Chapter 2

The North Winds

Jacques Schnee

'During the Cold War of 1611-1617, the CSSR (Confederation of Solitian Socialist Republics) launched a five-month-long bombing campaign in the Northern land mas of the continent of Sanus. It was known as Operation Rolling Thunder. The CSSR used a variety of tactics and weapons to root out guerrilla fighters in the Burushka Mountains, this was the first war in which chemical weapons were used and found to be increasingly effective against humans and Grimm alike. The CSSR used a variety of bombers to cover the vast mountain range of Burushka, accompanied by fighter jets to provide support if any jet came to intercept them. In response, the nation of Vale sent their troops to help the newly independent nations to break away from their colonial masters, the CSSR.' -Excerpt from the 'Cold War of 1611-1617' Revised by John Steely

The cold wind rattled the large window behind Jac, the dim moonlight illuminated his desk which stood in front of the window. Casting a large shadow over the room. The ceiling reached high with domed arch's framing it, with two chandeliers hanging from the very point of when the supports meet. The room itself held many objects, such as a bookshelf, chairs lined with lacquered wood with nice cushions for the person's bottom. Yet some of the more important objects are the huge paintings, being framed evenly across from one another. The frame itself is oak wood from East Sanus, in the oldest forests, it was then covered in a thin layer of gold with a pattern of circles and lines forming the symbol of the Schnee family on the four corners of the frame. When you enter the large room you won't help to notice them. To the left will be a painting of Nicholas Schnee, standing tall and proud in clothes that would better befit ancient times before the Grimm. Across from Nicholas are the painting of his family, his wife, and only daughter. The painting was from long ago for Willow has not reached her teens quite yet in the painting.

The entire family wore some of the most lavishing clothes Jac has ever seen (In his opinion). Nicholas wore a blue silk cloak with white fur lining, holding it together is a golden brooch of the Schnee family emblem. The coat he wore was white with ivory buttons holding it together, the coat was made by a famous designer of his time who made cloths of the finest and rarest materials using a technique he took to the grave. From what Jac knew, the coat, along with the pants, were made of wool of carefully bred sheep, woven together with materials of the modern-day Huntsman would wear for protection. Military-grade Jac dared to say. Around Nicholas' waist is a boiled leather strap with a steel buckle, on the buckle, are embroidered designs of snowflakes. On his left hip is a sword he made himself, with only the painting showing its grip, obscuring his blade. Nicholas' wife, Elaine, is his younger sister by 3 years. Jac had to hold back making a face when Nicholas told him many years ago, just a week before he married Willow, their only daughter.

"My wife Elaine? Ah, she is my younger sister by three years, my boy! So when the day comes when your children are born, and may God be giving, give you a son and daughter for you to marry together. Doesn't that sound good my son?" Jac gripped his fist tightly.

'I will not have my children have an incestuous love between them! This family tradition ends with me!' The memory of that revelation always brought him to anger. The way that old man smiled, his laugh as if it were a normal thing to tell as if it were a joke. Jac, for all he is worth, hoped if he were to have kids, whether it be a son or daughter then the next will be the same sex, and so on. He was blessed with Winter and Weiss then Whitley was born and Willow grew excited at the prospect. So he took it on himself to make sure they hated each other or at least know the family tradition through him, not by Willow or the now deceased Elaine.

'Both of them were siblings, it was tradition to wed brother to sister in the Schnee family.' He took a sip of water to wash down the thought. 'Both of them deserved each other the sick lot. I'll end it here and now. My son will not put a child in Weiss.' Jac only grew happier knowing how much Weiss and Whitley despised each other. All due to his work, even if they were forced to work together (which wasn't often) both could tolerate each other, albeit reluctantly. Yet his dear wife still chooses to oppose him and has tried (and failed) to bring their son and daughter together. And now he gets to see the fruit of his work, Jac smiled as he gazed at his computer screen, seeing Weiss and Whitley getting into an argument.

He took another glass of water seeing his plans all coming together. Winter has joined the Black Crows, forsaking everything she knows; devoting herself in service of them, and abandoning all claim she ever has to anything. Winter was sixteen when she took that vow, the same day he told her of the family tradition, it has been ten years since and not a word from her ever. He wouldn't have it any other way. Weiss will head off to Beacon, and Whitley will stay at home, learning from his tutor. Jac wanted to laugh loudly at how his wife's plan is falling all around her. He can already see her drinking her pain and sorrows away. He moved the screen to project something else, something he loathed to see. The Stock Market. Jac eyed it wearily with his old eyes, they began to fail him as time went on. 'The older I get the weaker I get, sitting in this old chair has made me soft in body, yet made my mind sharper by running a company.'

