Chapter 27: Staring at the Mirror

Ruby could only stare in wonder at the sight she was witnessing.

She was minding her own business doing festival stuff when she started to hear commotion gather on the front lawn of Beacon.

So, Ruby decided to speed on over and check what was going on, when she got there she found Weiss in a panic claiming that a stranger had suddenly attacked her sister.

That stranger was her uncle Qrow

He was having an incredible duel with Weiss's Sister, and Ruby could barely keep up watching the two clash, high-level fights like this were so rare.

"Kick her butt, Uncle Qrow!"

"Show him his place Winter!"

It seemed like the two were evenly matched as the two continued to clash blades and firing off their weapons.

"You think someone should stop them soon?" A nearby bystander asked.

"They're kind of destroying a lot of property."

Despite her desire to see such an awesome fight continue, Ruby had to agree with them, this fight probably wasn't the most appropriate place to be.

That and based off on how intense the fight was something told Ruby if someone didn't stop them soon, one of them was going to get hurt.

Now, the real problem came with how to stop them.

Despite her satisfaction in how much she had improved, she still wasn't even close to the level of her Uncle Qrow.

The two's battle continued as they zipped around the campus.

Ruby could see them prepare what looked like one big attack as they readied their blades and started charging at each other.

"Ooooh boy," Ruby thought to herself as she braced for impact.

A loud crash echoed throughout the area, but the two weapons never made contact.

"Isn't that the announcer?" someone commented.

Like a shooting star appearing out of nowhere, Mori had arrived to stop their attacks!

"You two should probably stop right now," He declared while holding both of the two's wrists, "I think you've caused enough damage."

"What!" Winter said in complete shock, "Who are you?" She demanded.

"You look familiar," Qrow commented as he looked over her friend.

"Aren't you the drunk guy I met earlier?"

"I've met a lot of people drunk; you're going to have to specify which time."

"Don't ignore me!"

"What is going on here," an angry loud voice interrupted as Ruby looked over at who it was coming.

Gasps seem to fill the air as the people around them recognized who had arrived.

It was General Ironwood from Atlas, along with what looked like five other huntsmen…and Penny!

Penny was here!

"General Ironwood," Mori acknowledged as he continued to hold the wrists of Qrow and Winter, he then nodded to the five Huntsmen behind Ironwood while they looked away.

"Mr. Jin," General Ironwood acknowledged coolly, "How is your arm?"

Ruby watched Mori look at his arm that was still holding a struggling Winter and looked back at the General.

"It's good!"

"Unhand me you barbarian!"

The General coughed clearing his throat at Winter's demand, "While I appreciate your effort in stopping this fight, I would ask that you let go of my subordinate, I think she has calmed down enough."

"Oh sorry!" Mori apologized as he let go of Weiss's sister's hand.

Rubbing her wrist gingerly Winter gave Mori a stink eye as she made her way to General Ironwood's side.

"You mind letting my hand go as well?"

"That one you can still hold on to."

"Ha, ha very funny Jimmy."

"What did I say about calling me that?!" The General angrily demanded as he walked over to Qrow."

Uh oh, another fight it looked like it was brewing.

"Now, now everyone let's get along," Another approaching voice called out deflating the tension, it was Professor Ozpin with Professor Goodwitch behind him, "I know we've had exciting fights today, but I assure you that the fights in the arena will be more worth your time."

"You heard the man, move along!" Professor Goodwitch declared.

General Ironwood looked like he wanted to argue before turning to his subordinates and nodding to them to follow him.

Ruby ran through the crowd just to get one more sight of Penny.

It looked like Penny had noticed her giving her smile.

Ruby smiled back.

Now that the crowd was dispersing Ruby rushed over and hanged onto her Uncle Qrow's arm.

"UNCLE QROW!" She screamed in delight, "Did you miss me, Did you Miss Me!"

Her uncle smiled before responding, "…Nope."

Ruby giggled at his response.

He then went to give her what she assumed was a pat on her head…but his other arm was still being held in place by Mori.

"Can you let me go now?"

"…Oh yeah sorry," Mori responded as he finally released his iron grip.

"Mori this is my Uncle Qrow!" Ruby excitedly said as she introduced one of her favorite people to her friend.

