It felt like an agonizing eternity, yet it had only been mere seconds since Weiss had fallen into the Void.
Her little sister...the one she swore to protect all these years ago when she left her name and title behind to join Atlas Academy.
With each second ticking by the realization sunk in a little deeper.
'I...failed...'
No...no that...she couldn't be...
Winter's devastation morphed into fury, her crystal blue eyes zeroing in on the one responsible for all of her pain.
Cinder Fall.
Oh how she wished she could just blast that obnoxious girl into oblivion, never to be seen again. Everything... everything that happened to her...to Penny...to Weiss...all of it was her fault!
"You will pay for everything you've done!"
If she didn't know any better, she could have sworn the Fall maiden grimaced a little, but her arrogant smirk convinced her otherwise.
Winter watched her shrug and fly away, as she made her way towards the portal leading to Vacuo, the boy...Jaune right behind her.
He was right...they had to ensure everyone else was safe. It was her duty to protect the citizens of Atlas and Mantle.
A sharp gasp behind her caused Winter to throw a glance over her shoulder. Jaune's face was a mask of sheer terror and it was obvious to see why in the Winter maiden's eyes.
'The floor!'
The golden road was slowly disappearing, catching up to them far too quickly to outrun it.
Quick wittedly Winter reached out to grab the boy and carry him the rest of the way, but his eyes were fixated on something behind her.
"What...LOOK OUT!"
Winter whirled around, but it was already too late. Something smashed into her, knocking her head aside, making her see stars for a moment.
Blue...stars...
'Focus!'
Where was her assailant?
Winter's eyes darted through the darkness. The portal had disappeared...and Jaune with it.
Did he make it after all or had she failed him as well?
She couldn't say.
After a while it dawned on her that she was truly alone. Whoever attacked her must have escaped to Vacuo or fallen down themself...leaving her trapped here.
'Penny...Weiss...I'm...'
There was nothing she could do. Even with all this power at her command...she was helpless.
The most sensible thing would be to die and pass on her powers to...that Nora girl. The people of Atlas still needed someone to protect them after all...and yet...her thoughts wouldn't focus on her task at hand...her duty...
Tears began to blur Winter's eyes. She didn't want to die. She wanted Penny back, wanted her sister back. She would give everything for that...to save them.
Coldness started to spread over her body, as she spiraled downwards, numbing her mindless thoughts.
'I'm sorry...'
A blinding light engulfed her, everything was spinning so much it made her dizzy. There were buzz noises, distorted sounds, schemes and shadows and then...she found herself smacked against cold cobblestone, her face only nearly managing to miss the hard plastered floor beneath her, instead smacking onto her left arm.
Cringing from the sharp sting, Winter needed a while to catch her breath and order her thoughts.
She wasn't...dead...it seemed?
"Miss...are you okay, Miss?"
The maiden's gaze snapped to the presence above her, as she staggered onto her feet way too quickly, swaying dangerously, her guard raised to high alert.
"You...who are you?
Where are we?"
The man in front of her flinched back.
It was strange...
Winter had the feeling she had seen such attire before.
Was that one of the refugees that got thrown into the Void as well?
Before she could voice her question out loud however, the man seemed to have gotten a grip on himself again, chuckling nervously.
"I...ahem... you're joking, of course.
How could you not know where we are...how funny."
He offered his hand, possibly for a formal handshake.
His dark blue hair shining in the light of the street, she appeared to have landed on.
"Matthew Marigold", he introduced himself, "welcome to Atlas."
It took Winter a few seconds to let his words sink in.
'...Atlas?!'
No…
That couldn't be.
Atlas was as good as destroyed, on the verge of falling.
No one should be anywhere near the floating kingdom now.
And yet…
When the maiden looked around she wasn't sure if she believed what she saw. Had she died after all?
The buildings, the streets...the cars...it all seemed so familiar…
As if Salem's siege had never happened.
A couple of other people appeared to pass this street, briefly glancing towards her, before minding their own business.
Just...what was going on here?
