The heiress stood there in the bathroom of her team's dorm, staring at herself in the mirror. She raised a hand to move a few strands of hair to the side, and then reexamined herself in the mirror. She sighed to herself In exasperated defeat. "Why did I agree to do this…?" She muttered to herself.
The day before the twin sister of her teams leader had asked Weiss out on a date. They agreed that Weiss would choose the time and place, so she chose a small café in a quite part of Vale she frequented. It was perfect, the two of them could spend an hour talking without being interrupted, and then they could both go their separate ways.
She was only humoring the Scarlet's attempts to flirt with her, she had only been caught off guard by her sudden proposal the night before. Wiess was a Schnee, she couldn't date anyone of a lower class than her, let alone someone of the same sex. Doing so would be unbecoming of someone of her status.
Yet, she still stood there fussing over her hair and makeup already having changed dresses several times. She settled on a light blue blouse and white skirt speckled with blue snowflakes. "Ugh, why do I care about this so much?!" Weiss groaned to herself throwing her arms up in defeat.
She grabbed her other clothing options and walked back into the main room of the dorm and carefully folded and placed them in her dresser.
The teams blonde brawler leaned over her bed to look at the heiress. "Damn Ice Queen, who you meeting to get so dolled up?" She teased.
Weiss groaned again; Yang was insistent on using that nickname. "A friend of mine." She responded with confidence.
The chirpy voice of the teams leader broke in from behind Weiss. "Where you going?"
Weiss turned around and her cheek turned slightly red, briefly confusing Ruby for Scarlet. "O-oh, were just meeting at a café."
Ruby shrugged off Weiss' stutter and walked past her. Weiss could hear Ruby talking to Yang about a hunting trip they were taking later that night. Weiss didn't know why her face lit up or why her heart started to beat faster when she saw Ruby, or why she confused her for Scarlet for a moment. She didn't find either of the twins attractive. She was only going on this date to humor Scarlet.
Weiss shook herself from her thoughts and grabbed her wallet as she walked out of the dorm. Weiss crossed campus and boarded a bullhead to Vale, and then got on a bus to take her to downtown Vale. She got off the bus and then started her short walk to the café.
She rounded the corner and saw her destination at the end of the block. As Weiss approached she saw sitting in the fenced in outdoor sitting area was her date waiting for her patently. Scarlet was wearing an unbuttoned red flannel dress shirt with a medium grey under shirt, blue jeans, and black combat boots with red accents. Draped around her neck was a golden necklace with a rose locket decorated with red and black stones. As Weiss got closer she saw that Scarlet had put on subtle makeup.
Scarlet looked up from her scroll to see Weiss standing on the other side of the metal fence. She motioned over to a gate for Weiss to enter the closed in area. Weiss pushed open the gate and took a seat across from Scarlet.
"Hey Snowflake." Scarlet greeted using her favorite nickname for the heiress.
Weiss chuckled to herself. "Hello Scarlet." She greeted in return.
Scarlet put her scroll back in her pocket. "So, first date. Any questions for me?" She asked leaning back in her chair.
"Ever heard of letting a conversation form naturally?" Weiss half teased half mocked.
Scarlet leaned forward resting an elbow on the table. "No, I haven't. Maybe you could explain it to me?" She joked with a sarcastic tone.
Weiss giggled at Scarlet's joke and was about to retort when the waiter approached. Weiss ordered a fancy brand of coffee with cream and sugar, and Scarlet ordered a strawberry chocolate swirl milkshake with whipped cream and caramel on top.
When the waiter walked away Weiss raised an eyebrow at her dat- friend. "That doesn't sound very good…" She started a little apprehensive. "You sure you want that?"
"You'd be surprised by what flavors go together." She stated with a shrug. "When I was little Neo would go out and buy small tubs of ice cream in every flavor imaginable. She would mix the flavors together and we would try them together. Strawberry and chocolate was one of my favorites."
"Well, that sounds…fun?" Weiss questioned not seeing anyone in her family being that adventurous with food.
"Well, our TV didn't work half the time, so we had to entertain ourselves somehow." Scarlet stated with a light tone and shrug. "We found some good ones. Like raspberry and orange or mixing cookie dough and mint." Scarlet paused to chuckle to herself as the memories came back to her.
"Did you find any bad combos?" Weiss asked curious where this was going.
"Hundreds!" Scarlet emphasized by waving her arms in a slow grandiose movement. "For every good one there were about twenty failed attempts. One of the worse was when we mixed peanut butter and chocolate with sour gummy." Scarlet shuttered at the ghost of the foul taste assaulting her tongue from the grave.
Weiss giggle lightly at Scarlet's small story. "Did you and your sister do anything like that?" Scarlet asked.
Weiss thought for a moment. "Not exactly…" She mused trying to recall the faded memory. "When I was really little I wanted to become an archaeologist, and Winter took me to a site when in Vacuo once. I had so much fun that day helping the doctors dig and asking them questions. My mother wasn't happy when we came home, and I was covered in dust and dirt."
"Yeah, when I was a kid I made the mistake of saying I wanted to be a cop." Scarlet immediately regrated bringing up that topic.
"What happened?" Weiss asked noticing the sudden shift in Scarlet's deminer.
Scarlet took a deep breath. "Roman… locked me in my room for a week. Didn't even let me out to use the bathroom or to eat. Neo brought me food, so I didn't starve. After that I started hiding food in my room so in case it happened again, so I wouldn't need Neo's help." Scarlet's face was devoid of emotion as she recalled the painful memory. She quickly forced it out of her head and looked up to see her date's horrified face. "God I'm an idiot." She chastised herself. "You don't want to hear about my childhood. You grew up in Atlas right, what was that like?" Scarlet asked moving the subject off her.
As Weiss was about to start speaking the waiter returned and gave them their drinks. Weiss blew on her coffee and took a small sip from the glass, Scarlet doing the same on her side of the table. "It was cold…" She started with a forced half smile. "And I mean that both literally and figuratively."
"How so?" Scarlet asked placing her glass on the table.
"Well, my father isn't a great man. He's nothing compared to Roman, but…" Weiss paused for a moment. "I barely saw him at all and when I did he barely acknowledged my existence." She started her voice becoming filled with mixed emotions. "My mother was a drunk so most of the conversation I had with her were slurred or incoherent rambles. My sister was away at war a lot, and my brother spent most of his time with my father." Scarlet stayed silent absorbing all the information Weiss was giving her. "But there was Cline. He was one of our butlers, and he was always there for me. As far as I see Cline is family to me."
"Well, me and Neo aren't related, but we're still sisters." Scarlet compared their situations with a light tone. Scarlet raised her glass, "To fucked up childhoods…" She started with a joke making Weiss laugh. Weiss raised her glass and clinked it against Scarlet's. "And to better futures!" Scarlet finished with a chirp.
"Well put." Weiss stated. They both took another sips from their drinks.
The two of them sat in content silence for a moment. Weiss looked at Scarlet closely. She looked identical to Ruby in every way, but that wasn't who she saw. When Weiss first met Scarlet she always confused her with Ruby, but earlier that day she confused Ruby for Scarlet. Now, as she looked at Scarlet she looked like a different person from Ruby.
