Darkness...

Storm winds howled in her ears, spray lashing at her, stinging her skin. Every instinct she had called out to her to run, hide, find shelter, safety, anywhere but here, but she stood her ground and raised her weapon against the beast.

Roaring, the beast towered over her, returning the lightning from the storm to the sky before lashing out at her with its claws. She danced back, slashing at one of its claws even as she dodges its blows.

Suddenly clocks appear everywhere around her, numbers out of order, running backward. She freezes in confusion and the beast takes advantage of her distraction, lashing out with a claw to send he spinning into the dark.

Before the light fades entirely, a shining angel appears, hand outstretched. She reaches for it, only to find she can't quite reach the angel's life-bringing warmth.


Ireia's eyes snapped open, her heart pounding in her chest, and she groaned. That same nightmare again. She'd been having it off and on ever since she lost her memory. Ireia sat up in bed, hugging her knees to her chest. A thought crept into her mind as her heart and breathing slowed back to normal. Maybe the dream was related to the night she'd gone over the side, a jumbled mashup of her last memories from before? There had been a storm, after all, and the shining angel could be Yang.

Ireia stumbled into the bathroom, flicking on the light and staring at herself in the mirror. "Good morning, Weiss," she muttered at the stranger in the mirror. Yes, it was the same face that had stared back at her for the past year, but now there was a history behind that face, one she didn't know. And now she cursed herself as she realized she'd been thinking of herself as Ireia since she woke up.

"Weiss Schnee, your name is Weiss Schnee, you're a Huntress, and your wife is Yang Xiao Long," she repeated to herself over and over again, trying to fix her identity in her mind. It was hard. The Weiss Schnee on the Huntsman's license, in the photographs, had been a strong, capable Huntress. The person looking back at her in the mirror was a shattered, broken shell. I"m still here, she thought, I just have to fill me back up with me.

Yesterday morning she'd been Ireia, a woman in search of her past. Today she was Weiss Schnee, a woman with a past unknown to her. Today begins the second age of Weiss Schnee. By all accounts, Weiss Schnee hadn't been afraid of much of anything. Certainly, Ireia hadn't found many things she was scared of. Well, maybe bad storms, but that was rather understandable, all things considered.

She wandered out into the living room towards the kitchen, stopping to re-cover Yang with the blanket she'd thrown off. Weiss smiled as she wondered if Yang was this restless a sleeper when they shared a bed, or if just having someone near her calmed the blonde's tossing and turning. Idly she ran a hand over the prosthetic sitting on the coffee table. So Yang took it off when she slept. How and where had she lost the arm? Was it during a hunt? A panicked thought crept into Weiss's mind. Had Weiss somehow failed Yang, costing her the arm? Was losing her memories some sort of cosmic re-balancing in exchange for Yang's arm? Weiss shook her head. She'd have to get the story of Yang's arm and the night she lost her memories later today before the others left on their hunt. Weiss had been so overjoyed at finding herself yesterday that she'd forgotten to find out how she'd been lost. One more question for the list.

Weiss rose and walked into the kitchen, making coffee. It was early enough that on any other day she would have gone back to bed, but today she was too keyed up to sleep. Today answers began. Little things, like how did Yang take her coffee? Did Yang drink coffee? What about Blake and Ruby? What about Yang's family? Oh, gods, she was going to have to meet Yang's parents again. Except this time it was going to be all weird and awkward because they'd know her and she wouldn't know them. Well, they'd just have to deal with it because Weiss Schnee was back, dammit, and she was going to reclaim what was hers!

With that thought firmly in mind, Weiss fixed herself a cup of coffee and went to sit on the front porch to wait for the others to wake up. Hopefully, she'd be able to keep this morning from being too much of an interrogation, but she couldn't ignore the questions burning in her brain, either.

"Ireia! There you are!" Suppressing a groan, she looked up from her coffee to see a cross old woman scowling at her from the sidewalk. "What's this I hear about you tossing Doctor Leshin in jail? After everything he's done for you! The man took you in, nursed you back to health, and this is how you repay him? I know you've lost your memory, but that's no excuse for this sort of behavior!"

"No excuse? No excuse?" Weiss stalked towards the old woman, snarling. "He stole everything from me, Mrs. Levinson! He knew, knew, who I was. We found my ID in a box in his backyard for god's sake! And my name isn't Ireia, it's Weiss, Weiss Schnee, and I'd have known that a year ago if he hadn't stolen everything and buried it! 'Doctor' Leshin—and calling him that is a gross insult to the medical profession—tried to 'save me' from the life I'd chosen. He might have gotten away with it if my wife hadn't been one of the Huntresses that arrived yesterday." Weiss clawed at her back for the pistol she normally wore only to find it missing. "So you and your gout and your back and your heart and all your other complaints that just add up to being a cranky old bitch can go fuck themselves!"

