And here's the next chapter. Hope you enjoy it!
He slid down the bench as Port went on about some stupid shit he didn't care about. Weiss was staring ahead, her chin resting in her hand and she looked incredibly bored. That dark haired bitch was sitting next to her, though she seemed to be focused on something else.
Cardin grinned as he took his place next to her.
"So Weiss, babe, I was thinkin' you and me get dinner over in Vale and see the new Spruce Willis movie; I already bought the tickets so you don't have to worry about paying." He rested his hands behind his head, and looked at her out of the corner of his eye.
She was still looking forward, like she hadn't even heard him. He lowered his arms back down to his sides. He looked down at her work space and saw her ridiculously huge binder laid out in front of her.
"Okay? Well, if that isn't your thing how about we go study instead?" She still didn't say anything. He saw the blonde bimbo look over at him, a scowl appearing on her face. He sneered and turned on the bench so he was facing Weiss. "Are you listening to me?"
The bell rang and Weiss stood up with a small smile. She closed her binder and put it in her bag.
"No, no, no, yes, and if you ever call me babe again I will freeze you in a block of ice." She left, and the blonde bimbo narrowed her eyes at him before pointing at her eyes with two fingers before pointing them at him. He rolled his eyes and stood up, leaving the classroom.
Weiss would come around eventually, he just had to be persistent.
Blake sat on her bed as Ruby wrote in a small notebook. It was night now and the window was wide open, allowing a summer breeze to blow through the room. Ruby and Penny sat on Weiss' bed and Yang leaned against the bed frame, her arms crossed. Ruby pursed her lips before gently nodding her head. She closed the notebook and looked at her teammates.
"All right, I've got a game plan for tomorrow." She motioned to herself and Penny.
"Penny and I will be asking around Vale about any Dust robberies that have been happening recently. I ran into Torchwick months ago while he was trying to rob a Dust store, and I'm sure that that and the White Fang's robberies are connected." Penny smiled as Ruby pointed at Blake.
"The White Fang lost a lot of people when you and Weiss fought them at the docks. Try and see if they're recruiting and find out where that is. Maybe you can find out what they're planning while you're there?" Blake nodded, a few locations already coming to mind. Ruby turned to Weiss, who was sitting at her desk.
"Weiss, does your family have a headquarters here in Vale?" Weiss thought about it for a moment.
"I believe so, yes."
"I want you to go there and check the records for anything weird." Weiss grinned.
"That's actually rather clever, nice thinking Ruby." She said. Ruby smiled back.
"Thanks." She looked at Yang.
"You remember that club you took me to so you could ask about that lady you were looking for?" Yang nodded.
"Yeah, the owner's got an ear in every part of Vale. If the White Fang are up to something, then he's sure to know about it."
"Great, I want you to give him a visit and try and learn what you can."
"Sounds fun!" A male voice said. They all looked at the window and Ruby let out a shriek and jumped off the bed. Sun was hanging upside down from the windowsill by his tail.
"Who the hell are you?" Yang said stepping forward. He flipped around and landed on the bookcase, squatting on it. He looked up at Blake.
"You didn't tell your friends about me Blake?" She saw her teammates look at her, confusion on their faces. She shrugged her shoulders.
"This is Sun. I stayed with him and his boyfriend when I ran away." She looked over at Sun. "Where is Neptune anyway? And why are you here?" Sun sat on the bookcase, his legs dangling off the edge.
"He's down in the lobby. We wanted to see what kinda rooms you Hunters lived in, and you were the only ones with an open window." He hopped down. "But if you are going after the Fang, we want in." Weiss cocked her head to the side.
"Why? This is going to be dangerous, do you honestly think you can keep up with us?" Sun laughed.
"Of course we can; Neptune and I have traveled all over Remnant, there's nothing we can't beat. And those Fang lunatics are a bunch of freaks; holier than thou 'all humans are bad' assholes. Like being jerks to humans will make them want treat us like equals." Blake sighed and looked at Ruby. She appeared deep in thought.
"There is safety in numbers…" she mumbled. She looked at Sun. "Alright, you and Neptune can come with us." Sun did a little jump, a smile on his face.
"Awesome! I'll go get him!" He ran out of the room, leaving the door open. Weiss looked at Ruby.
"Why are you letting them come?"
