Fair warning: Good chunks of this chap are flashbacks back to back.
Just giving a heads up. Heard some kinda hate those for different reasons, but I'm willing to take my lumps and do it anyway. In any case, hope it's somewhat decent a read.
Let's start.
"Alright! Let's get down to business!" Yang clapped as she and the rest of her team were all gathered.
"Get to what business, Xiao Long?" Weiss wondered as she looked at the gathering of food around her that was prepared for such an occasion. Muffins, milk, bacon and eggs, apples, and even pancakes. Yang was very insistent that Nora couldn't have any, and pushed her outside while telling her to ask Ren to make her some. These were strictly for herself, her sister, and her new friends. "I must say..." Weiss began as she had even a bite of the prepared pancakes and tried her best to hide her delight. "I didn't peg you for a cook."
"You kinda have to learn to prepare food on your own when you're taking care of a younger sis, not to mention yourself, while your folks are busy doing who knows what the hell sometimes." Yang stretched her arms and sits next to Ruby, across from Blake and Weiss.
"You even took the time to have different flavors for some of them." Blake noted as Ruby was cheerily drinking some strawberry milk, along with eating her strawberry muffins and strawberry pancakes. She even spotted Yang drinking strawberry juice. "You two must really love strawberries."
"Strawberries are one of the best fruits and flavors in existence that make any food and drink that it can work with better, and I'll box anyone who says otherwise." Yang utters with complete seriousness, munching on a muffin.
"Strawberries are Superior!" Ruby beamed while drinking more of her milk.
"What an eccentric duo of sisters." Blake noted with a small smile, playfully lapping some of her own milk.
"Tell me about it." Weiss rolled her eyes as she lightly bites into another slice of pancake. That being said, this rather eccentric pair of siblings gave Weiss a new perspective on sibling dynamics. She's never really been this lively with her own sister, for example. Especially not her even more serious younger brother, at times. It wasn't always cold and serious between them, but they've never truly been the amount of cheery and lively that Ruby and Yang currently were.
She didn't know why it intrigued her so much, but she wanted to keep it in mind.
Also...
Why do I feel like I'm the only one eating normally? She also noticed with a twitching eyebrow as her teammates were not very classy or clean with their eating at all. Blake she could somewhat understand, because of her 'situation', she likely hasn't been fed properly for who knows how long and needed to get more food in her sooner rather than later. Still, she would do better if she paced herself a bit more. Perhaps she could help with that.
Ruby and Yang? No excuses. They were simply slobs when they were hungry, she decided.
Ruby meanwhile downed the rest of her current cup of milk, before setting it down with a sigh, clearing her throat. "Okay then. Now that we have a bit of breakfast in our bellies, it's time we talk about some stuff. Important stuff." Ruby made clear, as she looked in between Blake and Weiss. "Like, the two of you."
"Nh." Blake tilted her head curiously.
"And what might that be?"
Yang took a bit of a breath as she clasped her hands. This definitely wasn't going to be an easy thing to approach, but they couldn't just leave it lying on the floor and hoping it doesn't come up ever again. That's bound to be a disaster. Although, this isn't much of a safer idea, due to how sensitive it might be for them. But safe wasn't going to get anything done right now. This is a time to take a leap of faith.
"You two know what it is, don't you? Cause it involves the both of you."
Both girls silenced themselves for a moment, and looked each other in the eye. Ruby looked unsure how to proceed from there, while Yang was eying both girls curiously, wondering if a fight might break out at the briefest opportunity. Though she was relieved it didn't, once Weiss let out a sigh.
"Very well. If you insist." Weiss turned towards Blake. "Blake Belladonna. You and your family were a part of the White Fang, were you not?"
Straight to the point. Blake supposed that's to be expected of her, since she was very much involved in the subject at hand. Sighing, Blake placed her food down and managed to look Weiss in the eye. "Emphasis on were. But, that is correct."
"What happened?"
Blake clenched her fists slightly, even though her expression didn't change too much. "We were betrayed, used, and discarded. Not by one or two people, but the organization itself." Weiss noticed her voice beginning to pick up. "The White Fang was seemingly supposed to be organization dedicated to helping less fortunate Faunus from their circumstances, doing whatever we could to aid them. Sometimes it involved fighting humans, sometimes it involved peaceful protest. And others, involved simply reaching out our hand and giving a distraught Faunus something to hope for." Blake narrowed her eyes. "And yet..."
"They stabbed you in the back." Yang deduced.
"I wish it were that simple, to a degree. It's worse. They never believed in my family's dream in the first place. At least, a massive majority of them didn't. A lot of them were in on the betrayal." Blake muttered as she stared at her lap. "The resources we gathered, fellow Faunus recruited, ideals discussed...they were all leading up to them discarding us. I never imagined something like that would happen. I thought we all had the same goal. I was so naïve..."
"They've betrayed you and crushed your dream...?" Weiss blinked, as Blake sounded truly and genuinely distressed at the aspect. And just hearing about it, Weiss was feeling a bit angered as well, but kept that quiet for now. "There's no way something like that was out of nowhere. They must have been planning it for a while, waiting for the opportunity."
Blake sighed, her ears flattening against her head. "That was very much the case..."
Her father was stepping down as leader of the White Fang.
It was a bit surreal when twelve year old Blake first heard it, even amongst a crowd of her fellow Faunus as they gathered around for the announcement. Sienna and Kali were on either side of him, similarly addressing the crowd and helping them understand a few things about Ghira's decision.
"What do you think brought this on?" Adam, sixteen years old, asked with folded arms, having a wrap around one half of his face as he was lightly nudging Blake.
"I...I don't know. I haven't heard about this before today. I suppose he wanted me to know at the same time s everyone else." Blake wondered with folded arms, as Ilia anxiously looked on from behind her. "He might just be tired. Like he doesn't feel like he can carry the White Fang any further."
"You think so?"
"Again, I'm not sure..."
"It's with a heavy heart, that I relinquish my standing with the White Fang." Blake could hear her father lament as he closed his eyes. "It was not an easy decision to come to, but I have to do right not just for the White Fang, but for our fellow Faunus. I wished it were different, but I no longer possess the inner strength I need to lead the White Fang in the direction it needs. I wond wish to hold it back, nor the people of Menagerie."
"Leadership of the White Fang has been accepted by Sienna Khan." Kali enforced with a raised hand to the Faunus in question. "As she leads the White Fang, me and my family will continue to help the Faunus of Menagerie, so that we may each do our part to help each other."
"And through that, the White Fang provide the first steps towards guiding Faunus to a proud and prosperous future." Sienna finished.
Adam huffed as he heard several fellow Faunus expand into cheers, while others looked a bit more unsure of how to take this news. "I guess things are going to be a bit different. No idea how, yet."
"I don't have an idea either. I'm kinda nervous." Ilia, ten at the time, noted, with Adam chuckling and rustling her hair. "Hey!"
"Don't worry about it. For better or worse, you've got me to get you through it. So relax."
