"How much longer?"

"We shouldn't be too far from it."

"Yeah, silly, but how much longer?"

"My estimate wouldn't be very accurate..."

"Ugh, Ren! Just give me a random number of minutes to stew on!"

Nora and Ren went back and forth, Nora's impatience decreasing Ren's patience. But it also made him smirk a little. Nora was his little spark of light in their dark life together. Always trying cheering him up, even if he really didn't want her to. Shaking his head, he glanced ahead as far as he could, then focused a little, stoping his walking for a moment.

Sensing with his aura, he could feel...something, a little ways away ahead. Likely Nix, as they had been walking for nearly 45 minutes. Two miles wasn't very long, so they had to be nearing it by now. Continuing walking again, he sighed and caught up to Nora.

"About five more minutes until it should be within sight," he answered. Nora sighed and rolled her eyes, waving her hand.

"Oh, finally!" she said, "I was starting to think your map was wrong or something! But you're never wrong." She grinned and rubbed her cheer up against the side of his arm for a moment. Ren felt his cheeks glow warm a little and a tickly sensation make his heart beat a little faster.

He loved Nora, and this feeling wasn't new. But it was still good. Smiling, he walked on with Nora beside him, who was starting to blabber on about forks or something.

Jaune, who had been listening to Nora and Ren's conversation, sighed and looked down at the map pulled up on his scroll. Indeed, it looked like they were very close. Nix was suppose to be a smaller town, so they wouldn't see it from a large distance away, otherwise they'd likely see it from here...Glancing behind himself, he watched as Oscar and Ruby talked to each other, both smiling.

He always felt some sort of jealousy or anger almost every time he saw those two talking or conversing. Sure, they were friends, but what if it was more than that? Seeing how she and Oscar treated and looked at each other seemed to tell him otherwise. The blushes, the looks; everything.

Swallowing his bitter disappointment, he looked down at the map again, trying to throw the thought away. It didn't matter. Plus, he still wasn't entirely over Pyrrha yet. Her voice and face always haunted his dreams and filled his thoughts everyday, even during battles. Her training and her words would flood back to him as he fought, and he would use those moves and techniques, almost hearing her voice urging him to continue.

He shook his head as a tear threatened to spill, wiping at his eyes to clear them. He felt more sadness fill him as he heard Oscar and Ruby laugh behind him, obviously enjoying each other's company quite well.

"That's hilarious!" Ruby said, recovering from her laughing fit, "She caught you kissing your pillow?!"

Oscar chuckled and nodded, blushing slightly with embarrassment. "Yeah...I guess it must've been because I likes sleeping so much."

Ruby exploded back into another fit of laughing, clutching her stomach as she did so. She could feel her whole stomach moving up and down in one whole round shebang as she laughed. It was almost fun to feel it, and she just hoped that nobody could see it. Looking back up at Oscar, she noticed that he was staring down at her bump, a sot look in his eyes.

"Is it really that noticeable?" she murmured, quietly enough not to let the others nearby hear. Oscar shook his head and sighed.

"No," he began, "But I know that you're..." He glanced around him and then said talked in a lower voice. "Pregnant. I also know that our baby is starting to grow and is starting to make your stomach bigger. So, that being said, I can't help but notice it. It's small enough that the other's wouldn't see it, though."

Ruby sighed and looked down, wishing that the bump wouldn't get so big. It would soon come out of hiding, and then their horrid little secret would be exposed for all to see. Literally. Taking a nervous gulp, Ruby unconsciously touched her belly, quickly taking her hand off once she noticed that she had. She hated keeping things a secret.

Suddenly, a faint rustling could be hear again, this time, much closer. Ruby heard it first, looking quickly to where she heard it. Tensing, she reached for Crescent Rose, looking alertly around for any type of possible threat. Oscar and Jaune followed suit, also grabbing their weapons and scanning the area.

"Find something?" Yang asked, quickly loading her gauntlet and licking her lips. Jaune hushed her and held his sword out, poised to attack at any moment. Blake, Nora, and Ren also grabbed out their weapons, taking on a battle stance.

Ruby's eyes traced the path of leaves rustling about in the trees, read to shoot Crescent Rose if anything hostile should suddenly come out. And then, with a suddenness that sent bullets from three different people's weapons to the spot, a black crow popped out of the trees, disappearing behind the smoke of the three shots.

