Chapter 47: Atlas

"The ocean at my window—here I find myself again..."

"Whoooo..." Ruby Rose gaped as she stared wide-eyed at something on her lap. She hunched in her seat, her hood draping over the brown leather. "Ooooh boy that's awesome."

The first-class, SDC airship ploughed through the cloudless sky. It was the oddest sensation of sailing over the ocean, the tide ebbing and flowing like Amariss Shade cradling him in her arms, the world outside quiet, save for the whistling of the wind and the rumble of the engines.

He crossed the aisle, passing by the ghost-ninja. She looked up from her book and shot Ruby a glance.

"Don't tell me," Nex said, sighing as he rubbed his forehead. The sweet scent of lemons in the freezing air filled his nose. "She's got my scroll."

Thank the gods he had everything about the other side of him well under lock and key.

Blake buried her nose back in her book. Weiss was sitting across her, staring out the window with her lips pursed tight. She was probably thinking of Atlas, and whatever it was that awaited them there.

Nex stopped behind Ruby, clearing his throat loudly. "Ahem. I don't need to tell you that what you're looking at is probably classified, right?"

Ruby's finger blurred. She swiped to the left, the screen of his scroll displaying an old blueprint of Hrunting and Vigilance. The sheathed sabre clicked as it curved and unfolded. Still, she was probably looking at the Atlesian weapon prototypes he had been working on last night. There was absolutely no way she would have been interested in something so normal otherwise.

"Wait, so your sword-cannon-thingy also turns into a scythe?" Ruby twisted her neck, flashing him a big, wide, and guilty smile. "That's so cool."

Nex rolled his eyes, holding out his palm. "If you want early access to the hard-light armoury, you better get on the level of a master dust mage. Can't guarantee you won't slice your wrist off otherwise."

"Ehehe." Ruby giggled, scratching her neck as she handed him back his scroll. "Who said anything about a hard-light armoury?"

Nex shrugged, flicking through what she had been looking at. "Crescent Rose, huh?"

It was a 3D-model of her signature weapon, rendered in pale blue with its specifications in white text.

Date of creation. Just today.

"Hardlight Rose," Ruby said, raising her chin. "Or something."

He tapped the scythe's shaft. It spun, crunching as it collapsed into a wide, single-edged sword. A second passed and the sword shattered into pointed fractals.

Nex squinted. "Daggers. Quaint."

Impractical, more like. Breaking her weapon apart into dozens of smaller weapons would have made reforming it impossible in the heat of combat.

"Cool, amirite?" Ruby said.

The fractals rushed to the centre of the screen, clinking as they formed a long spear adorned with a rose on its shaft.

"It's also a spear," Nex said, licking his lips.

Damn. Where the hell did all the drinks go?

"Yep," Ruby said. "But I still can't figure out how to make it transform into a high-caliber sniper rifle."

"The proto hard-light armoury isn't gonna work for you," Nex said, shrugging. "Best drop the fan of knives and the spear."

Besides, in its current form, the Atlesian Portable Armory or the AX100, the brainchild of the designs he presented Ironwood back when he was still in Atlas Primary, would have only worked for people with an abnormal affinity over dust and aura. Case in point: him, his mom, or maybe even Winter if her records in Atlas Academy were to be believed.

Well, them or machines. With machines, he could probably jury-rig something up.

Nex hummed. Maybe a machine that could do all the technical stuff so it was more huntsman-friendly.

Ruby frowned, her lips curling as she yawned. "Yep. That's what I'm thinking too."

Nex shoved his scroll back into his pocket, strolling towards Weiss. He grinned, bending down and poking her cheek, saying, "Hey."

"Hey yourself, Mr Shade," Weiss said, smiling as she patted the couch beside her. The leather gave a dull and satisfying squeak. "Is that how you'll be greeting me at the ball?"

Nex shrugged, sinking into the first-class leather. He snatched the glass of lemon juice off the armrest and chugged the cool, sparkling liquid down. "With any luck, it's gonna be something like..."

He coughed and cleared his throat again, jutting his chest out.

Nex put on his best smile and deepened his voice. "Miss Schnee, may I have the honour of a dance? Just imagine I actually bothered to put on a tie and it'll be golden."

Weiss giggled, resting her head on his forearm. "Oh, but of course, Mr Shade. As your fiance, I'll be delighted to spend the eve dancing with you."

Ruby gurgled, sputtering and spraying milk all over the red carpet.

Blake's eyebrows shot up to her hairline as she tore her eyes away from her book. "You're engaged?"

Nex shrugged, smiling as he stroked her temple and brushed the strands of platinum-white away. "Wanna tell them or should I?"