"Weiss you're starring…" Scarlet's voice pulled Weiss out of her thoughts.
"I'm sorry…" She apologized sounding embarrassed, her face turning red slightly. "Can I ask you something?" The heiress asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Of course, that's kinda why we're here." Scarlet answered with a joke.
"Why did you ask me on a date?" Weiss' question caught Scarlet off guard for a moment.
"Well…" She started taking a quick sip from her drink. "You intrigue me." She stated.
"I intrigue you?" Weiss repeated wanting clarification.
"Well, that and you're absolutely jaw droppingly beautiful." Scarlet diverted; she ended her sentence with a wink.
Weiss' face lit up bright red. "No go back." She started trying to ignore Scarlet's teasing. "What do you mean by I 'intrigue you'."
Scarlet took another sip from her drink and sighed. "Ever since I could remember I had been stealing dust from your family's company. Roman always told me that the Schnee family was just as evil as we were, and by stealing dust from them we were helping people. Then one day I meet my twin sister and my entire world is turned upside down. Ruby tells me that you were her partner and everything she told me was the exact opposite of what I grew up hearing. Then I get to meet you." Scarlet took a second to take a long sip from her drink. "You were beautiful, smart and strong, had grace and class, and above all else, you care about the people around you." Scarlet's emotions began to rise as she kept talking, so she took a moment to collect herself. "And now I'm here on a date with you and I learn that we are very different and still have a few things in common."
Weiss' pale face remained tinted crimson. She starred into Scarlet's gunmetal silver eyes. She smiled and giggled to herself. "You intrigue me as well."
Scarlet raised an eyebrow. "How so?" She asked with a smile.
Weiss smiled at her dates question. "Well for starters, you and Ruby are supposed to be twins, but you act like two completely different people." She listed with a chuckle.
"Nature verses nurture…" Scarlet started cutting Weiss off. "Ruby and I were raised in different worlds. She got a loving family, and I got a criminal." Scarlet stated almost dismissively. Latent fantasies of a childhood with her sisters creeped their way into Scarlet's mind.
"That's why I find you interesting." Weiss stating pulling Scarlet out of a thought spiral. "You were raised by the greatest criminal Vale has ever seen, and you still turned out be a good person." Weiss finished in a warm tone.
"I'm not as great as you think I am." Scarlet shot down Weiss' statement quickly. "I had to hurt a lot of people to get where I am now." Scarlet paused and adverted her gaze from Weiss. "I'm not proud of the things I've done, but I hope that taking down Cinder's operation I can somehow atone for my actions." She looked back at Weiss and was met by to comforting blue eyes.
"I think you've done more than enough." Weiss stated in a comforting tone.
Scarlet smiled and went to take a sip from her drink only to hear a loud hollow slurp of air through the straw. She looked over the table and saw Weiss finish the last of her coffee. Scarlet reached into her pocket and pulled out her wallet.
"You don't have to…" Weiss' statement was cut off by Scarlet.
"Who asked who out on a date?" Scarlet asked rhetorically.
Weiss smiled and pulled out her wallet. "And who is the heiress of a wealthy company?"
The two of them stared at each other with sarcastic grins until Scarlet spoke up. "Split it?" She offered.
"Seems fair enough." Weiss responded with a giggle.
The waiter came back around and handed them their bill. After some quick math they each paid their half of the check and got up to leave. Scarlet said her goodbyes and turned to leave. "Um Scarlet…" Weiss started now sure what she wanted to say.
"Yeah what is it?" Scarlet asked turning back around.
"Umm…" Weiss stumbled. Scarlet raised an eyebrow and tilted her head to the side waiting for her date to collect herself.
"Do you want to do this again?" She asked.
"Of course." Scarlet replied calmly. "I'll pick the place next time."
"I'll be looking forward to it."
"Same here. See you later Snowflake." Scarlet chirped waving goodbye.
Weiss watched as Scarlet walked away and turned around a corner. The heiress then turned around and walked away herself her head a cyclone of thoughts.
Scarlet had made Weiss question many things about herself. The biggest of which were her feelings towards Scarlet. Scarlet was Ruby's twin sister, and they acted a lot alike, but many of the childish traits in Ruby that drove Weiss up the wall were absent in Scarlet. Gone and replaced with bravery, maturity, and an aura of intimidation that followed her everywhere she went.
As she kept walking Weiss' imagination drew up an image of Scarlet's face. She couldn't deny that she was pretty, and she shared those looks with her twin. Yet in her head, Scarlet was more beautiful that Ruby. It was an odd thing to say that one identical twin was more attractive than another, but to Weiss it made sense. Scarlet's personality better fitted her face, and her clothes complimented this.
Weiss knew she needed to some self-reflection to better understand how she felt about this, but her did know that her next date with Scarlet wouldn't just be to humor her. Was she even humoring Scarlet on this date?
"Hey Weiss!" Ruby's voice chirped pulling Weiss out of her storm of thoughts. She looked around and saw she had walked all the way back to her dorm room without realizing it.
"Hey Ruby…" Weiss greeted a little startled.
Yang jumped off her bunk in full hunters gear. "How did your meeting with your friend go?" The blonde asked walking over to her.
"It went well." Weiss stated affirmatively with a grin. She then took notice that Ruby was also in her hunting hear and had her weapon strapped to her back and looking back at Yang, Weiss saw she too had her weapons. "Where are you two going?"
Ruby quickly chirped in. "Our dad is in town with our uncle and we're taking Scarlet to go hunting with us!" Ruby was practically shaking with excitement.
"Wait she's meeting your dad today?!" Weiss breathed out shocked that Scarlet failed to bring this up earlier that day.
"Yeah…" Yang said slowly. "I'm kinda worried how things are going to go. Ruby said that Scarlet has been dreaming of this day her whole life and," Yang stopped for a moment. "I guess I'm just worried our dad isn't what she expected in a father."
"There's no need to worry about that!" Ruby reassured with a playful elbow bump to her sister's side. "She grew up with Torchwick, anybody's an improvement from there."
Yang let out a hearty laugh and her shoulders relaxed. "You got a point there sis!" She then slapped Ruby on the back.
"I'm assuming you're going to get Scarlet then?" Weiss asked.
"I am." Ruby answered. "I know where her place is, and I have a key, so it makes sense. We're going to meet Yang, Uncle Qrow, and our Dad in the Emerald Forrest." Ruby explained quickly.
"Okay then, see you two later." Weiss stated walking past the half-sisters.
"Do you want me to pass a message along to her?" Ruby jokingly asked.
"Why would I want you to do that?" Weiss asked turning around partially paranoid that Ruby knew about the date she just returned from.
Ruby shrugged. "I don't know, she just seems to like you so…" Ruby's excitement spoiled in her voice and turned into embarrassment.
Weiss chuckled. "I don't think I have anything to say to her." She joked to herself.
Yang ushered Ruby out of the room and turned back to Weiss. "We'll see you tomorrow Ice Queen." She shut the door as an icicle slammed into it.