Ruby freaked out, dropping her weapon and blurring away with a flurry of rose petals to where she had seen the crow. The others exchanged glances, surprised and hoping very dearly that the bird they had just shot had been only an ordinary crow. If it hadn't...

Ruby, who had managed to get herself onto a branch close to where the crow had been, was searching frantically for the bird, looking at the ground and at the branches. She grabbed branches, whipping them around in her frantic search for her uncle.

Not seeing him on any of the branches nearby, she jumped off of the tree and landed in a summersault on the ground, standing quickly up and searching for him. Her summersault had felt a bit awkward to her, as she had been able to feel her slightly swollen stomach as she did so. It was only a moment later that she spotted the crow on the ground, sprawled awkwardly out with feathers around it.

"Uncle Qrow!" she cried, kneeling down beside it and gingerly scooping it up. She cradled the crow in her hands and gently urged it to wake up. But it was as limp and motionless as wet paper, and Ruby's lip began to quiver. Slowly lifting its little breast against her ear, she gasped when she heard no heartbeat whatsoever.

Her eyes filling with tears, she bowed her head, slowly lowering her hand and setting the crow on the ground. Quietly, she began to cry, her shoulders moving up and down with every sob. How did she loose him so easily? So abruptly? So randomly? Sobbing, she gently pet the crows ruffled feathers.

"I didn't think I'd ever live to see you crying over a bird," Qrow's raspy voice said from behind her. Ruby jumped, badly startled, and she swung around, her fingers wiping the crow to the left. There stood Qrow, his sword held low in his hand so that the tip of the blade touched the ground. His eyes held that knowing look, mixed with amusement and some sort of confusion.

"U-Uncle Qrow?!" Ruby squeaked, relieved and surprised. Another stray tear fell and she quickly scrambled to her feet, wiping her hands vigorously on her skirt, and then running over to him, squeezing him in a tight hug. He returned her embrace and closed his eyes.

"Oh, I was so worried about you!" she cried, letting go of him and resuming to her usually self as she explained how she had just recently felt, "I could't see you from the window on the way here, and then I didn't see you after we got out, and then, and then! We didn't see you while we were on the way to Nix! Oh, and that's a town that's suppose to be super close right now."

Qrow just smiled lightly as Ruby continued on with her long explanation of her feelings, once again happy to see that she still, after all of the craziness that was and had been currently raging, she was still as energetic as ever. She was just so precious to him, and to see her so lively and so relieved that he was alright warmed his heart.

"And then after we accidentally shot that crow, I freaked out because I thought we had killed you!" she finished breathlessly, taking in a deep gasp, heavy panting following. She looked up and made eye contact with him, easing her breathing until it was normal again. Qrow smirked and then Ruby smiled and the two of them stood there.

The silence was then interrupted by the sounds of heavy footsteps, along with just as heavy panting and the rustling of the trees from whatever rambunctiousness that was causing the noise. A moment later, Oscar, Jaune, Yang, and Nora burst through the clearing, all holding their weapons. They skidded to an abrupt halt when they saw Ruby and Qrow, and kicked up a large burst of dirt that hit Ruby, soiling her whole outfit.

"Hey!" Ruby spluttered, coughing from the dirt and dust that had been kicked into her face and wiping off her skirt again, "Watch it!"

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry!" Oscar apologized immediately, holding his hands out for his apology. Jaune frowned and looked away for a moment, looking back at them with relief in his eyes. Both Ruby and Qrow were unharmed. Nothing had gone amiss and they hadn't killed Qrow on accident.

"Are you guys okay?!" Yang asked, looking wildly around. She relaxed once she saw that the two of them were safe.

Sighing, he scratched the back of his head and smiled. "Oh, I'm so glad you guys are okay. We were a little worried after Ruby rushed off like that and we realized that we could've shot Qrow."

Ruby smiled and exchanged a glance with Qrow.

"Aw, it's all good!" she said, "We just coincidentally shot a normal crow instead of Uncle Qrow." She waved her hand and giggled. Nora giggled and gave Ruby a sassy look.

"Well good!" she said, folding up her hammer and putting it away, "Because I knew you'd be fine. Ren said so." She put her hands on her hips and smiled triumphantly. Ren and Blake emerged slowly from the trees behind them, a calm look on their faces.

"Is everything alright?" Blake asked. The looks and nods of the others answered her, and Ren stood beside Nora.