As they briefly bantered, Blake could feel it. That foreboding she can't accurately place. Her ears flicked as she heard someone walking about, multiple people in fact. Several cloaked figures from the gathering of White Fang members began exchanging greetings and such, including handshakes of congrats and acknowledgement of the decision. Kali and Sienna felt a bit overwhelmed, yet welcome and offering of support as it felt like they were being moved away from Ghira.
Something was wrong. Dreadfully wrong.
"I must say, Ghira. This must have been a big decision for you indeed."
Ghira nodded affirmatively. "It's time for a new perspective for the White Fang. I did what I could, but I had a feeling that my way simply wasn't working anymore. I entrust Sienna will be able to make more progress than I."
"So is it safe to say that a new age for the White Fang is about to begin?"
"In a manner of speaking, I suppose I do agree with that."
The duo, known as Corsac and Fennec, smiled quietly at Ghira's words, as a third White Fang cloaked member began moving along.
"What can we truly say to that, other than..."
"...We completely agree."
The horrible foreboding in Blake reached its apex.
Ghira released an exclaimed cry of pain as something stabbed deeply into his side, before pulling out in a messily bloody manner.
"GHIRA/DAD!" Kali, Sienna, and Blake exclaimed as they raced towards him, with Adam and Ilia, along with many a Faunus, being too stunned at the sudden event to react quickly. Kali was already holding him Ghira as best she could, while he looked to be heavily wounded despite it only being a single injury. But it looked like it was already getting worse. Sienna snarled as she turned towards the aggressor. "You!"
Through the cloak, Blake thought she saw a scorpion tail.
"You do know what the definition of 'Menagerie' is, don't you?" The assassin questioned, ignoring Sienna's anger. "It's a place where animals are kept to be trained for exhibitions. Showcases. Spectacles. Don't you see? The Faunus' homeland is seen as nothing more than a continental sized zoo from the outside world's perspective! A place for them to point and laugh at the silly animals that think they're worth something!"
"Bastard..." Adam glared, a hand gripping his sword.
The figure still wasn't intimidated, and instead kept going on, almost whimsically as other White Fang members gathered around him. "But that's why I was summoned here. To help out. The White Fang are tired of that, you see. They want more than that, and they want to get back at the world for treating them and the Faunus in such a dreadful manner! Oh my, such hatred! I like it, though. Because it means they're serious, they're willing to do anything to see this ambition through. And who am I to deny a such strong ambition?"
"What's the point in this?!" Adam roared, fully unsheathing his blade and slashing at the hooded assassin. Blades from fellow White Fang blocked the strike and managed to hold him back.
"Impatience. Quite youthful of you. Oh very well, I do agree we need to speed this along. I'm on a schedule." The figure clapped, and Blake felt uneasy as she could feel the wicked smile hiding behind the shade of his hood. "To put things simply: Indeed, it's time for a new era for the White Fang. There's no more reason to hide their true intentions anymore. What you thought it was for, was never to be. They're finally prepared to move forward." The sinister smile Blake couldn't see, felt wider all of a sudden. "And the very first step? Menagerie itself. Unfortunately named, due to many a Faunus sticking it out here instead of facing the world head on. That simply won't do. In order to the White Fang to carve a path into the new era, I'm afraid Menagerie has to go."
An echoing roar soon filled the skies, sending many a Faunus into a sudden panic, as they knew exactly what kind of roar that was.
"Oh, listen to that! Right on time!"
Blake's eyes widened at the sight of the enormous, malevolent creature emerging from the clouds, it's wingspan blocking out the sun briefly. It's sheer miasma was enough to make her feel sick just from it barely hovering over Menagerie. Sienna recognized it immediately, eyes widened in horror.
A Wyvern.
It roared again, it's massive wings spreading outwards as globs of it's body soon felt onto the ground. And from those globs, something would emerge from it, and it would be even more Grimm. Alpha Beowolves and Ursa Majors soon rode up from the globs with menacing, horrifying snarls.
"A lot of Grimm can be summoned from Wyvern. Vicious ones. It'll spread even more of them all across Menagerie, nearly non-stop." The figure grinned. "By the end of the day, Menagerie will be entirely overrun by Grimm, and all life on it completely eradicated. It'll be easy since the continent is the smallest of them all. Truly worthy of being a threat to entire nations!"
Kali didn't even question how he knew and how he was doing it. Simply something more emotional as she held onto her poisoned husband. "Why?!"
"Simply lending my services. I have something to benefit from it as well, but that's none of your business, is it?" The figure cackled slightly, lifting a hand. "Judgement had been decided! The Faunus of Menagerie want to hide out here and avoid all the problems the world hands them? Very well. Dying en masse ensures they'll never have problems again. Too dead to have any! The White Fang have no need or care for Faunus who give up their pride so easily. As a result, their lives have now been considered...forfeit."
Blake recalled the many things that Sienna warned her, Ghira, and the Faunus of Menagerie about. Trying to peacefully hide away from all the problems and simply be left alone, can only work for so long. Complacency will set in and make them weaker. They of course didn't think about it all too much despite having great respect for her. Humans didn't care enough to come all the way here to bother them, so what's the problem? So long as they stayed here, they could be left alone and live in peace on their homeland, their safe haven. They didn't want to fight. Sienna had warned everyone that if they don't prepare for tragedy, they'd be helpless when it comes. It wasn't entirely their fault. Who would have thought that something of this caliber could happen? It seems unthinkable.
Well, it did happen. And they were too weak and badly ill-prepared to do anything about it.
Remnant punishes the complacent.
Screaming filled Blake's ears as fellow Faunus were being slaughtered en masse by Grimm, with some members of the White Fang, to her shock and horror, stepping aside and leaving them to their demise. An Alpha Beowolf would pounce upon one hapless Faunus and ruthlessly tear their throat out. One vicious swipe of an Ursa Major tore another's arm off before messily biting into their shoulder. One after another, Faunus began dying, unable to fend for themselves.
And then, as if the day hadn't gotten any worse already, Fennec smiled.
"It is time for us to go, Adam. This will sow the seeds of your much brighter future."
Adam narrowed his eye. "Brighter future?! And why the hell would I go with-" The hooded figure kicked Adam in the back of the head, swiftly knocking him out and catching him in his arms. He was placed in the arms of a larger White Fang member, alongside Ilia.
"Stop! Where are you taking them?!"
Corsac turned towards Blake with an unnervingly serene smile. "You've done well. Truly, you have. We appreciate all you've done. But alas, we regret to inform you that we've reached the ideal stage. The Belladonna's are no longer necessary."
"Unnecessary?!" Blake hissed as she dashed towards them with Gambol Shroud, but her path was blocked by several White Fang members. "Why! Why are you all doing this?! I thought we were comrades! The White Fang was meant to help and protect Faunus!"
"Really, did you seriously think this would end any other way? That's quite naïve of you. Unfortunate for you to be so gullible. What you want, is unfortunately not within our desires. Your desires are not important, and never were." Fennec continued as Blake angrily attempted to push past the wall of opposition, to no avail. "A naïve, pampered girl like yourself would have never lasted long, so there's no need to blame yourself. You're just another piece to be thrown aside when done with. It's a natural process, nothing to be emotional over."
