Here's chapter 90, everyone.
"I need to get going, sweetie." Willow said as she hugged her daughter, and Weiss returned the embrace for a few moments before pulling away. "About what we talked about-."
"Mom, it's fine… We've talked a lot about that already." Weiss noted. "I'd like to tell Whitley myself one day, so please promise me you won't tell him until I'm ready."
Willow knew why, so she simply nodded. "Of course, sweetie, but remember, no matter what, he's still your brother."
"I know," Weiss let out a smile, keeping the words her Mother told her close to her heart. "Blood is not what makes a family after all."
The moment she said that, Willow's eyes lit up and she pictured Lazuria again. She held her tears back nodded happily. "Exactly… I love you, sweetie."
"I love you too, mom. Have a safe flight." Weiss gave her one last hug and watched as her Mother made her way to the airship with Summer, but suddenly the blacksmith set her things down and ran over to Weiss.
"I forgot one thing, Snowflake," Summer pulled out a copy of Myrtenaster's schematics. "I wanted to give you this as a present. Think of it as a momento."
Weiss examined it and had a happy expression on her face as she accepted it. "Thank you, Mrs. Rose." Summer groaned since she continued to call her that, but she shrugged it off and gave her a pat on the shoulder before leaning in to whisper.
"And thank you for making Ruby happy." Summer said, making Weiss lightly blush as she ran back over to Willow, and the two women entered the airship together.
Ruby walked over, looking at the schematic for Myrtenaster. "Whoa, is that how my mom made your weapon?" Weiss let out a light chuckle and nodded. "That is awesome! I so need a copy of this one day."
Weiss raised an eyebrow. "And why would you need one exactly? You are not making a copy of Myrtenaster, you dork. I'd rather just have the one. It's special to me."
"S-Sorry. It's just I kinda take after my mom in wanting to work on weapons, and maybe if I learn more about yours, I can make improvements to it." Ruby explained.
"Maybe," Weiss responded while looking forward, watching the airship taking off, and she started to wave towards it, knowing her Mother was looking. Ruby did the same, as Blake and Yang walked over, with Yang keeping an arm around Blake, while waving them off as well.
"Well, there they go." Yang sighed. "Now we just gotta figure out what to tell mom when we head to Kuroyuri, since no way is she gonna not know we won't be at Beacon on the weekend."
Ruby scratched the back of her head a few times, having trouble thinking about the excuse to use. "Hmm, all I can think of is saying we're spending time with a friend… But I don't exactly know anyone out in Vale…"
Weiss blushed a little. "I suppose I can't exactly say I'm any better at being as social as we should be either… Um, do you two know anyone?" She asked Blake and Yang.
"A few people here and there, so maybe I can ask one of them." Yang answered, while Blake had simply shook her head, and Weiss figured after what she told her about the White Fang, that she'd have no one around Vale to go to.
"I guess that will have to do." Weiss said.
"Hey, it's not all that bad and… Holy crap I forgot about Zwei! Who's gonna look after him?" Yang asked, as the corgi barked happily, almost like he wanted to go with them, and Ruby raised an eyebrow.
"Huh? What do you mean? I thought we were gonna take him with us." When Ruby said that, Weiss and Yang didn't look too sure. "What?"
"Sis, I'm all up for bringing Zwei on a mission here and there, but remember what happened to that village. It got destroyed even more than it already was, and I don't know if Zwei being there will be for the best." Yang explained.
Weiss nodded in agreement. "Yang brings up a good point, Ruby. It would be a big risk to him if we brought him to that place. So maybe we should just find someone to take care of him while we're gone."
Blake looked down at the dog while the others were arguing about what to do with him, and he smiled up at the cat Faunus while wagging his tail, and Blake rolled her eyes, not wanting to get involved, but she did sigh a bit when he didn't stop looking at her, so she silently rubbed his ears a few times, hoping the others didn't see her doing that.
"I just say we let him stay with Klein in the airship. He's super nice after all, and that way he won't get in any trouble with the Grimm there." Ruby countered.
Weiss sighed. "That's putting more work on Klein, so I'll ask him before we go, but seeing as we aren't trying to get anyone else involved in this, we'll just have to stick with that idea for the time being."
