Here's chapter 34, everyone.
"These bunk beds look ridiculous." Raven commented as she walked in to the RWBY dorm. "Even Summer didn't think of anything like this."
It was the Saturday after, and Summer was trying to give Raven and Willow a tour of their kid's dorm. "Ugh, come on, it's not… That bad." She tried defending, while Willow simply looked mortified. "Uh, Willow? You okay there?"
Willow knew which bed was her daughter's and wanted to report it to the headmaster to get them better bunk beds immediately. "I am not allowing my daughter to sleep under that deathtrap," She eyed Raven. "And before you say anything, Branwen, this is not an overreaction. That is unsafe on so many levels."
"Hey, don't look at me. I actually agree with you for once." Raven said, surprising the other two women. "I mean, I don't give a crap about bunk beds, but that just looks stupid."
Summer placed her hands on her hips and looked offended for her daughter. "Excuse you, but Ruby's ideas are far from stupid. They are unique and I think with a bit more of a fixer upper, it'll be perfect."
Raven walked over to Blake and Yang's side of the room and held her hand near one of the book piles holding up the top bunk. "All this needs is one push. One accidental push."
"I-I said it needs a fixer upper is all." Summer reminded, while Willow shook her head, annoyed with how the beds were even considered.
She didn't have much time to think on it though since her scroll went off. "Hmm?" The white haired woman retrieved it from her bag and sighed at who it was. "I'll need to take this. You two… Find a way to get these death traps sorted out."
"Is it him?" Summer asked, knowing the answer already as Willow nodded. "You could-."
"Avoiding him has only caused Whitley to become the messenger, and I can't keep doing that to him." Willow stated as she left the dorm and answered her scroll. "Jacques."
Her husband scoffed at how she spoke to him. "That's how you greet your husband you've obviously done horribly to avoid these past few weeks? Is that right, Willow?"
Willow rolled her eyes, finding a balcony to stay on so she could have her privacy while speaking. "What do you want?"
"Disrespectful…" Jacques sighed, not caring how his wife felt. "Clearly you still wish to act like a child, so tell me this, why do you continue to-."
"I answered here, didn't I?" Willow had it with her husband, knowing he'd be angry with how she spoke to him, but she didn't care. "Our son has told me all I need to know about what you're up to, so I see no real reason for us to talk, Jacques."
"Is that so?" Jacques challenged. "You haven't been in the manor as much, ever since… That girl left for that vile school."
Willow clenched his teeth in anger. "Do not refer to my daughter that way."
"Hmm, yes, YOUR daughter." Jacques repeated. "With her out of the manor, you don't seem to have any reason to stay, is that how you view it?"
"Excuse you, but I do have a reason to stay. Our son, the one you continue to pressure each and every day." Willow wanted to reach through the scroll and punch her husband herself.
Jacques scoffed once more. "A son who has shown greater promise than either daughter you chose to-."
"Don't start, Jacques!" Willow yelled, not wanting to hear anymore, and she knew that one or two passerbys most likely heard her, but she was beyond giving a crap about that. "If you even think about continuing to speak down about my children-."
"You'll what?" Jacques questioned, cutting her off.
Willow bit her lip. She didn't know what she COULD do. Divorce would divide her son from her family even more so, and she'd lose her family's company to Jacques for good. "You're a despicable man… Do you honestly take pride in hurting your family this much?"
"I've kept this family from crumbling away, or do you not remember how I allowed you to bring in that orphan." His words made Willow almost crack her scroll in her grip. "Or how I allowed Winter to attend Atlas Academy?"
"She would have done that without your permission, and you damn well know that." Willow stated.
"Hmm, yes, you still try to find the other way to phrase my generosity." Jacques replied. "Our son is going to take over the company because of MY guidance. Winter is already a barbaric Specialist in that foolish General's army, and your daughter is attending an equally barbaric school. All because I allowed them to."
Willow slammed her fist against the wall of the balcony, her aura keeping her from hurting her hand. "Don't you dare undermine their hard work! You act like you're some savior, but I know who you really are, Jacques Gelè!"
She couldn't see it, but Willow was sure her husband's eyes widened with anger. "How… How dare you speak to me that way, woman! I'll be sure to remind you who you're speaking to!"
"A man who I wish I left years ago…" Willow said, her heart racing as she couldn't stop herself from saying those words.
Jacques himself had a risk in her words as well, knowing how hard it would be to convert the Schnee Dust Company into his own if Willow divorced him. "You and I… Will have words when I return to Atlas." With that, he ended the call.
Willow's hands were shaking. She couldn't imagine what to do next, since her words had implied so much, to the point where she began to cry, feeling like she broke the last chain that could hold her family together.
Before she knew it, she felt someone wrapping their arms around her. "It's gonna to be okay." Summer's voice soothed, as Willow couldn't stop crying. "Whatever he said… I'm gonna help you fight it. And I'm not taking no for an answer this time."
All Willow could do was cry and slowly she fell to her knees, Summer following her down. "H-He… I can't… He's ruining everything."
"I know." Summer was angry. "You need to tell me everything."
With a sniffle, Willow nodded, recounting the call with her friend.
"What would you wanna ask my mom to upgrade for Myrtenaster?" Ruby asked her partner as they were sat down in the cafeteria, eating some lunch. "I'd say… Hmm… Maybe add a cool revolver barrel where the blades would be."
Weiss raised an eyebrow as she wiped her mouth clean with a napkin. "That would be a third form I couldn't even use with my semblance properly. Besides, I have dust for long ranged attacks."
"Well yeah, but it has a revolver chamber and everything! Don't you think it would fit?" Her partner continued to try and convince.
The white haired teen shrugged. "I honestly don't want to change Myrtenaster, Ruby. The way it is now, I find it to be perfect for me."
