A/N: Poke. Hello! Welcome back! I hope you are having a good day.
ThatSexyShikamaru: Thank you for reading!. I try to subvert some expectations if I can. I think it makes a story more interesting...unless I am trying to be funny. Either way, thank you!
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Look To The Past…[Part 1, Atlas]
Qrow was not having a good day. Its not everyday that your niece gets banned from an entire continent. Luckily there were some people who he knew he could take his anger out on. He pushed through the door leading into Ironwood's office, daring someone to try and stop him. He glared at Ironwood, who sat behind his desk going over reports. Qrow may not have his weapon right now, but he could still make Ironwood look like a sniveling baby. Qrow went over and slammed his hands down onto Ironwood's desk, making papers fall off and onto the floor.
"You Sorry bastard!"
Ironwood looked up calmly, still holding some of the paperwork he was looking over, "Ah, Qrow. What brings you here?"
"Don't give me that! You know why I'm here! I should beat you for that little stunt you pulled. I should kill you since it involved my niece!"
"You don't have your weapon" Ironwood said calmly.
"You think I need it Jimmy?! I always was better than you" Qrow growled out as he glared daggers at Ironwood.
Qrow felt something heavy on his shoulder blade. "I will not have you threaten the general." Qrow looked over to see the Ice Queen in all her glory. She had one of her sabers on his shoulder, the other in her other hand.
Qrow looked at Ironwood, "At least you're not that dumb, but this isn't over" Qrow walked back to the door, noticing how Winter kept her guard up. She was ready for Qrow to attack. She didn't trust that it was the end. "Now I have to go un-crush some kids"
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"Should we have told him sir?" Winter asked Ironwood soon after Qrow left.
"You are dismissed Winter"
"But sir-"
"Dismissed!"
Winter stood at attention and saluted, shuffling out of the room shortly after. She walked through the Atlesian halls. She made sure she had a calm air about her. It would be...unbecoming if someone of her stature was to overreact to a situation. This one needed to be reacted to. She knew internally that when the situation escalated, it would escalate quickly.
"Oh if it isn't Specialist Shnee! How wonderful it is to see you again after all these years!"
In front of her stood Cordovin. She knew her from the reports. A charismatic leader practically fueled by Atlesian hopes and dreams. She saw bravery in battle and knew how to command under the most dire of circumstances.
But her downsides were just as long if not longer. Stubborn, with a racist streak that practically screamed 'Atlesian Noble'. She had no trouble with throwing wave after wave of troops into a battle regardless of whether the odds were against them or not. There were reasons why she was only allowed to command and serve as leader of a base.
"Specialist Cordovin. Nice to see you as well. Congratulations on your promotion"
Cordovin got a pretentious smirk and held her head high, even if she was shorter than the average person. "Yes, I think I will make an excellent Lead Specialist. I am finally getting recognized for my years of dedicated loyalty protecting one of the most prestigious bases we have outside of Atlas itself!"
She may have been patting herself on the back to much, but Winter let it slide. "Truly in the upcoming battles we may rely on your base then." It sounded robotic in Winter's mind. Something you say to know that a conversation is over. Cordovin smiled a fake smile as she picked up on it all too easily.
"Of course Specialist Shnee. Have a good day"
Cordovan left down the hallway opposite Winter. Winter noticed Cordovin's 'smile' and 'pride' never reached Cordovin's eyes. Winter was surprised, but not all that much that Cordovin did not salute her. She was still the superior officer, but for as much as Cordovin prattled about Atlesian respect and loyalty, she only viewed herself as superior.
Winter went back to her office. Being a lead specialist came with a lot of perks. She had subordinates that she could order around. She could do independent research into different problems for Atleasian command, and as long as she got them approved by Ironwood, could do random raids on know or suspected terrorist locations.
On the other hand...paperwork. So much paperwork. She sat at her desk for what seemed like hours. After what seemed like hours she looked at her desk. She was always neat and proper with her work. It made her more efficient. A strong leader needed efficiency! A strong leader needed confidence! A strong leader needed-
She heard a knock at the door. She got up and opened it, one hand on her saber. He nerves in the field never truly went away, and while it made her look paranoid sometimes, it saved her life enough times that she didn't care. Thankfully this time it wasn't needed.
