AN: Sorry this took a little bit of time. I started a new job as soon as I came back from vacation, so that took up some time.

But regardless, WE HAVE (technically) HIT 100 CHAPTERS! HOLY SHIT! This wouldn't have been possible without your love and support, as it's your kind words in the reviews that keeps me motivated to keep writing. Thank you all.

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

Chapter 99

"Now, I'm sure you know why this meeting was called."

Whitley gazed at all the board members of the Schnee Dust company, with his mother sitting next to him. Whitley really wished she wasn't here, but he needed a legitimate adult with him at this meeting, and unfortunately, she was the closest one he had at the moment.

"Now, Whitley, obviously Mister Schnee made it clear you would inherit the company from him," the head of the board members began. "And we have no issue with that. The issue is that you are currently not of legal age to inherit control of the SDC, even if it is temporary."

Whitley frowned, having understood that he needed to be eighteen to legally take control. "And you wish to take control?"

"Oh, no. Mr. Schnee was very explicit that only a Schnee would be allowed to inherit control, but at the same time, you understand the legal dilemma we're worried about."

"What do you suggest?" Whitely asked.

"Well, you have shown to have your father's intellect and you have been exemplary in your scholarship of the SDC. The best we can suggest is that you take temporary control, but you should have a public head," the board head requested. "Someone to handle the public affairs and the be more-or-less the figurehead while you work on the details behind the scenes."

Whitley considered the suggestion, and as much as he didn't like it, he had to admit their idea was perhaps the best they could do. "And who would be the public head? My sisters are clearly not an option since Weiss has fled, and Winter is in the military and hasn't been here in years."

That left…

Willow had clearly been paying attention from the stunned look on her face. "M-Me?"

"You are the only other Schnee present at the moment," the SDC Vice-President said, but she was clearly not happy about it.

For one, Willow had not been part of any public SDC events in years. She had been closed off, mostly because of her drinking. The few times she had been present, it had been in a drunken stupor, to the point she had actually walked out in her underwear one time. Jacques had to pay his spin-doctors overtime to cover up that fiasco and make sure his wife hadn't done anything embarrassing again.

"But-But I can't…" Willow stuttered.

"Mother has not been active in the Schnee Dust Company," Whitley said quickly.

"True, but she is the daughter of the company's founder, and she has the experience from before Jacques took over," the head board member pointed out. "Her appearance during the time her husband is recovering would send a strong message that we are strong enough to endure anything, even our current president being hospitalized from a brutal beating."

"I… I…"

Klein stepped forward. "Miss Willow is certainly willing to consider this, but she and Master Whitley would need time to properly process this."

Process this? Willow looked ready to have a heart attack! She was in no physical condition to become figure head for her father's company, and she found the idea so scary she almost wished her husband would recover faster.

"Of course, but you shouldn't wait long," the board head replied.

Willow was left shaking so bad she needed Klein to help her sit down on the couch. "What do I do?"

"I think it's obvious," Klein answered.

"It is. You should go on vacation somewhere," Whitley said, not happy about the idea himself. "That way I can find someone else."

Willow looked hurt as Klein turned to her son. "No, she shouldn't. This is what she needs. What both of you need."

"Excuse me? You expect me to work with her?" Whitley pointed at his mother. "She's been nothing but a recluse my whole childhood."

"Because of your father," Klein calmly retorted. "And you know it."

"…Be careful, Klein. You wouldn't want me to inform my father that you've been speaking ill of him," Whitley warned.

"Oh please, I speak ill of him just about every day. He's a fraud and you know it," Klein replied. "He married into your family and stole the name for himself. He's not a Schnee, and the only reason I stayed was for Lady Weiss and Winter, and even you and Lady Willow. You all deserved so much better than him. He went after a woman just because he was afraid that she was somehow related to you, and I shudder to think how far he would have gone if she hadn't escaped."

Sadly, Whitley and Willow could agree with Klein on that. Jacques had been most satisfied with his new maid, and the smile Whitley had seen on his father's face whenever he 'requested' something of Aqua was one he had whenever he was pleased that he was winning, at the top and had a new 'trophy' to show off. It didn't help that he made a point to mention how beautiful she was when 'submitting' to him.

It was almost as if Aqua had become a new obsession outside of money for him.