"Blake and Yang could use the backup; that club is in a really shady part of town and the White Fang may be looking for Blake for what she did at the docks." Weiss huffed and crossed her arms.
"Going in a group is the most logical way to complete our missions," Penny said. Ruby nodded her head.
"Penny's right." Weiss sighed but said nothing. Sun appeared a second later, pulling Neptune into the room. She saw Yang look him over before looking at Sun and nodding her head in approval. Ruby tapped her finger against her lip.
"Okay, Sun you go with Blake, since you're the only other Faunus in the group, and Neptune you go with Yang." Sun gave Blake a thumbs up and a smile as Neptune flashed Yang a set of gun hands. Ruby turned to Weiss. "So do you have someone to go with you?" Weiss made a face.
"Why would I need someone to go with me?" She asked.
"Well I mean, you're the only one without a partner."
"Your chances of successfully completing your task increases greatly with a partner," Penny said. Weiss exhaled through her nose and rolled her eyes before she pulled out her scroll, dialing a number.
"Fine. I know someone in Vale that can help." She held up the scroll to her ear. Blake heard it ring a few times before a gruff voice picked up.
"Hello?"
"Hi Bruce, its Weiss." Blake saw Ruby and Yang look at each other in confusion before looking back at Weiss.
"I know, I have caller ID. What do you want?"
"My friends and I are heading into Vale tomorrow. We plan on tracking down the White Fang." Blake heard Bruce sigh in annoyance.
"And you want me to help?" A smile crept up Weiss' face.
"I would. Meet me at the SDC headquarters in the morning."
"Fine. See you then." He hung up. Weiss pocketed her scroll.
"So who's Bruce?" Yang asked.
"A friend I made while looking for Blake." A mischievous smile appeared on Yang's face.
"That so? He cute?" Weiss grimaced.
"Eww no! He's old enough to be my grandfather." Yang laughed as Weiss pouted. She saw Neptune look around the room.
"So is it cool if we crash here tonight?" Weiss vehemently shook her head no but Yang only smiled and Ruby nodded her head.
"Of course! That way we can get started together!" Blake stifled a giggle at the horrified expression on Weiss' face.
The Schnee Dust Company Vale Headquarters was a gigantic building, a towering skyscraper made of white steel and blue glass. Her grandfather's logo gleamed high above her, the sharp snowflake glittering in all of its silver glory. She allowed a smile as she looked at the building, her families name written in swirling silver above the entrance. Men and women walked in and out of the building, talking on their scrolls, their uniforms pristine and white.
He stuck out like a sore thumb leaning up against the white building in his black leather jacket and dark clothes. He had his arms crossed and he looked bored. She walked up to him and he looked over at her. The light from the rising sun reflected off the window and cast strange colors over his face.
"I know the White Fang have gotten really crazy these last few years, but attacking the SDC headquarters is pretty batshit." Weiss looked at him strangely; was that a joke? She rested her hand on her hip as she said
"The White Fang aren't attacking here, we're just looking for information." He furrowed his brow.
"We're trying to learn about the White Fang, in a Schnee building?" She shook her head.
"We're going to lean what the White Fang are doing. Back home in Atlas they would just destroy cargo shipments. The thugs we took care of at the docks were trying to steal that Dust. We're going to look for any other irregularities to see if there is a pattern." He uncrossed his arms.
"And you need my help, why?"
"My friends are searching the rest of the city for the White Fang. We're their back up encase they find them." He chuckled, and flashed her a smile, his lips curling over his sharp teeth.
"You kids are gonna be the death of me." She smiled back before turning around and entering the building. Bruce followed her as they walked through the entrance. The room was cavernous and everything was white; the couches off to the side, the tables in between the couches. The receptionist's desk and the wall it was up against. Water fountains flanked the blue carpet that they walked on as Weiss strode towards the desk, the gurgling water calming her. The receptionist had dark hair pulled back into a bun. She looked up from her computer and said
"Welcome to the Vale branch of the Schnee Dust Company, how may I-" Her mouth fell open before she closed it and smiled; she looked nervous as she looked at Weiss' face. "Ms. Schnee, what can I do for you?" She forced a smile to try and ease the woman.
"I was hoping to access the companies shipping records. I need to look over some things for my father." The woman nodded and started to type into her computer.
"O-of course Ms. Schnee," she said. She looked up from the computer. "The records are kept on the eighth floor, I'll let the staff know you are on your way." Weiss gave her one final smile.