"Maybe Snowflake isn't that bad a nickname after all…" Weiss mused to herself as she laid down on her bed.
Ruby knocked on the wooden door to her twins apartment several times before hearing a voice call out from within. "Come in!." Ruby twisted the door handle and swung the door open.
She walked through the short entrance hallway and into the main living-dining-kitchen area. Scarlet was sitting at her circular dining table polishing the blade of her crimson sword. She was wearing her crimson earie imitation of Ruby's hunter uniform with her golden necklace on proud display, Ruby also took notice of Scarlet's Grimm bone mask strung to her belt. Ruby opened her mouth to greet her sister, but the words got stuck in her throat when she saw Scarlet's adopted sister Neo standing by the window.
Scarlet noticing Ruby's change in demeanor stood up placing her sword on the table, "Neo was insistent on joining us on this trip." She explained approaching her sister. Scarlet leaned in close to her twin, "She thinks I'm going to be eaten by a Grimm." She whispered into her twins ear in a joking tone, Ruby snickered at this.
Neo sighed from across the room. "I never said that…" She mumbled to herself.
"What was that!?" Scarlet called out half mocking Neo's mumble, but she was mostly just trying to get a rise out of her sister.
Neo looked slightly embarrassed and adverted her gaze to the floor.
Scarlet chuckled to herself; a wide grin painted on her face. She turned back to Ruby, "We're going to the Emerald Forrest right?"
Ruby nodded affirmatively. "We're going to meet Dad, Uncle Qrow, and Yang there." She explained.
Scarlet's grin faded slightly when Ruby said that. "Is everything okay Scar'?" Ruby asked concerned.
"It's just happening so fast…" She muttered. "I met you a few months ago, I found out I had a half-sister and uncle, met both of them, we put Roman in prison, and now I'm about to meet my father." She listed out in an unclear tone gluing her eyes to the floor.
Ruby watched as Neo, apparently understanding Scarlet's strange tone, walked over to her sister and lightly punched her arm and gave her a warm smile. Scarlet exhaled almost dismissively at her sister's actions, after a moment she raised her gaze to Neo's and returned the smile.
Ruby was beaming with adorable joy as she watched her twin's interaction with her adopted sister. As she watched a thought broke its way into her head that she immediately vocalized without second thought.
"If Neo is your sister than doesn't make her mine too?" Ruby asked rubbing her chin.
"Uhhh…" Neo vocalized startling Ruby.
Scarlet placed a hand on Ruby's shoulder and whispered in her ear. "That really come down to Neo's decision…" Her whispered tone was laced with a mix of dread and optimism. "She's just tagging alone on this trip, so I don't get killed." She clarified a little disappointed.
Ruby took a second to let this sink in and nodded. She cleared her throat and spoke up, "We should head to the forest now." She stated in her natural chipper tone.
Scarlet went back to the table and excitedly grabbed her weapon and folded it back into it collapsed form and hooked it to her belt. "Let's shoot some Grimm!" She proudly proclaimed.
"YEAH!" Ruby cheered in response pumping her fist in the air with vigor.
Neo raised a fist in the air and mimicked Ruby's expression.
The trio left Scarlet's apartment and made use of several forms of public traffic to make their way to Beacon. When they arrived at the academy, Ruby and Scarlet were already in a deep discussion about a TV show they both loved. Neo listened to the twins naturally play off each other's jokes and statements.
Hearing Scarlet happily discuss pop culture with her sister made Neo smile, but she was impressed how easily Scarlet had let her guard down by just being in the presence of her twin. She couldn't help but scan the area they were walking through for any trace of Cinder or her subordinates. Neo knew that the chance of any of them being along the path they were taking was miniscule, and yet she kept scanning around them while listening to her sister's conversation.
"Here we are!" Ruby proclaimed motioning to a cliff overlooking a dense forest. Neo and Scarlet gave Ruby a strange glance. Ruby seeing their looks walked past them and closer to the cliff. The red cloaked twin then walked over to a small thin pedestal with a screen on it, she tapped a few buttons on the screen and the roar of motors filled the air as a large platform rose from the bottom of the cliff.
Ruby gleefully stepped onto the platform and turned back to her twin and Neo. "Well?" She asked motioning to the rest of the platform. Scarlet chuckled and walked onto the platform, shortly being followed by Neo. Ruby pressed a button on a similar pedestal on the platform and the roar of motors filled the air again as they began their decent down the cliff.
The elevator came to a sudden lurching stop sending all three girls off balance for a second. They stepped onto a large stone bridge with large crumbling stone pillars that reached high in the sky. Below them was a deep foggy canyon that stretched as farther down then the top of the cliff to the bridge.
As they stepped off the platform Scarlet took notice of three figure standing at the end of the bridge talking amongst themselves. She immediately recognized her half-sister Yang and her tall and scruffy uncle Qrow. Besides both was a second man with short curly blonde hair with bright blue eyes. He was wearing a tan and brown vest and yellow cargo pants with a metal plate over his right shoulder.
"Is that…?" Scarlet couldn't finish her question before choking up. Ruby looked at her and nodded.
Ruby waved down her sister to get her attention. Yang seeing both Ruby and Scarlet, not seeing Neo standing behind them, she grabbed her dad's arm and started sprinting down the bridge towards the twins. Tai not having seen them yet was greatly confused when his daughter started forcibly dragging him down the bridge, but when he looked down at what he was being dragged to he broke free from his daughter's grasp and slowed to a stop.
Scarlet stood as still as a statue. She didn't know what else to do. After sixteen years her real father now stood less than fifteen feet in front of her. Her mind swirled with emotions each fighting for control but never making its claim. Her happiness of finding her family, her rage at Roman, her depression over the years lost, her curiosity over the mountain of questions she had to ask, the grief from her mother's death, the desperate feeling to charge forward and tackle him in a hug, countered by her fear over his personality.
Tai looked his lost daughter up and down slowly. 'She looks just like Ruby.' He thought to himself. He smiled at the twins mirrored hunting outfits. His heart was melting with joy and splitting with sorrow over just laying eyes on Scarlet.
His blue eyes met with Scarlet's silver ones. He could see the swirling emotions in her eyes, and the steely sharpness stained into them. The first of many tears rolled down his cheek as he slowly approached Scarlet one step at a time. When he reached her, he placed his hands on her shoulders, silent tears now pouring out of his eyes, He kneeled to her direct eye level and started to speak in a low soft yet somber voice. "Yang told me what you're doing to help Ozpin." He took a moment to wipe away his tears with his sleeve. "And I am so proud of you…"
Those words broke Scarlet. In the first words she had heard from her father he had said the one thing she had wanted to hear from Roman her entire life. The dams of tears behind her eyes ceased to exist and her face exploded with emotion as she wrapped her father into as tight of a hug she could manage. Tai returned his daughter's embrace with equal force.
Neo watched the hyper emotional moment from well behind Ruby. She was happy for Scarlet, why wouldn't she be, yet she knew that she was missing something, an emotion the family was expressing that she couldn't understand. The happiness she had for her adopted sister felt almost hollow, lacking depth, or meaning. She didn't like the feeling.