Did the thought of her being a long-lost Schnee scare him that much? Or was it the fact that she had the nerve to stand up and talk back to him that prompted him to have her forced to become his servant?

"You have a chance now to try and free yourself from his shadow and influence. To decide how you want to run the company, however temporary it might be before he is back on his feet," Klein continued.

"Maybe, but there's still the matter of Mother here." Whitley gazed at Willow. "If she is expected to become public head, how can I trust her to at least abstain from drinking when I need her?"

Willow flinched.

"Perhaps, if Lady Willow allows it, we can stage an intervention and I can accompany her to help keep her from falling into…usual habits," Klein suggested. "At the very least, we can try and ensure she refrains from any drinks during working hours."

"I…" Willow started, but sighed. "Do you believe I am capable of this?"

Whitley didn't look convinced, but Klein placed a hand on her shoulder. "Not alone, but with help, it is possible, Mrs. Schnee."

Willow looked up at Klein, and then remembered what Aqua had told her about her heart.

It's easy to overlook, but it's there. We easily forget how strong it is, and how easily it can break in the darkest of times, especially when it's all alone.

Was this what she needed?

Could this brief moment of freedom be what she needed?

A chance to actually act like a mother again and try to help her son when he is set to temporarily take control of their family company. She didn't know why, but Aqua's words and the brief comfort the woman had offered her was coming back, and she felt like she should at least try for Whitley's sake.

"All… All right…" Willow took a deep breath. "I'll try…"

Klein smiled, happy there was a chance for his mistress to recover from the years of pain and neglect. Whitley was silent, staring with mild disinterest as he had heard such promises before. He didn't want to get his hopes up anymore.

"What the hell are you moping about?" Mercury asked, walking up behind Emerald. She had been sitting by herself, as Salem had wanted Cinder for something.

"Go away," she snapped.

"Geez, calm down," he said. "I thought we were friends."

"We were never friends, and you know it," Emerald said. "Cinder only recruited you for your skills."

"Like you're any different," he scoffed. "You have a useful Semblance, so she picked you up off the street. Don't act like you're any more special than I am."

"You aren't like me," Emerald snapped. "Cinder—"

Had cared about her. Had loved her.

But wasn't in love with her.

And Emerald had all but guaranteed she never would.

"Right, right," Mercury said dismissively. "She 'cared' about you. And look how you repaid her. You brought her here to have her mind stolen by the Queen of the Grimm. I bet she can't stand to look at you. I know I betrayed the Bimbo, but even what I did can't compare to what you did."

"Shut up," she said quietly.

"You may have been special to Cinder at some point, but now, you're just here to hold her leash. To babysit the one that actually matters. How does it feel, to know that you're only useful to keep the woman you love under control?"

"Shut up!" she yelled standing up and facing him.

"Make me!" he yelled, getting into a combat stance.

"That's enough," a calm voice said, before a black-gloved hand grabbed the back of Mercury's head and lifted him into the air.

"Hey!" the boy yelled. "What the hell?!" he was suddenly thrown over the shoulder of the person that grabbed him, revealing Sephiroth as the one that interrupted them. Mercury flipped and landed on his feet, glaring daggers at the silver-haired man. "What the hell, man?! What's your problem?!"

Before Mercury could react, the tip of a long katana was held up to his throat. "You talk too much," Sephiroth said.

"Hey, we're on the same side," Mercury said. "You really think Salem's going to be happy about you threatening me?"

"Do you really think the witch cares what happens to you?" Sephiroth countered. "You, who were brought in as a stray by the Fall Maiden because you happened to have already slain your father, and that she only keeps around because she doesn't have a reason to discard you, yet. The older and more experienced bull was put out of commission, so she chose the younger and more inexperienced calf to aid her."

"What, you think you're better than me?" Mercury asked, and Emerald was almost tempted to stop this.

Sephiroth was someone that Emerald had personally witnessed talk back to Salem of all people. If that didn't speak to his obvious strength, nothing did.

Either Mercury hadn't witnessed it, and thus didn't have a clue who he was dealing with, or he was just suicidally stupid.

"I know I am," Sephiroth said, not removing his sword from Mercury's throat. After a few seconds, he asked, "Why are you here?"

"What?" Mercury asked.

"Why are you here?" Sephiroth asked again. "I hate repeating myself."

