A Once White Battlefield
Pt. I
Atlas always surprised Weiss. The technological advances born there gave rise to so many things the world now thinks of as a convenience. Advanced AI, weapons that fired condensed light, prosthetics help those who had lost limbs or were born without. All of that pales compared to the simple fact that Atlesian scientists were able to make an entire city float above the other. Offering protection from the harsh weather of Soltis.
Through the window, Weiss watched dozens of Bullheads transport goods to and from the fleet of ships, all stationed in Atlas' sky and into the city proper, including the wounded on board the Mantle of Responsibility. Weiss would have watched them play out their carefully crafted routes, but she was here for more important reasons.
In front of the window sat General Ironwood, who was currently talking quietly into a scroll pressed to his ear. Weiss stood in front of his desk, her hands sitting behind her back, at ease while the General spoke. When she was requested to go and see him, a thousand different things went through her mind; not all of them were good. The war was over, now the hard part was beginning.
Her attention was pulled back from the window when Ironwood removed the device and set it down onto his desk with a sigh. He looked tired, the bags under his eyes were more profound than she remembered, and grey was starting to seep into the beard he had grown on his face. "Apologies, Specialist," he said as he ran his hand down his face. "That was a call I had been waiting for,"
"No apology needed, sir," Weiss said quickly. "I understand," the man nodded and pulled the tablet he was using back towards him before he was interrupted by the call.
"Still, I've been meaning to talk to you for a while now, and only now have gotten the chance. I've wanted to personally thank you for your service throughout this war; I think it's not an understatement that, without you, we would have never ended this war or uncovered who was behind it all,"
Weiss wanted to protest; the war was so much worse than anyone had expected. The mountain of bodies that she personally added would forever stain the image of Atlas, even more so from the First Great War. "Thank you, sir. I was just doing my job," Weiss said calmly.
"As am I," he said as he tapped a few things on the tablet before leaning back in his seat. "You're being promoted to Lieutenant-Colonel, Specialist, for your service as well as the Medal of Atlas for your many accomplishments in service to the Kingdom,"
Weiss just stared at the man. The highest decoration anyone could receive was being presented to her, and all Weiss could feel was an emptiness that was threatening to swallow her whole. "Thank you, sir, but I must respectfully decline the offers," There was no way she could accept such things, not after everything. Her sister did not even have the Medal of Atlas.
"This isn't an offer," Ironwood shot back as he sat back up straight in his chair. "I'm going to be honest with you, Weiss. We need leaders desperately. More importantly, I need people I can trust. After everything Watts had done to infect the military with his organization, I need you more than you know." with that simple sentence, the General seemed to age even more. "Of the handful of people I can trust, you're near the top."
"Thank you, sir," Weiss replied, more out of habit than being actually thankful for his words. "I won't let you down,"
"I know you won't," He said as he leaned back in his chair again. "How is your team doing?" He asked finally.
"Xiao Long and Belladonna are currently guiding the Bullheads filled with refugees to the ground as we speak now, sir. After what happened in the air bay last time I was there, I figured I should stay away for the time being," Weiss said with a small sigh from her lips.
"Probably for the best, and Ruby?" Ironwood finally brought up the Megoliath in the room.
"She's still… unwell," Weiss finally said, settling on a word that did not quite encompass the whole situation adequately but unsure what else to say. "I would like to request that she be kept on board until her condition has improved,"
"I was actually going to suggest the same thing," Ironwood began to tap at the tablet again. "Keep her contained for both her safety and the safety of the people. That's why I'm assigning the AceOps to keep surveillance on her,"
Weiss blinked as she worked through what the General just said. "With all due respect, sir, we are more than capable of making sure she doesn't hurt anyone, sir,"
"It's not about hurting herself or others, Schnee; it's about protecting the Kingdom. If she can't be rehabilitated here, she will be transferred to a facility to keep her contained."
"You're just going to throw her into a mental hospital to keep her out of the way, sir?"
"That's the bare minimum I'm willing to do to protect the kingdom,"
Weiss' blood froze as she saw the look in his eyes. The light was no longer there; she knew what he was talking about. "Sir, to assign Atlas' top specialists to protect one person is too much, let alone Ruby," Ironwood brought a scroll tablet up and began to read from it.