"Well, I never!" Mrs. Levinson drew herself up to her unimpressive full height. "Young lady, I can understand your distress, but still, that's no reason to deny this town its doctor. Think of everyone around here. You'll simply have to drop the charges."

"I don't think so." A white-haired woman wearing a longcoat had pulled up in a small white van and stepped out. "Given what I've just witnessed, I'm going to give you the option of leaving on your own two feet, or a stretcher. This is a limited-time offer, so I suggest you leave quickly. As in now."

"And just who do you think you are, young lady?" Mrs. Levinson sniffed.

"Winter Schnee, Weiss's sister." Winter crossed her arms, glaring at Mrs. Levinson. "Your time is running out. And I feel obliged to inform you that while my sister may not remember her time at combat school, I firmly remember mine. Go."

The woman stormed off, muttering something about seeing what the mayor had to say about this, leaving Weiss and Winter standing there, staring at each other. Winter spoke first. "Hello, Weiss. I presume you don't remember what I look like, but we spoke last night when Ruby called. Does my voice sound familiar?"

Weiss nodded, her mind drifting back to last night...

[break]

Ruby took a deep breath before setting her scroll down on the patio table. "Okay, this is your show, and you said you wanted to call your family first. The best person to start with is probably your sister, Winter. You were a lot closer to her than your brother. Your father—and it is ''Father' to his face, not 'Dad'—is still in prison. A few years ago, you and your sister teamed up to take control of the family company from your father, which is part of how he ended up in prison. Winter, that's your sister, acted as trustee for the family company until Whitely, your brother, was old enough. It's currently in the process of control being transferred to him. And your mother is currently in rehab. Again." She paused to catch her breath, looking at Weiss. "And that's the Lien tour of your family history. Questions?"

"Many, but let's get this out of the way first."

Ruby nodded and hit the button to start the call. "Yes, Ruby? What is it? I was just about to step out for the evening." Winter's voice had a crisp, Atlesian accent that Weiss could hear echoes of in her own voice.

"You're probably gonna want to cancel those plans, and maybe sit down." Ruby lifted a finger to her lips, silencing Weiss as she opened her mouth to speak. "We found Weiss."

"What?! Where is she? Why wasn't she found sooner? Is she alive?" Sounds of a door being slammed and footsteps on a tile floor came across the call. "Okay, I am now sitting down. Now start explaining Ruby."

"Okay, remember that easy little job Blake, Yang, and I took clearing out a Lancer nest? Turns out Weiss has been in that little fishing town the whole time." Ruby bit her lip; how to tell Winter her sister was alive but gone? "Winter, there's no easy way to put this: Weiss has lost her memory. She doesn't remember anything from before a fishing boat pulled her out of the ocean."

"Oh my god." Winter's composure broke as she continued. "How is Yang taking it?"

"She's still taking it in, I think. The complicating thing is, well, it looks like the town doctor deliberately hid Weiss's identity when she was found." Ruby cringed at the eruption of sound that came from the scroll.

"WHAT?! I'll kill him, I'll burn that whole town to the ground, no, I'll buy it and turn the place into a giant parking lot. Or even better, I'll have it condemned. That should do it." Winter's voice rose as she spoke, ending as a near-shriek.

"Winter, calm down," Weiss snapped. "We've already called the police, and there's no need to punish the entire town for what Doctor Leshin did. He's already sitting in a jail cell."

"Weiss?" Winter's voice was quavering, hesitant. "Is that, is that you?"

"So they're telling me. And I presume you're my sister, Winter?"

"Yes." There was relief in Winter's voice. "I'm so glad to hear from you, sister. We thought we'd lost you forever. How are you doing? Other than the obvious thing."

"I'm fine." The response dropped from Weiss's lips reflexively. "I'm adjusting, my teammates are being very helpful."

"That's good to hear. Ruby, may I speak to my sister in private, please?" After Ruby had left, Winter sighed. "I know very well the tone in which you said 'I'm fine,' Weiss. It means you're not fine, not really, but you're pretending to be to make everyone feel better."

'I'm... it's just so fucking much, you know? All of this, finding out who I am, meeting my 'wife,' and finding out the doctor I trusted was lying the whole time, all at once!" Weiss shivered. Dammit, this sister-stranger knew her too damn well. Weiss noticed she was starting to cry and wiped her eyes. She would not be weak, dammit!

