AN: So someone pointed out to me that Ironwood's theme song, "Hero", talks about Ironwood the way he sees himself, but is in fact the exact opposite of how he really is.

And we're getting close to 2,000 reviews! I really appreciate the kind words you all say in the reviews! It really means a lot to me!

Once again, thank you to Lord Maximus for the help with this chapter.

Chapter 92

Today was the day.

"I have made sure to pack a bag for Miss Schnee," Klein said, standing in Aqua's quarters. She had finally taken off that ridiculous maid uniform, and had changed back into her new Huntress gear that she bought when Ciel was showing her around, the shock collar safely removed and in her pocket, just in case. As she had been changing, she had noticed the faint markings around her neck.

Jacques had shocked her so many times that it had started to leave a scar.

"I have left the bag in the library on the first floor," Klein continued. "Once you have retrieved Miss Schnee, head there and pull the third book from the left on the middle shelf on the far bookcase. That will open up a secret passageway. Follow it, and you'll see a car waiting for you. That's your ride."

"Got it," Aqua said, opening the window to her quarters. "Thanks, Klein."

"No need to thank me," the man said. "Just make sure to get my snowflake as far away from here as possible."

"Don't worry," Aqua said, holding out her hand. "I will." A small glyph formed. "Tinker Bell."

She allowed her fairy companion to coat her in pixie dust, and jumped out the window.

After Aqua had been punished for talking to Weiss, Jacques made sure to have the rest of the staff monitor her activities to prevent them from meeting up again. Thus, the first stage of the plan was to have Aqua fly directly from her room to Weiss's. The staff didn't know she could do that, so once they saw her enter her own room and not leave, they would assume she stayed put.

It only took her a few minutes for Aqua to reach the open window of Weiss's room, seeing the former heiress standing there with Myrtenaster in hand, again curtesy of Klein smuggling it back to her room for her.

"Right on time," Weiss said.

"Klein said we have to head to the library," Aqua said. "Let's go."

Weiss lead the way to the library, the only route there from her room unfortunately leading them past her father's study. They'd have to make sure to be extra careful not to make noise, especially if he was in.

Thankfully, it sounded like he was arguing with someone, if the sound of shattering glass was any indication.

"You need to control yourself!" The voice of General Ironwood shouted.

"Your talking to me about control?" Jacques asked. "Do you even hear what you're saying?"

"I am basing everything on my reports from your daughter."

"A daughter you stole!" Jacques shouted.

"Oh, we are not getting into that again."

"Oh, yes, we have far more pressing matters to discuss, starting with your apparent lunacy!"

"Jacques!" Ironwood shouted. Weiss turned to look at Aqua, putting a finger to her lips, and started creeping past the door slowly. "Winter is one of my best. If she's telling me there's a threat in Mistral then I am not going to take that news lightly. She's been there for weeks, people are mobilizing, sudden spikes in weapons and Dust trades. Someone is about to make a play and I do not trust Leo to stop them."

So Winter was in Mistral? That was convenient.

"You've never trusted anyone other than yourself!" Jacques said.

"And for good reason!" the general shouted, and Weiss could hear him slam his fist onto the desk. She looked back at Aqua in concern, only to see that the blue-haired woman was listening intently. "If Oz had just listened to me from the start…" Weiss could see Aqua's fists clench.

"You need to get a grip," Jacques said.

"That's exactly what I'm doing. Our people need protection. By this time next week, the Kingdom of Atlas will be officially closing its borders." Aqua's eyes widened. "No one in; no one out. Without the council's permission."

"You mean, without your permission?" Jacques asked.

"And if that becomes the case, I would think you'd want to be on my good side."

"I would think you'd be more grateful to me," Jacques said. "After all, I kept the Branwen woman in Atlas for you, didn't I?"

Weiss and Aqua froze at his words.

Did Jacques just say… that he trapped Aqua at the Manor… for Ironwood?!

"I am grateful to you for that, Jacques, but that doesn't change anything," the general responded. "Make no mistake, the borders will still be closing. That's non-negotiable. You can have your fun with Aqua for a little while, but once the borders are closed, I'll be taking custody of her. She's too important."

Weiss felt a sudden shiver down her spine, and took step away from Aqua. A bright blue shimmering Aura surrounded the Keyblade Master as her hair fell over her eyes. She remembered seeing her mad once, when Qrow and her sister were fighting.

This time, she would describe Aqua's anger as "apocalyptic".

Ruby called it her "Angel of Death" Mode.

Aqua stepped up to the door and with one mighty kick knocked it down, shocking both men.

"Aqua—" Ironwood tried to say something, but Aqua held out one hand.

