Chapter 15: The Party
June 13, 2682; 0700 Hours
Remnant, Beacon (Team RWBY Dorm)
Ivan let out a soft sigh as he stood in the small dorm room that he had come to call home. Weiss continued to pound on the bathroom door, shouting at Yang. "Yang Xiao Long! We're already twenty minutes behind schedule!" Weiss seemed to give up after not getting a response. "How do you deal with her?" Weiss asked, directing her question towards Blake. Weiss had exchanged her pure white dress for a white-black dress.
"I usually don't." Blake responded, smiling slightly. Blake had exchanged her normal attire for something a bit more… relaxed. She wore a pair of black jeans, a simple red shirt, and had her hair down, as usual. "I've just come to expect her to take way too long to get ready, with that massive head of hair of hers, anyways."
"I can't rush something like this!" Yang defended as she stepped out of the bathroom. At Weiss's request, Yang had covered herself a bit more than usual. She wore a white jacket, white jeans, and her normal yellow t-shirt. She had her hair in its familiar, unruly state.
"Good Lord, Xiao Long…" Weiss complained. "Literally everybody was ready before you!"
"And Ivan had to use JNPR's bathroom to change." Ruby said from the edge of her bed. She wore her more informal dress, but excluded her stockings.
"I didn't really mind." Ivan said. Ivan wore a pair of gray slacks, black shirt, and a black leather jacket. His cybernetic arm and cybernetic eye, to the huntresses before him, made him look like a protagonist from a sci-fi movie.
"Are we all finally ready?" Weiss asked, eliciting a nod from her teammates. "Wonderful!"
Weiss led the way out of the room, through the campus, and towards the Airship landing pad. Winter stood there, waiting. "What took you all so long?" Winter asked. She wore her normal Atlesian Specialist uniform with her hair tired back in a bun.
"Blame Yang." Weiss said.
"Taming this hair is an art." Yang said, stepping on board the airship.
Ivan sighed, shaking his head slightly as he gave Winter a small smile. "How do you put up with all four of them?" Winter asked once everyone else had stepped on board. "They should all hate each other."
"Honestly… I have no idea." Ivan said, stepping on board. "No idea how they all get along, either. They made it work, though."
The ride aboard the airship was incredibly short, as they only had to be at the Vale City Air Station for their pickup. They all disembarked once the airship landed in Vale, finding more than a few other students from Beacon walking around. Weiss led the way towards a rather large limousine, where a well-dressed chauffer stood. "A limo?" Yang asked.
"We are Schnees, after all." Weiss said, stepping inside.
Once everyone was inside, the chauffer spoke up. "The drive will take about two hours, so feel free to make yourselves comfortable. It's a pleasure to see you again, Miss Winter."
Winter gave the man a smile, nodding. The inside of the vehicle was rather opulent, going so far as to have a small bar. "Damn…" Ivan commented, picking up a bottle of scotch. "I think your father imported this one from Earth."
"It wouldn't surprise me." Weiss said. "He has a rather large collection."
"Have you ever had that, sir?" The chauffer asked, starting the vehicle.
"Can't say I have." Ivan responded. "I don't drink."
"Why not?" Yang asked.
"No real point." Ivan explained. "My pancreatic implant and other augments make it impossible for me to get drunk. All that alcohol winds up doing is making my throat sore; my body just metabolizes the alcohol too quickly for it to affect me."
"So Ivan…" Winter began, looking to the SPARTAN. "I meant to ask, how have you been ever since…"
"I've been fine." Ivan responded, quickly. "Recovery's going well… I've just got to get used to having a metal arm and eye."
"Good to hear." Winter responded. "I wasn't sure what to think when I heard that you'd been captured."
"Well, it's all good now, and I got my Semblance out of it." Ivan responded, opening a small rift in Slipspace for a mere moment, and then closing it.
The remainder of the ride was filled mostly by small-talk and jovial conversation between the team members. The vehicle slowly made its way towards the northwestern end of Vale, which quickly became more and more cliff-side beaches and open ocean, rather than forests and grasslands.
After a few minutes of Oceanside road, a rather large, mansion in post-modern design philosophy came into view. It was painted almost completely white with large glass windows, a tall stone fence, and a rather sizable fountain in the middle of the courtyard. The gate opened, allowing the vehicle inside.
