Chapter 56

"Haaa…." Jacques Schnee let out a long, loud and tired sigh. It felt like he was releasing a year's worth of tension, though it was only for a moment. Give it a few moments and he would be right back to being stressed. He'd been feeling that way for over a year now.

Ever since Weiss' funeral.

When was the last time she smiled at me? Genuinely smiled? He wondered as he swirled his brandy-filled glass. Must have been… over a decade ago. Before Willow and I grew distant. Before Winter left us.

Jacques had a lot of regrets these days. He'd lost two daughters. One despised him and would never come home, the other was dead. His wife hated him. All he had left was Whitley. I'll put my all into him. It's the only thing I can do anymore.

But that would not change the past. It wouldn't bring his daughters back. If only I had been more forceful. If Weiss had only stayed here in Atlas she would… He couldn't finish that thought. It was the height of foolishness to think about things like that. The past was the past. He just hoped that Whitley would learn from his mistakes and do better.

There was a soft knock at the door before it opened. "Whitley I believe I told you not to disturb me."

"Y-yes but… there's a man to see you?"

"I said no visitors. Why would you let him in?"

"He… let himself in." As Whitley said that the door was swung open and a dead man waltzed in.

"Jacques! Long time no see."

"W-watts!? But…" Jacques mind whirled for a moment. "Whitley. Close the door and return to your room. Now!" The door closed as Whitley hurried away.

Jacques straightened in his chair. "You're supposed to be dead."

Watts chuckled and took a seat. "I did enjoy that little ruse, but it has served its purpose. But I'm not here for me. I have an… offer for you."

"An offer? And what could a dead man offer me?" Jacques brought his glass up and took a long sip. He used the moment to collect his thoughts. Why would he be here? He gains something from this.

"Hm. I have a need. You have a need. I can solve yours and you can solve mine. By working together we can both go home happy."

"I see," Jacques replied. "Go on."

"You want to end Ironwood's tyranny yes?"

"I do. Between the borders and the embargo, my business is suffering. If I didn't need to win this election I would have closed my Mantle stores. They're costing far too much."

Watts chuckled once more. "What if you could have your cake, and eat it too?"

"I'm listening." Jacques was careful with his words. Overextending here could be the end of him.

"It's simple. Ironwood has increased security in Mantle but it was too late. I had my backdoor all set up. Which means I can influence a certain election and its results. In return for that, I want one thing. The codes a councilman gets to Atlas's security system. That's all."

"So you'll make sure I win and all I have to do is give you access to all of Atlas. What do you gain from that?"

"What I want, dear friend, is to crush Ironwood. He ignored me for that fat oaf. I want to tear him down. Ruin him. And once the dust settles you can separate the Huntsmen and the military, returning to a proper five-seat council. No more will one person dictate everything."

"Hmmm." Jacques hummed, trying to buy himself a little time. Is that all he really wants? Revenge? I know he hates Ironwood for choosing Polendina and his project over Watts and his, but is that all that's at play here? It's been years, Watts could have changed so much in that time. What game is he playing? What is his end goal? What does he want? I don't know anymore. That puts me at a disadvantage. But the election is so close now and I'll lose out no matter what. Either I'll lose too much money or I won't get elected. Or both. He's the only way to avoid them both.

So do I take it? That was the question of the hour. The answer didn't take that long to come to, however. It was simple really. He had a duty to make this company succeed. With the embargo and closed borders, the SDC was losing a lot of money. It could be irreparable if it went on much longer. The only way to stop that was to win this election. Which meant, as was his duty, he had to accept.

"Alright, Watts. I'll get you that code, so make me win."

Watts grinned and held out a hand. Jacques took and shook it. "A pleasure to work with you once again, old friend."

That day a deal with the devil was made, and for once Jacques wasn't the devil.

A cold wind blew as the Manta door opened, revealing the long, uninterrupted wastes around them. The only thing in sight was a broken hunk of wood and metal. Half a dozen men and women hopped out of the Manta, all but one wearing gear specific to the cold. So cooold. One of them, the youngest man in the group, whined to himself.

One of the other men, a soldier, took a watchful stance near the Manta, while the rest moved towards the one object they had come to investigate.

"Ms, if you could keep watch as well that would be good." An older man, the head of this expedition asked the only one not dressed for the freezing cold. The young girl, a Huntress in a red cloak, nodded and stood near the entrance to the object.

The young man, named Sparrow, gave his boss and the girl a concerned look. She couldn't be older than him, but yet his boss looked like he respected her. The man who only ever seemed to respect the Ace-Ops and the General was giving respect to a girl who looked younger than him. It didn't make sense to him.

Regardless he followed his boss into the snow-covered thing they had come to investigate. Two of the stronger members pulled open the metal-reinforced wooden doors, allowing sunlight into the space below.

It was a pretty typical Mistrilian Airship, primarily built out of wood with metal reinforcing it. Inside the main space was what had likely been used as a bedroom. Empty food packets were discarded everywhere for one.