Blake grit her teeth as she was being pushed back, sparks flying due to the clash.
"Your father got the idea of his White Fang from the whispers of the REAL one. We considered his a cute pet project, but now it's time for it to end, to make way for the one that truly matters." Blake's eyes widened, and a bit of her struggle lacked as they just voiced that what they all thought was her father's creation was never the case in the first place. "We DID find some good recruits from the trial, though. Adam Taurus has been one of the most promising additions we've had in years. We appreciate you nurturing him for us."
"The bottom line is, we're ready to continue seeing the White Fang's vision through." Corsac smiled kindly. "The Belladonna's, Sienna Khan, Menagerie, are now unneeded. You'll all be the necessary sacrifices that will ensure that the White Fang becomes stronger than ever. Farewell, Blake Belladonna. I have a feeling our chances of meeting again are rather slim."
Blake hissed and screeched at them in rage, but she was ultimately tossed back and unable to get past, crashing along the ground as they took Adam and Ilia away. Trying to regain her bearings, she shook her head and looked up, only to briefly duck as she felt something swipe at her head.
She looked up to see an Ursa Major standing over her with a vicious snarl, having the arm of another Faunus in it's jaws. Her eyes widened, frozen as the creature swung it's law down towards her to tear her head clean from her shoulders.
It's paw was not only stopped, but it's whole arm was completely torn off as Sienna met it's swipe with an Aura enhanced punch, her catlike pupils glowing with rage at everything that was happening, her muscular yet feminine build brimming with unrestrained power. She roared as she clenched her fist and struck again, this time blowing it's upper half clean off, quickly destroying the beast.
"L-Lady Sienna!"
"We need to move!" Sienna declared, kicking away an Alpha Beowolf near effortlessly, while picking up Blake with one arm. Blake hurriedly looked towards her parents, in which Kali was tearfully making her away away from Ghira as it became clear that he had succumbed.
"Dad..." Blake mouthed in stunned, emotionless shock. From all the commotion going around, and all the Grimm attacking, her father had passed within all the confusion. She didn't even get to hear his last words.
The sheer unfairness of it all briefly blinded Blake and shut her out of everything else, until she eventually felt herself reconnect enough to see a passenger boat near the docks, where many other desperate Faunus were trying to use the boats to escape. The one she was approaching was near maximum capacity from sheer desperation.
Blake was small enough still to fit in one more.
"Listen, Blake. We're going to have to go our separate ways here. We couldn't save your father, but I'm at least going to save you." Kali mouthed tearfully as she brought a shocked Blake closer and briefly kissed the top of her head.
"I'm going to protect Kali, Blake. Count on it. Ghira will never forgive me if either of you die today as well." Sienna declared as she placed a hand stop Blake's head. "Take these words with you. There's no point in living a life you can't be proud of. Hold onto your pride as a Faunus, Blake. Don't forsake it for anything or anyone."
"Live, sweetie. No matter what happens, please, live." Kali pleaded with Blake, kissing both of her cheeks and then her forehead, before reluctantly and tearfully being forced to let her go.
"W-Wait! Mom! Lady Sienna!" Blake called out with an outstretched hand, but other Faunus scolded her for trying to go overboard as they pulled her back onto the ship, leaving her unable to do anything but watch as Sienna was alone in defending Kali from the oncoming horde of Grimm.
Five minutes into the voyage, she could see Menagerie completely being devastated, with the Wyvern just spawning more Grimm to attack everything in sight, leaving little to nothing alive or intact. Streams of tears ran down her eyes as her home, which was the reluctant but accepted homeland of all Faunus, had been completely coated in blood and destroyed. Her home was as good as gone, two of her dear friends have been taken away by the faction that betrayed them all, her father died, and her mother and mentor may have very well suffered the same date.
And there was nothing she could do about any of it.
Nothing of worth she could possibly do, except to cry frustrated tears of sorrow as she quietly sailed into the night.
Of course, fate wasn't done making this worse for her.
Several hours into their journey, the vessel was forcibly stopped. Blake was shocked as another, much bigger boat had crossed their path and stopped them in their tracks. The vessel consisted entirely of humans, armed humans. They laughed as they descended upon the vessel the Faunus were on.
Several of them were desperate enough to fight back, but they were easily subdued with several strikes and a slamming of a blunt weapon. It took them several moments to find Blake, given that she's hidden herself within the shadows. Once one of them were within her reach, she was quick to use Gambol Shroud to attempt to slice at their neck. She was barely able to cut it, catching them by surprise. Though it resulted in her being dog-piled the second she was still, her weapon sliding across the floor. She cursed and hissed at the humans around her as one of them approached her. She picked up her weapon and kneeled in front of the pinned feline Faunus, smiling.
"Ah, so you're a fighter, aren't you?" She asked while lightly pinching Blake's injured ear, making her wince in silent agony. "I think I know the perfect way for someone to take you in."
Blake hissed in outrage as their companions laughed at their predicament, before they were all taken one at a time. Blake was no fool, there was no chance she's see any of these Faunus ever again. But she wouldn't give in. Doing so would bring shame upon her mother and mentor's efforts to save her life. Everything was stacked regained her. Nothing was going her way. The world has effectively discarded her.
But none of those were excuses enough for her to give up.
She'd endure this, and all that came after, until her chance for freedom came. And after that?
She'd have a grand dream to fulfill. No matter what.
Blake sighed as she finished recalling everything about that fateful day. Ruby, Weiss, and Yang looked at her in various amounts of shock and horror at it all.
"After that, I endured five years of enslavement. No one had come to my rescue or tried to free me. I've seen the worst side of humanity when there's no one willing to prevent Faunus subjugation." Blake's torn ear flicked slightly. "Some especially took enjoyment in tugging on and messing with my torn ear a lot, which is why it looked so bad before. I can still hear perfectly fine. But in terms of looks, I don't think it's going to go back to the way it was."
"Shit..." Yang mouthed while turning away. She didn't know what to say to all of that. What could she say to all of that?
"That's all...horrible." Weiss was at a loss for words as well. There was a glint of realization in her eyes that Blake noticed, but chose to pass it by unless Weiss was going to say something about it.
"It is. But this is proof that I endured and escaped. I've managed to survive it all, and eventually I did find my freedom. Thanks to Ruby." She turned towards the redhead in question, who seemed the most calm of the bunch, surprisingly. She was nervously pushing her fingers together quite awkwardly. "Ruby? You look like you want to ask me something. What is it?"
"Well...uh..." Ruby didn't know how to bring this up without seeming terribly off-topic, so she chose to simply get it over with. "Your ears...are really cute!"
"...Hm?"
"Eh?"
"What the hell."
The last one surprisingly came from Weiss, who honestly couldn't believe Ruby would get distracted by such a thing after such a heavy story.
"Ruby, after hearing all of that, THIS is the first thing that comes to the forefront of your mind?!"
