And here's the next chapter. I completely forgot how long Qrow v Tyrian was :"D
Oscar leaned back into his pillow, flipping the page of his book. His lantern flickered, casting the room in an orange, wavering haze. He could hear crickets chirping loudly from outside.
"Oscar! It's supper time!" His aunt shouted. He dog eared the page.
"What are we having?" he shouted back.
"Food. Now get down here." He rolled his eyes, setting the book on the nightstand.
Oscar. We need to leave.
Oscar frowned, standing up from his bed.
"I already decided that you're not real so I'm not going to listen to you."
I understand what you're feeling. I went through the same confusion and fear when it happened to me. But I can assure you, you're perfectly sane.
Oscar shook his head.
"I'm arguing with a voice in my head." he said. The voice paused for a moment.
You don't have to be normal to be sane.
"Shut up!"
Oscar. Please listen. I know that it is hard to believe but you have to remain calm and listen to me. Our soul's are one now, and I wish that this were not the case but it is, and we both have to deal with it.
"I said stop talking to me."
I have a grave responsibility to uphold. We need to get to Mistral City before it is too late.
Oscar swallowed, his throat dry, and sat down on his bed, struggling to stand.
"I didn't sign up for anything. Why do I have to be a part of this?"
You didn't. And I didn't either, when it first happened to me. But you can't turn your back on this, Oscar.
"Why?"
It's an opportunity.
"For what?"
Greatness. A chance for you to leave this farm. To make something with your life. To help others. To make a mark on this world. It won't be easy, of course, there will be many trials, and hard-
"Get out of my head!" Oscar screamed.
The voice grew quiet, but he could feel it; tendrils on the edge of his mind. He got to his feet, clutching his head, shaking it.
"Oscar! I said its supper time!"
He slowly let go, looking at the door. He sighed, going to it, his stomach rumbling.
Her father paced in front of her, flexing his hands, seething. Weiss swallowed, her head lowered. Her moth stood across from her, rubbing her forehead.
"Unbelievable. Absolutely unbelievable."
"Jacquess-"
"Don't 'Jacques' me! Do you have any idea how much her little stunt cost us?!"
"I'm sure we'll be fine if we lose a couple million."
"I'm not talking about Lien!" Weiss shrunk back as her father jabbed a finger at her. "She ruined our reputation!" Willow frowned, and crossed her arms.
"Ours? Or yours?" Anger flashed in her father's eyes, his hand twitching as he glowered at her. Weiss stood up, her heart thumping against her chest.
"I want to leave." She said. Her parents looked at her. Her father frowned.
"I beg your pardon?" her father asked. Weiss hid her trembling hands behind her back.
"I said I want to leave. I don't want to stay here anymore. I want to go home. To Vale." Weiss grasped her hands, pain in her heart at the look her mother gave her. Willow's lip parted as she looked at her. Jacques furrowed his brow.
"I don't give a damn what you want, young lady. This isn't about you or whatever stupid fairy tale you have stuck in your head. This is about the Schnee family name and you ruining this family!" Weiss scowled, stepping towards her father.
"Me? I'm not the one who ruined this family." Her father snorted.
"Oh? And what would you call that little stunt you did for that song? Hm? You've been doing nothing but raking our family name through the mud!"
"A family you married into to!"
Weiss flinched as her father's hand shot out. He grunted as a hand grabbed his wrist, yanking his arm away from Weiss' face. Willow scowled at him, her gripe a vice on his skeletal wrist. Jacques sneered, and yanked his hand free.
"Weiss is right, Jacques. And you need to remember whose family this truly is." Jacques growled, turning away from Weiss.
"I can't expect a drunk like you to understand the lengths I've gone to to keep this family where it is. The things I've had to see because of those damn Animals in the White Fang. But her," he shoved a finger at Weiss "little tangent of teenage rebellion has done serious harm to our brand image. It's going to take me a long time to fix our standing with the press. To find new partners while I deal with this embargo."
"The Schnee family is not some brand for you to sell! It's my family's legacy. And you're not going to be the one to fix it." Weiss said. Her parents looked at her. "I am going to do that the way I know how. As a Hunter. Just like my grandfather." Willow bit her lip, and Jacques stared at her with cold eyes.
"No. You won't. You're to remain here, in this mansion, until I can find you a proper husband and get you out of my hair." Willow frowned.
"I'm not going to let you marry her off to Maximus. He's too old! And Weiss is…" Willow trailed off, glancing at Weiss. Jacques narrowed his eyes, looking between the two of them.
"Weiss is what?" Willow chewed on her lip. Weiss stepped forward.
