Big Issues
AN: Finally finished this chapter and it's a long one! Thanks to Driller63 and skyrimasterarcher for following this series! I hope you all enjoy this as we go in new directions.
Goodbyes and Hellos
To Weiss, spending a day full of training was nothing new anymore. It could be anything from hitting the gym, sparring with the rest of the Ace Ops or even the occasional Atlesian Academy student, to watching and studying tactics used by other teams through history. Everything was dedicated towards improving her skills physically and mentally. Training with Winter was usually the most trying for the young Schnee, practicing her summoning was a test of her patience as she had to find the right frame of mind to summon successfully.
Then came actually using the beast in question. Her first real successful summon wound up being a Beowolf… that stood waist high.
"You know… I never thought a Grimm could look… adorable." Weiss comments as she scratches her Grimm between the ears, causing it to lean into her touch. It was such a drastic difference from the normal ones with its white fur, mask, claws, and exposed bones while its eyes are a brilliant blue.
Winter couldn't hide the proud smile as she watched her sister. "Given that they are born from our aura and experiences, it is natural that our summons will be drawn to us as their masters. Under our guidance, what was once a mindless beast will be a loyal ally that is more capable than its former brethren."
"I don't think this little guy will be doing much in a fight." Weiss couldn't stop the giggle from coming out when her Beowolf flopped to the floor with its belly exposed and tongue hanging out as it panted and begged for belly rubs.
"You may be surprised." Winter squatted down to give the Grimm what it wanted, and it's leg twitches in pleasure. "But he'll be good for practicing getting used to combat with your summons."
Winter stood and walked away a few steps, drawing her scroll from her pocket and input a few commands. Soon, a handful of Atlesian Knights walked through a door unarmed.
"These Knights will be perfect for testing how well your summoned Grimm will listen to your orders." She explains for her sister. "It may be best for you to tell it your commands at first. Over time, your will alone will be enough for your summons to fight by your side,"
Weiss stood at attention and looked down at her Beowolf… only to find it now chasing its own tail, causing her to sweat nervously at the sight while finding it also extremely funny. 'I can only imagine how much Ruby would be laughing if she saw this.'
"You will need to focus!" Winter's voice cut through the otherwise quiet training room. "You can think of your summons as your primal urges. In this case, I can see that you are still very excited for finally succeeding in your first step of using your summoning aspect of the Schnee Semblance. You must keep your mind on the goal if your Grimm will be of any use to you beyond a parlor trick."
"Right!" The young, and arguably wider Schnee snaps to attention with a sharp salute, the Grimm by her side stopping its antics to stand there and wait. Weiss felt joy surge through her at the sight and the tail began to wag happily, forcing her to clamp down on her emotions and face the Knights that were now scattered around them. "Now," She points at the nearest mech. "Attack!"
With a growl, the white, diminutive Grimm charged and pounced. It landed on the machines chest and knocked onto its back and began biting at the arms. But due to its size, it lacked the strength to do much to the limb.
"Not bad, I'll admit. Now bring it back." Winter maintained her stoic composure as she watched and guided her sister's training.
"Come." Weiss says, pointing to the floor where the Grimm had stood next to her. It merely stopped gnawing on the metal to look at her for a few seconds before returning to the 'attack'. The summoner stood in shock, mouth agape as her Grimm ignored her.
A hand on her shoulder snapped her back to reality. "Calm yourself, Weiss. Focus and command. Eventually it will become second nature and you will not have to speak your orders."
Weiss nodded and took a deep breath. "Come." She orders with a slap to her thick thigh for emphasis. The Grimm stops again and looks at her. "Come!" She says again with another slap and pointing at the floor.
With a small whine, the Beowolf walked back to its master. Once next to her, it received a few pets and scratches between the ears. "Good boy."
"Very good." Winter was freely showing her pride, for a few moments. "Now, let's try working on the attacks again." Nearby, the fallen mech stood up for another round.
—-
If there was one thing that Blake was worried about, it was her parents asking for details about how things were at Beacon. Since the letter was sent to Sienna Khan yesterday, the family had been doing their best to talk about the happy times that they had while they were separated. Now, Kali had just finished telling a story about how one of her friends had accidentally dyed her white clothes pink thanks to some red clothes being mixed in.
"It only made things worse that she's NOT a fan of pink!" The mother laughs at the misery of her friend. "How about you Blake? Anything funny happen with you at Beacon?"
The younger cat hid her blush behind her teacup as some memories came back to her. Unfortunately, that proved to be a mistake.
"Oh! You mean like when I tried to introduce my buddy Neptune to her team and walked into RWBY and JNPR having a food fight in the cafeteria?" Sun filled the silence that Blake had provided… and made her choke on her drink while her parents looked to her for an explanation.
Blake coughed to clear her throat, taking the time to 'accidently' drive her elbow into the blonde's ribs.
"Justice will be swift! Justice will be painful! It will be delicious!" A very familiar voice came from a speaker as a wall was lit up by the holographic television activating. The family of three and the two friends looking on to see a teenage girl squeezing a carton of milk until it ruptured in her hands.
"Yeah!" Three girls rose up from behind the table their caped leader was standing on with fists raised as they cheered.