There are times Jaq has regretted marrying Willow if it meant running a company of this large of scale once Nicholas passed away, yet at times he was glad for he saw his children grow. But they will never pass on that tradition in marrying brother to sister. He looked around at the stack of papers that needed to be filed for safekeeping, some files to be destroyed. Jac looked at his hand. In his youth, it used to deft, and swift. More hard and muscular. He grew up in the slums of Atlaya, right below the floating city, and deeper underground. The knuckles on his hand were covered by callous thicker than leather, strengthened by aura. But now, they were a shell of his former life. They grew soft the more time he spent sitting behind the desk.

Jac shook his head, he regained his focus on the screen in front of him.

'I'm old, not foolish. The day will come when Weiss will take this seat as CEO of the SDC. I only hope I'll make it till then.' He made the tab containing the Stock Market smaller and pulled up the News to see what has been happening around the world. The news was the same from yesterday, with only a little bit more information of what scandal came out next. He continued watching the news for they always bring out the next major issue of what happens in the world as part of their last segment. Jac was about to press away when an on-the-site reporter was shown in the continent of Tenochtitlan. In the background, one can see the protesters of the natives called Teotihuacan going against the partisan rule of giving the Faunus a large portion of land to them.

'The Faunus called it Menagerie by them, it was said the First Faunus promised them this land, despite the Teotihuacan lived in that continent for far longer than the Faunus ever known, they still insist on all of it belonging to them by right.' Jac will have to keep an eye on the situation, there could be an opportunity present in expanding in Tenochtitlan to corner a huge rival of his in Anima.

"As we can see here Leroy, the Teotihuacan have amassed a massive protest here outside the government building, they are trying to call off the vote in giving the Faunus their land. If you remember viewers, this city of Coatzacoalcos is part of their holy land in which they have fought for back during the Second Human-Faunus War, or as the locals call it, the 5th Crusade." The camera shook as it was being pushed around by the protesters going by. The news reporter pushed a button on her wrist as it began to fly overhead, giving an aerial view of the area.

"As we can see, a massive amount of people are protesting to stop the vote, or to have them veto it. . ." The reporter wasn't wrong, all around the government building was just masses of people surrounding it. It covered the street and plazas for as far as the camera can get. It made Jac wonder if half the city was there. The people held up holographic signs, posters, waving their flags, and chanting; "Esta es Nuestro Tierra! No vamos a dales nada!"

TL: "This is our land! We're not gonna give them anything!"

The Teotihuacan spoke in their native tongue of Spanish, the second most spoken language in the world, only being surpassed by English. Jac clicked his tongue seeing the protesters growing more violent. The door in his office slowly opened and two women followed in. He closed both tabs to turn his attention to them. Both women are his secretaries that help file and organize things for him. They mostly do the mundane tasks for him. Yet they do the most important tasks for him.

One of the women, being the most nervous one, walked at a faster pace than her coworker. The nervous girl reached first, in her arms is a tablet. Jac focused on the one who reached his desk first. She is a short and slender woman with a large mole on her face, found next to her lip. On the right side of her face is a large birthmark covering half of it, the birthmark gives a pink pigmentation and stretches across her face appearing as splotches. Her jaw is more square and defined, giving her face a more homely look. Her hair is a dark brown tied up into a bun held together by pins with little rings attached to the ends of them. Big enough for her to fit her thin fingers in. Her clothes were the standard uniform all members of the SDC have to wear. For the women, a white dress uniform, 'I want to kill that old man again for making the uniforms all white. Damn him,' with white dress shoes. Jac loathed seeing the color white.

'One could only tolerate such color for so long.'

"Um. . . Mr. Schnee, sir?" Jac was pulled out of his thoughts when she spoke, he nodded at her as she nervously pressed some buttons on the tablet to pull up the end-of-week report she always makes. She placed the tablet down on the table and a holo projection shot out of it and gave him a short presentation.

"Well. . . . Ummm. You were correct sir in saying that the value of Dust has gone down significantly. If we were still reliant on it in making sales then this company would not be here." She gave a little laugh made only more awkward in how her coworker stared at her disapprovingly, and Jac staring unamused. She scratched the back of her head uncomfortably.

