Schnee manor: The master bedroom.

Sipping on vine in the middle of the day was a past time she like to think she mastered at this point. It had the effect of making time fly and briefly forgetting the life she felt she have wasted. Today however she drank out of sadness over her own failure, while looking through the family album.

Despite modernization, physical copies of photos was still treasured among the people of remnant. It felt much more personal than looking it on a scroll, and more safer in case the device such pictures are saved on breaks or go missing. The same could be said for albums, but that thought was far from her mind right now, as she gazed down on a picture of a five year old Weiss on a tricycle.

She chuckled a bit "Father and everything he build was his heirlooms, while mother's was a tricycle" she wiped away a tear from her eyes as her gaze turned towards a picture of a eight year old Weiss receiving singing lessons. She felt nothing but guilt as she looked down upon the image "If only I were a better mother, perhaps I could have steered her away from the company and the huntsmen training"

"Despite it all, you think you could have influence Weiss like that?!" A familiar tone broke her out of her trance and looked up to see her eldest. Who seemed none to happy to be here.

"Hello Winter"

"Mother" She said with disdain as she walked up and snatched the album away. "Is this what you waste your time on now?"

"Anything wrong reminiscing about better days?" She answered bitterly, while reaching out for her glass of wine.

"It is when you drink yourself to an early grave!" Winter cried, glaring at her mother and at the second bottle on the nightstand. "It's not even noon and already two bottles in"

"Why are you here Winter? I thought you wanted nothing to do with us" The matriarch looked down in her glass before taking a sip.

Winter crossed her arms, still holding the album "Despite your neglect and dad's manipulative scheming, Weiss is not beyond saving. Can't say the same for Whitley with how attached he has become to father. I heard about what happen at the event, and how she manage to sneak away"

A spark of hope filled her eyes "Have the military tracked her down?"

Winter sighed "By the time you reported her disappearance, we checked every cargo transport scheduled for our base in Argus. None of them held any clues so we sent a scout to report to Cordovin. She reports any transport arriving had been thoroughly checked as per the generals directive"

"Perhaps she found a different way? Perhaps some smuggles than?"

She shook her head with a sad expression on her face "Cordovin reported that every ship that arrived was checked. As it turns out, one ship did not report in unfortunately. I orded a searched along the coastline and found a wreckage of the missing transport"

Willow felt like her heart just stopped for a moment "Winter, please don't tell me she-"

"She was not at the crash site!" She quickly interrupted. "We found the pilot dead and the cargo missing, but the flight recorder was intact" She took out her scroll and gave her mother a hard yet sympathetic look "Are you sure you want to hear this? It is not exactly reassuring"

"Play it!" Was the quick response, as Winter hit play.

*What the hell is going on?! I thought the fleet secured this route of grimm already!*

*It's not grimm! We are taking fire from below!*

An explosion cause Willow to step back a bit in shock and fear of her daughter.

*Damn! One of the engines is busted!*

*Can't you call the base at Argus? Shouldn't we within communication range?!*

*Don't you think I already tried that?! Something is jamming us, most likely who ever is firing at us!*

Another explosion could be heard and the sound of someone hitting a wall as the plane short after crashed and only silence was left.

Willow had nothing but tears in her eyes as she sat down on the bed, quietly sobbing. She suddenly felt a hand on her shoulder and looked up at Winter, who gave her a sympathetic look "There is more" And she fast forward the recording

They heard the sound of a door opening and footsteps that came to a halt *Well, well. Look's like we got a different catch here. And still alive at that* And than they last thing they heard was someone getting dragged across the floor.

Winter stopped the recording there "We deduced that the person on the recording recognized Weiss must be a White fang member, since it is most likely they have the equipment to pull it off, and keeping a Schnee hostage would definitely be in their interest" Willow noted the disdain in Winter's voice when she uttered their surname, as if blaming it on their current situation. How ever Willow was filled with dread and despair at the thought of her youngest daughter in the hands of terrorists.

She looked back up at Winter "Please tell me you are going to get her" She pleaded.