Blake dropped her face into her hands as she listened to the fight playing out. From Jaune being taken out by turkeys to Weiss being slammed into a pillar to Yang being launched through the ceiling by Nora with a watermelon to herself being taken out by Pyrrha hurtling cans of soda at her. The fight concludes by Ruby creating a whirlwind with her semblance to slam JNPR into the far wall and jumping out of the way as all of the food that was picked up by the wind colliding with the team.
It was interesting to see that Sun had managed to dodge everything that came at him besides some minor secondary splash as Neptune got the worst of it from their place by the door.
"How did you get that?" The boy asks Itazura. "Can I have a copy?"
"It was easy to get, I found it from the security cameras. How else did you think that Ozpin and Glynda got there so fast?"
"I dunno, there were a lot of people running away screaming." Kali noted with some concern but she had a cheshire grin on her face directed at her daughter.
Blake kept her face in her hands, only spreading her fingers enough for an amber orb to peek through. "We… were caught up in the moment."
Ghira chuckles at seeing Ozpin letting the students off the hook despite Goodwitch's protests. "Hmmm, I'm just surprised how lenient your headmaster was about the destruction you did in just a few minutes. Look at all of that food gone to waste." The words came off as condemning the actions of the teams but his tone was one of disbelief that his antisocial and reclusive daughter would participate so willingly mixed with plenty of amusement.
"Come on Sun, let's get to training." Blake quickly blurts to get out of the embarrassing conversation, grabbing his wrist and dragging him along with her. They only stopped to put their boots/shoes on, being joined by Itazura as they did.
Outside, the three made their way towards the western side of Kuo Kuana where the town gave way to the forest. They had learned that there were the occasional Grimm that would make it over the mountains from the desert and the Guard would have to locate and eliminate the threats. But the Guard weren't as trained as a Huntsman, specializing more on civic disputes than Grimm but they did what they could to fill the gap in skills. They were simply lucky enough that Grimm incursions were rare enough that they were a low threat to the faunus population centers on Menagerie.
Thus the two Huntresses and Huntsman began to follow the paths that the Guard had made from regular patrols over the years into the forest. They didn't expect to run into anyone thanks to the distances and randomization of the patrols.
"You know, I could have shown Kali the pictures of you two sleeping together." Itazura finally speaks.
The bottom heavy cat suddenly stopped, her frame filling the path. She stood rigidly and her fists clenched.
"Hey, maybe we can calm down a bit?" Sun interjects, knowing well the signs of Blake about to snap in anger.
"Alright, I'll slow the pace." The fox relents.
The phrasing made Blake's ears snap upright and swivel back. "What was that?"
"You know that they are going to see them eventually." Itazura teased. "Maybe we should ease them into seeing you together with your dance pictures. Those were pretty nice. Even got a few vids too."
In a flash, Blake turned and jumped at the fox, only for the smaller girl to dive under her with a laugh and take off down the path. Blake ran after her, followed by Sun… after he pulled himself out of the bush he had been knocked into. At least he was sure that Blake wouldn't do much worse than giving their friend a wedgie again, he hoped.
At the same time, he hoped that Itazura would really ease up with the teasing as he followed after them.
"I'm trying to ease my family into my life! Stop butting in!" He could hear Blake yelling as the fox chase went on.
"You know… maybe I'll let them work things out." The monkey says to himself and takes to the trees for a better view of the land.
—-
"How's the new Milo holding up?" Jaune asks Pyrrha as they take a small break in the Emerald Forest after killing a pack of Grimm. Just another two dozen less threats to Vale and Beacon.
The tall Spartan warrior held her newly forged sword up to the bright sunlight and inspected it with a critical eye. She had to admit, she never expected to have to reforge her own weapon until a few weeks ago. Since she was able to get up on her own two feet again and begin the repairs, she was feeling complete again.
She had to melt down Milo due to the extensive damage it endured from Cinder melting the blade. There were too many components that telescoped into each other and the small gears and other parts that allowed Milo to switch between xyphos, spear, and rifle to simply dismantle and replace. Honestly, she was surprised that the Dust rounds didn't explode from the heat that destroyed the weapon. The smelting process did make sure that those rounds detonated though.
Reforging the weapon took some time, having to bring up the plans for all of its pieces and fittings, along with adding new material and alloys to make it stronger and more heat resistant. She took the time to do the same with Akouo while she was at it.
"It's holding up quite well." Pyrrha answered as she gazed at her weapon fondly. There wasn't a nick or chip or roll in the cutting edges at all. The new paint was like the old sword, the red and bronze making it distinctively hers to match her armor. Speaking of which, she had added a set of pauldrons to her armor, covering her shoulders for added protection. She may not have exactly the same range of motion that she had without the extra protection, but after nearly having been killed by Cinder she was willing to take some minor annoyance for the increased armor.
The pauldrons sat well on her broad shoulders though now that she had something new to her mission gear, she began thinking about reworking her looks at some point. Her circlet was something that she loved, being a gift from her mother, and removing that was nonnegotiable. The rest… she'd have to work on that later but maybe some extra armor on her feet would be good. She could feel the pain of the arrow in her flesh vividly when she thought about that night, and after the surgery to repair the damaged bones and tendons, she could really feel her bad foot after a long day of work. Maybe some footwear with extra shock absorption should be looked into for later.
"That's great to hear. And it doesn't look like you lost much while you were out of action." Jaune compliments his partner.