The general was lifted off his feet and slammed several times into the wall, causing books to clatter all over the ground.

"Thunder!" Aqua shouted, shocking the general and causing his prosthetics to short-circuit.

Aqua then threw Ironwood aside and turned to Jacques, who was in the process of trying to call for help. With a wave of her hand, the scroll he had was crushed and thrown aside.

"Are you insane?!" he barked. "I can have you thrown in prison-"

WHACK!

Weiss entered the room to see Aqua punch her father in the face, knocking him to the floor.

"It takes a lot to make me mad," Aqua said, reaching down and grabbing Jacques by the collar, lifting him up and slamming him into the wall. "But now you've gone and really pissed me off. Weiss!"

"Yes!" Weiss said quickly, straightening herself, standing perfectly still.

"I'm about to show you a few tips for dealing with men who don't know how to treat women," Aqua said as she threw Jacques back to the floor. "You can either watch and learn or step outside and close the door."

Weiss thought about it for a moment as Jacques looked to her with pleading eyes… and then closed the door, deciding to watch.

"First, a real man doesn't try to force a woman into slavery," Aqua began.

WHACK!

"Ow!"

"He doesn't threaten a woman for seemingly being a long-lost relative, especially when she isn't."

WHACK!

"And finally, a man, especially a married man doesn't ogle or try to touch a woman who isn't his wife." Aqua picked him up by the collar. "And this is what happens."

She raised one leg…

"AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!" Jacques let out a high-pitched squeal as Aqua kicked him right between the legs. Weis remembered she was wearing her metal-tipped shoes, which would hurt a lot more.

"And that's what happens when a man doesn't show respect to a woman," Aqua said, dropping Jacques to the ground. "Anything you'd like to add, Weiss?"

Weiss wondered if she should be scared as she slowly walked up and father looked to her.

"Weiss, kill her—"

WHACK!

"Yes, there is," Weiss said, having actually punched her father in the face. "One, a father doesn't miss out on his daughter's birthday."

WHACK!

"He doesn't force her to endure singing concerts and never once show any appreciation.," Weiss continued.

WHACK!

"He doesn't slap his daughter for standing up for her friends!"

WHACK!

"He doesn't make his wife so miserable that she drinks every day!"

WHACK!

"He doesn't lock his daughter up in her room and try to marry her off, or make her fight a friend for her freedom!" Weiss shouted, slugging Jacques one last time. He fell to ground, spitting out a tooth. He stared up at them hatefully.

"You have both just signed your death warrants," he said. "As soon as I reach a scroll the entire Atlas military will be after you."

"Then we better make sure you're occupied," Aqua said, pulling out a familiar item. "Remember this?"

Jacques's eyes widened when he saw the shock collar in her hands.

"Y-You wouldn't…"

"Wouldn't I?" Aqua said with a shrug. "Normally no, but I can make an exception this time. Besides, we need you distracted." Aqua grabbed Jacques by the tie, ripping it off and raising an eyebrow. "Really, a clip-on tie? Cheapskate."

She then quickly latched the collar around Jacques's neck before he could react and pulled the remote out of his pocket.

"You're bluffing," Jacques said, even though a bead of sweat traveled down his forehead. "Y-You'll waste time using that on me when you need to escape."

"Right again. We'll need a little help." Aqua picked up a book and looked over the title. "The Biography of Nicholas Schnee?"

"My grandfather wrote those memoirs as a way to inspire others to follow his example," Weiss said with a nostalgic look at the book. "I actually watched him write that when he became sick."

Aqua opened the book and put the remote in it, causing Jacques to shake in fear when he realized what she was going to do.

"This'll do nicely."

She closed the book, which pressed the button on the remote, causing the shock collar to activate. Jacques screamed out in pain, the electricity coursing through his body as he spasmed on the floor. Aqua placed the book back on the bookshelf and looked back down at Jacques. "You want it to stop, then you'd better hurry and find the book."

With that said, Aqua turned to the door while Weiss threw one last contemptuous look at her father who looked at her with pleading eyes as he cried out and grasped the collar before turning away. Did it really surprise him that she wouldn't lift a finger to help him after everything all the pain and abuse he had put the both of them through?

Breaking her mother emotionally and mentally until she drowned herself in alcohol.

Using her and Winter to improve his image.

Abusing their workers and staff.

Slapping her without a hint of remorse.

Disinheriting her.

Using her against Aqua because he was so afraid of her and her non-existent connection to them, and then forcing her to become his maid and new favorite toy just for speaking against him.

"Weiss!" Her father called out in a pained and pleading voice. Weiss just stared back for a second before heading to the door.

