January 25th
Schnee Family Manor
City Of Atlas
Atlas
Downtown
11:28 PM
"Unbelievable. Absolutely unbelievable." Jacques said as he paced in front of his daughter who hung her head in shame, her hands folded in her lap. "Apart from the fact that you clearly have learned the worst traits exhibited by Emmett, do you have any idea what your stunt cost us?"
Weiss looked up, irritated by his words. "I -"
"And don't think I'm just talking about lien here!" Jacques snapped, struggling to describe what he had decided to be her misstep. "Our reputation! Our...our…"
Hesitating, Weiss summoned as much courage as she could before speaking. "I want to leave."
"I beg your pardon?" Jacques demanded, glaring at her though she forced herself not to shrink back this time.
"I said I want to leave," Weiss told him, shaking somewhat as she spoke. "I don't want to stay here anymore! I don't want to stay in Atlas anymore!"
"Young lady, I don't give a damn about what you want!" Jacques told her, his anger destroying all of his attempts to be subtle. "This isn't about you! This is about the Schnee family name, and your apparent insistence on dragging it through the mud!"
Shaking still, Weiss suddenly stood up to her full height. "I have done nothing but uphold the honor of my family name!" She snapped, invoking her aunt Cristal's favorite defense against him. "A name that you married into."
His anger taking him over, Jacques slapped her hard across her left cheek before glaring at her while she gasped and stared at him almost incredulously, her hand on her cheek. Steadying himself, Jacques's voice was not only eerily calm, but also intimidating.
"This behavior of yours is incredibly disappointing. You couldn't possibly understand the lengths I've gone to in order to keep this family where it is," He said, scowling at her. "Acting like Emmett is bad enough in its own right, but do you honestly think that running off like your sister is going to make the Schnee name stronger? You're wrong. Siding with her and the rest of them only divides us."
"I'm not siding with anyone," Weiss told him as he rolled his eyes and began to walk away. "I'm doing what I feel is right and that does not include wasting my time up here with these clueless people in Atlas. The Schnee family legacy isn't yours to leave, it's mine, and I'll do it as a huntress."
Stopping and slowly turning to face her, Jacques moved to stand in front of her, glaring, as he spoke again. "No, you won't. You're not leaving Atlas. You're not to leave the manor grounds unless I specifically allow it. You are going to remain here, out of sight and out of trouble, until you and I come to an agreement on your future."
"What?" Weiss found herself at a loss for words, horrified by what he was saying.
"Your presupposition that you can simply have whatever it is you want is a clear sign of our failure as parents," Jacques said, already thinking of what he was going to say to his wife soon enough. "But from now on, I'll be giving you the full attention you require…starting by keeping you where I can see you."
"You can't just keep me from leaving!" Weiss protested.
He smirked. "I can, and the staff here will make sure of it."
"So now I'm just your prisoner?" Weiss asked in horror, knowing that meant Emmett and Emmeline would never be allowed near enough to her to be able to help her out.
"You are my daughter, you're a child," Jacques said as he walked away, continuing even while Weiss continued to protest and followed him angrily. "And children are grounded when they misbehave."
"This is only going to make things worse, father," Weiss told him as she straightened herself at her full height again although she was still considerably shorter than him either way. "People will ask questions, they'll want to know why the heiress to the Schnee Dust Company is suddenly nowhere to be found! And you know Emmett and Emmeline will ask questions and aunt Emmeline is the epitome of 'friends in high places'. If she makes one comment to Elizabeth, for example -"
"Elizabeth Morell is highly unstable, for one," Jacques replied, struggling once again to keep his tone even as he turned to face her. "As for Emmett and Emmeline, they won't be anywhere near you. I assure you of that. And, in regard to the public asking questions, well, that is why you are no longer the heiress to the Schnee Dust Company."
Temporarily stunned, Weiss took a step back and stared at him, clenching her fists. "Excuse me?"
"Clearly," Jacques began as he narrowed his eyes. "The trauma you endured at the fall of Beacon was too much for you, which is why you have generously revoked your claim to the company and its earnings and passed it on to your brother, Whitley."