"Not cool Laura. Not cool." Her coworker whispered. Laura cleared her throat and continued with the presentation being on loop. Still with the same nervous energy as before.

"The value of Dust has dropped by 30 percent more, while our oil, gas, and coal being controlled by the subsidiary company's in charge of those, the value went up by 22%, 19%, and 47% respectively this past week. With oil being worth €62.23 by the barrel. I suggest we invest more in the oil business, it may prove to be profitable." Jac nodded his head, he was glad Nicholas had an open mind when Jac suggested investing in these other forms of energy when Nicholas was still CEO. After his death, Jac went and expanded and invested in them till the Vacuo Dust Crisis which made it into a massive international crisis. The world's largest Dust reserves were destroyed by rebels in the area wanting independence from Vacuo. He nodded his head, stroking his mustache as he took a sip of water.

'If I remember correctly, Vacuo was placed under international scrutiny for the systematic genocide they were committing to the local people of the Al Riqqila region. As of right now, Vale is sending supplies to the rebels while Vacuo is sending troops in, however. The mountainous region, desert, and Grimm has made it increasingly difficult for them to gain any ground.'

"It does Laura, these fossil fuels have proven to be vital since the Dust Crisis 6 years ago. As well as that new technology being made called nuclear energy." Jac heard of it by the council of Atlas. Only by name and brief description by the scientist Quixote Cervantes. An elderly man of 57 from Tenochtitlan. Not once did he ever imagine seeing these resources being used as they are now, Jac always imagined their prevalence will gain more use after his death when Weiss is CEO. He thought deeply about what Quixote had to say about this new power named Nuclear Energy.

"This new power does not require Dust, oil, gas nor coal to power itself. If I am correct in my theory then a single reactor core can power a city the size of Juchitan de Zaragoza, with its population of 7 million people, for the next 100 years or more." Is what Quixote said. Many of the members of the council laughed at him. Saying he was mad, there is no power greater than Electric Dust. Yet Jac was convinced in what the man said. The future is ever-changing, he needs to be flexible yet unbreakable in this world if he is to make it to his 70's.

"While in other news, results in the project Doctor Pietro has been working on have now born fruit. The cyborg known as Penny Polendina has now officially awakened and is sentient in thought as has produced its very own aura. Remarkable." The projection showed a T-pose of the cyborg, it soon detached into several smaller pieces with little description boxes detailing how it all worked. Going by section by section.

"2 days ago we finally managed to assassinate the politician Andrew Jacobs in Vale, we had our assassins disappear without a trace so they won't be able to trace it back to us. We did leave a few agents to secure what's left of the party in Vale to have it under our grip. Last night the rebels in the Vacuo and Vale border have used successfully launched a terror bombing in the Capital of Vacuo, killing 46 people. Unfortunately, it was our Vacuo branch they bombed, local authorities have launched an investigation in who exactly were the assailants. Just an hour ago Vale has joined the Vy-"

"Enough Laura, that will be all. I'll examine the rest tomorrow, you have done well." Laura on her part blushed, Jac has noted the poor girl is not used to praise. He turned to his other secretary who stood quiet through the whole presentation. She was a tall woman standing close to his height at about 6'2" if he were to guess. Unlike her coworker Laura, she is a rather muscular woman with a much more defined and chiseled jawline that makes even most men jealous. She has broad shoulders with a chest flat as a boy. Her skin is pale as if she hardly ever gets some sun. Jac did ask her if she is a fighter but her response was not what he was expecting.

"No sir. I just like to workout is all, so I exercise to keep in shape." Jac did look more closely at her muscles to see that she is right, as he examined her stomach, back, shoulders, arms, and legs. He noticed they were conditioned for exercise, not for battle. If he were to punch her she will most likely die from the pain than take the pain. They were conditioned for everyday life, not for battle.

Jac pulled himself from the thought and addressed her. "Jaime, I want you to alert my daughter of the coming meeting I have of Cinder and to have her sent here. Then you may go home." He turned to Laura. "Laura, send me the presentation through the Net and I'll review it the coming morning. Make sure everything is locked and kept away. Now go."

"Yes sir." They both said in unison and walked away. Jac laid back on his grand chair and turned to face the window that faced the city. It was a night with heavy snow and wind. The snow began to pile up on the roof and ledges of the window. Even at night the city never failed to impress him in how bright it shined. The blinking of red light from radio towers, to the massive neon projections showing an ad of some kind, to the scaling skyscrapers. Jac once dreamed of seeing himself standing tall and proud in those skyscrapers, to see an open sky, not the steel sky he has grown up seeing.

