Obligatory disclaimer saying the RWBY name is owned by Rooster Teeth and I'm a little girl for making fanfiction.
Hello, I would usually say that this is my first story here and be gentle-but forget that. This is a small passion project of mine and sharing it with this community benefits the both of us. The more meaty part of my introduction is below, since some people hate introductions. Constructive criticism is appreciated, any reviews doing that will be taken to heart. The flames will be blown out by my trusty fan.
Wait, doesn't that make it worse?
Regardless, I hope that the story will do well. Without further ado, I present. . .
Lost in the Snow
The nearby scream made the heiress furrow her brows, but she didn't do anything.
How could she, when there were worse things happening?
As a slow rumbling sound quaked through the air as another building fell, Weiss thought the world had come to an end. Things could not get worse, she imagined as problem after problem kept arising. She had just sent her partner up Beacon Tower to fight some unknown that Jaune had been raving about, but she still had other things to do.
While the heiress's Aura was getting low, she could not bear to rest. Grimm still roamed the streets and the White Fang needed to be stopped. Summoning her Semblance, her feet gently touched the symbol before she saw it.
She stopped before dashing off her glyph, seeing something in the distance coming towards her. The symbol dissipated into motes of light as the thing came closer. Hopes rising, she took a step forward. This entire nightmare of a situation could be salvaged.
She whispered in a low voice, "Could it be?"
When a bullhead landed just a few feet away, Weiss could almost not believe it. Maybe help had arrived. Beacon would be saved, stopping the disaster that the White Fang had caused. Those terrorists will be brought to justice, and the fact that they got this far was nothing short of a miracle.
There was something amiss, why would the vehicle land when there were still enemies around? She tilted to the side to see if this was just a mistake.
Weiss looked behind the vehicle, hoping to see the armada that would be their salvation. When her eyes saw nothing but smoke and ash, her mind raced to give any explanation for why the bullhead had come. Maybe this one was the last to land, to give me news that backup had arrived?
No, she was being too hopeful.
Weiss mentally slapped herself, there could only be one reason it came.
Still, A small glimmer of herself held onto the hope that she was wrong. When a man with a Schnee Dust logo stepped out and offered his hand, her last hope that Beacon could be saved had shattered.
"Father requests for your return. You must come back home to Atlas." She rubbed her eyes, maybe her mind was imagining this. "He's waiting for you just on the outskirts of the city," The man said. There was no way that the school could be saved, she should not have dared to hope. With that many enemies roaming around, any mission to take back Vale will only lead to disaster.
Her father just came to cut his losses.
"Of course," she solemnly replied. She had tried to keep the sound of defeat from hitting her tongue, but failed miserably and berated herself for it. Her voice still could not help to still ask, "Is he sending help for Vale?"
The man shook his head.
Beacon and Vale was alone and gone. She couldn't blame the company; this entire situation was impossible to stop. Nothing could be done when nevermores ruled the sky and Beowolves stalked the streets. Ignoring his hand, she followed the offer almost mindlessly. Weiss stepped onto the bullhead, finding herself into the company of the single employee and two pilots in the cockpit. The side-hatches remained open, giving an open view towards the school.
Or at least what had remained of it.
Beacon has fallen.
The man leaned forward to rest a comforting hand on her shoulder, but it didn't help. The effort was appreciated nonetheless. After a long silence, he saw that it was useless and leaned back into his chair. Weiss started to Miss the warmth another touch provided.
He spoke, "Look Miss Schnee, this is a tragedy and we cannot forget that. But, we must look forward to the future and . . ." The rest of the speech was drowned out by more important things to Weiss.
Such as the flames and rubble.
The sounds of the world seemed to fade as she looked out toward the city. The sky was ablaze, quite literally, destroying things like the Grimm and White fang that currently tore into homes and people indiscriminately.
Weiss could hear the screams and cries, nearly pounding into her ears as the transport flew high above danger. She winced a little as a large building crashed upon itself. As she could recall, that one contained a bakery that Ruby loved to eat from. Hopefully, the people were evacuated before their home collapsed.
How was her partner doing? She started to doubt in gods due to recent events, but she sent a small prayer that her teammates would survive. That was the least she could do, but she felt like a coward.