"So..em, Qrow," Jaune began, "We found a town that's literally about a minute away. We're thinking it probably has some sort of train station, especially because it's in Atlas. I mean, according to one of Weiss's lectures she gave us on Atlas before we left, a surprising amount of cities here have train stations or useful transportation."

"Well that's convenient," Qrow mumbled.

"Yeah it is," Nora chimed in energetically, zipping to Qrow's side, "We'll be back by Maria in no time!" She zipped back by Ren and grabbed onto his arm excitedly. Ruby smiled and nodded.

"Let's just hope I don't end up turning this convenience into misfortune," Qrow muttered, "Like I always do."

"Aw, c'mon Qrow," Yang said, elbowing him lightly, "We're all here together; we can handle any dirty thing your semblance throws at us!"

"Not helping, Yang!" Ruby growled under her breath.

Yang just stuck her tongue out a little and turned around, facing where they had all emerged. "I was kinda serious, though."

"So, should we get going again?" Jaune asked, walking back towards the path they were following. The group gave a collective affirmative answer and then they were back on their way again, this time with Qrow.

It wasn't long until the Nix was just about in front of them. Its appearance had been a bit sudden, the trees abruptly stopping and opening up to a large clearing where the quaint village stood. Many houses all stood, mostly in neat rows, with an occasional shop or restaurant here and there. Snow covered every roof and lawn in a thick, sparkling blanket, and the streets were also lined with the glistening whiteness.

People dressed in warm coats and boots walked through the streets, and smaller and older children ran around in the yards, throwing snowballs and participating in other snow-related games. It was overall a cozy, pleasant town, and sure enough, right within view, a small building with a wooden sign portraying a train stood, right down a row of various public places.

"Over there!" Nora exclaimed, pointing to it.

"Well, that was easy," Yang said.

"Well, lucky us!" Ruby agreed. She looked up at Oscar, who was standing up next to her, and smiled. Oscar smiled back, a lively spark of hope and happiness in his hazel eyes. He slowly reached over to her hand and held it, squeezing it tight. Ruby felt her cheeks glowing and looked down, a smirk on her face.

The group all headed towards the station, more and more hopeful and eased as they got closer and closer and the happy and calming atmosphere around them began to sink in. The fresh clean air, the frosty ice that could be seen stuck to some of the windows or bits of the street they passed, the laughs of the children playing...all of it was so cheerful. It was a nice change from what the group had been used to for a while.

Once they reached the station, Jaune quickly went up to the ticket booth, where a man stood. But as soon as he made eye contact with the man, he froze, his mouth dropping open. The others behind him also did the same, just as surprised as he was.

The ticket man had icy blue eyes, a striking and almost unusual feature. His hair was snowy white, half of its semi-spiky locks covered by a dark blue cap with a train symbol identical to the one of the station's sign. His skin had a natural paleness to it, and it looked smooth and flawless.

All together in general, he seemed to be in excellent shape, and almost appeared to be sophisticated in some way. Too much to be working at some train station in this small town. But his handsome face and oddly snowy features weren't all that caught them all off guard.

It was how strikingly similar he looked to Weiss.

"Hello and welcome to Nix Station," he began in a friendly voice, looking up from his tickets, "How can I help..." His sentence trailed off as he noticed how shocked Jaune and the others looked, staring at him. "Can I help you?" he asked slowly, confused.

Jaune just stared, his mind racing around and throwing images of Weiss and images of this man together in a confused and crazed flurry. He was absolutely flabbergasted. His mouth closed suddenly, bitting down on his tongue after he received a quick jab from Ruby, who was suddenly standing right next to him, still staring at the ticket man.

"Oh!" Jaune said, snapping back to reality and remembering why he was here in the first place, "Uh-yeah! Um, we need..." He whipped around and glanced around at everyone behind him, counting them each as his gaze scanned across them. "Nine tickets to...erm..uh." He turned around again and looked at Qrow, his eyes begging for the name of the city Maria was in.

Qrow rolled his eyes, his arms crossed. "The main city of Atlas," he answered roughly, still looking at the ticket man, "To the entering point."

Jaune nodded and turned back to the ticket man, still surprised at his appearance. Nervously, he quickly continued his request, tripping over almost every word as he continuously stared at the man. "The main city of the-er, I mean, Atlas...the main entering-"

"Yes, yes, I heard you friend over there," the ticket man said, shaking his head with a chuckle, "And I can get you a ticket there." He reached down into his little booth window and pulled out nine little white and red tickets, all stacked in his palm, which was gloved with a white leather glove. But as Jaune went to take them, he held his hand back a little, narrowing his eyes as he made eye contact with him.

