The subtle roll of the engine and the pitch black darkness did nothing to alleviate the tension in between the pair of thieves. While they had escaped before being seen, the way Neo had thrown her in to the car tells Weiss that she may have slipped up. It would not be the first time someone was angry with her for making a mistake, but, unlike Neo, her father was not a killer.

Hopefully, the car ride home would give the both of them some time to stew before anything rash happened.

Then again, if what she had grabbed is not what they came for, then she might still be in for some trouble. Hopefully, the night would end without any incident.


It is not often for the serenity of the Schnee manor to be broken by the sound of a scroll ringing. Much less being broken at the bedside of Jacques Schnee. Not many even contemplate the thought of calling him in the middle of the night, much less go through with such a disastrous action.

But alas, some do have the audacity to make such a call. Gripping his scroll with white knuckles, he answers the phone.

"Who is it?"

His personal assistant answers back. A little bit curious, his first thought had been that his earlier clients were unhappy with their last conversation and wanted to annoy him a bit more.

"And what was it that you needed to ring me half way through my sleep to bother me about?"

So his assistant details the situation. A SDC train had been robbed yet again. The intruders snuck in after hours and picked up some cargo and left the White Fang logo on the wall. Not just any cargo, but the one he had assured merely hours ago would be delivered.

What a terrible way to start this week's business.


Weiss jerks forward, the car coming to a sudden halt. What must be Neo's apartment stares back at her. She could have sworn they were going back to her rented hotel room, but clearly other plans were made. Her fear gets a small reprieve, as she sees Neo get out of the car without slamming the door.

After getting out and kicking the door close, she follows Neo inside, carrying the dust containers. Peering around a bit, she lays it down on the table, and takes the seat across from Neo. Before walking in, Weiss did not have any expectations for how this apartment might look. And yet, the decor of the apartment still manages to take her by surprise.

Retro ice cream advertisements adorn the walls, framed like a collection. The checkerboard floor, upon which the chair and table rest on, are spic and span. And the table and chair? Stainless steel and glossy plastic, straight out of a retro movie.

A tap from across the table breaks her out of her reverie. Time to face the music.

"So you fucked up."

Weiss brings her eyes level with Neo's, attempting to steel herself even though butterflies inhabit her stomach.

"I did."

They stare at each other.

"As long as you understand."

Neo leans back in her chair.

"Since you're the one who stands to lose the most if you fuck up, there's no need for me to rub it in. I thought you said there would be only two containers?"

A small breath of relief.

"That would be true."

And a small pause as she averts her gaze.

"I didn't actually find exactly what I was looking for, so I ended up taking a gamble. There were a lot more unmarked containers in there, but these four matched the size."

Neo leans forward, examining the containers laying on the table.

"Any chance they're bugged or booby trapped?"

"No... They just not might be what we came for."

Huffing, Neo grabs one of them and opens it to peer inside. Her face impassive, she hands it to Weiss to take a look.

The matte purple brings a smile to both of their faces.

"Nice going, love, this a pretty big haul for your first job."

"There are going to be more?"

"More jobs? Definitely."

Neo continues after seeing Weiss's face freeze.

"Relax. We're done for the night, it's time to celebrate a little bit, and talk about what we're going to do with the dust."

As Neo excuses herself from the table, Weiss slumps back into her chair. What "we're" going to do with the dust? She had assumed that Neo already had plans for whatever it would be that they would steal. How would she explain to her team why she had a small fortune in exceedingly valuable dust? Moreover, what would she even do with it? And what is Neo going to do...

Thwack.

The paper ball that hit her in the face rolls down in to her lap. Neo stands across the room, shaking her head.

"Seriously, take a break. You were great, aside from the slip at the end. Now tell me what flavor you want."

Weiss looks around for a menu, and then stares at Neo, who points at her lap. Unfurling the paper ball in her lap, she reads off it.

Scoop of Vanilla.

Scoop of Chocolate.

The House Special.

"I'll take a scoop of van-"

How boring.

When was the last time she had even thought about getting something different? Oh yeah, her father had told her to shut up and be thankful she was even getting ice cream. It was all about him, and what he wanted. But she should be over that now. Tonight was a night of trying new things, and she is not about to let that end here.

"Give me the House Special."

Neo grins.

"Two House Specials it is then."


The ride back to Beacon the following morning would be a good time to collect her thoughts, before she attended her morning classes. Neo had informed her that the dust would not be returning with her to Beacon for the time being. At least until Weiss had decided what she wanted to do with it.

The decision would be essentially whether or not she should fence it or keep it. While she does not currently have any need for gravity dust, fencing it does not seem like an option she wished to pursue either. Like most dust, it is a potent tool for catastrophe, and at the moment selling it to a bunch of vagrants did not seem like such a fantastic idea.

While there was a timer on how long the dust would stay stable, it did not mean she is in any rush to reach a decision. There is about a month and a half before the dust has to be moved to a new container. or for the old one to be recharged.

