April 2, 2021

All Schnees in the fire company met to discuss with Whitley, totalling Winter, Weiss, Hermann, Alfred, Elsa (daughter of Alfred), Karl (son of Alfred), Eva Tietz (nee Schnee) (daughter of Alfred), Alvin Krebs (son of Matilda Krebs, Hermann and Alfred's sister), Friedrich Krebs (son of Matilda), Sophie Hammarskjold (nee Krebs) (daughter of Matilda), Adelmar Schnee (cousin of Hermann, Matilda, and Alfred), and Irma Devens (nee Schnee) (cousin of Hermann, Matilda, and Alfred). They met at the Schnee family home in Vale, just down the street from the firehouse, in the dining room.

"Alright," Hermann said, calling the meeting. "Before we begin, I would like to say that please, let's be civil. Anyways, I'd like to discuss Whitley Marino." He then motioned for Whitley to speak.

"Ah yes," he began before sighing in worry. "I am Whitley Marino. You may notice the similarities I share with Hermann, who gladly invited us here tonight. Well, you see, I'm actually his son." After the faces of everyone but Hermann, Weiss, and Winter changed to an expression of shock and disbelief, he continued. "When he and his wife Genoveva were separated, he had a relationship with my mother. As if your jaws haven't dropped far enough yet, however..." He then undid his pants belt partially and reached behind to grab something, that something being a bushy wolf-like tail. Then, small claw-like structures unsheathed from his nails before he tightened his belt again. "My mother was a wolf faunus with ears and claws. I have a wolf tail and claws."

Alfred said, "To be honest, the faunus thing shocks me less than the fact that my brother had a kid with his affair. I mean, everyone here knew he was banging that faunus chic-" He then remembered Whitley was in the room. "I mean, having a relationship with a female servant, but not of your existence, Whitley." Everyone around the table agreed. "And by the way, I'm really sorry about what happened to your mother."

"Thank you," Whitley replied as he sat down. "If you do not know, by the way, I turned in an application to join the Vigilant Fire Company, since I'll be staying in Vale full-time."

Elsa turned to Weiss, sarcastically whispering, "If only Grandpa Schnee was here to see this."

Weiss replied, "Jesus Christ, he'd have a stroke hearing this." They then both quietly laughed. "Hey, at least all of us here are licensed to deal with those."

Suddenly, the conversations at the table were interrupted by a bloodcurdling high-pitched scream from upstairs. Matilda said, "What the hell was that?"

"I'll go look," Winter said as she got up and walked out. As she began to walk up the stairs, she heard the same voice scream again. "Stop your screaming, I'm coming!"

Whitley said, "So, this has been an interesting night."

"You can say that again," Alvin told him.

Hermann said, "I bet a timid servant found a mouse or some bullshit like that."

Then, they all heard Winter rush down the stairs as she yelled, "Dad, radio Fire Alarm and tell them to send Vigilant over here! Klein tried to fucking kill himself!"

Hermann immediately got up as the rest of the table looked at each other in disbelief. "I'll go grab my radio and my medical bag. Weiss, run up and see what can be done with Klein, now!"

About an hour later, the city coroner's office led the body of loyal but troubled Schnee family servant Klein Sieben out of the house as the Schnee family looked on in shock. He had hanged himself in his bedroom in the house from a beam. The rope burns on his neck were still fresh. He had been plagued by several mental issues throughout his life due to a variety of reasons stemming from his abusive childhood in Atlas.

Whitley said to Weiss, saddened, "This is awful. My mother and Klein were good friends. They always hung out whenever you guys came over to Atlas."

Weiss, tears in her eyes, replied, "Tell me about it..." She then began to cry again. Winter and Whitley responded by hugging each other and Weiss for comfort.

Winter, horrified herself, said, "We should have gotten help for him sooner..."

Hermann, standing next to Alfred, said to him, "I haven't felt this awful and hopeless since Dad died and Genoveva was killed by that drunk driver." He then shook his head in disbelief. "God, we could have done something to prevent this, damn it."

"He had a fucked up life," Alfred said. "His parents were assholes, the adoption system were assholes, and his foster parents died in that car crash he was in years ago he had nightmares about. It's no wonder why he went off the deep end. And you're right, we could have done something."

April 3, 2021

"Damn," Blake said to Weiss as the two chatted in Weiss's apartment around 6 P.M. "That's fucking awful."

"I know," Weiss said as she sighed. "These past few days have done a number on me. First there was the fact that me and Winter had a half-brother we never even knew existed, and then Klein hangs himself. What could possibly go crazy next?!"

"Don't tempt fate, Weiss." Blake seemed very concerned. Then, her cellphone rang. However, the number was odd. It had a Menagerie area code, but she didn't recognize it. Fearing it was the White Fang, Blake answered it, saying, "If this is the White Fang, I'm gonna tell you now: Piss the fuck off."

"Woah, woah," the male voice said on the other end. "Attendez, ma fifille. Ne reconnaissez-vous pas la voix de votre père, Blake?"