"Why the hell should I tell you anything?" Mercury asked. Sephiroth scoffed.

"Pathetic," he said, finally removing his sword from Mercury's neck.

"Whatever," Mercury said, quickly leaving. Emerald couldn't help the satisfaction she felt at the hint of fear she saw in his eyes. She flinched, though, when Sephiroth focused his gaze on her.

"Your devotion to the Fall Maiden is admirable," he said. "Though, ultimately, wasted on her. As is your anger towards the assassin."

"W-what do you mean?" Emerald asked nervously.

"Those two are pathetic," Sephiroth said. "Worthless. One is a mindless puppet, and the other is a hired killer with no real purpose or convictions."

"Don't say that about Cinder!" Emerald snapped, before shrinking back at realizing just who she was talking to. "She-she has worth to me."

"That's true," Sephiroth said. "But it doesn't change facts."

"Well, if she's worthless, then what does that make me?" Emerald asked.

"Don't sell yourself short," Sephiroth said. "You have something she lacks."

"Huh? What do you mean?" she asked. Sephiroth just chuckled.

"I'll leave you to figure that out," he said, before turning to walk away.

"Wait!" she said, making him turn to look at her. "Why are you telling me this? Why did you help me with Mercury?"

"I find you… intriguing," he said simply. "I want to see if I'm right." He walked away, leaving a confused Emerald behind.

What did he mean by that?

Qrow gently opened up a sliding wooden door, leading into a small noodle restaurant, the owner quietly sharpening a knife behind the counter. Qrow walked up to the owner, who didn't bother to look up from his knife.

"Regular?" the owner asked. "Or the Special?"

"I'm actually looking for someone," Qrow said. "Goes by the name of Shiro Wan. Ever heard of him? I heard he's a regular around here."

"Who's asking?" the owner asked, glancing up from his sharpening.

"Hey, I'm not some cop if that's what you mean. I need Shiro for a gig. We go way back."

The shopkeeper nodded. "Way back, huh? So, he's a friend of yours."

"Hm, yeah, I'd say so," Qrow said. "He's a pretty alright guy."

"Well, in that case…" the owner said, before suddenly pointing his knife at Qrow. "You can tell that jerk that he better not show his ugly face in here until he pays me the Lien he owes me!"

"Uh, Did I say friend?" Qrow asked, backing away nervously. "I, uh- I meant acquaintance." The owner angrily slammed his knife into the counter, clearly not buying Qrow's attempts at back-pedalling. "Really, we're just colleagues! Anyway, thanks for your time, buddy. I'll just be taking off now."

He quickly ran back out the door he entered from, closing it behind him. He took out his scroll, opened up his list of contacts, and crossed Shiro's name off.

"Great start," he muttered to himself, before the edge of the knife suddenly poked through the door, sending him running.

Okay, even with his Semblance, there was no way his luck was this shitty. He had been searching through his contacts for hours, and he couldn't locate a single gods-damned Huntsman or Huntress to help them with Raven.

He looked down at his scroll to confirm the address of his next contact.

Heather Shields.

He approached a small house that was listed as her address, and knocked on the door. After several seconds without a response, he knocked again, harder this time. He growled in frustration and raised his fist to try again, but a man opened the door and stared blankly at him.

"Oh, uh, hey there," Qrow said awkwardly. "I'm looking for Heather?" The man said nothing, choosing to instead continue staring at him. "Look, pal, I've had a rough day. Do you know where she is or not?"

"Daddy?" a young-sounding voice said, belonging to a little girl that walked up to the man. "Does he know where Mommy is?"

Qrow's eyes widened, realizing exactly what was going on. And how huge of a jerk he had just been. "I um… I'm sorry to bother you."

He didn't have any better luck checking the Bounty Missions board. More Huntsmen and Huntresses than he could count had headed out on missions over the past several months, and never reported back in.

Every single name on his list were among those missing.

He sighed deeply.

Qrow walked back into the noodle bar, the owner's mood souring when he noticed him. "You've got a lot of nerve showing up back here, unless you've brought that idiot with you."

"How much did Shiro owe you?" Qrow asked, his voice low and somber, calming the owner down.

"Well, I'd say about… 16,000 Lien."

Damn it.

Qrow tossed a Lien card onto the table.

