"GOOOOOOOOOOD MORNING!"
Winter awoke with a start; shaking her head, she quickly realised she was laid upon the ground in Ironwood's private quarters. However, somebody (Penny) had got her a blanket and pillow to sleep on. Rubbing her eyes, she slowly got to her feet and saw the energetic android gazing back at her. A quick look to her left showed the General's bed was empty.
"Ironwood woke up around an hour ago; he already left," Penny explained.
"I see," Winter said, ruffling her uniform.
"He sent Team JNR down to Mantle," Penny explained. "And I'm going with your sister and her team back to amity to transport supplies, what are you doing today?"
"Well, I'm about to find out," Winter muttered. "Did you watch us all night?"
"Yep!" Penny exclaimed.
"It's kind of creepy, you know?"
"It's my duty, I don't see it that way," Penny mused. As Winter felt herself grin once again. This android truly was innocent and a ray of light in these dark times. She hoped Penny's infectious optimism could keep her sister's spirits up. Espeically after what Ironwood had told her yesterday.
"How do you feel?" Penny asked.
"Refreshed," Winter said, quickly checking her scroll; she saw she had a few missed calls from the field commanders. She groaned and remembered her schedule. If she didn't get moving soon, she'd be late for her daily training.
"Penny, thank you for watching us," Winter said, "But you really need to get back to your duties now."
"I know," she said, "That's why I woke you; I need to leave now. But remember to get breakfast."
"I'll try..."
"And wash."
"I don't have time for..."
"And keep yourself hydrated."
"Penny," Winter said patiently, "I promise, I'll look after myself, now you go and look after your friends," she smiled there. "After all, they're new to Atlas; show them the ropes and how we do things."
Penny's smile was more expansive than ever.
"I will!" she exclaimed happily before flying off in a flurry of joy. Winter smiled after her, the future maiden's momentary worries all but forgotten. However, her scroll vibrated once again, and with a sigh, she answered the call.
Ready to get back to work.
"Why can't we just use airships to transport this to Amity?" Ruby asked, her eyes drooping. From where they were sat next to her, Yang, Blake and Weiss looked far more lucid. Qrow and Clover were also sat in the back playing a game of cards, whereas Penny sat upright and ready to answer Ruby's question.
"The materials we need to transport are too heavy for the airships, and they would draw too much attention," Penny explained. "Besides, these vehicles are the safest and most secure in Atlas. Dunbar here makes sure of that," she mused, pointing at the driver. An older man with a torn Atlesian uniform, numerous scars on his face. A distinct lack of teeth and gave off a strong scent of tobacco.
"Rolla, here's my baby!" he exclaimed, "Look around girls, look at them tally marks, wanna know what they are?"
"How many teeth you've lost," Yang mumbled under her breath, causing Blake to giggle. Yet Dunbar didn't seem to hear this as he answered his own question.
"How many Grimm my baby's killed!" he proclaimed proudly, "Had her since I was twenty years old, killed more of the bastards out here on the Tundra than you probably have in your lives!"
"I beg to differ," Yang muttered under her breath once again.
"Yeah... seems... great," Weiss muttered, clearly uncomfortable, and gazing around at the numerous tally marked etched into the metal of the vehicle. The exterior of the truck was also coated with protective layers and had been armoured up to undoubtley tear through grimm.
"But, I don't understand" Weiss said, "You don't..."
"I don't, what?" Dunbar asked.
Weiss gulped.
"Seem like the military type," she eventually said.
Dunbar let out a hacking laugh, followed by several coughs.
"Ah... I originally drove the Faunus out here to the mine. I know the route off by heart!" he exclaimed, "Had to make a living back then. Not that I dislike Faunus or anythin'", he said, glancing at Blake.
"But you were complicit in their suffering," Blake replied coldly.
"I had to make a living, and the job paid well." Dunbar replied, "Course knowing the route helped a great deal, and it wasn't long before the General hired few other guys and me to lead the way through here. Made us soldiers, got us all trained up and here we are."
"So you're a glorified taxi driver, great," Yang muttered, rolling her eyes.
"Oh no, even back then, I could kill Grimm with rolla here, considered myself an unofficial huntsmen!"
"Right," Ruby muttered, "But I'm confused; what route is there to follow? This is just open tundra."
"Ah, this ain't just any Tundra girl." Dunbar muttered, "I've lost friends to the frozen lakes here. You make one wrong move, and down to icy depths you go; the cold will kill you before you can get to the surface. Even with aura."
