An: This has been the longest time to date between chapter updates. Long story short, college finals killed my motivation to write for a week and a half, but it's here now as a Christmas present (if you celebrate that holiday). I hope you enjoy.

Willow Schnee sipped from her glass, that she had retaken sometime between Jaune's brain shutting down and rebooting. Jaune was not a man unused to being manipulated thanks to his sisters, but never before had he been so sure that he was making his own decisions and carving his own path only to find he'd been completely reeled in by someone else.

Alright maybe that wasn't entirely fair, but it was clear that what he had gotten himself into wasn't what he signed up for. Emerald had warned him the Schnee family name was synonymous with cunning and ruthless planning. He really should have listen to her. Now he was caught in a proxy war between the Schnee heads along with the still very real problem of a respawning geist terrorizing the mansion.

Jaune considered giving the person in front of him the middle figure and walking away completely, but whether she knew it or not, Willow had reeled in the prefect catch. Jaune and Emerald needed the money from this job above all else. She could have order him to start cleaning toilets and other than complaining to a judge about a breach of labor laws, there wasn't much he would be able to do.

In retrospect, maybe traveling to a nation he didn't know much about without any money and putting his faith in a company that was notorious for mistreating its workings wasn't the best idea.

In the end, Willow Schnee had him right where she wanted him. Jaune was just going to have to play ball. "What do you want for me?"

"Why do you sound so depressed?" She seemed genuinely confused as if this situation could be read any other way, but knowing she might be a little slow on the uptake, due to the amount of alcohol she had probably consumed, Jaune decided to inform her why he might be a little irritated.

"Well, to start with the job I thought this was turned out to be much more complicated at best and a complete lie at worst. My monetary compensation, which I need desperately, is at risk because you changed the rules on me, and lastly, my partner is going to kill me the second she finds out about this, so I'm sorry if I'm not in the happiest mood."

Willow just gazed into the red liquid of her glass. "I'm sorry," she said. "I understand how you must feel, but you have to understand that's not what's going on here. I might have gotten you here by being less than honest, but if all you want is the money you're actually in a pretty good position. The only reason my husband went along with my ploy is because he didn't want the company to be hit with false advertising after I got the ad circulated. If you go to him and tell him you're done he'd probably give you the money without question just to get you to leave. If that how you fell then you can go, there's nothing I can do to stop you. I only brought you here to ask for your help."

Jaune didn't leave. The woman in front of him looked so tired—so powerless. How had he ever thought otherwise? It was unlikely she'd even be able to stand up on her own in this state, and judging from everyone he had seen so far, there wasn't anyone in mansion willing to help her.

"I'll listen," Jaune said, causing Willow looked up at him with a least a little more vigor, "I'm not saying I help you but I'll hear you out. In exchange, you have to tell me everything, no more tricks."

"You have my word, I only printed that false ad because I had no other choice, but if we're being honest with ourselves since my husband did hire you because of that ad, you can't really call it a lie. Also, as I'm sure you've notice, there is indeed something mysterious going on around her."

Jaune nodded. "Is that why you sent the ad because you knew something was going on but you husband refused to believe you?"

"That's not the complete story. This "haunting" was merely the trigger that brought you here. I doubt I could catch the attention of a caretaker if there wasn't at least some solid evidence of unnaturalness. For once the tabloids help."

"Well, I'm here," Jaune shrugged. "What do you want from me?"

"I want you to befriend my son, Whitley."

Jaune had not been expecting that. "Hang on, you're going to have to back up a bit. You did all this just so you son would have a friend? There must have been an easier way. Haven't you head of playdates?"

Willow giggled, it sounded rough and out of practice. "I fear that I'm only confusing you more. I'd think it would be best if I just started from the beginning. Take a seat this might take a while."

There was still no other chair so Jaune still remained standing. Willow didn't comment as she had already closed her eyes to reminisce.