"Specialist Schnee! This is the paperwork that is needed to authorize and officially end the troop movements, White Fang activity, and the trial that was held today. I have been told they are needed by the end of the week." What followed him were two lower ranked cadets. Both held stacks of paperwork that they put on the side of her desk...The side she just got cleaned off of last weeks paperwork. The cadets shuffled out of the room. The man saluted her and left as well, leaving her with paperwork she could bury a beowolf in.
Winter sat back down at her chair. Where was she? She grabbed the first sheet of the stack, which she had to stand back up to reach. Ah, yes. A good leader needs to be thorough!
With this document I hereby sign that I have read and do authorize the use of military personnel [pg 5] to take out the orders under command of Sargent Smithson [pg 7] to undertake operation Redlight as described in this report [pg 8-75]. Furthermore-….
A good leader needs a break. She rubbed her face with her hands. This would take her forever to finish. They said they wanted it by the end of the week? What day was it? She looked up at her pristine and daily noted calendar. It was Thursday afternoon…
Winter got up, throwing her old uniform from this morning off and replacing it with a fresh uniform. How could she forget? Winter hadn't seen Weiss today, and with the trial implicating her teammate(s), she would probably want to talk to her. She knew that Weiss never left Ruby's side since she was admitted to the hospital for that gash in her arm. Yes this was the perfect time to see her. Winter opened the door to the hallway and shut off the light to her room. She stepped into the hall, taking one look back at the stacks of paperwork on the desk. Yes, it was very much the time to see Weiss.
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Weiss was having just the perfect day. I mean why not right? Its not like bad things are happening right? So her partner has been in a hospital since last night, yet to wake up. So her other two teammates were almost sentenced to death and have now been kicked out of the country. HaHaHa everything is good right.
...Her world was burning down around her…
She splashed water in her face. Weiss looked into the mirror of the bathroom she was in. She had now been in the hospital for almost twenty-three hours. Almost a full day and it showed. Weiss had no access to a bathroom shower, nor did she have any comfortable nights sleep. The little rest she did get was in an uncomfortable chair that sat on the side of Ruby's room.
It was only natural that she would be there for her partner. Its not like she could go back to her house. Her father disowned her, cast her out, just like he had done with her older sister. That didn't do her hair justice though. He braid she had was unkempt, with tufts of hair sticking out in all directions. "My hair is utter disaster" she groaned at herself in the mirror. "Just one more thing on the list to fix"
"Maybe I could help you with that one"
Weiss jumps back startled as she sees her sister standing beside the bathroom door. "When did you get here?"
Winter's unchanging face says it all. "Longer than you would want"
Weiss sighed again. She looked down defeated.
A pair of arms wrap around her, holding her close. Weiss needed this. It made her feel comfort. Like some of the pent up stress she had slipped away in the comforting grasp of her sister. "Come on lets fix your hair"
Her sister turns her around and starts undoing some of the unkempt braids. Weiss stayed silent while her sister put her hair back together in the small hospital mirror. Winter halfway through started humming.
Weiss recognized it as a little tune their mother used to sing before...well before she wasn't herself anymore. The words came easily in her mind.
Oh lights in the sky, beauty so bright
Shadowed in the day, and loving at night
oh bring me your warmth, wrap me so tight
For I need your love and your sparkle and light
so keep me your own, until dawn comes tonight
It brought a tear to he eye. It made her feel at least a little calmer, a little less worried."Winter...thank you"
Winter turns her back around, having fixed her hair. "Don't worry Weiss" Winter walked back over to the door. "It will all be explained soon. Now lets go see your teammate"
Weiss smiled a little bit before remembering the trial. She was with Ruby at the time, and choosing between one friend and the other was hard, but she watched the trial on the TV, at least up until the feed was cut. She knew her sister was involved, but she couldn't get herself to be mad at her. Winter was her role model, and if she was being honest, more of a mother figure to Weiss than a sister.
"Winter I-"
A nurse came running up to the pair. "Is one of you Weiss Schnee?"
Both sisters look at each other before looking back at the panting nurse. Weiss finally answered her. "Did you have to ask?"
