AN: I hope you guys really enjoy this chapter. I've been sick and under a bit a of stress but I think it came out well!
I did not fully do word for word with the Battle for Haven just because I felt it was unneeded.
Another chapter that I am fixing! Bare with me!
FeartheKnown and and Guest: You're reviews made me laugh and I love them!
Now! On to the story!
Another Fall
Haven Academy. Another school for hunters and huntress, another battlefield where two sides fought for control. She had spent the past two days pretending that nothing was wrong, saying her sickness was just due to panic attacks from her nightmares. She could tell they weren't buying it, hell, even she wouldn't if it was her on the other end. She would demand the truth and reprimand the person for lying before instructing the girl of her options. At the same time, she was still scared of what would happen if she did. In those two days she had been her usual cold self towards Ruby and pretended that she did not notice the young wolf's advances. Granted Ruby was holding back out of respect for the white haired beauty but she knew the wolf still wanted a chance. Weiss wanted to give her that chance, she wanted to say that she had developed feelings for her back at Beacon but couldn't. She was afraid that if she did, she would hate her. If she told her the full truth of how he drugged her, how he touched her or how her body reacted to his touch. She was afraid the wolf would refuse her love and want nothing to do with her anymore. She felt dirty and unworthy of love, she did not want to see her smile fall. She did not want Ruby to hate her so she ignored the attempts at flirting and just treated her like she always did.
She thought she could pull it off, instead paying attention to her she would listen to Ozpin and Qrow. She found the whole thing of Maidens and Salem strange but after see the power Cinder displayed, she couldn't argue with it any more. She thought that she could take care of her problem and be back at full strength to help her friends. At least that is what she thought until they were called to Haven Academy by Professor Lionheart. They had a feeling it was a trap so they all went together with weapons fully loaded. They were right, Raven appeared and basically opened the door for Cinder and her crew to come in. It all happened so fast, the attacks began and she is fighting for her life once again. Vernal is not giving an inch as she fought against the would be Maiden. She felt her energy being drained, thinking it was from the pregnancy, she pushed through. She panted as she was basically battered by the woman. She was knelt down ready to make a summons when Vernal trapped her weapon then shot her at point blank, breaking her aura. She was then tossed around like a rag doll, barely hanging on, slowly pushing herself onto her knees. She just needed a moment to catch her breath, that's all, just a moment and she would be fine. She would be able to continue and she would change the tides. None of this came to pass, a sudden searing pain shot through her side. She looked and her mind went blank when she saw a glowing spear jutting out from her torso. Her eyes went even wider as the pain enveloped her body while the spear slowly burned away and she fell forward. The last thought in her mind was one she never dreamed of having.
'No.. I can't die.. The baby..' With that, her world went dark. Even with her out the fight had to continue around her.
"WEISS!" Jaune shouted out, running over to his fallen friend. Tears in his eyes as he begged for her to hang on. In her mind she re-lived so much in such a small span of time. She saw her eighth birthday where her father was arguing with her mother once again. She heard him yell at her, saying he was only married to her for the power. She saw all of the lonely birthdays where they never showed up. She saw where her training began, hoping to show her father just how good she was only to be meet with disappointment. She was the heiress and should not bother with such violence. Even when she first used her semblance he did not seem pleased. Instead he reprimanded her saying she should focus on her future with the company. She was upset and ran to her mother hoping to find comfort. All she found was a drunk that pushed her off and called her a whiny child. She was so devastated that her own mother would push her away. Why wasn't the older woman proud of her? Why did she seem so upset with her for going to her for her love?