"I'd hurry and get that book if I were you. Maybe even looking at the old pages will help you remember that the Schnee legacy didn't begin with you… And it won't end with you, either."

Weiss and her former teacher stepped out of her father's study, noticing the halls completely empty. No one had come to see what all the commotion was about.

Weird.

They didn't get much farther before a voice called out.

"Aqua." They turned around to see General Ironwood stagger out of Jacques's office. "Please, I can explain."

"You can explain trying to trap me here so you can get my Keyblade, even after I explained why I couldn't? You can explain lying to me, keeping me from leaving to find my family in Mistral? You can explain going along with Jacques, forcing me to become his servant and letting him shock and humiliate me?" Aqua asked, her anger clear in his voice. "Go ahead, I'd love to hear it!"

"I did it for Atlas!" Ironwood barked, his prosthetics sparking but still working as he reached for his pistols. "Because I want to protect it, and we need you for that! What good are morals in situations of life and death?! Would you sacrifice everyone's lives to preserve whatever commitment you made to a dead order?!"

"My order is my family and as long as one of us survives it endures!" Aqua barked back/ "You used and manipulated me to serve your own agenda, and for all your talk of wanting to save Atlas, it was that same judgement that helped cause the disaster at Beacon."

"I don—"

"Your machines, James! They turned and attacked the people of Vale because you brought an army right to their doorsteps! Despite Ozpin's, Glynda's and Qrow's objections, you insisted it was the right call, and look what happened! You may have given me back my legs, but you ignored my wishes to return to my family and kept me here with any flimsy excuse you could come up with until that miserable wretch found a way to keep me locked up! Aqua shouted. "I told you, the Keyblade's power comes from the heart… But I think you've long since given yours up."

Jacques raised him psitols to fire, but Aqua raised her one hand, knocking the pistols away, and then lifted James off the ground. Aqua was then engulfed in an aura of fire as she pulled her hand back and James was sent flying towards her. With one swing, Aqua's Keyblade which was burning along with the rest of her cut through Ironwood's prosthetic arm and leg like a hot knife through butter.

"Glacier," Aqua whispered, freezing Ironwood in ice before lowering him to the floor.

"Is he—" Weiss slowly asked.

"He'll live. I made sure to only temporarily freeze him, and his Aura will keep him alive long enough to break free," Aqua answered, taking a deep breath and exhaling. "Come on, we need to get out of here."

When the duo reached the library, Aqua headed for the bookcase that Klein had instructed her to open.

"You ready?" she asked, turning to Weiss. "We probably won't be able to come back for a while. Have you said your goodbyes?"

"Yes. Klein and I said goodbye last night."

"What about your mother and Whitley?"

"Mother was… indisposed," Weiss said sadly. "And I wouldn't have told Whitley. He would have blabbed to Father and ruined everything. Besides, I'm sure he'll be happy to never see me again."

"…" Aqua chose to say nothing in response, instead turning to open the secret passageway, revealing the packed bag that Klein had told her about. Weiss picked it up as they entered the passageway. They proceeded through the runnel as quickly as possible, coming out the other end in an underground garage, with a single sleek, black car waiting for them. The driver's door opened, and Ignis stepped out.

"Do you ladies need a lift?" he asked with a smirk, bowing like a butler would.

"Just hurry up and let them in the car," Noctis's voice said from the passenger seat. "We're on a tight schedule, here."

Ruby slowly opened her eyes, the pain in her head slowly subsiding. She felt something warm and fluffy all around her, realizing that she was lying in a bed. She looked to her left, and in a separate bed was Cloud, still asleep. His breathing seemed much less shallow than it was, so Ruby assumed that it was a good sign.

Taking a look around the room, she quickly spotted her uncle, seated at a nearby desk reading a book. His shoulder was wrapped in bandages where Sephiroth had stabbed him.

"Uncle Qrow?" she asked, prompting him to look up from his book.

"Hey, kiddo," he said with a small smile. "How are you feeling?"

"Did you get the number of that truck that hit me?" she asked playfully. "Where are we?"

"Mistral," he said. "We made it."

"Wait, really?" Ruby asked. "How did we get here?"

"Well, right after Sephiroth took off, a Mistralian airship showed up. They were patrolling and happened to see some of the fight going on. They picked us up, brought us here, and treated Cloud."

"Wow, that was lucky," she said.

"Yeah, go figure," Uncle Qrow said in amusement.

"Where are the others?"

"They're in their room," he said. "That black-haired friend of yours didn't look like he was doing too hot. His girlfriend looked pretty worried."