"But first I have to ask why," he said, suddenly very firm sounding. The suspicion in his voice made the group nervous, and Jaune, all sweaty and slightly shaking, had to answer. He was standing right there, anyway.

"Well," Jaune began, racking his brain for a valid excuse, "I-uh..." But his brain suddenly just seemed to blank out, and he couldn't find his words. Panicked, he fumbled to say something, but his voice wouldn't work. The ticket man's icy eyes were locked with his, and they were overpowering and cold.

"Why does it matter to you where we're going?" Qrow asked, taking a step closer with his hands carelessly in his pocket, "Mind your own business."

The ticket man's eyes squinted as he focused his vision on Qrow, the suspicion on his face and in his voice growing.

"Because I've been given orders by the Atlas Military to be wary of trespassers," he answered strictly, "And that being said, I cannot allow any suspicious persons to pass through this station or town without any valid reasoning or information, let alone go into the main city."

"What, did you memorize some sort of pamphlet or something?" Qrow asked, "Like I said before, mind your own business."

The ticket man's eyes seemed to burn into Qrow's soul, as if reaching for the answer behind his eyes. He closed his hand containing the tickets and drew it back, putting them back into the bin they had first been in. Stepping out from his little booth, he approached Qrow, his hands bunched into fists. The rest of his appearance also slightly surprised the group.

His coat, which was a deep royal blue, was fastened together with various silver zippers and buttons, all of which shined when the sunlight hit them. His white pants had silver chains wrapped around his calves, fastening his large, polished black boots to himself tighter. A large sliver sword was mounted onto his back, another silver chain holding it onto his back tighter, and a black strap went across his shoulder, going across his chest.

He was rather tall, about two inches above Qrow's head, and he looked down into Qrow's maroon eyes with his icy blue ones. Qrow, although starting to feel slightly intimidated, stood his ground, and stared up at the ticket man, a glare in his eyes.

"State your business," the ticket man demanded. Qrow just kept glaring. Ruby held Oscar's hand as tightly as she could, her heart racing with fear and nervousness. What if he attacked Qrow? What if he attacked all of them? What if he won? Oscar's hand squeezed back.

"What's your name?" Qrow asked, surprising the group, "You look a strange lot like someone I know."

The ticket man, although slightly surprised himself, showed no facial difference. Surprising everyone else again, he answered briefly with a grunt, ending in everyone's mouths dropping open again.

"Vorst Schnee."

"Now just hold still, Ms. Schnee," the nurse said, gently applying a dab more of the strong smelling ointment she had poured into a small glass dish. Weiss sat in the soft, plushy chair, nearly every one of her cuts and scrapes having a thin film of ointment covering them.

She felt oily for some reason, after sitting in the rather warm nurse's room and having been treated from top to bottom with ointments and creams for almost an hour now. Sighing, she turned and looked at a large flowery painting that was nailed to the wall, resting her head up against the back of her seat. Her long white ponytail spilled over the side of it and waved slightly from the flow of the air conditioner that was in the wall beside her.

"Aaaand you're done," the nurse said, sticking one last bandaid onto her knee, standing up and clapping her hands together. "About another day or two and you'll be right as rain! You can probably take the bandaids off tomorrow, if you want to. Your aura should get all those ones gone soon enough."

"Thank you very much," Weiss said formally, rising from the chair. The nurse smiled and nodded.

"It's good to have you back again, Ms. Schnee."

And with that, Weiss left the nurse's room, glad to get a breath of the cooler air of the hallway. The same white and blue colors met her eyes again, and then she looked down at her dress, smiling at how the colors seemed to contrast the colors around her.

"The black really doesn't look bad," she murmured to herself as she looked down and flicked her skirt with a grin, "Guess Blake's choice of color wasn't actually that bland." She smiled again and sighed, already missing her friends. It had only been about 3 hours since she had gotten here, and yet, she missed them.

"You know, I do think Father might find the black a little...offensive," came a smooth voice in front of her. Startled, Weiss looked up, only to lock eyes with a familiar blue pair as her own. Forcing a smile, she nodded to him.

"Hello, Whitley!" she said, a little too cheerfully, "How are you this fine afternoon?" She mentally facepalmed at her over-exaggeration.