Yang looked down at Zwei, and she sighed a bit. "Yeah, okay, but I am so not cleaning up after him if he's gotta go for a walk there."
Ruby giggled a bit and began rubbing Zwei's ears, since the corgi was happy he could come along with them, while Weiss simply smiled at the cute display in front of her.
Qrow was back in the warehouse, clearly bored as he looked over at Lazuria, holding something she bought from the store when she went with Raven. "So are you actually gonna wear that or keep it in your closet for a year before forgetting about it?"
Lazuria paid him no mind, as she simply looked at the dress. She smiled at it, not having bought the dress for herself. "Thank you again for going with me, Raven." The black haired huntress shrugged off the thanks.
"I didn't go for the clothes. Anyways, we'll need to remember where you should go when we spring the plan into action." Raven reminded.
A sigh escaped Lazuria's lips. "I remember, yes, but maybe for a moment I could enjoy this."
Raven raised an eyebrow. "What are you talking about? You already went out into town. What more did you want to even do?"
"This isn't for me. The dress," Lazuria held it tight and took a breath. "I was hoping to have one of you give this to my daughter… I… I want her to have something from me, just in case."
"Making comments like that won't help you," Raven stated, while Tai walked over and placed his hand on Lazuria's shoulder, as the Shifter tensed up, hoping the one person who could show her some form of sympathy would say something to lift her spirits.
"Don't worry. Me or Summer will bring it to her, and whatever you want us to say, be it from you or someone else entirely, we'll do it." Tai let out a reassuring smile, and Lazuria sniffled, nodding as she looked at the dress.
"Thank you." Lazuria placed the dress on her lap, but then looked to Raven. "Look, I already know that you're all helping me because I reached out to you… But I know these people more than anyone here. I still don't know if it's truly possible to escape them, so yes, I say things I shouldn't, but I'm being realistic."
"Being realistic doesn't mean you should just assume the worst all the time." Raven stated, trying to at least get the woman to not be as dramatic about her situation. "Besides, sounds to me like you aren't confident in us carrying out this mission."
"I've only known you people for a short time, and you yourselves had no idea who The Relentless were, so yes, I'm not completely confident about it. If that makes you angry, then I have nothing more to say." Lazuria said without looking at Raven.
The black haired huntress wasn't affected by that, as she shook her head and walked towards the entrance. "Tai, Qrow, keep an eye on her while I'm away."
"Y'know, Summer is the leader and not you. Can't give me an order all the time, sis." Qrow said while taking a drink from his flask, and Raven rolled her eyes.
"Fine. Do what you want." As she left the warehouse, Tai spoke up.
"Don't let her get to you." Tai suggested to Lazuria. "It's true that you don't know us enough to have the most confidence in us. Still, we'll handle them. Whether one by one, or dealing with their entire HQ."
"Hmm," Lazuria hummed, as his words may be helpful to hear, it wasn't going to completely raise her confidence in them just yet.
A few days had gone by, and with the team ready to head to the town of Kuroyuri, Klein too was ready to begin his flight to Beacon. "Snowflake, I have everything prepared for the trip. I will arrive at your school in several hours."
"Thank you again for this, Klein. Did Mother ask you anything about why you'll be away?" Weiss inquired.
"Your Mother is focusing on her training for the time being, so I simply asked if I can have a bit of vacation time." Klein's tone of voice changed to a more guilty sounding one. "Honestly I feel awful for lying to her, but I know you're doing this out of the kindness of your heart."
"Again, it's because Ruby showed me that I need to be able to help others. So I will." Weiss said proudly. "I'll let the others know that you'll be here soon… Oh, and Klein, um, Ruby wants to bring her dog Zwei with us. Is it okay if you look after him when we land?"
Klein actually remembered the corgi from visits and video calls, so he simply chuckled a little. "I see no problem with that, Snowflake. Just remember we will be on an airship, so someone will have to be sure to hold him down so he doesn't fall."
"I think Ruby and Yang will have that covered. And I know I said this already, but thank you again for all the help on this, Klein. It means a lot to us." Weiss smiled.
"Just as long as you keep your promise of staying safe while there, your thanks isn't necessary. I couldn't forgive myself if anything happened to you because I brought you there." Klein stated.