"I'm gay." Jacques cocked an eyebrow.
"I'm sure Maximus will be able to fix that." Weiss' mouth fell open, her eyes widening in shock.
"Jacques!" Willow yelled.
"We'll be lucky if even he wants to marry her after the stunt she pulled. Whatever silly notions Weiss has in her head about women, I'm sure will be fixed once she's had a taste of the real world." Jacques said. Weiss scowled, gnashing her teeth together.
"You can't do this! I'm the Heiress to this company! You can't just… just… I'm a person, you can't treat me like this!" Willow looked away as Jacques pulled his scroll out. Weiss eyed it, glancing at her father's face, at the blank mask he wore.
"I can. You're my daughter. And no longer my heir." Weiss' eyes widened, dread shooting through her.
"Excuse me?"
"It's become apparent that the trauma you received during the Fall was greater than any of us could have imagined. I would have chocked your misbehavior up to your hormones but your sibling has shown us just how damaged your mind has become."
"What are you-?" The words died on her tongue as her father pressed on his scroll, a recording playing on the screen.
She saw herself walking toward her night stand, her sleeve rolled up, a trickle of blood on her scar covered arm. She held the razor in her hand.
"Mirror, tell me something. Who's the loneliest of all?"
Her reflection didn't answer, the Weiss in the mirror mimicking her expressions.
"Can a heart be turned to stone?" Her reflection didn't answer. Weiss stepped closer to the dresser, shifting the razor in her hand. "Why wouldn't you let me hide from me?" No response. Weiss snorted, and smirked at the glass. "Mirror, what's this thing I see? Who is staring back at me? A stranger to my heart has filled my mind." Nothing. Weiss regripped the razor, sneering at the mirror. "Mirror, help me." Weiss pulled her arm back, raising the razor into the air. "Who am I?!" Weiss shouted.
The mirror remained silent.
Weiss hurled the razor, smiling as the glass shattered, shards flying into the air. Her smile fell after a moment.
"You're right. I can't get rid of you. But that doesn't mean that I need to listen to you anymore." Weiss shut her eyes, taking a deep breath. The recording ended, frozen on the image of her exhaling, opening her eyes.
Weiss fell to her knees, her legs feeling like gelatin, her eyes watering. Willow came to her side, wrapping an arm around her.
Why…
I… I had been so careful
"When your sibling showed us that footage, your mother wanted to send you to a," her father threw up air quotes "'doctor', to get treatment."
"It's what she needs, Jacques! We can't just get rid of her and marry her off! She's our daughter, and she needs help!"
"Do you have any idea how much worse our image would look if news leaked that a member of the Schnee family was in a psych ward?"
"Fuck our image!" Willow shouted. Willow grabbed the sides of Weiss' face, her touch gently as she made Weiss look at her. "Weiss, sweetie, what do you see in the mirror? Who were you talking to?" Weiss' eyes darted to her shattered nightstand as she heard Mirror giggle. Willow looked at the mirror, gripping Weiss' face. "Is it there, Weiss?"
Mirror smiled at her, resting a hand on her lips as she laughed. Weiss squeezed her eyes shut, taking a deep breath.
"She's there."
"What is she like?"
"Her… her name is Mirror. She looks, and sounds like me. Only she… she…" Weiss trailed off, Mirror's laughter growing.
Weiss opened her eyes as her mother hugged her. Her father's face betrayed no emotion as he looked down on them. He straightened his tie.
"Until your mother and I can come to an agreement on your future, you're to remain here at the estate. You're not allowed to leave without our permission, and the staff will make sure you are here at all times."
Her father turned to leave, pausing as he opened the door, lingering in the doorway. Her mother gave her one final hug before getting to her feet. She wiped at her eyes.
"I… I understand if you're angry with me, Weiss. But after what happened, I just want you to be okay. I want you to be safe." Weiss said nothing, looking away. She heard her mother leave, and her door click shut.
Whitley glanced at the clock on his wall. Five…Four….
The door flew open, smashing against his wall.
"WHITLEY!" Weiss yelled. Whitley smiled at her politely.
"You're early, dear sister."
Weiss stormed in, her heels clicking angrily against the tiles. Her icy eyes were filled with wrath.
"Why would you do that?!" Weiss demanded. Whitley shrugged, keeping his hands behind his back. Weiss snarled, narrowing her eyes at him, crossing her arms.
"I had a feeling that you would do something to anger father during your concert; I just kept that little conversation between you and your friend as a way to get mother to agree to his terms." The wrath turned to disbelief.
"You… you wanted this to happen? Why?"