Glancing about some more, Weiss saw husks of the Atlesian Paladins that littered the roads, protectors of the people fallen to the waves of enemies.
Wait, she fought one of them.
Weiss blinked.
Twice, now glinting toward the broken machines. Weren't they made by Schnee researchers? How could something like that be released with such a glaring weakness?
This attack could have been stopped if someone just paid more attention. Someone with power. What was her father doing when his toys had been compromised not once, but multiple times? And if they were not outright stolen, some hack caused them to go haywire.
All of it done by the same group nonetheless?
A Schnee would not let this embarrassment happen in the first place. As loathe she may admit, her father is still a man that would not allow mistakes. And still, the company had fumbled on something this badly. Not when lives were on the line; when lives were lost due to their mistakes. Something did not make sense here.
She turned to the employee sitting in front of her. "Excuse me?"
He was now staring at the horizon, but ignoring the wanton destruction below. He looked back to her, expression like the one that people use to indulge small children. She hated that. With that, her opinion of him fell with his smile.
He complied. "Yes Miss Schnee? Was there something you wanted to ask?"
"When the first Paladin was stolen from us, what did my father do?" Weiss asked, voice peppered with small hints of anger. She could not hide her annoyance, but she still wanted answers.
"He sent out search teams for a whole month for it. Atlas technology is extremely valuable, but too much resources cannot be wasted. Schnee Dust could not be hindered by the past," He replied without pause. Weiss's eyes narrowed, that response seemed to have been prepared for any media backlash that initially occurred.
She was quickly reminded of back home, where the prepared conversations and polite smiles were commonplace. Weiss also remembered why she left Atlas as well.
Who was he and who did he think he is?
Chambers, a quick glance to his chest by Weiss found his name-tag.
"What about the second time, Chambers?" Hopefully using his name will make it more personal. "My sister occupied the shipment, but surely others guarded it as well." Weiss had countered. The idea that the company allowed this many failures spoke volumes and she couldn't help to feel betrayed by her father.
"And what about when our technology was hacked?" Her voice demanded for answers.
Chambers then tried to glance about the answers, looking everywhere but at her eyes. Good. That face from before annoyed and infuriated her to no ends. Weiss started to press forward. "Surely, there's no way that the Schnee company failed this much. You should know, a man like you would be important if you picked me up." The man started clamming up under her gaze, and she enjoyed it. The heiress knew it was wrong and uncharacteristic of a Schnee, but she relished in his nervousness. "What did my father do?"
Chambers picked at his collar and reached for an explanation, "I am just an employee. . ." He started the stutter, "I... I-I-I am not in possession of the knowledge of what happened over the last several months." She didn't believe him. He had to know if he was able to answer her first question.
More of this? Weiss started to hate him more with every word coming out.
He continued, "Umm. . . While this is a series of unfortunate events, it could be easily explained. Your father did his best to prevent this."
Weiss steamed.
This is he said when an apocalypse just occurred? Unfortunate events indeed, when the consequences led to the fall of a kingdom and untold casualties.
He started rambling about more damage being done by Grimm and terrorists, but Weiss tuned it out. Whatever he was saying, it was sound reasoning, that she was sure of it. And the Schnee name may go uninjured if his iteration is what officially happened.
The thought of it was disgusting in her mind.
Committing to politically correct terms and deflecting the blame worked with the small problems, but not for full-scale invasions. Weiss may not have been on the best of terms with her father, but she believed that he at least had a heart. Again, she was reminded how he prided reputation over everything else. But this was different.
There was more at stake than just a name!
The lives of innocents were lost and her friends were still in danger. Her company's own prototypes were controlled by a terrorist group, and then a whole robot battalion was a victim of a virus attack. There were things from the Schnee company that just committed a massacre! The feeling in her gut told her that what she was doing was wrong.
And while this was happening, the company's first response was to abandon ship. And what was her first thought? To follow them, meet father, and return to Atlas where it was safe. This nonsense could not continue at longer. If this was being a Schnee would lead to, she would take it in her own direction.
Weiss could only hope her sister would understand.
The man was still prattling, "-there could have been an infil-"
Weiss interrupted him with a finger.