"My skills don't match up to what they were before. But it's not as though I lost anything around my waistline while I was healing." Pyrrha's tone soured slightly towards the end. Her armor was a snug fit before while at the tournament, now, she would have to massage her legs for a few minutes to get the circulation back to normal once she took it off. Yet another reason for needing new armor.
The blonde looked to his teammate and mentor in swordsmanship. While he had noticed that she had put on some weight while she was forced into inactivity, he didn't say anything about it to her; growing up with seven sisters had given him a healthy respect for a woman's wrath if that would be brought up. It didn't matter if he doubted that Pyrrha could be that way towards him.
That and he was sure that she could kick his butt with ease as she has in the few spars they had done for training.
He was also dreading being alone with Pyrrha; they had yet to talk about that night when she had kissed him. Right now, they may be alone together but were on a mission. Back at their shelter, privacy was reserved for bathing or toilet, making having a conversation of something like that difficult to not be interrupted by those around them.
Since the attack, he had kept a closer eye on his teammate and saw her in a new light thanks to that kiss revealing so many feelings that were hidden from him. Not to mention the ones that were bubbling up within himself. He knew that Pyrrha was a beautiful woman since they had first met in the locker room before initiation but he had an infatuation with Weiss that lasted until the night before the dance. Then at the dance, she had confided so much to him, about how she felt about her fame, how her talents intimidated others, how it was HIM who saw her as just another student.
So many thoughts about their time together over the course of most of the year where he saw just how good she is, how lonely she was, her kindness to others, and her patience in training him in swordsmanship. It really made him want to bash his head into a wall for his earlier ignorance about her… and now he was clueless and scared to address that topic.
For Pyrrha, she was in much of the same boat as Jaune with her insecurities about talking to her teammate and leader, unwittingly but not surprising. She had no idea about how she would talk to him about her feelings for him, the one time she had acted at all, she had kissed him out of nowhere and marched off to what she thought would be her death.
It made her guts twist to think about hiding her feelings for much longer but doubled the discomfort when trying to figure out a way to express them.
"You're done already!" The sudden shout shocked both partners out of their thoughts as they snapped their attention to Nora, the shortest member of their team having seemingly popped out of nowhere… again. The hammer girl gazing around the small clearing that the taller teammates had used as a battleground.
"Nora, you don't need to shout." Ren admonishes his best friend as he walks up to his team at a far more sedate pace.
The pair of friends had finished off their own pack or Grimm not too far away, easily within Nora's yelling range. Once they were done, they simply followed the sound of combat until it ended, finding the taller partners standing around looking awkward.
"Are you ready for what is next?" The ninja asks his leader with his usual stoicism.
"I suppose I am. We got everything we need?"
"Everything we could get for the immediate future is in the tent and packed." Pyrrha responds. While she may have stood tall and at attention with her hands behind her back, she was showing signs of nervousness. As much as she wished that she could have contacted her mother in Argus about how she was doing, the fact that the CCT was currently disabled had limited her to sending a few letters over the past few months since before the Vytal Tournament began when she had been wished good luck.
"We're used to the road, so no problems here!" As cheery as Nora acted, there was a touch of sadness in her tone. For her and Ren, Beacon was their home. Before that, all they had was a small combat school in Mistral to provide a roof over their heads.
"We simply need to make our way to our first stop." Ren adds.
—-
If there was a time for Ruby to be scared, this was one of them. She had been terrified beyond belief back at Beacon when she saw that the Grimm Wyvern was about to eat her and Weiss. All she could really remember was yelling her partner's name before everything went white… then black, only to wake up days later in the hospital.
There was that time she had been captured by the White Fang and Roman Torchwick, but as scared as she was then, she was more defiant than anything else. Fighting Roman and Neo on top of the battleship? She was too focused on stopping them to really feel fear. Even when she found Yang covered in her own blood and nearly having her arm cut off, whatever fear she had for her sister's safety only galvanized her determination.
In short, it was surprising to her that of all of the things that had happened over her life of sixteen years, nearly all of the things that have scared her have happened over the past year. And the biggest source of fear came from the near death experience of Weiss. Seeing Blake stabbed and bloody, she was in good hands with Sun around and she was moving on her own yet. Yang… Denko had been there for her doing what he could and had given her the best medical attention he could in a warzone without supplies.
Now, Weiss was with Winter in Atlas, Blake was with Sun, and Yang has Denko here with Dad. She didn't need to worry about them now. She had other friends that were coming to help her, friends with similar goals to her own and no small amount of determination to match her own to do their duties as Huntsmen and Huntresses.
She stood from the lone desk in the room with a sheet of paper in her hand, giving one last look around the room she shared with her sister. The young woman was the closest thing she had to a mother that she could truly remember, her own never returning from a mission and presumed dead when she was too young to understand much of anything. A few tears were shed as she looked at the bed with orange sheets… How many times had she woken up since Beacon to Yang having a nightmare? How many did she not know about as she dealt with her own? How many times did Yang go to Denko for comfort? She couldn't count how many times she had woken up in a cold sweat or in Yang's arm. The concern from her father and Denko during those nights… she hated making them worry about her.
A glance at the paper in her hand made her realize that with what she was about to do, she was going to make everyone in this house worry about her constantly.
But she had people she could trust to watch her back and she would watch theirs in turn. She just hoped that she wouldn't run into anyone in the house for fear of breaking her resolve. So she went to the window, dropping the note on her bed as she went with a text from Jaune saying that he was at the meeting spot with his team.
