Chapter 25
The plane soared over the clouds on its trip to Atlas. Weiss, Ruby, Neptune and Qrow were all seated, watching the clouds sail by.
"So how is Atlas like?" Neptune leaned over the seat to talk with Ruby and Weiss.
"Well, it's incredibly modern, and consists of highrise buildings and skyscrapers. Grimm are exceptionally rare there due to the temperatures, so it's citizens could spend their time modernizing to their heart's content, hence their advanced technologies."
"How high are we talking about?"
"Well, eighty stories is the average, although some can be higher than a hundred floors."
"That's… quite high."
"Don't tell me you're afraid of heights too."
"That's not true, I'm fine when it comes to heights. Wait, what do you mean by too?"
Ruby and Weiss looked at each other. They weren't supposed to know that he was afraid of water. After all, Sun had said that to Blake as a secret, who revealed it during the festival. Not that it was obvious during the match, but still…
"Nothing. But once we arrive at Atlas then we might have trouble getting to the archives. I'll have to see if… father can get me in."
"Do you have any beef with your dad?" Qrow asked from behind.
She remained silent for a moment. "Yes. Let's just leave it at that."
"He didn't want you to go train as a huntress. Am I right?"
She nodded. "After Winter joined the military, I was next in line to take over the company. But I wanted to be a huntress, something that he didn't like at all."
"Why not let your brother do it?" Ruby asked. "From what you told me about him, he sounds more than wanting to lead it."
"Ruby…" Qrow sighed. "He's around your age. And leading a company like the SDC is very straining on a person, what with the faunus protests and all the rumours of the company circling around. You don't get to that level of power without some dark and... illegal work behind the scenes."
"Oh…" She fell silent.
"It's fine." Weiss shrugged. "I'll just see if I can get the location from my friends."
"Friends?"
"Hey, I actually do have friends other than you dorks."
"I didn't mean it like that!"
Neptune sighed as he leaned back in his seat. "Hey, Qrow? Can I ask you something?"
"Go ahead."
"Isn't bringing alcohol in a plane illegal?"
He looked at him, before staring at the flask in his hand. Then he shrugged and winked at him. "Nothing they don't know can't hurt them."
"I can see where Yang and Ruby got their way of thinking."
"What was that?" Ruby poked her head over the seat.
"Nothing!" Neptune shook his head. Qrow laughed.
When the plane finally landed and they disembarked, the first thing they noticed was the temperature.
It was COLD. Snow banked up on the edges of the roads which had been cleared, while an icy wind blew by, piercing through what little clothes they had.
"I just remembered what I forgot to bring with me. A god damn coat…" Qrow muttered as they quickly rushed through the snow from the plane to the airport terminal. Neptune wasn't holding up well either, his clothes made for light temperatures at best, having come from Haven academy. Ruby just wrapped her cape and hood around herself, and Weiss was now sporting a coat from god-knows-where.
The airport was busy as ever, but there was a noticeable increased number of soldiers patrolling through the hallways, all Atlas.
As they got their luggage and moved to the arrival's hall, a man waved to Weiss. "Ms. Schnee!"
He was a tall yet thin man with short hair. He looked to be around fifty years old, his black hair already having hints of grey, and he wore the uniform of a chauffeur. Weiss smiled and they shared a brief hug. "Edward, it's good to see you again."
He laughed. "It's wonderful to see you again as well. Our ride is waiting."
They introduced each other while they made their way to the car outside. Edward did have two jackets for Qrow and Neptune, who accepted them gladly.
"Things are rather heated at the moment." Edward explained as the car pulled onto the freeway. "The Allegiance of Steel's borders extend right to the capital, so half of the city is basically Steel territory, hence the soldiers everywhere. The only reason why there is no fighting unlike on the rest of the border is because of the civilian population here."
Ruby and Neptune were looking through the windows at the enormous skyscrapers towering above them. "And I thought Beacon tower was tall."
"Well, Atlas hasn't had a Grimm attack in a very long time, so they're clear to do whatever they want." Qrow shrugged.
They had to stop as a trio of Paladins passed by. All three were the advanced model from the Vytal festival Silver had fought. In the distance from outside the city, gunfire and explosions could be heard as the two militaries crashed, and smoke billowed on the horizon beyond the city outskirts. Several fighters flew low over the highway before breaking off and heading to said smoke. Dozens of Atlesian battleships floated in the distance, and they watched as one suddenly burst into flames, trailing smoke as it slowly and silently fell to the ground, a billow of black smoke erupting from the carcass.
"So that is war..." Neptune shook his head. Ruby, Weiss and Qrow all looked at each other. "Never thought I'd see the day."
They finally arrived at the hotel which they were staying at. As they checked in, they heard a voice.
"Weiss!"
They turned to see a boy of Ruby's age walking towards them. He had white hair like Weiss and was wearing a short-sleeved white dress shirt, the sleeves fastened just above his elbows by navy blue cuffs, each with twin gold buttons. Over his untucked shirt he was wearing a light blue vest, with a black handkerchief in his right breast pocket. He was also wearing a black necktie, navy blue trousers and black dress shoes. He also had the same white hair and light blue eyes as Weiss.
