As the sun rises, small rays of sunshine find their way into the dark, ancient room. On a huge wooden bed, Weiss Schnee fails to rest, haunted by nightmares.
A little girl and her parents.
A dark alley.
A man with a gun.
Pearls hitting the pavement.
A tall lamppost shining a lonely circle of light among a world of pure darkness.
Blood flowing.
Then there's a pounding sound. The frightened little girl looks around. Time and time again she has relived this moment, and she has never heard that sound.
The sound gets louder and louder. Feet. Feet running on wood, and the echoes of the manors empty hallways.
The trickling blood stops. The circle of light fades. Her world becomes darkness.
The footsteps get louder.
The dream shatters.
Weiss wakes up startled, her hands tightly grasping the soft bed sheets.
She finds narrowed lilac eyes examining her from the bedroom door.
"Yang. What are you doing here?"
"I am sorry miss, she slipped right past me" Glynda's voice comes from the hallway. She does not sound distressed.
"It's fine, Glynda. You can leave us."
As Glynda's quiet footsteps fade, Weiss gets up from bed. Yang's eyes follow her as she walks to the window and opens the curtains.
"I need a favor." Yang says behind her as she contemplates the manor's flowering gardens. Weiss takes a deep breath.
"If I can help, I will." She says turning to look at Yang. There's something in the lilac eyes. Something new. The look of someone weary but undefeated, and determined to remain so.
"I need you to go on a vacation for some time. And I need you to take Ruby with you."
Weiss turns away from her and looks out the window again, hiding her smile. An unexpected development, but a welcome one.
"May I ask why?"
"I just...need to know she'll be safe for a while."
"And you trust me to do that?"
"Yes. And...it won't hurt to know that you're safe as well."
Weiss hesitates as she looks into Yang's eyes. While usually a blunt person, the detective is not one to open up like that so easily. Her inquiring eyes, however, warn Weiss that there's more to the story than that. Yang is worried, yes, but that's not all of it. There's something else.
Yang is trusting her with Ruby. After everything they've been through, this is something that should be impossible. It's literally too good to be true.
That's when Weiss realizes her mistake from the last time they met was bigger than she realized. She knows. The thought arrives loudly in her head. She knows, or at the very least, she suspects.
"Tell Ruby to pack and come over. I'll figure something out." She says, knowing that if she refuses to go it will spark questions. Yang wants her to leave the city because she knows Blizzard can't.
The distant sound of an ancient vase breaking interrupts her train of thought.
"She's already here, actually" Yang says, cringing at the sound.
"Yes. I figured." Weiss says rolling her eyes. "Hopefully Glynda will prevent her from destroying anything else while I get changed."
Yang nods with a small smile.
"Thank you for doing this Weiss."
"Hey, what are friends for, right?"
"Right."
The two of them stand in silence for a while.
"So…" Weiss begins. "I don't suppose you can tell me why this is happening?"
"It's...complicated." Yang says, looking away. "Things are going to happen...good things, hopefully. But it may draw some unwanted attention."
"If that's the case, then why don't you come with us?" Weiss asks with what she hopes is a reassuring smile. The question makes Yang look at her again, surprised.
"I can't" She says automatically.
"So what, Ruby and I are supposed to be 'on vacation' while you're doing something that's going to 'draw some unwanted attention'?" Weiss says angrily. She knows she can't tell Yang yet, not until it's safe, she needs to convince her she's just Weiss. But the echoes of their last conversation hurt as she speaks the words.
Yang stands silently, examining her. For a second, Weiss is afraid she's about to drop the act and ask the question. Then Yang does the only thing worse than that.
She kisses her.
Somehow, it's different without the mask between them. Weiss' body freezes as her hands try to push Yang away, while her lips do the exact opposite. Eventually, however, the hands win.
"What" Weiss says, looking up to Yang's lilac eyes, which are entirely too close."was that?"
"I just needed to check something" Yang says taking a step back.
"And?" Weiss asks, raising her eyebrow and trying to give her best inquisitive look.
"Results were inconclusive." Yang says with a smirk. "I might have to try again some other time."
"Ha. Don't push your luck Xiao Long. And you still haven't answered my question."
"And I don't plan to. I'm off to work. Take care of my sister."
As Yang walks away, the tips of Weiss' fingers brush against her lips. She frowns as she looks at the other other woman.
"Yang?" She says right as Yang is about to close the door behind her.
"Yes Weiss?"
"Don't take this the wrong way but...what is this taste in my mouth?"
"Ah. That'd be the nicotine gum." Yang says with a shrug.
"Good for you."
"Yeah...I'm starting to think I might have picked the wrong week to quit smoking though."
The door closes. Yang's steps fade away. Weiss stands there, her hand still on her lips.
Bright white lights flood the cave as Ruby rushes down the stairs.
"Ruby! Mind your step!" Weiss shouts behind her.
"This is a terrible idea." Glynda states calmly by her side.
"I know. But she was running around the city in that stupid costume. She would have gotten herself killed."
"No comment." Glynda says with a smirk.
Weiss rolls her eyes and sighs as she reaches the bottom of the stairs.
"It's different. I have actual training."
