views on the matter differed quite a bit.

"As for my overall 'plans'... It seems us merging is the end result here, so I figure one thing to do is feel around for potential suitors. I'm unsure what kind of person we'll become in the future, but I haven't had the opportunity to experience romance in eons." Salem smiled a bit. "Finding a man to live this life comfortably with seems like a nice change of pace."

Weiss didn't like the sound of that. It seemed Salem fully accepted their fusion, which was essentially death by ego. Though at least she wasn't completely sold on Jaune yet, for whatever that was worth.

"I'm not just going to sit around and lose my life, you know! There's got to be a way to undo this."

"You have trouble wrapping your head around even my magic, girl. I doubt you can comprehend the complexity of the sort tying us together. Even I don't fully understand it. I doubt it could be 'undone' so simply."

"But you did, didn't you? You were supposed to be immortal, yet you managed to die."

"Yes, and that took over a millennia for me to simply alter the magic affecting my immortality. Additionally, it took lifetimes to achieve. I'm not saying it's impossible, but I doubt 'Weiss Schnee' or 'Salem' will see the day it comes to pass."

Weiss was annoyed but Salem had a point with that. However what was she supposed to do? Roll over and accept some magical death? At the very least she wants to struggle against it.

"Anyhow, let's talk about something more time-pressing."

"What's more time-pressing than our inevitable deaths?"

"The outfit I wear for my outing with Jaune tomorrow. I saw your wardrobe, do you truly have nothing besides white or this school uniform?"

Weiss internally groaned. Death might actually be a mercy if this is what she was going to have to deal with.

Salem was now in Team RWBY's dorm room, going through Weiss' clothing to pick something out. Eventually Weiss assisted them navigating her clothes because they were ruining her organization.

The outfit she settled on was still a white one, though it had a black underskirt. So if she desired she could take off the white coat. It wasn't perfect, but it was good enough. (Weiss' outfit from V2)

She put the clothes aside so she could easily access them tomorrow when needed.

"Huh, you're actually taking this date with Jaune pretty seriously."

Salem turned to see the blonde, Yang sitting at the desk in the room. They currently had a few books in front of them, likely homework or something since Ruby was right beside them.

"Of course I am. I agreed to go did I not?"

Yang stifled a slight laugh. "It's just a big 180 from your usual attitude." She said a turned their body to face her now and leaned forward. "So c'mon, tell me. What made ya' finally say yes to the guy?"

When Yang asked that question, Ruby leaned their head back and looked at her. Blake lowered their book and looked down from the top bunk as well. It seemed they were all curious on the matter.

Salem didn't feel awkward from the stares or question, though it was a bit difficult to answer since she wasn't actually Weiss.

"Oh yes. Please tell them why -I- would go out with that buffoon."

Salem ignored Weiss' comment and hummed for a moment. "I suppose... Something about him today just felt more appealing." She answered. It was vague, but these sorts of matters didn't need to be logical.

Yang grinned. "Oh? So Jaune finally cracked through the Ice Queen's cold heart?"

Salem took the joke in stride and let out a brief chuckle. "Something like that." She's never heard someone use the term 'Ice Queen' to refer to Weiss yet, but it was obvious to whom they were speaking of.

Weiss however was quite peeved at Yang's choice of words. The Ice Queen jokes always irritated her.

Though Salem's chuckle and composed response seemed to throw Yang off a bit. "So you've finally just accepted the nickname?" they grinned slyly.

"No! No I have not!"

Salem shrugged. "It's not the worst thing someone could be called." She returned Yang's grin. "Ice is strong and a Queen is commanding. I think both fit me fairly well if I think about it."

Weiss was silent after that. She didn't hold the same opinion as they were essentially calling her cold and cruel.

Yang sighed. "Man, you've really mellowed out. What kind of power nap did you take?"

Salem rolled her eyes. "I'm just... Seeing things from a different perspective, I suppose."

Ruby smiled. "Well I like it! I've been hoping you and Jaune would fix things, but you going out is way better!"

"She what?" Weiss didn't realize Ruby's even thought about this sort of thing before. Though it seemed Yang agreed. "Have they spoken about this before?"

Salem raised an eyebrow "Oh? Have you been secretly hoping I would accept his advances?"

Ruby shrunk a little at the question and sighed nervously. "W- well... I mean. I just wanted you two to get along."

Salem narrowed her eyes and examined Ruby. They flinched under her gaze. Over the centuries she's gotten quite good at telling when people were lying or keeping secrets. So she was safely say that Ruby wanted Weiss and Jaune to become something more, for whatever her reasons were.

She smiled, softening her expression and Ruby seemed to relax. "It seems you have someone rooting for you."

Weiss wasn't feeling very supported however. "Tch. Ruby's such a child. I doubt she even understands anything about a man and a woman being together."

There was actually a good chance of that being true. Salem thought back to the previous silver eyed woman who confronted her a little over a decade ago. Ruby was essentially a younger version of them in every way. The resemblance alone made it rather obvious but her surname confirmed it.

Though that was a conversation for another day. For now, Salem just wanted to enjoy herself. Who knows when she will be forced to switch with Weiss. Hopefully it wasn't whenever they sleep, she had a date she wished to attend tomorrow.

