A/N: I uploaded 2 chapters at the same time as a type of send off for my 'season finale' of this story before my hiatus. So if you're reading this but didn't read part 1, there might be a gap.

Also, this might be a weird thing to point out, but the calendar in Remant share many similarities with our own. They have the same days of the week, start and finish school around the same time, and also have a non-descript winter holiday as well as Ruby's birthday being on Halloween. Not October 31st, they actually say Halloween, which begs me to wonder, how much of their world coincide with us and would it be crazy to assume that maybe Remant is either a precursor or distant future of our own timeline? Hmm...

Anywho, hope you enjoy it, I certainly enjoyed writing it. Love y'all

There was something about the crisp, frigid air of Atlas that Winter loved returning to every time she came back from a mission. This time, it was the only solace she had. She knew Ironwood was going to be angry with her for being late, and knew Weiss would be left to fend for herself until the borders opened backed up.

She sighed when she saw Ironwood waiting for her on the landing pad, and even from far away he was scowling in displeasure.

"I wouldn't be too worried," the pilot said over his shoulder, "He was probably worried about you and is relieved you're alright." His words didn't really seem to comfort her.

For just a brief moment, she wished Qrow were there with her. He'd play the part of a ne'er-do-well boyfriend bringing his date back late and cooly telling her dad he was overreacting. Ironwood would have fumed like an angry overprotective father and Qrow would have just dismissed him as an old fashioned. It was fun to imagine.

But Qrow wasn't here. She'd have to face Ironwood on her own.

"Where have you been?" Ironwood demanded as soon as her feet touched solid ground. "I sent orders to return five days ago!" It was the time of year that the spring winds made the floating city particularly windy, but his voice cut right through the whistle and noise of the aircraft.

"I'm sorry, sir. I wanted one last lead on my sister." Winter said, standing in formation.

"We have more important things at stake than your wild goose chase," Ironwood replied, turning on his heels to head inside. He stopped before turning around and face her again. It was only then Winter notice there was more gray in his hair and his beard has filled out while she was away. He sighed, his shoulder sagging slightly. "I'm sorry. I know your sister means a great deal to you."

"I'm sorry for my delay, sir. I know things must be dire here." She continued walking, her hands folded behind her back, inviting Ironwood to continue.

They walked together to Ironwoods office. Winter was invited to sit, but James stood behind his desk, pacing back and forth but stopping at intervals behind his desk.

"With the borders closing, there's a great deal of civil unrest, especially in Mantle. We haven't seen or heard anything from Salem's faction for months, but the unrest has increased grimm activity." He stopped and took a deep breath. "In short, things are looking bleak, Schnee. You may be called upon to take the maiden's powers sooner than we expected."

"It was something I committed to when I joined the specialists," Winter replied.

"I know, but it was always my hope that you'd never have to take that power on and we could defeat Salem without taking such extreme measures."

"Until that time comes, however, sir, I will do everything I can to keep Mantle under control."

"That won't be necessary," the general replied, "The ASOPs will be handling grimm matters here in Atlas and Pietro has designed a new defense unit for Mantle."

"Defense unit?" Winter raised an eyebrow.

Ironwood pushed the intercom on his desk. "Send her in." he ordered.

For the next two days, Weiss played the exact steps of her plan over and over in her mind, rehearsing every step, every detail, every contingency.

After serving Adam dinner on Friday, he left her alone in the apartment to attend his preparatory meeting. She used a permanent marker to black out two label stickers but didn't peel them off yet, instead putting them in her slippers as hiding anything in a backless dress with slits up to the thighs was not going to be easy.

The idea that she might fail only crossed her mind when turned down the hall to Sienna's cell. If Adam found it, he probably wouldn't kill her, but he was going to kill Sienna either way. It was too late now to back out. She took a deep breath and approached with confidence.

"After she is finished eating, I'm to escort Sienna Khan to the throne room where she will stand trial for her actions." Weiss said flatly.

The guards only nodded as they unlocked the door to the cell and permitted her entrance. She'd gone through endless conversations in her head on what to say if the guards questioned or resisted, almost disappointed she didn't have to use any of her canned responses. She had little time to ponder it, time was of the essence tonight.

"Eat fast. We're going to have to move quickly."

"What do you mean?" Sienna asked looking bewildered.

Weiss kept her voice down. "Short version: Adam plans to have you executed in front of the other heads of the White Fang next week. I'm helping you get out of here. I have a plan, but we need to hurry and you're going to need some food in your stomach."

"You're serious?"

Weiss responded by laying out the bowls of food, and handing the chopsticks over. "We need to hurry."

Bewildered, Sienna picked up her bowl to eat. After she had made quick work of her rice, she put the bowl back on the tray. "What's the plan?"

Using her chopsticks, Weiss took a few pieces of fish off her rice and handed them to Sienna. "You're going to need the calories." Sienna took them wordlessly, eating while Weiss explained. "There's a special barrier in the dojo that mitigates the aura dampening collars and has weapons you can use. The guards think I'm escorting you to a meeting Adam's having tonight. Instead, I'll take you to the dojo. You can break off the collar in the dojo, grab a weapon and escape. Adam and some of the leaders of the headquarters here will be tied up in the meeting which should give you a short window of opportunity. Just act compliant and make it convincing."