"We've met before," Mori deadpanned, "Remember that weird drunk guy I told you about?" He then pointed to her uncle.

Somehow Ruby wasn't surprised that was the way Mori met her Uncle.

"Oh yeah, now I remember," Her uncle replied, "You're the kid that's become close to my nieces!"

"Qrow!" Ozpin called out, "Are you coming?"

"Uh-oh looks like the boss is calling," Her Uncle panned, "I'll see you later squirt."

After rubbing her head, she watched her uncle follow Ozpin and Goodwitch into the tower.

"Why am I not surprised, that a man like that is your uncle," Weiss snarked.

"You're just jealous he beat your sister," Ruby snapped back.

"That's not true!" Weiss snapped back, "It was a tie at least, your uncle was only saved by the timely intervention of Mori."

"Nu-uh," Ruby shot back, "More like Mori saved your sister from being completely embarrassed by my uncle."

"Hey Weiss," Mori called out interrupting the two's argument.

"Yes?"

"You seem to recognize that Team behind General Ironwood, who were they and why aren't they in the tournament?"

"You Buffoon! Why would the AceOps be participating in the Vytal Tournament."

"AceOps?"

"They're Atlas's top Huntsmen," Weiss explained, "Whenever Atlas needs a mission accomplished, they're the A-Team."

"Ohh neat."

Ruby had never seen them before, but she recognized the name, it was like being a super huntsman in Atlas.

"How do you know them?" Ruby asked as she remembered the greeting Mori did to the AceOps.

"I just thought they were just a regular team from Atlas," Mori admitted while rubbing his head, "I met them that night you guys fought Torchwick at the bridge, they're the ones that broke my arm." He said while holding up his left arm.

"Wait those are the guys that broke your arm?" Ruby asked in shock.

Mori nodded to her answer, seconds passed as she realized the implication about the fact that it was the AceOps who broke his arm that night.

It seemed like Weiss was also coming to the same conclusion.

"YOU BEAT THE ACEOPS IN A FIGHT!?" They screamed simultaneously.

Winter paced around waiting for that Drunken fool to return so that she could give him a piece of her mind.

"How's the wrist holding up Winter?" Clover asked as he looked in concern at the body part in question.

"It's fine," Winter replied while rubbing her wrist, "Just a little sore."

"Well, you certainly ended up in better shape than me and my team after facing him," Clover joked.

"This is no laughing matter," General Ironwood said calmly as he looked at Clover, "He treated Winter and Qrow like they were bickering children, not just one but two highly competent Huntsmen were nothing but toys in his hand!"

Winter wanted to protest that the only reason that happened was that she was caught unaware but stopped as she realized that it was only a bad excuse.

"I hate to be the bearer of bad news then General," Clover said as he looked at the man, "But just by looking at him, the boy has gotten a lot scarier and stronger than when he faced us."

General Ironwood scowled when he heard those words.

Winter's face darkened as well.

That incident caused an uproar within the Atlas Military division, the strongest special forces group they had was beaten singlehandedly by a child, and now he was supposed to be stronger?

"And how can you tell?" General Ironwood asked as he turned to Clover.

"Just the way his presence was," Clover responded back, "It's hard to describe, but the way he holds himself is a lot different than when I first met him, something tells me if me and my men fought him again, we aren't taking his arm this time."

"Great, that's just fantastic," General Ironwood muttered.

Winter hated to admit it, but that boy was strong, she had been trying with all her might to break free of his grip.

She could understand why General Ironwood was so cautious of him.

He was powerful that much she understood, if he was an enemy, she feared for the lives of the people of not only Beacon but also Vale.

…Maybe it would be a good thing if Weiss listened to their father and had her go to Atlas Academy instead.

Winter couldn't help but feel sick thinking that, she soon shook those thoughts away as the Elevator opened holding the group they were waiting for.

Professor Ozpin, Professor Goodwitch, and that Drunken idiot.

"What were you thinking!" Winter demanded as she turned her attention to the drunken fool.

"If you were one of my men, I would have you shot!" General Ironwood bellowed as he joined in.

"If I was one of your men. I'd shoot myself."

"Why you!"

"While Qrow was completely out of line with what he did, you did not help by escalating it." Glynda angrily said as she joined in.