Speaking of sleep, it was almost 9pm now. Perhaps she should relax and get ready to rest for the night.

She approached the door to their dorm bathroom. "I'll be using the restroom. I wish to bath before my date tomorrow." She told them all and walked in. They didn't seem to care and just went back to what they were doing.

"Oh no! You are not undressing me again!" Weiss yelled the moment the door shut behind them.

"So what? We just stink? I'm not going out tomorrow while unclean." Salem said while removing her clothes.

"Then don't go out!"

"You're such a child."

"I am not!"

Once her garments were removed, she continued to ignore Weiss' protests while approaching the bath and looked down at in. "Quite modern..." This would certainly be a first. While she had her ways of washing back in her castle, a bathtub like this had its appeal.

She turned the hot water on, waited for it to fill up, then sunk into it.

"Ahhh~"

"I hate you! I hate this! You better not do anything weird!"

"You're the only one thinking that sort of stuff. Now can you be quiet? I'm trying to relax for the first time in 200 years." She said under her breath while stretching her arms and legs out.

Weiss released some grumbling but Salem did her best to ignore it and just enjoy her bath.

Tomorrow is going to be a nightmare.

This chapter's a bit shorter than the last couple, but I want the date to be it's own chapter and this seemed like a fine enough stopping point.

Chapter Text

"Weiss Thinking"

"Salem Thinking"

Weiss was sitting all alone at her desk. This large, extravagant room all to herself. Nestled at the top of a tower that she could never escape. Sliding her chair away, she stood and approached one of the thin windows and glanced outside. She's attempted to escape via the window before and failed. Now they were re-sculpted to be too thin even for her body to fit through.

Nothing could save her from this life.

The walls around her began to melt into darkness and enclose around her. It seeped onto the floor until her whole work was full of nothing besides an empty black void. She closed her eyes and hugged herself.

No... No, no, no, no, no.

Shaking her head she wanted to be free but this sinking feeling of loneliness which put even her time at home to shame.

Wait... Home? But isn't this her home? She's always been at the top of this tower since she could remember... Right...?

Eyes opened and Weiss was torn away from her dream. Now staring at the bottom of an unstable bed hanging above her. She wanted to gasp from the dream, but instead her body slowly rose and used the blanket to wipe some sleep from her eyes.

Right... Salem.

"Good morning." Salem said in her head while releasing a yawn. She then smirked as she examined Weiss' hand. "Seems I'm still in control... It appears sleep wasn't the cause of our switch. Excellent."

Weiss internally sighed, which if Salem heard or not didn't acknowledge it.

"Yes, excellent..." Weiss answered with bitter sarcasm, which again, the grimm queen ignored and slid out of bed. Glancing around, the others seemed to still be asleep.

"Makes sense. I took a nap before dinner and you went to bed again."

Salem walked over to the window and peaked through the curtains, it was just about sunrise. "I've time to prepare for my outing with that young lad then." She smiled and lowered the curtain, walking into the bathroom.

"Ugh... Please don't remind me of your idiocy. Today is going to be a night... -mare..." Weiss slowed at the final word and felt a slight chill, her dream coming back to her. It seemed to get Salem's attention, perhaps she felt it as well since she tensed a bit.

"Did you feel something just now? It was like a shiver of some kind."

Weiss mentally nodded, which was apparently a thing as she could feel Salem acknowledge the thought-like 'action'.

"Did you have a dream last night? Or perhaps when we took a nap earlier yesterday?" Weiss asked.

"A dream? No. At least not one I remember. I'm assuming you did since you brought it up, what was it about?" Salem questioned and crossed her arms, staring ahead as if she was speaking to another before her.

Weiss suddenly felt that same lonely feeling as she thought back on the dream. "There was... I mean, I was in this strange tower..."

Suddenly the mental image of the tower's room flashed across both their minds.

"It felt so real... But I know I've never been there before."

Salem's arms lowered and her eyes widened. Her breathing became a bit ragged as flashes of the tower flew across her mind.

Weiss continued, not noticing the state Salem was in. "I was... All alone and the-"

Salem suddenly gasped and stumbled backwards, catching herself on the window sill. She breathed heavily as she collected herself and lifted a hand to her head, shaking it slowly.

Weiss got the images too, but the mental flashes didn't do much besides surprise her slightly. Though it now felt as if Salem's emotions were pouring into the young lady. The sheer loneliness, the bitterness, the anger, sadness. A hopeless situation for a hopeless girl in a hopeless life. Weiss continued to try and feel the emotions more to maybe try to look into them and understand-

"Stop it!" Salem yelled and slammed her fist into the wall beside the window, causing the wall and glass to reverberate.

"Whoa!"

"Huh?!"

"Hm?"

Ruby, Yang, and Blake all flinched. Ruby sprung up as her bed swung in the air, Yang lifted her upper body and glanced downward, and Blake turned in her bed to look over.

"Ugh... Weiss?" Yang groaned and rubbed her eyes. "What're you...? What time is it?" She asked and lowered her hand.