"Wait, what?" the owner asked. "Man, you must be in some serious trouble with him if you're paying me off."

"His name is clear," Qrow said, turning to leave.

"Yeah… That idiot…"

"Yeah…" Qrow said, opening the door and stepping outside.

"Great. How the hell did I get into this mess?" Yang muttered, sitting cross-legged on the floor of the guest room she had been thrown into. "I win a stupid race, get some money, and then I get kidnapped by a crime lord of all people. At least I'm in Mistral now, which means Haven can't be far. If I can get to my scroll, hopefully Ruby and Uncle Qrow are here. Then I could call for help."

If only she could break free of these chains. She tried one more time to yank her arms free, but was only greeted by the rattling of metal. For whatever reason, the goons that grabbed her didn't search her properly, so she still had her scroll on her.

The problem was that it was in her front pocket, and her hands were tied behind her.

These damn things were just so strong! Her Semblance only increased her strength when she took damage, but banging herself against the wall wouldn't really help. It would make way too much noise, and send someone running to check on her before she would be able to make any real progress.

She started thrashing more wildly, rolling herself onto her stomach to try and wiggle her scroll out of her pocket.

And then the door suddenly opened, and the goons from before grabbed Yang and dragged her out.

Damn it! Yang cursed in her head. So close.

She was dragged back into Midas's throne room and saw a new trophy case lining the wall. She knew it would be for her if she didn't play her cards right.

"Well, blondie. You've had time to think," Midas said once Yang was made to kneel before him. "I hope you've come to a decision that will satisfy both of us."

Yang could see the guns trained on her from the surrounding thugs. She couldn't break free in time before she was gunned down, and even if her Aura took it and fed her Semblance, Midas was right in front of her. He'd turn her to gold before she'd get a single punch in.

Oh well, might as well go out doing what she loved: pissing off the bad guy.

"Yeah, I've come to a decision," Yang said, smirking up at her captor. "I've decided I'm going to call you Golden Dickface, because you like gold and you're a total ass—"

Midas slapped her in the face, knocking down before he stood up. "Such a shame. Could have done so much. Rough her up a bit, boys, before you take her over to her new resting spot."

The thugs stepped in and started beating on Yang, but she quietly grinned through it all, feeling the heat of her Semblance as it grew with each hit. After a few minutes, they stopped and picked her up to drag her to the trophy case where she would be turned to gold.

That was when she acted.

With a loud roar, she activated her Semblance, breaking free of the chains holding her arms, knocking the thugs back and stunning them. While they were stunned, Yang went on the offence, punching down the thugs with one hit before turning to Midas with red eyes. She shot forward, swinging her metallic fist at his face.

CLUNK!

Only for her punch to barely leave a dent as Midas turned completely gold. Yang grunted, her new fist luckily able to endure hitting solid gold. Midas returned to normal and kicked her away, knocking her onto the floor.

"Not bad, little lady. Now you see my Semblance, and that's the power to turn anything I touch at will into gold. Including my very being." Midas chuckled as he walked forward.

"Wait…" Yang asked as she stepped back. "If you can turn anything you touch into gold, why are you even a crime lord?"

"Simple… I want everything. What I want now is your head," Midas said, raising his hand. "On a gold platter."

Yang grunted as she tried to back away, only for a thug to hit her in the back with a rifle like a club. She fell forward onto her knees, and looked up to see Midas about to touch her.

In that instant, Yang's fears began to surface.

Never seeing Ruby, Mom, Uncle Qrow, Dad or her friends ever again.

Her breath sucked in, her body trembled, and just as the hand that would seal her fate was about to touch her, she let out a scream.

"NO!"

Then there was a bright flash of light.

"This explanation had better be good," Winter said, sitting around a small table with Aqua, Weiss, and Raven. Each woman had a cup of tea in front of them, but none of them felt like taking a sip. The younger bandit woman, Vernal, had been ordered to wait outside. "With the condition the general was left in, you're lucky we're even having this discussion. If your explanation for why you attacked him and left with Weiss isn't to my satisfaction, then rest assured, regardless of how my sister feels towards you, I will not hesitate to drag you back to Atlas in chains."

"Now, now," Raven said. "Let's not start this discussion with hostilities. I would have thought Jimmy would have trained you to keep your cool a little better."