Blake suddenly paused in shock. Then, after a long pause, she said, "Papa... Oh mon dieu..." She then began to cry. "Vous êtes vivant... Mais... Comment?! Je pensais que Simon t'a tué et maman!"

"Non, ma fifille... We have been in Menagerie ever since the coup."

11 Years Ago

"They're dead," said an assassin as he talked on a phone. Then, he hung up as he and his partner left the bedrooms of Kali and Ghira Belladonna, assuming they had killed both of them in their sleep.

Unbeknownst to them, Ghira happened to have a more advanced version of Blake's semblance, and both of the "people" they had killed were actually clones.

As they left the room, one of them was struck in the head hard with a club by Kali from behind. He fell to the ground, his head hemorrhaging blood as he lay dying. The other assassin tried reaching for his gun, but Ghira wrapped both of his arms around him and bodyslammed him to the ground. He then lifted his head up and slit his throat with a knife, killing him.

Kali said as she looked at the bodies, "We need to get out of Vale."

"We need to try to call Blake first," Ghira replied as he brushed himself off. He then dialed Blake's number. However, she didn't answer. After a minute, he tried again. Once again, no answer. After 4 tries, he gave up and said, "It's no use."

Kali then began to cry. "Did... Did they get her?" She then hugged her husband. "I've lost too much in my life. I can't afford to lose Blake."

"We've been in Menagerie ever since," Ghira told his daughter. "I have a seat in the House of Representatives here, and I'm going to run for Chieftan in 2024." He then paused. "I'm sorry we didn't contact you earlier. The White Fang's streak of violence has spread worldwide ever since the Battle of Beacon. Simon Urdin managed to spread his message of hate to all branches of the White Fang, especially since Sienna Khan took his place after the battle."

"Oh my..." Blake was still in shock. "I... I want to see you again..."

"We're flying over to Vale soon," Ghira replied. "We'll be here on the 9th and we'll leave on the 14th. Blake, me and your mother are so proud of you. You've accomplished so much already, ma fifille." He then began to get emotional over the phone. "You're... You're the best daughter a parent could ever ask for... I'm so sorry we weren't there to see you grow..."

Blake nodded her head and replied, "Thank you..."

Suddenly, Blake's pager and Weiss's pager both rang for a call. After the tones for the station siren went off as well, Weiss said, "Let's roll."

"Mom, dad, I love you. I need to go to a fire. Au revoir." Blake then hung up and rushed out of the apartment behind Weiss, still wiping her eyes. The call, according to the dispatcher over the radio, was for a fire in a ground-floor convenience store with occupied apartments above.

Within 2 minutes of the call, they had both ran into the station. Blake slipped her sneakers off, slipped her hip boots on, put her helmet on, grabbed her coat and SCBA mask, and then ran over to get on Truck 201. When she found a seat, she zipped and buckled up her coat and began to put on the straps of her seat's air pack as Weiss began to do the same.

Ultimately, the last people to board the truck were Ruby, Penny, and Theresa. Yang decided to ride the rear step of Rescue 201 instead. Once 10 people had boarded, Truck 201 began to pull out of the station within 3 and a half minutes of the call.

Winter, riding in the front next to the driver, yelled out to the back, "We got a working fire according to Ambulance 201. Car 5 is unavailable to respond at this time, so Ambulance 201's paid captain has Vigilant Command. Put your masks on now, we'll be going to work."

Blake and Weiss immediately ripped their helmets off and began to put their masks on, while Ruby told Theresa, "You got the hydrant with Penny, okay?" She then began to put her mask on as well. "Penny, go put your pack on, but don't put your mask on until the hydrant is set up."

"Got it," replied Theresa as she braced herself to dash out once the truck stopped.

"Understood," Penny replied as she reached forward and turned her air pack on just as the truck stopped, her right arm bracing on the truck's air conditioner attached to the roof as her left arm turned the pack on.

Once it was done, Winter yelled, "Hydrant, go!" Penny and Theresa rushed out of the truck and to the back of it. Theresa pulled several lengths of 5-inch supply hose as Penny wrapped it around the hydrant as Truck 201 then pulled forward towards the fire building, a crowd having gathered on the street to watch.

As they secured the hydrant, Ruby and Blake pulled a 2 1/2-inch attack line off of the truck as they secured their masks' low-pressure tubes to their belt-mounted regulators, enabling them to breathe their SCBA's air. By now, the entire convenience store was in flames.

As they approached the building, Weiss gave the thumbs up to the pump operator on Truck 201 to charge the hand line. As soon as water filled their hose, Blake opened up and knocked down the heavy fire in the entrance of the convenience store. By now, firefighters and units from multiple fire companies were on scene.

As the flames turned into thick gray smoke, Ruby and Ren approached the building with a charged 1 3/4-inch hand line and sprayed down the remnants of the fire trailing Weiss and Blake as they went inside. Meanwhile, Penny walked over to the building after charging the hydrant line and went on air as she joined Winter and another firefighter as they entered the stairwell that took them to the floors above to do ventilation.