"Thank you," she said. She left the desk and made her way to the elevator. She pressed the button and rested her hands behind her back.
"She seemed nervous," Bruce said. Weiss looked back at him.
"It's not often that the Heiress shows up." Bruce chuckled.
"She looked like she was afraid you were going to fire her on the spot." Weiss looked back at the polished metal of the elevator's doors, her expression falling. She heard a 'ding' and the elevator door opened. Men in white suits poured out, giving Bruce strange looks as they walked past them. She entered the elevator and pressed the button after Bruce took his spot in the back of the elevator. The door closed and she saw her reflection in the polished metal.
Her reflection was pouting as it looked at her. It put its index fingers at the end of her lips and raised her lips up, turning her frown into a smile.
"Don't forget where you are." She said. Weiss scowled and looked at the wall. Her reflection was there as well. Weiss swallowed as her reflection giggled.
"How did you get that scar?" She asked, her eyes darting around as she tried to not look at her reflection. She saw Bruce's reflection as he turned slightly to look at her.
"Pardon?"
"Your scar. How did you get it?" He looked up and exhaled, deep in thought.
"I got it on a mission years ago with my team. We were ambushed by the Grimm and the bastard sliced my face open. Lost my partner on that mission." She saw his reflection look over at her.
"How about you?"
Weiss swallowed again, her throat dry. She saw her reflection start crying, tears running down her face as she raised her hand to her face, her nail razor sharp. Her sobs sent a chill down Weiss' spine as she trailed her finger down her forehead and over her eye, blood starting to run down her face. Her reflection started to sob harder as it trailed its bloody hand down, cutting into her face. She lifted her hand and the sobbing stopped and the tears disappeared but the blood continued to flow. Her reflection smirked at her.
Weiss squeezed her eyes shut, her scar aching. She put her hand over her scar and mumbled
"Fencing accident." Bruce said nothing. She opened her eyes as the elevator came to a stop. The polished metal doors opened and a group of people in white suits stood there waiting.
Weiss forced a smile and exited the elevator, Bruce following after her. She walked down the hallway, her heels clicking against the white tile. The hallway was chilly, which Weiss was thankful for; Vale was nice but she missed the snow and ice of home.
The glass doors slid open and a tall man with graying hair greeted her.
"Ms. Schnee, an honor to meet you," he said, offering his hand. She shook it politely.
"Likewise," she said. He looked over her shoulder at Bruce, disgust appearing in his eyes as he looked back to Weiss.
"I'm the bookkeeper for this branch of the SDC, and I'll be more than happy to help. But I'm going to have to ask that your…companion wait downstairs." Weiss scowled.
"And with all due respect, I'm going to have to insist he come with us." They stared at one another for several moments before the bookkeeper let up. He nodded his head, giving Bruce a dirty look.
"Understood, Ms. Schnee. Follow me." He began to walk to the other end of the room, she followed after him. The room was white and a small desk was situated in the corner. A plastic shrub sat near the door they entered.
He pulled out a set of keys, unlocked a door, and opened it. Inside were walls upon walls of computer hard drives. The room was frigid as Weiss entered and she could see her breath coming out as a pale silver mist.
"We store all our data electronically. Just let me know what you need to know and I'll find it and download it your scroll." The bookkeeper said. She heard Bruce shut the door behind them. She pulled out her scroll and held it in front of her.
"I need the shipping records of all Dust shipments in and out of Vale, and the data of their arrival in the other kingdoms." He took her scroll.
"That's quite the list; it's going to take several hours to get all that information." Weiss smiled at him.
"I'm willing to wait." He nodded and disappeared into the maze of computers. Weiss felt her expression fall and she sighed. She saw Bruce out of the corner of her eye.
"You didn't have to do that," Bruce said. He looked at the hard drives. "I was willing to wait downstairs." She shook her head and turned to look at him.
"You're my friend Bruce, I'm not going to let them treat you any different."
"That's a nice gesture. Would you have done that if we weren't friends?" Weiss scowled and opened her mouth to protest before shutting it and looking away. Would she have? If he had just been some scary looking Faunus on the street would she have given him a second thought?
"I-I don't know," she said. He closed his eyes and sat down, crossing his legs. She sat down as well, staring at the floor as she thought about what he said.
