Story time! So when I wrote this story, I wrote everything ahead of time and just went with the flow of it, I wasn't always checking to see how many words long the chapter was or other such nonsense that a person should care about. If you don't count the notes for this chapter it's not even 2,000 words in length and with that being said, I've also decided on uploading the next chapter today as well. Please enjoy Chapter 17 - Blood and Bonds and Chapter 18 - Venomous Encounter.
"I hope the two of you are ready to have your asses kicked today, because I've had a long morning, and I need to vent," Jade said as she turned around to close the doors to the training room behind her. A simulated field with a river running through the middle had already been loaded and Jade looked out to see Weiss with the twins standing next to the river. "Ms. Schnee, to what do we owe this pleasure? You haven't joined me for a training session in quite sometime. It's an honor and privilege."
"The twins said it might be a great workout for the two of us if we face off instead," Weiss suggested. She looked at them and Ivory shrugged while Rowan nodded. Jade cracked her neck and leapt on the balls of her feet, checking her sports bra over and walking towards the other end of the room. Jade snorted in a short bout of disbelief, readying her daggers and crouching slightly in a battle position. "Ready over there?"
"Of course!" Jade called back.
"3, 2, 1, Go!" Rowan called out. Jade took off towards the middle of the room in a sprint, arriving before Weiss, who had opened a glyph below herself. Jade leapt back, anticipating a glyph, but instead Weiss used it to throw the water from the river into the air, making it impossible for Jade to see Weiss on the other side. Jade knew, however, that the same was true for Weiss, and she quickly ran to her right, running past the edge of the water wall and reaching Weiss in a few steps. Her daggers met Weiss's sword and they locked against each other, Jade's weapons sliding slightly, but maintaining force against Myrtenaster. Jade grinned and shoved Weiss back, rushing her before she could form a glyph and forcing her to the wall.
Jade withdrew a dagger, making an effort to slice at Weiss's side, but Weiss pushed her off and formed a trail of ice using her rapier. Jade slid across it back to the river, where Weiss sent a wave of earth Dust through the arena, causing a ripple through the ground and it raised up like an ocean wave, throwing Jade off of her feet. Jade rolled quickly into the river and let it carry her to the edge of the arena where she came out and dove out of the way of a blast of gravity Dust. Weiss used her glyphs to move quickly across the room and reached Jade, where their blades met again.
"See, there's this thing about snakes. We like to draw our pray in, and then strike!" Jade exclaimed. She slashed out, tearing through Weiss's dress at waist height and drawing the slightest bit of blood. Weiss knocked her back and planted her into the ground with ice Dust.
"Close Jade," Weiss told her. Jade bent back, just missing Weiss's blade, and managed to free herself. She blocked two more swipes before making solid contact with the third, stumbling back towards the river. Jade came to a quick stop as the water blasted up into the air again, and she spun, throwing her momentum. Weiss planted herself on a vertical glyph and fired herself towards Jade, who stood ready for the impact. Weiss's blade sliced clean through Jade, but stopped halfway as Jade became glass and the real Jade stepped out of the decoy, falling to her hands and knees. "I didn't know you could do that."
"I can, but I really shouldn't," Jade gasped as she fell to the floor. "It takes up far too much of my power to use that. I think we can safely call this a draw. Unless you want me to stand up and inject you." Weiss shook her head and pulled harder on her sword.
"No, of course not." Jade waved her hand and the clone shattered and fell to the floor, freeing Myrtenaster. Weiss sheathed it and helped Jade stand. "Well played. Perhaps next time you'll win against me." Weiss left the room first.
"Perhaps," Jade called after her. The door slammed. "I let you win you-"
"Did you get it?" asked Ivory. Jade examined the blade and nodded, holding it gingerly.
"I'm going to take this down to Alice. The two of you protect Weiss like usual." They both nodded.
"Is that true?" Rowan asked her.
"What?" Jade asked.
"That you can't make the glass clones very often?" She grimaced and walked away.
"If I could, I'd use them a lot more often!" He shrugged as he looked at Ivory and they followed Weiss out, meeting up with Dorian and preparing to head back over to the manor. They drove for a short while before Weiss spoke up.
"Dorian, do we have time to go into town for a short while?" Weiss asked. Dorian removed his pocket watch and looked it over, nodding to Weiss.
"We can fit in something extra this evening before we head back home, what did you have in mind?" He asked.
"I want the people to see that I'm trying to help them and make a change. Nightshade is always trying to discredit me. Can we head to the hospital and go to the pediatric ward?" The twins exchanged glances between each other and Dorian. Dorian nodded his head.
"Yeah, why not?" He offered. After going through proper procedure and they had all been given masks, they were allowed into the children's wing. Kids of all ages flocked to the warriors, grabbing them and climbing on them.
"Weiss, did you fight against Cinder? My mom says you're a hero!"
"Can we see your sword?"
"Can you tell us a story?"