"Maybe I should bring this up with Dr. Bright…" Neo silently whispered to herself.
Ruby turned and looked back at Neo, with tears in her eyes, a smile painted on her face, and an inquisitive look on her face. "Did you say something Neo?" Ruby's smile was an exact replica of Scarlet's, seeing it made the strange feeling in her chest fade.
"I'm happy for Scarlet…" She quietly responded.
Ruby was a little surprised at Neo talking, but her smile only grew more. "Me too." She turned back to her sister and dad still hugging. "It's beautiful, our family finally put back together."
A realization hit Neo as Ruby finished her sentence. The strange emotion she couldn't feel was the joy of reunion. The thought made the hollow feeling surge back into her chest and curl into a tight knot. Faded faces started to emerge in the back of her mind, but she forced them out before they could fully materialize.
Scarlet broke her embrace with her dad, and she stepped back. She took a slow deep breath to calm her swirling emotions. "Dad…" She choked out. "Been awhile, huh?" She joked.
Tai burst out laughing. Leave it to one of his daughters to make a joke after being separated for sixteen years. "Too long he muttered." Tears running down his face.
"I have so many questions…" Scarlet choked out, her brain swirling with options of varying topics.
"Let's start with one for now." Tai stated trying to wrangle in his emotions for the time being. He knew if he let her keep asking questions then the hunt might never begin.
"Okay, um…" Scarlet stumbled as she looked off to the side placing her hand on her chin trying to think. 'Best to not go with a too heavy question off the bat.' She thought to herself. "How did you and mom come up with our names" She asked motioning back to Ruby. 'Hope that's not too heavy.' She thought to herself.
Tai laughed and stood up. He motioned for Ruby to join them, which she gladly did. "I think it was around the time that we were going in for the first ultrasound." He started crossing his arms looking up to the sky. Both twins stood there intently listening to their father.
Summer groaned as she threw her notebook on the coffee table. "This is impossible." She stated very exasperated.
"Sense when do you give up?" Tai asked in a joking tone as he sat next to his wife, setting their cups of tea on the table.
"I don't." Summer retorted in an obvious tone. "But this is impossible!" She vented her tone becoming very annoyed as she motioned at the open notebook on the table.
"What is it?" Tai asked with a chuckle picking up the notebook.
"Baby names!" Summer said with childlike glee.
Tai analyzed the page closely. It was full of crossed out names with two circled names in the center. "Ruby and Scarlet huh?" He read aloud. "What were Sapphire and Azul not on the table?" He joked with a wide grin.
Summer snatched the book out of her husband's hands, "Ha-ha Tai." She humored with her trademark cheery-sarcastic grin painted across her face. "Their my parents' names." She clarified.
Tai nodded in conformation. If he remembered right Summer's father's name was Scarlet and her mother's was Ruby. Summer had always been close to her parents. That only made the new worse when in their second year at Beacon she had received word that both of her parents had died in a car crash.
"Just like you to name your child after the most important people in your life." He stated taking a sip from his tea.
Summer smiled warmly. "Yeah…" She muttered clearly lost in her memories of her parents. She suddenly snapped back to reality, "The only problem is, I can't decide which one to use!" She half yelled throwing the page back onto the table.
"Summer we don't even know what sex the baby is yet." Tai tried to calm her.
"Well, that's part of the problem!" Summer said getting up, her voice ever so slightly frantic. "If it's a boy then it easy, I go with Scarlet." She started beginning to walk around the room. "If it's a girl, I don't know what to do!" She threw her hands up into the air to emphasize her point.
Tai leaned back in his seat as he watched his wife pace and vent her frustrations. It took a lot to make Summer Rose frustrated, and even more to make her angry, but when she was mildly perturbed like this and needed to vent, it was a sight to see.
She quickly walked to one end of the room near the stairs, "Ruby is the obvious choice of course." She started. "It's an obviously female name and very pretty. Plus, the alliteration of Ruby Rose just sounds nice."
"What's wrong with Ruby Xio-Long?" Tai asked trying to mess with her.
"That sounds awful!" Summer protested almost sounding offended. Tai chuckled and took another sip from his tea.
Summer than quickly moved to the other side of the room near the dining table and kitchen. "On the other hand, is Scarlet. Now with it being my dad's name if we have a boy than I'm going to name him Scarlet." She started calmly. "The problem is Scarlet is a unisex name!" She shouted in a one-eighty of her previous statement. "If we are having a girl than I don't know which name to pick Ruby Rose, or Scarlet Rose! Both mean a lot to me, and they both sound good as well." She moved back to the center of the room and collapsed down into an armchair. "Any ideas Tai?" She asked her husband sounding defeated.
"I like the sound of Alison Rose." He said looking at the crossed-out names on Summer's list. "Onyx is a good one to for a boy." He added putting the paper down.
Summer groaned letting her head fall back onto the chair. "That's no help…" She muttered. "Maybe for middle names…" She muttered with a smile.
"HOLD ON!" Scarlet interrupted suddenly. "My middle name is Alison!?" She asked in disbelief.
"You didn't know?" Tai asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Of course not! The paper that had my name on it didn't have middle names only initials." Scarlet explained a little frantic at this revelation. "My middle name is Alison…" She repeated to herself after a moment.
"Ruby Onyx Rose and Scarlet Alison Rose." Yang said out loud to hear. "I can see why mom picked those names." She stated with a giggle.
"I don't…" Scarlet mumbled to herself. "What kind of middle name is Alison…"
"Can I continue?" Tai asked laughing.
"Oh yeah continue." Scarlet said.
Summer was laying on the ultrasound bed starring off into space. Tai sat next to her with a two-year-old Yang in his lap.
"Why are we here?" Yang asked looking up at her dad.
"We're here to see your baby sibling!" Tai answered excitedly.
"REALLY!" Yang said bouncing up and down.
At that moment, the doctor walked into the room. He was a normal looking man with blonde hair and brown eyes. "Summer Rose and Taiyang Xio-Long?" He asked. The two of them nodded and the doctor smiled. "You two ready to see your child." He asked approaching the bed.
"Got one right here." Tai quickly responded picking up Yang making her giggle.
"Put her down Tai!" Summer demanded with a large smile on her face from the joke. Tai did as he was told and set his daughter back in his lap.
"I'll take that as a yes." The doctor said grabbing the necessary instruments. He began to place several small sensors on Summer's abdomen in precise locations.
"I thought you used gel and a wand to do this?" Summer asked intrigued.
"We used to." The doctor answered. "Its new technology from the SDC's medical division." He explained. "Saves the hospital a lot of money." He absent mindedly said as he pulled a screen down from the top of the room. He pressed buttons on all of the sensors and then turned the screen on.
A large strange white shape blinked to life on the screen. Summer immediately noticed that the picture was clearer than a normal ultrasound. She starred at the screen trying to discern what she was seeing.
"Well, this is a surprise!" The doctor exclaimed with a bright smile.
"What is it?" Summer asked a little confused.
The doctor turned to her and smiled brightly. "Mrs. Rose, it seems you're having twins."