"I-It wasn't the first! I was just thinking about them for a bit. And even if one of them is torn, her ears are still cute. A-And her having being scarred like that...I-I don't know. It's proof that she survived some pretty bad things. And if she can survive it, she can move past it and become stronger because of it." Ruby shook her head with a whimper. "I'm probably saying a lot of stupid stuff right now!"
"No. I understand what you mean." Blake reassured, giving Ruby a bit of relief. Still, she couldn't help but look at Blake's ears as the inevitable request left her lips.
"Can...Can I touch them? T-That's not offensive, is it? Am I crossing a line?"
Blake chuckled. The sheer awkwardness Ruby was radiating may have pissed Weiss off a little and off-balanced Yang, but Blake found it a much welcome breather to the rather heavy subject she recalled. "Not at all. You can touch them."
Blake was once helpless in the hands of humans who have explicitly treated her poorly and with no respect. Ruby was the first human to have come to her rescue, and did her best to free her and keep her that way. Not to mention the other Faunus freed from Melanthia's sadistic grasp.
She had no reason or will to believe Ruby would use this against her. She wasn't the type, from how briefly she has known her.
Nodding silently, Ruby approached Blake from behind and lightly touched Blake's scarred ear with a finger at first. It flicked in response to her touch, but otherwise didn't cause Blake discomfort. Ruby soon gained enough courage to touch both of her ears, getting a sense for their surprisingly fuzzy fur. Ruby's eyes briefly sparkled at the touch. "They're a lot fuzzier than I thought they'd be." She whispered while lightly rubbing the undamaged feline ear that still had a tip to it. "They're really nice ears."
"Thank you." Blake sighed pleasantly. Ruby's touch was delicate and soft, taking extra care to not hurt her on accident, particularly in her damaged torn ear. It didn't have a tip to it anymore, but it was still soft and fuzzy to the touch.
"You're surprisingly okay with this." Weiss couldn't help but comment, which made Ruby nervously pause for a moment.
"It isn't too much of a problem for her to ask. She was the one who saved me. Plus, it's not like it's taboo to do this sort of thing or with other Faunus. Those who don't mind won't mind, those that do, do. Simple."
"Oh, okay." Ruby sighed with relief, assured she wasn't being super rude on accident. "Do you think Velvet would let me touch her rabbit ears if I asked?"
"Maybe. That's for her to decide, of course. At the very least, both of her ears are in good condition. They might feel better than mine." Blake lightly joked while tapping Ruby's hand. "Keep going, please."
Ruby nodded as she continued to gently rub, scratch, and pet Blake's feline ears, which helped the Faunus relax after sharing such a stressful story with the group. In a way, she was glad that Ruby was awkward enough to request such a thing after such a heavy story. She was feeling a little bit better about it once she realized she was in a safe place.
Plus, this current treatment felt really nice. Nice, and kind.
"Alrighty, now that things calmed down a bit." Yang rolled her arm. "That was pretty heavy. To think the organization you rocked with turned it's back on you and threw you away."
"That would definitely explain it..." Weiss thought while running her chin.
"Explain what?"
"It would explain some of my own experiences with the White Fang." Weiss's answer got everyone's attention, especially Blake's, who's eyes she locked with. "A month after that day..."
Weiss was quite a prideful little girl. Even as a little girl, she knew that her family was one of prestige and recognition, one worthy of honor. And none truly displays such an example of such quite like her grandfather.
Nicholas Schnee.
It wasn't too much to tell that he very much earned his place as one of the most powerful and influential Huntsmen in Remnant's history, being powerful and skilled enough to become Grand Huntsmen. And it's definitely not a stretch to say that he's one of Atlas' most powerful and dedicated protectors, when he's not too busy with managing the SDC. It wasn't hard to guess that Weiss Schnee was very proud of her family and their accomplishments, especially her Grandfather.
Who she was currently training with right now.
"Hahaha! Come now, Weiss! You're doing great!" Nicholas could be heard calling to Weiss as she was holding an in-development Myrtenaster in her hand, as she held out her other hand as she was trying to manifest a Glyph. It took her quite a bit of effort, down her face from how she was inwardly pushing herself. Though she saw a flicker of a Glyph for several moments a it and dispersed as she let out a breath of frustration. "Oh, so close."
"Shoot!"
"Don't worry. You're progressing. It lasted a lot longer this time." Nicholas reassured her as he lightly patted her head. "I think you've earned yourself a break."
"W-Wait, I can keep going, Grandfather! Just watch me!"
"Now now, Weiss. Burning yourself out isn't going to do much but exhaust you. Pacing yourself is important, after all." Nicholas told her we he reached out to hold her hand. "Come along, let's go have some lunch together with the family. Whole there's time to spare."
Weiss sighed. She supposed pacing herself better would do her more wonders them pushing to no avail. Besides, she was feeling a bit hungry, anyway. "Okay."
Having lunches together was much rarer than one would expect. Not to the point where it happens once a month or anything, but enough to where they could each feel the time between each event being spaced out. Enough space where a longing for the next one could be formed.
Weiss winced as she heard Nicholas have a brief yet coarse coughing fit, swiftly turning to him as he briefly hunched over. "Grandfather!"
"Ugh...I'm, I'm fine, Weiss. Just a bit scratchy." Nicholas smiled at her, but she remained pouty. She wasn't fooled. He's been feeling like this for a while now, and she had a pretty good reason why.
It seemed working within the Dust Mines for so long, especially without knowing that some degree of extra protection would be needed until long after he stopped doing so himself, had long-term consequences on her grandfather's health. Anyone who knew him best could tell that his health at his prime was probably never going to be restored. He didn't let it get him down, though. He simply went on to continue supporting his family and Atlas itself in other ways, not wanting to hold anyone back or weigh them down.
The thought did cause Weiss to smile. Her grandfather really was the best grandfather ever.
It wasn't long before they met up with the rest of their immediate family. Nicholas smiled widely at the sight of Weiss's siblings, Winter and Whitley. Behind them, Jacques and Willow followed suit, with the former looking the most stoic of all. Willow however, smiled at the sight of her father.
"Willow!"
"Hello, Dad." Willow nodded as they both embraced want other in a hug. "Has Weiss been training too hard again?"
"Just put a stop to it for today, even. Girl really needs to learn to pace herself better." Nicholas shook his head, before turning to his other grandchildren. "Whitley! Winter! How are you both? Sorry I've been gone for a while, her plenty of Huntsmen work to do, after all."
"Not at all, Grandfather." Whitley brushed off with a wave.
"You had business to attend to, it's understandable." Winter nodded with clasped hands and a bow.
"Not good excuses. I'll try and do better next time, count on it." Nicholas soon turned to Jacques, who cleared his throat.
"Afternoon, Nicholas."
"Good grief, Jacques. We're not strangers anymore. Formality like that isn't necessary." Nicholas shook his head with a shrug. "Told you this many times, yet the message still hasn't sunk in, it seems."