Winter glared daggers at the woman while she responded in kind.

"He was drunk!" Winter exclaimed defending herself.

"He's always drunk!" Glynda snipped back.

The two of them looked at the man in question who was just finish drinking up his bottle.

Winter could only stare in disgust at the man.

"If Mr. Jin hadn't popped in when he had who knows how badly the damages would have been," Glynda said while looking at Winter again.

The Specialist could only grind her teeth in frustration.

"Man, that kid certainly has a grip on him," Qrow said while rubbing his wrist, "I can see how he completely wiped out your attack dogs Jimmy."

Winter could feel Clover stiffen next to her.

"I will not have any more of your disrespect Qrow!" General Ironwood yelled as it looked like he was about to charge the man.

"Enough!" Ozpin commanded as pressure-filled the room, "Am I in a room with the greatest defenders of Remnant, or am I in a room full of Children!"

Mutters of apologies filled the room as General Ironwood and Qrow glared at each other.

"Now James how has the hunt for the White Fang been going?"

"I have delegated that responsibility to my subordinate Clover," General Ironwood said as he directed everyone's attention to the AceOps leader.

"Me and my men have been systemically locating and destroying the numerous White Fang bases throughout Vale," Clove said as he stepped up, "Due to our efforts Fang activity has been reduced dramatically."

"And have you had any luck locating the body of Adam Taurus,"

Winter noticed Clover sigh before he answered Ozpin.

"A search party was sent to Mount. Glenn, to corroborate, Dr. Oobleck, Miss Rose, Mr. Jin's, and the rest of Team RWBY's testimonies, the reports were deemed accurate, however, we were not able to find Adam Taurus's body."

"So, he's not dead then?"

"There is no hard evidence of his death, however, based on the circumstantial evidence, we have been led to believe that Miss Rose's and Mr. Jin's report of his death was true and the most likely reason for the missing body is due to stray Fang members grabbing the body before it could be recovered."

"Thank you, Clover," Ozpin said as he was finished with his questions, "It looks like you have been very thorough"

"As you can see Oz, everything on my end is under control," Ironwood said proudly as Clover went back to his spot next to Winter, "I can clearly depend on Clover here to get the job done and not spend the majority of his time in a bar."

Qrow's response was a vulgar one as he gave the general a salute with a single finger.

Winter couldn't feel prouder of her associate, Atlas was the peak of efficiency and results, and Clover was a prime example of it.

Ozpin then turned to the drunken fool.

"Now Qrow, have you had any luck locating the enemy in Vale?"

"No such luck Oz, like the White Fang, most of the crime has completely stopped in Vale ever since the breach…I don't like it."

"Maybe you should check the student body."

"James for the last time Mr. Jin is not a threat." Ozpin sighed.

"There is no record of who that boy is!" Ironwood shouted, "No birth records, no prior sales transactions, not even an off-handed comment on seeing the boy before he showed up, I'm sorry but I don't feel comfortable with a complete unknown with his power in our midst!"

"And people don't feel comfortable with all your ships in the sky Jimmy," Qrow interrupted, "But you don't hear them complain…oh wait you do."

"Their presence is necessary," Winter interceded, "No one would dare attack Vale with such a huge fleet here."

Why were these people treating General Ironwood like he was in the wrong in regards to this subject?

While it was true it caused the people unease in the long run these ships were for the good of Vale.

There was a threat out there and if they didn't have enough firepower the city would fall.

"Like I'm sure your presence here is necessary as well," The drunk snarked back, "Why are you two here again, who invited them?"

Winter could only glare at the gall the man had of saying she or Clover did not belong in this meeting.

"Winter, Clover I will give you further orders later, you two are dismissed."

Winter turned around quickly in shock at what the General was saying.

She wanted to protest but her professionalism won out in the end.

"Yes sir," She and Clover simultaneously replied as they left Ozpin's office.

"That was pretty intense," Clover said as they made their way out of the building, "I'm not sure if they were all friends or enemies."

"It's all because of that uncouth man," Winter angrily replied, "I don't know why someone like him gets to stay while you and I have to leave."

"Their loss," Clover replied as he put his head onto his head, "What are your plans now while we wait?"