"Ruby Rose poses a significant threat on the battlefield. Her speed makes it impossible for conventional firearms to hit her, let alone get through her Aura. Still, her weapon makes her especially dangerous to slow-moving targets such as Paladin walkers and large squads of soldiers. The recommended course of action is a team of Specialists that can control the battlefield and limit her movement."
Weiss knew the report that Ironwood was quoting at her. It was the first report Weiss had made when she encountered Ruby back in Ritrr, when Ruby nearly cut Weiss in half. "I am only following your recommendation, Schnee. It took all three of you to subdue her, even then, by your report of her capture; it sounded like the three of you barely made it out of there alive,"
"Everything would have been fine if Reseda and her team had not fired on her in the first place," Weiss said through gritted teeth.
"She ripped through those soldiers like paper, but that's beside the point. It might seem excessive to you, but for me, it's the bare minimum should the worst happen. No one is above the need to save the Kingdom, including you," Ironwood's voice was dangerous, and Weiss needed to find a solution quickly.
"If it needs to be done, sir. I'll do it," Weiss quickly said. A silence weighed down on them after she said those words.
"Can I trust you to do what needs to be done, Schnee?" He asked finally.
"Yes, sir," Weiss replied without hesitation.
"I'll hold you to it, Lieutenant-Colonel, Dismissed,"
Weiss brought herself to attention and snapped off a salute before leaving the General's office onboard the Mantle of Responsibility. When she got far enough away, she finally released the breath she held in her chest and braced herself against the wall. Weiss played the whole conversation over and over in her head. Her hands were shaking, and she wondered if she was really capable of doing what Ironwood needed. All she knew right now was she needed to punch something.
Sweat slowly dripped down Weiss' face as she focused on the training droid in front of her. Sure, Weiss was not the best at hand-to-hand combat, but she was taught during Specialist training and something she had been working on for several years now. Plus, it made a good distraction for her at the moment.
After her meeting, Weiss found herself throwing punches at a training droid, trying to settle the anxiety building inside her since she had left Mistral and the new pressure that came with the task she had agreed to. She was so focused on the burning in her arms, Weiss did not hear someone approach from behind and push a button on the control console, activating one of the combat moves that was programmed and catching a punch to the side of the head.
Landing on the ground, Weiss groaned as she pushed herself onto her back and just let the pain fade with the help of her Aura. It was not a heavy hit; it was just sudden. A chuckle pulled her attention away from the ceiling, and Weiss saw who caused this whole mess.
"Coco," Weiss said, trying to catch her breath.
"Actually, it's Specialist Adel, now," Coco said as she pointed to the stencilling on her PT top. Weiss was wearing the same one for her current workout. She was glad to see Coco agreeing to join as a Specialist; no doubt Velvet helped her along with the process. Coco then did something that bothered Weiss deeply.
"There's no smoking on the ship," Weiss pointed out as Coco brought an already lit cigarette to her lips and inhaled deeply. The woman's only reply was a hum as she blew the smoke out from her nose. With a sigh, Weiss pushed herself to her feet and looked over at the other woman, her gaze lingering on the ragged scars that ran across her face. Her mouth pulled into a grim smirk. Even with the glasses on, Weiss still remembered what her one eye looked like behind them.
"Put it out, Adel; that's an order," Weiss told her.
"We're the same rank," She countered with another inhale.
"No, we're not. I got promoted earlier, and I may still be called Specialist, but I outrank you,"
"Do you, though?" Coco blew the acrid smoke into Weiss' face.
Weiss knew what she was trying to do. Despite Coco seemingly wandering into the training room independently, her hands were wrapped in training tape like Weiss. She knew Coco would come to try and get some measure of revenge for Yatsu and Fox; she just did not realize she would try something so soon.
"Put it out, that's an order," Weiss all but growled at Coco. The other woman just glared at Weiss before sighing and pinched the lit end of the cigarette and then flicked it right at Weiss's face. She was prepared to let Coco get away with a few acts of insubordination as some semblance of revenge against Weiss, but when the item hit her, Weiss was sent back when it exploded against her skin.
Coco Hyped her fucking cigarette!
Before Weiss could recover, Coco flew through the smoke and delivered a hard punch against Weiss' face. She was disoriented from the quick attack that she fell against the training dummy and fell to the ground hard, the dummy joints jutting into her back as Weiss struggled to get to her feet. "That was for Fox," Coco said as she stretched her arms out and bent her neck from either side. With a sigh, Weiss looked straight at Coco and shook her head.
