Weiss stood there, her father's sentence echoing in her ears and making her stomach bubble with anger and hate. Whenever he called her "my dear", it irked her far more than when he made his annoying demands or overpowered anything she said with his authority. Probably because she wasn't "his dear", and because he used that rem far too often.
Taking a deep breath and filling her eyes with a fresh supply of tears, she slowly opened her eyes, revealing shiny, heartbroken, sky blue eyes swimming in tears. Her lip slightly quivering and her sword clutched tightly in her hand, she slowly began to evolve her face expression, locking eyes with her father. His eyes, so dark blue, locked with hers, that smooth satisfied look he always held, plastered on his face.
Then, once her face was only the facialized version of sorrow and pain, she dropped her weapon and ran as fast as she could, leaving behind a faint trail of dust, towards her father. As soon as she reached him, she leaped into his arms, clinging to him and sobbing.
"I'm so sorry!" she cried, "I'm so sorry!" Burying her face into his broad shoulders, she rubbed her watering eyes into his suit, leaving behind a water stain.
Ha, take that.
She felt her father's large warm hand on the back of her head, stroking her white hair over and over. But his soft caressing felt empty and cliche, just like everything he seemed to do with her. Clinging tighter, Weiss sobbed a little more, hoping to add emphasis to her fake position. Glancing towards the trees, she could barely see a bush rustle, indicating that the others were likely on the move.
"Aw, they look so sweet!" Nora whispered as they watched Weiss hug her father. The group began stealthily moving towards the back of the ship, still concealed by the trees. Jaune led them all, almost screaming his whisper for her to stop making comments.
"Too bad it's all fake," Yang mumbled as she passed Nora, making her frown and give Yang's metal arm a small swat. Jaune turned to Oscar, who was right beside him, Ruby following, and nudged his shoulder.
"You almost ready to activate...whatever semblance you said it was that you would use to help us get onto the ship noticed?" he whispered, so barely audible that he was practically mouthing it. Oscar gave a brief nod for an answer, and stopped to glance out at the scene in the clearing.
Weiss was still hugging her father; the back of the ship wasn't too far now; a few Atlas soldiers were standing around, talking lowly to each other and starting to walk forward. Oscar suddenly realized that they may as well be checking the area, wary of any attempts for this all to be a trap. Why wouldn't they? Jaques wasn't exactly a fool in this department. Or so he remembered Ozpin knowing that.
Panicked, he gestured for them to hurry up, waving his arms around wildly and pointing forward. The group understood immediately, and all of them basically went into stealth mode, hurriedly sneaking their way forward without making much noise at all. Nora, Yang, and Ruby and Jaune seemed to be the most loud of them all, but it still wasn't enough to arouse suspicion. Hopefully.
The few Atlas soldiers, who were clearly humans, rather than the robotic knights, quickly began spreading out, searching around the clearing in a general scan. No large details; just a general sweep of the area. Weiss's grip tightened in panic as two guards neared the spot where her friends likely were, their guns pointed and their eyes scanning throughly through the thick trees and bushes. Weiss held her breath, afraid that they would find them, but she sighed with relief as they walked away, not seeming to have found the group.
Jaques slowly pulled Weiss away, scanning her up and down and observing her cuts and scrapes, along with the condition of her dress. His eyes still held that smooth look, and his words seemed to carry more of a regality. Still nothing new.
"My goodness," he said, "You look terrible! Let's get you back home where you can get comfortable, clean, and safe." He offered her his hand, which she gently took, and he lead her to the ship, offering her the door. Smiling gratefully, Weiss stepped into the ship, feeling less and less confident about the plan working, and then sat down, wincing slightly as a cut on her back thigh made contact with the seat, making it sting. Sighing, she willed her team and friends to get on the ship.
The group watched as Weiss got into the ship, Jaques closing the door. They were all relived and a little surprised that Weiss had been able to pull off such a good act. She really had looked desperate and heartbroken. The guards had finished searching now, and seemed to be filling back up by the ship, who's back was now right in front of team RWBY, ORNJ, and Qrow.
"Okay," Jaune whispered, just loud enough for the group to hear, "It's time. Now!" He motioned for Blake and Ren to get out of the tree they were perched in, just above them.