Winter wasn't quite sure she should do; she could go inspect the living quarters of soldiers, apparently, there were reports of abnormal seismic movement coming from the south sea, she could check up on those, or she could train and hone her skills.

No, she could do that whenever she wanted, what was something she could do in Vale that she Normally wouldn't do.

She will go visit Weiss, see how she is doing and evaluate her combat skills.

Weiss fell to the ground exhausted, she wanted to stop and quit, but her pride wouldn't allow her.

"One more time," She muttered to herself as she got up.

Activating her Glyphs she once again attempted to summon.

She could see her glyph rotate rapidly as she attempted to concentrate more and more.

This one was no good either.

Collapsing from exhaustion Weiss's Glyph disappeared as she pulled her hair out in frustration.

Why couldn't she do this!

She had been so eager to impress her sister Winter when she visited and she had done well to live up to her sister's expectations…up until the point of attempting summoning.

The summoning of defeated foes was a signature trademark of the Schnee Family semblance, and if one wasn't able to use it they were essentially fighting with one hand behind their back.

Winter was a genius who was able to figure it out without needing any help and Weiss had been trying to emulate her sister.

But…

She had been following Winter's instructions to a tee and she still couldn't get it right.

Was she just a failure?

A talentless heiress who could do nothing without her father's money?

Weiss gritted her teeth in frustration.

No!

She will get this right she determined, once more she closed her eyes as she focused with all her might.

A spinning Glyph once more appeared on the ground as she once again began to imagine a fallen enemy.

She could feel it she was so close almost there she was got i—

A loud noise interrupted Weiss, causing her to lose focus.

Weiss looked at the offending object, it was her scroll.

Scowling Weiss marched over to her scroll, ready to give whoever interrupted her a piece of her mind.

Weiss could only shake her head in annoyance when she found out who was calling her, it was her partner Ruby.

Of course, it was.

"What!" Weiss yelled as she picked up her scroll.

"Woah, you sound angry there Weiss are you ok?"

"I am in the middle of training, and you interrupted me at a very important moment so I'm a little cross right now," Weiss replied steely, "So what do you need?"

"I'm calling because it's super late Weiss, I was worried that you are still not back."

Wait… what?

Weiss took a quick look at the time and realized Ruby was indeed correct it was incredibly late right now!

Weiss gave a quick gasp as she realized how long she had been training.

"…Thank you for calling me, I'll be on my way back now."

"Ok stay safe!"

With a sigh, Weiss hung up her scroll.

She wanted to train more but they had the 2 vs 2's tomorrow and she needed to get some rest.

Packing up Weiss left the training hall ready to call it a night.

As she was walking back Weiss began to think about her conversation with Winter or more specifically what she needed to do now that her father was apparently cutting her off.

If she wanted to be able to use her money again it looked like she would have to talk with him to remind him why Beacon was better for her in the long run.

She knew that wanted her to be in Atlas so he could have his iron grip on her, but Weiss refused to allow herself to be controlled by him again.

Knowing him, he'd probably have come up with some new arguments for Weiss to deal with, so she needed to be prepared for anything he threw at her.

If he was able to refute her defense, Weiss didn't know what she would do.

Weiss did not want to go to Atlas, not only because she didn't want to be under her father's influence again but also…

She liked it here, she'd never say it out loud to Team RWBY, but she liked her teammates and the dynamic they had.

Ruby was a good partner and a good leader, Weiss could admit that now, she didn't want to have to uproot her life and go back to Atlas.

Winter's advice of being her own free woman sounded very tempting.

Just as Weiss reached the dorm rooms, she noticed the sounds of someone practicing up on the rooftop.

There was only one other person who would be up this late and practicing.

Mori.

That fool had to always have someone force him to rest when he was like this.

The last time they left him like this he went through the entire weekend without sleep.

Looks like it was her turn today.

Marching up the stairs, Weiss opened the door ready to drag the idiot to his room so he could get some sleep.

Weiss opened the door ready to berate him when the atmosphere caused her to choke up.

This felt vaguely familiar to the heiress.

Breathless, Weiss watched Mori practice and go through each of his stances carefully.

She could tell that each movement he had was for a purpose.

It really was…Beautiful.