This was the first time in roughly a year that she tried going through the window… and being three times bigger with the addition of a heavily loaded backpack and Crescent Rose made it far more difficult than she remembered. She had to settle for setting the pack on the roof outside and try squeezing through after it.
"What was that noise?" Yang asks as she opens the door to find Ruby halfway through the window, having some trouble getting her rump through with one leg on the roof and the other still in the room.
"Eep!"
"Ruby!"
"That explains a few things." Denko comments as he peeks over Yang's shoulder.
Yang immediately marched over and yanked her sister back in by her belt, not particularly caring that Ruby's head hit the window frame in the process.
"What do you think you are doing?" The blonde nearly yelled at her sister as she held her in place by the shoulder, her grip as strong as ever.
"This might save some trouble." Denko says as he holds up the note for Yang to read, her captive dropping her head in shame.
It didn't take Yang more than a few seconds to read through the few sentences written on the page, tears already welling up by the time she finished.
"You were running away." It wasn't a question and Ruby only nodded with her head down, still with her sister's vice-like grip on her shoulder and back against the wall. Denko reached outside and retrieved the backpack before closing the window to keep the heat in.
"You weren't going to tell us? Me?" The sister continues the interrogation.
Denko could see the tears from both girls running down their cheeks and starting to drip to the floor, but decided to remain a silent observer.
"You wrote that you were going with JNPR. Where are they?"
"Here on Patch." Ruby's voice was barely more than a whisper.
"Call them here so we can talk." Yang's tone left no room for arguments and Ruby was too broken to defy her now that she was caught.
The cloaked girl pulled out her scroll and texted Jaune, the message for the team to come to the house in clear view of the blondes. Then they walked downstairs, Denko sending a message to Tai to come home behind the girls backs.
Downstairs, the three sat down with the girls on the couch while Denko sat on the chair as they waited for the team to arrive. They didn't have to wait long for the knock at the door and the young man brought the four in. It wasn't hard to see that each of them were carrying packs ready for a long journey, much like Ruby's next to her.
It was also notable that Qrow was with them, the last time he'd been around was to say that he was investigating things for Glynda.
"I was on my way here when I ran into them. Looks like they are going on a big mission and about to say goodbye…" the usually drunken Huntsman trailed off when he saw Ruby sitting on the couch with a filled pack and her weapon, Yang sitting next to her looking cross. "Oh. Oooh!" The pieces began to fall in place… it was also something that was almost too familiar to him.
"So, mind telling us what's going on?" Yang asks as she settles her gaze on Jaune knowing that he would be the easiest to break and spill everything.
"You're looking good, Yang." The knight nervously laughs.
The tubby blonde simply narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms, Denko and Qrow standing by the door behind her adding some intimidation factor.
Ren sat calmly, but was internally nervous. Nora was looking around, focusing on anything but the family that called this home. On the plus side, it helped to sedate her curiosity about the sisters home. Pyrrha was doing her best to hide her nerves thanks to plenty of practice with the press over the years.
Jaune sat wide eyed and sweating before he hung his head with a heavy sigh. "Fine!" He finally broke after a few seconds.
"And?" Yang pushed as she was getting impatient.
"We… were going to Mistral to investigate where Cinder was." The blonde was quiet as he spoke.
"Mistral? Why there?" Qrow was the first to voice the question.
"Because that's where she said she was from. That was the school that she somehow got into to get to Beacon." Ruby finally spoke, still facing the floor.
"You don't think that Haven has been looking into that already?" Yang asks her sister.
"Communication on a global scale is broken right now until the Beacon CCT is fixed." Denko answers.
"That's right. Since we come from Mistral, we believed we were best to go there and ask in person. Maybe assist where we can before returning to Professor Goodwitch with the answer." Pyrrha explains their plan.
"Hmm…" Qrow cups his chin and feels the stubble from not having shaved for a few days. "That's not a bad idea to be honest."
"Qrow?" Denko looks at the man.
"Mistral was pretty quiet before the Vytal Festival, having someone to report there and back may be the way things were done before the CCT but like you said, we're screwed until the Tower at Beacon gets repaired." The older man thinks out loud.
"What are you saying?" Yang asks her uncle. Ruby raised her head to look at the man beside her.
"What I'm saying is that we may not have much of a choice in the matter. I'm actually surprised that Leo hasn't sent anyone here himself with that same idea. They would have been here weeks ago if he did." The caped man had begun pacing in the room, though the number of occupants and their sizes helped to make the room feel smaller.
"So you are agreeing with them?" Yang was incredulous.
"Sorry Firecracker, but some stuff needs to be done." He paused to look at his eldest niece. "But tell me, does Glynda know about this?" He asks the assembled team, and smirks as they begin to squirm.
"I get it. I get it. I'll clear it with Glynda so she at least knows where you disappeared to." The veteran assures them.
"Qrow!"
"Sorry Yang, this needs to be done as fast as possible. I've been stuck investigating things in other directions and clearing out some of the strongest Grimm that the Kingdom of Vale has to offer. Otherwise, I'd have done this myself. Not to mention the rest of the Huntsmen busy helping to keep things safe and assisting with the rebuilding."
"Denko?"
"He's got a point." Denko shrugs.
"You guys really ready to go?" The blonde asks the team across from her.