Hardly making a sound, they eased their way out, Ren sliding down with Stormflower and Blake climbing down as smoothly as a cat. Literally. Both of them landed in formation with the group, a straight line, and kept their weapons out and ready. Blake just held the blade of Gambol Shroud, mentally noting for the fiftieth time to get that fixed. Then, after Jaune nudged Oscar on the shoulder, he faced the back of the ship, closing his eyes and then focusing.
Deep inside his mind and body, his aura and soul, he dug deep into his previous reincarnations lives, memories, and semblances. Words, images, and voices seemed to clog his mind, but he remained focused, searching through what seemed millions of files of information. With each second, he could feel himself getting closer, closer to the semblance he knew he possessed so long ago.
I discovered it one day while playing hide and seek with my friends in Vacuo...They couldn't see me, but I could see them...
That younger voice of that younger reincanation rung in his head, echoing around like crazy. But he found it, that semblance, and connected to it. His arms out wide and his eyes closed, her concentrated on that semblance, and his orange gloved hands began to glow green.
The rest of the group also began to glow green, but they stayed calm and stood still, waiting. Slowly, Oscar suddenly began to fade away, al the way until he was no longer seen. Ruby almost panicked for a moment, often feeling that way whenever she was around other people and he wasn't with her. But then she noticed that she was disappearing, too. Looking around her, everybody was disappearing. But not teleporting. They were all there.
Oscar had turned them all invisible.
"Well that's convenient," Qrow mumbled, audible in the silence of the group.
Although nobody could see each other and nobody could see Jaune waving at the exit from the trees, they all knew what step was next.
"Move! Move!" Jaune hissed, Oscar and Ruby able to feel the wind from Jaune's arms moving around.
Without a single bit of hesitation, the group began to emerge from the woods, into the clearing, and around to the back of the ship. The large opening in the back was wide open, with some small metal steps sticking out from the lip. Carefully avoiding any chance of the oncoming guards noticing any noise of movement, they each snuck into the back, some leaping up onto into it, and others climbing the steps.
Qrow stayed behind, frightening Ruby at first as she boarded the ship, but then he jumped up and suddenly was a crow, a few stray black feathers falling from him as he perched himself on a closer tree. She sighed and hurried into the back of the ship.
Somehow, Ruby managed to find Oscar amidst their invisible group, and they grabbed each other's hands, holding them tightly as he guided her to the back. Lifting her up with his strong grip, he hoisted her gently onto the floor, following soon after. Blake accidentally bumped into Jaune, unable to see him, and Yang stepped on Ruby's foot, making her step back and almost yell in anger.
But she knew better, and hardly made a sound. Once everyone had climbed aboard, Jaune made a soft whispery noise, every member of their group answering back with a whispery noise, one at a time. Counting eight whispers back, Jaune sighed with relief and glanced around.
The back was strangely nice; two booths on each side with a table in the center of each; a few simple paintings nailed to the walls; a large white rug, and a large white light, mounted in the ceiling and providing some decent lighting.
I guess that's just what your transportation ship looks like when you're rich.
Ruby stood there, feeling like she was alone in the back of this ship. She couldn't see anybody. But she could just hear their breathing and then slight sounds that they made when they moved. Her heart pounding in her chest, she felt nervously around for someone, hoping to find Oscar's hand again. After feeling awkwardly around for a few seconds, she finally found his large, warm, calloused hand, and held tightly onto it. A pleasant wave of love rushed up from her arm all the way to her heart, making it pound more fervently, and yet, gentler.
Jaune's hands were softer and less worn that Oscar's, and Oscar's had a lot more calluses that Jaune's. She knew for sure that it was Oscar's hand, and not Jaune's. Jaune would have been shocked out of his mind if it had been his.
Smiling softly and feeling secure beneath their invisibility, she looked down at her bump for the millionth time. Whenever she and Oscar were with each other, unseen by anyone else, she felt a deeper and stronger love for Oscar and their baby. Even though the baby's presence had been unwanted and unexpected, with every loving moment she and Oscar spent together, she felt more and more eager to have this baby. Love was a great thing.
She was snapped out of her thoughts when the sound of the guards low talking could be heard, coming closer and closer. Panicked, she looked franticly around, tensing up imediately, but still holding Oscar's hand. She felt his other hand gently touch her shoulder, and she calmed down a little bit. But still frightened, she looked around, feeling again like she was alone and almost exposed.