There were at least ten other, quite expensive, vehicles resting in a large roundabout that surrounded the fountain. There were people standing around outside, as well as people making their way inside. More than a few of them were wearing business casual attire; some were wearing full ensembles of three-piece suits. "I feel fantastically underdressed." Ivan commented.
"Father said that this was going to be casual." Weiss complained. "I'm not sure what's going on."
Winter chuckled. "Weiss… casual for us is very different from casual for these people." Weiss simply sighed.
As the chauffer opened up the doors of the limousine, allowing the occupants to step out, a rather tall man with white hair and bright blue eyes stepped out of the mansion, a rather stunning woman with white hair and blue eyes at his side. He was wearing a tucked-in dress shirt, along with a pair of slacks. She wore a knee-length white dress, adorned with the occasional spiked snowflake.
Ivan was among the last to step out, with Ruby just behind him. The pair from the mansion strolled over, smiling broadly as they saw the group standing about the walkway. "Winter, Weiss… it's great to see you two, again." The man said, pulling the two into a hug.
"It's good to see you too, Father." Weiss said, smiling slightly.
Mister Schnee removed himself, allowing his wife to greet their daughters. He made his way over to the others, smiling. "It's a pleasure to finally meet all of you, I'm sure you already know, but I'm Jacques Schnee, and this is my wife, Viktoria." Schnee made a conscious effort to greet everyone personally, finishing with Ivan. "And you must be SPARTAN Chesnokov, hero of the Battle of Vale. It's a pleasure to finally meet you."
"A pleasure to meet you as well, sir." Ivan said, shaking Schnee's hand with his own cybernetic one.
"I'm so glad that you could all come." Schnee began. "After that incredible show at the Tournament, I felt it was only proper to congratulate my daughter and her team in person."
"Thank you for the invitation." Blake said. Ivan could tell rather clearly, after spending nearly a full year with Blake, that she was quite uncomfortable being here. This was no doubt due to what was underneath the bow.
"Thank you all for coming." Schnee said, smiling again. "Feel free to make yourself at home." He turned to Ivan. "And Mister Chesnokov, would you mind if we spoke privately for a few moments?"
"Not at all." Ivan said, following behind the older gentleman as the rest of Team RWBY made their way towards Weiss and Winter.
Schnee led the SPARTAN into a small garden on the side of the estate, which had a rather breathtaking view of the ocean. "Mister Chesnokov… allow me to start by saying that I am incredibly empathetic towards you, given what happened."
"What do you mean?" Ivan asked, involuntarily flexing his cybernetic hand.
"Weiss… that scar on her eye was from a group of White Fang that attacked our home in Atlas." Schnee explained. "She's had to live with that scar, and I've had to live with the memory of almost losing her to those savages. I can't imagine what you must have gone through."
"I appreciate that, sir." Ivan said.
"Honestly… these Faunus seem very intent on proving that they are indeed little more than bipedal animals." Schnee said, venom practically dripping from his words.
"Well, the White Fang represents a very small minority in the Faunus population." Ivan said. "I've met quite a few Faunus ever since I arrived here on Remnant, and most of them have done right by me."
"They took your arm." Schnee said.
"True, but you can't judge an entire species from one group." Ivan retorted. "In the grand scheme of things… the White Fang is barely a blip on the radar, and popular support for them is waning constantly."
Schnee sighed. "Enough about that… I've heard that the UNSC is bringing your team, General Ironwood, and my daughters to Earth. I'm sure you can imagine what that means for me?"
"More business?" Ivan asked.
"Exactly." Schnee responded. "I know that there's a few massive companies in the UEG that would love to get their hands on Dust. I was wondering if you could bring one of my representatives with you?"
"It's not my call, but I don't see why not. Remnant is just as much a part of the UNSC as Earth or Reach. If not now, then you'll definitely be able to open up a discussion with our military contractors once the Vale Tether is finished."
"Thank you, SPARTAN." Schnee said, extending his hand for Ivan to shake, which he did. "I appreciate everything you've done for Remnant."
"Thank you, sir." Ivan said, nodding.
