xenosaiyan had matters this week that required his full, undivided attention, so he did not get the chance to beta this chapter. All mistakes are my own.

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"Well, that's quite the story," Weiss remarked. She and Gray twirled around each other, her heels clicking across the floor as the string quartet filled the air with a light and pleasant concerto. The ice wizards were not the only couple on the dance floor, but the others were either enjoying the music or engrossed in their own conversations, leaving teacher and student to exchange information with impunity. "How in the world did you all survive the entire guild, a band of psychotic fifth-generation Dragon Slayers, and this White Witch person? Even if Juvia wasn't there fighting against you, that seems like more than the Strongest Team can handle, even with Sitara's help."

Gray shrugged. "By the skin of our teeth, I'd imagine. Natsu was poisoned before the fight even started and Wendy and Carla were hurt so bad that Lucy had to put them in a Fairy Sphere to protect her. Are you sure they're alright?"

Weiss flashed him a warm smile and nodded. "They were last I saw them. Wendy was unconscious when father forced me back here, but the doctors said she was fine. They're with Ruby and the others on Patch."

"That's a relief," Gray sighed, his hand clutching Weiss' side just a bit tighter. "Thank you for keeping them safe."

"Of course, they're my guildmates too," Weiss replied. "Since you're here though, I imagine you ended up in a similar situation to her?"

The Ice Devil Slayer cringed. "I left my guard down for a second and Gildarts nearly ripped my chest open. Would have, if Sitara hadn't pulled me out of the way, and I still would have bled out if Lucy hadn't put me in a sphere. Next thing I know, I'm waking up in a back alley in Mantle."

"You had clothes on, right?" Weiss cocked an eyebrow. "For that matter, how do you have clothes on now? I don't think I've ever seen you wear anything this long, let alone a tuxedo."

Gray smirked. He spun her out in their dance before pulling her back in, closer than before. An outsider observer might have thought that he was attempting to seduce her with his body heat (and Weiss wouldn't deny the slight blush that flashed over her cheeks), but his true purpose became clear when he guided her hand to his chest. As her palm glided across the silk, a sizable square patch protruded out just a bit farther than the rest in the same manner as Weiss' own gown.

"You too, huh?"

"What can I say? Painful it may be, duct tape does its job," Gray noted. "I found out pretty quick that my habit wouldn't be as tolerated here as it is back home."

Weiss couldn't help but giggle. "Yes, public indecency is rather frowned upon here."

"Quite. Took me a few months before I could get enough money for the tape—"

"Months?" Weiss cut in. She halted their dance immediately and pulled him over to the cocktail tables. She didn't want to split her attention for this explanation. "Wendy only appeared a few weeks ago. How long have you been on Remnant?"

Gray grimaced. "Thirteen months. I've been trying to figure out a way to get to you since I realized where I was."

"Thirteen months? What magic could have possibly let you out then?" Weiss noted. "I would have only just arrived at Beacon then."

If Gray had arrived in Mantle with nothing but the clothes on his back, he would have been stuck in an unknown, overcrowded city with no money or identification. And since Fairy Tail wasn't exactly fond of thievery, he would have had his work cut out for him making ends meet day to day, let alone finding out where she was, smuggling himself out the kingdom and into Vale, and then tracking her down at the school. In hindsight, it was probably for the best he didn't. Thirteen months ago, she hadn't even become friends with Ruby yet, let alone gone through Sitara's book and met Fairy Tail. Which raised a great many questions about the temporal mechanics of interdimensional travel, since Gray had lived more than two years since she'd last seen him but ended up on Remnant a year before she'd met him, but ultimately a more mundane concern occupied her mind at the moment.

"How did you get in here?" she inquired. "Don't get me wrong, I'm ecstatic to see you, but this isn't exactly a party you can sneak into."

For the first time in their conversation, a wary frown crossed Gray's face. "That is a long story. I'll tell you the rest of it when I can, but the short version is that I was working as a delivery driver for less reputable people than I would have liked and got pulled over. Didn't have any ID, so the police took me in, but someone came and bailed me out…"

"But really, does it come as any surprise what happened to Vale?"

Weiss' body froze as that shrill, callous voice cut through the air. Gray's voice teetered off and they both glanced down at the area where the high socialites of Atlas were still mingling, specifically a husband and wife pair who were attracting more and more of a crowd. She had no idea who they were, but she could already tell she'd want to punch the both of them in the face.

"It was a long time coming if you ask me," the wife continued, relishing in the scores of eyes that were turning her way.

The husband was far less engrossed with the attention, plastering on a nervous smile as he leaned into his spouse's ear. "Honey, please, this isn't—"

"What? You said the same thing last night!" The wife trampled over him, gesturing grandly as if she was an orator on a stage. "If they're so arrogant to think that they can get by without proper kingdom defense, then I say good riddance."

Weiss's veins flooded with ice, images of thousands of Grimm rampaging through her school, of acquaintances she'd passed in the hall lying dead at her feet, of a one-armed, broken Yang lying unconscious at her feet, flashing past her eyes. Black frost coated the back of her gloves as she shot to her feet. She was going to tear that pompous arrogant bitch's head off and then freeze her solid for a thousand years!