"Let me off this Bullhead right now." She explained. All Weiss could think about was the friends she made while Beacon stood, and then regretting even thinking of leaving them to fend for themselves. She would not listen to her father this time.
He was wrong if he thought she was safest by his side.
Weiss looked back to the employee, finding herself staring at his newfound resolve. She couldn't bear to be a little confused, where had his nervous sweat and stuttering gone? She could even swear she just saw the man smirk. "Bring me to the ground," she demanded again.
"Sorry, but it's much too dangerous now to stop. This would place us into the middle of a warzone, but maybe you can ask your father once we land," he offered.
Damn him.
Damn him to hell, he knew she could not bear to ask her father. Ice grew down the back of her neck, freezing her whole body in place.
Despite the confidence in front of this nobody, Weiss knew she could not muster it up again when facing her paternal figure. But she could not just leave everything behind. She had friends that cared about her, and she cared about them back. Returning to her father would be unbearable. She would submit and obey, following him back home in shame. The heiress did not want to imagine how it would feel.
It's now or never, and there is no going back.
She stood up and took a step outside the Bullhead.
"What are you-" The employee's shocked voice trailed into the wind as Weiss hopped off the transport, falling toward the ground at high speed.
She brought out Myrtenaster and quickly summoned a platform to slow her descent, eyes widening as her Semblance shattered upon impact and providing little help to stop her. Weiss quickly summoned another one to a somewhat greater effect, allowing her to bounce off much better than the first.
It still was not enough, and her next attempt failed just like the first. Maybe jumping off that height while having low Aura was a bad idea.
Was it too late to go back?
The ground was still quickly approaching and she had only enough time to summon one more platform. Pulling from the last of her energy, Weiss hastily willed its creation and hope to Oum that it would last. She closed her eyes as the ground grew closer, feet slamming onto the floating platform.
Her heart stopped as the thing failed and shattered.
Well, this is it.
Hopefully, the afterlife wouldn't be so bad.
Her eyes flashed open when she felt a second surface stop her legs without shattering it at the same time. A fabric net from a dilapidated window overhang caught the last of her momentum, tearing before she fell through another until she crashed onto a market stall.
"At least it didn't end in the worst," Weiss mumbled as she found her body still trying to recover from the near-death experience. It was a stroke of luck that the building could stall her momentum. The heiress always watched these things on the movies, but having it occur was a laughable thought to her.
Now, she found herself a victim of sheer improbability.
Her body was shivering from the adrenaline. The danger of death a few seconds ago was very real and nearly went through with its threat. She needed to calm down before she made any more stupid decisions like the one she just did. After resting for a bit on the fruity remains of the stall, Weiss cleaned herself as best as she can and checked her belongings.
Everything seemed okay, except for one thing.
"This day just had to get worse, did it not?" Weiss complained, as she tapped her scroll for the umpteenth time. Everything else stayed intact, the major surprise coming from her spare dust vials remaining undamaged despite the hit. Dying to her own supplies was not on the list she had planned to do.
However, that meant something else absorbed the force instead.
The only other thing Weiss had on her person was her scroll, and she hoped her luck would continue. But the landing had not been nice to the poor device, and it turned it into a piece of modern art on impact. It meant now the heiress was stuck without any communication to the outside world. Despite her best attempts, Weiss could not get it to function again. But while she may not have it to help her reach her goal, it didn't change it whatsoever.
"I need to find everyone."
The Beowolves stalking towards her growled.
Maybe after she dealt with this problem.
"I," Her rapier slid through the belly of a nearby Beowolf. The beast had been slashing towards her face, but a quick sidestep into its defenses saved her. She thrust again, this time to its neck when tried to retreat for some space.
This time, the monster started to dissolve from the attack–confirming the kill for her as another threat approached.
"Am not in," Another dodge as a claw from behind nearly bisected her. It seemed to Weiss that her distress had attracted a small pack of Grimm towards her. At least it wasn't more.
Her thoughts were disrupted when she was forced to make a glyph to dodge another swipe. She grazed the ground with Myrtenaster to create an ice wall across the street to dissuade the others. Faced with two for only a few seconds, Weiss had to kill them quickly.