Her memories then jumped to Winter, the older sister helping Weiss to get better use of her glyphs. It was one of her rare weekends home from Atlas Academy. She was so happy and did everything she could to impress her sister. The older woman gave her a small smile, pointing out where she could improve while making sure her little sister had been eating properly. To Weiss, it seemed like Winter was the only one in the family that actually cared. She acted more like a mother to her and Weiss became so close to her. This did not please their father as he and Winter argued about her influence on her younger sister. Whitley belittled the sisters and scoffed whenever he saw them. The boy was so close to their father and only looked to him with admiration. The boy never did unlock his aura nor did he get the family semblance. He barely had anything to do with his sisters, seeing them as brutes and uncultured. He only spoke with them when he could gain something otherwise he refused to acknowledge his sisters.
The next memory showed her standing in her father's study with her shoulders squared and her jaw set. She was informing him that she had decided to go to Beacon and had submitted her application already. He did not speak at first, instead he stood up and walked around his large desk. He stood in front of his youngest daughter with a deep frown, cold eyes glaring into her own. Weiss kept her chin up, not wanting to give her father a reason to think she was nervous. The next thing she felt was a sting and the sharp sound of skin against skin. She felt tears come to her eyes as it set in that he had hit her. It wasn't the first time but it didn't make it any less humiliating. He told her that she was not allowed and that she would never make it.
"You're a disgrace to the Schnee name." He ground out before grabbing the girl by her upper arm and dragging her out of the study. He took her to her own room and pushed her inside, locking her in the room. She was not allowed to leave her room for two weeks. He had said that only her butler, Klein, was allowed to her room to bring her fresh sheets and food. After the two weeks she was brought back to her father's study like she was some sort of criminal. He informed her that she could continue the training and receive a test. If she past it, he would let her go but if she failed, she would give up and marry a suitor of his choosing.
When that day came, she fought the Paladin with everything she had in her, she even won and now sported her first scar over her left eye. When it was over, she was meet with her father who merely scoffed and said she wouldn't last one year. That's when he told her that she only had one year to prove herself and that when she came home, she was expected to choose a suitor and become a wife. The man had no faith in his daughter and cared nothing for what she wanted. He put her down, saying her face was ruined by the scar and that surgery would be needed to fix it before they could find her a husband. That is when her words to her father shot forward and resonated through her exhausted mind. She was done letting him run her life, her scar was her pride. It showed that she had faced her father and was finally working towards her dream. She was done letting her father run her life, she was done being his perfect little doll. She would no longer allow him to control her. She was going to take charge of her present and her future!
"I will never choose a suitor! I will never just bow down and do as you tell me to do! Not anymore! You are not even a Schnee! Know this, if you force this on me, the moment I take the company, I will divorce him! I will divorce him and keep my kids and raise them better than you ever did! I will actually show them love and support them no matter where they go! I will be a better parent AND person than you ever were! I will ensure this company is equally ran by faunus and human and undo everything you have done! I promise you this! I WILL end your reign!"
Her own voice echoed in her mind until the moment her eyes flew open and she was gasping for air. Jaune tried to get the young woman to calm down but her mind was racing at that point. She couldn't do this, she could not kill this child now that she remembered her promise. She had made her choice but was now scared that her choice had been taken away from her. She looked to her wound to see it healed then to her legs. She did not see blood or fluids, this gave her a bit of relief. The baby was okay, her baby was okay and she would be able to fulfill her promise she made a little over two years ago. With a new light in her crystal blue eyes, and much to the worry of her blonde friend, Weiss stood back up.
"It's mine." she ground out as she caught her breath and everything seemed to come into focus once more. Ruby and Yang were fighting Emerald and Mercury, Oscar or Ozpin, whomever was in control, was fighting the large man from before. Nora was watching over them while Ren was assisting Oscar/Ozpin. When Ren got hurt, Nora went mental, even when she attacked though, Hazel basically manhandled her. When she saw him grab her head and fill the redhead with electricity, only one thought came to mind.
'Wrong move.' And then he went flying through the entry doors and outside. As the battles kept on the girl felt the need to get back in there. In a flash she was in position, a summons appearing and ready to take advantage of Hazel's distraction. A Queen Rapier appeared and shot its stinger out, catching him in the side and dragging him right back in. She gave a small smirk only to at the sight, another thought entering her mind.