To Weiss, Jacques and her real birth Father weren't the ones who she looked to for a father. It was Klein. "Klein… I don't like lying. I hate that I'm even keeping this from Mother, so I won't say that things will go smoothly. We're going somewhere with a lot of Grimm, and I can only hope for the best case scenario."
"Then let me go with you after we land. I can-." Before he finished, Weiss interrupted.
"Klein, you've learned a lot for me and my family, but you and I both know that as a fighter, you haven't been trained to deal with Grimm. And… While you say that you couldn't forgive yourself if I got hurt, I say the same about you. So please. Stay in the airship with Zwei until we get back. I can at least promise we won't be long." Weiss said.
It wasn't great for his confidence, but Klein knew Weiss was right. He would get in the way if Grimm were to attack. "I suppose that would be for the best…"
"Thank you," Weiss was relieved that he wouldn't try to argue with her on that. "I need to let the others know. See you soon, Klein."
"Of course." Klein ended the call, while Weiss took a breath, hoping things would go well on the trip.
Weiss pocketed her scroll and gasped when she turned and ended up hitting her face against Yang's chest, and the blonde raised an eyebrow. "Uh… Y'know if Ruby sees this, she's gonna be a little more than pissed off."
Her eyes widened, so Weiss jumped back, wiping her face several times. "Ugh! You oaf! Why were you just standing behind me like that?!"
"I literally just walked in, so maybe you should've closed the door, Weissy." Yang smirked, while Weiss was blushing heavily from having run into her boobs like that. "Caught the tail end of your call too. So, we almost good to go?"
Weiss mumbled something under her breath, still annoyed that she ran into Yang's chest, but she recovered. "Yes… So start getting what you need ready. Klein will be here in a few hours."
Yang gave her a thumbs up as she walked over to her side of the room to get some things ready. Weiss on the other hand left the room and knocked on JNPR's door. After a few seconds, Jaune answered it. "Oh, hey, Weiss."
"Klein will be here in a few hours, so please make sure you and the others will be ready by the time he lands." Weiss said quickly, but as she was about to leave, she noticed over his shoulder that Nora and Ren were looking at a picture together, and she felt a little bad for them, since she assumed it was one of their old home.
The blonde huntsman in training realized what Weiss was looking at, so he closed the door as he walked out and sighed. "They're taking it pretty hard, so I'm grateful that you had someone to fly us there."
"You can thank him personally when he gets here… But I am sorry for what happened." Weiss said.
"Hey, you don't have to say sorry for anything. It's not like you trampled their village." Jaune said with a smile, trying to brighten the mood. "Besides, I'm sure they'll feel better once they get to be there again, and, uh, maybe we can clean it up a bit."
Weiss raised an eyebrow. "Would that really do much, Jaune? It's already kind of… Well, destroyed."
"Not for the town. For Ren, and Nora." Jaune reiterated, and Weiss finally understood.
"That's really nice of you to suggest." Weiss admitted, and she thought about what they could do. "Well, I don't think it would be much, but maybe my glyphs can move some things around, and I'm sure the others can contribute as well."
"Great, um… Thanks for not shooting that idea down. I couldn't think of any other way of cheering them up." Jaune explained.
"Right." Weiss let out a small smile. "Anyways, I'll go and let Ruby and Blake know we'll be going soon. And I'll inform them of your idea."
Jaune nodded as she waved him off, and Weiss had more respect for the boy after that.
Lazuria still wishes to have some connection with Weiss, even a small one of giving her a dress. And thankfully Tai was there to assure her that they could help her get it to Weiss. As for the trip, again, it'll make more sense why they're going there soon enough. I don't like just stating the obvious on what's going on, since there wouldn't be much to build up to.
To JJ- Yeah, the amount of 'truths' learned at the time had got to Weiss, so while she may have been angry with Blake, it's not entirely Blake's fault. Just bad timing, and while I don't want to rehash the old gaining trust thing between them, it shouldn't be simply ignored that Weiss is upset with Blake. It's a real reaction in my opinion. And yeah, I wanted Weiss to go to Ruby so that she knows she can always count on her. Also with the Relentless leader, that was the point of making her intimidating, so I'm glad I got the point across for her.
I hoped you all enjoyed chapter 90. Remember, reviews are welcomed, but not required. See you all in chapter 91.