"The mood for this!" She summoned a sword to distract the first as she lunged toward the other. Both blades landed with a fleshy smack as they hit their targets. The distraction still failed, as Weiss was forced pull her blade out as the other Beowolf pounced at her position. The growls and pounding on her wall signaled the closing timeframe.
She needed to get away.
A distant growl from behind told her that her problem just got a lot harder.
Weiss quickly brought up a barrier to block both Beowolves' attack. Using their flinch to her advantage, she brought up her Semblance to hopefully kill them. Glyphs appeared behind her back as ice crystals soared into them, causing large holes in both.
Her barrage eventually cut through their masks, causing both Beowolves to howl before the remained scattered into the wind.
Weiss took a small breath.
The wall exploded.
Her small break ended as she put up her guard once again.
The small pack of a couple dozen had expanded into a large horde while the wall held. It seemed that ursa and boarbatusks joined the ranks, making the challenge even more harder. Weiss gripped Myrtenaster a little harder, hoping that the action would make her little more confident.
It didn't.
The mess of sounds coming from the horde sensed her nerves, and Weiss criticized her own emotions. A large ursa took a step forward, as if it would be the first to challenge her. A quick call to her Semblance and an ice sword impaled the beast's face.
Now if she could do that to all of them.
She smirked a little at its death, but her amusement ended when the horde charged. The boarbatusks came first, crashing into a hastily prepared barrier. The thing shattered on impact, but still served its purpose.
She had to end this fast.
Now that she had the upper hand, Weiss dashed forward to cut across the belly of the first of them. A whine came from the monster as it died, but she was already moving. Quickly ducking another one as it charged, her rapier shot upward to cleanly bisect the other creature. Another boarbatusk came straight at Weiss, throwing her across the street into the wall of a building.
"Ugh. . .," The heiress groaned before her eyes widened as four Grimm came charging. A glyph appeared at her side, allowing her to push off it to gain the speed to get out of the way. The group crashed into the building with a loud crash, causing it buckle and fall onto them with a louder one. She recollected herself and prepared for the next onslaught.
While they had strength in numbers, the mindless monsters still lived up to their name.
She quickly killed a Beowolf with lunging strike to its side, then got another immediately with parry—riposte of its claws. Pain ripped through her body with the maneuver and she had to jump back to prevent some Grimm from cutting her. She gripped her side, surprised by the red staining her hands.
Dammit, this was not the time.
While she imagined that her Aura was low, she didn't think it would be failing already.
Another claw came for her chest, forcing her body to contort to the side to dodge. A shot of pain came from the wound again, causing Weiss to wince for a second. That moment of time caused the horde to feel her pain. They all charged without newfound bloodlust, forcing the girl to turn around and run. She couldn't fight like this, but it seemed it would only be a matter of time before they reached her.
Weiss could only hope that there was something or someone out there that could save her. She started to regret her decision to jump off the transport. Looking to the sky, the heiress hoped that the Bullhead from earlier would come and whisk her back to safety.
Nothing.
The roars grew louder from behind.
She threw a few ice crystals to deter the monsters, managing to kill a few. But, the mass continued to hunt the heiress down. Actually, the group seemed to get larger. It didn't help went she found that there was no help. These Grimm were intent on her death.
Probably because she seemed weak. Or that she killed their brethren. Or because she was running. Or was it because her heart dropped when she saw nothing in the sky? She reasoned that her father didn't want to save a disobedient daughter. As expected, it didn't help her feel any better.
This day couldn't get any worse.
A blinding light filled the night sky.
Her hands covered her face instinctively, but she couldn't stop running. Not when threats chasing her were so close. Despite that, she couldn't help to look to see where the light came from, her neck turning to the side. As the last of it dimmed, her eyes found that the source to be the ruins of Beacon Tower.
What had caused it?
Was that from Ruby? Or from who she was fighting?
Whom it may have been, Weiss was still stuck by herself. And regardless, her partner couldn't help her right now. Looking forward once again, she saw another group of Grimm in front.
Things will always get worse.
"Oh, for the love of," her feet turned a corner into an alleyway to avoid certain death.
To find a wall.
She couldn't stop herself from cursing.
Weiss tried to summon a glyph to throw herself over it, only to see it fail to even complete itself. Her Aura was completely depleted. She backed into the wall and waited for her demise. Her chest heaved. Her wound stung. Her legs ached.