Summer's face lit up in an instant while Tai's fell into a happy shock. "Did you hear that Tai!" Summer shouted with glee.
"Yeah I did!" He responded a little dumbfounded. His attention was then drawn to a small tug on his shirt.
He looked down to see the lilac eyes of his daughter. "Daddy, what are twins?" She asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Well…" He started, collecting his words. "It means you're not going to have one sibling." He paused for a moment. Yang's face looked incredibly confused by her father's answer. "It means you're going to have two!"
"REALLY!" The toddler exclaimed springing up from her seat on her father's lap. Tai nodded and the young girl started to jump with joy.
"You know what the best part about this is?" Summer spoke up drawing their attention back to her. "I DON'T HAVE TO CHOOSE BETWEEN TWO NAMES!" She shouted with pure joy and excitement, throwing her hands and feet into the air.
Everyone in the room broke down in hysterics at Summer's outburst, even the doctor.
"The doctor then went on to tell me and Summer what to expect when raising the two of you." Tai concluded his story with a large warm smile.
"Was mom really like that?" Scarlet asked wiping a tear, caused by laughter, from her eye.
Yang stepped forward and placed her elbow on Scarlet's shoulder. "Oh yeah, big time." She responded. "One thing she would do was, if you mumbled anything in front of her she would call you out on that faster than a bullet train fueled by lightning dust."
"Wait I do that…" Scarlet mumbled.
"What was that?" Ruby called out mocking Scarlet.
Scarlet stuck her tongue out in response to which Ruby did the same.
Tai laughed at his daughter's antics and let his eyes wander, until they settled on a figure standing behind them. "Who are you?" He asked nicely his smile not fading.
Neo tried to open her mouth to respond that she was Scarlet's sister, but the words got stuck in her brain not even making it to her throat.
Scarlet appeared next to her sister with the help of her super speed. "This is Neo!" She stated throwing her arm around her sister's shoulder. "She's my adopted older sister!" Scarlet punctuated her sentence with a grin.
Neo lightly waved.
"She doesn't talk much…" She paused for a moment. "If at all." She finished earning a small kick from Neo.
Tai moved closer to Neo and kneeled down to look her in her duel-colored eyes. "Thank you for looking after my daughter and keeping her safe." He said with full generosity. He was glad that Scarlet had a person in her life that was kind to her when she was younger.
Neo felt another odd feeling run through her chest. This man was partly wrong with his statement. For the first ten years of Scarlet's life Neo was nothing more than another abuser to the child, albeit now knowingly or intentionally. It wasn't until Scarlet had run away from home six years ago that Neo started to try and act like a real sister to her. Even then she wasn't perfect.
After Tai had stood and walked away from Neo and proudly declared that the hunt was to begin, did Neo understand what she was feeling from the descriptions of emotions from her therapist. Guilt.
"You're leaving already?" Weiss nearly whined hearing her sisters news.
"I'm sorry, but I was only needed to move supplies to Vale. Ironwood is expecting me back soon." Winter explained not sounding pleased with the development herself.
Weiss groaned and leaned back in her chair looking up at the ceiling of the gazebo the sisters were talking in. "I was hoping we would get to spend more time together…" She mumbled annoyed.
"So was I." Winter responded taking a sip from her coffee cup. Why Winter was willing to drink coffee at sundown, Weiss had no idea. Winter suddenly stood up and pushed in her chair, "I have to use the restroom." She stated walking away towards the nearest building.
Now alone Weiss rested her head on the table. Her mind immediately brought back the images of her date with Scarlet earlier that day. Ever sense she got back her mind had been on a downward spiral, whenever she thought of Scarlet she felt weird. Her heart rate would go up slightly and her hands got abnormally clammy, she also felt giddy and couldn't help but smile when she conjured an image of her face in her mind.
Weiss wasn't an idiot and knew full well what these reactions pointed towards. She had a crush on Scarlet Rose. But that was impossible, she was a Schnee and a Schnee couldn't date a women let alone a criminal. "Well, she isn't a criminal anymore…" Weiss mumbled out loud without thinking about it. That didn't change the fact that someone like her could not be in love with a women, it was out of the question.
Then as if some cruel god wanted to mess with her, a female student with a very tight revealing outfit passed by the gazebo. Weiss' eyes couldn't help but follow the student, glued to less than professional areas. Weiss caught herself and pulled her whole body away from the girl locking her eyes on the stone floor, her face was burning redder than her leaders name sakes.
"Just a fluke…" She mumbled to herself. "It's natural to admire someone else's beauty." She reasoned with herself.
She slowly looked up and saw far across the courtyard. In the distance was two female students, one with white hair and the other with purple hair, they were clinging to each other like a sloth to a tree. Weiss watched as the white-haired girl pulled the purple haired one into a kiss. Again, Weiss glued her eyes to the floor.
"This can't be happening…" She muttered to herself sounding very desperate. What god was doing this to her.
Weiss looked up once more in a new direction and this time saw two more students, one male one female. The male student was tall with sharp features and large muscles, the girl had a smaller more petite frame, but wore very tight clothing. Weiss' then wandered from the male's face to the girl's features. She stopped herself again gluing her eyes to the floor, vowing not to look up until Winter returned.
She couldn't really be attracted to girls. Could she. Weiss slowed her thoughts and poured over her memories analyzing them closely. She first thought of Neptune. It didn't take long for her to realize that she wasn't attracted to him at all. He fitted the description of a handsome young man, and Weiss thought that her admiring that was her having a crush on him, but it wasn't. The same applied to all the other guys she had a crush on in the past.
Her thoughts then fell on Scarlet. Her gunmetal silver eyes held a depth so deep Weiss could get lost in a memory of them, and the balance of a sharp maturity that came from a lifetime of criminal activity and abuse, and a natural confidence showing that she was strong because of it. Her hair was captivating, the way it started black at the roots and faded to red at the tips was a genetic anomaly and it made her so much more interesting to look at. The way her pale skin reflected the sun light and made her glow, her soft features. Sure, all of that also applied to Ruby, but to Weiss, Scarlet was far more beautiful.
"I guess there is no point in trying to deny it now." She said looking up at the ceiling. "I am a lesbian, and I am in love with Scarlet Rose." She muttered to herself feeling a massive weight she had never known shed been carrying for years dissipated off her shoulders.
"What was that?" Winter said as she approached sitting back down at the table.
"OH!" Weiss exclaimed nearly falling out of her seat. "Um, well… you see." Weiss stumbled greatly.
"What is it Weiss?" Winter asked with a light tone and a smile.
"I, uh… have realized something about myself." She said without thinking. Did she want to tell Winter about this revelation?
"Well, what is it?" Winter asked clearly intrigued.
Weiss didn't need to put that much thought into it. Winter was her closest family member and had supported her though her entire life. Weiss took a deep breath. "Winter, I'm gay." She stated firmly and quickly, Weiss had applied the logic of ripping of a band aid to this statement.
Winter blinked once, then twice, then set her coffee cup down. She didn't respond for a few moments making Weiss incredibly nervous as she waited with bated breath. Winter finally opened her mouth to say something. "I'm happy for you." She stated with a large smile.