Ruby looked out onto the frozen wastes. The sun reflecting off the ground hurt her eyes, but everything seemed utterly featureless. Few rocks were jutting out amongst the icy wasteland, and a few distant mountains made up the backdrop. However, other than that, there was no way of telling what was frozen ground or lake here.
"I wouldn't worry; Dunbar knows what he's doing," Penny muttered.
"That's not what's worrying me," Ruby uttered quietly.
"What is it then?" Penny asked, "Surely I can help!"
"It's erm... well... the cold!" Ruby emphasised wildly, yet she caught the side-eye from the other three. Knowing full well that it was her lie to Ironwood that was weighing on her mind. Obviously, they couldn't discuss it here, with Penny, Dunbar and Clover nearby.
"The cold?" Penny said, raising an eyebrow.
"Yeah... the cold. And I didn't get much sleep last night." Ruby said, that part was true.
"I told you to try and get some sleep," Weiss lectured, "What were you even doing all night?"
"Looking up places to go in Atlas!" Ruby exclaimed in excitement, "There were so many things we could do! We could go ice-skating. Go to the movies! I even found this restaurant that serves only fish eyes! Fish eyes, people!"
"That sounds revolting," Weiss groaned.
"Come on, when we get time off, we have to go somewhere!" Ruby mused, "and you're coming as well, Penny."
"I am?"
"Yeah!" Ruby said; however, her smile faltered as Penny's face dropped, "What is it? Oh, I know!" she exclaimed, "You can't eat fish eyes, but you can see a movie with us!"
"That sounds nice," Penny muttered sadly, "But the General says I should focus on my duties."
"Ironwood makes you work all the time!?" Yang asked in concern.
"I don't mind," Penny said quickly, "He also works all the time as well! A lot of people do; I don't want to let them down."
"Penny, it isn't right he's doing that to you," Yang said clearly. "Pressuring you into protecting Mantle is something he should be doing." she snapped.
"You don't think this plan with the arena is gonna work then?" Dunbar suddenly asked.
"I think Ironwood could do better; after all, Mantle should come first," Yang replied, "Why, you're not gonna tell Ironwood, are you? Are just another one of his lapdogs?"
Dunbar was silent for a short time, but he eventually spoke up.
"I think you make good points," he muttered, "But your attitude is... problematic."
"Whatever, you say isn't gonna bother me; I don't need dusty old men like you, telling me how to do the right thing!" Yang hit back.
"Hey, Debnar, anything's but dusty!" Clover exclaimed brightly, breaking through the growing tension in the front of the vehicle, "Speaking of which, how far are we from Amity?"
"Another 15 minutes," the old soldier replied.
"Great, time for another game," Clover said, turning back to Qrow, "Shall we?"
Despite being invested in the game of cards, Qrow and Clover could clearly hear every word on the conversation behind them, which was becoming more and more heated. Qrow no longer knew how to control these kids, but he smiled ruefully to himself. Whenever they had their minds set on something, they'd do it.
They didn't need him around anymore.
It made him wonder if they had ever needed him at all?
He felt even more worthless when it was Clover who stood up and interfered with the situation. It must have been due to his semblance of good fortune. Or just knowing the right words to say, but Debnar fell quiet, as did Yang. Maybe the team were reminded that they only had 15 minutes left in this vehicle, and there was no part of starting an argument with the driver now.
Whatever the reason, Clover had defused the situation, and Qrow was left feeling even more glum as he lost the 5th game in a row shortly afterwards. Not that he'd been paying much attention. He mainly was listening in to Ruby and Penny eagerly discussing their techniques for battle and how many Grimm they'd get rid of by the launch site.
"Earth to Qrow, you listening, Buddy?"
Qrow snapped out of his haze.
"Sorry," he muttered, "Just tired."
Clover knowingly smirked at him.
"They're good kids," Clover said, looking at them, "I'm sure they appreciate all you've done for them."
"They've been through a lot, but they can manage on their own," Qrow mumbled.
"Sounds like you have too," Clover said, shuffling his deck, "Say, when we get time off. You want to go to a proper casino joint?" he asked. "We can play card and dice there; with our semblances combined, we could win some serious prizes! My good fortune, giving us luck. Against your bad fortune giving our opponents hell, whaddya say?"
"I'm good, thanks. I'll just end up causing trouble." Qrow said, "Besides, those places usually mean getting a drink, don't they?"