Shaking, and feeling sick as her fists only tightened, Weiss closed her eyes and took a deep breath as she unclenched them, finally opening them as she slapped him with equal strength as he had to her. "I don't care what you think!" She yelled. "I'm not your pawn!"
Jacques grabbed her wrist and began to shout as he pushed her to the ground. "You are more deranged than I thought, aren't you? You're just like her."
"Mother?" Weiss suggested angrily, pushing herself up the floor and her eyes flaring. "Because you're the one who ruined her life! I wish General Ironwood were my father, hell I wish Emmett and Emmeline were my parents -"
"This is more than enough proof of what I've thought since you ran off to Vale! " Jacques shouted at her. "Ashlynn! You are exactly like her when she was eighteen and look where she ended up!"
"I am not Cinder!" Weiss shouted back as he left the room. "I've never been anything like her and I never will be!"
Shaking his head as he walked out, Jacques half tore the door open as he stalked out. "It's time to wake up and face reality."
As soon as he was out the door, although he noticed Whitley had been obviously waiting and eavesdropping, he didn't acknowledge his son and rather made his way down to his and Willow's room to tell her what had happened and how their middle child was becoming nothing more or less than her twin sister. In the same span of several minutes, Weiss tried to accept and understand her emotions but she smiled a little to herself when she realized that she hadn't simply bent to his will this time. Walking out into the corridor, her fists clenched once again, Weiss glared at her brother who was moving down the long corridor in the opposite way than Jacques had.
"Whitley?" Weiss demanded, her suspicions rising again.
He turned around with a faint smile. "Yes, sister?"
"Did you know about this?" Weiss asked him, walking towards him and crossing her arms.
"About what?" He inquired as innocently as he could manage.
"You never liked Winter," Weiss reminded him once again. "You never liked me, but you've been nothing but supportive since the moment I came back."
Whitley sighed, not having wanted to have played his father's game but also not wanting to have unleashed his wrath in the way that his sisters had done so many times. "If being kind to my big sister is some sort of crime, then I suppose I'm guilty."
Weiss's eyes widened in both hurt and recognition. "You...wanted this to happen."
Leaning forward, his innocent smile fading, Whitley replied. "It's foolish not to do as father asks. You know that Weiss. I'm not brave like you and Winter are and I do what I have to do to avoid being slapped like the two of you have been so many times."
"I can't believe you…" Weiss said, her voice revealing her feelings of slight betrayal.
"Don't worry Weiss," Whitley said, noticing Jacques coming back his way. "The Schnee family name is in good hands."
A few moments passed in which she watched him as he walked away but she quickly ran into her room, slamming the door, and collapsing face down on her bed as she began to cry. She was bothered that she had been slapped, though that was something that always bothered her, but what upset her even more was that her father seemed to think she was anything like Cinder, the psychotic bitch who had done nothing but cause pain that reverberated through the whole family. Emmett and Emmeline had both almost died at her hands, Willow had been shattered by the revelations that happened just after her second child had been born, and Cristal and Ozpin had been scarcely heard from since the Fall. Lifting her head and tightening her fists, Weiss chose to let determination overtake her as she closed the curtains and shifted around the things in her room as much as possible before she opened her long, silver box that contained Myrtenaster and several vials of Dust. Posing with her blade once, Weiss smiled weakly to herself before setting it down and picking up her scroll to call Emmett, hoping that he would be able to do something.
"Weiss?" Emmett said with a yawn as he picked up almost immediately. "It's almost two in the fucking morning, what is it?"
"You'll probably hear about this soon enough," Weiss began with her voice shaking again. "But my father revoked my status as heiress -"
"He did what?" Emmett demanded in shock before letting out a low sound of irritation. "Sorry, what else happened."
"…Emmett…" Emmeline groggily said in the background. "…What's going on?"
"Jacques revoked Weiss' status as the heiress to the SDC," He murmured, and, even over the line, Weiss could her aunt start swearing under breath. "Why he did is beyond me, but –"
"He…" Weiss hesitated, knowing the topic to be sensitive to the entire family, herself included. "He said I'm exactly like Cinder…although he more specifically said I'm exactly like 'Ashlynn'."