"You bet your fat ass we are!" Nora was far too excited in her response, yet it was also in line with how she normally is.
"We've been preparing for weeks." Ren adds.
"I know you are worried, Yang. But we watch over each other." Pyrrha tries to assuage the disabled girl.
"Yang?" Ruby begins. "Remember what you said before? How the only way I could go on a mission was with a team?"
Yang stared at her sister with wide eyes at the question. On one hand, she would be watching her little sister leaving the house, not knowing when she'd come back or even see her again. Memories of Summer kissing them goodbye with promises to return passed through her mind. Yet she was reminded by that memory of how much Ruby resembled their Mother and her determination to do right as best she could no matter what. There was also the part of her using her own words against her, making her feel pride that Ruby was truly growing up to be her own person.
It took her a few moments to let everything set in and find the words. "You guys really set on doing this?"
Looking around the room, she found five determined faces staring back at her. None of them let up, though Ruby had red eyes from the tears earlier.
"You'll watch out for each other?"
"Of course." Jaune assured her.
"Do you at least have a plan to get there?" Yang kept her eyes on the team, watching for any falter.
"We have a reservation for a flight to a town part way and we can tag along the trade routes with the pilot as they go to Mistral." Pyrrha explains.
"Can… can you at least stay for lunch? It's… been a while since we've been together." Yang relents with a heavy sigh.
—-
"While they're busy, we should talk." Denko tells Qrow as they stood outside.
"I can guess a few things." The man mutters before taking a swig from his flask.
"And I got a few things to talk about." The blonde crosses his arms.
"Alright, what is it?"
"You wouldn't happen to be going to Mistral anytime soon, would you?"
"Ah, I got ya." Qrow gives a small laugh. "But maybe I should make a stop over there. There's no way that Old Cat would tell them the really important information that he'd tell me."
"Alright. Next one, did you find anything around here?"
"I found plenty, Sparky, but nothing really too helpful for the big fight. Heard that Talon and Anya were investigating a certain room in the Beacon dorms. Found that it was bombed, poorly." He shakes his head at the last part, his conversation partner doing the same at the ineptitude. "But the girls found something there and they are digging into it themselves."
"That's good to hear. Maybe they could stop by sometime."
"I wouldn't count on it, they've been keeping themselves pretty busy. Depending on what they found, they could be occupied for a while."
"I get it." Denko accepts that his team will be scattered and occupied for the foreseeable future. It was at this time that he saw Taiyang pulling up to the house in the family car.
"What's going on?" The blonde man asks as he walks onto the porch.
The two men already there shared a glance before taking the next few minutes to explain the situation.
"You, you're just going to let them go?"
"Tai, Ruby is a big girl now and has people to watch her back. Besides, the mission is a simple delivery and pick-up of news from one kingdom to another. They are going to fly most of the way there anyway, so they could be there and back in a month or two." Qrow tries to calm his brother-in-law.
"Does this really need to be done by Ruby? I see how important it is but…"
"Tai. You know you can't hold onto her forever. Besides, Yang still needs you here." Qrow reminds him.
"It's just… she's my little girl."
"We all know that neither of them are little in any way." Qrow laughs at the man's worries.
"Just one more thing, now that Tai is here." Denko says seriously but quietly. "When are we going to tell her about her eyes?"
Both older men looked uncomfortable at the question. "We… had originally planned to tell her when she was eighteen and going to Beacon." Qrow mutters.
"When Oz got her in early, I kinda forgot in our rush to get her ready." The father admits.
Denko shrugs. "Fair enough, but she should know at least something before she goes and if I do it, she'd think it was a joke." He crosses his arms and leans on the wall to watch the men get even more uncomfortable with the thought of telling Ruby the family secret. At least one of them.
"Alright, we'll tell her before she leaves." Tai relents.
On the plus side of the day, he got to meet some of his daughter's friends and heard a few stories about what they got up to at Beacon.
—-
When Ruby saw her father walk through the door after her little stunt, she was sure that she'd be grounded for the rest of the year. Oddly enough, that wasn't the case. He simply sat down for lunch with her and the others, asking questions about them and their time at Beacon. She could see that he was interrogating her friends and understood why.
As much as it confused her at the ease she was getting away with running away with nothing but a note for him to find, the fact that Taiyang had walked in with Qrow and Denko clued her in; they must have spoken to him outside and convinced him there.
Honestly, she was glad for that as she didn't know if she could have snuck away if he was around. She was barely able to do it the first time with Yang still in the house. But given that her family was there to see her off, her confidence in doing this mission was at an all-time high.
"Try to stay safe and watch out for each other." Taiyang gives his daughter a tight hug. The backpack she wore made it next to impossible in addition to her own girth.
"I'll do my best, Dad." Ruby told him through her own tears.
"I know you will. You always do."
"Thanks. I won't let you down." His youngest daughter assured him with a small smile. She moved onto her sister who had undone the sling holding her right arm so it hung limply at her plush side, all so that there would be nothing between them as they embraced.
"I love you sis." Ruby buried her face into Yang's shoulder, neither minding the tears soaking into her collar.
"I love you too, Ruby." Yang responded, squeezing her sister into herself with all of the strength she could muster with one arm. That still resulted in the pair squished so tightly together that they could feel the other's heart through their chests.
"I promise that I'll be back."
"I'll hold you to that." With that, Yang released her sister so she could move on down the line.
