First thing first, I'd like to thank Unstabar, Ororea and Guilty ReD for the translation and correction of this fanfic. I hope you'll enjoy the english version of "Frostbite" !
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Chapter 1
Achromatic, Immaculate, Technological.
Those words were what described the giant floating city of Atlas the best. The few travelers able to afford the trip dreamed of this idea of an incomparable purity. Her wealth, her history and her incredible technological advancements made her the greatest kingdom in the world of Remnant. An impeccable appearance that induced the rambling of more than one. Unfortunately, reality was far more different.
Under this utopian city, where money and wine percolated like water, a totally different landscape emerged. It was like heaven and hell but only if the distance between the two was only three hundred meters .
The smell of burning flesh, metal and sulfur constricted your throat as soon as you stepped your foot on the ground. The Faunus slaves worked day and night to provide for the almighty Atlas, in all other words, to keep the city's status as "the greatest of them all". The Atlesian army always made sure of it by using violence when needed to remind the workers of their place. Of course, Faunus were not the only ones to mine and polish Dust crystals. Criminals and immoral nobles were also tied to this dangerous place. The living conditions were as insufferable as the freezing cold and awful treatment they received.
It was a wonderful Winter morning when the head of the Schnee family decided to visit the lowlife working in the mines.
Jacques Schnee, well known head of the Schnee Dust Company, was the richest and most admired man of Remnant; and for a good reason. He was the owner of every single Dust mine in Atlas, a business which had given him far more advantages than needed. The thoroughly coiffed white-haired man was indirectly the persecutor of hundreds of slaves. "It's only business" as he always said. After all, they were only tools allowing him to grow his firm on the "world".
That morning, Jacques Schnee took the shuttle down there eager to be informed of the latest products. "Profit"; this word rang like a soft lullaby to the man grasping for money and power. He was caressing his mustache with his left hand, lost in thought and by the view beneath his eyes, when a small, perky voice brought him back to reality.
"Father, where are we going?" The little girl had approached the window, curious to know the destination of the Atlesian ship. Her blue eyes were sparkling at the idea of living new adventures. Her father let out a long sigh. "Do not be so enthusiastic young lady. We are going to the 'outcasts' of our society." He peered at her for a brief moment and continued "And would you please fix your hair and behave? You wouldn't want to embarrass your father, now would you?".
"No father... I'm sorry." she answered pouting.
She returned to her chair hopping and swirling her dazzling white hair that were tied in a ponytail. The young lady was not more than five years old at the time, but she was already full of life, something that her father seemed to have trouble dealing with. She slipped some hair behind her ears and arranged her bangs.
Her name was Weiss Schnee.
A few minutes later, the shuttle finally arrived. The landscape had drastically changed; the black and opaque smoke coming from the refinerie's chimneys was covering every single part of the sky. Weiss curiously looking through the window, was amazed at the sight of what was happening right in front of her. Dozens of men and women from all around the world went by, most of them carrying bags or pushing wagons full of rocks. Her father was observing them disdainfully.
He finally decided to get out of his seat to reach out for the exit while arranging his white suit closely followed by his daughter. He ordered the Atlesian guards to open the door. As soon as they did, a hot flash and a stench rushed in. The child tried to protect her eyes while coughing multiple times. Her father grabbed her hand and pulled her out with him, carefully avoiding the workers in order not to mingle the mainly hybrid people with their "pure" blood.
"Father, where are we?" the girl asked.
"This is your legacy and our most precious property. You must learn to rule it like a true Schnee. The sooner the better..."
"What about Winter?" she tried out.
"Your sister took the wrong path, you don't have to worry about her anymore. You are now the new heiress of the Schnee Dust Company".
Jacques cut the conversation short while carefully avoiding any questions about this woman named Winter. His first-born girl, the fruit of his loins, had suddenly decided to work for the Atlesian army and abandon her duties as heiress. At first he thought it was a whim or a teenage issue, but it was nothing like that. The young teen had deliberately disobeyed him by joining a school that would train her to enter the famous Atlas Academy, a place where Huntsmen were trained. This disappointment stayed etched into his memory. A memory of a man to whom you could not refuse anything. In order to continue his legacy, he placed all his hope into his second-born girl who he believed would not disappoint him.
The little girl was attentively observing every worker's comings and goings. They were following a predetermined rhythm. The robots back at the manor also did that kind of movement on a loop without ever stopping. She was wondering, why wasn't she and her father doing the same thing as those people? Why didn't she have to do things like the kids her age? Sorting the rocks coming from the mines in a wagon?
The child noticed that most of the people working had wings, horns, or an animal tail.