"It's unofficial," Weiss said. "But my father plans to announce it during the party."

"That's great!" Ruby squealed, beaming as she wiped her mouth with her sleeve. "When's the wedding?"

Weiss glanced at him from the corner of her eye. A look saying something undecipherable. Almost like she was waiting for something.

Nex winked. "We're still working the bugs out."

Blake nodded and placed her book on her lap. "What about, you know..." She pointed at her extra pair of ears. "The world won't accept it."

"Acceptance has to start somewhere," Weiss said, heaving a sigh. She rubbed the ring on her finger. "I want it to start with us."

Blake's lips twitched as she said, "Hopefully, the Atlesians will accept it. It's a big step for faunus-human equality to have the heiress of the SDC together with a faunus."

Weiss scowled. For some reason. "It isn't just about that."

Blake raised her hands, her eyebrows furrowing. "No, it's not. Bad choice of words. Sorry."

Nex whistled, looking up at their luggage. The entire compartment was practically a room with an en-suite and couches, along with a fridge containing everything four huntsmen could have possibly asked for. If it lacked something, then they could probably ask the on-board chef to whip it up for them.

Truly, the rich lived different lives. Much less the richest of them all.

Nex brushed back his fringe, closing his eyes as he leaned deeper into the cushion. "Ah, this is the life."

Nevermind the fact that he could probably afford dozens of their current ship. Weiss was right. It was more than just the lien.

Weiss shifted on his arm, her breath warming his skin. "When we get married, I don't want you lazing around like a kept man."

Nex rolled his eyes. He probably mastered the art of doing it with his lids shut a long time ago, back when they were still partners in Atlas Primary. "When we're married, I don't want you stuck in a chair all day."

"Ugh..." Blake groaned. "Get a room, you two."

Three days later, Team SSBR alighted from their ship.

Cameras clicked and flashed as they strode across the airport. A throng of reporters formed a ring around them, buzzing like flies.

Nex grunted, shoving his hands into his pockets. Not even a second after the heiress of the SDC returned to her home-kingdom and the press was already onsite.

Ruby huddled behind Weiss, Blake fidgeting as she brought up their flank.

Weiss had her back straight and shoulders squared, her chin raised as she smiled at the cameras. With the four of them in their combat apparel, she looked like a swan sauntering across a stage made of marble. It was probably second nature to her. Smiling in front of the cameras. Even if her smile looked empty compared to the grins she always wore whenever they were alone.

No one dared to stop them of course. Unlike that one time in Vale. In the SDC's territory, it would have been suicide to even touch its heiress.

Which was probably why Hard-on was still in jail, despite the influence of Atlas Primary's headmaster. Being the grumpy guy's son and all.

Nex heaved a sigh as they made it out the airport, taking a long drag of the chill and the smoke. He rubbed his arms through his trench and looked up, grinning at the sun. "There's no place like home."

"Yes," Weiss whispered, a tiny smile on her lips. "There's no place like home."

Her eyes roved over the lampposts encrusted with white and the sidewalks covered with a faint sheet of water, along with the rows upon rows of cars and drivers waiting for their charges.

"So this is Atlas," Ruby said as she stared at the towering, metal spires and the windows shimmering under the sky.

The wind howled and whipped her scarf against her face.

"Awesome. Can we get a tour?" Ruby said, peeling the red fabric off her face. "Atlas has these high-tech VR arcades, right?"

Nex shrugged, shifting his pack's strap on his shoulder. "Well, seeing as we're technically on vacation..."

"Not before we get settled." Weiss shook her head. "Come on. There's our car."

"Same old Weiss." Nex yawned as they followed her to said car. A white snowflake glinted on the sleek black paint-job. "Can't catch a break around her."

Ruby and Blake coughed, giggling as they shot each other looks.

"What was that?" Weiss said, looking over her shoulder.

Nex cleared his throat, smirking. "Nothing. Have I ever mentioned you look good from behind?"

He let his eyes trace down the contours of her hips, stopping on the patch of alabaster skin where her leggings met her skirt.

Huh. Was she wearing a shorter skirt? It seemed a little shorter.

Not that he was going to complain.

Weiss hmphed, her cheeks pink as she looked away. "Pervert."

"Young Mistress Weiss." The stout man bowed down to his waist. His tie hung inches from the pavement. "Welcome back to Atlas."

"Klein," Weiss said as the bald man took her bag and hoisted it into the back of the car. "Thank you for fetching us."

"It is my duty, young mistress," Klein said. "These three must be your friends."