"You just want me to take a few punches, that it?" Weiss asked as she watched the other woman approach.
"Oh, God no, that's the least you could do for what you've done." She said as she slipped her glasses off her face and set them on top of a machine nearby. "At least put up a fight, Weiss. It's more fun that way,"
Wiping residue from the explosion off her face, Weiss put her hands up and got ready for something heavier than a spar with the woman in front of her. The two other people that were in the training room were quick to make room for them. Sparing between Specialists could get intense, and people knew to quickly get out of the blast zone. With all the contained wraith Coco could muster, she began her assault.
Quick jabs and to test out Weiss' defence were answered with a wide swing to keep her from getting too confident. Weiss knew the power behind those arms; while Aura could enhance people's strength, Coco Adel still carried around a minigun in a purse. Combined with the first punch Weiss had felt, that fact meant she needed to avoid those fists at all cost.
Using her smaller size to her advantage, Weiss ducked and dodged Coco's fists. Managing to connect a few hits to the other woman's stomach, but Weiss was already tired from her earlier exercise, and Coco was not looking for a quick fight; she wanted to make Weiss suffer.
With each dodge, Coco managed to coral Weiss against a wall. Cursing herself for being allowed to be easily manipulated, she began to block Coco's mighty fists. Her Aura straining to take as much of the pressure as it could as Weiss' arms quickly grew numb from the beating. Coco grabbed Weiss' arms and threw her across the training floor. With no Dust for Glyphs, Weiss slid and rolled across and finally settled with a groan. "Is that all you got, Schnee?" Coco called out as she began to walk towards her target. "I'm starting to wonder how you managed to win last time,"
"I didn't win-" Weiss could feel her blood pumping, her heartbeat thumped in her chest. Despite the beating she had just taken, she felt light. Lighter than she had felt since boarding the Dreadnaught. The familiar high of battle washing over her as Weiss got to her feet and stared Coco down. "-I survived!"
Catching Coco off guard with a sprint towards her, she could not get a guard up in time for Weiss' punch. She watched as Coco's head spun to the side and snapped back quickly from the attack. Before Weiss could deliver another, Coco caught her wrist and tried to throw Weiss again, only for her to kick the side of Coco's knee, making her drop to the ground.
Before Weiss could capitalize, Coco rushed forward and tackled Weiss into another machine. Crying out in pain, she tried to escape, only for Coco to wrap her arms around Weiss's side and began to squeeze. Her powerful arms threatening to crush Weiss' spine and push her stomach into her chest. Coco's arms were locked in place and began to growl as the pressure increased.
There was no way Weiss could wiggle her way out of this hold, Weiss began to throw punches at Coco's head, but they bounced quickly off the woman's Aura. Running out of options, Weiss drove her fingers into the pressure points on Coco's collarbone. Weiss was quickly released and was dropped onto the ground. Weiss could not get through Coco's Aura with her own being so low, so she needed something different.
Taking advantage of Coco's blind side, Weiss slipped behind her and leapt onto her back. Sliding an arm under her chin and locking it in place with her other arm holding Coco's head, Weiss locked in a chokehold against the other woman. Struggling to get Weiss off, Coco began to thrash as Weiss wrapped her legs around Coco's waist, making sure she could not be thrown off. Instead of trying to pry the smaller woman off, Coco had a better idea.
Weiss realized too late when Coco leapt into the air and leaned back, and Weiss felt the total weight of the woman she clung to crush her chest against the hard floor under them. Weiss felt the air get knocked from her lungs but kept the hold in place. Squeezing tightly, Weiss felt Coco's nails dig into her arms, trying to pry her off. Her Aura protecting her from any puncture as Coco began to struggle more and more, trying to jam her fingers under Weiss' arm to create an opening, but Weiss made sure she could not get any purchase.
The seconds stretched on as Weiss gritted her teeth, as Coco managed to pry a finger and began to bend it, threatening to break it, only for Coco to let go and tap her arm quickly. Quickly accepting the surrender, Weiss released her hold, and Coco promptly rolled away, coughing and gasping for breath. All the strength left Weiss' body, and she laid on her back, sucking in air as the sweat on her skin began to cool.
"Fucking hell, Schnee," Coco coughed and spat on the floor before collapsing onto her back. "Where did you learn to fight like that?"