Oscar's hand was trembling a little, and then suddenly, the outline of all of the others and herself, glowed green, then faded back invisible. Oscar couldn't keep it up much longer.
"Get back!" she heard someone, she couldn't tell if it was Jaune, Blake, or Ren, hiss, "Hide!"
Turning around, she felt Oscar jerking her towards the left booth, nearly causing her to fall. But she tried hard to keep up to speed with him and they both disappeared behind the booth. Half crashing into, half sliding, they hid behind it, trying so hard not to pant, gasp, or make any audible noise.
Once everything was silent again, they began to hear sounds of a man yelling. Something about a back and about intruders. But it didn't sound very threatening.
Jacques.
And then the sounds of the Atlesian guards walking and talking came even closer, and they knew that their plan was about to go into complete no-turning-back mode.
Watching her father walk back around the ship to the driver seat, she saw him call out to the guards to get back in, asking them if they had found anything. With an affirmative answer that the coast was clear, he nodded and then sat down in his seat, the guards jumping into the back and then shutting the large back door loudly behind them.
Jacques took hold of the wheel, prepared the ship for takeoff, and then began to fly upward, relaxing his hold on the wheel and sitting back more once they were in midair, headed back towards Atlas and the Schnee Manor. Weiss stared at him, waiting for his gaze to go to hers. But he just sat looking straight ahead, watching the clouds go by.
"Father?" Weiss began tentatively. Jacques turned and looked at her.
"Yes?" he asked with a slight nod of his head. Weiss looked down for a moment, then back up, wishing she could put on a blindfold or something to avoid his deep blue stare.
"What was all that...checking the guards did for?" she asked, trying to sound clueless and a bit frightened. The fear part was easy. She still didn't know weather or not her team had made it onto the ship. If they had, then they were certainly doing a great job of not showing it. If they hadn't, she'd have to run away again, and then she wouldn't have to worry about going home ever again.
"Oh, just to make sure that you weren't..," he began lightly, pausing for a word, "Trying anything." He gave her his usual look, indicating that he was quite serious at the moment. Weiss just sighed and looked out her window, a look of defeat on her face.
"Don't worry about that," she murmured, "And I have no point going back, anyway." She stared at her reflection in the clear glass window, almost surprised to see the bright red cut that Blake had put on her cheek. She had nearly forgotten that it existed, other than the constant throbbing in that area.
Slowly lifting a finger up to the cut, she poked it gingerly, allowing a single drop of blood onto the pad of her index finger. She held that finger up in front of her face, examining the bright red color and the shininess of the blood.
"Good to know, my dear," Jacques said softly, sitting up a little straighter, "Good to know."
Weiss, who was still turned away from him, rolled her eyes and wiped the drop of blood onto the already dirty skirt of her dress. It was smeared with dirt and blood, making her look more like a homeless hobo instead of a clean, sophisticated Schnee. Although she absolutely loathed the time when she would have to go back into her prison of a home, she couldn't help but be eager for what would come next.
A steaming hot bath in her luxurious tub; taking a nap in her soft, clean, silky bed; eating her fill of rich, exotic food, and her cuts and scrapes could get fixed up. She would also likely put a new dress on. She just hoped it could be similar to her current one. It was one of her favorites at the moment, the style and fit much to her liking.
It was at that moment that she realized just how spoiled she was. Or at least, how she had been. Back then, those delicacies had just been a normal part of life. But now, after experiencing hardship, discomfort, pain, and reality, those things were sounding absolutely fantastic. At least she had something to look forward to.
Smiling softly, she looked back at her father, a grateful look in her sky blue eyes. They made eye contact and Weiss sighed quietly.
"Thank you, Father."
Jacques nodded and looked back out the windshield, sighing and then sitting up straighter, adjusting his grip on the wheel with his white gloved hands.
"Well at least you finally realize how grateful you should have been and should be," he mumbled, flicking a switch and clicking a few buttons. The ship's motor seemed to make a deep vibrating sound, and then the ship's speed began reducing.
Looking out the window again, Weiss could immediately see what she had dreaded all her life. The empty place she called home, or she should say, empty palace. The large, grand manor stood proudly at the top of the snowy cliffside that outlooked the rest of Atlas, looking like a castle.