"Perhaps it's simply more comfortable for him to refer to you as such." Weiss wondered.
"Maybe. In any case I can't force him, but it would be nice." Nicholas lightly turned towards oncoming staff members, one of them being faithful butler Klein. "Everyone heading somewhere?"
"Gave them the day off. They deserve it." Jacques mumbled with a sigh. "Their performance will suffer if they don't rest, so declining wasn't an option I gave them."
"I see. You've begun to think of your employees even more."
"By necessity. Ever since that dreadful incident with that malicious employee that scarred a poor Faunus boy with a branding iron." Willow winced as she palmed her cheek, though Weiss was the hidden fierceness in her eyes. "We have no idea what went down exactly but it doesn't matter. That needed to be dealt with swiftly."
"Now I have to pay closer attention to these facilities to make sure no ones abusing their authority. Had to do some necessary firing and hiring, and some proper screening so this doesn't happen again. This is the kind of blow that's not easy to recover from."
Nicholas sighed at that, scratching his neck. "Right, that is serious. Once again you have a better handle on this than I do. But if you need any help, I'll be around."
"Appreciated."
"Gwah!" One of the maids, noticably a mouse Faunus, gasped as she fell to the ground, with several of her belongings spilling and something round rolling up to Nicholas. "S-Sorry! Mr. Schnee!"
"Hey now, don't worry about it." Nicholas waved off as he picked up the ball like object to return to her.
Weiss noticed two things immediately.
The fact that after Nicholas picked up the orb like object, the maid began to smile somewhat unnervingly to herself.
And that object had what appeared to be an insignia with a 'W' on it.
It was all she was able to gather, before a bright flash of light engulfed everything, and she could hear what sounded like a heightened shout of agony from her grandfather.
She couldn't remember what happened before, not fully. Only that it was sudden, and there was little time to react.
Weiss seemed to have lost consciousness during the ordeal, because when she opened her eyes, she was somewhere completely different. It was dark and dirty, with little sources of light aside from a candle or two. Something else she noticed, was that by her side, was her little brother, Whitley. Blinking, her eyes widened as her attention immediately focused on him, lightly trying to rouse him awake.
"Whitley? Whitley! Wake up, Whitley!" She exclaimed with distress in her voice. She was relieved when he opened his eyes with a groan, sitting up slightly. He didn't seemed to be hurt, just disoriented as he slowly sits up.
"Weiss...? What...where are we?" He looked around, noticing that they weren't in their home anymore, either. "What happened...?"
"I don't know." Weiss muttered as she looked towards a doorway, which appeared to be open. "But we can't stay here. I have a bad feeling. I'm worried about Grandfather."
"I can't remember anything that happened..."
"Me neither. Either way, we need to leave." Weiss muttered hesitantly. She certainly didn't feel like leaving was the smartest or safest solution, but something told her that waiting around was just begging for death. So with a heavy sigh, she gently held Whitley's hand and led the way through the open door, down a passageway.
She made sure to keep her brother close as they went down the passage. The sense of foreboding free stronger the further they went down. Something wasn't right. It was far too quiet.
No, it wasn't that quiet. She could hear something the further she proceeded. Something loud and uproarious. The sound of what might have been, fighting? There was no mistaking it, those were the sounds of a battle going on.
Reluctantly, she pushed through the next door forward. Though once she did, her eyes widened as she immediately pulled Whitley under cover nearby, behind a crate, as something crashed into the space they just occupied. Weiss's eyes widened.
It was an Atlesian soldier. A dead one.
She briefly turned her head around the crate, and sees her concern was well-founded, for Atlas personnel seemed to be fighting what appeared to be the infamous White Fang she heard so much about. And from the looks of it, they seem to be fighting against the ones that were sent to rescue her and Whitley.
And it wasn't going too well for either side.
She quickly ducked behind the crate and hugged Whitley tightly to her chest as she could still hear shouts of battle and screams if agony from lives being extinguished on both sides. She briefly looked around the crate again, then immediately hid again with a quiet yelp as blood splashed against the wall. Someone else collapsed on the other side, eyes lifeless and blank. She and Whitley looked with cold fear, yet Weiss didn't release her tight hold on her brother despite both of them filled with terror.
"Weiss..." Whitley whimpered, clutching onto Weiss, who returned it while caressing his head, cautiously looking back.
"Shh." Weiss whispered, even though she herself was shaking hearing the carnage all around her and wondering if it was ever going to end.
After what felt like forever, everything became quiet. Quiet and still. Weiss wondered if it was over, but didn't dare love a single muscle, not while Whitley was in her arms. She kept both of them shushed as she waited a bit longer to see if there truly wasn't anyone left.
As she feared, something knocked the crate away, and Weiss turned around quickly to see someone towering over them, with a vicious smile on their face.
"What do I see? A couple of Schnees! Oh how super lucky of me!"
Weiss yelped as she felt herself being knocked aside, with Whitley being knocked the other way, a bit farther. Both of them groaned as the figure slowly made their way towards Whitley, first.
"Your plastic soldiers found us sooner than anticipated, but that doesn't matter. They all found their doom. That being said..." Weiss could recognize the voice as female, then noticed something red and set emitting down her arm, forming what appeared to be a blade of sorts. "It's troublesome to have two of you scurrying around. After a bit of thought, I think only one of you will do." She raised up her blade with a vicious smile. "Might as well cut down the youngest!"
"WHITLEY!" Weiss shouted in sheer panic, not noticing that a Glyph managed to perfectly form beneath her feet, and propelled her towards Whitley, who himself was frozen in fear as the blade slashed downwards.
Weiss was left fallen on the floor, clutching her face as Whitley shook himself from his terror and went over to her in worry.
"What's this? A Schnee risking their own life? That concept sounds alien." Their attacker blinked, before she shrugged. "Not that it matters."
Weiss, despite the pain surging from the wound running down her left eye, forced herself to push through it and stand up again. She was resolute despite her heart quivering in fear, as she placed herself in front of Whitley while pushing him behind her, glaring harshly at the assassin with blood running down her face. She heard what sounded like the crash of ice outside, but right now she was focused on Whitley and the threat in front of her.
"Don't touch him!"
"Standing tall in the face of death, for your youngest and weakest sibling. That's courageous for a little snowflake like you." The woman grinned as she raised her arm again. "In that case, I'll honor your declaration by killing both of you together!"
Weiss squinted her eyes shut as the woman hones in for another attack, with Whitley shouting for her.
Though she didn't feel the weapon cutting into her. She slowly opened her eye only to be surprised by the arrival in question. Both she and Whitley looked tearful, filled with relief.
"WINTER!"
"The eldest?!" The assassin gasped as her blade clashed with Winter's, with sparks shooting off of them. "You arrived sooner than expected! Did you hear the sound of those plastic soldiers being slaughtered? Or did you sense your siblings souls and tracked them that way?"
Winter didn't say a word, but her intent and feelings could be felt from merely the sheer, ice cold glare of fury in her eyes.
The assassin nearly mocked her over her silence, but that was immediately cut off, along with the offending arm that wounded Weiss.