Qrow was next, the last of her family and she didn't waste any time before giving him a hug. Thankfully, the man was used to her hugging him, though her mass was still enough to push him back a bit before he caught himself and returned the affection.
"Good luck out there, Shortstack. You're gonna need it."
"Thank you. Will I see you at Mistral?"
"Possibly. We'll have to see how my missions go."
Ruby moved on to Denko, the blonde now ready for her hug and returned the gesture. "Take care of Yang for me."
"Would you expect me not to?" He replies with some sarcasm, making the girl giggle.
"No. But I needed that."
"Still, take care of yourself and the others. Maybe we'll have a party when we're together again."
"Cake and ice cream?"
"We'll see what we can do." They released each other. "Go on and get out of here, your mission isn't gonna get done if you don't leave Patch."
Ruby stepped back and adjusted her backpack as Pyrrha and Nora gave Yang one last hug while Jaune and Ren shook hands with Taiyang, Qrow, and Denko.
It was the last time that they would see each other for a while, the three men and Yang watching the five young Huntsmen and Huntresses walking down the driveway to the woods, at the last point of visibility, Ruby turned around to give the four she was closest to who were around an energetic wave. Yang returned the wave and they were gone.
"C'mon Yang, let's get out of the cold." Denko bumps her right shoulder, reminding her that neither of them had put on jackets for the weather.
"Just… a few more moments." The girl was hesitant and he knew why. This was pretty much the first time that Ruby was going somewhere without her big sister to watch over her and it was a bittersweet moment for her. Denko put an arm over her shoulders, making her jump before leaning into the warmth.
"I understand, but you're shivering." He pointed out as he could feel the goosebumps and slight shakes from her.
"It's… it's just hard seeing her go without me around to make sure she's safe."
"Hey." He squeezed her a bit tighter to him briefly. "You're the one who helped make her the young woman she is now. She's strong enough to leave the nest because you made sure she had a good example and the training from you."
"Did you have trouble leaving us for Vacuo?"
Denko's eyes widened at the question, not expecting such a shift. He was silent for a few seconds to find the words. "This island had become the home that me and sis had wanted for so long. Of course it was hard. Plus, all of that sand and rocks made us miss the trees here a lot." He finished with a laugh.
"What about us?"
"Us?" He questions and thinks for a moment. "Your family is the most important group of people to me and sis." There was no hint of joking around with that answer. He never did when that particular subject came up. "And I'm not about to give up on my best friend either."
Yang smiled as he squeezed her shoulders again, though the warmth was short lived as a breeze picked up causing her to really shiver. Even if her right arm couldn't feel anything from below the elbow, she missed the insulation it provided over her belly.
"Let's warm up on the couch." She pulled him back inside the house. With a bit of assistance, her right arm was back in the sling and she had him pinned between the armrest and herself under a heavy warm blanket.
—-
"High Leader! I have a message for you."
Sienna Khan looked up from the large tablet that she used for managing the affairs for the White Fang. If there was one thing that annoyed her most right now, it was that the information she had available to her was on a slow trickle with the CCT network down thanks to the Beacon Tower heavily damaged. The reports that she had heard was that it was still standing and was undergoing extensive repairs, with many resources going to ensure that it would be functional as fast as possible.
She saved the work she had been doing and slipped the device into a slim pouch on the side of her throne. Walking towards her was her personal adviser, Mari Bell, a woman whose faunus trait was on her arms and legs that were often covered by loose sleeves and pants that allowed her to easily access the many tiny podia on the inside of her arms and back of her legs while the opposite side of the limbs in those areas have rougher, orange skin like that of a starfish.
"Who sent it?" Sienna asks, already feeling that today would be bad and was weighing her options about dismissing the letter depending on who it was sent by.
"Ghira Belladonna, madam."
That made her ears stand up at attention, as the rest of her sat up straight. It was rare for the man who passed his position onto her to send any communications, preferring to enjoy his retirement from the organization, even if he kept up with their activities thanks to the small branch on Menagerie.
Wordlessly, Sienna reached for the letter and took the paper and saw that it was his handwriting. Obviously, his communications to her were rare but when he did it was for something important. With the inability to call her directly, the letter was the best that he could do. A glance down the throne room revealed that a man wearing the uniform of the Menagerie Guard standing by the door, waiting for her to read and provide her reply.
Silently, she opened the sealed envelope and withdrew the few pages within, including the additional pages with the large symbols of the White Fang's original emblem and the Belladonna family on separate papers that ensured that they indeed come from the previous High Leader and prevented anyone from reading what was written by holding it up to the light. On the actual letter itself, she recognized the slight bit of coded jargon that only Ghira used to identify when orders came from him directly. She had her own code words for such cases as well, though the practice had waned a bit over the years and few of the elder officers still used them except between each other.
She read through the contents, not skipping a word and her brows furrowed further as she read more. By the time she had finished the pages, her free hand was clenched tight enough that her nails drew blood from her palm.
"Mari, ready my boat for Menagerie. I am going as soon as it is ready." Sienna seethed.
Mari noticed that the anger wasn't directed at her in the slightest and wasn't offended at all. "It will be done." She says before swiftly leaving through a door in the back for the private dock hidden underneath the palace with access to the open ocean through a cave.