The rest of the scenery was dull, at leat to Weiss, as she has seen this view many times before, and hated it each time. The snow and ice; the same people; the city's dulling splendor. It was all just a repeated cycle that she was sick of going through all the time. But right now, she needed to roll with it, one more time. And if it didn't work, she would never have to worry about dealing with this again.
Sighing softly, she touched her hand to the cold glass and stared at her reflection for the millionth time.
Ruby stayed there crouched tightly behind the booth with Oscar clutching her by the shoulder. His strong grip was making her shoulder hurt, but she didn't make a sound.
She could hear the guards talking about how they were tired of constantly going on these "hunts for the missing heiress". Supposedly, the same soldiers had been chosen to accompany Jacques every time he went to get Weiss, and they had also been forced to patrol around Atlas each month or so, keeping an eye out for her.
Trying to keep herself calm was a challenge, and she could barely keep herself from getting up and attacking the guards. Her hand was even resting against Crescent Rose, ready to pull it out and start fighting. Her heart was pounding in her chest so hard that she was afraid the guards would hear her, and she fought to keep her breathing quiet and steady.
It was like hiding in the presence of Grimm, no emotion allowed to be portrayed; no sounds could be uttered; you had to remain as if dead. Only this time, it was men. Men with guns and some sort of military training, as well as some likely form of backup.
But then again, Ruby was a Huntress. So were all the others. Oscar had Ozpin's skill and training, as well as a strong and fit body. Blake didn't have her weapon, but she did have the blade part of it, and she was still good at hand-to-hand. Yes, they could definitely take down those few guards without breaking a sweat. But one bad fluke, and their plan could miserably fail.
Tightening her hands into fists, she bit her lip and held her breath, feeling more and more obliged to jump out and surprise attack them. it wasn't until she heard one of them stand up and walk over to the opposite side of the room, his footsteps nearing Ruby. He stopped in front of the booth and then sat down, making her heart stop for a moment.
Ruby's heart began to beat even faster and harder, and adrenaline began to run through her.
Stop it, fighting instincts! I need to focus and hush myself up! I'm the leader, anyway. I'm not gonna ruin this whole plan just because I'm a feisty and impatient, nonetheless a coward.
Drawing in another slow, deep breath, she tried to calm herself again, but failed to do so. Her body twitched, her fists tightened even more, and the somewhat orchestrated fighting stances and moves continued to fly around wildly in her head. She just wanted to pull out Crescent Rose, activate her, and then smash something. But she obviously couldn't do that. Not now.
She could hear the breathing of the others; the sounds of their slight movements; their weapons making barely audible sounds as they moved around. Ruby's tensed body could hardly take it anymore. She slowly reached over, found Oscar's shoulder, and then squeezed it as hard as she could. She felt him move his head towards her, and more eagerness began to pump through her.
She wanted to fight and get those annoying guards out of the back of the ship. They were making her feel more and more uneasy, and she knew that Oscar couldn't hold up the invisibility cover much longer.
Ugh, if only Emerald or Neo were here to disguise us or something. Emerald wasn't bad at acting to be a friend, though...If she were good, maybe we could be besties, like Weiss.
Ruby snapped her mind back to the present, cursing her constant mind-drifts. She needed to focus. For another split moment, the outlines of everyone in the group flickered green before dissolving into nothing again, Oscar's shoulder tensing up badly under Ruby's hand.
Clenching her teeth, Ruby knew that if they didn't act soon, they would all be exposed, and who knew where everyone else was hiding? There were hardly any places to hide in this small ship back. They could be standing in open area, for all she knew. Squeezing Oscar's shoulder again, she dared to lean forward and whisper as quietly as she possibly could.
"We need to fight them. Now."
The urgency in her voice made a chill go down Oscar's back. He was already sweating from holding up the invisibility semblance this long, and he could feel his aura and strength depleting with ever passing moment. They did need to act, very soon. He just didn't want Ruby to get hurt.
Slowly easing his grip off Ruby's shoulder, he slid his large sweaty palm to Ruby's slim, soft hand, squeezing it back. Ruby felt some sort of sense that Oscar was answering her back with a yes. He knew better, and doing this was the best choice. She knew it.