"Specialist boot camp," Weiss took a deep breath, trying to slow her hammering heart. "One of the first lessons they taught was how to choke out someone with Aura since you don't have to get through it to incapacitate them. I'm pretty sure I've still got bruises from training,"
"Well, god damn," was Coco's only response. The silence in the room was filled with heavy breathing from both women as they laid on the ground. Weiss was not sure if she should speak, or even if she did, she was not sure what to say. Eventually, the silence got to her, and Weiss let the words fall from her mouth.
"I'm sorry, Coco. For your team,"
"Sorry isn't going to bring them back,"
"What do you want from me?" Weiss snapped as she sat up and turned to look at the woman. "We were soldiers in a war! How many Atlesians have you killed!?" Weiss asked.
"It's different! They weren't your friends, your family? They were just soldiers,"
"Everyone's someone's family!" Weiss got to her feet and stood over Coco, who just laid on the floor and stared at the ceiling. "Every person we killed was a mother, a father. A son or daughter. Someone who is never going home because of us! I am sorry, Coco, for what I did to you, but just because I had no connection to the people you killed doesn't mean I don't feel their deaths; that guilt will hang over me for the rest of my life! But I need to keep going forward, for every life I took and couldn't save, I need to make a better world for those I didn't kill and those I did save! Just like you have to!"
Coco just laid on the ground and sighed before sitting up and shaking her head. "When did you get good at speeches?" She asked with a small smirk. Weiss allowed herself a slight smile as she reached out to help Coco to her feet.
"Something leaders pick up on, I suppose," Weiss said as the other woman accepted the hand and was hauled up to her feet. Weiss got another look at the scars she left Coco. Her one eye was a cloudy white, and her eyelid was scared all the way down her cheek. Her nose had a large chunk missing, and the side of her mouth was stretched thin, making her look like she was always smirking. "Feel better now?" She asked as Coco walked over to the machine she placed her glasses on and slipped them back over her face.
"A little, I'm still pissed at you, but I think I got the 'want to punch the shit out of you' out of my system,"
"Well, that's good at least," Weiss said with a roll of her eyes as she collected a pair of towels off the rack and handed one to Coco.
"How's Ruby doing? Heard she's in the medical ward," Coco asked while patting her neck with the towel. The fact that she had temporarily forgotten about her partner had slapped Weiss in the face.
"She's not well, and I don't know what to do," Weiss hung her towel around her neck and stared out the large window that looked over Atlas and Mantle.
"Maybe Ozpin has an idea, fucker always seems to have an answer for everything," Coco mumbled as she shook her head. "After Ritrr, when we escaped that huge Grimm. I was with some Vacuo squad, driving through the desert when he popped up from nowhere and told us where Ruby was, then fucking vanished like an asshole,"
Weiss thought back when he did something similar back in Mistral. Appearing from a portal to help fight against Hazel and offering his room to Yang, Blake and Neo, like he knew those three needed it. "He seems to have a habit of doing that, doesn't he…" Weiss' attention was pulled by a chime from her scroll. Walking over to where she set it down, she checked her notifications and saw the alarm she had set had gone off. "I need to go; I'll talk to you later, Coco," The woman simply waved her off as Weiss continued out of the room.
Quickly changing into her uniform, Weiss opted to shower later as she hurried through the now empty halls of the Mantle of Responsibility. She walked through the doors and looked into the window of the isolation cell Ruby was kept in using her clearance codes. Ever since Ruby had woken up, she had been screaming and struggling against her bonds.
Now, she was silent and still.
Silver eyes stared up at nothing, and Weiss hoped she had finally snapped out of it. Putting her code into the door, it slid open, and Weiss slowly approached Ruby's bed. The woman in the bed made no indication that she knew Weiss was there, even after Weiss softly called out her name. The blood on her face had long since dried; it was now cracked and flaking off, leaving red-stained skin under it.
"Ruby?" Weiss called out again, stepping closer to the bed.
"Why you," Ruby's voice was broken and strained. The days of screaming and little water had damaged her throat. The sound of it pained Weiss' soul.
"What?"
"Why you," Ruby asked again. "She was fine; I was protecting her until you showed up," Silver eyes stared into Weiss as her rough voice filled the room. "As soon as you showed up in the desert, she began to fight back against my guidance, remembering the painful past and wanting to return to it. All because of you!" Ruby shouted as she fought against her bonds again.