"Its protocol! But no" The nurse caught her breath, "Your team leader is awake!"
The nurse was immediately swept of her feet as Weiss grabbed her and started running back towards Ruby's room. Winter fell into a steady, more even pace behind them, chuckling at her sister's newfound energy.
Weiss burst into Ruby's room, still dragging the nurse, who looked very shaken. Ruby was being talked to by two Atlesian doctors. One was young. Weiss recognized the young doctor as the primary doctor given to Ruby by Atlas academy itself.
The other was older. He was in an Atlas wheelchair, with a balding head. Weiss had never seen this person before. Both doctors had stopped talking when Weiss burst in. The younger one looked annoyed while the older one looked interested.
"Ruby!" Weiss yelled out.
Ruby smiled and waved her hand on the arm that was still bandaged. "Hi Weiss"
Weiss walked over rather quickly, letting go of the nurse halfway in to grab Ruby's wrist and force it back down onto the bed. "Don't move it you dolt! You aren't healed yet!"
"Weiss I'm fine" Ruby says a little too calmly, infuriating Weiss.
"The giant gash under those bandages and the fact that your aura didn't heal it says otherwise!" Weiss says raising her voice.
The old man starts laughing form his wheelchair. "Oh to be young again" He laughs with a huge smile. Weiss jumped back away from Ruby, going pink and letting go of Ruby. Ruby just sat there smiling and chuckling a small bit.
"As I was saying before I was rudely interrupted", the young doctor said, "You have to be careful with that arm. The wound might reopen again. Your aura will help it heal faster, but since you were pierced by a huntsman's blade, it will take longer as your arm has to flush out the foreign aura."
"That's one thing I don't understand" Ruby said, "What do you mean 'A huntsman's blade'? I am pretty sure I figured out what happened, even though it happened so fast, but I was stabbed with a boot knife, not a sword."
Weiss looked at Ruby like she must be joking.
The doctor looked at Ruby with a 'you have to be kidding me' look."You are a huntress, yes?"
"I am", Ruby said smiling happily. "I have been for years"
"And yet you don't know what a 'huntsman weapon' means?" The young doctor looked even more stupefied.
Ruby scrunched up her face and thought for a second. "Eh, nope" Ruby swore she heard Weiss say 'dolt' silently as Weiss slapped her forehead. Must have been a bug or something. The old doctor just kept chuckling.
The young doctor sighed, "A 'huntsman's weapon' is anything that a person capable of manipulating aura puts into their weapon, so it doesn't necessarily have to be a sword, or even a blade. When that weapon pierces grimm, it disrupts their regeneration, but it acts almost the same when used against another aura wielder."
"Huh, so that's why uncle taught me that. I just thought it was a basic thing for attacking grimm. I didn't know it had such a broad meaning."
The young doctor looks between the group and sighs again. "You are free to go, just remember what I said about the wound."
"Yes, yes she understands" the old man said almost doing a one-eighty in mood. "Now I have important business with her"
The young doctor sneers at the rudeness, but walks out of the room, bowing slightly to Winter as he passes her.
"Good, good" The old man clicks a button on his chair that makes it roll back and forth. "I am excited aren't you so much to do! So much to discover!"
Weiss and Ruby were confused. Winter stared on, already knowing who this old man was and knowing of his antics. The old man stops his chair, like he just realized they were standing still staring at him. "Well don't waste time! I have no time for slackers! I punish slackers!" His face goes calm again before he smiles. "Oh this will be so much fun! Lets go!"
Ruby slid out of the bed, happy that she seemed to still be in her clothes, the only things missing were her socks and shoes, which she saw next to the chair. She quickly put them on.
"Wait Ruby", Weiss says with concern on her face. "Do you know this old man? Why are you going with him?"
"I don't know him, but something is telling me I should go with him. I don't know why."
"Just...be careful okay" Weiss looked down covering her face, "I don't want to loose you, okay"
Ruby smiled big, "Dawh Weiss! I knew you cared"
Weiss pouted and went over to stand next to Winter as Ruby followed the eccentric old man down the hall. Winter looked at Weiss with a smirk on her face. "Want to talk about it?"