Only Gray's sudden grip clamping down on her wrist stopped her from unleashing her frozen vengeance, forcing her to whirl about to face her guildmate, who subtly shook his head.

"It's not worth it."

"Not worth it?" she whispered furiously, barely able to keep her fury from escalating her volume. "Did you hear—"

"I heard," he insisted. "But who can do more damage to her? An emotional girl assaulting her at a party, or the heiress of the SDC who can make the entire kingdom listen?"

"You are telling me not to get emotional?"

He looked away, conflicted. "I don't know what you went through at Beacon, but is this really the battle you want to pick?"

Weiss could barely believe what she was hearing. The man who fought with Natsu over the slimmest disagreement was telling her to turn the other cheek. To let this pasted hag insult her friends who'd fought, and suffered, and died defending Beacon from Cinder's attack.

And yet, with her initial instinct of vengeance cooled just a bit, she could see his point. Even if Gray didn't know about her tenuous position with her father, such a public outburst would obliterate any meager standing with him she'd been able to recoup since her return. Part of her… most of her, didn't really care about that, thinking that Jacques' approval was hardly a prize worth seeking. But Beacon still needed whatever support he could offer, especially with the general's dust embargo, and for that, she needed to remain in his good graces so she could influence him to give it. Once the school was rebuilt, once she was back with her friends, the words of one idiotic socialite striving for her sixty seconds in the spotlight wouldn't matter.

Reluctantly, she pulled herself back to the table, Gray releasing his grip. "I hate this."

"No arguments there," he concurred, his hand continuously closing into a fist as the woman continued with her tirade. "But I've learned from experience that vengeance usually doesn't help anyone. Anger is only useful as long as you're controlling it and not the other way around."

"Sounds like something Master Makarov would say," Weiss bitterly noted. "And something Natsu and Yang would need to hear."

"Believe me," Gray grimaced, a note of shame in his voice. "Everyone needs to hear it."

Weiss raised an eyebrow. She was certain that there was a story behind that statement, even if it was unconnected to his arrival on Remnant. She'd like to hear it one day. Her old teacher was strangely a bit more somber than she remembered.

"Good riddance, you say?"

Weiss's gaze was drawn back to the woman and her husband, a new voice, one that was somewhat familiar, but she couldn't quite place, entering the dialogue.

Upon seeing the speaker, it became obvious why she'd recognized them. Her father had been quite avid that she keep up to date on Atlas' political sphere as well as its business world, claiming that the two were more connected than most realized. As such, she'd watched and listened to plenty of speeches delivered by the kingdom's most notable politician of the last few years.

Esper Rosenflos strode through the crowd like a moon goddess descended from on high, parting the tides as she glided into the center of attention. She was barely taller than Yang, but her simple white gown revealed enough tasteful hints of her full figure to know that a mature woman laid underneath. Deep black hair flanked her eyes, like the curtains of the night sky surrounding a pair of golden moons. Honestly, it might have been her own longing, but the Atlas Council Chairwoman looked a bit like an older Ruby.

The woman who'd been so confident before took a fearful step back, her husband coming forward to shield her from the new arrival. "Madam Chairwoman, please, she didn't mean it…"

"Of course, I did!" his wife sputtered, shoving her spouse aside, driven by some inane will to dig herself deeper, even as her terrified face made it clear she had no idea what she was doing. "If Vale is unable to keep itself safe, then we shouldn't have to bother shouldering their ineptitude."

Weiss' teeth gnashed against each other, but her anger shifted to a hint of sadistic pleasure when the foolish woman shrank back under Esper's calm glare.

"If Vale is unable to keep itself safe? But Vale didn't fail to keep itself safe, did it?" the chairwoman pointed out, like a schoolteacher explaining a painfully obvious point to a lagging student. "Atlas provided the security for the festival. We guarded them with a fleet and an entire squad of specialists. And our enemy still circumvented our defense, the power of the greatest kingdom on Remnant. Do you think our General Ironwood wouldn't bother with 'proper kingdom defense'?"

"Well, I… no. I did not mean to disparage the general's abilities. Of course, he did everything in his power to make up for those idiotic Valeans' failings—"

"The Valeans' only failing was in agreeing to our arrogant request to solely provide security for the festival," Esper cut in, a furious flame blazing behind her golden eyes. She turned around to the crowd, drawing them in to her rapturous fire. "Terrorists, the White Fang, and most especially, the Grimm. Our enemies are not weak. No one kingdom alone can possibly hope to defend against them. The Atlesian Military is the most powerful force on this planet, but they cannot know the other kingdoms as their people do, cannot see all the shadows that our enemies can slip out from, like the cowards they are."

She raised her champagne flute, other notable figures in the crowd such as General Ironwood and even Weiss' father mirroring the gesture.

"That is why we are here tonight! Why you are all here tonight, heroes all!" Esper proclaimed, attracting more advocates with that hint of flattery. "Thanks to your generosity, we shall raise Vale up from the ashes of Beacon's fall and rebuild all humanity into a strong, united force against the Grimm and any other malcontents who would foolishly seek us harm! To Atlas! To Vale!"

"To Atlas! To Vale!"