"Hi!" Ruby said, waving at Klein. "I'm Ruby. Ruby Rose." She pointed at the ghost-ninja. "This is Blake." Then at him. "And this is our team leader. Nex."

"It is an honour to meet the young mistress' friends." Klein's eyes lingered on Blake's extra pair of ears. His fingers twitched. Probably for the pistol bulging under his suit.

Apparently, old wounds ran deep.

"Come then, we must be off." Klein tapped the doors, the black steel craning upward.

Weiss' personal butler, as she told him a couple of times before, sped them through the winding highways of Atlas.

"Young Mistress Weiss," Klein said, turning a left. "Your father wishes to see Master Shade."

Nex blinked. What? Master Shade?

That was a new one.

"Why?" Weiss arched an eyebrow, shifting in the passenger seat.

"He didn't say, I'm afraid," Klein said.

"I see." Weiss frowned, her palms taut on her lap. "Father wants to see Nex right now?"

"He wants me to drop Master Shade off at the office." Klein turned a right, the SDC's tower fading into view. "Master Shade, Master Schnee tells me that it is a matter of utmost importance."

Ruby grinned as she tapped away on her scroll, red lasers going all pew-pew as they flashed across the screen.

Nex shrugged and dusted some snow off Blake's stiff shoulder. "Alright, alright, I'll be there. He's not actually mad about me and Weiss being a thing, right?"

Klein hummed. "I'm a simple man, Master Shade. I don't dare presume what goes on in Master Schnee's mind."

They stopped in front of the SDC's headquarters, the door beside him swinging out.

"Be careful," Blake murmured from the bottom of her throat, soft enough that he was probably the only one who heard it in the car.

"Nex," Weiss said, flashing him a smile. "Good luck."

Nex nodded and hopped onto the pavement, watching the crowd of suits and dresses swirl around him. Clad in his trench, he probably fit right in. Well, except for the presence of Hrunting and Vigilance on his hip and his extra pair of ears which drew a few narrow-eyed looks.

Nex grinned and strolled up to the doors of the building, chuckling at the giant-ass logo on its front. "Let's see what Jacques has to say."

"Stop!"

A burly guard held out his baton, blocking the glass doors. "We don't let weapons inside."

The guy glared at his extra pair of ears, as if he could not have been more obvious.

Nex rolled his eyes, whipping out his scroll. A few taps and his huntsman license along with his shiny developer ID shuffled into the screen. "Nexus Shade. Huntsman. Atlesian Military. Cybertech Division. Your boss also wants to see me. Capiche?"

Seven or eight bystanders formed a circle around them, dressed in stupid fancy clothes and murmuring it all up.

"You? Atlesian Military?" The guard scoffed. "Don't you know the penalty for impersonating a military officer?"

"Are you blind?" Nex waved his scroll at the guard's ugly mug. "Do you need to get your eyes checked? Maybe a pair of glasses?"

"Nowadays, IDs can be easily faked," the guard said, fuming. "You don't enter until you leave your weapons behind."

"Fat chance. A huntsman without his weapon is half-dead," Nex replied. "Just verify my scroll in your thing or something."

"It's—" The guard stuttered. "It's out of commission."

Nex snorted. He burst out laughing, the harsh sound ringing in his extra pair of ears. "Out of commission? The richest company in the world doesn't have a scanner on hand?"

It was probably the punchline to a big, fat cosmic joke.

The guard growled, fixing him a glare. "You have the guts to mock our company? Forget it. I'm reporting you for suspected terrorism."

"Terrorist?"

"He's a faunus..."

"He might be White Fang..."

Nex heaved a sigh, flipping through his contacts. He tapped Jacques' mug and held it next to his ear. On loudspeaker of course. "Hey, Jacques. Care to settle something for me?"

"Hello to you, too, my boy," Jacques said, chuckling. "Now, tell me, what do you need?"

The guard's eyes bulged out of their sockets. A hushed silence fell over the crowd of a dozen or so bystanders.

"Your guard's not letting me in," Nex said, snickering. "He's even gonna report me for suspected terrorism."

"The man must be foolhardy," Jacques said. "Hand over the scroll, will you? So I can tell him to hand in his resignation."

Nex shrugged. He held out his scroll towards the guard.

"Boss! I'm sorry!" the guard said. "I'm simply following protocol! Please don't fire me, I have a wife and kids..."

"You should have thought of that earlier," Jacques said, steepling his fingers over his blackwood desk. "The man has already shown you his ID, hasn't he?"

"Yes! But—"

"But nothing." Jacques scoffed. "On account of your unprofessional behavior, you are hereby discharged from the company." He smirked. "Do swing by upstairs and have your resignation processed."

Jacques hung up with a short beep.

