Time to finally get back into this.
Chapter 62
"This is Argo One, preparing to land. T-minus five minutes."
"Copy that, Argo One. We are ready for Security Checks"
"Sending information and credentials now. Command please be advised; high-value passengers are onboard. General Ironwood wants them safely escorted to the following location."
"…Received and verified Argo One. You have been cleared for landing. Make your way to strip six and a team will be dispatched to assist."
"Understood. Heading there now."
Several minutes later, at a plain harbor, a large ship docked just like any other would. However, neither the ship nor the dock were "normal". It was an airship, one meant for the transportation of high-valued items and resources. The harbor was owned by the Atlas Military, and only such personnel had the privilege of access. That being said, as the airship touched down, and the doors opened, what walked out was not a group of soldiers of any rank.
Only six individuals exited the carrier, all wearing attire different from one another. The newly reunited Team RWBY, Madara Uchiha, and the Winter Maiden all stepped out and into the open. Unfortunately, half of the group was worse for wear against the—below freezing—temperatures.
"W-Why didn't we get any j-j-jackets before coming here?" Yang asked, trying to keep her chattering teeth closed. She breathed into her hands, seeing the whitish mist that formed.
Blake was not faring any better. Like Yang, she was unprepared. The cat ears on her head were without any kind of protection, and thus seemed to fold downwards as if trying to hide in her hair. Her entire body was stiff, as if she were already frozen, or recently thawed out of ice. Ruby's clothes didn't quite help either. Though they covered her body, they were far from thick enough to be insulative.
"Maybe if I had some scissors." Ruby thought, looking at her older sister's hair. Just a small trim would be enough to enrage her. That, in turn, would create plenty of heat for them all. However, the consequences would be dire. She then looked at Weiss, who hadn't changed her clothing at all. Despite that, she looked as composed as can be.
"No fair." She mumbled just barely audible.
"Hey, it's not my fault." Weiss said, lifting her chin proudly. "I grew up here. A little breeze is nothing."
"It's still not fair."
"How do you think I felt when I was in the desert?" Weiss raised an eyebrow. "If I never developed my glyphs, I might've sweat to death."
"Did you made A/C Glyphs?" Yang asked.
Weiss looked offended at Yang, who in turn smiled dumbly. "Just for that, i'm not going to make any of you fires." she said sternly. The three stared at her, horrified and desperate. Ruby in particular looked as if she was about to beg. Before she could get the chance, Weiss' face softened, and with a flick of her wrist, her threat turned into an offering. Three Glyphs and three respective flames appeared simultaneously, bringing relief to the unprepared. Their gratitude showed on their faces.
The three coveted their sources of warmth, as if clinging to life, unaware of what was approaching. Off to the side, there was a small company of Atlesian Knights.
They looked to be a newer model. Unlike the previous "200" versions, these looked more human-like. They were less rigid, with a more sleek and smooth design. Their legs and arms seeming more attached limbs than simply parts connected to each other. They still lacked human faces, having only a black visor, and their bodies were still colored white. Each carried a rifle on their backs, with a sidearm on their legs.
Similarly to her teammates at the warmth she provided, Weiss' eyes widened when she saw that her older sister, Winter Schnee, was leading the battalion.
"Winter!" Weiss exclaimed, inadvertently letting the fires dissipate. Her older sister fidgeted slightly, looking surprised at her younger sister's presence.
"So, you all are the ones I'm supposed to be escorting." She said, more affirming for herself than a question to them. "Alright, come with me."
"Nice to see you too." Weiss mumbled to herself.
They left the port, surrounded by the Knights as a convoy. Their destination was a group of armored trucks, likely taking them to their next location.
No matter how far they walked, the environment was white. All around them, the snow was piled
"Are you Weiss' sister?" Ruby asked, looking curiously at the woman.
Winter looked at Ruby, and she smiled. "As a matter of fact, I am. I'm her older sister, Winter Eis."
Ruby tilted her head in confusion. "Eis? Did you get married? Oh, or do you come from different moms?"
"I'm not married, no. and we do have the same parents, I changed my last name because I didn't want to be associated with the family anymore. That's all."
"Sheesh. I knew I didn't like your dad when I saw him, but I didn't think he was that unbearable." Yang remarked, looking sympathetically at Weiss.