Weiss couldn't yet bring herself to join in on the first chorus, but she happily echoed the second. Especially when she saw the initial bitch who'd started the whole debacle scurry off with her husband at her back. The crowd dispersed soon after, the socialites roused by the politician into thinking they were on the right side of history. Perhaps they were.

"Quite impressive, isn't she? They're eating out of her hand."

A glaring dark-haired woman stepped up to Weiss and Gray's table, clothed in a shimmering grey dress. The elder ice wizard frowned at the new arrival.

"You don't need to babysit me."

"Calm down, Fullbuster, I'm your backup, not your shadow." The woman turned to Weiss, a small genuine smile overtaking her distrustful scowl. She extended a friendly hand. "Besides, you're not the only one who's been looking for a way to meet Winter's little sister."

Weiss lent a wary gaze to the woman, eyeing the jagged scar running down from her left eye, a more extreme version of the one that marred the heiress' own. She cordially returned the handshake. Winter hadn't sent many photos of her team home, but she had seen enough to know the huntress in front of her had reason for acting so familiar. "Drizzella Tremaine, it's a pleasure to finally make your acquaintance. Winter spoke fondly of you."

"Likely no less than she did of you," her sister's former teammate complimented. "Your performance at the Festival was quite exceptional, especially if you handled yourself as well as Ana says you did when things went south."

"Thank you," Weiss replied. "Though, as pleasant as this encounter is, Gray and I were in the middle of a private conversation."

"Say no more," Drizzella smiled suggestively. "Though, might I recommend continuing your talk out on in the gardens. Far fewer prying ears." She glanced at Gray. "I'll make sure you're left alone."

Gray growled, but reluctantly rose to his feet. Weiss cocked an eyebrow out of curiosity but followed her former teacher as they both left for the balcony doors. She glanced back to see Drizzella intercepting General Ironwood at their table.

"Always good to see you, Drizzella," the general assured his former student. "But there is a matter I need to speak with Ms. Schnee about."

"Headmaster, she's been through quite a lot lately, as you well know. Surely you wouldn't be so cruel as to interrupt her when she's having some alone time with a handsome boy?"

The insinuation stopped the most powerful man in Atlas in his tracks just as surely as it lit Weiss' own cheeks aflame. She was grateful that she and Gray passed through the glass doors out onto the balcony garden so that no one would have the chance to see her feverish blush.

Of course, once she was out in the myriad of hedges that formed the gardens, the thundering hubbub of the ballroom somewhat muted, she realized precisely what Drizzella's presence meant. Winter had told her before of her only teammate who didn't become a Specialist.

"Atlas Intelligence?" She inquired to Gray. "They're your backer?"

Gray sighed. "Like I said, I got pulled over and ray of sunshine over there and her mother bailed me out. Said they wanted to hire me on retainer. If I said yes, I got more money than I knew what to do with, a fake background with documents to back it up, and, most importantly, a chance to get in to see you once you got back from Vale."

Weiss raised an eyebrow. "Okay. That makes sense. But, why you? And why are you so wary about them?"

"Because they know I'm a wizard. They know we're wizards."

"What?" Weiss gasped, her eyes wide. "How? A few months ago, I thought magic was a children's story, and you're from another world. Even if they know about magic, how could they possibly—"

Suddenly, Gray grabbed her and dived down into the hedges, a hand over her mouth to halt her speech. Her eyes flared with indignation for a moment before her guildmate raised a vertical finger to his lips in the symbol for silence across all worlds.

He then pointed out at the only minuscule gap in the thick greenery, through which she caught sight of her father and Esper coming up side-by-side. It suddenly became very clear why Drizzella had wanted them to move to the garden.

"I must say, Esper, sometimes I think I invite you to these little functions just to hear those wonderful speeches of yours," Jacques grinned, taking a sip of his champagne.

"Little function? Is that what you call a charity, Jacques? For shame," Esper replied, though her words lacked any true reproach when thrown by her joking smile.

Jacques' light chuckle confirmed there was no offense taken, a rarity from him. "Oh, I assure you, I take public relations quite seriously."

"Just not enough to fix the actual issues that endanger it."

Jacques shrugged. "I run a business, not welfare. I'm not the slave driver the White Fang and their radical fellows paint me as, so why should I acquiesce to their attempts to bankrupt me?"

Esper rolled her eyes. "It would take a thousand White Fangs to bankrupt you, Jacques."

The businessman's eyes suddenly narrowed. "Or one foolish general."

Weiss resisted the urge to groan. Of course, this wasn't just a simple PR stunt. Getting a meeting with the Council Chairwoman could take weeks, even for the head of the SDC, especially if General Ironwood were to work against the process. But a charity gala for a high-profile international tragedy? No statesman worth their salt could miss it.

"I take it from your words inside that you are not blind to Ironwood's recent blunders," Jacques continued.

Esper raised an eyebrow. "I don't recall insulting James."

"You're a politician. You did it politely," Jacques quipped, though without a smile. "Though, according to him, you also gave him the idea for this blasted embargo in the first place."

Esper sighed. "It came up in a discussion of necessary measures if Vale declared war for the Fall of Beacon. I didn't think he'd jump the gun like this. It paints a huge target not only for terrorist groups looking to arm themselves, but for the other kingdoms who'll think we're gearing up to restart the Great War."