"Oh, fuck him," Emmeline said. "You're nothing like her."
Emmett sighed and, based on the shuffling over the line, took his scroll back from his wife.
"Weiss," He said gently. "I'm assuming you want me to do something to try and help you?"
Weiss sighed in relief. "Emmett -"
"Give me a few days, maybe a week or two," He told her, his voice growing determined. "And I'll handle Jacques."
February 6th
Mistral
8:39 PM
"Oh, come on!" Ruby said, looking the rest of Team RJNR as they finally left the village of Oniyuri. "I mean, setting up camp here for a little while wasn't so bad. We managed to do some hunting and gathering."
"I still feel incredibly disturbed and mildly violated by this place," Jaune said as Nora elbowed him in the chest, somewhat playfully. "Sorry, it's just -"
Suddenly sensing something as the team was beginning to make its final exit out of Oniyuri, Ren put his hand out to stop Jaune, Nora, and Ruby from continuing onwards. Closing his eyes and focusing, Ren drew his weapon and the others followed his actions as a man in a rather bulky coat charged towards them though the man quickly leaped over one of the walls. He was more than ready to engage the young team in combat. Removing his weapons and laughing eagerly, the man moved himself to attack Ruby but Ren intervened this and his weapons crashed against the man's claw like blades. Attempting to kick and shoot the man, Ren found himself muttering traditional Mistrali swears as the man dodged and he continued to attack and parry with him until the man managed to knock him back about two or three feet.
Once again targeting Ruby, the man found himself and his blades fighting against the High Caliber Sniper Scythe. In the time, despite her strength, he managed to kick her back. Forcing her balance steady to remain upright, Ruby began to clash Crescent Rose against his weapons once again though when struck her right arm she let out a scream of pain to which he sadistically laughed. Continuing on regardless of this, Ruby leapt back and swung at him with her HCSS. The man dodged and struck the body of Crescent Rose while he moved and her red aura shimmered across the area of the strike. Climbing to the top of one of the buildings, Nora began to attempt to jump onto the man and she did succeed in smashing him with her hammer. It was a pity that he quickly recovered and went to attack Ruby again. Stepping in, Jaune attempted to block him but the man simply jumped onto his shield and grinned though he didn't know that Ren was aiming his own weapons at him and Nora attempted to beat him with Magnhild for a second time. Evading both Ren's shots and Nora's attempt to beat him down again, the man jumped the top of one of the narrow, desolate buildings and looked down on Team RNJR, his feet on the wooden frames that were to each side of him.
"We're not looking for a fight!" Jaune told him, holding his sword steady.
"What do you want?" Nora demanded though she was more focused on Ren's reaction to him.
"Who are you?" The level headed boy asked.
Leaning forward and dropping down from the tower, the man landed in front of them before pointing to Ren first. "Who I am matters not to you. Or you," He continued, pointing to Nora. "Or…" Cutting himself off and looking at Jaune he pointed to him. "Well, there are a few reasons why the you might interest me…"
Jaune gasped, the night of Pyrrha's death returning vividly to him. "What are you after?"
"No, I only matter to you," The man said, pointing at Ruby while her teammates looked to her and she tilted her head in confusion.
"Me?" She repeated.
The man broke down into maniacal laughter. "You...you haven't the slightest clue, do you? Oh...how exciting this must be…"
"What do you want?" Ruby snapped and he reacted dramatically.
"Oh! The rose has thorns!" He said, pressing his hand against his forehead. "My little flower, I'm here to whisk you away with me!"
"No," Ren said, stepping in front of Ruby. "You aren't going to touch her. You're probably a pedophile and, at the very least, you're dangerous."
"Yeah!" Nora added. "What if she doesn't want to go with you?"
The man stared and scrunched his lips before responding. "Well...I'll take her."
Stepping over in front of Ruby Jaune raised his shield. "We're not going to let you do that."
The man growled happily after opening his eyes and giving them a dark grin. "Good."
Tyrian moved quickly to attack Jaune from behind while Ren shouted out for him. "Jaune!"