She would have to ask around, either for ideas on how to use it, or for more storage containers.

"You're good to go Miss Schnee," the pilot says over the intercom.

"Again, I'm sorry for making you bring me back at such an odd time in the morning."

"Just doing my job, ma'am."

Walking off the bullhead, she begins to head towards her dorm.

The morning fog hung low to the ground, moderating the vastness and grandeur of Beacon's buildings. The light drizzle cools off the air, battling with the heat from the morning sun. The landing zone devoid of the hustle and bustle typical of the afternoons and evenings when students might be coming and going to Vale. A nice atmosphere to collect her own thoughts, one of the few better to enjoy in the morning.

"So, how did the work for your father go?"

Blake's voice startles her, as she turns around to see her teammate standing there with her arms crossed. She had assumed that Ruby would be the one to pick her up.

"Must you always sneak up on me like that? It makes it feel like I'm about to get kidnapped."

Blake smiles, and the two of them start walking again.

"Well, this isn't a kidnapping, just an interrogation."

Her preparation had been for Ruby and her style of questioning, not Blake's. A little stalling would be all she needs herself in to the right frame of thought.

"I thought that Ruby was going to be picking me up."

"She had a lot more fun last night than she expected, so I told her I'd take care of you this morning."

The conversation pauses for a moment, before Blake speaks up again.

"As I asked before, how did the work for your father go?"

And so...

-Weiss let the lies flow.

"Just a typical inventory of company warehouses. I still don't understand why I was required to be…"


The rest of the week proceeded as normal. School in the morning and afternoon, and a little bit of training with Neo in the evening, sneaking in bouts of studying and hanging out with her team between the two. The questions had stopped pretty quickly after Blake had given her a once over on the day of her return.

What had been surprising, though, is the absence of news of the theft. Surely a theft perpetrated by the White Fang would have collated some media interest? Father would never pass up a chance to scapegoat the terrorist organization in order to promote sympathy for his own company. Had Neo forgotten to leave the mark to be found? She would have to confirm later.

Shaking it off, she returns to eating her breakfast with her team and listening to the morning news.

"This is Lisa Lavender. Last night, police found the body of a Schnee Dust Company contractor who had been reported as missing two days ago. The body was found in an alley in gang-controlled territory after police had gotten a tip from some locals to the neighborhood."

Gangs going after SDC employees? It would not be the first time, but it still strikes her as a bit odd. SDC employees did not tend to roam around gang infested territory, too much risk in getting product stolen.

"The man who was killed purportedly had ties to the Atlas military, and officials are investigating if this may be connected to the case at all. Vale News has contacted the Schnee Dust Company for comment, and were given the following: 'We are very sad to have lost a valuable employee in what looks to be senseless violence, and doing everything in our power to coordinate with local law enforcement officials and advance their investigations.'"

She rolls her eyes, as she hears Blake let out a snort.

"You know Blake, you could technically blame me for that one."

Turning her attention to Weiss, Blake puts down her fork.

"And why is that?"

"Because I wrote that template myself on an internal company memo, a couple of years back."

She lets a bit of silence flow through the table. Her father had given her a lot of monotonous work a couple years back. 'Learning how to write non-committal and vague responses is very important to keeping the company image prim and proper, Weiss.' Nowadays it looked more like lying to her, rather than her father's idea of good PR.

After staring at her for a moment, a giggle comes out of Blake's mouth. Weiss's lips tilt upwards into a smile.

"I see your skill with bullshit began at such a young age. No wonder you're a master at it."

"Well... I have to say, I have nothing on Nora."

"Hey! I don't bullshit!" Nora says, folding her arms in a pout as the rest of the table starts to laugh.

Weiss joins in the laughter until a noise from her pocket causes her to freeze. A ring tone she dreaded hearing. The one that means her father is calling. Attempting to prevent her friends from noticing her panic, she quickly excuses herself from the table.

"I'll be right back, I've got to take this call from my father."

-And she ran off to a private space.

Does he know I did it? How could he even know? Oh god, I shouldn't have ignored all his calls for this long. Maybe I need to call Winter. God knows what he's told her at this point. Okay Weiss, don't panic. This'll be fine, just relax...


The look on Weiss's face when her scroll went off had not been missed by Blake. It strikes her as odd, that kind of panic is not typical for the girl she knew, one who spent most of her days scowling. Deciding to note it down for later, she returns to the conversation the rest of her friends have decided to engage in.

"That's weird," Ruby says.

"What? Weiss running off because her father called her?" Blake says, "that seems par for the course recently."

"No, no, not that. She did that to me before, at the festival, but..."

"But?"

"Her scroll ring tone was different then. Even though she told me she was talking to her father?"

"I wouldn't worry about it too much, Ruby, the Ice Queen has her own daddy issues," Yang says, trying to bring Ruby back into talk about Nora's crazy stories.


Hey y'all, as always you can check out the r/rwby reddit fanfic fridays to see my progress. Review and let me know what you think!