'I wasn't a mistake mother, I was never a mistake.' His breath hitched, Jac could feel his cheeks turn red from anger. 'Even after all this time you still anger me whore. But not anymore.' He refilled his glass of water from the nearby purifier next to his desk, and took a large drink of fresh cool water, cooling his body and mind. He kept the glass in his right hand as he took another look outside the window seeing a massive holoprojector rover passing by, its ad being about the new implants one can get for the eyes. Keeli Optics. It read.

Jac waited for another half hour till his daughter arrived, he first sensed her when she approached the SDC HQ building, with the VTOL landing on the roof. He kept a calm gaze as he saw the logos of the company everywhere in the city, after a few minutes he heard the door open.

"I heard you have summoned me, father?" Jac slowly turned around to see his daughter, compared to her older sister Weiss is a short girl standing a little over five feet. Her choice of dress is a bell sleeve bolero dress, with a white hue turning gray near her wrists as well on the edge of her skirt. On the inside of the bolero is a stark color of red, contrasting the white which dominates the rest of the dress. On the ends and edge of the bolero are embroidered white snowflakes with a diamond necklace reaching down to her small chest. Her features are typical of a Schnee, her hair is pure white, fair of skin, and icy cold blueish eyes. On her ears rested some earrings bearing the SDC logo (Jac never understood why she wore those) with her hair being tied up on the right side of her hair in a high ponytail.

He took a glance at the hairpin on her head to see it being used to hold her ponytail up. 'It was a gift from Winter, she was to leave and she got that for Weiss, for they will never see each other again. What a loving sister.' Around her waist was a belt that held her weapon Myrtenaster on her right.

Jac gave a thin smile as he stood up to make his way to Weiss. "Indeed Weiss, as to why? Do tell me your opinion." Once they meet face to face, Weiss looked up at him with a courteous stance.

"I do believe it is to meet Cinder correct? To discuss. . . certain aspects of our company. To help her discuss the logistics in Vacuo as the dust company is being targeted by rebels. As well as discuss my future training as I leave for Beacon." Jac nodded his head.

'She noticed the walls have ears, funny we can discuss the assassination of a politician so openly, yet when we talk about people in the company. It soon becomes a battleground for information.' Jac mused to himself. He gestured towards the door, to follow him.

He walked past her to the door with Weiss hot at his heels. 'If she is to inherit this company she must know who is her potential enemies, allies.' He looked at the hallway in which they are walking. The hallway's ceiling reaches fifteenth feet, on each side of the wall is a painting of the Schnee family for generations back. If Jac remembered right, it went as far back as three thousand years.

"I believe you'll be heading off to Beacon by the end of this month, is that correct? Beacon is one prodigious school, with a brutal initiation to boot. I heard the survival rate is two in every twenty survive it, do you believe you are ready for such a test?" Jac looked back to see Weiss, slowing his pace.

"I-I do believe so-" Smack. A loud slap was heard in the hall, the face of Jac was colder than ice, harder than stone. The entire right side of Weiss' face began to turn purple, started to swell. She looked up to meet his gaze, suppressing the urge to cry, to show weakness. He looked down at her in disappointment.

"Do NOT BELIEVE SO! You ARE going to PASS! For you are a Schnee, heir to the SDC, I never ONCE raised a weak little girl to one day replace me." His eyes pierced through her soul, he was disappointed in her response when he asked the simple question. It should have been "I will pass." To be the leader of the SDC, you must be cunning, colder than ice, you must do your next course of action with 100% conviction and faith, to not crack under pressure, to show you are a leader worth following. Being able to display an act of mercy, and cruelty when needed. Weiss needs to learn these things.

'What a pathetic girl, she has the softness of her mother, yet the ambition of her grandfather. There is hardly anything of me in her.' Jac did not relax his face, he stood a bit taller and directly at Weiss. She in turn met his gaze, the fear in her eyes was easy to see when looking at him.

"So let me ask again. Are you ready for the test at Beacon?" Jac used his aura to emit a powerful force on Weiss, to test her mettle. Weiss looked back at him defiantly, her eyes grew more stern, colder. As cold as the winter winds from the far north. 'That's my girl.' Jac thought proudly.