"I am doing quite well, sister," he answered, not at all acknowledging his sister's false optimism, "And yourself?" His hand was behind his back as usual, and he looked no different from when she had left.

"Quite well, thank you," she answered politely. Whitely looked up for a moment before continuing, nothing in his voice portraying as much emotion as his words would have been. He was turning into a mini Jacques, that was for sure.

"I was surprised to hear from Father that you had decided to come back home," he said, "And I will have to say, you surprised me too. Although, I will ask...why? Why come home on your own free will, going against every little thing you've ever seemed to live for. Why suddenly leave your own veiled view of freedom alone in the dust?"

Weiss sighed and looked down, gathering her acting skills again.

"I-I was attacked," she began slowly, "My whole team. We were attacked and then-then...I lost someone I cared about, and then the others left me, and...and..." She felt a tear roll down her cheek, partially on its own. "And Father was right."

She looked back up, a confident expression on her face. "He was right about the outside world, right about Beacon, right about everything! I wasn't ready for what was out there. I wasn't ready for betrayal from friends. I wasn't ready for what I didn't know existed. And the funny thing is, I'm glad."

"Because you aren't blind anymore?" Whitley finished, a sly grin on his face. Weiss answered with a nod.

"Maybe now you can see why you were stripped of your position as heiress," Whitely said smoothly, arousing more furious anger inside of Weiss, forced to keep it hidden, "You were never truly meant to the be the heiress of the Schnee Dust Company. I was. Which is why Father rightfully chose me to take your place."

Weiss could hardly bear the anger and frustration that was surging through her, making her face hot and her fists clench. But she unclenched them, knowing better. If he saw it, he would surely think that she wasn't really wanting to be here or something like that. Or maybe that she was just jealous of his position. But either way, it wouldn't help the situation.

"Yes, I agree," she forced herself to say. She just hoped it hadn't sounded as forced as it had felt. Whitley just smiled and answered smoothly back,

"I know."

And with that, he straitened his collar and and put his arm formally behind his back again. "Father wishes to see you," he said as he began walking away, "And welcome home, sister."

Sucking in a deep breath, Weiss winced at those words. She really did not want to see Jacques right now, and she had to, otherwise it would stir suspicion. Well, she couldn't really not go report to him. He would just send Klein to go get her or something. Maybe she could just argue that she didn't feel well...

Sighing, she began the long, uneventful way through the maze of the mansion, passing through halls and corridors and doors and rooms, the only people she passed by being either servants or butlers, busy with their work. The whole place was so quiet and empty, filled with possessions but not with love or family. Just people and things. And money, lots of money.

Once she walked up to the door title "Jacques Schnee", she slowly held her hand up to knock. The loud sound of shouting, muffled by the thick door, could be heard inside. But to her surprise, it wasn't James Ironwood, but someone else. A woman.

"It's my money too, you scoundrel!" the woman screamed, fuming with anger, "I can use it if I please!"

"And who gave you the authority to say such things to me?!" Jacques yelled furiously, "I it my money that I have earned. If I don't allow it, you will not be allowed, Willow!"

"We share in our deposits! I need a drink!"

"Shut up, woman!"

A loud, fluent flow of cursing followed, erupting on both sides of the argument.

Weiss winced a those words. Although she hated it when her mother drank, she absolutely despised it when her father continuously shouted at her mother, and in that way. Calling her "woman" and then cursing at her...It was all so hard to take or bear. And then when her mother shouted back at him, saying the same things...

Hugging her arms around herself, she closed her eyes tightly, waiting for the whole argument to cease. But it didn't. It raged on and one, seeming to get worse and worse until they were pretty much only cursing. Few normal words in between sentences, they kept on screaming, swearing at each other.

Weiss was battling her inner fear and was just about to open the door when the sound of glass shattering came. A piercing scream followed, and with it an angry shout. Weiss held her breath, afraid of what would come next. But only silence remained, nothing else. Weiss could feel her heart beating rapidly in her chest, and she noticed that her knees were slightly shaking.

After nearly a minute had gone by of nothing but silence, Weiss sigh and then took a deep breath, slowly reaching out her hand to the doorknob. Then she grasped it, the metal feeling cold under her fingers. Carefully opening the door, she stepped in, gently closing it behind her and keeping her back to her father's desk as she did so. Slowly turning around, she looked up and stared at her father, who sat at his desk.