"Yes, I can see how that would interfere with your little international friendship circle," Jacques noted. "So, can I count on your support to overturn this in the Council?"

"I'll do what I can," the chairwoman assured him. "But I hope that in return, you can provide me with a small favor?"

"Depending on the value of small."

"To you? I can think of nothing less," Esper said. "I am currently looking for a personal assistant, an intern to shadow me in everything I do."

Weiss' eyes widened. Menial as the task may have sounded, it would be a massive boon to whoever received it. If a person was trusted to work side-by-side with the Council Chairwoman, it would be a statement to all of Remnant that the Kingdom of Atlas had full faith in them, that they were capable of handling the rigors of the highest echelon. It would be a sign that the council themselves believed in their capabilities, a huge endorsement to whatever path the individual chose to follow in their life.

An opportunity like that was near priceless, even to a Schnee. If she could get it, her eventual ascendancy to the head of her family's company was practically ensured.

"I would like to offer the position to your daughter."

Weiss threw up her hand and froze her own mouth shut to contain her squeal.

Unfortunately, Jacques was not nearly as ecstatic at the idea of his heir receiving such an invaluable commendation. "Weiss? Why her, if I may ask?"

Esper shrugged. She stepped away from Jacques and meandered over to the hedges, her fingers gliding along the stems of each prickly rose. "Her performance in the Vytal Festival impressed me, as well as what Winter and Ana told me about her tenacity afterward. I miss mentoring a young, capable huntress."

"You assume that combat capability will translate to political competence."

"It did for me. Though, why are you arguing against this? I would think you'd be thrilled that I'm offering your heir the keys to the kingdom, so to speak."

"Heir, at present."

Weiss' eyes widened, black frost shimmering across the nearby leaves as she fought to contain her outrage, Gray clamping a hand on her shoulder to calm her down.

Fortunately, Esper turned around from the flowers before she could see the unusual cold. She narrowed her eyes in disapproval.

"You're going to disinherit her? Like Winter?"

Jacques shrugged. "Before Nicholas took me under his wing, I was quite the gambler. And perhaps the greatest lesson I learned in that time was to never put all my chips on one roulette. I forgot that lesson with Winter and she abandoned the family to become Ironwood's attack dog. I state with some pride that Weiss and Whitley are both far superior on that account."

Esper sighed. "Did you think that maybe there was a reason she fled to him?"

"Oh, don't start that again. All I have ever done, I have done for the good of the Schnee name, for our family legacy. I can't help it if some of my children are too weak to understand that."

Weiss' hands closed into fists. The Schnee name? Their legacy? That disgusting wretch! He married into their family! Its honor was not his to tarnish! Who was he to call them weak?!

Jacques looked down into his glass, swirling the liquid within. "To tell the truth, I've actually quite appreciated the changes I've seen in Weiss since her return. Where once she would whine and squabble like a child, she now reasons and negotiates like a proper human being. I did not wish to allow her to go to Beacon at first, but it seems keeping her away from James' influence has done her some good."

"And yet," Esper challenged. "You still think her unworthy."

The Schnee patriarch frowned, his mistrust reflected his golden drink. "She's exhibited an… unsettling temperament, like a bomb that could go off at any moment."

"Perhaps she is merely uncomfortable. Atlas has a very different environment than Vale."

"Atlas is her home. If she is not comfortable here, if she truly seeks to wander off and galivant around the world hunting insignificant Grimm, then she is not fit to reign here," Jacques declared, true, unyielding passion behind his words. "I will not entrust everything I have built, everything Nicholas built, to someone who's ideal of nobility is a glorified mercenary. And an outdated one at that."

"Nobility, such a pretty little word," Esper mused. "Though, I will admit that despite their valor, huntsmen are simply insufficient against the full power of the Grimm. We've all been hiding behind walls for far too long."

"Precisely," Jacques smirked. "Perhaps Weiss will come to her senses once she's had more time back home, but perhaps she won't. And were she to cause some unfortunate public incident, well, I believe Whitley will prove himself a more than worthy successor."

Esper frowned, turning back to the hedges. Her hand streaked through the branches, her fingers brushing so close that for a moment, Weiss was worried they might touch her or Gray. If they were found to be eavesdropping, her father would have her disinherited in an instant.

Fortunately, the chairwoman's hand pulled up just inches from the Fairy Tail wizards, brushing the black frost from a nearby rose's petals and plucking the flower outright.

"I assume Whitley is your substitute candidate?"

"I assure you, he's quite sensible," Jacques stated, no shortage of pride in his voice. "You still get the prestige and connections that come with mentoring a Schnee, he receives the endorsement and invaluable experience from working under your wing, Weiss is free to pursue her interests however wise or foolish, and most importantly, we can work together to end this damned embargo."

Esper scowled for a moment but nodded in the end. "I suppose. Though, be aware, James has only been able to keep the council from ending the embargo because they're keen on keeping the forces that attacked Beacon out of Atlas. My influence will help, but to truly change minds, we will need to prove that it is an ineffective measure."

"That shouldn't be too difficult," Jacques waved off. "The White Fang have always enjoyed raiding my supplies. Now that I'm being forced to stockpile, I doubt they'll be able to resist. Who knows? Perhaps it'll be so bad they'll have to grant you emergency powers."