"Whitely." They both looked each other, before hugging briefly. "How is father?"
"He's… worse than before." Whitely admitted, looking down a bit. "He's in a constant mood, and he even lashes out at me over normally small issues. He's been exceptionally cruel when it comes to you lately, and has been trying to get the Atlas military to take back the mines through Winter…"
"I thought you were the new heir to the company?" She crossed her arms. "Isn't this, like, your dream come true?"
"It's… now more complicated. I, in all honestly, don't think I'm cut out for this work…" He sighed. "Nothing's the same anymore. Father's shown me the work he has to do, and it's… brutal." He actually shuddered. "I saw a report from a faunus mine. He sent in a security force and threatened their families to get them to work… after a mine collapsed and killed six of the miners. All they were demanding for was better equipment. He authorised it himself. I didn't think that was how it would be… to have power."
"Of course not." Weiss shook her head, sighing. "The world isn't all rainbows and roses, Whitely. A company as large as the SDC doesn't get to it's place without some dark work behind the scenes. You have to be ruthless, and that's not something anyone can easily do. He's not here, is he?"
"No, he's left the capital. He's trying to meet with General Ironwood. Father's trying to get back the mines he's lost. That's why I'm here, I managed to sneak out." He cleared his throat. "I would like to apologize for my behavior and attitude before you left. I was… antagonistic to your choice of lifestyle."
"That is a bit of an understatement. But… I forgive you." She smiled softly. "So do you have what we need?"
"Room at the top, luxury suite, just like you ordered. And all your equipment arrived. It was quite difficult, but we managed to sneak it inside."
"Thank you. Let's go, shall we?" They all headed to the lift.
Neptune was sprawled out on his bed and Ruby was looking out of the window at the skyline and the distant battle with Whitely, while Qrow was rummaging through the mini bar. He whistled as he pulled out a small bottle and looked at it.
"Atlesian Frozen Sunrise… sixteen years old... now THIS I can respect about Atlas. Great alcohol." He uncapped it and drunk straight from the bottle, head tilted back.
Whitely leaned in to Ruby. "Does he always drink so much? He reeks of alcohol."
"That's what makes uncle Qrow himself. You get used to the smell as well." Ruby shrugged. "It's nice to meet you, by the way. I'm Ruby Rose. He's Qrow, and the cool guy's Neptune."
"Whitely Schnee. Weiss never mentioned you." He shook her hand. "But then again, she never called once after she left. I wouldn't blame her, though."
"Why?"
"Well… I will admit, before she left she was supposed to be the heiress to the company, and it was a bit of a sore spot for me, so I… lashed out at her for choosing to be a huntress. And I had a very… derogatory idea of huntsmen in general, to say the least. I took my father's side then, but now…" He sighed. "I don't think she's really forgiven me for what I said then..."
"It's ok. Weiss will forgive you."
He looked at her. "You really think so?"
"Just give it time. She'll open up to you, you ARE her brother after all."
Weiss walked in from the next room. "Right, our weapons are there, so you can pick them up. Whitely, do you have the information I requested?"
"Yes." He stood up a bit straighter. "All the information on the location of the archives."
"Great. Spit it out, then."
"They're located on the ninety-seventh floor of the Business and Management Center. That is located in Steel territory, however, but I can probably get us in if we pose as SDC employees."
"How does it work?" Neptune sat up from the bed. "Crossing between the two territories, I mean."
"You need identification papers, first of all, to state that you're not a soldier and you have a legitimate reason to cross the border. I have fake papers that will be ready tomorrow. Klein will have them delivered to us in the morning, along with disguises."
"How is he?" Weiss asked.
"He's doing as well as before, but everyone's staying clear of father. He… tends to lash out a lot more than normal, even at him, for seemingly no reason. The faunus staff are... well, he's threatened to dock their pay for simply looking at him weird."
Weiss shook her head. "That's so like him. Always blaming everyone else."
"I'm beginning to see why you went to Beacon and Winter left for the military." Whitely admitted. "Father… is kind of hard to deal with…"
"Well, I think we should go over the plan again. We'll have to lay low until the passes and disguises are here, so explain what's going to happen."
He smiled. "Well, here's how it's going to go."
"Just one last thing." Qrow took a slug from his bottle. "How is your dad going to react? Or did he set this up?"
"He currently has no knowledge, and one of two things will happen. He might, just might, congratulate us for striking at the enemy. Or, well, he'll probably immediately disown me and my sister, more likely." He answered truthfully.
"What about me?"
He looked at him, eyebrows raised. "You'll probably be shot, and your body tossed into a Grimm-infested mine somewhere in the middle of nowhere."
"Enough motivation for me, then." He took a last swig of the bottle and finished it, tossing it into the trash with a clink. "Let's get this plan in action."