"Weiss..." Winter's tone was calm and level now.. "You are fine. I'm no psychiatrist but I"m fairly certain that after all of that, feeling overwhelmed is perfectly normal. Now slow down and tell me your whole story, from the beginning. You need someone to talk to, and I do believe that's one of the jobs of an older sibling."


"Actually, I have seen you in some of the pictures Yang showed me last night," Weiss said, nodding. "I noticed your hair, but didn't realize you were a relative of mine."

"Good. Whitley sends his regards and regrets not being able to come himself, but matters within the company demand his attention right now." Winter gestured towards the van. "Most of what Miss Rose asked for is in the van; the rest will follow as soon as Whitley can get it together for us. Oh, and he sent this to you." Winter held out a scroll. Weiss started to protest that she already had a scroll, but her sister shook her head. "Not quite like this one, I wager. This is a combat-grade scroll, made for Huntresses and other people in high-risk jobs. It's the latest version of the model you were using when you disappeared, and already has your contacts and such loaded. Whitley thought you might find it useful."

Weiss took it gingerly. "How did he get all that, especially that fast? Aren't those things supposed to be private?"

"As Yang would probably put it, 'Money talks and bullshit walks.' He probably bribed someone. Whitley can be incredibly focused at times." The sisters shared a dry laugh, then Winter gestured at the house. "Should we step inside?"

"I'm the only one awake right now." Weiss frowned, then her face brightened. "But I do know a small cafe nearby that should be open by now. We could grab a cup of coffee there, and I can show you a bit of the town."

"That sounds like an excellent idea." Winter stepped over to the railing at the edge of the road to look at the town spread below them. "You spent a year here as Ireia, show me her world."

They wandered the sleepy early-morning streets of the town, Weiss pointing out various sights to her sister and introducing her to people they met. A few had heard a version of the same story that Mrs. Levinson had, but after Weiss explained what was going on, everyone understood. One burly man shook his head in dismay, saying "And I was taking my kids to see him without a thought. If only I'd known."

Weiss shook her head. " Don't be hard on yourself. Nobody knew what he did. I might have known if Yang hadn't shown me that picture."

Eventually, they came to a small cafe, perched on the road overlooking the town. "Good morning Ireia. Your usual today? And who's your friend?" the man sweeping the patio called out on as they approached.

"Just coffee for now. And this is my sister Winter," Weiss replied, taking a seat at her usual table next to the railing.

"Got it, coffee's still brewing so that's going to be a couple of minutes. And it's nice to meet you, Win-" the man stopped in mid-sweep as he caught on to what Weiss had said."Sister? Does that mean you know who you are, now? That's amazing!" He beamed, bowing deeply to Winter. "It's a pleasure to meet the woman who's brought a dear friend back to herself. And may I know your name, that I may greet thee properly, fair maiden?"

"It's Weiss, Weiss Schnee, and Winter wasn't the one that ID'd me. That was..." Weiss paused as the words caught in her throat. Who knew one word could be so scary? "That was my wife, Yang."

"You'll have to bring her by sometime, I'd love to meet her. Let me go see about that coffee." He bustled inside to see if the coffee was done brewing.

The sisters chatted for a bit, Weiss talking about her life as Ireia, Winter remarking on some of the differences between that and her life before her accident. The man—Damien was his name, it turned out—set two cups of coffee in front of them. Winter quirked an eyebrow at Weiss's cup. "What is that on top of your coffee?"

"It's whipped cream, Winter, don't try and tell me you've never seen it before," Weiss sighed as she took the first sip."Mm, that's good."

"You used to take it black, that's all."

"I'm sorry, I guess I should-"

"Stop." Winter's voice was firm, but caring at the same time. "Weiss, I don't know how a therapist would put this— and trust me, you're probably going to end up talking to one when you get home—but I am fairly certain that it's 'okay' that you're not the same as you were. You spent a year not being Weiss Schnee. People change normally, you've just changed a bit more than most."

"I suppose." Weiss's eyes were drawn to the horizon, where the sun was just starting to make itself known. Below her, she could see movement on the docks, most likely fishermen preparing to set out for the day, trying to catch the morning tide.

"I'll give you a good example. You and some friends go a bar. What are you drinking?" Winter propped her chin on her left hand, giving Weiss a challenging look as she waited for Weiss's reply.

"Beer, something on tap or in a glass bottle, I hate beer in cans. Why, what would I have ordered before?"