Winter's eyebrow raised. "Oh, Father visited you while you were at Beacon? How has he been?"
"He hasn't changed." Weiss answered plainly with a tinge of irritation. "Fortunately he didn't stay too long, only for a day or two."
Winter laughed briefly, hiding a smile under her hand. "I see. Now, there are a few other questions I have for you. Namely, why are you and your team accompanying Mr. Uchiha?"
Team RWBY collectively turned to look at Madara, who was unfazed by their gazes. However…
"Wow, and here I thought you only had eyes for one white haired chick."
At Yang's comment, the already cold air seemed to freeze still. She snickered at Weiss, whose pale face turned slightly red. However, she also saw something else and it unsettled her. Though it seemed that nobody else did, Yang stopped grinning and faced forward.
"So… what's your mom like?" Ruby asked nervously. "You never talks about her. Is she worse? Or dead?"
"No, nothing like that. There's just, well, there's not much to say about her." Weiss answered, looking away solemnly. "She's just never been very active with us. Even when i was a kid, she was always kind of distant. I think it had something to do with my father, always trying to teach me what to do and not to do, how to act and what to think."
"Oh, sorry." Ruby murmured.
Weiss sighed, looking content. "All of that's in the past now."
Facing away from the group, Winter smiled relieved. Because of her position and responsibilities, spending time with or even seeing her little sister was difficult. Even when they did meet up, their time together never lasted long. With the distance between them, keeping her from following after their father was next to impossible. She intended to invite Weiss to join the Atlas Military. At the very least, Weiss would have a path to walk, an option that didn't involve their family and more specifically father. However, it seemed that she didn't need to.
Weiss and her older sister sat beside each other in an armored truck. She was in the passenger seat, while Winter drove. The others followed behind in separate trucks. For a while, as they passed around a mountain, there was silence between them. Try as she did, Weiss couldn't think of what to say. Instead, she silently observed her sister.
"Is there something wrong?" She asked, still facing forward.
Weiss slowly turned her head from her sister, "N-no, nothing's wrong. It's just… I don't know what to say. it's been a long time since I got to see you. "
"Two years I believe. I remember watching you board a ship for Vale. You wanted to become a Huntress, to get away from Father. You never looked happier than when you were waving goodbye."
Weiss pouted. "It was… unnerving. I'd never actually been 'alone' till then. The flight was unbearable, and when I finally got there, some dolt nearly destroyed some of my luggage!" she vented, earning a laugh from her sister.
"And what happened after that?"
"Well, that dolt ended up becoming my partner in our initiation." She said, lowering her head. "And then my team leader… and maybe my first friend."
"Do you regret anything? Your initiation, or your time at Beacon?"
"No. Not at all." Weiss answered confidently. "Finding out that I wouldn't be team leader was… it was a shock to me, but I'm fine with it now. I wouldn't give up a single day of my time in team RWBY."
"That's a good answer. I'm glad to see how you've grown."
Weiss leaned back in her seat, simply trying to contain herself. The approval of her sister, her role model, had been received. She wanted to do many things; to scream, cry, cheer, hug, and many many more things. Instead, and with respect to their current situation, she restrained herself. It was far from a good time.
"Speaking of growth, there is something else I'm curious about. I did watch your performance during the tournament at the Vytal Festival. It was rather disappointing. Your coordination with the blonde girl was awful, and you let your lack of unity lead to your defeat. I do hope you've improved since then."
Weiss winced at her sister's words. It stung, especially after the preceding words of praise, but wasn't unbearable. The younger sister had a feeling that if she were to hear it a year ago, it would have hurt much worse.
"That said, the glyphs you used instead of Dust made me curious. You invented them, didn't you?"
Weiss grunted in affirmation. "It's still a work in progress, but I'm close to perfecting it though."
"And what about your Summoning? I didn't see it during the tournament. Were you saving it for the finale?"
"Well… something like that." Weiss said in an uneasy tone. The Vytal Festival was still a time where her summoning was lackluster and incomplete. Using it would've been a waste of time, energy, and would create an opening for her opponents. It was just a bad idea all around.
"Well. either way, I will be finding out shortly."