"Obviously," Clover replied, "Why, not much of a drinker?"
"I'm trying to kick the habit," Qrow muttered.
"Then we'll just head out and have some fun!" Clover exclaimed, "C'mon Qrow. I want to get to know you a little better. It's not every day you meet someone with the polar opposite semblance of your own."
"Likewise," Qrow said. "But with everything going on, I think we should focus on Atlas and Mantle."
"That's our day job, and everyone needs a break every now and then," Clover said, "C'mon Qrow keep acting this cagey; you'll drive yourself as mad as the general is."
"You think James has gone mad?"
"Don't get me wrong. I trust the General with my life." Clover said, "But he needs to loosen up somehow; his entire life revolves around his job. It's all he ever talks about. I don't think I personally know one thing about him. What's his favourite colour? What his favourite hobby? What was he like as a kid? What did he want to do in life?" Clover said.
"I've known that man for years, and honestly, I don't know either," Qrow admitted with a slight grin.
"See, let's not get like that. I could use a break myself." Clover said.
"How come?" Qrow asked.
"Well, things sure have been difficult these past couple of months. The General's been at breaking point, we lost Tortuga down in Mantle, and the team hasn't been the same since then."
"Tortuga?"
"One of ops we had before Marrow." Clover explained, "We were all close. A couple of months back, he was defending Mantle from a Grimm attack and... there were just too many of them. Harriet rushed over to him when she heard the screams, but... she didn't get there in time."
"I'm sorry," Qrow muttered.
Clover nodded to show he appreciated it.
"Him and Harriet were very close," the leader of the ace ops explained, "Ever since he died, the team hasn't been the same. We weren't the best of friends before, but now it's even more formal. Less room for fun." Clover said. "Which is why I could use some time off. I'm sure you have some interesting stories to tell. You seem like a friendly guy."
"You don't know me very well then," Qrow muttered darkly.
"Stop that."
"Stop what?"
"Deflecting compliments," Clover replied, "I don't know if you ever listen, but you're way too hard on yourself."
"Maybe I deserve it," Qrow growled. Those words were valid; he'd served in the Brawen tribe for all those years, who caused nothing but death and destruction for so many people. He was then given a chance to change, become someone better, and start saving people under Ozpin's watchful eye. For so long, he'd gone on, believing he'd done the right thing.
Thinking that his life was worth something. All of his years of work and teaching at signal. Becoming part of Ozpin's inner circle, living a huntsmen's perfect life.
All of that was shattered when he learned the truth.
His life was meaningless; he was meaningless. There was no plan to destroy Salem, no endgame. Summer-Rose had died for nothing.
His drinking had always been excessive, but arriving at Brunswick farms, he drank himself to near death. At the worst phase, he was sat slumped over that bar.
Thinking about how he could end it all.
Later, when they escaped, he'd learnt that the apathy were responsible for putting him in that dark place. But those thoughts never really went away. He'd stopped drinking, but he'd watched from afar as Ruby and her friends did everything. Slowly he became quieter and less confident because he was no longer calling the shots.
They were.
So he was just going to go along with whatever they wanted. If they tried to lie to Ironwood, why didn't it matter to him? Maybe it was best to keep it from James. After all, if the truth had bothered Qrow this much, it was undoubtedly going to break James Ironwood.
"Qrow?" Clover was muttering from somewhere far away.
It wasn't just James, but the ace-ops, Penny, Winter, what would it do for them when they discovered the truth? Leo had betrayed them all when Salem turned up on his doorstep, so how could he trust that anyone else wouldn't do the same?
"Qrow, are you listening to me?" Clover asked.
"No," Qrow muttered honestly, "Let's just carry on playing; it's your move, isn't it?" he snapped.
Clover looked hurt but didn't say a word as he prepared to draw a card.
"Hey Clover!" Debnar suddenly exclaimed, "We got trouble!"
"Grimm!?" Clover asked, sitting up.
"I would have run them over if that was the case," Debnar said, "No, we've got some... happy huntresses ahead."
Exiting Denbar's truck, the group were faced with a goat Faunus and a woman with striking purple eyes and snow-white hair. Upon hearing Denbar yell the name "Happy Huntresses," Team RWBY had looked at each other in awe.
"That the same name we heard that guy mention on the way up here!" Ruby exclaimed the obvious.
They followed Dunbar, Qrow and Clover out of the vehicle and onto the freezing tundra. A small cliff lay ahead with only one way through, and Robyn and one of her happy huntresses had blocked the road forward with a barricade of corrugated iron.