"Please, don't joke about such a disaster, Jacques, even you," Esper replied. "I'll send over the paperwork tonight and Whitley can start on Monday."

"Excellent! Oh, and by the way," Jacques smiled, walking back towards the ballroom. "If you're worried about Atlas Intelligence interfering tonight, don't be. I've had Klein keep an eye on the Tremaine girl all night."

Esper frowned, glancing over the rose bushes. "You underestimate COMMAND ESR's paranoia."

"Perhaps, but I am more than familiar with his ruthlessness," Jacques scowled. "Now then, shall we rejoin the festivities?"

The chairwoman let her gaze linger on the hedges for a few more moments before turning back to her host. With that, the pair reentered the glass doors, disappearing back into their kingdom of decadence.

No sooner had they done so than Gray and Weiss leapt out of the bushes, the former cringing in agony, his chest somehow bare save for a set of deep red welts from the tape. Still, it only took him a few moments to collect himself and gaze worriedly on his sulking friend.

"Hey, are you alright?" he asked carefully. "You told me your dad was bad, but that…"

"He's exactly what he's always been," Weiss muttered, ice on her voice.

She'd kept her head down, made nice with the corrupt and arrogant upper class of the kingdom. She'd been reasonable and done everything she could to benefit her father as well as her friends. She had done nothing wrong, something he himself acknowledged, and yet he was still planning to cast her aside. Because she hadn't done every little thing he'd demanded and shown him she had a temper within her, as if he had any ground to stand on criticizing her for that. As if he hadn't struck her mother before.

He would take it all away. Like it or not, the company was legally his. If he decided that he didn't want to give it to her, no power on Remnant could compel him to give it to her. And then the rot he'd installed in her family name would never be cleansed, the Schnee honor forever ravaged.

She could not let that happen. She would not let that happen.

"Gray, why did Atlas Intelligence have you come here tonight?" she asked softly.

Her guildmate froze in the middle of repairing his abandoned tuxedo, unable to face her properly. "Two reasons. The first was to keep an eye out for any backroom, or back-garden, I guess, deals that the Council Chairwoman might make. I'm a recent hire, so even the people in the know don't recognize me yet."

"And being a wizard means you can handle anyone who does," Weiss finished. "And the second?"

"They wanted me to recruit you," he said. "I told them I'd ask just so I could see you, but if they try to force you, we'll just have to show them it isn't a good idea to mess with Fairy Tail."

Weiss grinned. "That we will. But why do they want me anyway? I'm one of the most well-known people in Atlas, I'm hardly fit for covert operations."

Gray's eyes narrowed. "I'm not entirely sure. All I know is that they think something big is in the works. A plot against the kingdom. And the big boss at Intelligence, COMMAND ESR, thinks the Chairwoman's a part of it."

"Ms. Rosenflos?" Weiss couldn't help but find that… unlikely. Politician she might have been, she was also one of the foremost advocates for international cooperation against the Grimm. Not to mention that people that both her sister and her father respected could be counted on one hand. Of course, she did have her father's respect. That wasn't exactly an endorsement of her virtue.

"Honestly, I wouldn't trust any of them as far as I can throw them," Gray said. "Your father's a bastard, the chairwoman seems too good to be true, General Ironwood's paranoid, and Atlas Intelligence knows way too many things they shouldn't."

"So, what do you suggest?" Weiss inquired.

Gray shrugged. "Leave. You said Wendy and the others are in Vale. Now that I've got an ID, and you can provide the money, we can buy a boat or a bullhead and get the hell out of here. There's got to be some smuggler who doesn't need the CCT to go between kingdoms."

"If you want to leave and join up with Wendy, I'll gladly give you the money to do it."

Gray raised an eyebrow. "You're not coming?"

"Oh, trust me, there is nothing I'd like more than to reunite with Ruby and the others," Weiss explained. "But if I leave, I risk father claiming that he's done enough for Beacon after tonight. And he'll doubtlessly use our flight as the excuse he needs to disinherit me."

"Which means you'll lose your chance to take back your family's legacy," Gray noted glumly. They'd spoken enough about the matter on Earthland for him to understand just how important the task was for her, enough for her to have made every choice since before she'd left for Beacon based on whether it would help her achieve it. Well, almost every choice. Ruby and Fairy Tail tended to derail such carefully laid plans. But when push came to shove, there was no one she'd rather have at her back.

Gray sighed, finally getting his tuxedo back on good as new. "If you're staying, I'm staying."

Weiss couldn't help but frown worriedly. "Are you sure? I don't want to keep you from finding the other spheres."

"Wendy and Carla are safe with Ruby, and the other spheres will still be here once we're shown your old man what's what," he grinned, raising his hand in a subdued version of Fairy Tail's distinctive sign, his finger pointed at the starry sky. "You're family too, Weiss. No matter what happens, I got your back."

Weiss stood there gaping at him for a moment, before tears began to well in her eyes and she returned his smile. For the first time since she returned to Atlas, she truly felt like she wasn't alone. "Thank you. Thank you so much."

"No problem," he assured her. "So, I'm guessing this means you want me to set up a meet for you with Intelligence?"

"Yes," she nodded. "Maybe we can't trust them, but the only thing that will keep father from disinheriting me is if it would be public suicide to go against me. Which means we need to get public opinion on our side. I'd think an espionage organization will know a thing or two about that."