Grimm funneled into the alley, slowing down as they savored the prize of their chase. The glowing red eyes had never seemed any creepier than right now, when they gleamed with bloodlust.
This was probably the final act of her life. Where was the flashback of memories that she was expecting? Maybe she missed it because she expected it? Weiss hasn't died before so she didn't know what would happen.
But, she wouldn't go without a fight.
She readied her blade.
"Take me now, I will end ALL OF YOU!" Her voice strained as she screamed. If those Grimm to eat her, she would bite back. If Weiss from a year ago would see her now, she would've cried out of embarrassment. She didn't care. "I AM NOT SOME LITTLE GIRL, FIGHT ME!"
She dropped into her stance, Myrtenaster promising death to those that approached. Five took up the offer, pouncing immediately to Weiss. A rapid series of thrusts rid her of the threats.
The pack stepped closer.
She waved her rapier around to slow them down. Or she hoped it did in her mind. A couple Grimm got too hungry and lunged forward, meeting the business end of her sword as a result. More pounced.
Then more.
Then more.
Then more.
The first hit came as a glancing swipe to her face, right above the brow near her scar. Myrtenaster came to the monster's neck. Another came for her exposed side, forcing a sidestep to avoid getting maimed.
More and more attacks started to come from more and more angles.
She screamed in agony as the injuries started to rack up. "YOU WILL ALL PAY FOR WHAT YOU HAVE DONE!" The threat didn't stop the Grimm of course, but it helped her morale a little bit. It was the latest little things that mattered.
A claw tore at her arm, but a kick to the stomach stopped the offender. A Beowolf came at her face and myrtenaster bit into its chest. Two ursa took swipes at her flank, forcing her to dodge. But her shoulder wasn't fast enough and ate the attack. Weiss screamed in pain as the wounds flared.
It hurt. It hurt so much.
Her vision blurred as her life started to slip away. Myrtenaster waved about wildly to buy herself some time. The Grimm backed off, knowing that the girl was dead either way.
This is it.
Desperately, she looked for her dust vials in the bag with her other hand and flicked all the lids off. Even if she didn't have the Aura to summon her glyphs, there should be enough to trigger an explosion.
Weiss laughed madly.
This definitely would have disappointed one-year-ago-Weiss.
She closed her eyes as she summoned the last drops of her Aura.
There was a brilliant flash of white.
A pair of eyes was watching the white-haired girl intently as she ran through the streets of Vale. One brown-the other pink, the girl was amused at the distress of the other. After Ruby threw her off the airship, Neo landed safely on the ground. The airship exploding looked pretty too, but she knew that Roman was okay. The criminal had eaten worse things than explosions. She roamed the tops of buildings, waiting for something to happen.
She grew bored quickly until she heard a scream and now here she was.
This new person gave her so much entertainment.
She knew her of course, only as one of those people in the group that stalked Roman. Killing her would be so easy, just a quick pinprick and the girl would be just another corpse on the streets.
But then, she would be bored once again.
Neo followed along, hopping from rooftop to rooftop as her toy was hunted down like some deer. From the girl's small form, Neo might have mistaken her for one as well. The ice crystals raining on the Grimm did little to stop them.
She only grew momentarily distracted as some light came from Beacon Tower.
Probably just another survivor fighting for their life.
The chase continued for some time, and Neo had to applaud white-hair for them. As she pantomimed her own clapping, she let out a soundless giggle. Too bad her audience was too busy running.
But then, white-hair almost ran into another group of Grimm. She wanted to see the reaction, but her vantage-point didn't allow it. Can't get everything in life, she argued.
She saw white-hair duck into an alleyway
Neo hopped across the street to find her subject backing into a wall. Seeing white-hair fight was something new to her, but she hoped it was interesting. It proved to be true when the girl below screamed some death threat.
Didn't she know Grimm can't speak English? Surely, Beacon would teach its students that at least. Problems with a such a narrow-minded school. Focusing back to her show, white-hair screamed some more.
Neo loved her.
This girl had an unhealthy amount of insanity and her weapon was beautiful. None of those heavy and clunky things she commonly fought against, just good saber to do its job. Neo winced alongside white-hair started taking hits.