Deliberately shooting Jaune's shield to hit the man and the man covered his eyes with his arms before cartwheeling onto Jaune's shield and spinning against it while Ruby went to face him as he landed though he kicked her to the side and she had to use Crescent Rose to steady herself. Seeing that he was targeting Nora next, Ruby grinned devilishly and shot Nora with lightning Dust that passed over the man's left shoulder. Sensing it, he turned and Nora fell to the ground when it made contact with her and she dropped her hammer to the ground in doing so. Viewing such as an error, the man stared at the girl in surprise before laughing.
In that moment, the others were watching and waiting for Nora's semblance to take over. Commenting sarcastically, the man lost the amusement that had just possessed him moments before upon sensing something while a charged Nora Valkyrie ran at him and hit him hard with Magnhild and the others covered their eyes in result to the air and dust with Jaune and Ren protecting themselves with Jaune's shields though the man was unharmed and his scorpion tail was revealed as his coat flew away and he used it to block Magnhild before kicking her in the face and jumping up onto one of the roof tops.
"He's...a faunus?" Ren observed in surprise.
"What is this about?" Ruby yelled. "The White Fang? Roman Torchwick?"
"Plastic soldiers and pawns," The man scoffed. "My heart and body belong only to our goddess."
"Cinder…" Ruby hissed.
"Hmph," The man snorted in indignance. "Only in her wildest dreams."
Joining the fight once again, the man used his tail to send Crescent Rose down but Ruby counterd and didn't lose her grip - steadying herself to attack furiously until he managed to knock her backwards into Nora. Both girls on the ground, the man knocked Jaune back while Ren returned to the fight to attack the man again. He got shoved to the side and leapt away as the man ran at Ruby and Nora as they got off the ground. Reaching Ruby, he sent a right hook to her face and a left blow into her torso which activated her aura in both places and, swinging his tail to knock her back, she flew back about three feet while he rushed at her before she managed a landing. Still in the air, he kicked her roughly in the abdomen.
A crow flew directly into the fight and transformed into Qrow Branwen who, even after landing, continued to run at the fight. As the crazed man approached Ruby with his stinger raised and Nora comforting Ren, and Jaune stared at both scenes in pure horror as the man began to laugh and attempt to strike the girl with his tail. However, this attempt was futile to the nth degree and Qrow burst through the building and stood between them with his hand on Harbinger behind his back. The man's stinger ran into the blade and clipped it though he began to giggle nervously when he saw Ruby and Qrow making eye contact and smiling at each other.
"Hey," Qrow said, still smiling at his daughter and holding Harbinger at the ready.
"As I live and breathe, Qrow Branwen," The man said as he pulled his tail back. "A true huntsman has entered the fray!"
Standing up, Ruby set Crescent Rose on its end while her father glanced back at her and she spoke to him.
"I don't know..." She said, grimacing as she glanced at Tyrion. "This guy's weird…"
"Look, pal," Qrow said, facing the man again. "I'm not sure who you are, but you need to leave my daughter alone."
The man laughed. "Why, friend, my name is Tyrian...and I'm afraid that is not possible. My assignment from Her Grace was to retrieve this young girl. So, that is what I must do. One does not upset the Queen."
"Yeah, and one also does not simply walk into Mordor," Qrow snapped, looking to his daughter and feel protective. "So, don't you dare lay a hand to her or her friends unless you want to know what the depths of Mordor feel like."
"Queen?" Ruby asked.
"Salem," Qrow replied.
Ruby stared in confusion. "Who?"
"Hmm…" Tyrian began with a smile and crouching. "I think we've had enough talk now, don't you?"
"Took the words right out of -" Qrow started though he stopped as the man ran at him and they damaged the roof as they began their altercation. The members of Team RNJR began to move towards the fight though Qrow stopped them. "Don't come closer!"
"Fine!" Ruby responded as the men continued to exchange harsh blows.
