It's once they've determined to meet with the woman with the orange eyes again that Weiss realizes she doesn't know how to actually get into contact with her. When they had their conversation in the restaurant, the woman didn't quite reveal this information to her.
Weiss knocks on the door to the dorm to let Ruby know it's her. Ruby looks up from her desk, where she had been studying. Oh. Well, Ruby studying. Not exactly a rare sight but it does say something about the mood she must be in.
"It really wasn't your fault I got myself hurt again," Weiss says. She adds, "Please stop feeling bad."
"Where are you going?" Ruby asks.
Weiss hesitates. It's the way she's dressed, jacket and pants, Myrtenaster at her side, that's probably tipped Ruby off. Ruby's gaze is soft and serious, disarming. Weiss's hand tightens around Myrtenaster's hilt.
"Did Winter apologize yet?"
"Yes," Ruby says. Then, she says, "Weiss. Where are you going? You should still be resting."
Don't, Azula warns. Don't get her involved. We can do this by ourselves. Weiss stands there, struggling with what to say.
"There's a tracker in my Scroll," Weiss says, finally. "If I'm not back by midnight tonight, you and Blake and Yang should come look for me. But… it should be okay. I'm just meeting up with an old friend from Atlas who's arrived for the tournament. The Headmaster said it was fine. The new treatment he's put on for me has really been helping. My Aura feels better than ever."
What she's actually on is a cocktail of painkillers and Aura boosters and there hasn't really been any 'new treatment'. Liar. Liar, liar, liar. Azula always lies. Azula groans and asks Zuko's voice if it ever knows when to shut the hell up. Weiss fixes a pleasant enough smile to her face.
Ruby looks at her. She just looks for a while, then nods, slowly, and says, "Midnight."
Now, to actually go out and look for the woman.
Weiss checks the restaurant first, The Twin Dragon. She asks the attendant if he remembers her or if he has any information about the woman she was with here last time. The attendant says he does have a note for her.
The note has a pair of coordinates, and it sends her to a nightclub in the heart of downtown Vale. It's still the middle of the day so the club is all but empty. Weiss gives a cursory glance and immediately realizes that the woman isn't here either. In her head, Azula lets out a hiss of displeasure.
"What's a sweetheart like you doing here?" the man behind the bar says in a bored voice. "Scram."
"I'm looking for a particular person," Weiss says. "Can you help me?"
"Name's Junior. I'm an information broker. If you're looking for a person, of course I can help you," the man grunts. "But I'll need a consultation fee."
"How much?"
"Depends. At minimum… Five thousand Lien."
"Done," Weiss says. She pulls out a couple cash cards and sets them on the bar counter. The man blinks, clearly not actually having expected it, looks at the money, then looks at her, more closely this time. He puts down the glass he was polishing.
"Wait a second," Junior says. "You're that heiress, aren't you? Weiss Schnee?"
"Nobody cares. I'm looking for a woman about this tall. Dark hair. Orange eyes. Obsessed with fire. Where can I find her?" Weiss holds up a hand to indicate the height she's talking about.
Junior pales. "Fair bit of warning, but you really shouldn't get mixed up in that business, sweetheart," he says.
"Duly noted," she says, and continues, evenly, "So then?"
Junior pushes her money back towards her. "Just keep it. I'll give you a freebie," he says. Then, he leans in and says, in a low voice, "I don't have too many details myself, but I know that she's been working with the White Fang and Roman Torchwick."
Well, Weiss suspected as much, that the woman was involved in some kind of nefarious plot (especially given Ozpin's ominous warning and all), but it was nice to have the confirmation. "So, where can I find the White Fang or Roman Torchwick?"
Junior doesn't know about the White Fang but he gives Weiss a list of warehouses and Torchwick's known haunts. Leaving the nightclub, Weiss looks at the list and sighs.
"How utterly insulting," Azula says, flatly. "I'm leaning towards not working with her."
"Weren't we already leaning towards that in the first place?" Weiss mutters. "The more I think about her the more I get a really bad feeling. Much worse than Ozpin. I still think you're unnecessarily biased against him."
"I've been wondering about who that woman is," Azula says. "Or who she could be, if I could've known her." Azula seems thoughtful. "She almost reminds me of myself, in a way."
"A noble, then? Military? In what way does she remind you of yourself?"
"I can't quite put my finger on it. Either way, there's hundreds of noble families who have ties to the military in the capital city. I suppose it doesn't really matter too much, does it, who she is?"