"Silence, bandit," Winter snapped. "With matters concerning my sister, I'm sure you'll forgive me for being impatient."

"Winter, please," Weiss said. "Just listen."

Winter took a deep breath. "Fine. You may begin."

Aqua sighed in exasperation. "Well, I guess we can begin with what happened at the Fall of Beacon. As you may already know, a woman named Cinder Fall attacked the school, using the White Fang and an army of Grimm, resulting in the destruction of Beacon Tower and its CCT Tower, along with Professor Ozpin being designated MIA. In the aftermath, Weiss's father came to force her to return to Atlas, while I was left confined to a wheelchair."

"You seem to have gotten better," Winter observed.

"Because the general invited me to be brought to Atlas for some experimental new treatment," Aqua explained. "As you can clearly see, it worked."

"If General Ironwood is responsible for your recovery, then what could have possibly compelled you to brutalize him the way you did?" Winter demanded.

"Please, we're getting to that," Weiss said. "Just let us finish."

"…Fine."

"Weiss, do you want to take over from here?" Aqua asked. "The party was after my surgery…"

Raven burst out laughing. "Let me get this straight. You kicked Jacques Schnee in the balls?!"

"Yes," Aqua admitted. "Why is that so funny?"

"Oh, that's something I've wanted to do for a long time, little sister," Raven said, wiping a tear from her eye. "Anyway, continue."

"So, after that, I put the shock collar that Jacques forced me to wear on his neck, closed a book on the remote, and left him there."

Aqua noted the conflicted look on Winter's face when she had been recounting her captivity in the Schnee Manor. She was clearly disgusted by Jacques forcing a young woman to become his personal maid the way he had, but also wasn't sure if she should openly display satisfaction at what Aqua had ultimately done to him, especially after he had also forced Weiss to stay in the manor.

But mostly, she could see distress and confusion when she learned that General Ironwood himself had played a part in their imprisonment.

"As we were leaving, Ironwood tried to stop us," Aqua continued. "After what he had done to me, I couldn't let him, so I attacked. We caught an airship to Mistral, but it crashed. Raven found us, kidnapped us to try to ship us back to Atlas for the bounty, and then you showed up."

Winter was silent for several minutes.

"There's one thing I don't understand…" she finally said. "You expect me to believe that General Ironwood allowed my father to imprison the two of you at Schnee Manor, to torture, humiliate, and demean you, just to keep you in Atlas? While I can believe my father would do something that depraved, the general would have no reason to do that to a seemingly innocent woman and my sister."

"I can answer that one for you," Raven said. "He wanted her weapon. Same reason I wanted her to join the tribe."

"Really?" Winter asked incredulously. "That's it? All of this just for her weapon?"

Aqua summoned the Master Keeper to her hand, holding out for Winter to see. "It's called the Keyblade. It grants me a lot of powerful abilities, one of which is the ability to wield magic."

"That's preposterous," Winter said, only for Aqua to snap her fingers and conjure a small flame on the tip of her index finger. She then lightly blew, sending some snowflakes to smother the flame. Winter's eyes widened.

"I refused to let the general study it," Aqua said. "He wanted to either obtain one himself, or give them to his army. When I refused, he started looking for ways to keep me in Atlas until the border closed. Jacques having a problem with me gave him the perfect opportunity."

"But why would he need it that desperately?" Winter asked.

"Because he's convinced Atlas is next," Raven said. "The people who attacked Beacon are probably going to attack the other Kingdoms, and he felt that the Keyblade would be his best bet to keep Atlas safe. Problem is, he clearly doesn't care about who he hurts to get his way."

"Don't you dare talk about the General that way!" Winter snapped, standing up and pounding her fist on the table. "He's a caring man, and a great leader!"

"No need to get so defensive," Raven said. "What, are you fucking him?"

"WHAT?!" Winter shrieked, both her own face and Weiss's face turning bright red at the bandit queen's question. Aqua sighed. It was never made more apparent until now that Raven truly was Qrow's sister.

"Hey, if you are, I'm not here to judge," Raven said. "Considering the last man I fucked was absolutely worthless, at least yours has some real power. Just one question: Does he have a vibrate feature?"

