*~Weiss~*
"Mirror, tell me something…" Weiss murmured under her breath while poring over a 250 page Schnee Dust Company missive detailing dust mine locations color-coded by output in tonnage and type, annotated graphs of SDC and competitor stock prices, gantt charts of new dust mine construction, white papers on new weaponized dust applications for the Atlesian Military, and other headache-inducing business. A sharp twitch from the back of her neck cut her humming off with a yelp. "Ugh I need to go see a chiropractor or something…the crick in my neck isn't going away."
Leaning back, she threw the stack of papers to the furthest edge of her desk and snuck a sidelong glance at the glass display case beside the door of her office. She knew that her rapier, Myrtenaster, rested on the custom holder within – not that she could see it from behind her desk. She hopped off her cushy ergonomic chair and made her way over to the comforting glow of her sword. She rounded the corner of her fancy oak desk. "This desk is too tall for me…but it's either a kiddy table or sitting in my highchair. Can they use dust to make you grow taller…?"
The case was titanium anodized to an ice blue, with impact resistant polycarbonate display windows. The lid opened smoothly on well-oiled hinges. Caressing Myrtenaster - right hand sliding up the blade, left hand tracing the guard and revolver - was a frequent indulgence. The dust capsules held by the revolver were always loaded with the finest quality of dust. "I keep her in top shape but…that dream is lost, who am I kidding."
6 years ago, the young heiress tried to sneak onto a flight to Vale, with the intention of attending Beacon Academy, to learn more about the world outside the fake smiles and backstabbing of the executive board room. If she was inevitably going to have to become the SDC CEO, it might have been nice to have a few years of doing something she actually wanted to. A few years to stand on her own two feet and build something for herself, gaining experiences that would certainly help her lead the SDC into a new era. But, as usual, her father was unreasonable. "Being a world renowned huntress, the occasional singing performance…that's all I wanted."
No matter what she tried, her father would never listen. And so, she continued down the heiress's path. Business classes, important meetings, board member introductions, and so on. Endless boring days of business reports and corporate ass-kissing. Occasionally, Father arranged for various self-defense classes required for a corporate heir – how to detect a spiked drink, how to detect and prevent electronic surveillance, and how to fight off attackers. The last of those was for one specific danger – the faunus. The White Fang had been a constant thorn in the side of the Schnee Dust Company, leading raids on dust mines and freeing faunus laborers, hijacking shipments of dust, and attacking SDC executives. Despite the preparations she made for a combat school like Beacon, 6 years was a long time to erode all the effort Weiss put into combat skills.
It was tough, thinking of the past and her true desires – as much as she tried not to. Her scroll beeped and announced the time, rousing her from the storm of depressing thoughts. "Ah it's already the end of the workday. I guess I better deliver this report to Shitl- I mean Whitley." She had overheard a pair of the custodians chatting, discovering a fun nickname for her little brother. "I wonder what they call me…"
After slipping the report under Whitley's office door – "This day has been long enough, I don't want to top it off by talking to him" – she slipped back to her office. Thoughts of dinner were cut short by a surge of emotion and a gentle burning sensation on her inner right thigh. There is only one thing that could mean.
A few tense moments later, Weiss dashed through the parking garage to her car. The office provided no privacy – the Schnee patriarch was always watching. Delicately, she peeled up the end of her skirt, slowly revealing dark purple, almost black, writing.
If you scream, I'll slit your throat.
*~Blake~*
Mornings are were never good, in Blake's eyes – especially if Adam was the one waking her. Jabbing her in the temple with the end of his weapon was his favorite morning greeting. "Get up. We're having a briefing in 10 minutes." She grunted slightly to show that the message was received. Satisfied, the bull left. Normally, Blake would object to seeing a faunus as the animal they share traits with, but in this case there wasn't a more apt description. She pushed herself up from her cot on one arm and quickly began to get dressed.
Despite being second in command, Blake's small tent was at the edge of the White Fang encampment. After pulling on her long coat and slipping on boots, she climbed up into the tree behind her tent with a cup of tea and a piece of bread. She spent every free moment she had up in the trees. The air was fresh, the sounds of the camp were softer, and the sunrise was beautiful.
6 years ago, she tried to leave the White Fang and apply at Beacon. She thought that she could have done some good as a huntress…instead of living as a terrorist. The faunus rights activist group once led by her father, had changed under its new leadership. The man she once looked upon with admiration and love, was certainly not the same person anymore. He showed Blake exactly who he was during a train heist that took a sour turn. She tried to escape, so Adam punished her. The scarring that thoroughly covered her body and even the notch of missing flesh from her left ear was a constant reminder of who Adam is.