She screamed in agony as she clutched the arm that used to be much longer, with the dismembered limb falling to the floor and frozen, then shattered. She grit her teeth in pained anger as she glared at Winter, who's freezing stare was still locked into her as she began stalking towards her, the space around her growing colder, yet it didn't feel so for Weiss and Whitley. Soon, three more Glyphs manifested around her, along with three more Arma Gigas, to accompany the one responsible for heavily wounding the assassin.
It became painfully clear that she was grossly outmatched.
"Tch, no choice, then." The woman, who Winter could see what a bat Faunus due to her ears being visible, scoffed as what appeared to be bat wings made of blood manifesting from her back, flapping them as she took flight, taunting Winter with a grin. "You may have saved those brats, but your family still won't be unscathed from all of this!" She cackled, soon vanishing in what appeared to be a flash of blood.
It might be her Semblance, Winter wasn't sure. Nor did she particularly care at the moment. Her attention was foremost on Weiss and Whitley, who she turned to as the Arma Gigas dissipated into frost.
"W-Winter...!" Weiss and Whitley both fell completely into sobbing as Winter rushed to them and pulled them into her arms.
"It's okay, you're okay. I'm here. You're safe now." Winter comforted them as she hugged them both, their heads resting against her bosom. They all stayed there as Winter called for more personnel to help her with what remains of the situation.
But that wouldn't be the end of their tears.
As she was stepping out with Weiss and Whitley in tow, the two siblings looked up in shock alongside her. Whereas Winter has summoned up to four Arma Gigas at once to combat her foes.
Nicholas had forty.
Four groups of ten have been sent all over the area in search for his kidnapped grandchildren while near effortlessly powering through the enemy that tried to stall him in vain. They could tell he really exerted himself, with how breathless he looked, blood dripping from his mouth. Though once he saw the trio leaving one of the facilities safely, he smiled.
"What a...relief..."
He soon fell to the ground, his summons dissipating into frost.
Eventually, they made it back to Schnee Manor in one piece. Or at least, that's what they had hoped for.
"Filthy tricksters." Jacques spat as he and the rest of the family saw Nicholas Schnee lying in critical condition, with Willow by his side in tears.
"T-They knew there was no chance of them ever defeating Dad in an actual b-battle." Willow muttered with barely restrained, tearful hiccups. "So t-they did something like this to him...!"
It had been solemnly explained to them by Nicholas' doctors. The man's health has always been deteriorating ever since his time from the Dust mines, after having personally worked them for so long himself without proper protection. Though, because he insisted on going first throughout these expeditions, he was able to help the SDC decide upon the proper gear and tools necessary to properly manage them. He always brushed aside concerns, reassuring everyone he was still healthy enough to assist his family and the SDC in any way he could.
That explosion, whatever it has done, has significantly worsened his condition, actively worsening the already poor health he's had for years. He was deteriorating fast. Too fast for them to attempt to mitigate. It was like the explosion was carefully, specifically made just for him with these thoughts in mind.
Either way, Nicholas knew he was done for.
"Having worked the mines for so long, leading that charge, seems to have had negative consequences for the long run..." Nicholas chuckled through several heaves. "How pathetic and disgraceful, isn't it? A Grand Huntsmen going out in such a way, retired or not? I bet, people will laugh at me...heh. I wouldn't blame them. Ah, how the mighty have fallen..."
"No. No one will laugh at you, Daddy. No one at all." Willow muttered with a tearful sob, shaking her head in denial.
"Daddy? Haven't heard you call me such in years. You really must be distressed, Willow." Nicholas smiled as he lightly touched the top of her head. "Come now, don't be like that..." He slowly turned around. "Hey...can I see my grandchildren? Up close and personal." Willow nodded as she lightly stepped to the side, allowing Winter, Weiss, and Whitley to scurry to either side of him. He smiled happily at all of them. "There you all are..."
"Grandpa..." Whitley and Weiss both uttered, while Winter was struggling to keep her face straight.
"From the depths of my heart and soul, I'm relieved you're both alright. I'd...much rather much stay here on this world with you a bit longer...so I can see you all grow up. But if this is truly it, then it's better for it to be me than either of you." Nicholas nodded with a sigh as his grandchildren grew more teary eyed by the moment. Willow was still sobbing to herself in her tissues. Jacques looked away from the man's but could be seen clenching his fists. "It's truly shameful and pitiful...for me to leave you behind like this. But...I know that the Schnee name, and Atlas itself, will be in safe hands."
All three Schnee siblings moved closer to him, with Winter herself having most the will to restrain her tears.
"You all can achieve so much more together than I ever could alone, creating a better future for Atlas, as well as yourselves. I...truly believe in it." Nicholas smiled as his eyes began to glaze over, so he soon closed his eyes. "I only wish that I could...be there...to see it..."
With this, Nicholas Schnee calmly breathed his last, happy to have been surrounded by family.
His three grandchildren freely allowed themselves to cry, with Winter embracing her younger siblings in a big hug. Willow fully broke down in uncontrollable sobbing, turning to Jacques and crying in his chest. Jacques didn't hesitate to hug her and run her back. He was still able to somewhat control himself, but even he couldn't help but she'd a few ters for the passing of a man he greatly respected, even if they didn't always see eye to eye.
And with that, the future of Atlas became much colder...
Weiss took breath and sighed to herself. That was quite a bit for her to get through, it wasn't easy. And as she looked at the stunned stares of her teammates, she could tell that she was able to get to them, at least a little bit.
"...That's it. That's why you didn't feel comfortable around Velvet." Yang muttered in realization, in which Weiss reluctantly nodded in confirmation.
"After that, security in Schnee Manor was significantly tightened, Father fired many a Faunus at the time that worked with the manor, and was very insistent on any succeeding ones having very in-depth background checks. Because a big flaw previously was that my grandfather was kind. So very kind. And too trusting." Weiss reluctantly admitted. "That entire incident might not have happened had he been a bit more scrutinizing and cautious when it came to people. I suppose he did admit that Father was more savvy in that regard..."
"No wonder you were so nervous, hesitant, and jumpy around Velvet."
"I don't hate Faunus, let's destroy that notion before it festers. I only hate the White Fang. But...I can't lie and say that I completely trust Faunus, either." Weiss clenched her fists. "And that's not fair to Velvet. She's a dedicated, caring, and friendly. I know in my heart that she's trustworthy and not a bad person in any way. And yet...I can't bring myself to potentially put my life in her hands. Nor can I remain comfortable around any Faunus, because I don't know when something like that can happen again."
Blake nodded calmly. "I see. So, does that mean my presence brings you some distress? Right now?"
Ruby and Yang looked to Weiss at the question, with her looking somewhat guilty. She bit her lip slightly, looking away in shame as she quietly nodded her head. "Yes...it does. But perhaps this is a golden chance to overcome that altogether. I don't want to be wary around Faunus for the rest of my life."
"Nn. I appreciate your honesty." Blake nodded. "It seems the White Fang brought great pain upon you and your family."