Weiss did not know what was happening with Ruby; she spoke about herself like she was a different person. Weiss was about to reach out to her when Ruby's fury boiled over. "YOU ARE THE ENEMY! THE WORLD IS MY ENEMY!" She screamed out and resumed her attempts to free herself from the straps that kept Ruby pinned to the bed.
Rushing out of the room, Weiss closed the door and leaned against it. Putting her hands in her face, she wished desperately that her hearing would cut out like it always did. Instead, Weiss was forced to listen to Ruby screaming about enemies from behind the door.
"Weiss?" Quickly looking up, Weiss saw Yang and Blake make their way towards the room; they were covered in dirt and looked like they had seen better days.
"Hey," Weiss managed back. "How was the relocation?"
"The people down there are going to need a lot of supplies in the coming weeks before anyone can rest easy," Blake chimed in as Yang walked to the window and peered into the room. "How is she?" Weiss could only shake her head in response.
"Well, we're finally at Atlas; we can go and get help now," Yang said while staring at her sister.
The pit began to expand in Weiss' stomach as she knew she needed to break the news to her team. "Ruby is being quarantined on board for the time being," Weiss began as she stared at the floor in front of her. "While here, she is going to be watched over by the AceOps, The top Atleisan Specialists, until she either recovers or is admitted to a mental hospital,"
"That's good, right?" Yang asked.
"No. It isn't," Weiss spat as she clenched her fists. "If she's put into a mental hospital, they're just going to pump her full of drugs and keep in some room in a basement, or worse."
"What could be worse than that?" Yang asked. The hole in Weiss' stomach threatened to swallow her whole as Yang moved closer to Weiss. "Weiss? What aren't you telling us,"
Weiss could feel both of her friends stare her down. Taking a breath, Weiss spoke finally. "If she can't be rehabilitated or subdued and is still considered a threat to the kingdom, she is to be operated on, or eliminated,"
The air was heavy with the truth, and Weiss could not breathe. "They're just going to kill her?" Yang finally said. Weiss could feel the heat coming off of her as Blake began to tense up.
"Not them, me,"
Before Weiss could do anything, Yang threw her up against the wall and pressed her arm to her chest. Yang's eyes were a fiery red, and she was ready to start a new war to protect her sister. "YOU ARE NOT FUCKING TOUCHING HER!"
"IT'S ALL I COULD DO TO PROTECT HER!" Weiss shouted back. "THE ACEOPS WOULD NOT HESITATE TO PULL THE TRIGGER!"
"NO ONE IS KILLING RUBY!"
Weiss grabbed Yang's jacket and yanked her closer so Weiss could get through her thick skull. "THEN HELP ME GET THROUGH TO HER!" The two stared at each other before Yang finally released her hold on Weiss, and Weiss adjusted her uniform back into proper order.
"So, what do we do then?" Blake asked as she approached the pair. "We're on a time limit now; there must be something we can do, an item, a picture or something to jog her memory? Anything?" Weiss began to think; she could probably get a small army of medical and mental doctors on board and do tests to figure it all out.
"Weiss," Yang broke through Weiss's train of thought. Looking up at Yang, Weiss saw the light in her eyes that she had not seen in a long time. "Are you still rich?" She asked.
Weiss blinked. "I have a trust fund and a savings acc-"
"Yeah, that's more than enough," Yang waved her off as she began to walk down the halls, Weiss and Blake quickly catching up to her. "I can't exactly remember how to do it, so it's going to take a few attempts, so we're going to need supplies,"
Weiss only nodded; she would sink her own family legacy to help Ruby. After all, it was, at least partially, that legacy that put her there in the first place.
A/N: Alright, we've been here before, I'm sorry it took so long. You can actually track my mental decline in correlation to world events! That and Mass Effect.
Shameless plug! I do have another series that I started a while ago called "The RWBY crackhouse" where I take prompts of rare pairs and the like. So if anyone has any ideas, feel free to leave them there!
Beta read by StreetAngelJ
If you enjoyed, leave a Favourite! If you already have, leave a comment! I love reading them and I love replying to them. This story is also posted on AO3 under the same name. So if you read there as well, come show your support! I also have a tumblr: AngryFaceWritings come say hi!
And as always, thank you for taking time out of your busy days to read my slice of madness!