The cave has changed since Glynda made it hers. With more than enough time and resources, the self appointed caretaker of Schnee Manor took the time to light up most of the main cavern. The huge space is still mostly empty, but there are more computers and forensic equipment.
While most of it is spread around a small area, the most impressive feature is the towering new computer, equipped with multiple huge screens, three different keyboards, and a joystick.
"Another keyboard?" Weiss asks as she looks at it.
"I'll be the first to admit I'm new to this whole technology thing, miss, but it's not my fault you demand I simultaneously check security feeds, run lab tests, and look into police files."
"I'm pretty sure most of that's illegal." Ruby's voice echoes through the cavern. From the sound of it, she's exploring one of the tunnels that connect it to the rest of the cave system.
"Ruby Rose! Come back here this instant! Those tunnels might not be structurally safe!"
"Aww, you're no fun!" Ruby's voice says, getting closer.
Weiss takes her hand to her face.
"It's not suppose to be fun" she mutters under her breath. "You see what I'm talking about? If she goes out there with that attitude, she's going to end up dead."
"So, what do you propose?"
"She needs discipline." Weiss says firmly as she looks at Glynda.
"Well yes, that's obvious, but what...oh. Oh no. I did not sign up for this."
"Glynda…"
"I am not a babysitter. I've had more than enough chasing miss Rose around for several lifetimes."
"She's...older now, I'm sure it won't be that bad."
"Why are we still having this conversation?"
Weiss opens her mouth to answer but is interrupted by the loud sound of Ruby landing on top of the huge computer.
"Wooo! This place is awesome! Did you know there's a tunnel back there" She says pointing to a dark corner "that leads to another tunnel up there? This is the best day of my life!"
"Feet off the computer now." Glynda says, glaring at the girl, who quickly jumps next to them and salutes.
"Yes ma'am!"
"I can tell you two are going to get along famously."
"W-what do you mean?" Ruby asks with a frown.
"Glynda here is going to be taking care of the first stage of your training."
"What?! I came here to train with Blizzard, not the-" Ruby stops mid-sentence as she looks into Glynda's narrowed eyes. "the…"
"Please" Glynda says calmly as two fingers press her glasses against the bridge of her nose. "Do finish your thought, miss Rose."
Ruby doesn't.
"Glynda is more than qualified to train you, trust me, she's seen some action."
As Glynda and Ruby silently glare at each other, Weiss' eyes explore the cave.
"There's something missing here" She says with a frown. "Where's-"
"It's through that tunnel" Glynda says without taking her eyes off Ruby as she points towards a nearby opening in the cave. "I was just about done with it when miss Xiao Long showed up at the gate."
"It's not done then?"
"It's missing the snowflake."
Weiss sighs.
"It will have to do."
Weiss disappears into the tunnel, and Ruby finally breaks eye contact with Glynda to watch her go.
"What's in there?"
"My workshop" Glynda mutters. "Now, about the training. I think we should begin by discussing your diet-"
"Glynda?" Weiss' voice comes from the huge computer, and a screen lights up to show her masked face "The back door is ready, right?"
"Yes. You should be able to see a red button there. It opens it remotely." Glynda says speaking into a small microphone.
"Good idea. Okay then, take care of Ruby." Weiss's words are drowned by the sound of a roaring engine echoing throughout the whole cave. "I'm taking her out for a spin."
Ruby covers her eyes as bright lights shine through the tunnel Weiss disappeared into. Then, just for a second, she manages to catch a glimpse of Blizzard on a pure white motorcycle disappearing into another tunnel.
"Woah." Ruby says, still looking at the now empty tunnel.
Glynda hums behind her.
"She should not be driving it in here. The cave floor is not exactly smooth. Why, I should probably do something about that..."
Glynda looks at Ruby, and realizes she isn't really listening. The girl turns around to meet her gaze with wide, shining eyes.
"Does it come in red?"
The room is nothing like the lavish dining room where they last met. This is a dark, damp basement under a warehouse. Half of the lights don't work and the other half flicker. Once three of the most powerful people in Vale City, they now sit here, surrounded by their lieutenants, waiting. They are afraid.
"You think he'll come?" Schneider asks.
"He'll come. The money is too good." replies Neiman.
The door bursts open.
"Ladies and gentlemen!" A man says as he walks into the room. He's wearing a white tailcoat and a black hat over a ski mask. Most eyes, however, are on the bloodied crowbar he keeps tapping on his shoulder. "We meet at last."
"Mister...Black Hat" Cinder Fall says from the other side of the room. "Please, take a seat."
"It's Black Hat One." He says as more men in similar outfits walk in. "We're all Black Hat."
"I apologize."
"No need. So, why don't we get down to business, eh? You fellas sure look like you've seen better days."
"And you claim to have a magical solution to all of our problems" Neiman says.
"Oh, but I do!"
"Please, enlighten us." Says Cinder with a warm smile.
"It's simple: we kill the Blizzard!"
The comment was followed by a few seconds of silence, broken by Schneider's laughter.
"Well yes, that much is obvious" the fat man said. "That's not a plan! That's barely even an idea!"
"I don't do plans, plans get you caught. You lot do nothing but plan, and yet here we are,aren't we? No, I don't need a plan. What I need...is a bomb."