'That's how it feels.' She smirked as she regained proper form, her eyes going to the opening in the wall where she was greeted with the familiar sight of the feline faunus. She gave a small gasp, not expecting to see her missing friend come running through the opening. With the addition of Blake, everyone felt a renewed energy to keep going and before they knew it, it was all over. Cinder gone, Vernal dead, Raven and the others had run. Even with all of this, the only thing Weiss cared about was that her team, no, her family was back together. As they pulled back from their group hug, Weiss felt her world spin again, signifying that she was still, indeed, pregnant. Even as she cradled her head with her hand, she could not help but give a small smile. The other three gave her a look of concern, Ruby placed a hand on Weiss's shoulder, getting her attention. Weiss looked into those silver eyes, she still felt that Ruby would turn her down once she told the truth but did not want to hold back anymore. She had someone else to fight for now and nothing would hold her back.
"Are you okay, Weiss?" Blake asked, concern laced her voice as she looked into those ice blue eyes. It seemed to be then that Yang had remembered the first morning in the bathroom and felt like she needed to say something.
"Weiss, are you.. Is the?" she couldn't seem to finish that sentence almost like she was scared of the answer herself. This only furthered to confuse and worry the other two as they looked to each other then back between Yang and Weiss.
"Not here, please. Can we discuss this at the house?" she asked, giving Yang a pleading look. The blonde gave a small sigh followed by a nod, helping her sister off the floor while Blake assisted Weiss. They slowly meet up with Ren, Nora, Jaune and Sun in the middle of the room, all smiling towards each other.
"So.." Sun started, blowing a breath out while a grin grew on his face. "Fun time huh? Seems like we are always meeting during some sort of fight. Can't we ever just go to a club and dance the night away?" This got Yang to laugh and shake her head, slinging her one arm over his shoulders.
"Aw, but Sun-man, that's half the fun! It wouldn't be a reunion if someone wasn't trying to kill us!" Yang was trying to be her regular, light hearted self but there was still the bitterness deep inside of her. She was hoping that, with having everyone together and with Blake back, she could get back to herself. She glanced over to the cat faunus, feeling both happy yet angry that she was there. She still had so many questions, like why she left and where she was all of this time. As well as who those people were that had shown up with her. One thing made her overly happy though, she wasn't going anywhere and that alone told her she would get her answers. Right now, there were more important things to discuss and she was also worried about Weiss. She could tell the former heiress was hiding her feelings as they shared stories and even laughed when Blake said that both her mother and Sun had been caught eavesdropping.
A few hours later, the school had been cleared and Professor Lionheart found brutally murdered, no doubt by Salem, somehow. Once they were released by the local authorities, the group headed home with their new additions. They were all gathering in the front room of the house, talking and just winding down from the night's events. Ren and Kali were helping to pass around tea so they could all sit and relax. Qrow had ordered pizza and was waiting for the knock on the door. While they were waiting, Weiss was speaking with Sun when Ilia passed by her, noticing the symbol on her back, the faunus frowned and decided to voice her concern. She did not like how Sun was so casually speaking with this woman, did he not know who she was?
"You're a Schnee." were the first words out of her mouth, catching everyone's attention. This made Weiss frown as she looked passed Sun to the girl.
"My name is Weiss." she corrected the girl with a raised eyebrow, she despised being referred to by her last name.
"I am well aware of your name! You're family is the reason for the suffering of so many faunus! You care nothing for our kind! You treat us like we are nothing but mere beasts without any intelligent thought. You are the reason my parents are dead!" The Chameleon faunus yelled at the white haired woman.
"Ilia! That's-" Blake began but Weiss merely held up a hand to stop her. She took a deep breath before looking into Ilia's eyes.