"I WILL PASS! I will not tarnish the Schnee family name!" She almost screamed it out, her gaze matched Jac in intensity. He continued to look down on her, his aura continued to build power and strength, with Weiss' aura trying to match his much older and more brutal one. Black clashed against white blue, causing the very hallway to shake from the pressure the two gave off. Jac released his aura with a snap along with Weiss, walking slowly away to the elevator.

"Good. That is what I want to hear." Jac could hear the heavy breathing of Weiss, with a glance he could see the bruise on her face start to fade away, her aura beginning to heal her, she quickly picks up her pace to match him. As they made it to the elevator to reach the sixty-forth floor three floors down, Jac asked a question to Weiss.

"How did that meeting with RoshiTec go? Wasn't too hard to do was it?" Jac questioned. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw her give an exasperated sigh. Frustrated about how it went.

"All that fat bastard ever talk about is how pretty I look, trying to flatter me, ugh!" Her face twisted in disgust in remembering the representative they sent. Jac continued to look forward as her daughter raved on. "He never once spoke to me about how forming a partnership for this upcoming Vytal festival would boost our profit by spreading awareness in our other products. Whenever I did pull us into the topic at hand, he would then rattle on in how my eyes and hair perfectly resemble snow and ice." Jac chuckled as the elevator door opened.

"I hope you did not give him that attitude, it would be a shame to lose a partner for this year's upcoming Vytal Festival." Weiss gave a curt smile to her father.

"I'll have you know I managed to seal the deal with him, we will be able to work in conjunction with them in expanding our product during the festival. We just got the groundworks, next comes the details." They continued to walk down a hall, less lavish than the one they were in before. Yet it suits their purpose, for this hall is one of their more secure ones, no walls with ears, nothing with eyes. They both walked alongside each other when Jac asked another question.

"And the meeting with the board of directors. How did it go?" Weiss crossed her arms as she walked.

"I believe you've seen the footage father."

"I want to hear it from you," Jac said sharply. Weiss stopped walking and faced her father.

"The CFO and COO are at each other's throats for the oil trade in the Black Sea. The Inside Directors are arguing about the increased aggression of the rebel forces in Vacuo, thinking we should send our forces to that place to help the nation of Vacuo to fight them, which in turn bring an even bigger profit for us out of Vacuo. While most of the Outside Directors are debating on establishing a branch in Tenochtitlan due to the increased aggression of Mistral towards the continent. As well as the overly large oil found in their western region." Jac nodded, noting she has established herself as a member of the company as the years have passed being his shadow.

"Alright, what have our IT and Counter-Intelligence teams have said?" Weiss nodded.

"Our IT management said we should do a complete overhaul of our software system we are using since a large percent of this program is used by our rival companies and the world at large. They said they found a suitable program which will benefit us in the long run, only a small percentage of the world uses it, has a dedicated team working on, which they suggest we should hire as part of our team. After giving us a long presentation on it, I have agreed on them to have our entire software system be overhauled with this new program. I also had an HRM manager seek them out and hire them as part of our IT team." Weiss explained calmly.

"While our Counter Intelligence management gave us more dire news. Over the past year we have experienced a massive hack within our systems, what they stole is something they are working on finding out. However, they have pointed the finger at CeriysInc. for the massive cyberattack, yet they have no concrete evidence. I had to remind them we have many enemies, all of them want our secrets and the information we possess. They have also told us some of our agents and workers with insider knowledge have been kidnapped or assassinated. A total of thirty-two dead, and as of recently one of the CFO's of our oil subsidiaries have recently been married." Jac narrowed his eyes.

"I asked of news, not of gossip." Weiss gave a coy smile.

"Well father it's not just about a CFO getting married, it's whom she got married to." Weiss's smile grew as her father's eyes grew wider in realization.

"To Jauc Okaenchteal." He breathed. Weiss seemed to grow a bit taller.

"One of our candidates we advocated for two years ago to get married to Layla, so her family doesn't get a part of the share or profit whenever she dies in the next fifty years. This gives us an opening in with poor old Layla in more open agreements if Jauc is as suave as he claimed to be. That was the bit of good news from our Counter Intelligence branch." Jac gave a smile of hearing the marriage between the two.