Slowly standing up, she pulled out Crescent Rose, a serious and determined look on her face. Taking a few small steps forward, she saw herself flicker green and come into view, becoming fully exposed in front of the guards.
They looked up, startled for a moment before standing up and quickly pulling out their guns and pointing them threateningly at her, charging them instantly. The one that bad been sitting on the booth Ruby had just been hiding behind stood up and pointed at her from behind, also charging his gun.
Ruby just stood there, feeling more and more ready and more like her old self. Then she slid her finger over the button on the handle, Crescent Rose transforming perfectly beside her and then extending until the tip of the blade just barely touched the floor.
The guards looked a little daunted, but they continued to charge their guns, higher and higher, their teeth gritting. They suddenly saw more green flickers and their mouths dropped open as they saw the standing group of the others, their weapons being pulled out.
The guards gritted their teeth harder and readied themselves, their guns glowing with force and ammo. The guards were even more angry and frightened now, and they braced themselves more.
Oscar finally flashed green and fell forward, dripping with sweat and exhausted. Ruby stood in front of him and the other guard, who suddenly let go of the trigger and sent a yellow charged bullet right at the back of Ruby's head.
She suddenly dodged it with a swift tilt of her head, sending the bullet into the other guard's chest. He fell backwards, crashing into the table and then scrambling back up onto his feet. But he was back on the floor as Ren ran up to him, sliced at him several times with Stormflower, and then jammed his blades on either side of his neck, shooting on each side as well and leaving the guard unconscious on the floor.
The guard next to him was quickly met with a shot and a vicious punch by Yang's gauntlets, which were joined by several more punches, all dealt within the minute. That guard and then one who joined him were soon on the floor in a pile. Yang eagerly turned to take down another, but saw that Jaune had just finished by tripping him with his sword and then smashing him down into the floor with his shield.
The other two were attacked by Nora, Blake, and Ruby, who defeated them with ease.
The group stood there amongst the soldiers who all lay unconscious on the floor around them. Ruby panted slightly, as she had swung her scythe around several times as she and Nora dual attacked the two other guards, and sighed with relief.
Yang shrugged and then stretched. "Welp, that was easy," she said, flicking her thick golden hair. The others murmured their agreement.
One of the guards coughed and rolled painfully over, struggling to get to his knees. Ruby glanced over at where Oscar lay, half-awake and exhausted, and then marched over to the guard, kicking him roughly over and stepping on his stomach. With narrowed eyes, she squinted at him as he stared at her, his amber eyes wide.
"You are going to be quiet," she said, her voice low and, surprisingly to the group behind her, more mature sounding, "And you or the other guards aren't going to say anything about this, got it?"
The guard, although tentative and afraid, nodded his head quickly. Ruby stepped off of his chest and then walked over to Oscar, kneeling beside him and placing a hand on his shoulder. She gently shook him, coaxing him fully awake.
"Hey," she said softly as his eyes fluttered open and looked at her, "Good job. We got 'em." She smiled sweetly at him and he smiled back, pushing himself onto his feet and then holding onto the top of the booth for support. Slightly shaky, he gave the group a thumbs up and a nod.
Looking again at the guards on the floor and then out the window at the cold snowy terrain of Atlas, the group prepared themselves for the next step in the plan.
Weiss's eyes widened as she felt a different kind of vibration. It felt and sounded a little more like a thump than the sounds of the motor. Instantly, Weiss knew it was them. They had made it on. Sighing with relief, Weiss slid her hand off of the window and kept it in her lap, waiting for Jacques to say something.
It took a few more thumps and muffled bullet sounds until Jacques' head cocked to the side and he paused for a moment. Weiss held her breath as she waited for him to begin talking. But he didn't say anything for several moments, and she felt slightly confused.
"Did you hear that?" he asked suddenly, startling her. Weiss jumped in her seat, and then looked over at Jacques, confusion plastered onto her face. Another short thud sounded and then he made eye contact with Weiss, making a chill go down her back.
"Those thumps?" Weiss asked, glancing at the thick back wall that separated the back of the ship from the front. Jacques nodded, and then turned around in his seat, his head facing the wall.
"Hey!" he yelled angrily to the wall, "You boys need to stop drinking every time I bring you with me! I pay you enough lien to sustain four families, and this is how you act?! Inconceivable. Hush up back there!"