"Up until the Fall of Beacon, you'd have the odd glass of champagne or wine, but only on social occasions. People who drank excessively upset you greatly, mostly due to Mother I would assume. After... after the attack on Mistral Academy, where you almost died, at least the first time, you started to drink a little more, but still stuck to wine. But a few years into your and Yang's relationship, you developed a taste for beer, her drink of choice. And yes, before your accident, you preferred your beer either on tap or in a glass bottle, not from a can. So in some ways, you are still the same person."

"I... I almost died?" Weiss blinked in shock. "How... where...? Was it working as a Huntress?"

"No, you were impaled by a woman named Cinder Fall, who was working for... well, that's a long story that should be told in private. She isn't an issue anymore; Cinder is dead and has been for quite some time." Winter shook her head. "But you were saved by Jaune Arc, I don't know if anyone's mentioned him to you yet. He is another Huntsman, an ally and sometimes teammate of yours." Winter gestured towards Weiss's stomach. "That's where you got one of the scars on your stomach, in case you were wondering. Rather large, matches one on your back?"

A hand crept to the scar without Weiss really thinking about it. "I wondered... it looked rather severe. Leshin said he wondered how I survived it."

"Prompt attention from Mister Arc. His Semblance is boosting the Auras of others, sometimes to an incredible degree. He boosted yours hard and fast enough it saved your life."

"Right." The sisters chatted for a while, Winter filling her sister in on life in the Schnee family before Weiss's departure for Beacon. While Weiss was laughing over a birthday party for their mother that Whitley had accidentally ruined, Winter's scroll rang." Yes?" she answered. "No, she's here with me." Winter looked embarrassed as she handed her scroll to Weiss. "Apparently we should have left a note."

"Weiss? Where are you? Why did you leave?" Yang's voice was high-pitched and worried. "I woke up and you were gone. And whose van is this parked in front of the house?"

"That's Winter's van, some of the things Ruby needs to work on Myrtenaster are in there, and I'm sorry. Winter was here, and we didn't want to wake everyone up, so we went walking and talking." Weiss glanced at her watch with a groan. Had she and Winter really been talking for two hours?

"Okay." Yang's voice slowed down, and Weiss could hear her taking deep breaths before continuing. "Right, well, the police are here now. I guess they flew overnight like Winter did. And you forgot your scroll. Sorry for panicking."

"It's fine. We'll be back soon, and Whitley sent me a new scroll with my old number on it. A combat-grade one, like I suppose I had before."

"Yeah, no fooling, Huntsmen are hard on our gear. But head back soon, okay? We've got four cops and somebody from the District Attorney's office here, and I'm not sure we have enough coffee."


Weiss took a deep breath as she sat down facing the lead detective. He opened his scroll and set it on the table to take notes with. "Alright, I'm Agent Rowan. The first thing I want to do is extend to you the apologies from the Vale Bureau of Investigation for not catching this sooner. He should never have gotten away for this, certainly not for this long. In fact, I've been authorized to tell you that this morning, the first formal charge in your case is going to be filed: filing a false police report. Granted, It's a minor charge, but it's a start, and gives us solid cause to hold him."

"Filing a false police-oh, the report when I was found, I assume." Weiss shuddered, wrapping her arms around herself. Thinking too hard about Leshin gave her goosebumps.

"That's it exactly. He used someone else's photographs when filing the report, misreported things like your height and weight, and omitted identifying marks. That scar over your left eye, for example, is quite distinctive. All of it combined to make you virtually impossible to identify. "

"Probably forgot the one on my stomach too, and I know he saw that one, he remarked on how he was surprised I survived it."

Rowan flipped through the copy of the report on his scroll. "No, no mention of a scar on your stomach. I'll make a note of it."

Yang cleared her throat. "It, ah, the scar on her stomach is on her back, too. Weiss was impaled."

Rowan made another note, then continued. "Now, Mrs. Schnee, is it Mrs. Schnee?" Yang nodded. "Mrs. Schnee, I'm not going to lie, this investigation might be somewhat hard on you. But you're the victim here, and we're going to get to the bottom of this. Are you okay to begin the interview now? Do you want someone with you?"

Weiss nodded. "Let's begin. And... " She closed her eyes, reaching for the first name that came to mind. "Yang, I want Yang to be with me." Yang smiled and sat down to Wiess's right, giving her a playful punch on her shoulder. Weiss smiled as she shoved Yang back playfully. The road back to Weiss Schnee has begun. It's not going to be easy, but it will be worth it.