Sienna nodded. "What do I need to do?"

"I'm going to use this label and put it over the catch of the door on my way out. Can you take care of the guards without your semblance while I take the trays back? I need an alibi. This can't be connected to me." She kicked off her slipper, carefully peeling off the labels, layering the two for strength and concealing it in her palm.

"You've…you've really thought this out?"

Weiss picked up the tray. "Yeah. You ready?"

Sienna took a deep breath and stood up. "I got this. Meet you in the dojo?"

The huntress pounded on the door, her hand barely passing over the doorframe sealing the label over the catch on the lock. "I'll be back as soon as I'm done with the trays to escort her to the throne room."

"Yes, miss." one of the guards said as the other pulled the door shut.

She waited until she was out of the line of sight to run, making it to the kitchen and down to the dojo in record time. The halls were empty: anyone not in the meeting was either in the mess hall or in one of the recreation rooms enjoying their first night of the weekend. She made it to the dojo first, slapping the wall blindly until her hands found the light switch to turn it on. Sienna emerged only a minute later.

"Grab a weapon and get onto the mat," Weiss said, "But fair warning, it's going to make you sick until you re-adjust to your aura."

"We have time, but not a lot. I pulled the two guards into the cell and broke the tape. Once they wake up, they're going to make some noise."

The selection of chain whips was wanting as Sienna hastily grabbed the closest one. Weiss braced herself as she entered the padded mat area, but Sienna dashed into the arena, promptly falling on her knees and vomiting on the mat. Weiss rushed to her aid but Sienna held up a hand to stop her: she could do this herself. Forcing herself up onto her knees, she grabbed at the metal collar, and pulled it apart with her bare hands. The metal shards flung across the room, and a tiny amount of purple dust dissipated with the natural circulation of the air, leaving only the electrical wiring on the padded floor of the practice arena. She finally held her hand up to accept Weiss' help.

"You need to take a minute and let your stomach settle," Weiss advised.

"I don't have that kind of time," Sienna said, trying to control her breathing. She climbed off the mat and stumbled her way to a window, pulling herself up and sitting on the sill. It was a single glass pane that opened sideways, giving her more than enough room to slide out.

"This isn't much, but it should help," Weiss said stretching up to hand her the vial of dust she'd been hiding in her cot.

"How did you get this?"

"I stole it from Adam weeks ago. He never noticed."

"You could have done all this yourself and escaped."

Weiss shook her head. "I'm not fast or quiet enough. You at least have a chance of making it out undetected."

"Why don't you come with me?"

It was only a split second of silence before Weiss replied "No."

"Why? You helped me out of here, I'm sure you want out, too! Don't you have a family looking for you? A home for you to get back to?"

Weiss took a step away from her. "I don't want you to die. You're the only hope the White Fang has right now of getting out from under Salem. But I'm still the daughter of the SDC's owner, and you still put ordered my assassination."

Sienna scoffed. "Are you serious? We've got more at stake than the SDC right now."

"I know that Adam doesn't plan to kill me. With you, I'm just not sure. I wish you luck." She turned and ran, not even giving a proper goodbye. Secretly, she did wish Sienna would make it out and to safety, but if Sienna was going to work on the White Fang from the outside, she was determined to work on it from the inside.

The evening was quiet. Weiss nervously cleaned the entire living quarters from top to bottom to keep herself busy, wondering how she was going to play off Sienna's escape if she were questioned. She was jittery enough and had a horrible poker face. Adam would know the instant he saw her face that she had something to do with it.

She was cleaning the bathroom when she heard the door open and slam. She stayed cleaning, hoping she could just have a few minutes more to regain her composure.

"Hey!" he shouted from his bedroom. "Hey!" His tone could have sounded impatient, but it almost sounded panicked.

She came out of the bathroom and began removing her rubber gloves. "Sir?" Then she saw him: blood caked on his neck and face, his clothes in tatters and his posture slumped as if he were about to lose consciousness. She rushed to his side.

"What happened?"

"Sienna Khan…escaped…she…she killed five guards and was fighting three more by the time…I caught up to her." He was breathing heavily. "She…made it over the wall…and into the woods…we fought…but it was dark…and she's a cat…she can see….she got away."

"Are you alright?"

"No."

"He lifted up his shirt to show the would on his left side. Lodged between his fourth and fifth rib was the tip of the chain mace Sienna had stolen. Blood seeped out of the wound without freely flowing."

"Keep the blade in there until a medic can remove it. I'll call for help." Weiss stood to walk to the door, but a glove hand clamped down on her wrist.

"No. No medics. They can't…they can't see."

"That's life threatening, it needs to come out."

Adam gritted his teeth so he could spit out a whole sentence without grasping for air. "They can't know I'm wounded and Sienna is on the loose. I can't be weak. Not now."

"What do you want me to do?" Weiss did not like where this was going.

"Take it out and patch me up," he ordered.

"I can't."

"I'll get good and liquored up….you pull it out and stop the bleeding, and my aura will do the rest." He closed his eyes as a wave of pain washed over him. "I just need to make sure it comes out and doesn't get infected."