"Miss...are you sure you are feeling alright?"
The man's, Mr. Marigold's, voice sounded so far away. Winter felt her head spinning, running in circles to make sense of what was happening.
This was Atlas...but how?
Was she dead after all and this happened to be the afterlife?
If that was the case then…
"Where is my sister?"
The maiden's eyes had settled on Mr. Marigold again. She could only imagine how pathetic she must be appearing to him. Still...if there was a chance to see Weiss again...even in death, she would take it.
The man was taken aback by her question, almost nervous at her outburst, looking around uncomfortably, as if he didn't want to be seen with her. Maybe he thought she was crazy.
'Maybe I am…'
Winter couldn't be sure. After all, she let herself be swallowed by the Void.
"What is your name, Miss? Are you in the military?"
His tone was meek.
He seemed eager to disappear.
Quickly, she glanced down at herself. She was still clad in her military armor. Everyone in Atlas and Mantle would be able to recognize that.
Should recognize her.
She straightened her back a little more to regain her authoritative aura.
Whatever this was, she needed to act accordingly.
"Special Operative Winter..."
She faltered. Normally the maiden had no problem stating her title and name, but something felt amiss. Not that she had a lot of time to think about that foreboding feeling of hers, because Mr. Marigold seemed to latch on to her rank almost immediately.
"A special operative? At your age no less. The general must have really seen something in you. I can only hope for my son to be as talented as that."
Winter wasn't sure what to make of his words. Of course she knew that she had climbed the ranks at a rather early age but still, she was a Schnee, it was expected of her. He really seemed to be unaware of who exactly she was.
"I beg your pardon but I really need to go now."
It was certainly better to gather more knowledge before she revealed too much about herself. Whatever was going on, it was beyond her comprehension. Sadly Mr. Marigold didn't share her sentiment.
"But Miss, when I found you, you were unconscious. Surely it would be better to give yourself some rest. I am staying at a hotel not far from here. I would be honoured to offer my bed to you."
After his last words his face flushed a deep red and he began to splutter.
"Not...not that…I mean you are gorgeous but…"
Now it was Winter's turn to feel embarrassed. Holding her hand up to stop his rambling she cleared her throat, trying to dispel the unpleasant pictures his words elicited.
Perhaps it would be best to take his offer. After her fight with Cinder she felt more than exhausted, a good night's rest would probably be for the best.
Until she was able to figure out what exactly was going on here.
Frowning slightly, she gave him a curt nod.
"I will accept your generous offer."
She didn't miss the way his face lit up at her words, possibly already envisioning how to best boost his social standing by helping someone as highly ranked as her.
Sill, it wasn't as if Winter had a lot of options at the moment.
"This way Miss…", he trailed off, realizing he had only her first name to go by.
Something Winter definitely wanted to keep that way.
"Winter is fine", she tried to say as friendly as possible, cringing at how informal it sounded, but it did the trick.
Mr. Marigold seemed delighted, nodding vigorously, motioning for her to follow him down the street.
Hesitating shortly she went with him.
True to his words, the hotel wasn't far. Still...even with how familiar everything seemed there were some things that felt...off of sorts.
There were too many carriages for example. Those may have been popular when she had been a child, but nowadays no upstanding citizen of Atlas would be caught dead owning one of these vehicles...least of all the horses one needed to ensure their movement.
Maybe down in Mantle you would still stumble across them from time to time, but here?
Her pale blue eyes swept over the street, checking for more discrepancies.
Old models of cars, streetlights that seemed to function with actual fire, instead of the newest dust powered bulbs the SDC had come up with 10 years ago and brands of shops she had last heard of when she was still a child.
This Atlas, if one wanted to call it that, appeared to be unlike the one she remembered.
Almost…
'Outdated…?'
"There we are."
Mr. Marigold's voice ripped her from her wandering thoughts. Following his line of sight she looked at the imposant hotel in front of them.
Glass Unicorn, it read.
The name reminded her of something...but she couldn't quite remember what. She was only able to recall that it had been on the news when she was younger. A scandal maybe?