"Are your wings real?" They all asked, their eyes large and full of wonder. Weiss smiled as she picked kids up and hugged them, showing them how her sword operated, and signing casts. Dorian smiled at Weiss, amazed at how warm she could be towards these children, when she was typically cold towards her cabinet back at their job. Dorian knew that Weiss wanted to be more like Ruby, but it almost seemed like Weiss was a natural.
"Ms. Weiss, can you tell us about the fight against Cinder?" One of the kids asked. Weiss sat down in a nearby chair and the kids stormed into the room, sitting cross legged on the floor. The nurses watched and smiled, laughing as they exchanged words. Ivory picked up a kid, letting them run their hands through her feathers. She smiled at the little boy, setting him down and petting his head as he ran away towards Weiss. She looked up at her brother.
"Aren't they cute?" Asked Ivory. Rowan's face was expressionless and his arms folded.
"Sure." Ivory turned back to Weiss, who had Dorian sitting beside her with a kid on his lap as she began telling her story.
"Ruby and I were in the tower, waiting for the others, when Cinder began attacking and we were surrounded by Grimm!" The kids jumped slightly and laughed.
"What kind of Grimm?" One of the kids asked.
"All kinds! Creeps! Ursai! Griffons! Tons of them! Our friends showed up, but then we were thrown from the tower, and we fought a Beringel!" They gasped. "Ruby took it down with my help. Then…" Weiss's mind slowly drifted back to Summer Rose and her promise.
"Promise me, please."
Ruby's lifeless body lay draped across Weiss's arms. She had failed Summer.
"I need you to promise me that you'll protect her."
All I want is to be more like Ruby. I want to make people smile like Ruby does when she enters the room.
"I promise, I will protect her with all that I am."
"Then what Ms. Weiss?" One of them asked. Weiss looked at the child for a moment, dazed and confused before she remembered where she was. She shook her head lightly and looked down at them.
"Then we rode back to Beacon on a Giant! It ran so fast! When we got there, Ruby's eyes turned silver and she defeated Cinder with no problem and saved everyone!"
"Awesome!" The kids shouted out.
"That's so cool!" They all dispersed, fighting each other and pretending to be huntsmen and huntresses.
"Look at me, I'm Yang!" One of them called out.
"Well then I'll be Blake!" Another called out. Weiss smiled at the children as they ran around the room and played, her eyes catching Dorian's as she stood. He could see that something was bothering her. But he wasn't sure what it was. Rowan and Dorian began heading out in front of the women and Ivory stopped Weiss.
"Can I say something off of the record?" Ivory asked. Weiss stopped and looked at the girl nodding.
"Of course."
"I think what you did for those kids back there is awesome Weiss. I mean, Ms. Schnee." Weiss wrapped her arms around Ivory who tried to push her away at first, but gave in. She couldn't admit it to anyone else ever, but she cared about Weiss's well being, and not just because Weiss was the person she was hired to protect. She genuinely respected her and everything that she hoped to stand for. Weiss let go of her and Ivory looked at her shocked.
"Thank you Ivory." Ivory nodded and headed out the door ahead of Weiss as they made their way to the car.
"Come on Ms. Schnee," Ivory said. "We wouldn't want you later for dinner." Weiss chuckled as she climbed into the car.
"Of course not." Weiss looked back at the hospital as the car pulled away. That's what she had wanted with Ruby. Love. A child. That warmth.
But it was cold without her there...
Jade opened the door to Alice's room without knocking and let herself in as Alice looked up from her computer. She scoffed and shook her head in disapproval.
"As much as you'd like to think that you run the place Jade, this is still my office and I would still ask that you knock before you just barge in like you normally do," Alice requested.
"You think your asking is going to change anything?" Jade asked with a crooked smile. Alice sighed.
"No, I suppose not. Well, what is it that you want?" Alice stood up and pulled on her lab coat.
"I have Weiss's blood, and I want to use the Dust as soon as possible." Alice looked at Jade, eying her up and down, shaking her head, and leaving the room with Jade on her heels.
"How quick do you expect me to have this done Jade?" Alice asked her.
"I was hoping to test it by the end of the day." Alice stopped in the middle of the hall way and let out a single laugh. Followed by a few more, before it grew into full blown laughter which ended as abruptly as it had begun. "What?"
"Jade, I know that the scientific aspect of all of this is newer to you than the rest of us, but I can't possibly have this ready for you to try out tonight. I could have a very, nonlethal, testing version by the end of the week. That's a very generous test launch. I've never worked with storing aura or semblances before, and I have no prior experience with Dust, so it may take a while." Jade grabbed Alice by the arm and stopped her before they reached the elevator.
"At the very least, by the end of next week?" Jade asked.
"That would be reasonable, yes." Alice freed her arm and proceeded to the elevator. "Anything else?"
"Take off the damn lab coat?" Alice pursed her lips together and shook her head as the doors slid close.
"No."