Weiss couldn't help but feel a twinge of jealously gnaw at her heart.

He was already ridiculously strong!

Not only was he a cut-above all the Huntsmen-in-training, but he was also able to manhandle Winter with ease and take down the AceOps!

If someone told her that someone was capable of those feats a year ago, she would've laughed at them and told them to stop sniffing dust.

Now, any time she heard of someone doing something absurd her mind immediately brought her to Mori.

And instead of resting on his laurels and letting them get to his head, he still trained like a madman.

That was one thing Weiss had a grudging respect for, it was his ability to work hard.

Still, though, what sort of threat was he practicing this hard for?

She wished she had a fraction of the strength he had, maybe then she could be able to live as carefree with a smile like he was able to.

It looked like he finished another sequence of his, now was the best time to force him to sleep.

"Bravo," She said sarcastically while clapping her hands in applause, "You have conquered the mighty air, your reward? Going to bed."

"Oh, hi Weiss!" Mori replied as he wiped his head with a towel, "Didn't know you were there."

"Yeah, I know, you were too focused on your training to notice me." Weiss said as she folded her arms, "Now go to bed!"

"Come on I will be fine!"

"No, you're announcing tomorrow!"

"Please, Weiss!" Mori begged, "I can't just not train after watching an awesome day of fighting like today!"

"Get to bed, or so help me I will get Ruby!"

"…you wouldn't"

"Would I?"

"At least one more set," Mori bargained as he slammed his hands together to plead.

"…Fine," Weiss relented, "But after that, it's off to bed."

Tapping her foot Weiss folded her arms as she watched him go through one more set.

Flowing through kicks and punches once again, Weiss looked like she was watching a dance.

After about a minute of him going through his stances, Weiss immediately felt the pressure of his practice get deeper as she saw him stand completely still.

She knew what was coming, she had witnessed it before.

An absolutely ridiculous technique that made no sense to Weiss whatsoever.

Watching the space bend where his foot was Mori finished his sequence with what he called his recoilless kick.

Weiss could never forget that kick, after all, it was the one that got her convinced that Blake was right.

Actually, wait… was that the first time she had seen that kick?

…no, she had seen it before, it was when she was going to skewer the buffoon for throwing water balloons in a movie theatre.

If Weiss remembered correctly, it looked like he was struggling with it…kind of like how she was struggling with summoning.

Weiss's semblance and his martial arts were completely different with no overlap whatsoever.

But when it came to combat, he was genius, able to analyze and dissect the fighting styles of other huntsmen while only seeing them once.

Maybe if she asked him how he was able to overcome his inability to complete his technique she would be able to find the key to summoning.

"Hey, Mori?"

"Yes, Weiss?"

"Can you…" Weiss hesitated, before continuing, "How were you able to do the recoilless kick?"

"Oh it's simple," he replied to her, "A lot of it I want to make sure that my form is perfect so that there's no wast—"

"No that's not what I mean," Weiss interrupted, "You've already told me the theory behind it even though I still have a hard time believing it," She then attempted to explain her intentions better.

"What I mean is I remember seeing you struggle with your recoilless and then when you saved all those people on the bridge a couple of weeks later you mastered it and I just want to know what you did to bridge that gap."

Mori was silent for a bit before he finally spoke again.

"What's wrong Weiss, is there something troubling you right now? you usually don't come to me for help."

Weiss sighed as she explained her predicament with summoning and the logic behind her question.

"Hmmm," Mori pondered with a finger on his chin once Weiss finished explaining, "I'm not sure if I'll be much help with your predicament because I don't think I did anything differently in between that gap."

That didn't make sense to Weiss, he did nothing? He was practicing the entire time he should have something that would've let him complete his technique.

"What do you mean by that?" Weiss demanded, "Are you saying it just came to you?"

Mori scratched his head in embarrassment.

"Well…yeah."

Weiss could only shake her head in disgust, of course, a genius like him was able to come up with something that ridiculous on the fly.

"If it's any help for you Weiss I could explain what was going through my head at the time."

Weiss thought about it before nodding, maybe she'll get a hint from his thought process.

"I remember at the time seeing that slab of the building fall onto those bystanders," Mori explained, "And only one thought seemed to pass my mind, I would not let them die."