The group froze at the sound of Jacques' harsh voice. But they felt relieved as he thought it was the guards drinking or whatever. Yang, suddenly realizing that Jacques might be waiting for a response, ran over to the awake guard and lifted him up by his shoulders, shoving him against the wall.
"Tell him things are fine!" Yang whispered in his ear, purposely dramatically frantic, and so concentrated that he could feel flecks of spit go into it. The poor guard's face was pressed up so hard against the thick metal wall that the whole side of his face began to ache badly. He reluctantly obeyed, swallowing hard and trying to turn his head a little.
"You've got it, sir!" he stuttered, sounding reasonably drunk. The pain he was feeling in addition to the position he was in gave that slur to his voice, and all Yang could think of was a big thumbs up in her head. Sighing with relief, she let him fall to the floor, grinning as she walked over to the others.
"Well that was easy," she murmured quietly, "What next?"
Jaune pressed his finger furiously to his lips, urging her to be quiet. They had already taken care of the guards; now they just needed to find a way to cover up the mess they had just made. If they simply snook out of the ship after it opened, the guards would still be there, and who would stop them from telling the truth?
One small mistake and the whole plan would crumble.
"Okay," Jaune whispered, the group huddling together in a circle, "Here's the deal. The ship is gonna land soon, so we need to act fast. I was thinking that we could rouse the guards, threaten them to not say a word, and then have them act like nothing ever happened while we sneak out."
"But..," Nora began, glancing around at the guards on the floor, "Who'll make them stay quiet about it? It's not like they'll just keep their mouths shut after we leave and can't threaten them anymore."
"Yeah," Jaune said, "But we can tell them that we're watching. They don't know why we're here. They might think we're just stealing dust or something."
"Uhm..," Yang said, her head tilted to the side and her tongue out partway in thought, "How dumb do you think they are?"
"They could be dumb," Nora objected, a little too loudly for Jaune, "Those Argus guards were super dumb."
"Sshh!" Jaune hissed, pressing his finger against his lips again.
"Sorry!" Nora whispered, half apologetically, half annoyed.
A sudden but slight lurch of the ship ceased their conversation. Ruby, on instinct, grabbed Oscar's hand and held it tightly. Nora took a step closer to Ren, and Yang almost loaded her gauntlet. But nothing else followed the lurch, so they relaxed.
The ship began slowly landing, and their ears began to pop and ring. Ruby held her breath and pinched her nose, exhaling through her ears to clear them. Oscar just stood there, regaining his strength and taking in more breaths. Yang shook her head so her thick golden hair got in Jaune's face and Nora tipped her head and started lightly smacking her ears.
Ruby sighed and looked down at her stomach again, resisting the urge to rub it. It just seemed so natural for her to want to see and feel her bump, and she found herself looking down at it several times. It was like when you get a cut and constantly look at the blood slowly trickling.
She clenched her teeth in irritance, wishing she'd stop thinking about it so much. She needed to focus on the plan and other things while she still could.
"Okay, guys," Jaune whispered, his voice low, "Get ready. Get the guards up."
Nora knelt down beside a slowly arousing guard and slapped him right across his face. His eyes shot open, surprised by the sting of the slap, and he opened his mouth to say something. But Nora clapped her hand over his mouth and grinned, shaking her head.
"You are gonna keep your mouth quiet and not say anything about what just happened," she said, still grinning and shaking her head, "Or I'll break your legs!"
The man's eyes went wide again and he swallowed nervously. Nodding his head as best as he could while lying on the floor, he slowly pulled himself to his feet, Nora letting go of his mouth. She stood up and saw Yang helping two guards onto their feet, an encouraging look on her face.
She winked at Ruby, sticking her tongue out and releasing the two guards. They staggered a little, but then steadied themselves, picking up their guns and clearing their throats. The others had the rest of the guards up in no time, and soon they were all standing together, the guards either holding back groans or glaring at them.
"Now remember," Yang said, holding up her fists, "Not. A single. Word." She loaded her gauntlet after her sentence and gave the guards a threatening look. "Or else." She punched her fists together after that statement, and then grinned slyly.