"I'm doing you a favor, Weiss. You can rest easy knowing the Schnee family name will be in my hands. You can spend your days helping people the best way you know how." Weiss looked away, rubbing her wrists.
"I won't be able to help anyone if they have their way." Whitley smiled, pulling the sword case out from behind him.
"You expect me to believe that Weiss Schnee is going to just sit around and wait to be sent off to an asylum or get married off to an old pervert?" Weiss stared at the case, hesitating before taking it from him. She popped the locks, opening it, her eyes widening as she looked at her sword.
"H-how-?" Weiss looked up from Myrtenaster. "Where-?"
"It's amazing the things you can find in Father's office when he's not around. He stowed that away so long ago, I'm sure he won't miss it." Weiss eyed him, closing the sword case.
"Why are you helping me?" He laughed, hoping it sounded sincere.
"I just want what's best for you, dear sister. Becoming the Heir was nothing personal. It was just business." Weiss narrowed her eyes at him before turning and leaving. A glyph materialized on his door a few seconds later, the door swinging shut.
Whitley chuckled.
She set her sword case on her nightstand, smiling as she popped the locks on it. She grabbed Myrtenaster's handle, enjoying the familiar weight of its cold steel grip. She lifted the sword up, holding it in front of her.
Time to get back into perfect form.
Tyrian's tail darted back, sliding behind her, swishing in the air. She cocked her head to the side in confusion, looking him over.
"Qrow? What are you doing here?" Qrow scowled, taking a stance, the end of his scythe pointed at her. Tyrian frowned, looking at Ruby. "Why are you protecting that unholy creature?" Tyrian's arm shot behind her, grabbing Nora's hammer as it swung down; Nora grunted in surprise, dangling in the air. Tyrian's lips parted, narrowing her eyes at him. "Have you," she limply tossed Nora aside; Nora screamed as she was flung into the nearby building. "Betrayed our Goddess?"
"Ruby. Run." Qrow said.
"Bu-!"
She lunged forward, laughing. He swung, sparks flying as her claws slammed into his scythe. She yanked her claws free, swinging at his gut, her tail shooting at his head. He ducked, the stinger shooting past, knocking her claws aside.
She danced back as he swung at her, chortling. She leapt at him, swinging her leg. Qrow spun aside, whirling his scythe. Tyrian laughed, contorting and spinning against the ground, launching up, kicking his scythe away. She lunged at him, slashing with her claws. He yelled, slamming his scythe against her, launching her into the air.
She flipped in the air, skidding against the ground, raking her claws against the stone as she landed, smiling. Qrow rushed forward, running past Ruby's friends, leaping at her with a yell.
Tyrian darted aside, Qrow's scythe slamming into the ground. He yanked it free, her stinger slamming into his blade. He grunted, Tyrian's stinger darting back, her claws shooting out. He grit his teeth, her claws raking over his blade. He shoved forward, knocking her back. He swung, spinning with the blade, his leg shooting out.
She laughed, sliding beneath him, springing up behind him. He swung his scythe behind him, a jolt going up his arm as he claws slammed into it. He spun around, knocking her tail aside as it rushed past his head. He grit his teeth, whirling his scythe, her tail clinking against it.
He swung his scythe down, yelling, sparks erupting as her claws caught his blade. He snarled, shoving down, his lip curling as her legs buckled, forcing her to her knees. She smirked at him, glancing aside, at where Ruby was.
Gunfire rained from her claws. Qrow gasped, yanking his scythe free, leaping in front of the hail, twirling his scythe, snarling as the flames and sparks rushed past him. Tyrian laughed, running around him. Qrow spun, keeping pace, his scythe a blur.
Ren darted forward; her back was to them. He leapt forward, Storm Flower raised. Tyrian's spine bent, looking up at him with a smile. She flipped; Ren gasped, his blades slicing thin air. He yelled as her foot slammed into his head, grunting as she spun around, her claws slashed against his chest. He felt the air get ripped from his lungs as she kicked him to the ground, rushing past him, laughing.
He leapt in front of Tyrian, catching her claws with his scythe. He grunted, his arms trembling as she shoved against him. He glanced back at them.
"Stay back!" he shouted.
Ruby scowled, watching her uncle force the woman away from them. She ran over to a nearby building, her rifle popping into place as she began to climb to the roof.
Qrow raised his scythe as Tyrian vaulted over him, landing, and her stinger darting out at him. He sidestepped it, snarling as Tyrian leapt at him, twirling in the air, sparks jumping as her claws ripped across his scythe. He ducked as her leg shot out, slicing at her; she laughed as she dodged his swings, flattening herself against the ground before springing into the air, firing at him. He whirled his scythe, the shrapnel flying past him. Her tail shot into the ground; she laughed, bullets raining from her wrists, balancing on her tail. He leapt aside, pulling the trigger on his scythe.