"Yes, my family is responsible for that. Actually, scratch that, my father and those he chooses to do business with are. They are the ones responsible for your pain and deserve every bit of your hate. I on the other hand, never saw ill will towards you, just towards the White Fang for resorting to blood shed. I-"
"Well maybe we wouldn't have had to if we weren't sold into slavery with the promise of a better life!" Ilia interrupted. Weiss sighed, knowing this was not going to be easy.
"Unlike my father is any better." She continued. "He has no soul as far as I am concerned. I was never like him, I started training to become a huntress because I wanted to protect those of Remnant from the Grimm. This includes both human and faunus. It's why I went to Beacon instead of Atlas, I wanted away from all of that. Yes, I was sheltered but life has a cruel way of waking one up to the truth. Mine came when I found out that my father only saw me as a possession instead of his daughter and I was easily disposable, after all, I do have a younger brother." she paused for a moment to let that all sink in. Ilia looked like she was ready to speak again but Weiss would not give her that chance.
"This became even more apparent after I came home from Beacon. I came home to find out that my father had married me off without my consent. I tried to fight it but he said it was already done. He had forged my signature and paid off the clergy to say he witnessed the vows and that I had not other options." At this point, Ghira looked like he was ready to punch a hole through the while. Kali quickly came over and handed Weiss a cup of calming tea. The young woman taking sip and thanking the older faunus.
"That's when it got worse for me. I tried to speak with the man in private, the one he married me off to, try to see if we could work something out to get us out of it. I should have known better, he played nice at first, then, the moment Klein left the room from dropping off tea, he attacked me. He used his own semblance against me, we fought for what seemed like hours before he finally overpowered me. That night, he took away the last thing I had control over, my purity. From that point on, he would continue down this line, he locked me away in my room, doing what he wanted with me when he wanted. There were times when.." she paused as tears came to her eyes and she shook. Sun went to comfort her when she flinched at the mere touch. Blake was up in a flash, gently shooing him away as she pulled Weiss into a hug while Kali rubbed the younger woman's shoulder. Weiss wiped away the tears and let out a ragged breath. At this point, Ilia looked like someone had sucked out all of the fire she once had, her eyes cast down in shame at her own actions.
"There were times when, he touched me, that my body responded to him. I didn't want it, more than anything I wanted it all to stop but my body still reacted to his touch. I felt so dirty and hated myself, asking why I couldn't make my body stop responding in kind to his touch. That's when he started to inject me with drugs to make me 'enjoy it' as he says." she put air quotes around, enjoy it. "This continued for months until, until I kept waking up sick. It was in that moment that I knew and so did he. I'm pregnant and with that, I finally got the strength to leave. I have been struggling so long with what to do. I even made Yang keep it a secret but I don't want to hide it and.." She bit her lip as she knew this next part was going to change how the others reacted to everything but she didn't yet know how.
"I have decided to keep it. I made a promise a long time ago, that if I had a child from a forced marriage, I would keep it. I would divorce and raise the child with love. Something I was never afforded." she then looked over to Ilia who had tears in her eyes at this point. "My father's cruelty is not towards just faunus, we are all expendable to him. All he cares about is him and my brother who is like him in every way. If he thought it would benefit him, he would have me killed without even shedding a tear. Humans and faunus are all pawns for him to use. I am so sorry that you lost your parents but I can make you this promise."
The former heiress approached Ilia, starring her dead in the eyes as she made her next statement. A statement that would shock all in the room except for one certain cat faunus.
"Once I take control of the company, I will tear down everything he has ever worked for. Ensure a fair and safe work environment for all, including faunus. I will make sure that all faunus get equal treatment as though they were royalty and I will bring about a change. A change where Blake and I stand as the co-owners of the company. We will ensure that there are always two owners to the company, one human and one faunus, this way, everyone is always equal. This is something Blake and I, both, came up in Beacon and I can promise you, it will happen." The fire in her eyes told Ilia and everyone that she was serious.
"Schnee Dust Company will one day end and Atlas Dust Company will be its successor."