Someone was sleeping in here while they travelled. But there's no sleeping bags or blankets left. No signs of them still being here either. Sparrow found that odd. Crashing this far away from Atlas was a death sentence if you weren't rescued quickly. Which is why it was odd that the distress beacon wasn't active.

Sparrow hopped down into the slanted room. The ship wasn't completely on its side, but it was on such a lean that he had to be careful with his footing. He thumbed the pistol on his hip but didn't draw it. There didn't seem to be any Grimm, nor angry or mad human occupant's. He was soon followed by the others, leaving the soldier and Huntress outside.

Whilst the others investigated the main compartment, Sparrow made his way into the cockpit. This wasn't any more promising. It had obviously been used, but there wasn't anybody here. Alive or dead.

No way they would leave. That would be a death sentence. Sparrow discarded the idea. Who could possibly be able to survive out there? It'd take days to trek to Mantle which would kill anyone.

"It's empty." Sparrow sighed.

"Seems so." His boss said with a nod. Just then they heard six gunshots. They looked at each other and then rushed back out, in case they needed to leave.

They needn't have bothered.

Standing in the snow, scythe in hand, was the girl. And surrounding her was a pack of dead Sabyr's, slowing dissipating. Sparrow couldn't quite believe his eyes. There's a dozen of them, and there weren't enough bullets fired to kill them! What was worse is that the soldier hadn't even drawn his weapon.

The girl had somehow killed them all herself in mere moments.

Sparrow grunted as his boss hit his arm. "Don't be so flabbergasted. She's a Huntress."

"She's younger than me!" Sparrow argued.

"And?" His boss asked, flooring Sparrow. "Look you need to pay more attention. She's a rising star in the Huntress ranks. Training with the Ace-Ops, working alongside the Defender of Mantle and even works directly with the General. She's even been given a nickname."

"Huh?" Sparrow's eyes widened. Nicknames, in the Huntsmen world, were a big deal. It was like a brand really. Being given one meant people the world over would be able to recognise you. It was basically a sign of trust and respect.

"They call her the Red Reaper. Don't piss her off."

Red Reaper? Sparrow hadn't actually met anyone with a nickname or title, from the Huntsmen side of things anyway. The closest was the Defender of Mantle, but that seemed to be a special case. Not even the Ace-Ops had them. The only one that comes to mind is the Grim Reaper. Which means people already think she's on that big of a deal?

He just couldn't fathom it.

The Reaper soon walked over. "Report?" She asked. She still sounded younger than him, but had already gained respect.

"Nobody here. No body either. Tracks will have been covered by last night's blizzard, so we won't be finding them. If they tried to walk they would have died."

The girl hummed and nodded. "I see. Was there any signs of fire?"

Sparrow cocked his head to the side. "Fire? In a ship of wood? They'd be a fool!" He exclaimed.

"None. No signs of Dust use or anything either. What are you thinking?" His boss ignored his outburst.

"Hm. Possible suspect. Thank you."

"Suspect?" Sparrow blurted out. "Who the heck could this be!?"

"A criminal," She answered. "Who could kill all of you in seconds. She could make it. I'll report this to the General. We'll be ready if it is her."

She sounded so confident. It floored Sparrow. His boss sighed and whacked him again. "Understood. I doubt we'll get much else for now. Shall I call the retrieval team?"

"Yes."

Already? Sparrow thought, eyes wide. The retrieval team would come in after them and, well, retrieve the airship. No use letting it go to waste out here after all. There wasn't much else he could figure out from it either…

Sparrow sighed as they piled back into the Manta and left. He felt like he hadn't done much more than be scolded for being annoyed that a child was being given such respect.

Ugh. I hate this!

"RAAAAR!" The glimmering silver Beowolf roared as it crashed through the block wall, chasing a cloud of rose petals. Said petals flew up, dodging the summoned beast.

Ruby mostly reformed with her scythe in hand. Her bottom half was still made of petals, letting her remain afloat. Let's do this! She pushed a button on her scythe and swapped the Dust on her blade to Ice Dust. The metal of the blade glowed softly as the Dust infused into it.

Focus! She concentrated, pouring her Semblance towards the blade and its Dust and began to convert the Dust into petals. It was a task that took a lot of effort, but this high up she was out of range of the Beowolf. She would need to be faster at this to use it properly, but for now…

Icy-Blue petals fell from the blade and swirled around her, controlled by her mind as if they were a part of her. Ruby turned her mind and pictured her desire. The Dust infused petals responded, clashing together to form a dozen small balls. The Dust within expanded and consumed the petals.

With a yell, she launched her attack. The petals were expended as they launched a dozen icicles at the Beowolf. The attack was too fast for it to react, causing it to be speared and killed. Ruby dropped to the floor, panting.