The meeting was a fast one, everyone knew this day was coming. Preparations for this mission had begun over a year ago. Adam stepped behind her chair, placing his hands on her shoulders. "This is your chance to redeem yourself. Or are you still trying to run, kitty cat?" His fingers were digging into her shoulders – the threat was obvious. "Remember, we want her alive," he added. She nodded, simply waiting for him to take his hands away. Instead, he leaned down to whisper in her ear, "Come by my tent tonight." He laughed, feeling her body tense up.
The whole day had raced by – it was around midnight when she returned to the tree behind her tent. There was one other benefit of being in the treetops: no one could hear her sobs. No matter how many times Adam had his way with Blake, the mental toll was almost too much to bear. The desperate sobs suddenly caught in her throat – a warmth filled her body and a slight pressure traced along her left hip. "No...not now." How could Blake ever accept or be accepted by a soulmate now, after all she had done? Pulling back her pants revealed pale blue writing.
Go ahead and kill me, you degenerate faunus.
*~Weiss~*
It was quite an understatement, to say that the appearance of her soulmark was concerning. It was clear to the young woman that it was time to take a few measures to further protect herself – scheduling a few more self-defense classes, returning Myrtenaster to her place on Weiss' hip, and resuming her old huntress training routine. "If I were to somehow prevent an attack on me, would the soulmark change? Or is trying to change the future impossible? It is even possible to prevent yourself from hearing the words of your soulmark? We do call them our 'Fated'…at least I'll get in shape again."
The door of her small office burst open, embedding the knob into the wall. In the doorway stood a tall and busty woman. She flicked her mane of yellow hair over her shoulder and scanned the room over a pair of aviators.
"Hey! Um…are you ok?" The dignified heiress was on the floor, chair toppled over beside her. She released the hastily formed glyph she spawned to protect herself from the strange intruder.
"Oh just fine of course! How dare you just barge into my office! Do you know who I am?" She scowled, getting back to her feet, trying to conceal the embarrassment.
"Aha…sorry about that! I'm Yang! Yang Xiao Long. And this is my baby sister Ruby Rose!" A red haired girl poked her head out from behind the curtain of Yang's gold locks.
"Yang…don't call me your baby sister. I'm a big girl now."
"You'll always be my baby sister though!"
Ignoring Yang's extended hand, Weiss righted her chair and settled onto it. It was the end of a long day of meetings and being dragged and paraded in front of old white men. This was the wrong time for these dolts to be bothering her.
Noticing the expression on Weiss' face, Yang raised her hands in surrender. "Sorry about that Miss Schnee, let me explain what we are doing here. My sister and I were hired by your father to protect you."
"Protect me? Why?" "Did father find out? Why is he hiring security for me?"
"Well, actually, he instructed us to send you to his office after introducing ourselves. He'll explain it. At any rate, we're looking forward to working with you. We usually don't take jobs like these but the money…. Anyway, I hope we can get along well!"
Yang jumped forward and pulled her into a strong hug, while Ruby began whooping, cheering, and speeding around the room in celebration. Before the shocked heiress could scream, Yang began whispering into her ear. "Your father is monitoring you on a crazy level. He wants us to report everything back to him and control you if we have to, but I want you to know that we're on your side. We're here to protect you from danger."
Yang pulled back, only to switch places with Ruby. Ruby hugged much more gently and was accompanied by a flurry of rose petals. Yang's shrieks of glee filled the room, covering Ruby's voice. "We knew if we didn't take the job he would give it to CRDL, Cardin Winchester's team. We took the job from him...the professor called for us the second he got wind that you were in danger. So, please try to work with us, okay?"
Cardin Winchester. The disgusting suitor that her father constantly pushed toward her. She pulled back from Ruby to study the sisters. "I understand. Thank…you. I'm sorry for reacting like that." She always struggled with saying that, but clearly these two were more than she initially thought.
The two smiled at Weiss – a kind of smile that was unknown to her. She closed her eyes tight, "a Schnee would never do anything as undignified as cry."
"Hey, we'll wait here if that is okay." Yang picked up Ruby and dropped her into a chair, before stepping over to place a hand on Weiss' shoulder. "Like I said, your father wants to speak with you."
Jacques' office was as unpleasant as ever – cold and oppressive. Many of Weiss' worst memories were formed in this room. She stood in front of his desk as she always did; a seat was never offered to her in his office. The man didn't waste any time before getting to the point.
"Are you hiding anything from me Weiss? You know how I don't like it when people do that." He sat back in his chair, staring her down over a glass of whiskey.
"I haven't had time to mention it, have I? I only found out last night and you know my schedule was quite busy today."
Father paused to take a long sip from his glass. "I suppose not. I wonder if you would have told me if I wasn't keeping an eye on you."
She didn't trust yourself to remain civil, so the room fell silent as her father waited for a response.