"Father why does this man have cat ears?" she asked pointing out to the man at question "I've only seen this kind of people in books in the library."
"Those traits are what marks our difference Weiss. Their race has always been inferior to ours. That's why we called them Faunus; Monsters. Half-man Half-animal. But don't you worry, they are not allowed near you."
In reality, the young heiress wasn't worried for this reason. Her hand tensed when she heard a whip crack onto a man's back with a cheetah's tail that followed by a blood spurt staining her white dress. She looked at the blood that splattered on her with her eyes wide open.
Her father stopped in front of a building that was nothing alike the dirt and the workers around them. He turned to his daughter, still looking at her scornfully.
"Young lady, one day everything here will belong to you. The S.D.C's objective is to mine, transport ,refine and finally sell Dust to the whole world."
The girl frowned.
"What is the use for this Dust?" Weiss asked.
"It's the most vital resource of our world. It's as useful for the military as it is for everyday use. We need it for everything and it also happens to be the very reason we exist; to fulfill the people's need for more. Do you understand?"
"Yes father! The world needs us. But why are these guards hurting these people? It's better if everyone gets along with each other, right?"
"You still have a lot to learn darling." sighed Jacques.
"Discipline is key to everything in this world. These people are only dissident who do not know anything but grivance. Don't pay attention to them." He stopped for a while and resumed "I am to meet with the wardens down here. I will ask you to wait for me here, you are still too young to attend this kind of meeting. I won't be long, so stay here. You can start to get used to the these inferior beings, you are to see them more than you think."
Jacques quickly faded away from the young child's sight leaving her no time to acquiesce. Nobody seemed to want willingly to look after her. She was as free as a bird.
Weiss quietly wandered the alleys of the refinery. From time to time a wagon full of deposits would come back out of the mine, pushed and pulled by the most vigorous men. Most of the women were taking care of sorting the ores, separating them into different crates depending on the color. The young heiress quickly arrived at the workshop reserved for children. Their job was to ameliorate the unnecessary rocks in order to obtain "pure" Dust. The children's hands were so badly cut and full of blistesr that every time they hit the rocks their faces were grimacing in pain. Weiss approached the children and took a rock that was being transported by the conveyor belt in front of them. She started to imitate the younger girl sitting near her but couldn't manage to do as good as her.
A hand suddenly grabbed Weiss by the arm. She quickly turned around to see who that person was.
It was a woman with brown hair. She had a lot of soot on her face, but the most surprising thing was her skin covered in red scales. She had a frightened look on her face and seemed to have her gaze fixated on Weiss. "What are you doing here?!" she asked with a hoarse voice "You shouldn't be here, this isn't where you belong."
She was squeezing her fingers harder and harder around Weiss's arm, who was wincing uncertain what to answer.
"I just wanted to help" She simply said.
"You being here doesn't help, you put our children in danger!"
Weiss's eyes had already laid upon the Atlesian guard approaching quickly towards them. The little girl wanted to warn her, but it was too late; the guard had already grabbed the Faunus woman by the arm and cuffed it behind her back.
"How dare you put your dirty hands on Miss Schnee?!" the guard yelled angrily! "Your punishment will be more severe this time!"
"Let go of my mother!" A young boy slightly older than Weiss stood up, his hands contracted on some pieces of rocks that he threatened to throw. His unnatural blue eyes were glued to the guard's face. Weiss did not know what to do. It was her fault this woman got into trouble.
"It is my fault sir!" the young girl cried out! "Don't hurt this woman! She didn't do anything!"
"With all due respect Miss Schnee, none of these creatures are allowed to lay a hand on you nor a member of your family. This woman will get the punishment she deserves."
"But…" she let out a sigh that was cut short.
The guard suddenly yelled out of pain. A Dust fragment hit him in the head. The young boy did not hesitate to put himself in danger to save his mother, an action that would quickly turn against him.
"You little shit! I will teach you some manners!"
"Unity 22-7! Take this woman, level S infraction. I'm taking care of the kid." he yelled at his radio.
He hadn't even finished giving out his orders, when the boy took Weiss's hand and ran towards the mines. She was not used to running like this, but she didn't complain when the boy took her by force to one of the most dangerous places down there. He seemed to know the mines so much, just like the back of his hand, that they managed to avoid the guards who patrolled around the rails.
Breathless and tired, the children recovered their lost strength in a place where no one could find them. Weiss raised her head and took a look at the boy who had just cleaned his nose with the back of his sleeve. He was one of them too; a Faunus! She observed his brown horns before meeting his sky-colored eyes.
"What's your name?" She asked all frantic.
After a small breath the boy answered.
"Adam Taurus."