"Do you think she knows another method to get us out of this? Since she was in a similar situation, but it seems like she managed to get out of it none too badly… When we talked, she seemed to be just one person."
"I highly doubt it. Weiss. Use your head. What would it mean if she really was just 'one person'but had once been like us?"
"Oh."
"Yes. Whoever that body originally belonged to is dead. She took it over fully. She became its sole owner. She is our end stage which I've warned you about."
Azula speaks all too nonchalantly. Weiss feels uneasy. She catches her reflection in some of the storefronts she passes by. Gold colored eyes. Her gait's different than it used to be. A little more strength and forward motion to it. Her hands, absent of the ability to summon fire, constantly hover over Myrtenaster's hilt, as if expecting trouble at any moment. Azula senses her unease. Without a word or conscious thought, she retreats her presence a little bit, and Weiss blinks, and the eyes in her reflection turn blue. Her gait doesn't change, though.
When Weiss thinks about it, her eyes have been gold a lot more recently. She's been talking out loud with Azula a lot recently, too, instead of only in her head, as they used to communicate before their meeting in that foggy mental plane. Azula's voice feels louder to her, and her own voice feels quieter. Maybe it's to be expected, given that she's decided to stop fighting against Azula, to give her more control, but still, it's sobering evidence that what Azula is saying is happening is in fact happening.
The sun is setting when they reach the last location on Junior's list, a metal scrapyard attached to an abandoned warehouse on the western outskirts of the city. All the other places they had struck out. If this isn't it, then they're back to square one, and will only be able to wait for the woman to get into contact with them first.
For a supposedly abandoned warehouse, there's a lot of activity. Eying the people moving boxes and cargo with some distaste, Weiss thinks this is probably where Torchwick stashes a good deal of his stolen Dust.
"I've been waiting for you to get here," a voice purrs, and Weiss spins around. There, sitting at the top of a mountain of scrap on a throne of black glass, all dramatic like, is the woman with the orange eyes.
"Ash," Weiss greets, warily. "If that even is your name. I don't particularly appreciate the wild goose chase."
"As soon as you started moving across the city, I had eyes on you," the woman says. She descends the pile of scrap. Descends really is the proper word—the metal beneath the woman's heels melt into slag and solidify, forming a slope that eases her down. "I only wanted to see you prove your… hm. Sincerity. "
"Well, you can see it for yourself. Here I am. My sincerity is obvious."
"Been talking to the headmaster a lot lately though, have you?"
The woman comes to a stop in front of her. A foot of space separates the two of them. The woman's orange eyes gleam, and Weiss's hand closes on the hilt of Myrtenaster. Tense, Weiss says, "It's to be expected. I wanted to know the full details of the situation before I committed myself to a particular course of action. Been watching over me a lot, have you? Stalker much?"
"It's to be expected," the woman echoes, "when there's so much at stake." Then, the woman cocks her head with a smile. "So."
"So."
"About my offer, firebender. Your 'particular course of action'. Which is it? I do hope it's the one I want to hear."
Azula shifts to take control of Weiss's mouth. The woman's smile grows wider. Weiss thinks, I'm trusting you to make the right decision here, Azula. I'm trusting you.
Azula says, "I know where the Fall Maiden is. And I want to work with you to obtain her power. But first, before I can tell you that information, I need you to do me a favor and tell me what you really want out of all of this. A quid pro quo. I'm not stupid. I know there's quite a bit more to it than what you conveyed to me last time. I need to know what I'm getting myself into."
Her voice rings out in the scrapyard around them, steady and powerful. The woman's expression turns hungry. "You know where Ozpin is hiding the Fall Maiden already?"
"Yes. The headmaster told me. He showed her to me."
"Oh, how you do such marvelous work," the woman laughs. She steps in even closer, and Weiss steels her spine as Azula stares back, unflinching. "I knew I was right to approach you. You almost remind me of myself."
The woman reaches out her right arm. Her hand comes to a rest on the side of Weiss's face, her thumb trailing down the length of Weiss's jaw, and goosebumps flare along the back of Weiss's neck. "The poor little snowbird destined to be eaten by dragons," the woman croons. "Alright, alright, come along then. I will give you a tour."
I don't like this, Weiss says in her mind as she follows the woman into the warehouse.