Sienna sat back in her throne as she reread the letter for details she may have missed the first time. She hadn't but that didn't make her feel any better. Ghira may have sent her a rather generalized message about what happened at Beacon, but it was clear that he had much more information than she did, including witnesses… and he was all but demanding that she speak to him in person about it.
Normally, she would have just called him with their scrolls but given that he had pointedly said in the letter that he wanted things to be in person, it revealed how serious he was about this ordeal. She had to admit to herself that she was as curious as she was angry at some of the information he had written to prove his point.
On the other hand, a meeting on Menagerie with Ghira meant that Kali would be close by and she could catch up with her old friend. That was a small comfort compared to the deep sense of betrayal she was feeling from knowing that the Vale branch of the White Fang had participated in the Fall of Beacon.
She stewed in her thoughts for a few minutes, the guards in the room keeping silent the entire time and simply waiting for her to give them an order or for the shift change, whichever came first. Then Mari Bell returned and moved to stand right next to Sienna and bent down to whisper in her ears.
"My Lady, the boat is almost ready now and we will be towing the messengers boat with us."
"Good, then let us leave now." Sienna stood and stretched, tucking the letter into her pocket for safekeeping.
"There is one more thing, My Lady." Mari sounded almost worried at how Sienna would take the news she had.
"What is it?"
"Adam Taurus has just arrived."
At that moment, everyone felt the spike of anger washing over the throne room, even the guards at the far end, causing all of them to go on edge. Sienna seethed that Adam had taken his sweet time coming here and was ready to tear him a new one with her Cerberus Whip when she noticed that Mari hadn't moved and looked to have more.
"Anything else?" She asks as calmly as possible given her mood.
"Yes. Adam Taurus arrived with one other, a human. He carried no weapons, just some Dust crystals and basic supplies on his person. The human claims that he simply wishes to speak to you."
If there was one thing that Sienna could count on, it was that Mari would never lie to her. To even know the last time a human was on this island they would have to check the records in the archives in the vault. More often than not, any human that came here had little choice in the matter, washing up on the shores after a storm. She simply made sure that they were dropped off at the nearest port when that happened, usually giving them something to help them out for a night or two; she wasn't heartless.
But a human here to speak to her? Then he either is extremely confident in his abilities or incredibly stupid. And arriving with Adam? She knew that the younger Faunus had an even greater hatred for humans within him than most, easily eclipsing her extreme distrust. Which meant that the human was likely someone who had struck some sort of deal with Adam that made him push aside his hatred.
Then there was her desire to speak with Adam for the past two months weighing against the needs of Menagerie. There was also some curiosity raised about the human.
—-
"Lady Khan had just left to handle some business personally shortly before your arrival." Mari explains to the two men. "However, she should return within a few days so that you may have an audience with her then. In the meantime, she extends her hospitality to take residence in our guest rooms."
The large, burley man crossed his arms from where he casually leaned against the wall, not really giving much attention to the guards with weapons drawn and aimed at him. "That is acceptable." He spoke in a deep voice that rumbled in his throat. Lead the way." He pushed off the wall and moved to follow Mari Bell, with the guards escorting them.
"Where did Sienna go?" Adam asks, though it came as more of a demand.
"She had some business to attend to that needed immediate attention in these trying times. It is unfortunate that you did not arrive sooner or you could have caught her before she left." Mari gently admonished the bull Faunus. There was a slight tightening of his grip on his weapon before he relented.
"Very well. Let us hope that this business does not keep her for long." With that, the two men followed Mari down the series of hallways and stairs to the guest rooms where they were given separate rooms across the hall from each other.
"I am under orders to ask that you do not leave until High Leader Sienna returns. Meals will be provided to you. Please enjoy your time of rest." Mari gives the two a slight bow before watching as the human ducks slightly to walk through the door without a word, sitting in the middle of the floor before the door was closed behind him.
Adam grumbled at the fact that a high ranking officer such as himself was forced to use the guest room, but the guards who had their weapons drawn yet were at least convincing enough to follow the orders anyway. The swordsman dropped onto a chair and stared out the window that overlooked the gardens and several statues, a calming scene for most.
With their doors closed, Mari was escorted by the guards several doors down the hall before she believed that it was safe to speak, though she did so softly and authoritatively. "These are orders from High Leader Khan herself and I will be overseeing things until her return. Do NOT let those men leave this wing for any reason. If they leave their rooms, they are to be escorted by two guards everywhere. And this wing will have around the clock guard detail to ensure that nothing happens out of the ordinary." She paused to let the orders sink in to those here now, she'd repeat the orders to the rest of those she'd assign on rotation.
"One more thing… Do what is required to keep their communication to a minimum and nobody is to pass on any news from the outside for any reason." She warns. "Is that clear?"
"Yes madam!" The guards saluted her immediately.
"Good. Should there be any deviations from those orders, they will have to deal with me. Then the High Leader will have her turn."
That warning was enough to make the guards stand even straighter and the thinly veiled threat created a brief wave of fear emanating from them.
—-
If there was one thing that Weiss found to be a new habit of hers, it was walking the streets of Mantle. It was an… odd experience for her. On one hand, as a mere trainee of the Ace Ops, she regularly got handed the most mundane missions available. On the other hand, she got to see the city in depth for herself rather than when she lived at the Schnee Manor where there was no place on the grounds that could ever see the old capital of the kingdom.