"But is it nearly as much as they brought pain to you?" Weiss declared a bit aloud. "They've betrayed you and tried to leave you for dead on a doomed island."
"And in response to the loss of Menagerie, the White Fang greatly increased in support and numbers around the world. This is a dangerous outcome, for the vision the White Fang has is a dark one. And it's existed for years long before my family. It's existed for longer than anyone thought." Blake narrowed her eyes. "Their desired end goal is nothing less than the total subjugation of humanity, and any Faunus sympathetic to them, and are willing to use any tactics necessary to achieve that goal." Blake's eyes turned solemn. "Assassinating Nicholas Schnee, who was one of the most powerful human influences in the world due to creating the SDC, and being the face of Atlas's success and prosperous future, falls under that goal. The assassination of my father and betrayal of my family, as well as the destruction of Menagerie, also falls under that goal. Eliminating both a major human influence and destroying an island that's supposedly the homeland and safe haven of 'cowardly' Faunus? To them that's still achieving one and the same, just in different directions. They don't even care much about other Faunus, mostly about themselves."
"That's awful! How in the world can they do these things and think like that?" Ruby muttered in disbelief.
"Seriously. They'd go this far...?" Yang lightly tightened her fist.
"Yes. Me and Weiss are living, surviving proof of that." Blake turned back to Weiss. "If there's one thing that we for sure have in common, it's that the White Fang..."
"...are our enemies." Weiss finished with a firm glare in her eye.
Silence filled the room as they allowed the food stories of Blake and Weiss to sink in. Ruby and Yang didn't interrupt for a while, not wanting to potentially interrupt anyone's thoughts. Blake and Weiss were sitting in silence as well, taking in the fact that the faction known as the White Fang had a hand in the darkest moments of either of their lives. And through those dark moments, they've proven that there's nothing they won't do to achieve their malevolent ambitions.
"...So, what do we do now? All of that's out in the open between you two." Yang muttered with folded arms and a sigh. "Things got a lot more dark and depressing than I expected. Not exactly the outcome that I wanted."
Ruby sighed as well, but took a different approach on the matter.
"Yang." Ruby called out, which got her sister's attention. "Do you remember the promise that we made, when we were little?"
"Huh? Yeah, I remember. Why bring that up?"
Ruby raised her head seriously. "Let's do it again. This time with the four of us." Blake and Weiss both looked surprised by this with their widened eyes, though Yang appeared to be rather interested by the idea given her raised eyebrow. "Things were a bit awkward before, given how we mostly came together after saving a village and defeating a corrupt Huntress, as well as slaying a Nevermore. After that, we kinda petered out because we still didn't know how to feel about one another." Ruby took a breath, before she smiled kindly. "Now that we're a bit more open with each other after airing some things out, we can begin truly helping each other as a team. And we can start out by declaring what we want to do."
"What we want to do?" Weiss blinked.
"What do you mean by that?" Blake also wondered.
Yang turned towards the duo with a sunny grin, now understanding what Ruby was getting at. "The four of us make a pledge. A vow. A promise. Ya get the gist. The four of us make a promise to each other that we won't break no matter what, to truly finalize our formation as a team."
"I'm afraid I still don't quite understand."
"Each of us has a goal of ambition we want to achieve. One or several. And lemme tell ya, it might be a lot easier, and a helluva lot more fun, if we had reliable friends to help us out. Well guess what, we found those reliable friends."
"You find us reliable?" Blake wondered.
Black feathers soon filled Yang's mind for a second, before she shook her head, and looked at the duo.
"In this world, if we wanna do anything we wanna do, we need two things in particular: Strength and Resolve." Yang stayed seriously. "It's very important to always be getting stronger, because that's a decent way to pave the oath forward. If we don't have strength, we're just being reckless. Without resolve, we're being irresponsible. If we're not strong enough to endure what our chosen path has to throw at us, or we don't have the resolve to see it through all the way to the end, then we're better off just not trying at all. Becoming stronger in mind and body means we'll be able to overcome any obstacle, no matter how insurmountable it might seem. If we can't do it our own, then we just have to work together."
White rose petals briefly filled Ruby's vision, before she blinked it away.
"There's something each of us want to do, and it relates a lot to who we are as people. If we can't reach that desire all by ourselves, then we should have someone to rely on to help us get there. We live in a world filled with nightmares. But despite that, there's still a chance for dreams to live and be seen through." Ruby smiled. "Think back to our battles at Aurora Town. Despite our differences and circumstances, we were able to come together and overcome the hurdles thrown our way. Now that we're a team, we just have to keep doing that. Do it again and again with every hurdle we come across, until we eventually reach the goals, dreams, and ambitions that we each have."
Weiss scoffed. "You make that sound easy." Despite this, Yang could tell that Weiss was listening intently.
"Nope. It's not going to be easy at all. In fact, we're probably going to get our butts kicked pretty good. But that's fine. It'll push us to become better than we were before, until we overcome that hurdle we're stuck at. No matter what happens, we keep seeking out that dream of ours. Hunting that dream and not falling prey to Remnant's nightmares." Ruby slowly stood up, tugging on her cape. "To me, that's a big part of what it means to be a Huntress."
The other three were silent for a moment, with Blake and Weiss staring at Ruby in surprise. Yang was smiling through it, however, and had also stood up and clapped her sister on the shoulder, while looking at Weiss and Blake with calm expectation. Both the girls looked towards the sisterly duo, then towards each other, before they both sighed.
"We're really about to do this." Weiss mumbled as she stood up.
"I don't know. I think I like it." Blake smiled softly as she too stood up.
"Now then, each of us make a pledge on what goals we want to achieve, that we'll help each other achieve, and won't give up on no matter what." Ruby announced. "Then hold out your fist for a four way fist bump, and channel our Aura through them to seal the deal!"
"Seriously? That's how we're doing this?" Weiss deadpans with an eyebrow twitch. She at least expected something a bit more grand and fancy than that.
Blake nodded, deciding to go first. "There is one side, where Faunus have no faith or belief in their potential to achieve great things, thus very few truly try. And then we have the other, Faunus will trample upon humans upon other Faunus, for their own selfish desires. I want to be able to prove that Faunus can do it too if they tried, and stop others like the White Fang by ruining that potential with their malevolent intentions." Blake held out her fist. "Which is why I'll put an end to both. On my path to achieving evolution, I'll prove that other Faunus can reach immense heights, and stop those that try to obstruct them. I'll protect the Faunus' honor and pride, as I become the first Faunus Grand Huntress."
"Hah! Not too shabby!" Yang cracked neck and rolled her arm. "There's quite a bit for me, too. I'd like to be the strongest Huntress this world has ever seen. Not just for the sake of it, or simply through power, either. Wanna make a point to everyone that nothing is beyond your reach if you build up the strength and resolve for it. Your reach can exceed your grasp, you can aspire for amazing things, if you work for it. You can be strong enough to handle anything that comes your way, and be resolved enough to see your path through to the end. There's a whole big awesome world out there. And it is reachable. Just gotta work for it. And I'll be one of those who takes that first step into uncharted territory and open a new world of potential adventure for everyone." Yang grinned while holding out her fist. "That's the promise I'll live up to, as I become a Grand Huntress!"