XXXXX
June 13, 2682; 1150 Hours
Remnant, Vale (Schnee Estate)
Blake walked around the large Schnee estate, Yang by her side. After the first few young men attempting to come onto Yang, Blake had gotten much more defensive. Yang almost fell over laughing when she saw Blake stiffen up as a Vacuo boy walked up to her, only to be turned away by Blake locking her arm with Yang's, then shooting him a death glare.
"Someone's jealous, huh Blakey?" Yang asked, planting a quick kiss on Blake's cheek.
"No…" Blake said, earning a cocked eyebrow and a knowing look from Yang. "Okay… maybe a little."
Yang laughed, pulling Blake closer as they walked, heading for the dining room. "How do you think I felt watching Sun hit on you?"
Blake blushed, remembering the time when Sun hit on her a few weeks ago… right in front of Yang. Blake had seen Yang angry, she had never seen her jealous angry.
Blake watched her rather boisterous blonde girlfriend sit down at the table, as Schnee had called everyone in to eat. Thankfully, there were only about twenty people altogether. Blake watched as Weiss and Ruby sat next to each other, Weiss flanked on her left by her father. Ivan chose to sit with Winter, who was flanked on her right by her mother. To say that she was uncomfortable was a massive understatement. The only other Faunus in the entire estate was the hired help, and she could tell that they weren't being treated exceptionally well.
Blake was rather unsurprised to find that she was the only one, other than the rest of her team, to thank the Wolf Faunus that laid a glass of water next to her. Everyone around her seemed far too engrossed in their conversations to pay any mind to the Faunus. Blake decided to start people-watching, something she had gotten rather good at.
Yang, naturally, simply sat there with her Faunus girlfriend, her fingers lazily drawing patters on the top of Blake's leg. Ivan seemed to be having a pleasant conversation with Winter, who seemed to be laughing quietly at almost everything he said. Blake made sure to make a mental note of that. Ruby seemed to be trying her hardest, and succeeding rather well, to not make a fool of herself in front of the rather opulent crowd. Weiss was being questioned by her father about her time at Beacon. Blake quietly picked at her food, which was quite good, as the conversations around her continued. She didn't necessarily listen to any of them, simply choosing to scan over them.
What truly grabbed her attention was a question that was directed towards Ivan, from some unnamed individual that Blake had seen talking with Mister Schnee. "So, Mister Chesnokov… how have you been enjoying things so far?"
"No complaints from my end." Ivan said, setting down his glass of water. Everyone seemed rather surprised that he had chosen to drink water, rather than the expensive champagne that the Schnees had provided. "I'd imagine that the girls would be better candidates for that question, this is their day after all."
"Ah, but you had an instrumental part in making sure that they could still compete." Schnee mentioned. "Were it not for you, that Mercury would have gotten your team disqualified from the Tournament."
"Fair enough." Ivan responded with a nonchalant shrug.
"I still find it rather hard to believe that those animals in the White Fang tried to destroy something as sacred as the Vytal Festival Tournament." The same unnamed Schnee family friend said, causing Blake to cringe slightly. "Those Faunus are barely more than animals, plain and simple." Blake watched as one of the Faunus help ducked their head down, attempting to hide her face. Blake could see a slight flicker of disgust behind Ivan's eyes, just for a moment.
"I find it hard to believe that a person who is capable of independent, creative thought is 'little more than an animal'." Ivan said, casually taking a sip from his glass. "I find it especially hard to believe that these fine people here…" Ivan gestured towards the Wolf Faunus girl with his spare hand. "Especially enjoy being called animals as if they weren't even here." The entire table fell silent, everyone turning to look at the rather casual SPARTAN. Blake was silently cheering him on, and wouldn't be surprised if the Faunus in the room were too. "But you'll pardon me if these are simply opinions coming from an outsider."
"You support the White Fang?" The same man asked in disbelief, looking to the SPARTAN.
"I do not." Ivan responded, placing his glass on the table. "I don't very well appreciate you putting words in my mouth. I despise the White Fang, they're just as idiotic as blind Human Supremacists. I do not blindly hate all Faunus simply because of the actions of a very… vocal minority within a very large population."
"That's certainly rather interesting coming from a man who's probably killed more Faunus than any 'Human Supremacist' out there." At those whispered words, Blake spotted small cracks start webbing their way across Ivan's glass. The glass eventually shattered in the palm of his cybernetic hand, sending fine pieces of glass all across his little section of the table, eliciting gasps from more than a few people at the table. Blake's eyes widened as she saw just how unbelievably angry the SPARTAN was, seeing small black tendrils dance across the tips of his fingers. He quickly quelled his Semblance, turning to glare daggers at the man.