"My father was my hero. He might have not been home much during my early childhood but when he was, I was the happiest girl on Remnant. I would make him tell me stories of his adventures for hours. I can't tell you how many times I fell asleep listing to them. As I got older the stories became more fantastical. Even then, I thought he was just exaggerating, making sure he didn't disappoint his daughter. Stories about crawling through caves or digging into the earth for new dust deposits get stale after a while. Nowadays I think it was the opposite. I think my father actually censored the stories so he wouldn't scare me with talk about ancient artifacts and the unnatural powers that surrounded them."

Willow smiled. She looked so peaceful. "By about age nine, I had hit that age where I thought I knew just as much as the adults and hated being lied to. I began expressing my doubt about his stores in the harsh, bluntness of a child. I think it hurt him more than I realized. I don't think those stories were just for me, but for him too. He couldn't exactly just go around and spread those stories, people would think he was insane. Having me reject him was probably a pretty big blow. He stopped telling me stories after that and was gone even more often than usual, but during my eleventh birthday he came strolling in with the biggest dumbest grin I'd had ever seen, and he pushed this little present into my chest so hard he nearly knocked me over. 'Open it right now, you're going to love it,' he said.

"I did and you'll never believe what it was." Willow was almost laughing as the memory. "It was a stick. A stupid stick that could have been broken off one of the trees in the front yard for all I knew. Oh, I was so pissed. I grabbed it and threw it at my dad as hard as I could. As you can imagine it was a stick so all it did was bounce off his chest, but it's what it left behind that made me stop dead in my tracks. A trail of red following the exact path that I threw. I don't even know how to describe what I saw. It was like still light, even though that's impossible, but just try to imagine, it was beautiful. My father had gotten me something I'm sure every girl on Remnant has dreamed of having at least once, a wand. It wasn't exactly an all-powerful magic casting device though. The only thing it did was create those paths of still light. I could change the color by thinking of one or with my emotions, but that was it. Also, it stopped working and everything I drew would disappear when the sun dipped below the horizon. Still I loved it, and it proved that my dad's stories weren't so made up. After all, I'm sure the intended purpose of that wand wasn't to be some little girl's 3D brush."

Jaune could imagine. Something like that would be great for his etches if they didn't have some sort of aversion to light. "Do you still have it?"

Mrs. Schnee lowed her shoulders and took another drink, removing half the liquid. "Sadly no. I used it all the time and I didn't exact treat my toys with the upmost care. It was just a stick at the end of the day. Accidently stepping on it was more than enough to break it, but that's neither here nor there. The important part is that after my birthday and my renewed belief my dad grew enough confidence in himself to start hosting gatherings at the house, not like the business ones involving the SDC that I was used to. These gatherings were—this is going to sound awful—but they were more cult like. The people who showed up had much more, let's say personality, than anyone would ever dare show at a company gathering. I was mostly kept away from their actives, I think it was more my mother's doing than my father's, she did not approve of these strange people, but damn if I didn't try. There wasn't a moment in any one of those meetings where I wasn't trying to serve them drinks or offer my assistance. I got conversations in with some of them and when I hit my teenage years some of the younger members even approach me, usually in a nervous wrecks, but nothing really ever came of it. I learned some of what they did but none of the how or why. If it wasn't for that birthday present, I probably would have thought my father insane."

"Sound like an interesting childhood," Jaune said, really wishing he had a chair at this point. "So, how'd you end up here, drinking yourself away in a million-lien garden trying to get a complete stranger to befriend your son?"

"It's wasn't that interesting a childhood. I'm just giving you the highlight reel. My father's work and stories were great and a beloved hobby, but it didn't take up the majority of my life. Most of it was spent going to school, hanging out with friends and getting along with the elites of Atlas society. I guess I had more freedom than the other rich princesses but I was still expected to integrate. I didn't hate it if that's what you're thinking, sure going to similar events to see the same people all the time got a little boring, but I had peeked into my father's other life to fill the void. I was happy with my life. I meet my husband at those events. It wasn't love at first sight, but he always seemed to know exactly the right things to say to me, and on dates he always knew where I wanted to go or what I wanted. He was prefect." The hand holding her glass tightened. "Should have known back then that there was no way a man that prefect could exist. The man I fell in love with was just a false personality created to be my ideal. It took me years to realize that when it was already far too late. My dad had already passed away, Jacques was head of the SDC and I had three children. The magic in my life had gone out."