Weiss looked baffled, seeing they were really going through with it. She ultimately sighed and gave in. "Oh, what the hell. Why not?" She shrugged as she stepped forward. "Me and my siblings made a promise ourselves, shortly after Grandfather passed. We were going to live up to his legacy and perhaps surpass it, in our own ways. We'll achieve greater than he did together, far more than he was able to on his own. My brother is already resolved on becoming the next head of the SDC, in order to do more for Atlas, which will in turn help many around the world. As for Winter, she wants to be Atlas's strongest soldier. A peerless soldier capable of protecting her home, the home that Grandfather loved. As for me..." Weiss huffed, looking away, before placing one hand on her hip and holding out her fist. "I'll become Grand Huntress, a better and stronger one than Grandfather ever was. While Whitley and Winter do what they can from home, I'll be spreading our goodwill outside of Atlas, wherever I go. Through this, the three of us will uphold the Schnee name, and the pride of Atlas itself, in order to build a stronger connection with Remnant at large."
Ruby smiled, happy she was able to get such a ball rolling, before she stepped forward. "Mine isn't too different from Yang's. I wanted to be a Huntress. Possibly a greater one than the Grimm Reaper. And it's not simply for the sake of that, either. There's a lot this world has to offer, that the world simply isn't able to see because of so many bad things happening in it. So much that they don't have much courage or will to seek it out and see it for themselves. It's comforts, it's delights, it's sights. I want to see and experience it all. Every bit of all of those things that brings joy and meaning to people's lives. And I want to be able to protect all of it, so others can have the same fulfilling experience." Ruby smiled and held out her fist. "Our world isn't so weak that it needs to be saved or anything like that. It just needs more people to care about it. I want to be one of those who shows them a world of infinite possibilities, after seeing some of them for myself. To bring some of it back with me to show them, and reawaken that sense of wonder for the world we live in. That's one of the things I want to be capable of and achieve, as a Grand Huntress."
Declaring their resolve to each other, the quartet of girls smiled, as a surge of their respective Auras channeled into their fists, sensing the brief moments of connection and a feel for each other's resolve.
"It would seem that each of us have something similar in mind." Blake chuckled.
"Each of us becoming a Grand Huntress, in order to send out our own message of inspiration? Want displaying our own sense of conviction?" Weiss smirked with a huff.
"Basically we're gonna be a quartet of badass Grand Huntresses, each having something to say to the world by becoming one. I can get behind that." Yang laughed at the notion.
"We have to remember, though. Our duty is first and foremost is to protect the people. Anything that we want will have to come second."
"Obviously." Yang stretched and placed her hands behind her neck. "Protecting the people and helping them stand up again is the Huntress way. If we forget and forsake our responsibilities in the pursuit of our dreams and ambitions, then we were never worthy of them in the first place."
Blake nodded firmly. "Couldn't have said it better myself."
"That's that. We've made our promises. From now on, we're all in this together!" Ruby looked to each of them, and they nodded to each other as well as her. "...Sooooo...uh...anybody finish their breakfast?"
"Yo, I could go for seconds and thirds." Yang said almost immediately.
"And there goes the mood. You two are gluttons." Weiss sighed, while Blake quietly chuckled as the sisters scurried about for more of their prepared breakfast.
"Does that mean you don't want yours?" Blake playfully raised an eyebrow.
"I didn't say that." Weiss denied quickly, drinking some of her given milk with a shifty glare in her eye.
As they were doing all of this, Glynda was standing just outside their doorway, back to the wall. She was coming over, and nearly went inside to check on them. But after hearing them finalizing their resolve to themselves and each other, she softly smiled. She closed her eyes as she pushed her glasses up and quietly made her way back to her office. That was an ideal and better way to finalize a team formation if she's ever seen and heard one.
It appears some of my concerns about them were unnecessary. At least for now.
In a world like Remnant, Qrow found it important to expect just about anything. As he's learned through trial and error, the world likes to play with everyone's expectations, in a whole myriad of ways that can't always be prepared for or accounted for, no matter how hard they try to do so.
Whenever you least expect it, expect it. Better to have it and not need it, than to need it and not have it. Things get ugly before they get pretty. Don't push your luck, or it might just turn on you at the worst of moments.
Qrow was REALLY bad with the last one, and the amount of times turned around and laughed at his face made him want to go into an entire rent full of swears and curses. Though on that front, he had learned a bit of restraint. Because thanks to him, Yang was a bit sweary herself, and Taiyang was never going to let him hear the end of it. Nor would Yang herself.
Does having a sweary vocabulary come with Branwen blood? He didn't know for sure.
What he did know, was that he hated his luck a lot more than usual at the moment, because it was bound to have immense consequences due to the amount of influence it had. He was thinking this, as he was staring deep into a large crater, surrounded by several smaller but still large craters. It seemed like a pretty intense battle took place here. And no matter who the actual winner was, someone didn't walk away with their life. And it was someone he knew far too well.
There was no way he'd mistake that silver hair, the shaded glasses, and cane.
The now disheveled hair, the broken glasses, and the shattered cane.
The blooded hair, the lifeless eyes, and the destroyed Long Memory.
The corpse of Ozpin, lying alone in the ruins of a battle having already ended.
Qrow let out a deep, tired, and heavy sigh. All that work to track this irritatingly illusive man down, and this is what he finds. Now he was probably going to have to relay this to Glynda and James as it was far too important.
Their reactions were not going to be small or subdued.
"Damn my shitty luck..."
And with that, Team RWBY is born for real. This is a sort of epilogue to their formation arc.
There's still some things for them to do, but for now, they've surpassed the first hurdle by getting Blake and Weiss to open up a bit. With that's there's a true step forward for the both of them, as well as Ruby and Yang.
The girls have been out through the ringer, haven't they? I was especially sad to do this to Nicholas Schnee. My man didn't deserve it.
I do intend to have a showing of just how MIGHTY this man was back in his heyday. To be worth that Grand Huntsmen title. He really for real was the strongest Atlas had. Forty Arma Gigas would have been child's play in his prime.
Unfortunately, some dangerous enemies found it suitable to take advantage of his ailing health and protectiveness/dedication towards his family. Not to worry, for his family, especially his grandchildren, are there to carry his hopes into the future.
Oh, also.
Yeah...Menagerie is sorta, uh...gone...huh.
Faunus lost their 'safe haven' five years ago. I think quite a bit of them wouldn't be happy about that. Surely that's not enough for the White Fang to get a massive boost in numbers, right? Right?
...Oh who am I kidding. That's pretty bad, isn't it...?
Good luck with them, Blake!
Anyway, that's the true closing of this arc. I think enough important critical figures are dead within the span of one chapter. Meh, I'm sure the last one was especially unimportant.
Until next time!