That… that's too much! I could get one, maybe two, off in a real fight if I'm very lucky. But I'd be a sitting duck afterwards! She had made great progress in the last few weeks, but it wasn't enough. She'd only managed to create one new Dust attack and it took too much energy.

Winter walked over with a soft smile. "That was very good, Ruby. Keep up the good work and you'll make it."

"Thanks…" Ruby was thankful, but she was also annoyed. At herself, not Winter. To recreate a single of Weiss' attacks she had to expend well over triple the energy. It just wasn't worth it yet.

"I… understand your frustration, Ruby. This is a new skill for you, however. Weiss and I took many years to reach our level."

"I know. We don't have that time, however. Who knows when they'll act." Ruby stretched as she spoke.

Winter was silent for a good, long moment. Eventually, she started to leave. "I have something to show you." Ruby raised an eyebrow but followed.

Winter led Ruby deep into the Atlas Academy complex and eventually passed into a section for the military. They passed dozens and dozens of guards, robots and security systems. Ruby would likely be gunned down about a third of the way through if she tried to breakthrough.

Eventually, Winter directed her into a room and left. Ruby glanced around and walked up to a massive window. Inside was another room, with Winter and an elderly woman.

They were together for maybe half an hour, talking as Winter provided the woman with tea and company.

"She's the Winter Maiden." She confessed when she returned to the small chamber. Ruby's blood ran cold. This old lady is the Maiden? And Winter is talking to her like she knows her… oh no…

"Winter… does she talk to anyone else?"

"No."

"So you're going to be the next Maiden?"

"I am."

"Was that your choice, or an order?" Ruby looked at the woman next to her. Winter hesitated for just a moment.

"It is my duty."

"So he's ordered you."

"I'm happy to accept this."

"..." Ruby sighed. "Ozpin… he asked Pyrrha multiple times if she was okay with her choice. He may have made it a loaded question, to encourage her to agree, but he still made sure she was making the choice. No duty involved."

"I see."

'I see' she says. Ruby felt anger in her heart. But why? Winter had still agreed, hadn't she? She'd still made a choice. It was as fake a choice as Pyrrha was given, so why did she feel so angry? Because Pyrrha wasn't beholden to Ozpin. She could have left Beacon, ignored him or anything else. But Winter… she's a soldier, trained to follow orders. If Ironwood says jump, she'll ask how high. If he says to become a Maiden, she'll ask when.

That was it. It was a fake choice but one Winter had even less control over. That was what angered her. But Ruby took a deep breath and reigned it in. No use getting mad at Winter.

"So why show me?"

"I suppose it's a final favour. You were Weiss' best friend, from what I can tell. You let her be herself and grow. So I wanted to pay that back, I suppose."

"So you show me the Maiden to pay me back for being Weiss' friend…" Ruby felt her anger cool instantly. Winter was just trying to thank her. "Thank you. How long does she have?"

"A few weeks. A month or two at most. Her body won't last too much longer. She doesn't have any remaining family. I… I'm the only one she can remember."

"Winter…" That must hurt. To ensure it went to Winter they had two choices: Force the power, through killing her or the transfer machine. Or let it happen naturally, but that meant she could only ever talk with Winter. That explained why Winter was barely around. She was caring for this old woman. "You're doing a good job…"

"Thank you…"

Silence. Several minutes of silence. It was only interrupted by their scrolls. An important announcement.

"... And so it saddens my heart to announce that I have to close our branches in Mantle." Jacques Schnee announced, only a couple of days before the election.

"What is he doing?" Ruby asked the world around her. It was foolish. He was trying to win their vote! It'd be smarter to close his Atlas branches to gain favour with Mantle!

"He's… I think he's just provided the spark that will ignite Mantle."

"We need to move." Ruby rushed out of the room, quickly followed by Winter. They needed to get down there quickly, before this devolved into violence.

Damn it! What the hell!

A/N: Apologies for the delay. Work got hectic and a few other projects took up my remaining time. Anyway, chapter! Jacques is interesting as an antagonist. He's not like anyone else in RWBY because he's just a selfish dick. He's still human, so of course, losing a daughter hits him hard. He's far from a good person, especially a good father, but still, it hurts. Leaves him very ripe for Watts to manipulate sadly. Next, we have Sparrow in a scene I've been thinking about since very early on in this fic. Sparrow is the vehicle for it but the scene was heavily inspired by a mission in the game Ghost of Tsushima. Freaking love that game btw. But yeah it's basically just a way to help finalize her nickname and give a little of my personal belief on how such things work in RWBY. Mainly because we only really have Maria with a nickname, aside from Penny. Maria's is so recognized that a guy in a different Kingdom based his fighting style off of her. Feel it's gotta be a big deal in-universe.

Finally, Winter does one last favour for Ruby. Or so she says anyway. Winter is in a very similar situation to Pyrrha, but slightly different. Both a loaded choice, but one is basically an order. Poor her. At this point, we're right back on the V7 track. Things can only go downhill from here.

I hope you all enjoyed and I'll see you next time!