Inside the building, Weiss and Blake had managed to knock a majority of the fire down. Even so, the air was still thick and hot. Weiss said to Blake, "Be sure to pencil that ceiling!"

Blake replied by aiming the hose at the ceiling and giving it short bursts of water to cool it down. She said, "Good thinking!" By now, they could barely see in front of them due to the smoke.

Above them, a paid firefighter and a volunteer from Ambulance 201 had begun breaking windows on the second floor and smashing holes into the floor to let out smoke. Additionally, Winter, Penny and another firefighter had equipped themselves with water cans, 2 1/2-gallon fire extinguishers, to put out any hotspots on the second floor. The smoke on the second floor was not as bad as it was on the first.

After putting out a hotspot in an apartment, Penny said to Winter, "Lieutenant, want me to relieve one of the guys doing vent work?"

"Sure thing," Winter replied. "Go relieve the volunteer and send him to me."

"Got it," Penny replied as she walked out to go over to the next apartment.

Meanwhile, inside the convenience store, Yang and 2 Goodwill firefighters carried pike poles and water cans and began to tear up shelves of burned goods inside the store to expose any hotspots. She said to them as she pointed to the counter, "Go tear up that thing. If you see any hotspots, use your water can on them."

April 9, 2021

At Vale City International Airport, Blake patiently waited for her parents alongside the rest of Team RWBY and Sun at around 5 P.M. near the security area. Ruby said to her, "I can see you're worried."

"Hell yeah," Blake replied, shaking. "I haven't seen my parents for 11 years. There's so much we need to catch up on."

Then, Sun pointed out 2 older adults coming out of security, "Is that woman with the burly dude your mom? She looks like you."

"Oh my God," Blake said as she realized they were both her parents. She then waved to them and said, "Maman... Papa!"

Kali immediately recognized her and ran to her, saying, "Blake!" The 2 then embraced each other as tears began to flow from their eyes. "Ah, ma fifille... Ça fait si longtemps..."

"I know," Blake replied as her father joined in the group hug. "You have no idea how... How ecstatic I am to see both of you..."

Sun said to the rest of Team RWBY, "Doesn't this warm your heart?"

"It does," Yang said, thinking about her emotional reunion with her mother in the past. "It sure does."

Ghira then noticed Sun and said to Blake, "Qui est-ce?"

"Oh yeah," Blake replied. "C'est mon copain, Sun Wukong."

Ghira said in surprise, "Mon copain?" He then laughed and said, "He doesn't seem too bad."

Yang then tapped Blake on the shoulder and whispered to her privately, "Are you going to come out to them?"

Blake then remembered that her parents had no idea of her bisexuality. Her eyes shot wide as she began to muster the courage to tell them. "Mom, dad, I have something I need to tell you... Both of you..." They all then sat down in seats across from the packed security area.

Kali said, "What is it, dear? Is it bad?"

"No," Blake replied before sighing. "You see... Before I dated Sun... I dated a member of my team..."

"Okay," Ghira replied, confused. "So, who's on your team?"

"My team is all girls, Dad. I dated my friend Yang, the one with the blond hair, for 2 years before I dated Sun." She then sighed. "Mom, dad, I'm bisexual."

Her parents both paused before Kali said, "Oh... That was... Unexpected..."

"That's it?" Ghira was confused as to why Blake seemed hesitant. "From your tone of voice, I thought you were gonna drop a larger bombshell than that." He then laughed again. "Listen, we don't even care. We hated Simon Urdin for being a homophobe, after all. That's why I resigned as leader all those years ago. You have no idea how sick to my stomach I was when Simon read his stupid little speech after the coup against David when he attacked interracial and homosexual relationships."

"Oh thank God," Blake said to herself. "I'm glad it was no big deal."

Kali replied, "We would never reject you for who you are, Blake. I mean, we've been fighting against people rejecting us for who we are as faunus for God knows how long. It would be hypocritical of us to hate someone for who they are as a homosexual or whatever."

Blake began to tear up again as she hugged her parents and said, "Thank you... Thank you so much..."

Sun said to her and her family, "Wanna go back to our place?"

"Of course," Ghira replied. "So, you and Blake share an apartment or something?"

"Yes we do," Sun replied. "Your daughter is awesome, by the way." He then realized how awkward that last sentence sounded, and followed by saying, "I mean, yes, she's a great girl- I mean, woman, and I enjoy being with her."

"Eheheh," Ghira replied. "Good." He then turned to a blushing Blake. "I see you made the right choice."

"Dad," Blake said, blushing harder and a bit embarrassed.

AUTHOR'S NOTE

So, it's been 40 chapters already... Damn...

I honestly only planned to do an adaptation of Backdraft that was to be wrapped up in 4 chapters at the beginning as a tribute to Monty. I never expected it would go this far.

Season 3 will be starting soon, and trust me, you'll be in for a ride next season.

Thank you to all who have made this story possible, and to all who follow it. YOU ROCK!