"So, you deiced to bring it back through your children."

"Starting to get it now," Willow said with a smile before quickly returning to normal as she finished off the cup. "Although it wasn't really like that, I just wanted to be a good mom, but the only thing I knew how to do was repeat the stories my dad had told me. They enjoyed them, but I didn't have a wand to give them, so that grew up the same way I did and stop believing. I wish I could say I helped Winter and Weiss escape their dad's influence, but they did that all by themselves. They didn't need me or any of my borrowed magic."

"But Whitley's different, isn't he?"

"Yes, he is, and that's why I need your help. My daughters found the drive to leave in their desires to help people with their combat abilities. Whitley, I'm sorry to say, will not be following in their footsteps. He sees several "flaws" in their career paths and way of thinking."

"Yeah, I sort of gather that from the little lunch meeting I had with him," Jaune said.

Willow took that with a somber nod. "He's still searching for his purposes, one that will satisfy him, but I think I know what it is. I said he still comes to listen to my stories, but it's not in the same way he did as a child where his eyes would glow as bright as stars. Now he just listens without emotion like I'm an audio textbook. It took me a while to piece together what that meant, but I came to the conclusion that he's simply stuck." Jaune raised an eyebrow. "Stuck between believe my stories or believing I'm crazy. I don't know why he gives so much more credence to my stories than either of my daughters did, maybe he inherited it from his grandfather, but he's never going to be fully connived without some proof and I don't have a wand to give him."

"I'm the wand," Jaune said as it all finally clicked. "You want me to prove it to him."

"Yes," Willow smiled, "truth is I didn't know who I might get when I sent out that ad, but it was a risk I had to take. I'm glad it was you, someone close to his age, you seem like a nice boy, so please will you introduce my son to the unknown world properly."

Jaune's breath caught. He could almost hear Emerald yelling at him to say no. Mentoring Whitley Schnee wasn't part of the deal and there was no extra reward for doing it. Besides introductions to the world of magic properly wasn't something that should be handed out like candy. Jaune still wasn't all that familiar with it himself, but he would feel like a monster if he denied this poor woman's request. Oh well, he had already brought Emerald and possibly that cat faunus into the unknown world without too much thought. What was one more.

Whitley did not walk or run, he moved in strides. Was it just another way to hammer home how much better the Schnee family was to the rest of the commoners, making a show that even the way you walked wasn't the same, or was it just Whitley's weird habit. Emerald tried her best to recall if Mr. Schnee walked in the same way but couldn't remember. Either way, it pissed her off. Whitley wasn't better than her if this were the streets of Vale she could have robbed him blind before he could even blink, wipe that arrogant smirk right off his face.

Emerald smiled at the thought, but quickly pushed it back down slightly embarrassed. These were not the back alleys and trash heaps of Vale, and Emerald wasn't a homeless thief looking for her next meal. Things had changed, something she constantly had to remind herself. So far, Jaune had been good on his promise and Emerald's life was better for it, but the caretaker career was clearly an unpredictable one. Things could change again, Emerald had to remember that too.

"Where are you taking me?" Emerald asked, growing sick of her inner thoughts.

"To the library, you were looking for some documents about the pervious geist incident, right? Father wouldn't keep stuff like that in his office they'll be archived in the library."

Emerald had not told him any of that.

"Context clues," Whitley said answering the unasked question, "given the situation and what I caught you doing there's really only one reasonable conclusion."

"Didn't you have a conversation with Jaune not to long about the dangers of thinking you're always right?"

"Within reason. Your expression now and back then tells me I'm right. I'm very good at reading people. I can even read lips, helpful at business events. People don't like being asked to repeat themselves. Of course, if I'm wrong and you were in Father's study for some other reason, please correct me.

Emerald couldn't, and she just knew that Whitley had an imaginary tally board in his head to keep track.

They arrived at the library and Whitley opened the door for Emerald, taking huge marching steps as he did. "Ladies first."