For those moments that seemed to drag on forever, the woman stood glaring at them all. The goat Faunus next to her seemed more nervous. But the woman was clearly looking for some form of confrontation.
"Robyn!" Clover said brightly, stepping towards her and keeping his tone pleasant. "How are you today?"
Robyn Hill didn't make a sound; the winds whistled around them as tiny pellets of snow began landing around the group.
"Listen, you've blocked our way forward," Clover said, his tone starting to lose its pleasantness and impatience beginning to creep in.
"Care to tell us why?"
Robyn scoffed.
"Care to tell us where you're taking those supplies?" she snapped.
Clover paused.
"That's classified," he muttered.
"Classified?" Robyn inquired, taking some steps forward of her own.
"Okay, then maybe you'd like to tell us what you're doing with Aminty colosseum."
Everyone else looked shocked, but Clover kept his emotions in check.
"You've been scouting us then," he concluded.
Robyn nodded.
"The next Vytal Tournament isn't anytime soon," she said, "And as a future councilwoman, I must find out where you're taking all the supplies. The supplies we need for Mantle, in case you've forgotten."
"I haven't."
"Then we'd like to take what is our's, back to the people who need it," Robyn uttered.
"No," Clover said simply, "The General's orders are clear. These supplies are going where they need to be."
"Why don't you just be honest?" Robyn asked; with a strained smile, she held out her hand, "Tell me honestly, Clover. Is Ironwood's little pet project going to help the people of Mantle?"
"It will."
"Can we shake on it?"
"No," Clover said, "I know your semblance. I'm not letting you in on a classified military operation."
"Because it's against your orders?" Robyn asked mockingly.
"Yes."
"Hmm... figures." she said before she diverted her attention to the rest of the team, "What about all of you? You must know the people of Mantle are suffering; what's it all for?"
"Don't answer her," Clover instructed of them, "She's a troublemaker, and we suspect she's been stealing supplies."
"You've been stealing supplies, not us." Robyn said, "We've just been returning them to where they rightfully belong."
"I could have you arrested for admitting that." Clover said, "But as a sign of good faith. I'll let you and your team go if you let us pass."
"You know I can't do that," Robyn growled.
"Let's not fight!" Ruby exclaimed, joining the argument. "Don't you all want the same thing! To protect Mantle?"
"All Ironwood wants to do is protect Atlas!" Robyn roared, anger now evident on her face. "and all of you are lapdogs to his orders which are all wrong!" she bellowed before her voice softened. "You know, if I knew what Ironwood was actually working on, maybe my tone would change. If one of you could be so kind as to tell me?"
The group was silent.
"Oh, well, I'm disappointed..."
"Why can't we tell her!?" Yang inquired of Clover suddenly.
"Miss Xiao Long..." he growled under his breath, "...Not now."
"But she just wants to know what's going on!" Yang exclaimed, "and people are suffering out there! She wouldn't come out all this way if she didn't care about Mantle! Can't we just be honest with her!?"
"That's all I'm asking," Robyn said. "Come on, speak, child. What are they planning here?"
"I know you don't fully believe in the plan," Clover said to Yang, "But if you can't fully trust us, then you can't trust her either. Don't make any rash decisions that you'll regret."
Yang sighed.
"Well, blondie!?" Robyn exclaimed, "Want to spill the beans?"
"I don't trust you yet, either," Yang eventually said, "I barely even know you, and I don't like your tone of voice."
"My tone of voice!?" Robyn scoffed, "You should listen to yourself..."
"ROBYN HILL!" Penny boomed suddenly; flying to the top of the truck, she faced the aspiring councilwoman.
"Please call off the two huntresses sneaking up on the rear of the vehicle."
The group looked behind them, but there was no one to be seen.
"Robyn, I won't ask you again," Penny said, her voice becoming colder and more robotic with every passing second.
Robyn sighed, knowing full well this was a fight she wouldn't win.
"Joanna! May!" she shouted.
Seconds later, two huntresses materialised from out of thin air near to the rear of the truck. The blades on their weapons pointed towards the back tyres. Dunbar looked less than impressed with this attempted sabotage but kept his mouth closed.
"Now, please, could you let us pass?" Penny asked, her voice softening slightly.
Robyn laughed bitterly.
"The protector of Mantle," she snarled, looking up at Penny. "How do you feel?"
Penny's face visibly dropped.