"Really?" Weiss breathed out in a sigh of relief.
"Of course!" Winter stated, offended that Weiss would think she wouldn't be. "You're my sister Weiss, and I would be a terrible person if I didn't support you in life, including who you choose to spend it with." Weiss had to wipe away a tear of joy at Winter's statement.
"So, tell me.." Winter started with a sly grin. "How did you find out?"
Weiss giggled; she should have guessed Winter would ask this. "There is this girl that I have met recently that has captivated my heart." She stated her tone slowly turning to that of a schoolgirl in love, which in the circumstances made sense.
"So, who is this girl that has run off with my sisters heart?" Winter asked sound a little Shakespearean.
"Her name is Scarlet Rose." Weiss said turning a little red. "She's actually the twin sister of my teams leader." Weiss said it like she was telling a fun fact.
Winter paused at the name. "Black hair with red tips, silver eyes, sarcastic and rude." She listed.
"You've met her?" Weiss asked a little surprised. Weiss was a little unhappy with her sister describing Scarlet as 'rude.'
"Briefly." Winter responded. "I was in a meeting with Ironwood and Ozpin, and she walked in with some other girl. I was confused at first, but Ironwood took me aside to briefly explain the situation her family was in." Winter explained, her tone briefly switching to her professional military voice.
"So, you know…" Weiss trailed off.
"Yes, I do." Winter answered the unfinished question. "What she was willing to do, and what she is willing to do is astonishing really. I have met sergeants and captains with half the bravery of that girl." Winter lock eyes with her younger sister as she reached over the table and took her hand in hers. "I'm happy for you Weiss."
Weiss' eyes welled up with happy tears as her sisters words sunk in. Deep down she knew that her father would have been furious with her, but now she didn't care. All that mattered was that her sister supported her, and she approved of the women she had chosen to pursue.
Winter wiped away Weiss' tears with a napkin. She stood up and took her sister into a tight hug. "It's getting late. I'll take you back to your dorm room." Winter whispered into her sister's hair.
Weiss broke the hug her tears having stopped already. "Okay. Will I see you tomorrow?" She asked with no falter in her voice.
"I think I can delay my aircraft for a few hours so we can say goodbye." Winter stated with a smile. With that the two sisters started to make their way back to the Team RWBY dorm room.
Scarlet dash forward at the monster with her sword at her side. The beowolf reared back to slash down at the crimson haired girl, but she dropped own into a slide dodging the slash. When her momentum ran out she was under the belly of the creature. She gripped her sword tightly and spun around swinging her blade, she could feel the metal cut through all four of the Grimm's legs. She rolled out from under the falling creature and switched her sword into its rifle form. She wheeled around and took a knee shouldering her gun. Looking down the sights she took a single shot at the Grimm's face.
To Scarlet's horror the bullet bounced off the boney armor mask, and the monster turned to look at her. It let out a thundering roar of hatred at the girl, but its roar was cut short by the monsters head being cleaved from its torso by a red and black girl with a scythe flying in like a speeding bullet.
Ruby landed next to her twin and helped her up. "What kind of bullets did you bring?" Ruby asked thinking she had found something out. All night Scarlet's bullets had been doing nothing the Grimm she was fighting. Her sword work like a charm and her technique, while not perfect, was still great.
"Forty caliber lead core rounds." Scarlet answered taking out a spare mag for her sister to inspect.
"Know I get it." Ruby said clearly knowing something Scarlet didn't. "You're using the wrong ammo!" She stated lightly punching her sister in the arm.
"What do you mean?" Scarlet had no idea what Ruby was talking about. Lead core rounds could tear through almost anything in their path, especially at the calibers Scarlet tended to carry.
At this point Qrow, Tai, Yang and Neo had approached them. "You use dust rounds for Grimm, not lead core." Yang explained.
Scarlet raised an eyebrow at this. "Why?" She saw Neo giving a similar look.
"Watch." Ruby stated as she removed the magazine in Crescent Rose and ejected the chambered round. She then took one of the lead core bullets from Scarlet's magazine and chambered into her weapon. Ruby then fired the bullet into one of the decomposing Grimm corpses nearby. "The lead core will just bounce off of a Grimm's boney plates." She explained loading a fire dust round into her rifle. She took aim once more and fired the bullet into the same carcass, this time the bullet burned its way through the armor and into the dead monsters flesh. "Dust rounds can puncture the plates and do some damage."
Scarlet let this information sink in. She knew almost nothing when it came to Grimm, sure she knew how to take down the basic Grimm like Beowolves, Urias, and Boarbatusks, but even killing a normal beowolf was a challenge. "I don't even think I own any dust rounds…" She mumbled to herself.
"Why?" Tai asked a little perplexed. "They're incredibly versatile in any form of combat."
Scarlet let out a heavy sigh and looked up towards the sky. "Me and Neo were trained to fight people, not Grimm." She said lowering her head enough to look at them. "Roman always gave us lead core rounds when we were on a mission. They cause more damage to aura that a dust bullet and are less expensive, so I always use them." She explained.
Scarlet saw her father's hand clench into a fist at the mention of Roman. She had no doubt that he had a new deep hatred for the criminal. After all he had stolen his daughter from him. Scarlet didn't care if Tai hated Roman, because her rage directed towards the man burned brighter than a towering inferno and couldn't be fully understood by anyone in her family, with an obvious exception for Neo who harbored her own similar hatred of the man they were forced to call father.
"You can have some of my mags if you want." Ruby offered pulling Scarlet out of her head.
"Thanks Rubes." Scarlet said accepting the offer.
"No prob Scar!" Ruby responded.
Scarlet was quick to remove her old magazine from Slicer Thorn and replace the chambered round from a lead core to a dust round. Satisfied with her new load out she put her sword back on her hip and turned back to her family.
Tai lead the way to the next area he had picked out to clear of Grimm, shortly being followed by Qrow and his daughters. He leaned in to Qrow to whisper, "I haven't seen you take a drink once sense yesterday afternoon." He stated.
"So?" Qrow responded trying to ignore the debilitating headache he had.
"I'm proud of you for trying to go clean sense Scarlet is back," He started. "But you shouldn't be hunting if you're hung-over…" He muttered with clear concern.
"Tai, you know me." Qrow dismissed. "I can handle myself, even with the worst hang over I've ever had. Besides if I slip up I can count of you or Yang and the twins to bail me out." It felt weird to refer to Ruby and Scarlet as 'The Twins' again after all these years.
Tai took a very deep sigh. "Please just be careful." Tai quietly pleaded, earning a nod from Qrow.
The group was approaching a clearing when Tai put his hand up telling everyone to stop, he slowly sank down to a crouch and everyone mirrored him. He pointed out into the clearing towards a massive scorpion Grimm.
"What is that thing…?" Scarlet mumbled in a low cautious voice.
"Death Stalker." Yang responded in a similar voice.
Tai looked back at everyone seeing they had already drawn their weapons. "Okay girls…" He started. "Pop quiz, what's the most effective way to kill a Death Stalker?" He asked quietly.
"Take out its limbs then go for the head." Ruby answered not missing a beat.