She didn't seem to have any Aura. Or any left it seems.
Neo started contemplating on saving her.
White-hair proved herself to be somewhat useful, but Neo wanted to make sure. Her short partnership with Cinder was nice, but the woman didn't have the flair that Roman had.
Which was weird considering the woman's affinity for fire. Wasted opportunities.
Now, if she wanted to find another one—she'd make sure they could keep up in that category. No one could keep up with Neo after all. Roman tried his best, but she was better.
She saw the girl pull out several dust vials from a pouch.
Now that, is what she is talking about.
Neo would save this one.
Weiss opened her eyes once again. Her Aura was drained. She couldn't even set off her dust, so what had happened? Certainly, she couldn't defy death twice in one day? A dying whine from a boarbatusk told her that someone must have come to save her.
Ruby? No, the clothing wasn't red.
Also, the brown and pink hair was throwing her off. Was this a huntress looking for survivors? The heiress's mind raced to find an answer to her dilemma. Something clicked as she remembered the fight against Torchwick and the first Paladin. This girl was an enemy if she was aligned with that criminal.
But why was she here?
And why was she saving her?
Her savior seemed to tear through the Grimm with ease. The umbrella appeared to a poor weapon at first, but watching it deflect blows and push back the beasts was interesting. A silver point on the end confirmed her suspicions that the thing was custom made.
Regardless of weapon choice, Weiss watched as the other person cleared off the Grimm. It was amazing, watching the skill and power that she had. Weiss could have killed them all of course, but her Aura levels held her back. She couldn't help smiling at her salvation.
She grimaced as pain shot up her. . . Everywhere.
She could feel herself dying as blood flowed out. Weiss leaned back against the wall and slid down to the ground, groaning as the movement gave her more pain.
She could just lie here for a bit.
She reached for her scroll to check her Aura levels.
Oh yeah, it was broken.
Weiss couldn't even find the energy to be angry at her stupidity. She was lucky that she wasn't dead right now, but her condition could change at any moment. She gripped her sides to stem the bleeding and prayed to Oum and any other gods to let her live.
At least her savant was having a good time.
Weiss laughed and suffered for it as more pain came through. Of course, she would get the crazy one. First Jaune, then Ruby, then everyone in the school. Weiss found herself to be the only sane human in all of Vale.
Wasn't that the reason why she wanted to come here in the first place?
And, how were her friends doing right now?
Her team was doing fine Weiss supposed, and there were more important things at hand. She looked down at her wounds to see how they were doing. Not too bad, the minor ones had started to close up. She felt a small warmth all over her body, meaning that what little Aura she had left would stop her from dying.
After all of that happened, she nearly wished for death.
The multi-colored girl finished off the last of the Grimm and turned around. Seeing her ever-present smirk annoyed Weiss, but she wasn't in any position to complain. The girl just saved her life. The least she could do was introduce herself.
"Hello, my name is Weiss Schnee and I thank you for saving me." She would offer a hand as greeting, but both were occupied with preventing her death. Weiss waited for a reply.
She was met with silence.
"Hello. . . My name is Weiss-" she was interrupted with a shushing motion. How dare she? Weiss furrowed her brows. Savior or not, the girl could not do that. "Excuse me, I-"
The girl moved her finger over Weiss's mouth. Then, she pointed to herself. The heiress huffed.
"I expect an introduction, so unless you are mute-"
The strange girl snapped her fingers. Weiss blushed. At least the heiress found the energy to feel embarrassed. How rude of herself to act like that if that was the answer.
"You're a mute? Can you sign?" Weiss took lessons for sign when she was younger, but she didn't think she would use it. She was being proven wrong constantly today, she contemplated.
The girl held up one finger and nodded her head. That confirmed her theory, only causing her to redden and look away because of her mistake. Weiss glanced back for the second answer. The girl held up a second finger and shook her head.
"So it seems that you could understand me at least, so may I at least have your name?" The girl smiled more and did a dramatic bow.
Weiss was reminded of Jaune and his antics.
Now was not the time for flirting.
"I do not swing that way, thank you very much." The stranger noiselessly laughed and shook her head. Weiss let out a sigh of relief.
At least she didn't have to deal with that problem with her.