"The general would not authorize such a mission" Winter herself could not avoid the sound of sadness in her voice "He has his hands full with protecting the kingdom from the threat that destroyed Beacon"

Willow's mood took a turn as she stood up with a furious glare "A valuable loyal citizen of Atlas is not worth his attention?!"

"Not if it's more or less self inflicted!" She scolded her "Unlike someone else, he does not care for surnames!"

Willow's fury quickly shifted to desperation "But there most be something that can be done!"

Winter soften up a bit "There is. But it has a price"

"Go on" The response was quick.

"The general authorized me to search for Weiss, If I can guarantee her enrollment in the military"

"WHAT!"

"We are at war mother! Ironwood need as many reliable and able bodied fighters as possible. He know what Weiss can do and recognized the asset she could be!"

"So he will only help if another of my children gets dragged into his army is that it?! Asset my gods, she is your sister!" For the first time in a long while, Willow felt like she acted like a proper mother, or tried to be.

Winter however did not care much for the woman's outburst "She got dragged into this, the minute she set foot on Beacon. Just like I did when I enrolled in Atlas. And this way she will be put to better use than whatever you and father had in mind for her here"

The Schnee matriarch had a sudden look of fear as she looked at her eldest daughter "You sound just like your father"

"What?!" She finally started to lose her cool demeanor "I am nothing like him!"

Willow just looked skeptical "Really? Both of you seem to think of Weiss as someone that is of use to you!"

"Don't you dare compare him to me! I value my sister"

"And if she decides not to join the military when you find her what than?!"

"She won't have a choice!" And the look of shock of realization was not lost on Willow, as Winter went quiet for a bit at what she just said. "I-i mean, once she is properly informed, she won't have choice but join up!"

Her mother however did not seemed convinced at all and just shook her head. She sat down on the side of the bed and gestured Winter to do the same. Winter was briefly caught off guard but complied. "When you were born, I thought I finally had it made. Good education, a seemingly good husband, a healthy baby girl. Everything just seemed to fell into place, though I feared the responsibility of inheriting the company might be a bit hard on a only child. However when your siblings were born, those fears subsided. I thought at least one of you would take the mantle of being the head of the family in name and company" She took a short pause as she picked up her glass and drank a bit. She than had a dark look in her face that Winter never seen before "But the *good husband* that I married turned out to have had less than romantic intention of marrying me"

Winter could pick up where this was going and sighed "I know how this ends mother! I was there"

Willow just raised her hand to shut Winter up and continued "His confession that day did more than ruin Weiss' birthday. It was the start of the ruin of my life. He assumed control of the SDC and made me realize my marriage is a trainwreck from the day I said I do. I could not take over the company, my huntsmen prowess are to rusty. I had nothing left to wake up to in the morning!" She cried out and than took back the family album and open up to a picture of the Schnee siblings together "You kids, were my only reason to keep going forward. I thought, as long as you kids stick together and don't let your father and I ruin you, it would all be worth it" Her tone was hopeful, Winter noted.

"But than Jacques more or less cast you out when you refused him as heiress when you joined the military, and you distance yourself from your siblings. Weiss were so focused on being the heiress, and Whitley were so attached to be Jacque's shadow, it caused them to see each other as enemies to tear down for whoever inherit the company, rather than family!" She paused yet again to catch her breath as she was fuming "Not that I was any better of course! I was to obsessed with avoiding your father and drinking my problems away to notice they even existed most of the time! But I still held onto the hope of that at the least, we were together kind of. So imagine what that hope feels like, when one of your three children who hates you, ships herself to a different continent and gets captured by the same terrorist that have been the bane of you kids childhood. And the only way to get her back, is if her sister set her up to join the military without consulting her!" She finished with tears in her eyes, but still radiating anger from her tone.

Winter did not really respond but decided it was time to change the subject. "Officially I was here to inform you of the investigation regarding her whereabouts. I am also here to ask you questions of what happen the night she ran away" Willow picked up that Winter did not sound so confident as usual.

She chuckled a bit, with her eyes still wet with tears "Not much to tell except it was a really bad night for everyone involved. Besides you already know where is kind of, why is this important?" she looked away in shame from her eldest.