There was the additional perk of actually getting to know the people living here. While there was a stark contrast between Atlas and Mantle… in every way, she found that she was preferring the company of the people below the floating city. There was a variation between those with wealth, their tastes in decorations, their hobbies, the music, and more.
It made her reflect on her time at Beacon where she had gone from the rich girl who got most of what she wanted thanks to the money her family has, to a young woman who was taking the responsibility of a Huntress seriously and not minding the effort and dirt that came with it. Of course, she had to work hard to get out from under her fathers thumb just to go to Beacon; the scar over her left eye is proof of that. But at the same time, thanks to her time at Beacon she was far more empathetic to those around her. She could be found playing with children when she wasn't on duty, sometimes on duty when the situation called for it.
There were plenty of rumors that she caught snippets of on occasion, nearly all of them being that of surprise that a Schnee would even be in Mantle without an escort, let alone actively mingling with the people. As irritating as it was to know that rumors were being spread about her, especially when the subject of her weight and the width of her hips graced her ears, she knew that she was breaking the stereotype of most living up in Atlas, especially that of the Schnee family.
Today, she was walking with Marrow and Farkas down the streets. None of them were on duty, simply hanging out as they had bonded over not being full members of the Ace Ops, the two Faunus seeing Weiss as more of a little sister. They had admitted that they saw Winter like a big sister to them on top of being a ranking officer over them, second only to Clover. The three of them off duty would often call Winter their sister and laugh about it, just as much as they'd follow her orders without question during training and missions.
"Are you serious? You were in a food fight?" Marrow asks through his laughter.
"I used a swordfish as a weapon and Glynda was pissed at the mess we made." Weiss tried to be as dignified in her response but what she said in combination with the mustache from the hot chocolate she was drinking made it hard to take her seriously.
"Photos or it didn't happen!" Farkas lets loose a bark of laughter.
"I'll do you one better." Weiss smirks as she drains her cup and tucked the fresh doughnuts in their bag under her arm as she withdraws her scroll and finds the video that was obviously compiled from the various security cameras for the best angles while not missing a thing. It only took a few minutes for the fight to end but the men were enthralled that the eight teens had used food and food items as weapons as effectively as they did for combat… and caused so much destruction with them.
Broken tables, vending machines, the ceiling and roof on two occasions, and the pillar that Weiss collapsed with her then thin body. So much food wasted for the battle and the impressive finish… the men cheered at the finale.
For Weiss, she had gotten stuck on how worried Ruby was when she was knocked out by Nora. The hit to her stomach by a watermelon on a flagpole was bad enough that she couldn't get her bearings before impacting with the stone pillar, her consciousness fading then like its structural integrity. The fact that Ruby had dove to catch her and wailed that she had been 'killed' in battle. That her fall had galvanized her leader to finish the fight in such a spectacular fashion… it made her feel good.
"Well, well, well. What do we have here? A schnee taking the dogs out for a walk?" A voice mocks the trio from the alley that they stood in front of.
The three moved into defensive positions, though they didn't reach for their weapons but were ready to do so. "Who's there?" Farkas calls out. His response was the sound of footsteps coming towards them.
From the shadows came three women, each of them carrying the same style weapon, a staff that had a crossbow in the shape of birds on both ends, though the edges of the wings looked sharp.
The shortest woman stood just as tall as Weiss with messy white hair and sheep ears marking her as a Faunus. Her olive eyes were focused on the trio as her green-brown sleeveless coat fluttered in the slight breeze, a green sleeved shirt covered her underneath with brown pants and grey boots, an orange belt added a splash of color while holding her jacket tight to her waist. She also wore armor in the form of arm guards, though the left one reached above her elbow, and a breastplate with orange trim gave her additional protection.
The next tallest has blue hair that primarily reached her shoulders but has a wrapped ponytail in the back that reached her rear. She wore a brown coat over a grey waistcoat with a dark brown shirt under that. On her legs, she wears brown shorts, long grey socks that could be seen above her thigh high boots. Around her neck she bore an orange scarf and her yellow eyes watched the Atlesian soldiers with contempt and superiority.
Finally, easily the tallest of the women stepped into the light where her darker tan skin made her stand out among her peers besides her height. She appears more masculine than even Elm and bore tattoos on her nose and forehead and her short green hair is spiked upward, making her appear even taller. She wears a long brown coat with white trim over a beige long-sleeved shirt with brown pants and green trimmed black boots. On her arms she wears shoulder to wrist grey and green armored padding with brown gloves and a grey breastplate.
All three seemed to be proud of the matching bird brooch on their lapels.
"Just the Happy Huntresses making sure that the people of Mantle are taken care of." The blue haired girl gives their answer.
"There's been a few rumors about a Schnee willing to get their hands dirty. Thought we'd check if they had merit." The tall one scoffs.
"Maybe we should introduce ourselves better? I'm Fiona. This is May and Joanna." The shortest introduces themselves.
"Um… excuse me but why? We were just on our way to surprise Farkas' family." Weiss cuts in, the confusion clear on her face about this entire confrontation.
"Isn't that sweet. But we hear that a certain songbird refuses to return to her golden cage and thought that we'd want to know why/" A fourth voice came from down the alley, one that sounded a bit older but confident.
AN: How's that for things starting to heat up? More to come as the action begins to pick up all over the place.
As always, reviews are welcome. Hopefully, I'll be able to pump out the next chapter faster, even with how busy things can be at home now and for the foreseeable future.