Her father had seemed very angry, muttering about people just not knowing their place, so maybe it was connected to a Faunus rebellion of sorts?
Whatever it was, Winter had other things to worry about right now.
Wordlessly she followed her companion inside.
The hotel wasn't really anything special. It certainly looked very similar to other high society hotels in Atlas. Many grimm statues adorned the entrance hall, people chatting everywhere...she even made out a Huntsman showing off his weapon to a bunch of youths around him.
"Mr. Marigold, you are back earlier than we expected."
The winter maiden only listened halfheartedly to the woman's words when they had stepped to the front desk to get Mr. Marigold's key. Her eyes took note of the No Faunus allowed plaque. Maybe her first thoughts about this hotel's scandal had been right after all.
"My apologies for the inconvenience, but I found this poor Special Operative unconscious outside and thought it best to bring her here and let her rest for the night, so she can gather her thoughts. She seems a bit confused, so maybe she got a concussion."
Winter couldn't help, but scowl at those words...even if it only was inwardly. For now, she would play along and play the confused girl he wanted to paint her as.
"A Special Operative, you say?"
The woman behind the desk looked at her with renewed interest. The maiden took that opportunity to study her in return.
Her hair was brown and woven into a stern braid that matched her equally as stern expression. Her posture was rigid and imposing, like that of many Atleasian woman of high status. All in all she appeared to be a little standoffish with a hint of arrogance, but those traits were the norm in Atlas. She probably would try to appeal to Winter in the hopes of getting more prestige by helping someone from the Atlas military.
"We will have a meal ready for you in half an hour and would like to offer you one of our spare rooms in the meantime…on the house of course."
'Of course.'
Winter had to suppress the impulse to roll her eyes, instead she offered the woman a tight smile and inclined her head.
"That would be very forthcoming of you. I will inform the General of your generosity. I am sure he will compensate you for your services to me."
She wouldn't do anything of the sort, but something told her it would stroke the woman's ego quite a lot...and she seemed to have been correct in her assumption.
The woman smiled for the first time, while grabbing a pen to write her in the guestbook.
"That would be most welcome Special Operative…?", she trailed off.
Winter knew she was probably fishing for a name to put down. Still...something inside her didn't want to give her true identity away...not until she figured out what exactly was going on...or where she was.
"Winter Frost", she answered after a short pause.
As far as she knew, there was no family named Frost in Atlas...at least not in the upper circles of high society.
"Special Operative...Frost?", the woman repeated thoughtfully.
"Are you by any chance related to the esteemed Schnee family?"
Her gaze was probing. So people did know of the Schnee family after all and were able to see their hereditary traits in Winter...then why didn't they make the connection that she was obviously Winter Schnee?
Something still didn't add up.
'I need to gather more intel.'
For now, it would be best to not arouse any suspicion. Denying any sort of relation to the Schnee family would probably be a wrong move on her part then.
Nodding hesitantly she answered carefully:
"Distantly related. I am the first to have been blessed with their physical features."
The woman nodded, seemingly appeased by her answer. Maybe that made her even more inclined to offer her services to the maiden. Putting her pen away, which looked, now that Winter saw it up close, rather expensive, the woman stepped back, grabbing two keys from a large board behind her, as she handed one to Mr. Marigold.
"Your key, Mr. Marigold", she told him in a tone that made it clear his presence wasn't welcome or needed any longer.
Turning to Winter she gave her a smile and motioned for her to follow her up the stairway.
"This way if you would."
Sighing softly, the maiden went after her gracious host, feeling fatigue catching up with her. Had it really been mere hours that she had been fighting for her life? Maybe she would fall asleep and wake up in reality again…
Maybe she was currently dreaming…
Everything felt so...surreal.
If the woman noticed her inner struggle she didn't let it show, leading Winter dutifully towards a rather nice and spacious room where she was apparently staying for the night.
"Here we are. Food will be brought shortly, I assure you", she explained with a hint of self satisfaction.