Penny stood at the curb watching as Ruby talked to the store owner. She waved and smiled at her when Ruby looked over. Ruby waved back before she resumed talking to the store owner.
She rocked back and forth on her heels as Ruby finished talking to the store owner and exited the building. They started to walk down the street; it was midmorning now and it was muggy in the city. Cars drove down the road, the congestion from the morning traffic gone. They walked around people down the crowded sidewalk and came to a stop in front of an outside café.
Ruby looked at the café and Penny heard a gurgling come from Ruby. She rubbed her stomach and gave Penny a sheepish smile.
"Probably not a good idea to skip breakfast this morning," she said.
"Do you need to eat?" Penny asked. Ruby looked at the café's door longingly, chewing on her lip. She shook her head.
"Nah, we can try a couple of more stores before stopping for a break." She started to walk down the sidewalk again and Penny followed her.
"Ruby, what is the White Fang?" Ruby looked back at, disbelief on her face.
"You don't know?" Penny shook her head. "Well, they're a bunch of Faunus that don't like how humans treat them so they blow up buildings and kill people and stuff like that." Penny blinked several times.
"I do not understand." Ruby stopped and turned around.
"Which part?"
"Why would killing people make humans treat them better?" Ruby shrugged.
"I don't know Penny," she said. She put her hands on her hips. "How did you not know about the White Fang? They're always on the news." Penny smiled.
"My father is very protective; he would not let me watch any news about the outside world. He did not want me worrying about it."
"Yeesh," Ruby said before starting to walk again. "That's pretty extreme isn't it?" Penny shook her head as she followed Ruby.
"Not at all, my father loves me very much and just want's what is best for me." They walked in silence for a moment and Penny saw that Ruby was starting to sweat as the muggy humidity got worse. Ruby usually only sweated in her sleep. Penny cocked her head to the side.
"Ruby?"
"Yeah?"
"Why do you sweat in your sleep?"
"I don't know." Penny brought her hand to her chin, rubbing it as she thought.
"What do you dream about?" she asked. Ruby scratched the back of her head and kept looking forward as she said.
"Sometimes I don't dream about anything, it's just dark. Other times it's about my mom, and sometimes I'm stuck doing Beacon's initiation test again."
"That is interesting! I have never dreamed about my father, most of my dreams are about sheep." She heard Ruby start laughing and look back at her.
"Sheep?" Penny smiled at her.
"They are quiet cute," she said.
They rounded a corner and found themselves in a plaza. A crowd of people stood in front of a stage where Mech's and soldiers stood at attention next to a large holographic projection of a stern looking man in a white uniform. The Mech's stood in front of large metal containers. Penny felt a cold sense of dread crawl up her spine and she stood behind Ruby in an attempt to hide herself somewhat.
The man motioned towards the Mech's with his gloved hand
"For years the 130 Model of Atlesian Knight's has been the go to nonhuman security force for Remnant. And they have done an adequate job haven't they?" The crowd voiced their agreement loudly. The man smirked, and motioned towards the containers as he began to pace, his hologram staying in place.
"But adequate is not enough for the Kingdom of Atlas; we're innovators and we will never be satisfied with just that." The containers slowly opened and inside stood tall humanoid Mech's white in color with a large black screen where their face was. Blue LED lights flicked to life and a smiley face took up the screens.
"Please welcome the 200 Model of the Atlesian Knight," he said. The 200 Model's kicked the 130's to the ground, and Penny flinched at the sight. The 200's marched forward and stood at attention alongside their human counterparts as the crowd cheered and clapped.
"The 200 is smarter, sleeker, more durable, and less intimidating then the 130's. They will begin to be deployed across Remnant to combat the Grimm starting this fall. And they will not be alone." The man disappeared and a behemoth of a machine appeared where he had been.
It towered above the crowd and was a dull gray color. The cockpit was tinted and took up a small amount of space in the torso. A Gatling gun was situated on the wrist of each arm, the hands large and clunky looking. A missile launcher sat on each shoulder. Penny began to rub her hand together and looked at Ruby. She was staring at the Mech's in awe, her mouth agape, and a bit of drool running down her chin at the sight.
Those machines were wrong, everything about them was wrong.
"Ruby, we need to go," Penny said. Ruby didn't seem to hear her.