Climbing to the top of a building and waiting for a chance to shoot Tyrian, Ruby kept Crescent Rose tightly in hand though both he and her father were moving too quickly for her to safely get in a clear shot. As she watched, she saw Tyrian using his tail to disarm Qrow and she took advantage of this moment to shoot at him from her temporary perch but Tyrian deflected each and every shot that she fired with his tail. Deciding to punch Tyrian in the face, Qrow sent a harsh kick at the crazed man and beat him down long enough to casually remove Harbinger from the wall. In the time in which his back was turned, Tyrian took the chance to strike that the huntsman evaded and jumped on top of Harbinger before shifting it to its fully unfolded scythe. The two of them parried upon the roof until Tyrian slunk into the building and used his tail to drag Qrow with him. Unable to let herself watch her father put himself in danger, Ruby ran towards the building as Qrow burst through the wall and landed with his weapon's blade embedded in the ground and perching atop of it although his damaged red aura shifted across him twice. Tyrian flew out of the building, his own aura showing signs of damage, and Ruby jumped between them as they began their fight again and deflected Tyrion's claw like blades with Crescent Rose.
"Ruby!" Jaune screamed.
Tyrian smirked ironically. "Do you wish to be taken?"
"No!" Ruby shouted. "But I won't stand by and watch someone get hurt!"
Moving into attack Tyrian alongside her father, Ruby and Qrow began to clash with him again and he almost stabbed the girl with his stinger that Qrow just barely blocked. "Ruby! What did I say? Get back!"
"This is my fight too!" She insisted as she attacked him though he was blade to blade with him.
"No, it's not that," Qrow began, panic beginning to rise in him as he recalled the day her mother had died. "It's -"
Not paying heed to his warning, Ruby began to attack again and Tyrian flipped towards her - knocking her back with a kick from both of his feet. The girl slid closer to the building and regained her ground though one of the wooden beams supporting the roof were so shaken and weighty that one of the heavier ones broke and began to fall onto her. Slicing it in half to cause it to fall to two pieces on her sides and not touching her, Qrow saved his daughter before pulling her into a short, tight embrace. Letting her go, he took in her smile of gratitude and affection before raising his head to look at her though he suddenly gasped in pain as Tyrian's stinger sliced into his abdomen. The man began to laugh but the others stared in horror for a moment before Ruby angrily cut off the rest of his stinger from his tail. The stinger bounced, releasing venom as it did so, and he reeled back, screaming in pain before staring at her in fury.
"You bitch" He shouted, stepping forward though terribly off balance and the others blocked his pathway to the father and daughter. Awkwardly moving forward though not engaging, Tyrian spoke to himself before running away. "She'll forgive you."
Collapsing to one knee and clutching his wound, breathing unevenly, Qrow kept his hold on his weapon as his daughter ran to his side and immediately started to speak in concern. "Dad! Are you okay?"
"I'll be fine…" Qrow said, still uneven, trying to remember the last time that she called him that. "He just grazed me."
"Who was that guy?" Nora asked as he removed his shaking hand from his abdomen to reveal the blood staining it.
"How did he…" Ruby began, her voice shaking. "How did he know where we were?"
"How did you get here?" Ren asked. "How did you know where we were?"
"Why are people after Ruby?" Jaune added in panic.
"Dad?" Ruby began slowly and staring at him in concern before hugging him tightly. "What's going on?"
Breathing heavily, clutching his abdomen, and groaning, Qrow looked at her in the same concern that she was looking at him with.
"What's your favorite fairy tale?" He finally said, repeating the words Ozpin had spoken to him so many years before.
February 17th
Schnee Family Manor
City Of Atlas
Atlas
Downtown
9:34 AM
"Fuck you," Emmett said, storming into his brother in law's study with his sword attached to his side before crossing his arms as he stood in front of the man who simply set down what he was reading on his scroll and eyed the younger man irritably. "Taking away your daughter's status in the way that you did, what's wrong with you? I don't blame her for slapping you across the face after you told her she was no longer the heiress to the Schnee Dust Company. The only reason it didn't bother me with Winter was because she did so willingly. She gave up her title because she wanted to join the military, which I'll have you know -"
"Emmett, I do not need, nor do I want, your input on how to parent," Jacques said, glaring at the younger man. "Especially from a man who is so preoccupied with attempting to murder his sister that -"
"Ash isn't my sister!" Emmett snapped, folding his arms more tightly across his chest. "Okay, and Cristal and Oz are going through a hell of a lot right now, while Willa is only married to you still because of appearances -"
"Yes," Jacques agreed, causing Emmett's eyes to flare.