"That they would," Gray confirmed, smirking. "That they would."

Weiss grinned. She couldn't solve this the traditional Fairy Tail way, beating her father to a pulp would just provoke him and cost her everything. To get back her family's honor, she'd have to play his game for now.

And there was also the matter of this conspiracy that Intelligence thought was afoot. Even if the chairwoman wasn't involved, it was doubtful that the dedicated spies of the kingdom were grasping at shadows. After all, Cinder had made mention to the others about having a master. Who's to say that employer wasn't looking to add a second kingdom to her hit list? As a huntress, she couldn't leave such a threat unchecked.

She'd protect her kingdom. She'd restore her family.

After all, she was a Fairy Tail wizard.

RWBYRWBYRWBYRWBYFTFTFTFT

"Adam, I'm not going to repeat myself, so I want you to listen when I say that the White Fang will not attack Haven Academy."

From atop her simple wooden throne, flanked by two armed guards on either side, Sienna Khan glared down at her kneeling former protégé. For so long, he'd been her right hand, her sword against the humans' hate. Due to Ghira's pacifism, the White Fang had possessed few warriors capable of actually dealing with their foes once they had turned to violence. The young bull faunus had been a godsend, not only being capable of defeating all but the strongest of huntsmen, but training their ranks up to the point that they were capable of trading with any kingdom's military, in terms of skill if not numbers. There was a reason she'd trusted him to whip the Vale branch into shape after their reports had proved… insufficient.

But then he'd attacked Beacon Academy. Sienna may have been in favor of violent resistance to human oppression, but she wasn't an idiot. The White Fang may have been called terrorists by the kingdoms, and perhaps they were, but as long as they were just hijacking dust shipments, or delivering justice to cruel SDC executives, they had an air of noble vigilantism about them, the kind that allowed sympathetic citizens to think that sheltering them from the tyrannical authorities was perhaps the right thing to do. But attacking the huntsmen academies put them against the defenders of the world, casting them firmly as irredeemable villains in the public eye. Not to mention the Grimm were everyone's problem. Huntsmen may have been hired to go after their organization at times, but their primary purpose was still ensuring the kingdoms existed to be fought over at all. Attacking their training facilities was asinine, the move of a madman.

And yet, looking over Adam now, arguing back and forth over his actions and hearing him incessantly argue in favor of repeating his craven strategy, she could not help but worry it was a madman that was before her. Traits she had admired in the boy when she'd been grooming him, his will, his tenacity, his ardent devotion to the cause, now she saw them all twisted within him, like a beast hungry for its already wounded prey.

A beast she feared she may have trained.

"You have justified humanity's campaign against us, and for what?" she demanded. "Empty promises from a group of humans? Humans we still know nothing about and come and go as they please! These are not examples of strength, Adam. They are examples of your talents being diminished by short-sightedness!"

For a few moments, Adam said nothing, his new trio of long scars snaking down the center of his face, far too large to be hidden by his mask. When she'd asked what had given them to him, he'd merely replied, "A monster."

In time however, he rose to his feet. "If you're so curious about the humans, why not ask one of them yourself? Hazel!"

The doors to the throne slammed open, a towering, muscular man in a forest green vest marching into the chamber. His head and beard were a thick brown, yet his forearms were coated with vibrant yellow fur. If she wasn't already aware of the group he belonged to, she might have mistaken that for a faunus trait.

As it was, she was furious, leaping to her feet as her guards lowered their spears at the interloper. "You brought a human to this location?"

"Apologies, ma'am," the human, Hazel said. "I don't aim to cause you any trouble. And if it makes you feel any better, I haven't been human in many years."

"You should hear what he has to say," Adam insisted.

"This is grounds for execution!"

"Ma'am, please," Hazel beseeched, his voice surprisingly earnest. "Nobody needs to die today. I'm just asking for a moment of your time."

The gigantic man proceeded to fall to one knee, supplicating himself at the steps of her throne.

It was certainly a rare gesture for his kind to show such humility. Perhaps he honestly did want to work with them. Ghira had recruited plenty of sympathetic humans into their ranks in his time. But that was before they'd started fighting back, and anyone who thought destroying the huntsmen academies was a good idea was not someone her organization wanted on their side.

"The longer you stay here, the less of a chance you have of leaving alive," she growled. If he was willing to put so much effort into this meeting, she'd at least give him the opportunity to get out unharmed. They'd have to move the base after he left, but it would hardly be an irrecoverable loss.

However, the human did not rise.

"I'll take those chances if you don't mind." he declared, raising his head to look her in the eye.

Sienna had seen many warriors in her life, human, faunus, men, women. None of them, even Ghira, even her, would feel confident escaping an entire base full of hostile combatants, though some young and stupid ones would declare they could, their voices full of youthful arrogance and bluster.

Hazel was not young, and his voice contained no arrogance. He spoke as if relating common facts, as if facing down entire terrorist cells was just something he did, hardly cause for concern. Perhaps he was counting on Adam supporting him if it came down to escape… but somehow she didn't think he was.

Deciding caution was the wisest choice of action, Sienna resumed her seat, her guards recalling their weapons. She motioned for the human to rise.