Weiss pursed her lips. "If we're doing this, we're doing it in the bathtub."

He sighed. He wasn't going to argue with her. He reached for her, not waiting until she was grounded to pull himself up. The stumbled into the bathroom together, leaving a trail muddy footprints and blood smears.

She helped him sit in the bathtub before pulling the shower curtain down, pulling up the bathmats and locking the door. She knew every nook of the room and was able to retrieve everything she thought she'd need in one pass. Gauze, bandages and rubbing alcohol were stored under the sink; fabric glue, scissors and tweezers, he had in a sewing kit for minor repairs and the booze was in the cabinet in his sitting room. She also grabbed a flashlight. Once she returned, she filled the sink with hot water and got to work. She gave him water to drink first, then giving him whiskey to sip. He breathed heavily, sometimes fighting to stay conscious but he never cried outright in pain as she worked on him.

She first cut his shirt off, carefully throwing it away in the plastic liner of the trashcan. Next, she washed as much blood away from the wound as she could. He was sweating and dreadfully pale. He made no objection when she removed his masks, gratefully pressing the cold washcloth Weiss gave him to put on his head. Next, she sanitized. Pouring rubbing alcohol over the wound, she felt Adam grip her arm like a vise. Remarkably, she wasn't squeamish when it came to blood, but she was still apprehensive about open wounds and exposed bone.

"I'm going to pull it out. On three?"

Adam took a deep breath and nodded.

"One, two, three," she pulled, not expecting so much resistance. The scraping of the blade against his ribs made her ears ring, but she kept applying the pressure. The broken blade came out followed by a gush of blood. With the wound flowing freely now, it was difficult to see the entrance to the wound well enough to seal it shut. Several towels were ruined blotting away the blood for Weiss to disinfect it again and glue the rend shut. After she was sure it would hold, she ordered him to drink more water while she grabbed him some fresh clothes.

The shower had a towel rack tiled into the back of it, making it a makeshift handlebar for Adam to grip while he rinsed off the blood and sweat from his fight. It was the best they could do for now: a proper shower would have to wait until morning. Weiss helped him to dry off, averting her eyes until he could get a pair of boxers on. He had to lean against her to get his feet through each of the pat legs and at one point he collapsed against her hard enough she had to push him back upright.

"You've lost a lot of blood. You need to lie down," Weiss insisted, leading him to the bed. She didn't bother pulling back the covers to make him work to move his legs that much.

"I'm cold." He muttered.

"I'll get you a blanket." She found a thick blanket and carefully draped it over me. She ran her fingers through his hair. "Your best option is to just sleep it off and let your aura work."

"Stay with me," he said. "Please. Until I fall asleep."

He never said please. Not even to his own men. Not even to his superiors when he had them.

"What do you want me to do?"

"I don't care, just don't leave."

"Ok." She walked around and climbed on the others side of the bed, curling up beside him.

"Does it at least feel like it's sealed up alright?" Weiss asked him.

"It'll do," he muttered without opening his eyes.

"It will probably scar, but nothing major," she tried finding things to keep his mind occupied.

"I've been through worse," Adam commented.

Weiss ran her fingers along the brand on his face. "I'm sure this was worse."

He was silent for a long time. His labored breathing evened out and Weiss would have sword he'd fallen asleep but he spoke.

"I was eight, and that was the age all the kids get their brands. I knew it was coming, and I don't know what I was thinking: I'd seen kids the year before recovering from their brands, and I'd seen several kids in line in front of me get branded but in my stupid eight-year-old brain thought I could somehow get out of it. I tried to slip out of line and one of the guards saw me, and grabbed me by the arm. He decided he'd make me go next and I used my horns to nail him in the crotch. It made him mad, so he decided to put the brand on my face, to scare the other kids into submission but to also let everyone at the Schnee Dust Company that I was trouble just with one look. I was so scared when I first escape that the scar would keep other faunus from helping me because I'd be so easy to identify, but the White Fang made sure I stayed hidden and made it out of Atlas. Part of why I designed the masks was not just to emphasize our animalistic nature, but to conceal our faces from the people who used to be our captors that could recognize us."

She hadn't realized it, but the entire time he was talking, she was stroking his forehead and scar.

"Can I have some more water?" he asked after a pause.

She slid off the bed and grabbed him a glass of water.

"Thank you," he said laying back down.

That was another first.

He only lifted his head to drink, but rationed it out, taking sips at regular intervals. They made small talk until he finished the glass and he grew even drowsier. Weiss was shocked he was even still conscious between the alcohol and the bloodloss, but perhaps the adrenaline rush was keeping him from falling asleep…

Before she knew what was happening, he'd wrapped his arm around her, pressing his hand into the small of her back and sitting up just far enough to kiss her. It wasn't particularly rough, but it was firm and deliberate. When he finished, he slumped back down into his pillow.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, releasing the grip on her waist, sliding his arm free and gripping her hand. He fell asleep like that. Not wanting to disturb him, she shifted her weight to get comfortable and curled up with her hand in his.

A lot of firsts happened tonight.