"So..." Nex said as the guard's baton clattered over the floor. "Does that mean I get to go in now?"

"Bastard!" The guard brandished his rifle.

Nex gritted his teeth, even as Pareidolia buzzed and slowed everything down to a crawl. "Don't call me that."

He lashed out at the man's arm with Hrunting and Vigilance. The sheathed blade smacked against it.

The rifle crashed into a pot, toppling it over and spilling soil on the stairs.

The crowd gasped.

Nex loped past the guard, attaching his weapon back to his belt. "If you keep coming at me, you'll get penalized for assaulting a huntsman and a military officer."

With those words, Nexus Shade smiled and marched into the SDC's headquarters. Blue curtains fashioned from thick fur lined the hall along with lavish white couches. He shoved his hands into his pockets, grinning at the receptionist. A brown-haired woman who looked only a few years older, slathered with the SDC's signature whites and blues.

"Welcome to the Schnee Dust Company, purveyor of the world's finest energy propellent," the receptionist said, glancing up from her terminal. Her eyes narrowed. "How... How may we serve you?"

Apparently, no one recognized him. It was understandable. Last time he came here, it was in the dead of night with Jacques as his personal escort.

"Don't need much," Nex said, waving at the woman. "Your boss wants to see me. Would you be so kind as to point me in the right direction?"

"You have an appointment?" the receptionist asked.

Nex jerked his head towards the guard hobbling his way over the carpet. "That guy got fired for holding me up. Do you really wanna do this?"

Not his fault Jacques Schnee was an asshole and a half. But, well, the man being a dick did help him out it. In hindsight.

"Fired?" The receptionist sneered. "Because of you?"

Nex frowned. It seemed like the SDC's employees carried a lot of baggage. Particularly of the faunus kind.

The terminal beeped, Jacques' voice coming through. "Miss Brown, do assist Mr Shade. Treat Nexus here like you would Weiss. I don't want to have to lose half my staff, after all."

Nex chuckled. Smart man.

"Very well, Mr Schnee." Miss Brown nodded, wrenching her lips into a smile. An ugly one. But still. "Follow me, Mr Shade. I apologize for my unprofessional conduct."

She gnashed her teeth while they walked into the elevator, the blue lights shimmering. A jingle chimed over the speakers. The box of steel rose up the who-knows-how-many-storeys building. A minute later, and they arrived at Jacques' study.

"Please take a seat," Jacques said, clapping once. His moustache twitched as he smiled. "Miss Brown, you're dismissed."

"Yes sir." Miss Brown gave a low bow. She spun on her heel and skulked out the door, nudging it close behind her.

Nex plopped down on the spinny chair, resting his heels against the groove of Jacques' desk. "So, what did you want to talk about?"

"Perchance you play chess?" Jacques asked, swiping over the blackwood. "I'm afraid my son isn't back from the academy yet."

A chessboard flickered into existence, Jacques' side rendered in blue, his in red.

Nex shrugged, cracking his fingers. "I might've played a game once or twice."

And memorized the entirety of a chess book, in case Ozpin wanted another game.

"Excellent," Jacques said, lifting his pawn. "Then just do what comes naturally."

"Why bring me here?"

Mirror the pawn.

"An important mission. Perhaps suited to a man of your calibre."

Knight.

"My calibre?"

Parallel the knight.

"Not every seventeen-year-old gets personally vetted by Ironwood, my boy."

Well, people already thought he was talented. Might as well roll with it.

Bishop.

"What's the mission? And why me?"

Pawn.

"Think of it as your service to the family."

Nex hummed as the board froze. His soon-to-be family then. "You're actually serious?"

"What do you think I've been hinting at since we first met?" Jacques scoffed. "There are few suited for my position. Out of all of them, you're the only one that my headstrong daughter would actually care to listen to."

Nex grunted. "If you think I'm gonna sit in that chair, you're dead wrong."

Jacques shook his head. "Of course not. But you don't need to be in my chair to lend Weiss your counsel, do you? A whisper there, a whisper here. Just like how a loving husband should act, don't you agree?"

Nex shrugged, his jaw clenching. "Weiss won't listen if I steer her in the wrong direction. I won't manipulate her either."

"Ha! Her righteousness has certainly rubbed off on you," Jacques said, leaning back into his chair. "But you'll come around. You and I aren't as different as you think."

"Maybe." Nex rolled his eyes. "We'll see, right?"

The blackwood desk creaked, groaning as it sank into the floor. Pale blue shimmered in the dark and cast a faint glow over the dusty staircase.

His nose wrinkled. Alcohol. The sterile, hospital kind. Mixed with lightning and steel.