Hazel did just that, nodding his thanks.

"You don't like me," he stated plainly. "You have no reason to like me. But you don't have to like me to get the results you want."

"I'm starting to doubt either of you fully comprehend what it is that I want," Sienna scoffed. "I want humanity to fear the faunus, to know that we demand respect. I do not want to start a war with the humans that we cannot win!"

"Ma'am—"

"That's where you're wrong," Adam interrupted, striding in front of his ally as Hazel looked on confused. The bull faunus paid him no heed and began to march up the steps of Sienna's dais. "We can win a war with the humans. Not only because we have the support of Hazel's master, but because the faunus are the dominant species on this planet. We're better than humans. We have everything they have and more. Humans shouldn't just fear the faunus. They should serve the faunus."

Sienna frowned, barely able to keep a furious growl from escaping her lips. She didn't know how her young protégé had descended into such madness, but as long as she lived, she would never allow such genocide.

"I've had enough of this conversation for tonight," she declared. "Guards, take them away."

She waited a few moments, only for the men at her sides to do nothing. Her eyes narrowed, a sneaking suspicion creeping through her mind as Adam's voice rose again.

"I will admit, Sienna. You were right about my popularity," he said, almost complimentary. "My followers in Vale already see me as the true High Leader. And many here in Mistral feel the same."

The doors to the throne room were thrown open, a squad of troops charging in with guns drawn. Sienna's personal guards turned on her, their spears now aimed at her chest.

"What are you doing?" Hazel demanded, no more pleased with the turn of events than Sienna herself.

"What's right for the faunus," Adam grandly proclaimed. "From this day forward, I will be the one to lead the White Fang!"

Sienna bared her teeth, her fist clenched in livid fury. She'd known the boy she'd trained had descended into insanity, but she'd never imagined he'd go so far as to lead a coup against her, nor that her guards would be so brazen as to take his side. She'd been caught unarmed and outnumbered, a dozen weapons trained on her. It was a disgrace, and as childish as it was, she was embarrassed at how easily he'd outmaneuvered her.

"If you think I'll just step aside and follow beneath you, you're wrong—"

She saw the sword as soon as she'd turned, already less than an inch from her gut. In her moment of fury, Adam had already sneaked under her guard, his blade inside the field of her aura even if she threw it up. In less than a second, she would be impaled, and Adam would corrupt her and Ghira's organization to wreak havoc upon the world. And there was nothing she could do to stop it.

"Whoosh."

Out of nowhere, a massive cyclone erupted around Sienna, tossing Adam and her treacherous guards back through the air just before the former's sword could stab her. The tiger faunus' wide eyes blinked in shock, herself untouched in the eye of the tornado. Her gaze instantly locked on the person who had spoken, the one who had saved her.

Hazel calmly turned around, facing the squad that had barged into the throne room, all the faunus frantically turning their guns on him.

"Fwoosh."

A wall of flame rushed out from the towering human and crashed in the grunts, the traitors screaming in pain as they were blasted out of the room.

Sienna had no idea why Adam's supposed benefactor was helping her, but she wasn't going to let the opportunity go to waste. She immediately activated her aura and charged her former bodyguards, unleashing a flurry of blows that knocked all four discombobulated traitors unconscious. She whirled around, expecting a slash from Wilt to be coming for her head, but no such crimson blade appeared. At least, not near her.

Adam roared in fury, his sword raised in an overhead slash at Hazel. "You dare betray me?! I thought your master was worried about Sienna cooperating!"

Hazel casually raised a hand and caught the crimson sword, not even flinching as the edge bit at his aura, as if the pain of the blow was negligible. He glared pitilessly as the bull faunus.

"Betrayal is the most grievous sin one can commit, a last resort only to save innocents," the human declared. "To be willing to do it in the midst of negotiations, for something as mercurial as power, you are unworthy. A mad dog, unfit to be a candidate, much less a Gate."

"Human bastard!" Adam screamed. Wilt, still caught in his enemy's grip, glowed a violent blood red. His semblance was barely charged, but trapped as he was with Sienna at his back, brute force was his only way out.

Even still, Hazel's face registered no concern. His free hand lanced forward, his open palm smacking into Adam's chest.

"The strength of the Bull. The wrath of the Calamity. Ka-bam."

The entire mountain base shook, specks of dirt and rubble crumbling from the ceiling. A shockwave, more a localized earthquake than anything, radiated out from Hazel's palm and straight into Adam. His aura broke instantly and the redhead shot back, crashing through the dais steps, at last, collapsing unconscious in a crater at Sienna's feet.

The tiger faunus glared at him in utter hatred. She raised her claws, ready to slit the bastard's throat for his betrayal.

"Don't," her eyes rose to see Hazel suddenly at her side. "Nobody needs to die today."

"He betrayed me," she snarled. "He tried to assassinate me."

"I understand, believe me, I do," the human assured her. "But his treachery does not mean he is without use. A mad dog can still flush out prey."

Sienna didn't think any potential use could buy Adam another second of life on its own merit, but considering she doubted whatever use Hazel had in mind for him was very pleasant, she supposed she could grant his request. Besides, he had just put down perhaps the White Fang's greatest warrior with no effort at all. She didn't think she was in any position to deny him.