Winter answered her question by roaring and swinging her sword at Raven, only for the bandit queen to disappear. Instead, a small black bird landed on the table, leaving the other women in the room stunned. The bird transformed back, leaving Raven sitting nonchalantly on the table.

"Wha-? How?" Weiss stuttered.

"How did you do that?" Aqua asked, being able to speak more coherently than Weiss. "Your Semblance is creating portals."

"A little gift from Ozpin," Raven said. "Me and Qrow both. Made it easier for us to spy. After all, who would suspect the bird sitting on the windowsill to be listening in?" She looked up at Winter. "See? There's more going on than you realize. Ozpin was never good at disciplining his subordinates. It's how Ironwood was able to become so extreme."

"What do you mean 'subordinate'?" Winter asked. "General Ironwood doesn't answer to Ozpin."

"Maybe not officially," Raven said. "But Ozpin is the head of a secret group that's tasked with 'protecting the world' that your precious general belongs to."

"That's true," Weiss said. "The general and the headmaster told us that themselves back in Beacon when the general arrested us."

"He did what?!" Winter asked, turning a surprised gaze on her sister.

"See? I w as right," Raven said. "He'll go to any lengths to keep the world safe from her, all because Ozpin is too lenient."

"'Her'?" Winter asked.

"What, he didn't tell you? I'll let them fill in the blanks, and then you'll see that I'm right."

"What are you-?" Winter started to ask, before they heard a commotion outside and Vernal came bursting into the tent.

"Raven! We've got a problem!" she said.

"What kind of problem?"

"I don't know, just come out!" She rushed back outside, the other women following her, only to see several bandits lying on the ground at the feet of a woman in a suit of armor.

Aqua's eyes widened.

It couldn't be…

The woman was wearing a blue and black set of armor that Aqua herself had once worn, and in her hand was…

The Rainfell.

"What?" She asked in shock. The armored helmet turned towards her, as if the unknown woman was looking at her.

"Found… You."

"What the fuck?!"

That was all Midas was able to exclaim before he was tackled to the ground by a lion, the crime boss barely able to hold it off of him as it tried to bite down on his throat.

Yang was stunned for a few seconds at the arrival of this creature. Its fur was golden, with a somehow stylish red mane around its head.

Yang recovered from her shock, using the fact that the goons around her were shocked, too, to punch both of them out before turning back to Midas. His hand was clutched around the lion's throat tightly. They struggled for a few more seconds before the crime boss managed to get his foot under the lion's chest and kick him away, the large cat landing gracefully next to Yang. The lion turned to look at the blonde girl.

"Are you okay?"

Yang blinked. "Did… did you just talk?" she asked the lion.

"Don't just stand there, you idiots!" Midas yelled to the goons surrounding them. "Kill them!"

Yang heard the cocking of guns all around her.

Shit! She thought to herself, doing her best to brace for the incoming barrage, but then the lion roared, forcing the goons to clutch their ears in pain. Yang quickly looked around and spotted the doorway leading back out into the hallway.

"Come on!" she called out to the lion, kicking the door open and bolting down the hallway. She looked over at the lion running alongside her. "So, you got a name, big guy?"

"I'm Simba," the lion said. "King of the Pride Lands."

"A king, huh?" Yang asked. "I can work with that. I'm Yang, by the way."

"Nice to meet you."

Bullets impacted the wall around her, forcing Yang to duck her head slightly.

"Hop on!" Simba said, and Yang quickly hopped on his back.

"Okay, this is awesome!" she said.

"So, uh, do we have any kind of help coming or what?" Simba asked.

"Oh, right!" Yang said, pulling out her scroll. "I know just who to call!"

Qrow leaned up against a railing, looking out over the city of Mistral.

"This isn't right," he said to himself. "I get one or two of them, but… all of them?" He sighed and hung his head in disappointment, only for his scroll to ring. He took it out, and paused when he saw the caller ID.

Yang.

"No way…" he said, answering the call. "Firecracker, is that really—"

"HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEELP!"

AN: Phew, what a ride! So, we aren't out of the woods yet! Aqua, Weiss, and Yang still have more work to do before they can even think of reuniting with the others. I am so happy to finally have Yang summon Simba! And to be clear, her needing to summon him is why I had her be kidnapped. She needed to be in a desperate situation to force Simba to come to her rescue.

There's a lot more fun in store!

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