The library wasn't as massive as Emerald thought it would be. It was still big, but only when considering it belonged to a single family. "You don't seem that impressed," Whitley said after he closed the door. "I assure you that what is library lacks in quantity it more than makes up for in quality. Some of the works in here are quite rare."

"Whatever, just take me to what I need, the financial records for the huntsman you hired to deal with the original geist."

"Before that I would like to ask you a few questions."

"Take up any questions with Jaune."

"I already had a talk with him, but he's a thinker, takes his conversations slow and doesn't drop many hints. You seem a lot more straight forward."

Emerald wasn't sure she liked Whitley's implication of her not being a thinker. She would just rather get to the point. "And if I refuse?"

"You asked why I was helping you back in Father's study. This is the reason. I want information. Information on this unknown world that I've heard about. If you're not willing to help me then feel free to search the library without my assistance." That would take forever and he knew it. Whitley didn't even look the least bit apologetic about the subterfuge.

"What makes you so sure that this unknown world even exists?"

"I'm not sure," he admitted. "Mother might be crazy and you and Jaune could just be serviceable magicians. It's far more probable than not that this all be an empty fantasy but so what? This might sound arrogant but if there's one person who can afford to hinge his bets on this, it's me. Weiss is on her way out of being heiresses, and I'm definitely not going to squander the position when it's handed to me. I'll already set to become one of the most powerful men on Remnant even if this all leads to nothing. Here's the thing, though, I don't think mother's crazy, I don't think you or Jaune are fakes, and I don't think I'm chasing a pointless dream."

"For someone who's not sure, you sure are acting confident."

"Do you think so? Well, like I said, losing here means nothing in the long run so I may as well go all in. I'm not going in completely on blind faith, though. I do have some evidence as circumstantial as it might be."

"What is it?" Emerald asked, curious.

Whitley started striding to one of the bookcases in the back. "I explored this house extensively as a child. It was fun mapping the entire place out, knowing every little detail of this huge mansion. I also thought I'd be able to find some hidden secret like in the movies. I didn't really believe I'd find anything so I didn't try very hard, but when I took an academic interest in my mother's stories, I thought I'd try again, and wouldn't you know," Whitley griped the edge of the bookcase and with a great tug slid it open along with the wall behind it, "it actually existed."

Emerald didn't know what to say she was so shocked. Somehow this was even more unbelievable than any of the magic she encountered. There was actually a secret room in the mansion library.

"I know," Whitley said, saving Emerald from having to speak, "it's comical how clique it is. I had the exact same reaction." He pushed it closed, retuning the room back to normal. "There's nothing actually in there. It's just a passageway that leads outside."

"Maybe it's an escape route for you family like if your mansion is ever attacked." Emerald tried to reason.

"Father would have told us if that were it, besides, the library would be a pretty inconvenient place for something like that. No, I don't think Father, my sisters or even Mother knows about this. Someone does, though, the passageway gets cleaned like any other part of the house. I can't think of anyone else but Klein. He always been strange and if there's anyone who would bother cleaning a secret hallway, it would be him."

"This is your evidence then? A moving bookcase and a secret passageway. It's weird, but it's not magic."

"I know, but it does offer some clues. My father had this house greatly extended when he took control of the SDC, but as far as I can tell this room was part of the original structure which was commissioned by my grandfather. That means he was the one that had it put in. Thing is, it would have made just as little sense to have a secret exit back then as it does now. Unless, of course, it's not a secret exit masking the people leaving the mansion but a secret entrance masking the people coming it. That would lead credence to Mother's stories about my grandfather's secret gatherings proving that she isn't making things up, at least not entirely."

"Aren't you the little detective."

"Mock me if you want," Whitley shrugged, "but I know you know more than you're letting on, and it's a detective's job to catch thieves."

Emerald's breathing suddenly picked up and her arms twitched. There was no way he could know. It was just a coincidence he chose that word, had to be. The Vale authorities didn't even know about her, no way some kid all the way in Atlas could know what she was. "Why are you even interested in this anyways?" It was a terrible segue, she knew, but it was such a terrible segue that it actually caught Whitley a little off guard.