"I suppose thanks are in order," she noted glumly, lowering her claws. "But I hope you don't think this means I'm going to become your lapdog. Kill me if you will, but I will not sully the White Fang's name with another atrocity like the Fall of Beacon."

Despite her defiance, a small smile rose to Hazel's lips. "Like I said, all I'm asking for is a moment of your time to convince you that working with us is the best way to get what you want."

"By sacking the huntsmen academies?"

The large man let out a regretful sigh. "That was a strategy of a younger member of our group. She has a taste for theatrics, even if they unnecessary. Rest assured, the destruction of the academies is not necessary for our goals. We merely seek certain items hidden within them."

"Items?" Sienna repeated, incredulously. "You slaughtered children for 'items'?"

"Like I said, it was a wasteful strategy," Hazel mused glumly, his shame at the events quite audible. However, a moment later, her eyes hardened into stone as his fists clenched tight. "Unfortunately, if we had not attacked, then they would have died nonetheless. At least this way, they have fallen to put an end to the game, instead of just making sure an old, foolish wizard can keep playing."

Sienna told a trepidatious step back, the utter contempt rolling of the perpetually calm man far more frightening than any of Adam's tantrums. Still…

"Wizard?" It was just too ridiculous.

Hazel let go of his fury with a sigh, turning to respectfully face her. "I don't expect you to believe me immediately, but I can prove it. And if we can acquire the items we seek, the Relics, we have a chance to ensure that no child will ever have to fall to the Grimm ever again, to ensure that those that have did not die in vain. Lend us your strength, stand among the Queen's forces as a Gate, and we can annihilate the greatest scourge to ever plague this world."

"The Grimm," Sienna whispered, her mind desperately trying to process the insanity that was being related to her. "You're talking about destroying the Grimm. It's impossible."

"I once thought the same thing. But I assure, it is very possible. And just imagine what humanity would think of the faunus, if they were the ones to publicly deliver them from such evil."

Sienna cocked an eyebrow. "Your 'Queen' won't take credit?"

"She has little care for public matters. It's part of why she acts through me and my compatriots." Hazel raised his hand." Now then, do I have your interest?"

"High Leader!"

Sienna and Hazel both turned to the open doors of the throne room, a mass of White Fang troops rushing in, only to grind to a halt at the sight of their fellows and the mighty Adam Taurus laid out unmoving.

"Take Adam Taurus and his allies into custody," Sienna commanded, rallying the grunts' rattled minds. Perhaps some of them were Adam's allies, his silent or open supporters, but with their idol, their Blood-Soaked Bull, helplessly unconscious at the tiger faunus' feet, they were suitably cowed by her not inconsiderable charisma. "They are traitors to the White Fang."

There were a few moments of hesitation, but before long, the grunts filed in and picked up the failed assassins, dragging them away like sacks of potatoes.

Sienna glared at them all on their way out, then turned back to Hazel, the only reason she was still alive to be furious at all. Adam may have been psychotic, but he would have done whatever was asked of him to maintain this Queen's support. Human or not, by siding against the nakedly ambitious coup, Hazel had certainly proved his honor.

She clasped the human's hand and the pair shook.

"I'll need proof that what you're saying is true," she warned. "And that your group is capable of doing it."

Hazel smiled, a surprisingly soft, pleasant thing. "That can be done. In fact, I believe Adam can help with it."

Sienna cocked an eyebrow. "With what?"

"Atlas."

…

…

…

"Something in Atlas?"

"No," Hazel assured her. "To prove ourselves to you, we will take the Kingdom of Atlas."

Yeah, so as you can see, Weiss' arc is going to be much more complex than canon. I like the Volume 4 arc, it has some great moments, the party especially, but it lacks a climax, with her escape into the night having little tension. Since Gray is present and provides Weiss with a confidant so she is not completely isolated, she is just barely able to keep from blowing up at the party and giving Jacques an excuse to cast her aside, giving her a more clear cut goal to obtain enough public adulation to make it an impractical move on his part. Of course, in that quest, she and Gray will have a bit more of a maze to navigate as they try to figure out who among Jacques, Ironwood, Esper, or Atlas Intelligence they can trust at any moment, as well as where Salem's agents may be hiding.

We also see that Adam's coup does not go as well for him this time, with Salem's slightly different mission parameters allowing Hazel to step in, earning a tenuous trust from Sienna. Some may be concerned that a Volume 5 event is taking place in the Volume 4 equivalent but based on my calculations, Blake's Volume 5 arc still takes place during the others' Volume 4 arcs, as it is noted her timeline is behind the others by several weeks in order for her training and arriving with the faunus militia to make sense (even though training a militia capable of dealing with armed terrorists in two weeks without proper facilities still stretches incredulity... I have many gripes with Volume 5, I apologize, brining them up here is not why anyone is here). Suffice to say, Adam isn't done in this story yet, but his role will not be as large as it has been in some of my other works.

An extra huge thank you to my patrons: ArcherMcMuffin, Gregg Tracton, Keith Traction, StabKingPro, Annaya Chan, Nora Okonus, Paula mandel, KefkaesqueXIII, and Christian Howard.

Thank you for Reading! I hope you enjoy what comes next!

Go Forth and Conquer!