"Good." Tai praised. "Me and Qrow with go for the tail, Ruby and Yang the arms, Scarlet and Neo will go for the legs." He instructed and everyone nodded in response. Tai raised his hand up so everyone could see it clearly and he slowly counted down from five with his fingers. When his hand hit zero and he threw his arm down, him and Qrow disappeared from the bushes and were in a mad dash towards the large Grimm's tail.
Tai got their first and summoning his aura to his arms he grabbed the tail and yanked back on it as hard as he could. He heard the bones in the tail let out a satisfying crack as he did so. Qrow set his weapon to its sword form and jumped over the Grimm slashing downwards into the tail cutting clean through the plates and into the skin. He landed with a roll and turned around to see Tai still holding on to a struggling Death Stalker with its tail half cut off. Qrow flicked the blade of his sword down revealing the shotgun barrels and with two blasts the tail was only connected by a few broken bones and sinew. Tai, not satisfied with this summoned all of his available aura to his left and brought it down in the wound like a guillotine. His aura enhance arm cut through the bone like a sharpened blade and the tail fell to the ground.
The Death Stalker free from Tai's grasp quickly turned and tried to clamp down on him with its pincers, but it was interrupted by two gravity dust bullets embedding themselves in its claws. The force of the bullets nearly knocked it onto its side, but Tai was more than happy to finish the job by punching the beast with full force. The monster was sent flying sideways into a large stone at the edge of the clearing. The rock exploded in a massive dust could, obscuring the Grimm form view.
Before the dust had settled Yang and Ruby took off towards the Grimm. Ruby aimed her scythe below her and fired a round sending her flying into the air, another round and she was flying into the dust cloud. Yang used her gauntlets to propel herself faster and when she reached the outskirts of the smoke cloud she fired a few blasts inside as she ran in. Scarlet fired a gravity dust round above the dust cloud to clear it so her sisters could see.
To Scarlet's horror, she saw that the Death Stalker had trapped both Ruby and Yang in its pincers. Ruby was struggling to escape the left pincer and Yang from the right. The Grimm then started to bash Yang into the ground over and over again, with one final smash the Grimm had left a small creator in the ground where it had been bashing Yang, and yet the girl had a bright smile on her face. Suddenly her eyes lit up bright crimson and her hair ignited into flames. Yang then started to push against the Grimm's pincers, the sounds out snapping and cracking bone filled the air as Yang continued her strength battle with the creature. Soon the pincers snapped backwards at ninety-degree angles and yang fell to the floor. She reached up, grabbed the broken pincers, and yanked them down, The blonde then raised her elbow up and slammed in down into the joint connecting the pincers to the rest of the arm. Another loud crack filled the air, but this one was shortly followed by a deafening roar.
Ruby struggled in the Grimm's strong grip. As she writhed around she was able to get enough clearance to get her legs between the pincers. Ruby then pushed back against the strong pincers managing to sperate them a little, but the creature just slammed her against a tree and tightened its grip on her even more. She put her hand on Crescent Rose's trigger and squeezed it with all her might and a gravity dust round impacted the armored pincers and point-blank range. The force of the bullet and the effect of the dust caused one of the claws to be torn from the creature allowing Ruby to fall to her freedom. It roared in pain again and tried to slash down at Ruby with its broken pincer. Ruby side-stepped the strike and with the help of her semblance charged at the appendage cleaving it from the monster once and for all.
Scarlet couldn't help but let out a cheer as she watched her family seamlessly take down a massive Grimm. Her cheers were cut short when the massive Grimm in a frantic rage started charging down anyone that was in front of it. The rampaging scorpion had forced the family on the defensive. Even Neo and Scarlet had been forced out of their place in the bushes in order to avoid the monster.
Several attempts had been made by everyone to try and cut at its legs, all of which ended with them getting swatted away like flies. Scarlet having been sent flying by one of these attempts, flipped in the air to regain control of her fall and landed with a roll next to her twin sister.
"Hey Ruby," She started. "I have an idea!" She exclaimed.
"Well, I'm all ears." She responded eyeing the creature slowly searching for an opening in the rampage.
"How territorial are Death Stalkers?" Scarlet asked eyeing the Grimm's movements.
"Extremely." Ruby answered. "It's rare to find more than one in a single forest or cave." She explained recalling what her dad had taught her years ago in Signal Academy.
"Got it." Scarlet mumbled. "Neo!" She called out instantly gaining her sister's attention. "Make a Death Stalker!" She shouted her command and Neo, while confused as to why, did as she was told and used her semblance to make a fake Death Stalker.
The real Death Stalker stopped its rampage instantly and turned to face the fake one Neo had created. It then targeted its rage at the fake, charging forward with a loud roar. When the massive scorpion collided with the fake one it shattered into a million tiny glass shards. The Death Stalker looked around in confusion for several moments before starting to turn its attention back on the family.
"Make more!" Scarlet shouted again.
Neo nodded and closed her eyes and took in a deep breath letting her aura flare around her body. She focused her semblance and imagined a Death Stalker, and then more of them circling the one they were fighting. When she open her eyes she was greeted by seven Death Stalker illusions surrounding the real one. While not as many as she wanted, originally aiming for ten clones, this was as many as her aura would allow.
The Death Stalker Grimm kept shirting in its place, turning around, stepping forward and backwards. Scarlet's plan had worked. She leaned forward and activated her semblance. The world around her began to slow to a crawl. Scarlet could feel rose petals forming on her cloths and face as she started to run forward. To her she was running at a normal speed, but to everyone else she rocketed forward at breakneck speed. With one powerful swing of her sword, she had severed two of the legs on the Grimm, landing a deep cut on another. She continued forward and skidded to a stop turning around. She once again charged at the now slowly falling Grimm. This time she severed three legs and lacerated the fourth. She stopped running and time resumed its normal pace.
"Ruby now!" Scarlet shouted.
Ruby didn't need to be told twice. She charged forward with her semblance, and with one mighty swing of her scythe she had separated the Grimm's head from its body.
All was calm in the clearing. Within seconds of the Grimm's death the entire family broke out into cheers. Even Neo let a small whoop of joy. Yang grabbed Scarlet and Ruby by their shoulders and pulled them into a tight hug.
"Now if that's not family bonding then I don't know what is!" The blonde happily declared.
"Hold on!" Tai called out reaching for his scroll. "Hold that pose." He said as he took their picture. He earned a few confused looks from his daughters. "I think Summer would like it if I finished her scrapbook." He finished.
"Scrapbook?" Scarlet asked involuntarily.
"Our mom kept a scrapbook of important people and times in her life." Ruby explained. "It's even got a few more pictures of us in there." She stated with a wide grin.
Yang looked over to the short triple haired girl standing off to the side. "Hey Neo!" She called out to her. "You want in on this?" Yang held out an arm if Neo wanted to join them.
Neo's body stiffened and she starred at Yang, unsure how to proceed.
Scarlet broke away from her twin and half-sister to walk over to her adopted sister. She wrapped her arm around Neo and pulled her in close. "You don't have to accept them as your family yet Neo." She whispered into her sister's ear lightly. "You don't have to at all if you don't want to, just know that whatever happens between us I will always be your little sister."