The room looked normal, except for the broken glass that was scattered in the corner, accompanied by some sort of dent in the wall above it. Weiss saw her mother sitting on one of the chairs that lined the side of his office, a tired and angry look in her sky blue eyes. Her messy white hair was undone from its usual bun, and it lay untidily on her shoulders, stray locks here and there. She looked as if she had just woken up and got dressed.

"Weiss," Jacques greeted calmly, as if the whole ordeal had never happened, "Thank you for coming."

Weiss nodded, trying to look positive, but traces of fear still lingered on her face. "Of course."

Jaques seemed to notice right away, and he folded his white gloved hands together in front of him. Twitching his mustache, he cleared his throat.

"Weiss, I am very sorry if you heard what was happening a minute ago," he said with his fake sounding sincerity, "Your mother was just trying to cause more havoc on this family. Pay no heed to her." He gestured to her mother, who glared down at the floor as he did so.

Weiss looked at her, a feeling of sympathy beginning to rise in her. Willow was just as much a victim as she and Winter were, only, she wasn't exactly being controlled by Jaques like her and Winter were. She was just stuck with him, drinking to try and numb the anger and pain she was feeling from him.

"So..," Weiss began again. snapping her gaze from her mother back up to Jacques, "What did you want to talk about?" She tried to maintain a relatively happy feeling about her. It was false and forced, but it wasn't too bad, really. It apparently sounded fine to Jacques.

"Well, Weiss, as you know, we are having another fundraiser tonight," he began, making Weiss inwardly groan, "And as before, I think the guests would absolutely love to hear you sing for them again. It really did seem to make them feel more generous, and now, with our dust limitations, it would help us more than ever."

Weiss just smiled and nodded her head, looking as if she was very happy about this.

"Of course," she said, "I would love to. It's been ages since I've really practiced anything, anyway." It was true. She hadn't sang much at all since she had escaped last time. She had been far too busy with all of the matters of the Relic, the gods, Salem...all that craziness.

Jacques smiled lightly and nodded, satisfied. "Thank you, my dear."

Willow grunted from her seat, making Weiss glance at her. Jacques rolled his eyes and waved his hand at Weiss, gesturing for her to leave. "That will be all, thank you." Weiss smiled cheerfully and nodded, resulting with another grunt from her mother. Turning to the door, she quickly opened it, exited, and then closed it, feeling relief to be out.

She glanced down at her bandaid-covered legs and sighed. She didn't like having all of those things stuck to her skin, and she didn't like all of the cuts she had. They still hurt a little, and the ointment the nurse had put on stung a little. She had felt worse things, but right now, in the midst of this land of comfort, it was annoying.

Just as she was starting to walk down the hall, headed for the balcony where she had often trained with Winter, the door behind her suddenly flung open. It startled Weiss, making her jump, and she immediately looked behind her. Willow was there, her heels clacking as she walked over to Weiss. The heavy door behind her slammed loudly shut, causing a draft of air to blow past her hair.

Weiss, startled stood there, wide eyed and confused. Willow grabbed Weiss sharply by the shoulder, held her firm, and began leading her quickly away, her heels hitting the floor harder and harder and echoing as they progressed across the hallways, Weiss having no other choice but to walk along with her mother. Although Weiss was walking with equal speed to Willow, she continued to hold on tightly to Weiss's shoulder, making it hurt a little.

After a few minutes, they reached Weiss's room, and Willow, surprising Weiss, kicked the doors open, stepping in before they slammed shut. She lead Weiss over to her bed, set her roughly on it, and then stood in front of her, an angry look on her tired face.

"Weiss," she instructed strictly, "Sit still and talk to me. Anything I ask, you answer honestly. Completely honestly, do you understand me?!"

Weiss, flustered, nodded her head vigorously. She had seen her mother angry at her, but never like this. This was just downright strange and unexpected. What had she done? Had she infuriated her mother just by agreeing to sing for Jacques fundraiser tonight? No, but that wasn't like her. She didn't get mad over those types of things...at least not like that.

"Alright," Willow began, her voice just short of yelling, "What happened to you? Why did you just come back, and why are you still here?!"

Weiss swallowed hard, not knowing what to say.

"I-I was hurt and I n-needed-" she began, but Willow abruptly caught her off, actually yelling now.

"No!" she yelled sharply, "Why did you just come back and why are you still here?!"

"Because I was h-hurt and-"

"NO! That isn't you! Tell me right now: Why did you come back like that?!"