Salem's eyes widened and she tried to collect herself. Lowering her hand away from the wall and moving it to straighten out her nightgown. "Apologies. I... Saw an insect." She told them. A poor excuse overall, but she just said anything that came to mind. But then she felt a trail of liquid slide down her cheek. She released a short gasp and quickly wiped away the tear when she felt another come from the other eye and used her forearm to remove that one as well.

"Are you... Crying?" Ruby asked and that seemed to get the other two to focus on her a bit more.

"Salem...-" Weiss began, but was cut off.

Salem locked her jaw and frowned. "As if I would shed tears." She stated bitterly and walked passed the three of them while they were in their beds.

One of them hopped off, the blonde. "Hey, Everything alr-"

But before she could finished, Salem was already passed the bathroom door then shut and locked it.

It's been maybe thirty minutes or so since Salem's outburst this morning and she was currently soaking in the bathtub. Her eyes were closed and she leaned back against the tub wall. It wasn't a very large one, but it more than accommodated Weiss'... Stature.

Both her and Weiss have been silent towards one another for the duration. Until eventually, Salem broke it.

"Girl, you've been quiet this whole time."

"... Yeah, well. It sounded like you needed your space." Weiss responded.

"As if our situation allows you to give that to me." Salem opened her eyes and shifted to be sitting more upright now, staring at the wall. "This whole time, I could feel you trying to keep your thoughts to yourself. It made your presence all the more obvious."

"Well sorry for trying to be nice. Next time I'll start yelling in your head." Weiss bit back a little.

Salem chuckled internally. "No, I was the one acting immature." She admitted and wafted her hand through the bathwater. "I haven't felt that way in... I don't even remember. Centuries?" She internally sighed.

Weiss could feel Salem's emotions wash over her again. Though not as violently. "What... Was all that? The dream with the... The tower?"

Salem's heart fell a bit and it didn't go unnoticed by Weiss. But she didn't make any sort of outburst.

"That was where I originally lived. Where I grew up. Trapped all alone in a tower without any hope of seeing the world." Her gazed lowered to the water. "I suppose our minds are mingling in our sleep. Eventually we may not even know which memories are our own."

It was a solid theory. Or maybe more fact from what they just experienced.

"But that doesn't explain your reaction... I mean, I've bad memories too but... You seemed so shocked. Did you not remember until I spoke about them?"

"No, I remember those days quite well. Always have. Always will." Salem said and lifted her hand out of the water, opening and clenching it before her. "But I haven't -felt- that way when thinking about them in centuries." Her hand clenched into a fist. "It was like I was there again, reliving it for the first time..." Her eyes narrowed and looked up towards the bathroom wall. "And I believe it's your doing."

"Huh? You're blaming me?!" Weiss didn't like the accusation.

"Well what else would the reason be?" Salem asked rhetorically. "But relax, I'm not saying it's your fault exactly... Just you're the cause. Or... The situation we're in is." Her fist relaxed and lowered back in the water.

"I've been numb to these memories and emotions for so long... But your mind and body are fresh to them... My theory is that -you- are experiencing them for the first time and it's affecting me as well." Salem explained further.

Weiss didn't say anything, but understanding flowed through her and Salem continued.

"We should try to ready ourselves for intrusions like this. Next time it could be one of your memories."

Weiss deflated at the thought of that. Experiencing some horrid event once again... It didn't sound pleasing. However...

"Fine, you're right. But let's make one thing clear-" Weiss began and Salem seemed to be listening intently in this conversation. "-If anyone's the 'cause' of all this, it's -you-." She told the witch.

"-You're- the one invading my body. You're the problem here, not me. You better remember that."

There was a silence between them for a few moments. Neither one of them mentally backing down from the other, like a stare-off but between their wills.

Before either could speak up, there were a couple knocks on the bathroom door.

"Hey, Weiss. I know you're uh... Going through whatever it is, but the rest of us need the bathroom too!" It seemed to be Yang who spoke.

"I suppose that's that then." Salem unplugged the bathtub blocker and stood up out of the water.

"In what way?" Weiss asked aggravated but was met with mental silence from Salem.

"Very well, I'll be out in a moment." Salem spoke up to Yang.

She then stepped out of the tub and began to dry herself off using a fresh towel.

"We're not done talking, you know." Weiss told her and Salem released a sigh.

"Yes, yes. We'll speak more later. For now, I wish to focus on a more positive note." She told Weiss and an image of Jaune flashed in both their minds.

"Ugh... Are you really going to do this to me...?" Weiss asked dejectedly.

Salem smirked. "I truly don't see what the issue is. I can't imagine he's that bad." Salem answered while wrapping her torso in her towel.

"Well get ready to see what you can't imagine, then."

AN:

If you're wondering why I haven't updated this or any of my other fics at all, it's really just because I haven't felt like it lol. I don't really want to force myself to write because I feel like whatever I do write won't be as good. Even though I know exactly what will happen next, will happen after that, and after that, and how the story will end.

So will I keep updating? I dunno, if I still feel like it then I will. Maybe I'll update a different story or this one again. Not even I know until I feel like it.

Anyway, hope you enjoyed more of Weiss and Salem chatting.