"...I'm sorry, can you repeat that?" Weiss asked, with a tinge of fear in her eyes.
"When we arrive, I'd like to have a sparring match with you. I want to see how much you've actually grown." There wasn't a hint of sarcasm in her voice. She was completely serious, which only worried Weiss more. Unfortunately, it wasn't something she could refuse. As much as she may have wanted to, something compelled her to accept. "Alright."
"Fair warning, I won't be going easy like before."
Weiss sighed, leaning back as if trying to melt into the seat. "I wouldn't want it any other way."
Looking out the side window, there was a lone car going in the same direction as they were. It was hard to see, as its color was the same white as the surrounding snow. And wWhether because of its distance or its colors, there were no discernible marks on the car. It looked almost like a hallucination. She felt uneasy as she stared at it; something wasn't quite right. No matter the distance, she tried to focus on it.
"Are you actually in a relationship with Mr. Uchiha?" Weiss suddenly heard her sister asked. Without a second thought, she snapped back towards Winter with an indescribable look on her face. Winter glanced at her reaction and grunted to herself. "That's a no then."
"How did you even think of that?" Weiss asked defensively.
Winter laughed, "well, there was the way you reacted. And there was… no, nevermind. Let's change the subject, shall we? What do you think he sees you as?"
Weiss stared at Winter confused, then looked away. "I don't know, something like a friend of a friend I guess. He's always been distant from others, even with Ruby and Yang and they're his sisters."
"I see; that's very unfortunate." Winter mumbled, looking disappointed.
Weiss returned to looking out the window, the only sound she could hear was the running of the motor and the wheels turning against the ground. Nothing was moving except for their vehicle and the two behind them. All there was as far as the eye could see was ice and snow.
"So, remind me again the game plan?" Jacqueline asked bored. "We get to Atlas, see Ironwood and get the Relic, right?"
"Yes." Madara answered plainly.
Jacqueline readjusted herself, inching closer to the Uchiha. "What's after that? I mean, why do you need the Creation Relic so much?"
"Salem and the Tailed Beasts must be prevented from causing trouble. That's what the Relic is for."
"You seem pretty capable against those animal things as is. So you're going to make a weapon to kill Salem?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.
"No. the relics can't be used to kill Salem however, sealing her is a different matter."
"Even if you do, it's just a stall. She'll just break out and continue the fight. Nothing on this planet could be a good prison for that thing."
"Correct." Madara lifted one finger, pointing upwards at the ceiling. He obviously didn't mean the truck, but there was nothing in the sky except clouds…
Her eyes widened and her mouth hung slightly open. Looking as if she was about to laugh, in complete skepticism of what Madara was implying. "Y-you can't actually be serious. That's impossible." Whether he meant that he would throw her into space, or put her somewhere specific, didn't matter to her. It was completely outlandish. Even with the relics, there were limits. They were powerful, but not all-powerful. Perhaps if he had the power of God, but the opposite was apparent. That said, there wasn't a shred of doubt or insincerity or doubt in his voice. Something about his charcoal black eyes radiated that he was dead serious, and that he was to be believed.
"With the relic, I will be able to."
It clicked in her head. Whatever he planned to use the relic for, it was something indirect or roundabout. The relic itself wasn't going to do the trick, it was going to allow him to.
"Well this is well and good, but I have a problem." Jacqueline assumed a more serious tone and face, as if interrogating him. "I know I asked, but why so expressive now? All of a sudden you go from so stone faced that even robots would shiver at, to talking about your secret mission stuff to semi-strangers. Why me?"
His eyes twitched for a moment, before they quickly closed. He hummed softly to himself, before looking back at her. "I suppose it's collateral."
"Is that so… for helping you, yeah?" He didn't respond, she smiled, accepting the silence itself as an answer. "Well, since it's helping everyone, i'm happy to help." she remarked, leaning back into her seat. Shortly after, her smile waned. "Why not tell them though? They're your family aren't they?"
Again, no response, except there wasn't any answer to determine. Even looking at his face, she couldn't tell what he was thinking. Perhaps because even he didn't know for certain.
And just like that, the conversation came to an end. The rest of the ride was in silence, accompanied by maybe a little bit of heavy snoring. The one whom it came from, however, would never be known for certain.
END