Weiss raised an eyebrow, "Talk about what? I have nothing to talk about."
Winter just continued to smile as they started their own journey down the hall, going towards the opposite side door of course. "If you say so, just know I am always here to talk to."
They got to the large door out f hospital before Weiss asked a question Winter wasn't expecting. "So who was that old man anyway? You seemed to recognize him."
Winter was surprised. "You mean you didn't? He is known as one of the greatest men in Atlas short of Ironwood himself. A certified genius, if not also certified with insanity. The greatest scientist the world has ever known."
Weiss paled even more. "You mean that was-"
"The very same"Winter stated, "It seems you recognize him now"
For the umteenth time Weiss put her face in her hands. "And I let him take Ruby with him. Tell me Winter will she survive?"
Winter mulled it over for a second. "She is strong. She will, but she will never be the same."
There was silence as they walked through the streets. Mild chatting on random topics here and there. Both commented and took joy in how their father seemed to be struggling under the dust embargo. After a while Winter left Weiss to go 'back to work'. Winter looked defeated already when she left.
Weiss had enjoyed the company of her sister. She just couldn't bring herself to hate her, not after everything that Winter had done for her over the years. Even with the trial incident she was clearly apart of. "Oh no, I still never told Ruby about Yang and Blake"
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Ruby was lead by the old man out of the hospital and through several back alleyways. The first one she went through she was a little suspicious of why the old man was bringing her through a back alley. After three or four more, with the old man looking around every corner suspiciously, Ruby calmed down.
"Why are we going through back alleyways? Can't we just take the main street?"
The old man smiled. "Oh you can never be too careful. People have wanted to get me for years. Those monsters will pay for what they have done!" He smiled again, "But the new knowledge is worth it" With that the old man continued down the alley, finally turning into a door.
After two more doors they got too what looked like a reception desk. The old man dinged the bell I front of the desk that had a sign written on it specifically that said 'DO NOT RING'.
He looked around confused. He dinged it again. This time the door behind the desk that went into a back room opened, with a young boy coming to sit at the desk. "You're finally back father" Ruby noticed he said it sadly, like he was unhappy that he was back.
"Yes I am! I know you're so happy you can barely contain yourself! I brought a guest too!" He furrows his brows, "You better have cleaned up your mess, you know I hate messes!"
The boy sighed, "Yes father. Should I add her to the list of approved people then?"Ruby felt awkward as the boy looked at her. He had dark bags under his eyes, like he had been up for days without sleep. He looked at her like she was nothing. Not a prideful look, just...uncaring, like this either happens all the time or she was so uninteresting that the boy could care less.
"Might as well...wouldn't want her to explode now would we" The old man chuckled. He looked over at Ruby. "Introduce yourself Now!"
Ruby didn't like the intensity now focused at her, but she shuffled up to the desk. "Hi, I'm Ruby nice to meet you." Ruby smiled and held out her hand for a handshake.
The boy just stared at her and glanced down at her hand, but made no effort to move. *Sigh* "Nice to meet you as well." He looked back at the old man. "She is now registered and can enter without worry"
"Thank you that puts a load off my mind" the old man said before waving at Ruby to follow him through a door left of the round desk. Ruby took on last look back at the small boy who was now staring at his hand with the same sad look on his face.
"Donnie is nice don't you think? Not my best work but he is my son and I love him. When he does his damn job!"
Ruby has even more questions now. One stood out that she should have asked earlier. "I never did ask what is your name?"
The old man chuckled. "I have had many names" He lead her through a large hallway. "I used to be called Nicholas, but you would know me by another name now". He slams through two large doors into a wide room with several sections for different sciences. What was in the middle of the room though left Ruby speechless. There were several cords coming from the ceiling connecting to two tables. One was empty, but the other had a very familiar person on it.
"You would know me as Doctor Polentina" The doctor went over to the table that held the familiar form.
He got a dark look in his eyes. "Now lets talk about my daughter"
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A/N: And that is it.
This is [Part 1 Atlas] because I had way too much to actually write out. Part 2 will be [Part 2 Argus], which deals with what is happening with the characters in Argus at the same time.
Donnie is actually properly D0NN13