He fumbled some words in his mouth as he tried to return to script. "I'm interested because the topic is interesting. Do I need any more reason? A world of magic and mystery is so intriguing how could anyone pass up a chance to explore it? It would be like diving into a new branch of science. That along with the backing of the SDC there's endless possibility for discoveries."

"Is that what this is about?" Emerald said, interrupting his preaching.

"Huh, what do you mean?"

"Is the head of the SDC not enough for you? You need to dive into something else completely. Become successful in something through your own merit and knowledge. Your older sisters did that, didn't they? Winter is a specialist in the Atlas military and Weiss is on her way to becoming a huntress. They carved their own path away from daddy's success but you haven't. That's why your so obsessed with this. You're jealous of your sisters!"

Emerald said it loud enough to echo around the room for a bit, and after that the only sound was from Whitley fiddling with his vest and tie. "I am not obsessed and I am not jealous. Why would I be? What purpose is there in fighting the grimm? They don't stop. Sure, huntsmen and huntress might save a farm every now and then, but is that really worth tricking children with tales of granger and heroics so they can give their lives for a problem that can't be solved. All the money spent training these very few elite combatants would be better used for fortification. I'm sure any outlying village would much prefer a wall with anti-grimm turrets opposed to a single huntsman, who may or may not arrive in time. So, no, I'm not jealous. I just plan for my life to have purpose instead of wasting time like them."

Emerald believed him, but that just meant her next assertion would be all the stronger. "I see, it's not jealously, you're just bitter." It was Whitley's turn to twitch. "Nailed it, didn't I? Your sisters went to fulfill their own dreams leaving you behind. You want the unknown world to exist so you can have something over on them. You want to be better than them, spite them for abandoning their little brother."

For the first time, Whitley looked genuinely upset. He moved towards Emerald, forgoing his normal posture, and raised his arm like he was going to slap her. She would be ready if he tried but it didn't have to come to that. Almost unnaturally, Whitley seemed to calm himself down and lowered his hand. "I thought your bluntness would make it easier for me to talk to you. I see that was a mistake you have no regard to things that really shouldn't be said."

"Sorry, that's just the kind of girl I am."

"Then I guess playing word games is pointless," Whitley resigned. "Yes, I despise my sisters. They only think about escaping the life they don't like, never considering trying to adapt to it. There were much more reasonable ways to distant themselves from Father instead of running away although their failing are my gains, in the end. It amazes me that Weiss still thinks she can hold onto the heiress title with what she's done. Regardless, I've held interest in these matters long before either of my sisters' transgressions. I don't care what they think or do anymore. I'm doing this because I want to." The frustration in his voice slipped just a bit at the end. "So please if you know anything, I humbly ask that you tell me."

Sincerity wasn't something Emerald had been ready for. The thought of a Schnee pleading for anything was unthinkable, yet Emerald was now in that situation. She didn't even know what to say to him. On one hand, she needed the information about the pervious incident, but on the other, Jaune had made them go through some pretty big hoops to kept from revealing any real magic. Just letting it out right now would kind of defeat the purpose. She didn't even have any proof. Jaune was the only one who knew how to use magic—and now Whitley was starting to bow. This was getting really awkward.

Thankful a white knight came to her rescues. "Oh, you're both here. There's nice."

"You don't know how happy I am to see you right now," Emerald cried running towards and around Jaune so she was mostly hidden by his figure. "Whitley has something to ask you."

"Are you a child?" Jaune said trying to detach himself from his new shadow while Whitley looked on in confusion. All of Jaune's shuffling accomplished nothing as Emerald matched his every step.

Jaune just didn't understand. She wasn't a people person. Probably around 90% of the conversation she had partaken in throughout her entire lifetime was just her trying to lower someone's guard so she could steal their stuff. She wasn't used to this level of earnestness or feeling bad about something. No wonder street begging worked, this feeling was awful.

Eventually, Jaune gave up trying to unstick Emerald from him. They were going to have to have a talk about her maturity level when this was over, he decided, but for now he had a different person to deal with.