"After you." Jacques pointed at the passage, leaping to his feet. "I assume you'll keep this nifty little trick between us?"

Nex stood up, taking his first steps down the unknown. "Sure. Honestly, who's gonna believe me if I say that Jacques Schnee has a secret room in his study? Pretty sure your PR's got that covered."

"Right you are." Jacques said, his shoes tapping the steel of staircase. "You'll find that having the public on your side can be quite advantageous."

"So you have it on your side?" Nex asked.

"Most of the time," Jacques said. "But we can't help it if little accidents sour relations once in a while."

"Like the thing you're hiding here," Nex said, the familiar tang of dead blood stinging his nose.

"How astute of you," Jacques said as they reached the bottom. "My eldest was kind enough to throw the military off our trail." He slammed the wall. A switch clicked, flooding the laboratory with light. "You must understand, my boy, that a misunderstanding of this magnitude can be blown to epic proportions."

Nex glared at the five or so corpses bathed in cold, sterile light. Good thing they had green blankets draped over them. "Wow. The SDC's been expanding into the morgue industry?"

Jacques chuckled, pointing at the carcass to his right. "You joke. But this is serious business. What you see here is what Winter found in Mantle a few weeks ago."

He pried the blanket off the corpse. Red veins pulsed under its blackened chest, almost like pure charcoal if not for the scratches marring the dried skin. The veins snaked through its limbs, creeping up its neck. And, seared into the remnants of its face in bold white, was a mark that read SDC, along with a metric fuckton of numbers and letters. Probably a serial code.

"Can't it be fake?" Nex raised an eyebrow.

"It most certainly is," Jacques said, nodding. "But with our name on the corpses, who do you think will the military investigate first?"

"Someone's out there then," Nex said, poking the forearm of the body. Taut. Almost like steel. Like Grimm, even. "Experimenting on dead people and framing the SDC."

"Not dead people," Jacques said, his lips pursed tight. "These men and women were very much alive and begging for a quick end."

"You gave it to them then?"

"They expired on their own after a day or so."

"How'd Winter find out?"

"A tip from Mekel. Too bad the perpetrator escaped."

Nex quirked an eyebrow. "You mean the guy managed to run away from Winter?"

It was either the guy was that good, or the Atlesian specialists were overrated. Snowball's chance in Vacuo for the second.

"He had the advantage of dozens upon dozens of traps," Jacques said. "Even a dragon would find it difficult to rout a snake in its territory."

"So you want me to sniff around," Nex said, crossing his arms. "Rustle a few bushes. Why not get rid of the evidence first?"

"Because these corpses are, gods forgive me, simply biological marvels," Jacques said, grinning as he whipped out a dagger and sliced off the carcass' arm.

It flopped over the white tiles, dissipating into black smoke.

The very same smoke burst from the chopped limb, forming another arm, complete with the faint glow of red.

Pareidolia squirmed.

"Grimm." Nex parked his hand on his sword's hilt. "These guys have been turned into something in-between Grimm and people."

Abominations. His fingers curled around Hrunting's hilt. The very things they were meant to fight.

"If the SDC can decipher the secrets of Grimm," Jacques said, "think about how it would revolutionize the world. Regeneration. Immortality. An infinite amount of soldiers. We might even discover how to get rid of them for good."

Admittedly, Jacques had a point.

Still.

"You're not seriously thinking that people will, you know." Nex gestured at the corpse. "Volunteer to be turned into Grimm in the name of science."

"Don't be ridiculous," Jacques said. "My researchers will study these corpses, not make more of them."

"Where are they then?" Nex asked.

"In our main lab, hidden from prying eyes," Jacques said. "This room only contains a fraction of the experiments."

Nex released Hrunting, tugging the sheet over the carcass. "I'll get back to you when I find something, Jacques."

"Please, call me dad," Jacques said, smirking. "I imagine it'll be quite the shock when we announce it at the party."

Nex shrugged. "Whatever you say."

"Good," Jacques said. "And I'm sure I don't need to tell you that no one else must know about this."

"Nope." Nex grinned, shoving his hands into his pocket. His scroll beeped. "I can keep a secret."

Secrets were practically what made him who he was, after all.

"Even from your fiance?" Jacques asked.

Nex stilled, glancing at the father of said fiance.

Their eyes met.

Jacques raised an eyebrow with one hand in his pocket, the other twirling his knife by the ring on its hilt. The smirk on his face and the way his moustache all bunched up to his nostrils were...

Insufferable.

Nex strode up the stairs, pulling out his scroll. "We all gotta square sometimes, dad. Better be ready when that day comes."