Didn't you say you trust me? Azula replies, even-keeled. She removes Weiss's hand from Myrtenaster's hilt. I've got a handle on it.
The warehouse is in fact the place where Roman Torchwick has been sequestering away his stolen Dust. Freight containers of Dust, most of them stamped with the SDC's logo, are stacked to the ceiling around them. Many White Fang members double-take when they see Weiss, and each encounter which the woman with the orange eyes barely defuses with a nonchalant, irreverent tone sets Weiss more and more on edge.
There's enough Dust in here to fuel a miniature army. Actually, there's all the makings of a miniature army here. Bullheads. Stolen Atlesian Paladins. Plenty of guns. And of course, the White Fang members themselves, the equivalent of footsoldiers.
"I am going to start a revolution," the woman says.
"Charming," Azula says, sounding bored, but there's an undercurrent of interest to her voice that Weiss picks up on. "Of what kind?"
"The kind which once set in motion can never be taken back," the woman says. "This world is a corrupt, dirty place, firebender. It is even worse than the world which we came from. The 'facade' of peace in the Kingdoms is only that—a facade. Children go hungry everyday. How many orphans are there slaving in the seedy underbellies of these so-called 'great cities'? How many do the Grimm kill? What of the injustices perpetrated against the Faunus? And yet there are men like Ozpin who would do everything to preserve the status quo and their own power. They would deny the destiny of those who are strong, who could change the world for the better."
"Such as yourself."
"Such as myself," the woman says. "My name, firebender, is Cinder Fall."
"Cinder Fall…" Azula muses. "Fitting. Is it your name, or the name of the person you killed and whose body you took over?"
"She was weak. She wanted power but not the willpower to take it for herself. She gave herself over to me. It might as well be my name now."
"Will people die in this revolution of yours?"
"It is the necessary sacrifice. If you are truly Fire Nation, then you understand the necessity of war, the nature of conflict and death and renewal."
"How do you determine who it is that lives and who it is that dies?"
"We'll start with Ozpin's little bastion, his pride and joy. Beacon Academy. Then, once it crumbles, the filthy city. In the ashes of destruction a new order will be reborn. Soon afterwards, we'll turn towards the rest of the world. Mistral. Atlas. Vacuo. They will all fall."
"The Grimm…" Azula considers it. "They will be difficult to stop. I don't imagine the transition will be easy. The common people won't understand."
"The Maiden's power will suffice to control those mindless beasts," Cinder says. "Not just the Fall Maiden either, but the rest of them, which will all become ours. Spring, Summer, Winter. Combined together, we would be an unstoppable force. It doesn't matter if the common people won't understand at first. They will in time. They will see that it is better for themselves."
"In this 'new order', you would no doubt be the leader," Azula notes.
"Yes. But, of course, you'll have a spot right besides me, for your loyalty," Cinder says. She abouts face suddenly, and they are alone, standing in the shadows between a long corridor of stacked containers. "It sounds appetizing, doesn't it? Not just having your fire returned to you, but becoming the ruler of a kingdom. Of the world, even. There is nothing you would be unable to achieve. Everything touched under the light of the sun would belong to you."
"It does sound quite appetizing," Azula says, and then she grins, a razor-thin expression. Weiss feels a faint chill of terror go down her spine. Azula's thoughts, in this moment, are totally opaque to hers. She can't seriously be…? No, that's impossible, right…?
Weiss tries to work her jaw. She struggles to open her mouth. But she can't. Amusement crosses Cinder's face.
"The little Schnee," Cinder says. "How afraid she is! So then. Have I satisfied your questions?"
"You don't know how difficult it can be to get her to shut her mouth sometimes," Azula says, in a light, casual voice, as if sharing a private joke with a co-conspirator. "Her, and all her ridiculous, infuriating friends. If you really are going to destroy that school, by all means, you have my unconditional support. Not only that, you know what, I'd like a 'first crack at it', so to speak. I've always been a bit of a hands-on person myself."
"You won't have to wait long," Cinder says. "By the end of the week, Beacon Academy will burn."
"I do love fire," Azula says. She sighs. "Ah. How wonderful it will be when I finally have it back again." Azula holds out Weiss's left hand in front of her palm first, as if imagining summoning a flame right there and then.
Then, she looks up and catches Cinder in the eye. Azula's grin widens. "Unfortunately, Miss Fall, I think it'll have to be on my own terms."
The white glyph sends the entire nearby wall of Dust containers crashing onto the floor.