Weiss felt her whole self shaking. She was afraid of her mother. She had been slapped by her before, but on the rarest occasions. Her general attitude, how she acted, how much she yelled...it had all built up over the years as she had started drinking. And now, even as an adult now, she was still afraid of her. Rarely did she ever see her very often, and rarely was she visibly afraid of her.

Now was that rare time, and she didn't know what to say. She was dumbstruck.

"You aren't answering me!" Willow screamed, "Answer!"

"Because I needed to!" Weiss shouted back, standing up from her bed and facing her mother directly. The two of them glared at each other with their blue eyes, Willow's furious and Weiss's angry. They stood there, eye to eye and waited for one of them to do something.

"Why did you need to?" Willow asked flatly, folding her arms and stepping back, swaying her hip to the side.

"For reasons I won't explain," Weiss answered back hotly.

"That's not an answer," Willow grunted, "Give me something real."

"No."

"You will."

"No."

"WEISS SCHNEE!" her mother shrieked, "You will respect me as your mother and you will tell me the truth!"

"Well what if the truth should be kept a secret?!" Weiss shot back with childish sass. Willow's fury suddenly melted away, revealing a flat and boring face, once again tired and exasperated. Arms still folded, she stepped back again, shifting her hip to the other side.

"So you're going to leave again, are you?" she asked. Weiss exhaled angrily and looked down at her shoes.

"Maybe."

"So that's a yes? Planning on gaining your father's true love or attachment, and then ripping away again, leaving behind some sort of wound?"

"No."

"Weiss, dear, you're not making sense."

"I know."

Willow "ughed" and turned to the side, her heel clacking. She turned her head towards Weiss, her unkept hair spilling down her back and over her shoulder.

"What has he done to you?" she asked, some sort of exasperation in her voice, "Now you are not making sense and knowing it."

Weiss frowned and shook her head. "He didn't do this to me; there are just too many things you don't know." She put her hands on her hips and looked hard at her mother, "You'd think I was blabbering off nothing but balderdash."

"Weiss, honey, I'd believe just about anything now," Willow said, "Nothing is as it seems; Jacques has made that perfectly clear to both of us. Well, really to all three of is, if you're including our other little snowflake."

"Winter?"

Willow nodded, some sort of tired smile on her lips. "Though, I think she's figured that out without him; she's a big girl, now."

Weiss sighed and looked down again. She missed Winter and longed to see her sister again. It felt like ages ago when she had met up with her at the Tournament. Back when Beacon still stood and nothing was so secretive and messed up...

"So why are you here?" Willow repeated. She uncrossed her arms and folded them behind her back, standing up straight in front of Weiss again. Weiss sighed and looked down.

"I'm trying to do something important. Very important," she began hesitantly, "But I can't tell anyone, or it all goes down. I know you might not say anything, but I promised not to tell, and none of it would make sense to you, anyway. Even if you'd believe me."

Willow shook her head and laughed lightly. "Of course," she said coldly.

"If you could just trust me," Weiss continued, "I'm still on you and Winter's side. I would never have come back here again, if it weren't part of our plan. After I leave again, I'm never coming back."

"Our plan?" Willow asked with a disdainful sniff.

"My team and...well, the others involved with the plan."

Willow sighed and rolled her eyes, turning to face the door.

"Well, I don't care about any of what you just said," she said flatly, "And I can't even remember why I pulled you in here in the first place. Just go ahead and do whatever you want...Like I can do anything about anything that goes on in this household."

She walked to the door and opened it, pausing before she left. "Have a good recital tonight, honey." And with that, she closed the door harshly behind her, leaving Weiss alone again.

Confused, but relieved that her mother and Jacques were gone now, Weiss sighed and sat down in her chair, watching the ships and birds go by again.

Another late update, and another longer chapter! Sorry for the inconvenience, but at least it's out now, right?

Nix is Latin for snow, by the way. A lot of the town names I'm using are from various languages, words that have some sort of connection with the town or the reason I was writing the town. Same goes for CMSN, my OC fanfic.

Ooooohh...cliffhanger on Vorst Schnee! Who is he? Is he related to Weiss? Is he evil? Vorst is Old Dutch for frost. I would've done German, like Weiss, but the German for frost wasn't very cool sounding. Please let me know how I did writing Willow Schnee! I hope it wasn't too weird...:P

Thanks for reading and tune in for more chapters!