"I just had a conversation with your mom. I understand you want to explore the unknown world."

"I do," Whitley smiled. "but you'll have to forgive me if I don't take you at your word. You did lie to me about the geists being restless sprits."

"Then I'll show you the truth. I'll give you the proof you need by putting an end to this mansion's haunting. The only thing I need now is the file of the original incident to confirm my suspicions."

"You seem pretty confident about this," Whitley stated.

"Before I became a caretaker a great man told me that all you need is confidence." Whitley nodded and went to go get the file. While he was doing that, Jaune felt a tug on his arm. Emerald looked up at him clearly wanting to know how he suddenly cracked the case. Jaune could understand why she was shocked, she hadn't gotten to speak with Mrs. Schnee and he learned a lot from her.

Whitley returned with a thin folder and handed it to Jaune. He opened it and skimmed through it. He ignored most of the information. He was only looking for one thing: the date this all started. For most people the date record in the file wouldn't be anything special, but Jaune knew it well, having tried desperately to get in. It was Beacon's starting date. "Whitley, did these strange incidents start happing right after you sister left for Beacon?"

Whitley stood there for a moment taking the question in before his lips twisted into a smile that shared a little too much of resemblance to the smirk of a movie villain. "You know I think they did."

Jaune yawned as it neared three in the morning. He and Whitley had run out of topics to talk about a while ago as they stood around in Weiss' bathroom, it wasn't as creepy as it sounded. Since Weiss was now the focal point of the investigation, it was obvious that they should search her room for clues and that included her bathroom. What Jaune and Whitley had discovered in her bathroom was a very elegant mirror. Normally that wouldn't be out of place inside the Schnee mansion, but the glass was a little too perfectly crystal clear given the obvious age of the frame around it, and even seemed to shift on its own if you examined it closely enough. Whitely informed him that this mirror also just so happened to be an heirloom from his grandfather, a gift given to Weiss when she was born. Given all that, it was clear that this was worth investigating, and by investigating Jaune meant sitting around waiting for something to happen. Whitley had not been very impressed by this sacred caretaker method.

Jaune's phone beeped as a text message came in. "Looks like Emerald finally killed the geist," Jaune said after reading it.

"Time to see if you're right," Whitley said shrugging off his weariness like it was an old coat.

There was barley any time to get in position before the image reflected in the glass of the mirror rippled outward and transformed. It still reflected the bathroom, but not the bathroom as it was now. Instead a petite girl with pale skin and white hair looked back at them. She was dabbing a bloody, wet towel along the side of her face where a nasty vertical gash crossed over her eye. Tears ran down her cheek from the other. For being her little brother, Whitley had very little reaction to seeing his sister in pain. Hopefully it was because he was still doubting what he was seeing and not a lack of empathy.

Weiss removed the towel from her eye giving a better view of her wound. It would definitely be leaving a scare, but it wasn't horrible considering how something like that could have easily cost her an eye. She was honestly quite lucky.

Mirror Weiss appeared to disagree. A finger rose to trace the length of the injury. Once that was finished, her sleeve came up to wipe the tears away before both hand slammed down on the sink counter. "No more crying," she growled into the mirror. "I beat the stupid test. I proved myself. I'm ready to be a huntress." Her hand came up to caresses the wound again. She scowled in a way that distorted her beautiful face. "From now on it's my life to live, Father doesn't get to decided anymore. I only wish he got what he gave."

The image suddenly cut out and a white mask with single glowing eye came though the mirror. The geist looked around trying to take in its new surrounding after it had come from who knows where. Crocea Mors cut its head in half before it could get any farther. It evaporated just like any other grimm and when the last vestige of its body disappeared, the mirror rippled outward and showed a petite girl with pale skin and white hair, dabbing a bloody, wet towel along the side of her face.

The pommel of Crocea Mors slammed into the image, shattering the mirror and sending pieces of glass raining onto the counter. "Was that enough proof for you?" Jaune asked.