Yang cut in. "She's got you there, sis. And besides, you take the most pride in weapons here, so you should kinda understand where she's coming from."
"I-I do, I was just saying that she has options now that mom is working here." Ruby explained.
Blake was barely paying attention to the conversation, mostly because she was wondering how to feel about the two Schnees that were in the school. First it was the talk she and Weiss had, even seeing how she interacted with others, then it was Willow. How she was kind and loving, and nowhere near what she thought she'd be. The woman even bowed to her, though Blake wondered if she still would have if she knew about her cat ears.
"Hey, you wanna spar again?" Yang whispered to her partner, startling her in her seat a bit. Luckily for her, Ruby and Weiss were too busy in their own conversation to notice. "Sorry, just saw you spacing out again."
"I-It's fine, and I don't know. I'm not feeling up to sparring." Blake replied.
"Then how about we just take a walk?" Yang offered with a smile.
That smile again. It was the easiest way to get Blake to feel comfortable, so she simply nodded and got up from her seat. "Hmm? Are you going somewhere, Blake?" Ruby had asked.
Yang answered for her partner. "We're gonna go for a walk. I hate sitting around anyways." The blonde stood up and stretched a bit. "Try not to start a food fight in here, sis. At least not when I'm around, cause you know I'd wanna be here for that." She grinned and the two partners started heading to the exit.
Weiss paid attention to how Blake was more than Yang at that point, so when Ruby noticed she was staring at them as they were leaving, she poked the top of her head. "Eh? Ruby, don't poke me!" She exclaimed.
"Hehe. Sorry, but you were staring." Ruby remarked. The white haired teen sighed and laid her head on the table, earning a confused look from Ruby. "What's wrong?"
"I… You're our leader, so you honestly deserve to know that… Blake and I aren't exactly that great at exchanging words with each other." Weiss began.
Ruby frowned at that, feeling guilty that she hadn't noticed. "O-Oh."
Weiss raised her head up, shrugging a bit. "It's not something you would have known about, Ruby. I spoke to her about some things, and she agreed to at least work together as a team out on the field."
"But we're more than just a team, Weiss." Ruby gently spoke. "If this is more serious than you're letting on, I need to know." Her voice surprised Weiss, but it made her feel proud. "Please, Weiss."
"You dork…" Weiss smiled and took a breath. "Blake isn't fond of my family, which, all in all, I can't blame her too much." Ruby didn't like the sound of that, but she waited for her partner to continue. "My father is mostly to blame. She says she hates the way the company treats people, and I chose to not apologize on their behalf."
"W-Well you shouldn't have to apologize." Ruby defended.
Weiss sighed. "That's what I said too, but there is still a distaste she has for the Schnee name. And while I wish she didn't, I can't just up and change her opinion of me and my family."
Ruby crossed her arms with a huff. "I can't believe I didn't notice what was going on with my team… I need to talk with her."
"No. You don't." Weiss stated, confusing Ruby. "I've spoken with her, and so has Yang. It's like I said, Ruby. I can't change her opinion of me just like that, but… Maybe with time we can both get to know each other a bit more."
"I still feel like I should get involved here." Ruby spoke up. "And not just because I'm the leader. Even if I wasn't, this is a team issue."
Weiss enjoyed hearing Ruby say that, because it showed she was right for the role as leader, even though she did still feel some jealousy about it. "I understand that you want to be, Ruby."
"So then why are you telling me not to talk with her?" Ruby questioned.
"Because making her have the same conversation over and over is tiring." Weiss crossed her arms. "Take it from me. I was getting sick of having to explain my semblance to everyone."
Ruby rubbed the back of her head and chuckled nervously. "Heh… Yeah, sorry about that."
"It's fine, but look, I'd like her to come to me about this. I don't know how long that would take… But if it does go on too long, then let me be the one to try and talk with her again. Okay?" Her request was simple enough, even though Ruby wished she could do more.
"I-I guess. Just promise to let me know what's going on. I don't like being in the dark when it comes to the team." Ruby expressed her concern well enough for Weiss to nod.
"Promise." Weiss moved her tray a bit away. "I think that's enough lunch for me. Would you like to head to the library? I believe you still have some studying to do."
"Ugh, I thought you'd forget…" Ruby grumbled as Weiss playfully rolled her eyes.
The white haired teen got up and held her hands on her hips in a haughty expression. "Like I would allow you to falter on your studies." When Ruby groaned, Weiss simply smirked. "You're stuck with me as a partner, so get up and let's get going."
"I thought I was the leader who gets to make the orders." Ruby pouted as she got to her feet.
"Out on the field, but schoolwork is my element, and as such, I need to make sure you aren't slacking off." Weiss remarked as she took Ruby's hand, making the rose girl blush a bit. "I'm sure you'll have enough free time after to goof off with whatever you do."
Ruby was still blushing, but after being dragged to the exit, she couldn't help but smile at how Weiss was with her. The most they ever got were visits that happened within months of each other, but at Beacon, they got to spend every day together, and that made Ruby happier than she ever felt.
And Jacques is still a douchebag. No shocker there. Not much to say here, since it's more of a set up chapter, for both the team, and Willow's issues with Jacques.
To JJ- Raven is keeping things on the downlow for now, since she's got her own story to go through, but yeah, I'm glad you enjoyed their talk. And the battle armor was more of a joke, but I may do something with it. Not sure yet.
To GoldElite245- Thanks. Yang knows she wants Raven to be in her life, but Raven is too stubborn to let herself back in. And I looked it up, wow, that was a nostalgia bomb with the Balto movie. I watched it when I was a kid.
I hoped you all enjoyed chapter 34. Remember, reviews are welcomed, but not required. See you all in chapter 35.