"That's enough, Robyn," Clover growled, his tone becoming more threatening. "Rather than harassing us, you should focus on the upcoming election."
"Then I'm doing my job," Robyn said. "I will find out what you're up to. And expose it to the people of Mantle. What does Ironwood think is so important that construction materials for our outer wall have to be wasted on?"
Nobody replied; the snow fell heavier and thicker.
"Please," Penny said, "This will help Mantle, but for the time being could you let us pass?"
Robyn sighed again; without a word, she grabbed a piece of corrugated iron as the goat Faunus grabbed another side. They pulled it apart so that a small gap was left for the truck to proceed through.
"Thank you," Penny said; returning to the ground, she boarded the truck, with everyone else following her lead until it was only Clover left.
"Good luck in the election," he muttered to Robyn.
Robyn scoffed and but otherwise remained silent.
Moments later, the group were back on the road. Clover wiped his forehead in relief; passing by the barricade, the group could feel the glare of the four happy huntresses cutting into the back of the van. The silence amongst the group was uncomfortable to say the least.
"I know that was rough," Clover eventually muttered. "But I'm proud of all of you for helping to defuse the situation. Miss Rose and Penny in particular."
"Thank you, sir," Penny said.
"We should have just told her!" Yang exclaimed. "Can't you see how keeping this all secret is harming everyone!?"
"In an ideal world, I wish I could come clean!" Clover agreed, "But the General's orders are clear. We can't let people know about this. If the wrong people find out and end up sabotaging our launch, then it will be a disaster."
"That's what you think," Yang said. "But leaving Mantle undefended is a bigger disaster if you ask me."
"Look, I'm not one hundred per cent on board with Ironwood. But It's what we have to stick for now," Qrow muttered, finally joining the conversation and deciding to help Clover out. "I know you don't like it, Yang, but Clover's right. How can we trust this Robyn woman yet? We don't really know who she is."
Yang scowled.
"But she seems to be doing more for Mantle than Ironwood," Blake muttered.
"By stealing supplies and then admitting she'd tell everyone in Mantle about it if she found out the truth?" Qrow said.
"She might not if we negotiate with her," Blake said; Yang nodded to agree. While Winter, Ruby and Penny kept to themselves.
"I'm not asking you to keep completely silent." Qrow muttered, "But let's not do anything against the General this early on. We've only just arrived here, and I don't want you kids making any rash decisions that could backfire on us, understood?"
"I get what you mean," Weiss replied.
"Better safe than sorry, hey Uncle Qrow?" Ruby asked.
"I don't know," Blake muttered uncertainly.
"Well, I still don't like any of this. But I'll keep my mouth shut. For now." Yang responded.
"Well, I think those four are just a nuisance!" Dunbar exclaimed, "Did you see them? About to slash poor Rolla's tyre's!? Woulda given them a piece of mind I tell ya...!"
While Debnar started to rant, Clover turned to Qrow.
"Thanks for having my back; I know you don't believe in Ironwood's plan." he said, "But your support means a lot."
"Well, sometimes the adults have to speak up." he said, feeling slightly more joyful than he had minutes ago, "You know... maybe I'll take up on your offer to go out when we get some quiet time."
"That's just my luck that I managed to convince you," Clover said happily.
Qrow (for the first time in a while) felt like he had something to look forward to.
Yet he hoped his mere existence didn't end up spoiling it with everything going on and with tensions reaching their boiling points.
The huntsman had a horrible feeling; this wasn't going to end well.
A/N: Okay hope you liked! For Denbar he's not going to be a major character or anything, but mostly just a background OC. Like most OC's they'll get a name, occupation, some details of their background to fill in roles around Atlas (truck drivers, doctors, army officers etc...) just adds to the worldbuilding and makes the setting feel more alive. However the focus will remain on the main characters.
As for this chapter, I want to specify that this isn't a Qrow/Clover pairing. But they're just two bros that need a break every now and again. I'm sure a few of you noticed but Qrow kinda went from his awesome self to something of a meek, passive wet blanket in V7 and 8. Here I'm giving my reasons for why he's like that and how it could have been a great change for his character if it was done well. Except it's underexplored and Qrow ended up becoming one of my most hated characters since he teamed up with Tyrian to basically kill Clover and then (for some reason) blames Ironwood, like WTF!? You'll be glad to know that WON'T be happening here, but hopefully I give Qrow's character the justice he so rightfully deserves.