"Witnesses from the night tells a bizarre event that took place, after Weiss emerged drenched in wine. They say she talked to someone like they weren't there, and than she was caught on fire"

Still not looking at her daughter, Willow just looked at the family pictures "Something like that happen. She had a mask on that appeared out of nowhere. She than struggled to take it off, and when she did her face was covered in blood as she yelled Boudicca. She than got lit up in blue flames and appeared in a strange outfit with our family logo on it, and she still had the mask on and just walked out" She finished not even caring anymore.

"That really happen?" Willow could hear the interest in Winter's voice.

Willow turned to give a side glance to her daughter "I was three bottles in that night, and I think I finished two bottles right now. Is my testimony really going to be that trustworthy?"

"Well I did ask Whitley, but he seemed to ashamed to talk about anything related to Weiss. And I would prefer to avoid father as much as possible" She crossed her arms in front of her chest, not looking particularly happy being here.

"I know that feeling" She closed the album and walked up to her daughter, scroll in hand and showed her the footage from that night. "I have hidden cameras set up in the manor, so anything that goes on around here is being recorded"

Winter's bright blue eyes were wide as she saw the state Weiss was in, and the testimony of her drunk mother were true "Is this some sort of hidden ability in our semplance? To summon different clothes and weapons?"

"I don't know. All I know is from what I remembered, was that Weiss had this determined look in her eyes after she came out of the flames. Like she finally knew what to do"

"Can you forward a copy of this to me? Perhaps the general or our scientist can figure it out while I search for her" Willow just looked skeptical at the request, fearing it would pique Ironwood's interest in conscripting Weiss. She sighed however and sent it anyway. The look on Winter's face, was a face of relief and gratefulness. "Thank you mother" She said softly.

As she turned around, Winter suddenly felt her mother grabbed her by the shoulder, forcing her to stop and look back at her. "Promise me this. Promise me that you will bring her home!" She pleaded.

Winter just looked confused "Well of course, that is the poin-"

"Not to Ironwood! If she is to join his military, let it be by her choice, not by a deal without her consent" She looked her daughter dead in the eyes "She deserve more than that"

Winter just looked away for a moment "I can't promise that. I gave the general my word"

"Just think about what will be best for Weiss okay?"

"That I can do. But what if she does not want to go home?"

Huh, Willow did not thought of that. "Hmmm. How long before you have to leave?"

"My transport is leaving in five hours. Why?"

"Can I meet with you before you take off? I need to prepare something first"

Winter just looked confused at her mother at the odd request. "Um okay, meet me by the academy courtyard in four hours from now. Need that last hour to make sure I got everything ready"

"Thank you Winter" She said as she suddenly pulled Winter in for a hug, which surprised the operative, but eased into it.

?

"Hehehehe. Seems you have to work on your landing strategy"

Weiss was not ready to deal with this right now "What do you want?" and she took a seat in front of the man before her.

"Oh just checking in to make sure if everything is going as you have expected" He said with glee, but Weiss could not detect if he meant any of it to spite her.

"If you must know, everything did not go as I expected, but I manage" She said confidently.

"And your current predicament?"

"What do you mean?" She looked confused

He chuckled "Well you don't think you are in the middle of the woods, unconscious now are you?"

And Weiss than remember that she was in the middle of crashing right before she ended up here "Damn it!"

"Don't worry, you are still very much fine physically. However your surroundings might be a little less than optimal than what you are used to"

'No shit' She thought "I was just held prisoner by the White fang, it can't get worse than that!"

He held up his hands in mock surrender "Than let's change the subject. You are curious of the one you fought before you escaped yes?"

"How did you? No nevermind, what was she? None of the terrorist fought like that while I was inside"

"She is like you"

"What?!"

He took out a card and slipped it towards her for her to pick up. She picked it up and saw it was the devil arcana from before. Her eyes suddenly went wide "Wait she has one of these too?!"

"Indeed. Though it is not a desire to rebel or change that drives her, but revenge and inflicting pain on others that wronged her in her mind"

"I just tapped into this power, and the thought that they now have it too is a recipe for chaos!" She cried out.