Ruby giggled quietly to herself at her sister's threat and eagerness. Yang was such a great sister; so funny and lighthearted, not to mention, she was always there for her "baby sister". Sighing, she walked over to the window and pressed herself up against the glass, peering through and looking around at the sky.
C'mon, Uncle Qrow! Where are you...
Narrowing her eyes and squinting, her mouth made a straight line, and she continued to search the skies for Qrow, who, according to the plan, should be in bird form and flying right by the ship. There was a chance he was on the other side, or following behind them. He might be above the ship, too, but she wasn't sure. Just as long as he was somewhere, it didn't matter.
"Ruby," Oscar mumbled behind her, startling her. Ruby jumped and turned around, giving Oscar a teasing glare.
"I though I told you!" she hissed quietly, "No more jump-scares!" There was half real anger and half playful teasing in her voice. Oscar smirked and rolled his eyes.
"We need to get ready to sneak out," he said, his voice low, "The ship's just about to finished landing."
Ruby nodded and sighed, leaning her head slightly against his chest and leaving it there for a moment. She was already feeling a little tired. Not sleepy, but just tired. Like she wanted a nice refreshing nap or something.
"You okay?" Oscar whispered.
"Yeah," Ruby answered, taking her head off his chest before anyone could see, "I just hope this whole thing goes okay."
"I hope so, too," he said, looking over the group and the guards, "Just be careful, okay?"
"I'll try."
"Good."
"Can you believe those guards?" Jacques asked as he prepared to finished landing the ship, "I always make sure they don't bring any drink with them, and then they always somehow end up with some anyway. They're almost as bad as your mother!"
Weiss looked down, debating whether or not to reply, and then nodded her head, looking for words.
"Yeah," she said, trying to sound agreeing, "What are they thinking? It's like they have absolutely no respect for the authorities." She swallowed after she said those words and felt a prickly hot sensation down her neck. She hated lying...at least in front of people she knew had the power to destroy her or take away anything dear to her.
"Exactly!" Jacques added in, "And that's how we've been loosing so much lien lately. Your mother is such an inconceivable woman. Spending half my income on all her fancy wines and margaritas, even after we're prohibited to sell or ship dust anywhere outside of Atlas. Unbelievable!"
Weiss looked down and held her arm nervously. She hated it whenever Jacques rattled on about how much he hated her mother and how lousy she was for a wife. Weiss had still wondered how they hadn't gotten divorced yet, but then it had occurred to her that even if her mother had wanted to, Jacques could have disagreed, because for the sake of the family name.
But why she had never moved out or something, Weiss still wondered about. Maybe Jacques had threatened her about leaving or something. That was a likely option, but still not confirmed. She didn't want to ask Jacques about it, either. She didn't want to ask him anything personal.
An awkward moment of silence passed as the ship continued to lower onto the large ship dock that stood right behind the Schnee Manor. It was on a private part of the other ship dock nearby that contained mostly import ships containing dust. But those wouldn't be used much anytime soon.
Only a few minutes later, the ship came to rest on the large blue platform with the Schnee symbol painted proud and large on it. Weiss heard some very faint rustling in the back, like footsteps and weapons moving and such. She inwardly willed her friends to be alright. How they were planning on getting off without incident, she did not know.
She just had to trust them somehow.
Jacques sighed and rested his arms on the armrests beside him, looking out at the large back of the Schnee Manor. Weiss stared at it, trying to look happy. She hated the sight and wanted to jump out of the ship and run away. She turned and looked at Jacques again, wondering what he was going to do.
"Are we all clear?" he called loudly to the back.
"A-All clear, sir!" the muffled reply sounded. Jacques nodded his head approvingly and unlocked the doors to the ship, unbuckling himself and sitting up straight. He looked at Weiss' making eye contact with her and then saying,
"We're home, my dear."
Okaaaaayyyyeeeee! FINALY finished this chapter. As you might be able to see, this one is 6,331 words long and one of my sightly longer chapters, so it took me a little extra longer than the others. I know I said I'd be less busy, but I took my week for granted, and a bunch of unexpected events came raining in on me.
So, SORRY for the long, long absence over the...I dunno, 2 weeks(?) on this story, as well as my others. Thanks for your patience! My schedule can be messed up sometimes...like, a lot.
Thanks for reading and tune in for more chapters!