'That gives us all the more reason to act now. Layla's father is an important member of the Council of Ministers in Vacuo, along with her position in the oil business can give much more leeway in what we will be doing.' Jac nodded his head in approval, he began to walk towards a door. He waved his hand over the sensor, with a ding it opened the door. Both of them walked in to see Cinder sitting in a chair drinking coffee. Cinder stood up to greet them.

"Ah, Mr. Schnee. It seems you have finally arrived, have you read my message? We have important matters to discuss." The door locked behind him, he examined the room carefully, he did not want to be caught with his pants down. From the chair Cinder sat in, to the rest of the room it looked like a small storage area. Next to the doors stood shelves facing each other of parts, light bulbs, cleaning supplies, and anything else one wants to put it. Near the center of the narrow room stood two metal chairs with lights illuminating the room well. On the far end stood the cleaning supplies and a small desk containing a computer with pictures of an employee's family along with a coffee machine close by.

"We do dear Cinder." Jac stood aside for Weiss to pass through, she looked around the room, being careful in her weapon not hitting anything, the bruise on her face almost disappearing.

"However you won't discuss it with me." Weiss looked at him as if he grew a second head. Cinder only gave a knowing smile as she drank her coffee.

"You will be discussing it, Weiss. I have other matters to attend to." Jac looked at Weiss to see her face look as if she was a fish out of water. "You'll have to take responsibility from here on out, I can't be holding your hand forever." He proceeded to walk out and towards the elevator. Jac planned to find his old friend who helped him to start his career in business. As he waited to head down the main floor, Jac began to ponder.

'It was been over forty years since I took office as CEO of the SDC, yet I barely have control over the board. Nor does my influence reach over them and sway them to my side willingly, the only miracle is how terrified they are of my CI and me, they all know they can send all the assassins they want and I will not die from them. The only saving grace for Weiss will be the CI to help her hold power in this company if it doesn't fall in on itself first. Thankfully Weiss has been forming some sort of connections with them. They may be proven useful, even loyal to her after my death.' The doors opened on the thirty-second floor to a plump man, with full cheeks and neck. He waddled himself inside the elevator taking up most of the space. He stood beside Jac humming a small tune.

"Mr. Schnee, it is finally a pleasure to meet you." Jac looked at the large man to see his sweaty brows and green eyes. He licked his fat lips, sniffing up some snot from his beaked nose. His greasy brown hair was loosely combed to the side, with specks of hair sticking out.

"My name is Arthur Bywell. Representative of RoshiTec. I had the pleasure to meet your lovely daughter this fine morning. Or as fine it can get in this place!" He bellowed out a loud laugh. A kind of laugh you would hear in a squeaky toy, or someone choking. Jac smelled his breath to notice he hasn't cleaned it in months or even years. Jac held back a gag.

"The pleasure is all mine Mr. Bywell," Jac responded. Arthur only gave a grin towards him.

"You can call me Arthur Mr. Schnee! There is no shame in doing so!" Jac stood stiffly straight. Not moving an inch. Arthur grabbed his handkerchief to blow his nose into. "Bah! Your as cold as this very building Mr. Schnee! Every place I go, it's all the same in this building. Cold, systematic, materialistic, and simple. Not an ounce of life, it greatly compliments this weather, even your secretaries are not something I want to look at." He nudged Jac in the arm.

"You should get yourself some prettier ones, Mr. Schnee. I do know a few who may be interested in the job." Arthur gave another laugh as the elevator stopped on floor sixteen. "We will be seeing more of each other soon Mr. Schnee!" Arthur jovially said. He waddled away in his clothes that were too small to fit him in. The doors closed as Jac began to pinch and pull the edge of his mustache.

'That must've been the man Weiss spoke of.' He thought back on his actions, in his speech and humor. 'I sense nothing wrong in him at all. Just a jovial man enjoying the pleasures of life.' The doors opened once again to the main floor of the SDC tower. When they parted he examined the room to look for his friend.

The main floor of the SDC has only three defining colors, white, black, and a light shade of blue. The floor is made of a clear white marble floor, with black carpets place at every entry door. Near the main entrance stood ten pillars holding up an arched window ceiling. From the main entrance to the front desk where his secretaries work is the light shade of blue carpet. Several plastic plants decorate the main floor, with the only living one being a banzai tree Jaime has on the front desk. Behind the pillars attached to the walls are rows of seats made for people to wait, with a robot flying around alerting any person if they are next to or in how long they have to wait. Above the front desk is the symbol of the company with the words Schnee Dust Company being the first thing anyone sees. Near the entrance are the bathrooms in case anyone needs to do business. On the left and right of the front desk are two elevators, next to the doors are two vases, both tracing back to the Dark Ages in pottery.