After a few moments, he laughed bitterly. "Weiss, I want you to know that you can't hide anything from me, not after what you tried to pull 6 years ago; I can't trust you. One toe out of line and I won't hesitate to cast you aside. You know what I expect of my heir. I'm watching you." Sneering, he turned his computer screen to Weiss.
She clenched her teeth, nails digging into her palms. The screens displayed a number of camera feeds – her car, bedroom, office, and bathroom. "You sick man…3 camera views for my bathroom. I'm going to kill him."
Father dropped his glass onto his desk and gave a dismissive wave, apparently satisfied with her reaction. "Make sure to behave and be a good heiress now; you are on thin ice. And listen to those huntresses, I need to protect my investment here."
*~Blake~*
There wasn't much time to think about her soulmark while preparations for the mission were in full swing. The color, paired with the message, painted a fairly clear picture of her soulmate. Unbidden, the images of Adam killing Sienna Khan flashed through her mind. Her look of betrayal. His expression of pure satisfaction. "Am I doomed to same fate? Killing my soulmate?" Not to mention that her soulmate was part of a brutal group of oppressors. "Maybe I'll be killed by my soulmate."
She hopped aboard the covert bullhead, all identification marks removed from the aircraft painted with an unassuming livery. Preparations were complete – there was one final step. Adam walked over to the bullhead with her weapon, Gambol Shroud. Since the train incident, Adam kept her weapon under lock and key, only returning it when needed on missions. He slapped the weapon into her waiting hand and signaled to the pilot. Before long, the assault group was on the way to Atlas.
"We've received more intel. The target has received more security. Huntresses. This timing is highly suspicious." Adam turned and brought his masked face within an inch of hers. "We have a leak."
"Adam, you know I haven't told anyone. Ilia may be able to camouflage, but she's not invisible. You don't need her to tail me, you know." She gestured over at the dark corner of the bullhead where Ilia was sitting. Blake hadn't thought of escape for a long time – the will to fight she once had was beaten, stabbed, starved, and burned out of her.
He grinned down at her, teeth bared. Pushing her aside, he threw himself down into the seat next to Ilia. Ilia used to be a close friend to Blake, but she had fallen victim to Adam's charm and bravado. Blake knew all too well how Ilia felt – just the way she did before the train incident. The tender crush Ilia held for her was shattered when she tried to leave. To think her closest friend would abandon her and the cause of faunus equality, was too great a betrayal for Ilia.
"Don't worry. We'll find out who's betraying the faunus this time," Ilia said disdainfully. "We know how to handle traitors. And keep them in line."
It was easy for Blake to put on an indifferent face, thanks to their constant abuse. Huntresses would only complicate an already difficult job and the punishment for failure would be worse than death. Taking advantage of the long flight to Atlas, Blake took over her own corner of the bullhead and cleaned Gambol Shroud. It was always calming to clean the weapon she made with her own two hands – but she was always sure to clean her after she was in Adam's possession. It wasn't possible to clean Adam's touch her body, but at least she could clean Gambol Shroud.
*~Weiss~*
"Don't mind us, okay? We'll be trading watch shifts, one on guard and one sleeping." Yang indicated the sleeping bag at her feet. "Ruby sleeps first; I'll take the first guard shift."
Weiss wasn't sure how to feel about having people in her bedroom while she slept, but the two huntresses had shown her that they were trustworthy, despite being occasionally unprofessional.
In the short time she had spent with the huntresses, she had already become jealous of their relationship as sisters. It was everything she could never have with Winter. Ruby and Yang were truly family to each other – the Schnee "family" could never hope to compare.
"That sounds good to me." Weiss changed into her sleeping clothes as quickly as possible, knowing that her father could be watching and recording. She could feel every ounce of stress in her body as she fell into her bed. "I'll be sleeping now, good night."
Yang, who had been examining the sparse and lifeless room décor, turned to Weiss with a salute and slight smirk. "Good night!"
*~Blake~*
Hours after departure, the bullhead arrived in Atlas and landed in a field a mile from the target's residence. The deadly trio took off toward the mansion on foot. Adam and Ilia fell back as they reached the wall surrounding the property. The guards ran on a schedule that had changed in specific pattern for the past year. If it had changed, Blake could be jumping into a group of armed guards, but she was used to being given the risky role.
She squatted low and propelled herself over the wall, enjoying the few moments of wind rushing through her hair and the fur of her ears. Landing silently was easy, since she was trained in infiltration and assassination. There was no sign of any guards as she slinked across the courtyard to the mansion side. She drew Gambol Shroud and transformed her into ballistic kusarigama form. Gunfire would draw attention right now, so it took a strong throw to reach the roof.
The roof was peppered with HVAC fixtures, providing access to the ventilation system of the mansion. Blake crawled her way through the tight ducts, managing to squeeze her way to the opposite end of the building.