Whitley, who had been silent throughout the event, picked up one of the shards of glass twisting it every which way. It only reflected what it was supposed to. "Is breaking it in such a simple fashion really enough to stop this?"

"It's done the job in the past as much as a hate to admit it."

"I see. This has been a very enlightening experience. Consider your job compete." And then he left, walked right out the door without another word. Didn't say if he was satisfied or if he believed Jaune or anything. Feedback would have been nice, but Jaune was too tired to care. Better to just accept that Whitley was strange and leave it at that.

Things moved pretty fast after that. The next morning Jaune and Emerald reported that the haunting was lifted and got paid without issue. Whitley was nowhere to be found as Jaune pack his things and prepared to leave. He wondered if Whitley was done with them now that they had served their purpose. He didn't know if a single display of magic really fulfilled Willow's request, but if Whitley didn't want to associate with him anymore there wasn't anything he could do.

He met up with Emerald outside his room, and she was practically beaming over their paycheck. "What should we get first? I'm thinking we should treat ourselves to a five-star steak dinner. Then we could take a trip somewhere. I've always wanted to go to the beach."

"You need to limit your expectations! We got paid well, but we didn't get paid that well. We're going to save this money like responsible adults."

"Ah, come on, I'll wear a bikini wouldn't you like that? Although we'd have to buy that too." Jaune and Emerald continued this little back and forth until they reach the entrance hall where someone was waiting for them.

Whitley looked different. Jaune didn't really know how to describe it other than revitalized. There was a new rhythm to his movements as he came to greet them with almost familiar gestures. "Were you planning on leaving without say goodbye?"

"Honestly yes, or did you forget what happened last night? I can't believe you just walked away."

"Sorry, sorry," Whitley chuckled—no laughed! Whitley Schnee was laughing like a real human. Someone needed to get a doctor. "There was just a lot on my mind. It was a lot to take in you know."

"Yeah, I'm sure it was. Now if you'll excuse us we need to get back to Vale."

"So, cruel and to think I put so much effort into my proposition."

That caught Jaune's attention. "What do you mean?" he asked.

Whitley returned to a more formal pose, a much more usual sight. "I want to invest in you."

"What!"

"Well it would be more like finical backing than anything else. Imagine though, you wouldn't have to worry about money ever again. Also, since you'd be a partner of the SDC, at least in part, you'd gain a bunch of other benefits. Medical insurance for one, I'm sure you'll be needing that with what you do."

"Are you serious? Can you even do that?"

"I'm very serious, and yes I can. Father expects me to make these kinds of decisions. If I'm going to run the SDC one day then I need to make deals and business transactions. I think I'll brush this one under the table, however, Father likely wouldn't approve."

"Why would you do this?"

"Like I said it's an investment. I want to gain as much insight into the unknown world as possible. It only makes sense to support people who will help me with that goal. I can't be everywhere at once and you clearly know more than I do."

"I hope you not looking for a huge return. Caretakers don't exactly pay dividends."

"That's fine, just keep doing what you're doing and I'm sure everything will be fine. I have faith in you."

Jaune glanced toward Emerald to gauge her opinion and saw that there were sparkles in her eyes and a little droll running down her mouth. She approved of the additional funding all right, and Jaune didn't really have any objections. "It looks like we have a deal."

"I'm sure this will be the start of a wonderful relationship." Whitley and Jaune shook hands. "Now the first order of business is to get you some new clothes. That," Whitley pointed to the Pumpkin Pete logo on Jaune's jacket, "is getting thrown away. You look like an idiot. Caretakers are supposed to me sophisticated, mysterious and clever. You desperately need to update your wardrobe to fit that image."

"You don't know what caretakers are supposed to be, and why am I the only one being targeted? Emerald doesn't dress very sophisticated."

"Hey!"

"She fine as you're assistant—"

"Assistant!"

"She gives off that enforcer vibe."

"Enforcer!"

Poor Emerald went ignored as Whitley clapped his hands causing two men in suits to legitimacy teleport behind Jaune. "Don't worry, these two will take care of you." Before Jaune could offer any ounce of resistance, he was dragged away by the arms.