Jac looked around the quiet floor to find his old friend, it did not take Jac long at all for he heard his voice bellow from across the hall.

"DO YOU HAVE ANY SHAME!? IN WHAT YOU DID TO ME AND YOURSELF!?" Jac saw him yelling at a young woman who began to break down in tears, trying to wipe her tears away as best she can, it made the makeup she had a smear on her face. He only sighed as he began to walk towards him.

"Have a good night Mr. Schnee," Laura said from her desk.

"To you as well Laura," Jac said politely. He continued walking to him, hearing him rant and rave in a rage. Once he reached him, Jac placed a hand on his shoulder.

"I do believe my old friend, Jessica has had enough of your scolding." His old friend pushed his hand off his shoulder. Giving Jac a sneer.

He looked at his old friend from his days in the underground city. Lannis Your. An old Faunus from the snow leopard family. His thick gray hair covers his head, arms, and legs. His spotted tail sways and twitches, his face is rough like leather, with his skin starting to sag. His eyes are wide and round, with a gray color mixed with blue, his pupil is a small black dot. On his face, a hole replaces his nose, near the hole are six long whiskers jutting out the side. His teeth are sharp with fangs and a tongue of a cat. His body is skinny and muscular, with long sharp nails. On his head are a pair of round ears. Faunus don't typically have human ears, depending on the species they resemble most.

"Whatsit to you? Have grown soft have ye? This useless woman left the binder back at the office in Tulus City. Useless I tell ya! Useless!" Lannis sneered the word useless, glaring at her, showing his fangs to her.

"Now you old-timer, you know Jessica has it all saved in a drive. The use of a binder is outdated this day and age." Jac carefully said. He didn't want to upset the old Faunus. Despite his age, he can pull up one hell of a fight, a fight Jac did not want to have in his building.

"So what of it!?" He turned to look at Jac, pointing a finger at him. "She is under my employ! Whatever I say she must do! When I say sort the files in a binder, she does so!" Jac looked at Jessica then towards his old friend. He needs to settle this quickly.

"Yes, and I need to discuss to you the matter of a certain child." That made the old Faunus freeze for a moment and reconsider. He swiftly turned to Jessica.

"You! Go up and present your uselessness to Jac's daughter! Maybe she will find you something you can do." He muttered the last part quietly. Jessica quickly nodded, and shuffled away to the elevator, the faint sound of crying can be heard as she went away. The old Faunus stared as she went away. "She is far too soft for this world Jac. Any criticism is given to her for the smallest amount of things and she almost breaks down crying. If I tell her to move because she is in my way. She stutters out a half a million apologies, with a tear." He turned to look at Jac, a look of pity.

"She is pathetic ain't she?" He said. Jac closed his eyes for a moment, remembering Jessica as a child when one of his close employees was hospitalized for a long time. A very shy and timid girl she was. Scared of every little sound or thing, it took the work of Weiss-four years her junior to pull her out of her shell. Even a little.

"She is Lannis. The apathetic girl who doesn't belong in this corporate world. Maybe a flower shop might've been the best option for her." Both men went outside. The cold winds blew, giving them goosebumps, the snow fell gently along with the wind. Both went inside a car waiting for them both as their driver prepared to drive away. "She would've made a great baker," Jac muttered. Both men sat silent as the driver made his way into the city. After a long while, Lannis was the first to speak.

"Do you have any plans for the child? Other than, 'Let me think on it." Jac clicked his tongue. He adjusted himself on the seat. Grabbing a glass of water.

"Well, Lannis it is a delicate situation. The girl will pass through the nation of Vale to the city of Elris at the end of this month. And you know how their government does not approve us, our company is not allowed to do any business on their soil all thanks due to the second corporate war. So we will have to do it tactfully, to scare her into submission we must rely on the old method." Lannis gave a low purr as he drank his wine. Remembering the old days with Jac.

"Hiring some nasty people, I believe I can get into contact with some of the more known criminals there. I believe a girl named Neo can help us get the job done. Her semblance is an illusion type, she can fool the girl into believing one thing or the other. So no physical harm will befall the poor bitch." said Lannis as he gave a deep coughing laugh. While Jac chuckled, already thinking about a scenario in which Neo can give the girl hell of a nightmare for the rest of her life.