"Planting the bomb," she murmured over the radio. "Are you in position, Adam?"
"I'm ready."
She set the 30 second timer on the bomb and wiggled as quickly as she could to the vent near the target's room. She had barely reached the snowflake shaped grate when the explosion sent shocks throughout the mansion, destroying a large section of wall. The target and huntresses were at alert seconds after the blast – all that remained was to wait for the right moment to strike.
*~Weiss~*
Deafening booms echoed through the mansion, rousing Weiss from her light sleep. Adrenaline immediately cleared the waking fog in her head. Yang and Ruby were already positioned around the small heiress, ready for a fight. Ruby was wielding an absurdly large scythe and Yang had a pair of gauntlets at the ready.
Ruby started toward the door. "I'll go check out the source of the explosion. You're better in close quarters like this." Yang nodded, watching as her sister disappeared from the room in a flurry of petals.
"She may be younger than you, but don't worry about her combat abilities. She is every bit the huntress that I am." She smiled reassuringly.
After finding out about the guards assigned to her, Weiss took a bit of time to research the huntresses. Ruby Rose and Yang Xiao-Long graduated from Beacon at the top of their class, taking on the toughest jobs the world had to offer. It came with a bitterness that she would have been in the same year at Beacon if things had gone differently. "I wonder if father knew that when they accepted the job…that there was a bonus to make this experience more painful for me."
"Thank you, Yang. I know the 'Strawberry Sunrise' huntress team boasts an impressive record."
Before Yang could respond, the lights in the room cut out.
*~Blake~*
The red huntress had sped off toward the diversion bombing. "Huntress inbound, Adam." Only one huntress stood between Blake and the target. She appeared to be a brawler, utilizing shotgun gauntlets. The scraps of information she could gather about the huntresses during the flight showed that the older one with blond hair became stronger as she took damage. Her semblance would be tricky to handle.
"Time to make use of my natural advantages." She dug into a panel and cut the power to the light, plunging the room into darkness. The huntress picked up the target and moved to a corner of the room. The sounds of fighting across the mansion were just loud enough to cover the sound of Blake dropping down into the room and approaching the huntress cautiously. Blake took a pillow and covered Gambol Shroud's muzzle, muting the flash as she pulled the trigger, peppering the huntress with bullets. The woman started to blind fire into the room.
She was surprisingly accurate, forcing Blake to dodge and block the buckshot. Separating her weapon into two pieces, cleaver and ribbon-tethered ballistic kusarigama, Blake approached the yellow brawler from the side. She threw Gambol Shroud around the huntress, binding her arms with the black ribbon.
She struggled for a few moments but failed to free herself, leaving an opportunity to end the fight quickly. But as Blake darted forward, the woman's semblance came into play. The lilac eyes turned bright red and her body was surrounded by a yellow glow, as if she was on fire. She forcibly tore apart the ribbon and blasted her way forward. Her fist met the edge of Gambol Shroud, beginning a dance of fiery punches and vicious slices.
"I can't allow this fight to go on." The huntress was too strong and was only getting stronger. Punches began connecting – severely rattling Blake with each contact. Her aura desperately held on, sparing Blake from a number of cracked ribs. Luckily, she had prepared for this.
Blake's semblance clone took a heavy blow to the face while she slipped behind the huntress, latching onto her back and clamping a chemical soaked cloth over her nose and mouth. The huntress used her gauntlets to blast herself backward, slamming the faunus into a wall. It took everything she had to remain on her back, until the woman finally passed out.
"Where did the target go?" The short white-haired girl stumbled over to her desk and drew her dust rapier from a carrying case. Before Blake could take a step toward her, she switched on her desk lamp and spun around.
*~Weiss~*
Weiss brought Myrtenaster up and stepped into en garde. "Knees bent, controlled thrusts, balance centered…." Yang lay limp on the floor, unmoving. It wasn't clear if she was still alive, but it looked like the White Fang attacker simply drugged her.
The dark figure that stood before her started to laugh, amber eyes watching the tip of Myrtenaster shake.
"Ice dust first. Impair their mobility." She rotated the revolver to light blue dust, formed a glyph, and squeezed the trigger.
A flurry of ice spikes barely exited the glyph before the faunus assassin melted into shadows. Before she could do more than blink, she felt the rapier being ripped from her hand.
The attacker roughly pinned Weiss' sword hand her back, firmly pressing a cold blade against her throat. Weiss' thudding heart was the only sound in the darkened room.
The faunus' breath was hot on her ear. "If you scream, I'll slit your throat."
Weiss' soulmate was a faunus. A White Fang member. A murderer. A dangerous woman about to take her prisoner.
"Go ahead and kill me, you degenerate faunus."