Weiss waited as the girl to answer her previous question. She started off with a vertical zigzag with her finger in the air. "N?" A nod of the head.
The movements were followed by an 'e' and then an 'o'. The girl smiled and pointed at herself again.
"Neo?" Another head nod allowed Weiss to finally get her name. The girl's hairstyle and eyes certainly fit it. Or maybe she was named because of those characteristics?
Weiss couldn't help but ponder that little mystery. "Well, nice to meet you Neo. And I thank you for saving me." The girl placed a hand over her heart at the words. "But, I must confess. Why did you save me?"
Neo seemed to stop at that question. How could the answer to that be complicated at all? If her partner Torchwick was anything to go by, the girl would be straightforward.
Or not.
Neo made a motion of zipping her mouth. Weiss let an eye twitch, but she didn't say anything. If the girl wanted keep secrets, that was okay.
"Well, if you don't want to say anything that fine." Neo smirked. Her patience could only last so long. "But. . . I'm a little indisposed at the moment." Weiss could feel the Aura working at her wounds, but the larger ones may stay for days. Or weeks.
Neo looked around and walked away.
Weiss couldn't believe it, she just left her alone.
In the Grimm-infested streets.
"She must have a screw loose. No wonder she plays with Torchwick." She let out a deep breath, still clutching the worst of her wounds. If anything came here, she was dead to rights. There would be no fight if she couldn't move at all. "What have I done to deserve this?"
A few minutes passed and her eyes threatened to close upon themselves.
But, doing that would leave her open to attack.
A shadow grew in front of her. Weiss tried to move, but a lance of pain anchored her down to the wall. "Gah!" The thing fell on the ground and stared her down. But, the eyes told her everything.
Neo came back, two small tubs of ice cream in her hands. The knowing smirk holding back laughter was infuriating.
Weiss was starting to hate this girl with every passing second, but she couldn't voice that out loud. Not when she just saved her life. Neo sat down next to her and popped the lid off one of the tubs. Weiss looked at the girl when the other tub was offered.
A nudge and smirk came from Neo.
"I thank you again. You didn't have to though," she took one hand out to take the carton and found it taken away. Weiss looked back up.
The girl's smirk grew bigger.
"Forget the last sentence. I would accept your gift graciously." Weiss took the carton again and Neo's laughter annoyed her once again. Even if didn't make noise, the imagined sound of it could make the heiress pull her hair out.
Weiss offered thanks once again for a plastic spoon from Neo, wording it to avoid any traps the girl may have set. She took a small bite and savored the taste as it melted in her mouth. She lifted the carton to see 'Mocha Swirl' emblazoned on the front. What did the other girl get?
"What flavor did you get?"
Neo lifted her tub, twirling it to face her. Neopolitan.
How quaint.
Weiss could imagine everything in Neo's life followed a certain color scheme. But, she was a suspect for that crime as well. White was a respectable color, one of formality and professionalism.
As she scooped into her ice cream, Weiss looked back at Neo. There were so many questions swimming in her mind.
Neo seemed to enjoying herself, but her face always had that smirk on it. Weiss could never tell what went through her mind.
"May I deign to ask, why are you here?"
Neo pointed to the ground and made a questioning face.
"Yes, what are you doing here?"
The girl looked up to the sky for a moment as if the question had some weight to it. Was the girl naturally slow or was it something else altogether? Neo looked around for some paper and pens on the ground, quickly scribbling the answer. Smart, it was easier if she wrote it down.
When Weiss looked over, she was met with resistance as Neo pulled the paper away and stuck her tongue out.
Okay, be like that.
A few seconds later and Neo handed the paper to Weiss, looking smug at her reply. The white-haired girl read the note at loud, "I believe that we were put on Remnant for a purpose. That Oum gave each one of us a plan and—Hey! That is not what I meant!"
Neo bundled over in laughter as Weiss crumpled and threw the paper at her face. This was worse than the first day with Ruby! At least her partner didn't piss her off on purpose!
"No, no, no. I meant why were you on the ground? What made you come to where I was?"
Neo was busy wiping tears from her face when she asked the question. The small girl took her time to regain her composure, returning to a thinking pose. Weiss hoped that she phrased her question right.