Also I feel like I'm being too harsh on how I'm writing Blake and Yang, but I'm not going to lie I kinda enjoy the challenge of trying to write people that are techinally the heroes but can come across as completely unbearable and problematic. Anyway for next chapter it's an Oscar-focused chapter with a touch of Winter whic will contain some interesting developments, now onto answering reviews!
Engineer1869- I'm glad you noticed the dynamic between Penny, Winter and Ironwood and their desire to be something they aren't. For Ironwood's other measures to avoid hacking, let's just say his detrimination to avoid another Beacon situation will lead to some consquences, anyway thanks again for reviewing!
AxDevilman- Thanks for your review and yeah I wanted to show the psychological effect the fall of Beacon had on Ironwood. I mean the last thing people saw were his robots attacking the citizens of Vale. So he's probably got blood on his hands, even during the chaos when he thinks Qrow's going to attack him he doesn't fight back. Beacon was a nasty wake-up call for him that I imagine made him paranoid of the techonolgy he once so proudly displayed. And yep I'd like to explore Remnant's tech outside of weapons and you'll learn more about the restoring of flesh in the next chapter.
As for Ironwood being cybernetic since he was young? I've already planned his backstory and hopefully I can do the character justice, hopefully like I did with Qrow this chapter, thanks again for reviewing! Look forward to hearing from you.
Ramen Meister- The Ironwood-Yang connection and how they were both shaken by Beacon will be an interesting concept but it won't be explored until much later on. But that's a keen observation. And I'm 100 per cent with you on Ironwood's death being so disrespectful it hurts... at least let the man go out fighthing. But no he just lies there while Cinder continues to gloat (seriously she's one of the worst characters. I didn't mind her in Volume 1-3, or even 4 since she was silent. But from Volume 5 onwards... ugh) anyway before I go on a rant glad you enjoyed the chapter!
I have my backstory for Ironwood but thank you for your suggestion and as for the Tenchi Muyo franchise, I haven't heard of it but your comparsions seem interesting and a crossover with Summer Rose in that universe seems like the start of a promising fic!
merendinoemiliano- Thanking you once again! Maybe the tech is too advanced for renmant in canon. But in this fic, I'm going for it! As for who would know about the maidens in canon... the headmasters, Oz, high ranking huntsmen and huntresses in Oz's inner circle (such as Qrow). So not a massive number of people, but enough to help keep the maidens and relics safe from Salem.
avaize- I think you just summarised the fic perfectly, with everyone wanting to yell and hug Ironwood at the same time :)
Also I didn't intend for the line "I'll remove it myself..." to come across as foreshadowing but from a reader's perspective I can see how, and who knows maybe I do have stuff planned for that *laughs evily* anyway a lot of reviewers are starting to get interested in Ironwood's backstory now. I just hope I can do it right when the time comes! Anyway thanks again for your continued support!
Guest- Yep, that's a rule in my fic and as for Yang finding out, just wait and see... :)
gruntsbreeder- Agreed! Watts' speech to Cinder was what I was waiting for all this time and then you get Ruby motivtinal speech 101. For every nevermore fight or Yang Vs Neo, there's a Volume 5 Haven fight. The show has amazing potential, that's why I wrote this fic. If we all hated the show completely, we wouldn't be so invested in by writing fanfics etc... What bothers me so much about RWBY is that there's so much potential for it to be good! With so many amazing ideas and unqiue style and character designs etc... it just angers me to see it wasted. As for the Vacuo question I really hope this is explored in V9. You can't just dump a kingdom load of people in a desert and expect Theo to be able to handle it.
At worst I suspect Theo will be yet another villianous headmaster because he can't accomodate Atlas and Mantle and in the heroes eyes that will be "wrong". and we'll have another Ironwood case on our hands. Or at best, the heroes get called out for destroying Atlas, dumping refugees in a desert and expecting others to clear up their problems, but we'll just have to wait and see.
and finally ReDestrobo- Hello! Thanks for reviewing the fic and for Whitley? You'll have to wait and see. A lot of people like the Schnee's and I completely agree on the Whitley scene, why did Weiss point a weapon at him and make him apologise for what!? Being a bit of a brat!? So was she!? The thing is they actually dropped the line in from Willow about Whitley not liking his sisters because they left him alone. So the fanbase assumed he'd finally get some depth. Or Weiss would realise she could help her brother, the same way her team helped her... but no. We didn't get any of that. Anyway thanks for reviewing and I promise to Whitley better than what he got.
Okay thanks again, until next chapter!