"She's not his girlfriend," Ruby said, prompting Uncle Qrow to raise an eyebrow. "They're not 'together-together'," she elaborated, rolling her eyes.

"O-kay," Uncle Qrow said. "Not sure I want to know what's going on there."

"Yeah, me neither," Ruby said, prompting the two of them to laugh.

"I'm glad you're safe," Uncle Qrow said after a few seconds. "Just don't pick any more fights with guys like that. I don't think my heart can handle it."

"I'll try," she said, before they heard Cloud rustling from the other bed.

"Morning, sleepyhead," Uncle Qrow said. Cloud said nothing, instead sitting up and looking down at the covers.

"…I'm sorry," he said.

"What for?" Ruby asked.

"I asked you to let me handle Sephiroth, and when we finally ran into him, I couldn't even lift a finger," he said shamefully. "Some mercenary I am."

"Hey, it wasn't your fault," Ruby said. "Tyrian had gotten to you first. You didn't know he was going to poison you."

"It happens to the best of us," Uncle Qrow said. "Trust me, you can't ever expect things to go right every time. But hey, you're still alive. If you ask me, it just means you'll be better-prepared next time."

"I guess," Cloud said.

"So, I, uh, guess you'll be leaving soon, huh?" Ruby asked.

"What do you mean?" Cloud asked.

"Well, when I hired you, it was to travel to Mistral with us," she explained. "And we're here. So, you'll be expecting your pay, right?"

"No," Cloud said. "After getting poisoned, I can hardly ask for you to pay me. I didn't come anywhere near earning it, yet."

"Yet?" Ruby asked, tilting her head in confusion.

"There's no harm in me sticking around a little longer," he said. "Earn my keep. If you're still okay with it, that is."

"Of course!" Ruby said. "We're friends now, aren't we? Of course we'd be happy if you stuck around!"

"Hm," Cloud chuckled.

"Well, now that everyone's awake, I'm gonna get started on making some food. I'm sure you're both starving."

The sounds of two stomachs rumbling answered him quite clearly. Ruby giggled in embarrassment, rubbing the back of her head with a smile.

Weiss watched the airship pilot count the stack of Lien that Noctis had handed him, the young man having spent quite a bit of money to make sure the dock workers kept their mouths shut.

"Okay, they can hide out back in the cargo hold," the pilot said, before looking to Weiss and Aqua. "I'll take you as far as I can, but if we get caught, you're on your own. Understand?"

"Got it," Aqua said, before Weiss turned to Noctis.

"I'm sorry you had to spend so much money on us," she said.

"Don't be," Noctis said with a smile. "It was worth it to imagine the look on their faces. Besides, if you really want to pay me back, let me take you to dinner sometime."

"A-Are you asking me on a date?" Weiss asked.

"Yup," he said nonchalantly.

"Okay, if you two are done flirting, we should probably get a move on," Aqua said, prompting Weiss to blush fiercely. Weiss looked back at the young man, before taking a deep breath.

Screw it.

She gave him a quick peck on the cheek, blushing the whole time.

"Thank you for everything," she said.

"It's no problem," he said, smiling at her. Aqua giggled next to her.

"Quiet, you!" Weiss said, pointing aggressively at the Keyblade Master.

Yang rode her motorcycle along the forest trails of Mistral, coming up along a road sign. To the right it lead to Mistral, and the left it read "Kuroyuri", only to the word "BANDITS" had been painted over it in big, red letters.

Yang narrowed her eyes at the sign, and took the right path.

She didn't have the time to deal with any bandit nonsense.

She needed to find her sister.

Salem sat on her throne, having just received word from Arthur that the good doctor had made contact with Lionheart, as planned.

Now, they just needed to find the Spring Maiden, and Haven's Relic would soon be hers.

If Tyrian hadn't failed to recover Ruby Rose, she wouldn't even need to find Spring, but she can't change what's already come to pass. There would be other opportunities to capture the young Keybearer, but she needed to keep her eye on the prize.

She sensed something odd.

An intruder? Here?

Ozma's pawns have been getting bold, it seemed.

Salem stood from her throne, intending to dispatch the poor fool herself, before the door to the throne room opened up, and a man walked in.

A man with long silver hair, an oversized katana and a long black coat.

"So, you're the darkness I sensed," the man said.

"Who are you?" she asked. "You're either very brave, or very foolish to come here alone."

The man smiled.

"My name… Is Sephiroth."

AN: And that's a wrap for Volume 4! Thank you guys for all the support so far! I hope you liked seeing how Weiss and Aqua got the fuck out of Mistral.

I don't really have much else to say about this chapter, other than the heroes have a lot to worry about!

As always, thank you very much for reading, and I'll see you all next time!