Neo shrugged.
Was this person for real?
"There has to be a reason, no cosmic force willed you here!"
Neo snapped as if Weiss answered her own question.
"That is not possible!"
Neo made motions to have her calm down and she did so reluctantly. How did she always end up with the insane ones? All Weiss was looking for was a level-headed partner capable of handling themselves in a fight. Like Pyrrha.
Neo motioned with two fingers walking down the street. Weiss nodded, at least the girl was being reasonable again.
Neo then brought a hand up to her ear, followed by a running motion. So, the girl heard her screams? No wonder all those Grimm had come running. Weiss silently berating herself for being so careless.
Consequently, the scream allowed Neo to come. So, it wasn't all bad.
Neo pointed to her eyes, then to the heiress's. She saw her being chased? There was a soundless woosh from her mouth. The performance ended with a flourish, arms thrown across to expect flowers from the nonexistent audience. Weiss would give her none if she acted like a child.
But she wondered if the girl had seen her moment of insanity, but decided against it. If Neo was this bad without blackmail, imagine what she could do with it.
Weiss shuddered.
Next question.
"Why are you friends with Torchwick?"
Neo hugged herself in response.
"You two are in love?"
Mismatched eyes widened and both hands took Weiss by the shoulders. The furious shaking of her head told her no, but the heiress hoped to use this to her advantage. It was time to get revenge for earlier.
"There's no need to deny it to me. . ." The increased head shaking threatened to screw Neo's head off by accident. The girl was adamant about her position.
Which helped Weiss continue the tease.
"Oh my, is he that bad in bed?" Neo's eyes narrowed and the grip on her shoulders tightened. Weiss let a small whine from the pain, but she got the message regardless. "Okay too far, sorry."
The grip stopped and Neo went back to her default smirk, pleased with what she had done.
"Still, you do know he is a bad guy?" Weiss inquired, emphasizing on 'bad' for Neo. So far, the girl seemed nice; she only found herself on the wrong side of life.
Neo responded with her thinking face and then nodding slightly. Weiss tilted her head.
"So why then?"
Neo made a key-lock with her mouth, throwing away the key for good measure. Another secret that Weiss could not figure out. Not right now at least.
What was her motive?
"Can you tell me why you saved me at least?"
Neo smiled, nodding her head again to the question. At last, Weiss would could put that thought to rest in her head. Once she got to know her, Neo was a bit pleasant. Maybe this girl wasn't so bad after all. She was annoying at times, but the heiress got used to that over the last year. Neo seemed to be another Ruby in actions and stature, ignoring the bit of being mute. Her heart thumped at the thought of her partner. She missed her.
Neo started to open her mouth, finger pointed to the sky.
. . .
. . .
She promptly poked Weiss on the nose and made a popping noise with her mouth.
A scowl arose from Weiss. Retract her previous thoughts, this girl was way worse than Ruby. The smile plastered on Neo's face told her everything she needed to know. The heiress just found herself in the company of a lunatic. Weiss returned to her ice cream, ignoring the new friend. And that term was being loosely right now.
The worst thing was Weiss was stuck here to recover for the night. So, she was stuck here with her for at least eight hours. Her shoulder soon found Neo resting on her head on it, contrasting eyes drooping to sleep. There was a slight snore that seemed a little cute on her.
But, she still had the smirk on her face.
This was going to be a long night.
So . . .
what do you guys think? This plot bunny was running through my head for a while now. What if Weiss didn't go back to Atlas, choosing her team instead? As a personal opinion, I did not think the girl willingly ran back to her father's arms. Especially with how the home situation is like. Neo also disappeared in volume 4, but she must have been doing something. Their meeting was a last-minute decision for me, but the more I delved into it. The more it interested me.
The Ice Cream Duo. Look like Yang's puns meant something after all.
Yeah. . .
The dynamic between the two is interesting at best, but I hope I got it right. There's not much of Neo's personality to show within the show, but I imagined her as person to do things on a whim and pull jokes on loved ones. I don't know how Roman dealt with her. Speaking of that, next chapter should deal with the aftermath of major events of the Battle of Beacon.
That chapter should come around. . .eventually. I'll try to avoid making it overdue, I promise.
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Peace out