"Well Lannis, we can't get too ahead of ourselves there is much to discuss." Jac began to pick at his mustache again.

"Ay. There sure is, guess the first order of business is in why did your daughter choose to leave for Beacon? I thought you would've said, 'Fuck no'." Lannis shrugged his shoulders, drinking another glass of wine. He pressed a button on his left and a tray of food soon went out. All fresh and ready to eat.

"I wanted to at first yet I saw an opportunity in this," said Jac. Eyeing the chicken leg.

"Ahhhh shit. Another one of your crazy ideas in which no one will understand" stated Lannis. He sucked on his fingers as he tore into the chicken before him. He ripped a leg out to give it to Jac. He accepted it kindly and took a bit into it. Lannis reached into a small compartment, grabbing a bag of sunflower seeds, and handed it to the driver.

"Thank you sir." was his response as he ate a seed.

"Think on it. How many enemies do I have within the SDC, all wanting my position as CEO of the company?" Jac asked.

"Over half, the board of directors wants the position, especially that CFO. She eyes that position with a hungry gaze. That damn slut." He then placed some seasoning on the chicken breast he tore off, finishing off with cooked mushroom.

"Exactly. While she is at a safe distance away from us, I can work on . . . . replacing some of our directors. Starting with our CFO." Jac stated, he took another bite of the leg.

"And while you do that, little Weiss can go make buddies with the kids of the school. She may even find some devoted followers if she tries." He began to take bites of lettuce leaf with small tomatoes. "Plus she will get to learn how to lead others if she is lucky enough to be chosen as team leader. You know how Ozpin is." Lannis gave a belch on the last sentence.

"She just might, she just might not. It depends on her if she is a leader or a follower. So by the time she gets back, the SDC might be easier to control. If I die then she must be immediately declared CEO of the company." Jac wiped his mouth from the juice of the chicken.

"I'll make sure to that Jac don't you worry, if you were to die then I'll have my people go and take her from school and have her brought back home," Lannis assured Jac. He took another glass of wine to wash down the food as he began to eat the bone. Sucking the marrow out first, then the bone itself.

"My only wish is that it never comes to that my old friend. But they can sure as well try. I will die on my bed peacefully in sleep, I'll have it no other way." Jac stated. He looked over to Lannis to see his eyes glow in the shadows.

"You damn better live till than 'Man of Steel'. We must have Weiss enjoy the rest of her free time she has till she becomes a slave to this company." said Lannis. Jac looked out the window finishing his leg with one final bite of the bone.

"Hmph. That girl has nothing of me in her, she is as gentle as her mother to some extent, yet she that ambition of her grandfather. May I remind you of the two corporate wars we had under him? All for what? To expand his company in contested land or to support a small company to help him establish a presence." Lannis looked at him with a knowing smile. Taking a bite of leaf lettuce.

"I remember. We both fought in them if I have to remind you. But he also won both wars, with all countries being powerless to stop us as we attacked our rivals in all parts of the world." Lannis stated. Jac clicked his tongue as he saw a holograph of a news report outside his window. It read:

Crisis in Vacuo!

The southern part of the country split off from the Vacuoen government forming their independent nation named the Sudeen Caliphate.

Jac pulled on his mustache again. 'The world will sooner tear each other to pieces than the Grimm will.' Yet it was a point of a topic among the people, all across Remnant the rate of Grimm attack has gone down, less and less are they willing to attack towns, cities, or military convoys. While many-including Jac-has seen this as a good sign, many believe it is the prelude to something bigger, to a tragedy like thirty-three years ago.

'The sack of Valintia, the fall of Jizaha. Massive amount of human life was lost during the Horde Scourges.' Jac gripped his arm. 'I can feel it in my bones, something big is gonna happen. When? I don't know, hopefully not in my life.' Both men sat in silence, Lanni's drinking wine, and Jac drinking water to wash down what they ate.

"Well Jac, I believe it is time to discuss the upcoming meeting in October in the capital of Vacuo, what is it gonna be called again?" Lannis asked. Jac took another sip of his glass of water.

"I believe it is called the thirty-third World Summit."

Hello, all this is MistterHitter, I would like to thank you for reading this chapter and the previous one. So don't be afraid to leave a review in saying how off some grammar is or something did not quite match up well. It will help me improve as a writer and storyteller.

So thanks again to all who have read it so far. Also, the update times will be from 7-10 days at most so looking forward to that.