Chapter 4

Tw: Mentions of graphic violence and murder approved by the state

Weiss's bed was stunningly soft. So soft that as Blake woke, she considered stealing the heiress's sheets on the way out. It wasn't so ridiculous an idea! Right? She could wrap Weiss up in the bedding and use that as an excuse for why she and Neptune were dragging a big old body-sized thing into a car on the streets of the most expensive apartment complex in Atlas. No… that probably wouldn't work. Maybe she could stuff it all in the cage she'd been rolled in on? That… that just might work. It'd keep the heiress caged, unable to run off if she woke back up. The bedding could be used at least in part as a gag and cushioning for the journey back to Menagerie. Blake liked that idea. She liked it even more as she rolled over in the bed and pulled an extra fluffy pillow in close. Maybe she could steal the whole damn bed? No, probably not. Blake forced herself out of such nice little fantasies by opening her eyes. To her surprise, Weiss was no longer next to her. But if she wasn't there then- Blake's eyes surveyed the room only to stop dead on the heiress, completely bare save for a thong and the camisole she was actively trying to pull over her head.

"Fuck! Blake! I! Sorry! I just!" Weiss rushed to cover herself, but her arms only got tangled in the cami above her head, successfully tying her hands up behind her head. "Fuck fuck fuck! I! Fuck!" Weiss panicked and began thrashing around in an effort to untangle herself. "Damnit! No! I don't have time! I-"

"Weiss?" Blake questioned.

"Fuck! I'm sorry! I! I wasn't trying to… well, to flash you or anything; especially not first thing in the morning! I just- I'm already late and Whitley and Jacques are already ready and- and-" Weiss huffed and almost looked so frustrated she was about to cry.

"I-" Blake wasn't sure what to say. If she were honest, she wasn't all too upset with the view. Weiss was… empirically beautiful. On some level, it only felt fair after the bikini she'd been in the previous night. Truth was, she liked it, plain and simple. More than once in her life, she fantasized how nice it would be to wake up to a sight just like that- though… that fantasy mostly involved the nude woman being someone she loved rather than the Schnee heiress. "Do you need some help?"

Weiss looked around and fought a little more with the unforgiving fabric of her shirt. "Yes please." She whined.

"Alright, I've got you." Blake assured and slipped from the beautiful bed to help untangle the heiress.

"I- I swear, I'm never this much of a mess." Weiss sighed as Blake freed her.

"Family can do it to us sometimes." Blake comforted, playing the doting faunus, eager to serve as a slave.

"That they can." Weiss deflated.

"What happened?"

"I had my alarm set to wake me for the meeting, not for family brunch, so not I am rushing to get chewed out over breakfast."

"Sounds fun?" Blake gave a dry laugh.

"Oh, I'm just overjoyed," Weiss called back already pulling a beautiful outfit over delicate curves.

"Ho-" Blake loathed it, but she looked down, shuffled her feet, batted her eyes, and attempted to look as helpless and lost kitten as she could. "How long do you think you'll be gone?"

"How long?" Weiss questioned back, breathless from her rushing.

"Six? Eight hours? Not sure really? We might go out for dinner if things go well for my father."

"If things go well?" Blake's faux weak tone wavered for one of concern. Jacques getting what he wanted couldn't mean anything good for the faunus people.

"Yeah. We're doing a vote today after the meeting. I- it's a whole thing." Weiss dismissed.

"And… and…" Blake took a moment, but somehow she found that innocent 'help me, I'm lost' voice once more. "When you come back, will they be with you?"

"No, god no! One night with them here is enough!" Weiss groaned. "I won't let them even if they try- not that they'd have a reason to."

"Ok… good." Blake forced a tremor into her voice.

Weiss glanced up to her from inside the closet. The heiress was fully dressed now, just finishing up a touch here or there. "I'm sorry." She offered with more honesty than Blake ever thought a Schnee could be capable of.

"What?"

"I'm really sorry about all this."

"What do you mean 'all this'?

"Everything? My dad putting you in that ridiculous stripper outfit? This morning? Last night? My brother? If you couldn't tell, this isn't something I was expecting."

Blake just nodded.