"Just what was I meant to do?" Ivan asked, his voice bordering on a shout. "Let the White Fang to burn Vale City to the ground? Let them start manufacturing Paladins in the middle of Vale? Let them take off my other arm!? Maybe I should have let them steal millions of Lien's worth of Dust from Mister Schnee? Maybe, what you don't realize, is that the UNSC doesn't do what we do out of spite, or hatred, or fear… we do it out of necessity. If I had it my way, there wouldn't need to be SPARTANs! Instead, it's people like you that legitimize the White Fang and make my job even harder." Ivan pointed directly at the man that had steered the conversation in a terrible direction. "If it weren't for people like you, I wouldn't need to look into the glazed-over eyes of a dying person who felt that the only way they could secure their own equality, was through violence!"
Ivan took a deep breath, his organic hand shaking slightly. "Excuse me." He said, standing up and removing the napkin from his lap, placing it haphazardly on the table. Blake watched in amazement as the SPARTAN walked, surprisingly calmly, towards the front door to the Estate. Winter stood up from her seat, following after Ivan after she had shaken herself out of her amazement-induced stupor. The man sat there in stunned silence, Schnee finally breaking the minutes-long pause in conversation. "Well… I believe that lunch is concluded."
XXXXX
June 13, 2682; 1225 Hours
Remnant, Vale (Schnee Estate)
Ivan descended the short series of steps from the Estate, working to control his emotionally-induced Semblance. He let out a heavy sigh as he leaned against a pillar, pinching the bridge of his nose. His muscles tensed slightly as he felt a hand on his metallic shoulder, drawing him back into reality. He was rather surprised to find Winter's hand on his shoulder, giving him a concerned and empathetic look. "Are you alright?"
"Yeah…" Ivan said, taking a deep breath. "I'm fine. I should really start learning to control my big mouth."
Winter gave a small smile. "If it's any consolation, I think you were absolutely right."
Ivan chuckled. "Thanks… I still feel like a huge piece of shit though."
"Why?"
"I only ruined the party that they were meant to enjoy." Ivan said, making reference to Team RWBY.
"I don't think you ruined it any more than them simply being here." Winter said.
"What do you mean?"
"Ruby was obviously uncomfortable, she wouldn't stop shifting in her seat. Weiss was incredibly stressed, trying to make a good impression, Blake was uncomfortable for obvious reasons, and Yang looked almost as angry as you did when that guy spoke up."
"What about you?"
"I wanted to punch that guy through a wall." Winter answered, a small grin on her face. "Especially when he decided to call you a murderer."
"Don't know how long I could've kept myself from becoming a murderer if I stayed in there any longer." Ivan joked, eliciting a small laugh from Winter.
"I know that the Faunus in there certainly appreciated that." Winter said.
As if to accent her point perfectly, Blake walked out of the Estate. "Ivan…" She said, wrapping him in a tight hug as he turned around. "Thank you."
"No need to thank me for speaking the truth." Ivan responded, returning the gesture.
Blake pulled out of the gesture, still smiling. The small grin plastered on her face proved contagious as Ivan started smiling as well. "God… that felt good." Ivan said, chuckling to himself. "I've never been happier to be angry."
After a few moments of rather pleasant silence, Ivan heard the front door open. He internally winced as he saw Jacques Schnee descend the short flight of steps, turning in his direction. "Mister Chesnokov…" Schnee began, his voice calm and collected.
"My apologies about my outburst." Ivan quickly responded. "And the glass, I'm willing to compensate you for that."
"Don't worry about it." Schnee said, waving the gesture off. "I'm just here to give my apologies. What James said in there was completely unwarranted. Your… frustration with him is completely understandable."
"Thank you, sir." Ivan said, nodding. "Still, I can't help but apologize for what I said, and breaking the glass."
"Like I said, don't worry about it." Schnee said. "I still expect you all to enjoy the party." He added with a smile, turning to leave.
After a moment, the rest of Team RWBY walked outside, looking for the SPARTAN and their absent Faunus. They quickly regrouped and headed back inside, looking to enjoy the rest of the party as much as possible.