Neo smiled. Scarlet's words meant a lot to her. Scarlet was the only family Neo had left in the world, and the fact that Scarlet understood her apprehension to opening up to these new people, and her willingness to take it slow with her made her feel… welcome. Like she was on her way to finding a new home. "Thank you Scarlet…"
Scarlet didn't respond immediately. but instead tightened her hold on Neo. "Can you at least be in some of the pictures?" She asked with a giggle in her voice.
Neo nodded.
The two of them smiled and looked at Tai who had been waiting for them. He raised his scroll and took a single photo of the adopted siblings. Tai knew that Neo and Scarlet were going to need their own page in the book. After all its what Summer would have done.
Scarlet said her goodbyes to Team RWBY, giving Weiss a wink that made her turn beet red, and left their dorm room. Neo left for her apartment after they left the forest, and her dad and uncle went back to their hotel room, so Scarlet tagged along with Ruby and Yang back to the dorm before saying goodbye.
She walked down the halls of the first-year dorms and out onto the main campus. She continued on her way towards the bullhead ports hoping the late-night transport was working otherwise she would need to stay with her sisters in their dorm. She only made it halfway their when she saw two familiar figures talking near the fountain. Emerald and Mercury.
Emerald was pacing back and forth looking frantic, and Mercury was sitting with his elbows on his knees and his face buried in his hands. Scarlet was able to make out a few of their sentences and deduced they were talking about Cinder, and from the sound of it they were talking about how they didn't trust her.
Scarlet knew if she wanted to get them on her side this was he chance. This was her moment to help them see a better light and help guide them down the path towards a better life. She took a deep breath and steeled her nerves. She started walking over to them.
"if we do this then what will-." Emerald's panicked rant was cut off by Scarlet approaching. "Scarlet!?" She exclaimed in shock and confusion. "What are you doing here?" She asked sounding paranoid.
"I told you I need a day to think things over." Scarlet started. "And I have."
Mercury looked up from his hands. Scarlet hadn't talked to him much at all, but from the looks of it he was having the same doubts as Emerald about Cinder's plan. "Is it-… is it true you're thinking about leaving Cinder?" He ask, from the sound of his voice he sounded like he was on the verge of a panic attack.
Scarlet nodded. "Yes I am, and I know a way you two can join me." She help her arms out almost welcoming them to join her.
"How?" Both of the broken teenagers said in unison.
"How much do you trust me?" Scarlet asked apprehensively.
"At this point…" Mercury stood from his seat. "I don't see why not. I can either live with the guilt of what I've done forever or join you and possibly die by Cinder's hands."
Something told Scarlet that Mercury's statement about being killed by Cinder were grounded in reality.
Emerald stepped closer to Scarlet. "How can you help us?"
Scarlet starred into Emeralds red and puffy eyes that looked around at everything in a frantic paranoid manor. Had Emerald and Mercury been brainwashed by Cinder, and it was only breaking now? A question for another day, Scarlet thought as she turned around and motioned for them to follow her.
She lead them all the way to Ozpin's office. They starred at her in confusion, "Why did you bring us here?" Mercury asked.
Scarlet turned to face them, steeling her nerves for the confession she was about to make. "For the past few months, I have been working with Ozpin and the Vale PD to take down Roman's empire, and we recently turned our attention to Cinder." She came clean as bluntly as she could trying to pull the band aid off as fast as possible. Before either of them could say a word Scarlet kept going. "When I joined them they gave me deal; my cooperation for the acquittal of all my crimes."
Emerald and Mercury were floored by that statement. "And I am positive if you join them with me and Neo they will give you the same deal." Scarlet added trying to both incentivize and calm them.
"Wh-what… what happens after all of this. If we join you then what will happen to us after Cinder is put away." Emerald asked.
"I don't know if I had to guess you'd go into witness protection." She stated. Her saying this seemed to greatly calm the two of them.
Scarlet took a moment to eye both of them down. They both looked stressed beyond belief. They both had dark bags under their eyes and disheveled hair. Mercury was a man that was struggling to come to terms with his past after years of avoiding it. Emerald looked like a broken women, she had clearly believed everything Cinder had told her and full heartedly believed that it was for some kind of greater good, or course that illusion was now gone.
Scarlet turned and pressed the button to call the elevator, after a brief moment of waiting she stepped in and turned to face the two of them, they turned to each other and nodded before stepping inside.
Next thing Scarlet knew, she was inside Ozpin's office. He was clearly packing up for the night and was incredibly surprised when they walked in. "Ms. Rose…?" He said with a raised eyebrow.
"Hey Oz'." She greeted. "I'd like you to meet Emerald Sustrai and Mercury Black." She motioned back to the people behind her.
Ozpin's entire posture straightened at the names. "From Cinder's inner circle?" He asked earning a node from the two of them.
Emerald stepped forward. "I-we want to help you take down Cinder…" She said in barely a mumble. Yet Ozpin heard her clearly.
Mercury stepped forward this time. "We will do anything we can to help." He stated as firmly as he could.
He cleared his throat and set a coffee pot into his machine, already beginning to brew a new batch. "Please take a seat you two." He motioned towards the chairs in front of his desk. "Do either of you like coffee?" He asked pulling some more mugs from a cabinet.
"Isn't it a bit late for coffee?" Emerald pointed out confused.
"Trust me," Ozpin started. "With the amount of questions, I have to ask you, I doubt any of us will be getting sleep tonight."
"I take mine black." Emerald stated as she sat down.
"Cream and sugar please." Mercury responded.
Ozpin smiled and let out a small chuckle, "Not what I was expecting, but you can't always be sure about people." Ozpin turned back towards Scarlet. "Ms. Rose I will be spending the night with these two, I think it would be best if you went home."
Scarlet wanted to protest, but she knew it was pointless. If Ozpin wanted her to go home that he had a damn good reason for it. She nodded and turned to leave, but before she made it to the elevator she turned back around, "Good luck you two!" She chirped in as upbeat of a tone she could. They both smiled.
Scarlet left Ozpin's office, then the building, then the campus, and before she knew it she was back home. She walked back to her bedroom and got changed in a daze. She flopped back onto her soft bed her mind swirling with the events of the day. Her date with Weiss, which she thought went well, her reunion with her father and the Death Stalker battle, and just now Emerald and Mercury changing sides.
She was pulled from her thoughts by her black and white cat jumping on the bed and nuzzling its face into her neck. Scarlet giggled, "F-Fia!" She laughed. Scarlet pulled the covers over her and put on her background music and slowly let the embrace of sleep wash over her.
Next Chapter; Patient Name- Neopolitan Torchwick
Congratulations you just read a 11,000 word chapter (12,000 with this note). This beats my old record of 9,000 words held by 'Tales of AMBR Chapter 3; The Upgrade' by long shot.
Anyway another special chapter next, this one focused on Neo. What am I celebrating? Reaching ten main chapters on this story of course! Hope to see you all there, I'm going to be serving a freshly baked back story, family recipe of course.
Until then Farewell for now.