"I'm really sorry I've not really had any time to talk about all this… about us and-" Blake wanted to lash out at the heiress. There was no "us"! Weiss had no right to assume such a thing just because she'd been bought and sold as a slave. "I'll have more time tonight. We can talk… about what you actually want then, alright? I'm sorry we haven't had the time already."

"It's alright." Blake batted faux doe eyes. "I- do you mind leaving me out of the cage while you're gone?" Blake had a pin hidden in her hair if she needed it, but she'd rather not have to deal with picking the lock if she didn't have to.

"Oh! Of course! Sleep in, I'm sorry I woke you! There's that salmon in the fridge! Grab it! Enjoy! There's tuna in the freezer if you need more too! Under running water for twenty minutes and it should be good to eat fresh." Weiss cheered. "Just…" Weiss looked around and Blake almost thought the heiress was trying to spot out some cameras or something. "Please don't just run off? I can't take off the collar, but if you run, my dad… he'll…"

"I wouldn't dream of it." Blake smiled all bright and false.

"I can't believe he… well, I can believe he shocked you like that. But, I'm really."

"It's alright. Just; only us tonight, alright?" Blake did her best to ensure the plan would go off without a hitch.

"I promise. Better yet, I'll call you on my way home to reassure you I'm alone and to make sure I can grab some take-out you like. Sound good?"

"Call me?"

"Yes, there's a landline in the kitchen. You should be able to call anyone who actually has connection with it… amity's still on limited perms while we secure the connections… so not many people you could call, but, because of that, there was no thought to have the collar shock you if you touch it."

Perfect. Blake expected she'd have to finagle something with Weiss's fingerprints or face or something to get a scroll working. But free access to a landline? Poor Schnees had no idea what was coming. Having Neptune as an ally really was paying off already.

"Ok, well, I'm off. You take care. I'll see you tonight!" Weiss called out as she rushed off to brunch with her family.

With the whole of the Schnee heiress's residence to herself, Blake didn't waste much time before testing out that life of luxury. Salmon was great, but the promise of even frozen tuna? Blake had been under the impression that tuna fishing ended years ago. It often required deep-sea fishing- something that had grown increasingly unsafe in the years since Beacon's fall. Maybe it was just a Menagerie thing- shipping to the faunus island had been of lower and lower priority for foreign nations, but Blake hadn't had the opportunity to have any in at least half a decade. Her favorite fish- and till that day, she thought it to be all but extinct to her. Of course, Blake stole the blankets from Weiss's bed and curled up with them and her breakfast on the heiress's luxurious leather couch for some morning programing. It'd not yet come out to Menagerie, but Blake had heard tell that Ninjas of Love the movie had not only released in Atlas, but gone to on-demand. As it turned out, the rumors were right, and Blake couldn't have been happier. She'd never been on such an easy mission for the white fang; shock collar included.

Thinking of which! Blake took a look to her well-manicured nails. How the hell had Neptune gotten so good at that? Did Jaune teach him? It almost seemed a waste to destroy them- or maybe just the color? Blake wasn't entirely sure how it worked, but she wasn't worried about it either. That pin in her hair conveniently held a small amount of the magnetic dust as well. "Come on Neptune, don't fuck me over, let this work." No sooner had the words left her mouth than did Blake almost consider sticking around to enjoy the amenities another day. Things weren't nearly as bad as she'd imagined when she could get out at any time. But she couldn't do that. People were waiting on her.

Blake rose her nails to the color and initiated her aura. The collar sensed it immediately, but before it could shock her, Blake heard the whir of the electronics inside dying. With ease, Blake slipped the collar off and began to truly enjoy her day.

Somewhere into her third movie charged to Weiss's television bill- not like Weiss would have to pay for it, Blake fell asleep on the comfy couch. Just a small little cat nap. She'd have woken up if Weiss called. The fact that there'd been no call meant that the Schnees probably did go to dinner. Blake worried. What did that mean? Had things gone too well for them? Probably wouldn't matter. Whatever happened, Blake was pretty confident that Neptune and Sun had a solid plan once Weiss was kidnapped. The only real question was what part would Blake have in it all once Weiss was delivered? Blake figured the decision would be mostly up to her… she could step away as soon as the heiress was delivered, or she could stay on… watch over the heiress, probably even take over the remainder of the operation. Deserter or not, Blake was technically the highest-ranking member of the White fang still alive and unapprehended. If she wanted, she could probably step back up and take head of the organization. But… did she really want that? Blake didn't think so. She left years ago because the white fang's mission statement slipped… and… kidnapping heiresses who hadn't actually done anything wrong yet themselves didn't much feel like a return to moral roots.