A few hours later, a new Jaune emerged. Actual boots instead of sneakers, black pants and a white button down shirt with the top two buttons undone showing a reddish-orange undershirt, no tie since it could be grabbed in a fight although one could easily be added if needed. Two belts still crisscrossed along his waist with his sword attached to his left hip and two large pouches, positioned diagonally from each other on his right. Then to add some aesthetic flair, a pair of keychains holding two highly stylized, specially made, Pumpkin Pete charms dangled from a loop on Jaune's belt. One had the little bunny mascot wearing a mischievous shark-tooth smile and holding up a peace sign with his cartoony hand. The other gave a thumbs-down emote with an angry frown.

"You look good," Emerald said with same level of enthusiasm Jaune had when his sisters demanded his opinion on a new outfit.

"Thanks," Jaune said rubbing the back of his hair. At least the Schnee snowflake hadn't been stuck on anywhere. "Can we just get going now? These new clothes feel stiff and they're just going to smell like vomit on the way back."

"Oh, do you have problems traveling?" Whitley intervened.

"I get awful motion sickness, what's it to you?"

"Your health and wellness are of the highest concern now that I'm your sponsor." Whitley took a second to think. "Let me see what I can arrange for you."

Later that evening, after Jaune and Emerald had left for Vale, Willow Schnee sat in the garden, drinking. Although this time she had company. "Hello Mother," Whitley said, "your plan worked. I believe you wholeheartedly now. The unknown world exists."

Willow smiled. "How do you like it?"

"It's amazing. A whole trove of knowledge just out of sight. I can't wait to start uncovering it, but there's one thing I need to take care of before that."

"What could that be?"

"You." Willow raised an eyebrow. "I'm tired of watching you sit here and waste away. You're stronger than that, stronger than Father even. If you were able to put this plan into motion from the shadows even in this state, you should have no problem standing up to Father. So, enjoy that drink because it's your last. Tomorrow morning you're going to rehab, the best Atlas has to offer and completely confidential."

Willow's eyes widen and her hands shock. It was all too sudden. She couldn't say a word, but it was okay, she didn't have to. Whitley dropped to his knees and took her hands. "Winter and Weiss didn't just forget about me when they left. You've been suffering the most out of any of us. I won't forget that nor will I forget what you've done for me—for us. You're going to get better, and when you do you're going to be walking out into a new world. I'll make sure of it.

Excerpt from Bury Incident Report

I've never seen anything like it. An entire village just up and starved to death when there's stocks of canned food in nearly every house. There were no unusual signs of grimm activity. It's like everyone there just gave up on life. It's impossible to tell if there were any survivors without an entire population count and even then, the census is out of date.

There are additional things that worry me, however. Not all the deaths were from starvation or dehydration. There was a woman in the Wood Mill Inn who had clearly been murder before whatever happened there started, but the more worrying part is the huntsmen that had been sent. Two died to starvation just like most everyone else, but there was one who was killed by a knife wound. The huntsmen in question was malnourished at the time so it's possible that is how someone got the jump on him, but a few other bodies in the village showed similar wounds. They application appear to be random along with the victims, some of the wounds were also done after death. It's like the killer was experimenting with them.

It's possible it was one of the villagers who lost their mind during the latter stages of starvation and is among the dead, but there are three sets of tracks leading away from the village. Two of them run by a sign reading "rest in peace, Bury" and continue together, but the third leaves Bury alone. All three tracks head in the direction of Vale.

An: So, the Schnee mansion haunting comes to an end with very little fanfare, just long conversations between characters. I really enjoyed writing this arc and this chapter in particular. It might have to do with my bias towards Whitley. I won't say I like him as a character because the show really hasn't given him one yet, but I love the idea of what his character could become. I'm a big fan of the theory that he only became the way he is because Winter and Weiss left him alone, as you can probably tell from this chapter.

He'll be out of the picture for a bit but rest assured he'll be back.

Also, those two charms I gave Jaune were just something cool I thought up while I was staring at the Pumpkin Pete logo (as you do). One of these days I might draw them out and make them the cover picture. Don't hold your breath though.