She launched herself into the air, the shotgun blast shooting past her. She spun in the air, landing on her feet, her tail shooting at him.
He raised his scythe, gasping as her tail wrapped around his staff, ripping it from his grasp, flinging it aside, embedding into the side of a building.
She smirked, lunging at him. He ducked under her swings, sprinting to his weapon. He grunted, falling to the ground. He glanced back, her tail was wrapped around his ankle. She waved at him, her smirk growing.
There was a crack of thunder, dust and stone flying into the air next to her. Tyrian's smile fell, looking up at one of the buildings. Her tail released his leg as she danced aside, smirking as Ruby fired at her, dust and stone raining around her.
Qrow bolted, grabbing the staff of his scythe, glancing back.
Tyrian lunged at him, her claws embedding into the wall. He leapt onto his scythe, spring boarding from it, and yanking it free, grabbing the roof of the building before yanking himself up.
He spun around as she leapt into the air, slashing down with her claws. He slid against the tiles, sparks falling onto him. Tyrian backflipped off his scythe, landing and spinning, lunging at him. He jumped away, whirling to face her. Tyrian fell through a hole in the roof, her tail darting out, catching a beam. She spun up, firing at him as she launched herself up. He spun his scythe, slicing the bullets, gritting his teeth and throwing his scythe forward, catching her blow as she landed.
They caught each other's blows, grunting, sparks illuminating the darkness as they slashed and hacked at each other. Qrow dodged a slash, leaping back, landing near the edge of the roof. Tyrian sprinted forward, yelping as the ground gave way beneath her. Qrow gasped, yelling as her tail darted around his ankle, yanking him down into the darkness.
Ruby watched the roof collapse, and snarled. She leapt from the roof, rose petals trailing in the air as she rushed to building.
Qrow grunted as her foot slammed into his chest. The wall behind him shattered, stones flying as he was flung through the air. He hurled his scythe, slamming into its staff, stones flying as he skidded. He stood up, balancing on his weapon, his aura crackling crimson.
Tyrian lunged from the smoke, laughing.
Ruby darted in front of her uncle, grimacing as the woman's claws hit her scythe.
"Ruby! I told you to run!"
"This is my fight too!"
The woman yanked her claws free, her leg shooting out and slamming into Qrow's chest as he rushed her. Ruby swung, the woman's stinger bouncing off of her scythe blade. She slashed at the woman, grimacing as the woman's claws slammed against her scythe. She yanked her weapon free, gasping as the stinger shot forward.
Qrow lunged between them, knocking the stinger aisde, catching the woman's claws as she swung at him. Ruby darted forward, screaming as she swung her scythe. The woman smiled, yanking one of her claws free, catching her blade, sparks raining down. The woman glanced at Qrow, smirking. The woman yanking her claw free, Qrow stumbling.
Ruby gasped as the woman's boot slammed into her face, launching her backwards, skidding against the hard stones. Ruby groaned, rising to her feet, gripping her scythe.
"Ruby!"
Her eyes widened in shock as a wood pillar fell from the roof. She grunted as she was tackled to the ground, the stones digging into her back. Her uncle released her, getting to his feet, spinning to face-
Qrow screamed, the stinger stabbing into his stomach. Ruby's eyes widened, her jaw dropping. The woman smirked, blood dripping onto the stones.
Ruby dashed forward, screaming, rose petals billowing as she swung her scythe. The woman screeched, blood and venom spurting into the air as her tail was sliced in half. The woman scurried back, hissing and screaming.
"You bitch!" she screamed.
Ruby glowered at the woman, stepping in front of her uncle, raising her scythe. Nora and Ren ran in front of her, their weapons raised. The woman grimaced, blood dripping from her tail. She was mumbling, her hands and neck twitching as she stared at them. The woman screamed at them, before turning and sprinting off, the darkness consuming her.
Ruby turned, dropping her scythe as her uncle fell to his knees.
"Uncle Qrow! Are you okay?" Her uncle grimaced before flashing her a smile, a hand going to his stomach. His breathing was labored, sweat coating his body.
"I'll be fine. I've had worse." Ruby felt her hands trembling as she saw his clothes grow dark with blood. She grabbed his shoulder's, leaning him against her.
"Uncle Qrow… what's going on? Who was that? Why are people after me?"
Her uncle didn't answer for a moment, his breathing labored. He looked up at her, smiling.
"What's your favorite fairy tale?"