"We are proud to present the Atlesian Paladin; a mobile exo battle-suit to help our human soldier's combat the dangers of the battlefield with minimal harm to themselves. We have the Atlesian Military and the Schnee Dust Company to thank for this invention, and you can expect to see these defending our borders and keeping villages safe in the coming future."
The crowd began to applaud and the man appeared again, smiling. Penny began to back away as the man gave the order
"Right face." The soldiers and the 200'spun on their heels and faced the right, staring straight at her. She saw recognition dawn on the closest soldier's face and she felt her stomach drop when the man turned as well.
His face hardened and he glanced over at the soldier at the front of the column.
"Squad leader," he said.
"Sir!" The soldier shouted.
"Rescue that runaway," he ordered.
"Aye, sir!" He shouted. The hologram disappeared and the soldier looked back at the soldier behind him. He motioned for him to follow him and they exited the column walking towards Ruby and Penny. The crowd looked over at them; fear, and confusion on their faces.
Penny grabbed Ruby's hand and started to sprint in the opposite direction, dragging Ruby along.
"W-wha-! Penny, what are you doing?" Penny tightened her grip as she ran through the road, cars stopping and honking as they ran onto the sidewalk and between two buildings. She didn't dare look back as she heard them shout at her to stop. She could hear Ruby's breathing as they sprinted between the buildings and entered an alleyway, dumpsters lining the walls.
Ruby let go of her hand and she turned to look as Ruby pulled one of the dumpsters into the middle of the alley, blocking it off. She looked back at Penny and started to sprint after her.
The alley ended and they found themselves at another road. Penny didn't stop, sprinting through it and looking back when she got to the sidewalk. Ruby only looked forward as she ran.
Penny gasped when Ruby tripped and came crashing to the pavement. She groaned with pain, and lifted her torso off the ground with shaky arms. Penny's eyes widened as she heard a truck horn blare. She saw terror on Ruby's face as her head snapped to the source of the sound. A big rig was barreling down the road, unable to slow down.
Penny leapt in front of Ruby and threw her hands forward. The truck slammed into her hands, nearly tipping forwards as she stood her ground. She grit her teeth as she felt her feet start to slide and the grill of the truck contort and bend around her hands. She grabbed the ripped metal and pulled down, the metal cutting into her hands. The truck fell back onto the pavement and the driver stared at her in amazement as she let go of the truck's grill and stepped back.
She turned around to look at Ruby. She was staring at her in shock, her silver eyes wide and her mouth agape. Penny offered her hand to her, which Ruby took. She pulled her up and asked
"Are you okay?"
"How did you do that? That truck it should have-" Ruby looked at her hands. There was blood on them. She looked at Penny's hands. Penny closed her hands and rested them against her chest. "Penny, you're hurt." Penny shook her head and looked around, people were starting to stare. And those soldiers wouldn't be stopped by that dumpster for long. She closed her eyes and ran.
"Penny, wait!" Ruby shouted. She heard her follow after her. Penny kept her eyes squeezed shut as she ran between a pair of restaurants. Ruby couldn't know, anyone but her. Penny opened her eyes and came to a stop. It was a dead end, nowhere to hide but a pair of dumpsters. She spun around as Ruby came running up to her. Her breathing was heavy, as she stood in front of her. She jabbed her finger in the direction they had come from.
"What was all that? Why are we running? Why did Ironwood send those soldier's after you? Why aren't you freaking out about your hands?" Penny tucked her arms into her armpits and turned away from Ruby.
"Everything is fine Ruby," she hiccupped. "I don't want to talk about it," she hiccupped.
"Everything isn't fine! Penny you need to talk to me, I can help you!" She exclaimed, stepping towards her. Penny turned her back on her; she couldn't let her see. She felt her body start to shake.
"No! No, no! You wouldn't understand! You can't understand!"
"Let me try! You're my friend Penny, you can trust me with anything." Penny took a breath and turned towards Ruby. Her eyes, they were full of such concern and compassion. She pulled her hands out of her armpits, and looked at the closed palms. She stepped towards her, leaning forward so there faces were close together.
"You promise you're my friend?"
"Cross my heart," she said. Penny leant back and uncurled her fingers and held up her hands. Her palms and her fingers had the skin torn off and blood smeared them. Underneath all the blood was her metal skeleton. She saw realization dawn across Ruby's face, and her eyes flickered from her bloody palms to her face.
Her voice broke as she said,
"Ruby, I'm not a real person."
And that's it. Let me know what you think!