"I guess I was able to finally complete my recoilless kick because I was in a do or die situation with lives on the line, and the only path to victory was performing it."

Weiss felt something stir in her heart from Mori's words, the conviction he had behind him was like nothing she had heard before.

Weiss could only sigh in defeat at that, if she was ever in a situation like that would she be able to perform under such a high-pressure situation?

"Thanks for the help Mori," Weiss sighed, "I guess I'll figure something on my own."

"Sorry Weiss," Mori apologized as he rubbed his head, "I wish I could be more help."

"You're fine, thanks for trying, I'll just keep on following Winter's instructions and maybe I'll get it."

"Do you have to follow your sister's instructions?"

"What do you mean by that?" Weiss asked while narrowing her eyes.

"Well, why do you have to follow how your sister did summoning?"

"Because she's absolutely amazing," Weiss replied, "She mastered summoning and our family semblance without anyone showing her how!"

"And you think copying her will get you to where she's at?"

Weiss wanted to retort before she began to think about it.

"Then what do you suggest?" she said after mulling it over.

"Your semblances are similar sure, but you're not Winter and Winter isn't you, the path Winter took was her path," Mori explained, "I think you should find your own way to do summoning, the Weiss path."

Weiss began to think about it…the Weiss path…

"And what pray tell is this Weiss Path?" she asked now curious of what she could do.

"I don't know it's your path," He shrugged, "Maybe try to figure out what you want?"

"That's a dumb question, I obviously would know what I want!"

"Than what do you want?" he asked with a piercing tone.

Weiss was about to answer before stopping herself.

…What did she want?

"Find out what you truly want Weiss," Mori said as he got up to leave, "I think once you find that out, your path will become clear."

Were his final words to her as he left Weiss alone on the rooftop.

Weiss could only think in silence as she pondered his words.

What did she want in her life?

To bring honor back to the Schnee name?

To atone for everything, her bastard of a father has done?

To make Winter proud?

Weiss could only stare sadly at the moon like it was a mirror as she continued to think.

What did she want?

Swimming through waters the beast began to pick up speed as it made its way to its destination.

Its very size caused destruction, as it continued to swim essentially parting the sea.

Being at one hundred and twenty meters not many beings on this planet matched it in length.

Its power was great, being the ender of many nations in the ancient past.

The only thing that could match it would be its other siblings.

Other ancient Grimm, that held as much power as it.

The reason why its master had not used them to conquer this world was that it took immense magical power for them to awaken.

It was only called for special assignments.

It was not like the other lesser intelligent Grimm, whose job was only to prey on mortals.

No, its purpose was for whenever its master wanted to send a message.

Like that foolish nation that dared attack its master domain once.

That nation was destroyed in a day by the beast.

None could stop it when it had been given a task.

All fell to its power.

Another Chapter here I hope you enjoyed it! A cool thing that happened this past week was Journey was able to hit 1000 favorites! I feel super blessed that there have been so many of you who enjoyed the story and liked it enough to Fav it! To all my readers all I could really say is Thank you so much for your support and I hope that I'll still have it in the future.

Beta(s)

Eliad 91

Patrician Lurker

.fox37: Thank you I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter!

Akira-of-Ashton: Yes I do have plans for Mori to have a romantic relationship.

Wizardwolf 1020: Yeah Dragon is super interesting especially the fight between him and Daewi is pretty hype, I'm curious to see what's behind monkey's mask because I'm pretty sure he's going to have the face of Mori.

Felipe1402XZA: Yup it'll be exciting to see where this will end up taking him.

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Luke: I'm happy to see you so excited for new chapters! And yes I saw that I'm so hyped for his return!

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Pride of the Quincy: That was a fun part to write out, I live to embarrass Jaune.

VillainDeku9501: Thank you I'm glad you like it and yes his equipment is on Remnant they just haven't made an appearance yet.

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RunOnSentences: Thank you for the advice and your idea was something I considered but eventually it was decided with the Beta's it'd be better to hype a rematch than just have it drop out of nowhere.

EntetheSlayer: Thanks for pointing out mistakes, I was able to go back into the chapter and fix them! English is my first language so that's embarrassing I was missing those!

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