Maybe she'd just stay in touch? Watch over Weiss and make sure nothing too horrible happened to her? Weiss had been kind enough to her? And… Blake knew how quickly things could turn dark, especially when trying to protect a loved one like Neptune was. Yeah, that seemed right.

Blake drowsily sat up on the couch and flipped the television back on. It must have turned itself off after enough time waiting on a movie over screen.

"Yes Azure, we do have information back on the vote." The newscast cut away from one news anchor to another who seemed to be on site. "It is confirmed, the Atlesian council met today with the Schnee Dust Company for a new vote on revisions to the controversial community repayment act have passed. To the surprise of many experts, the vote came in the form of a unanimous decision not only to widen the bill's reach, but to enact the delinquency diversion program."

"And what exactly does that mean for the bill Janey?" The voice of who Blake could only assume was Azure the news hoast questioned.

"I'm glad you asked. Not only does this new vote keep the anti-terrorism programs intact as they were, but it also expands them on two major fronts. First and foremost, punishments to disobedient faunus already in the program have been widened. I'm sure we all remember months ago when the controversial collars were passed, but now, the SDC and other companies employing the new indentured servant labor have a whole hoast more tools to encourage compliance."

"Encourage compliance!" Blake steamed, the remote crunching as it began to break in her iron grip.

"And, Janey, what might these new tools be?"

"Now, our specialists did suspect some amount of this would be passed sooner or later, but, the true surprise is capital punishment."

"What?" Blake threw the remote at the television, cracking the screen, but it continued to play.

"Amongst other expected punishments, the SDC now has express permission to take reprisal in a literal pound of flesh."

"That's… I'm not going to lie to you Janey, that is rather gruesome." Azure answered, clearly shaken.

"But that's not all Azure! The delinquent diversion program doesn't just extend to children as the name might imply. Now, any faunus convicted of terrorism may see their family and or friends convicted along with them. An effort to prevent 'chain radicalization' as the SDC described it. There seem to be stunningly little restrictions on this new law, and our political experts are baffled.

"Wow." Azure didn't have anything else to say, so he sat there in silence a moment. "And you said this vote was passed-"

"Unanimous, yes. That is truly what had our specialists surprised. The widening of punishments in a vague sense could, under the Atlesian constitution, have been passed with a simple six to four vote. But, the addition of capital punishment and the whole of the delinquency diversions program have riders directly in opposition to the fundaments of our government. To be passed in the form it was, it required a ten zero vote in favor. It was rather expected that these votes would lean heavier towards the SDC's favor after both Whitley and Weiss Schnee joined the council last month-"

"Weiss." Blake's ears latched onto the newscast even harder than they already had.

"But the true surprise is that everyone amongst the board, no one managed to oppose these revisions. It can only be assumed that the SDC made some very close friends very quickly-"

"No!" Blake grabbed the closest thing to her- her plate from breakfast and threw it at the television hard enough to break it completely. "They can't. They can't. They just can't they-" Blake tried to reassure herself, but she knew the truth. They could. They had. And Weiss was a the helm of it. Any leniency, any empathy, any understanding Blake ever had for the heiress died that instant- so did any thoughts of not rejoining the white fang. This could not go unanswered. The Schnee had to pay.

End of Chapter 4

Hey hey! Sorry about the delay on this one! I know it has been a while. TLDR: I have been going through a lot. If you wanna know what was up/talk to me/ask why I am being a dumb dumb about posting, check out my discord ink can be found on tumblr or twiter, hopefulbadger junara or hopeful_badger respectively.

Aside from my own drama, There are literally like another nine or ten chapters of this posted elswhere on the internet. I will make it so some of them are free, idk, two or three? How's that? Sound fair? I dunno. Anywho, feel free to come yell at me about my abysmal upload sceduel on the discord or whatever. Links to the site where the chapters will be on my Tumblr and my Twitter. I will make them free, just drop by and scroll down till you find them. Or search the "bees schnees" tag. If you happen to see anything else you like and wanna read there, you'll know how to get access to it.