Emmett was silent for a long moment before he spoke again.
"Before you altered it into your study, wasn't this my father's preferred drawing room?" He said calmly. "The same drawing room, if I'm not wrong, where his assets were distributed."
"You never really have deserved your wealth, have you?" Jacques snarled. "There is a reason that your father left the company to me and not you or Cristal -"
"There are two reasons," Emmett told him, trying to force his words to be steady. "The first is that he knew that I wasn't particularly inclined towards running a company while Cristal was pre-law, and the second is that you manipulated my already volatile, dying father -"
"I did not manipulate Nicholas into doing anything," Jacques replied, biting back a more judgmental response. The two men were both well aware of Nicholas' short temper and they both held a bitterness towards the long since dead man for it. "Do not mistake the past -"
"You really do live in a world of ignorance," Emmett commented silkily with a smirk, attempting to break the older man down. "Jacques, do you know what reflecting means?"
The older man scoffed, his eyebrows twitching. "It means that you put so much faith in history that you have found yourself unable to see past the bridge of your nose even with those glasses of yours."
"Yes, well," Emmett said, intentionally trying to be harsh. "At least my smart appearance matches my actual intelligence while yours does not."
Jacques stared at him in shock before replying, his voice deadly. "What did you just say?"
Emmett forced himself not to laugh. "You know exactly what I said and why."
"No, actually, I don't," Jacques responded with a glare and a challenge rising in his voice. "Do tell."
"You told her she's exactly like Cinder," Emmett reminded him and his eyes flared, first out of shock and then out of anger. "And she is nothing like her! Emmy has said and will say the same thing to you, and, I'm sure, if you step too far then Cristal and Oz will step out from their recluse too."
"On the contrary," Jacques said, standing up and towering over the younger man's small stature. "Apart from the martinis and the occasional cigarette here and there, she is acting exactly like Ashlynn did at this age. She was petulant, she was -"
"Weiss is not petulant, she's finally making her voice heard," Emmett countered with his tone still harsh. "And it's a good thing, because she was terrified of you for her whole life and, now, she's being honest. She's finally standing up for herself and what she believes, so why don't you go -"
"Emmett Arthur Schnee!" Jacques snapped, his eyes flaring again. "You are just as bad as Ashlynn!"
The younger man's eyes widened in horror and his eyes began to tear up. "How dare you!"
"Apart from the killing, of course," Jacques said. "You are exactly like her. Petulant, self-righteous, jaded not to mention that you are manipulative and -"
"You sound like you're describing yourself," Emmett replied venomously. "Take a look in the mirror."
Jacques went to slap Emmett but the younger man caught his wrist before he could slap him.
"You really don't understand what I've done for this family," He snapped. "Do you?"
"What have you done for this family besides destroy it?" Emmett asked him, hissing. "Maybe if you weren't such a -"
Wrenching his hand out of Emmett's grip, Jacques glared. "Why don't you mind your tongue and accept the fact that you are nothing more or less than a jaded huntsman who -"
In a swift, sudden motion, Emmett punched Jacques in the face, his wedding ring hitting the older man squarely in the face before Emmett narrowed his gaze, shaking his head.
"I didn't want to do that," Emmett said, sighing heavily. "All this time, up until now, I've been trying to see a shred of good in you and I can't anymore. You know, I've never cared how things work. If they work they work and if they don't I pay someone to fix it. More time and more money can solve almost all of your problems in life, but I can't fix your issues. You're just a terrible person. That's it."
Jacques rolled his eyes. "And here you are, with your siblings and wife, slandering your own family name and ruining the lives of others."
"No, I'm not," Emmett said, placing a hand on his sword. "Because, unlike you, I put my family first and I actually understand love. Emmy and I have done the best we can…and I just hope that none of our kids end up like you."
Jacques scoffed. "You care too much about people. That's why you would have been a terrible businessman and it's why you're a terrible father."
"Maybe I am," Emmett said, tears forming in his eyes and his voice shaking. "But at least I actually give a damn about others. At least I have morals. That's why I'm a huntsman...if I don't fight, who the hell is going to?"