Winter couldn't help but be thankful for the woman's words, even if she knew that she probably didn't aid her out of kindness, but what she could gain from a Special Operative in return. She was under no illusions there.
Still...a good deed was a good deed and most citizens of Atlas had always been rather upstanding and law abiding, even if a bit arrogant at times.
"Thank you Mrs. …?"
"Tremaine, Madame Tremaine. And it is my pleasure Special Operative Frost."
Madame Tremaine appeared to be in thoughts, as she handed Winter the keys to her room. Finally she added with a strange gleam in her eyes:
"After you have rested, would you mind being introduced to my daughters?
They have always wanted to meet a Special Operative such as yourself.
It would mean a lot to them."
Winter blinked in confusion, before realizing that this was probably one of the unspoken conditions to staying here free of charge. And seeing as she had no idea how long she might be in need of a shelter it would be in her best interest to play along even more...as long as the demands were tame and reasonable.
'Meeting the children it is then.'
She forced herself to smile once more.
"Of course, I would be honored to meet them."
They were probably as spoiled as other children from wealthy families.
Still, Madame Tremaine was pleased by her affirmation and inclined her head.
"Splendid, I will take my leave then.
If you find yourself in need of anything, just tell our...errand girl.
She will make the appropriate arrangements."
With those words she finally spun around and left Winter to her own devices...and her thoughts.
Finally she let out the groan that she had to hold back for so long. Rubbing her temples she desperately tried to make sense of her interactions here.
This was Atlas, but it couldn't be Atlas.
That was a fact!
So what was it?
Where was Weiss?
She clenched her hands into fists in frustration.
'Weiss…'
She hated not knowing if she was alright. If she was stranded here as well. Oh how she wished she could talk to someone right now. And how that someone should be Penny.
But Penny was dead…
Killed…
A sword splashed with blood…
A weapon trained on her face, ready to strike her down...forever.
I've only done what's best for Remnant, and no one is grateful!
Her head started to pound viciously.
Everything began to close in on her.
Her hands clawed at her armor.
'Off!'
She needed to get out of it!
Her breathing hitched in her attempts to remain composed and in control.
It didn't work...everyone was dead…
She practically threw her armor and weapon on the table, losing the ribbon on her braid to get even more pressure off of her.
A faint knocking sound could be heard...or maybe it was just the rhythmical thumping of her own heart.
Her legs wobbled dangerously, as she stumbled into the nearby chair, allowing herself to break down. She was so exhausted...so tired.
Of failing...
Of pretending…
Of being in control...
She lost everyone she cared about, the General, Weiss, Penny…
A smug grin flashed through Winter's mind.
Cinder!
Her arms rested against her legs, while her hands held her head, as she tried to work through the floods of emotions surging through her.
This was unlike her.
She needed to calm down and think rationally about this.
But then again she tried just that and had come up with nothing.
And all of it came back to that insufferable girl.
That power hungry ego driven girl who thought killing was a sport. Who brought misery wherever she went.
Winter swore she would put a stop to it, would make her pay for everything...and she would. The second she laid eyes on that golden eye and that superior smirk again, she would make her suffer beyond belief.
She wasn't as merciful as Weiss was. Cinder would regret having ever had the displeasure of meeting her.
Suddenly she felt a small, warm hand on her shoulder, shaking her hesitantly out of her stupor.
"Miss…? Are you alright, Miss?"
A child's voice.
Winter blinked, raising her head slowly...and froze.
In front of her stood a small girl all in white, uneven pigtails adorning her otherwise unruly black hair, her golden eyes wide with concern that could plainly be read over her slightly scratched and dirty face.
No…
It couldn't be…
The child shifted uncomfortably on the spot, blinking nervously, while offering her the trail she held in her tiny hands with a hopeful smile.
"I brought your food."
'How…?'
How was that possible?
Even with how young and innocent the girl's face appeared, it didn't fool Winter.
Her image had burned itself into her mind.
It should be impossible, but there she was, the insufferable girl.
'Cinder!'