"Just as the spirit expected" He said gravely, not looking up anymore. "I am sorry to inform you that our time is up, but fear not. With enough experience even this spirit of despair can be broken by your will. But approach it when you are not ready, and your doom is all but certain" She than started to notice that she was vanishing.

"But wait?!" She reached out towards him and everything went black.

Mistral: Area unknown.

When she open her eyes, she noticed her hands were not in front of her, but tired behind her back. Again. And that she was in another cell. Again.

"Why does life hate me?"

"Oh I don't know, even a Schnee get's special treatment as a prisoner" She heard a rather obnoxious voice approach her. It was than she noticed she was in a cage within a large tent. "I mean we even brought out a SDC holding cell just for you" She saw that it was a short haired girl with tanned skin and a mismatch looking outfit by her taste.

Weiss rolled her eyes "Let me guess, it suppresses my aura and my semblance?" The girl in front of her seemed to be a little irritated at how bored their new prisoner seemed to take this situation.

"Even in captivity you Schnees still think you are in control!"

"Listen?" She gestured for the girl to tell her name.

"Vernal"

"Right Vernal. Listen I have just been through this with the White fang with the captivity and aura suppressing, so how about you just let me go and you and yours don't get hurt! It will save you the shame for when I break out of here otherwise" She still sounded quite bored despite being caged.

"Oh you must be insane-"

"Vernal! I told you to summon me when the prisoner came awaken!" A voice full of pride interrupted Vernal's little tangent.

The tent flaps open as a woman wearing a grimm mask approached the cage and gave a little side glare towards her underling it seemed. "She just came to ma'am" Vernal bowed her head a bit.

"Understandable. Leave us, I want a word with girl alone" Vernal did not even protest at the slightest as she left the two alone.

Weiss than looked the woman over. She noticed a black skirt and black thigh length leggins, and a red and black mismatch of leather and armor covering her upper half of her body. What Weiss noticed the most was the weapon at the strangers side. The stranger took noticed of the sudden interest. "Like what you see? Or do you just see the similarity?" She than took out Myrtenaster and compared the two "Great minds think a like they say" As she gestured towards the dust cylinders on both of their weapons, or in the strangers case scabbard. "Play your cards right and that great mind of yours can get out of here unharmed"

"How about you tell me your name first?" Weiss was thoroughly annoyed at this whole situation and it could be seen on her, much to her captors delight.

She took off her grimm mask "My name is Raven Branwen"

For the first time since she woke up, Weiss was in shock at the similarity. Raven smirked a bit "Am I that feared in the mighty kingdom of Atlas?"

"You just look a little like someone I know" Raven's smirk quickly vanished "You don't happen to be related to a drunk called Qrow?" She quickly noticed the twitch in Ravens right eye at the mention of Qrow. "You're Yang's mother?"

Raven gave out an irritable sigh "Of course of all people, my daughter gets to know a Schnee" She threw Myrtenaster at her table and pulled out a chair and sat in front of the cage. "Listen here princess, the reason you are in here and not out in the cold is cause of what I heard you did against the White fang. I admit, not many can boast of being held captive by them and escape in the middle of their compound"

"Your point?"

"That there is more to you than a pompous heiress. That unlike your father, can actually fight worth a damn. Sure you fucked up getting caught in the first place but you owned up to it at got away"

"Okay whatever you are selling just give it to me straight!"

"I will get to that, after you told me how you manage to get out of there, despite them suppressing your aura"

"Telling her the truth might not be for the best darling" She heard Boudicca whisper in her ear. "Than again, the truth could be the quickest way for you to get out of here"

"That is if she believes me" Weiss said looking to the side as if she was there.

"Who are you talking to?" Weiss cursed herself as she turned to look at Raven who had a suspicious look on her face.

"Well that did not take long for you to mess up"

"Oh shut up will you!"

She than heard a sword being unsheathed and being pointing straight at her face, with an inch away from her. "Be careful Schnee. You are valuable, but disrespect me in my own tent again and I will send your family your corpse!"

Weiss sighed "It was not to you but someone else" Her tone was quiet as she looked away from Raven.

"Who?" Raven still did not put away her sword.

"Her name is Boudicca, and she is my rebellious spirit" She looked Raven dead in the eye to convey how serious she was about her statement.