Here's chapter 118, everyone
"So, should I ask or leave it alone? This is the second time tonight where I was here when your daughter called you." Raven said to Willow when she walked over, and when she noticed Willow wasn't responding, she sighed. "Leave it alone, got it." She took a seat next to the distraught Schnee.
"Having more to think about is something I should've expected." Willow slowly placed her hand over Raven's, who didn't flinch, as she already knew what Willow was upset with, just based on what she heard her yelling. "If I asked you for help, would you say I'd be using you as a shortcut?"
Raven raised an eyebrow, seeing as she was unsure of what that part meant. "Depends on what you would ask for. Why?"
Willow sighed. "I wanted to ask you to bring me to my daughter. Weiss. Through the use of your semblance, but Winter told me she'd rather me not do that right now and simply come to Beacon… I don't know if I can wait."
"Hmm, well, I don't really know what's going on between you and your daughters, but right now, you need more rest than just adding on to more stress." Raven suggested.
The Schnee woman pulled her hand away, feeling the cold wind against her skin, as she held her hand to her chest. "Rest would be nice… But I don't know if I can in this house." She said, looking towards the manor.
"I'd offer the cabin, but-."
"Yes." Willow instantly took the offer, and Raven blinked a few times. "I just need to get away from here, and… I always liked resting in that cabin."
Raven shrugged, getting herself up and walking a bit away. "I'll wait for you to change, because I'm not about to walk someone in the snow that's still wearing slippers."
Willow looked down at her feet, noticing they were in fact still in slippers, so she blushed in embarrassment of forgetting to fully change. "R-Right. I'll be back…" She quickly stood up and ran into the manor to change.
The black haired huntress let out a light chuckle, but quickly returned her focus on what she could do for Willow. On one hand, she could betray her word on not telling Willow that Lazuria was alive and back at the warehouse, and on the other, she could continue keeping it a secret while supporting her in other ways.
"There's always more options, but this is too special of a situation. Not to mention I already told that woman to not even speak to her daughter… Even my own word to keep Willow safe is starting to crumble."
Willow's safety was the reason why Raven didn't want to say anything in the first place, but the pain and stress that she was experiencing was beginning to outweigh the possible danger that may befall her.
"Make a choice before it's too late."
Raven said to herself, thinking about how she'd handle her current situation, though she did at least know how to start. Getting Willow to bed.
"Weiss," The white haired teen grumbled in her sleep, as she slowly allowed her eyes to open, seeing those silver orbs glancing at her from the side. "Hey there, sleepy head." Ruby smiled and the sun was actually starting to rise. "We're home."
Hearing that, Weiss looked around, seeing that the others were still asleep in the airship. "W-We are?" She yawned and Ruby nodded, helping her up and walking her over to one of the windows. "Beacon, thank goodness." Weiss said in relief.
"Yup, and we sooooo have to come up with a backup excuse. I mean, we're already probably gonna be stopped by someone who works for the school, since, well, y'know, an airship landing would kinda grab someone's attention." Ruby chuckled nervously.
Weiss groaned, knowing full well Ruby was right, even if her sister had contacted Beacon already, someone would more than likely be waiting for them for clearance. "Right, um, well I can say that Winter requested my assistance with urgent matters, and I chose to bring help along."
"Never pegged you for one to try and lie about your sister needing help, Ice Wolf." Yang said after yawning, giving a big one while speaking. "Ahhhh, have we actually landed yet? I'm like, fifty percent awake here."
"Right about to, and I'm not trying to… Lie, per say, I simply wanted to rearrange the truth a bit." Weiss countered, since technically they were assisting, but it wasn't Winter they were helping. "Look, you already heard what Winter is doing anyways." Weiss reminded. "Our parents will know, and not Ozpin, so if we just say we were helping her, I know she'll support it."
Yang stretched out her arms and chuckled a little. "I like this new side of you, Ice Wolf. Making up lies to cover us."
Weiss reached up for her wolf pendant, sighing a bit. "Don't get used to it. Lying doesn't lead to anything good… The only reason I'm doing it now is because we did something for our friends, nothing more."
Ruby noticed her girlfriend was not in the best of moods, so she rubbed her arm a few times. "Hey, it's okay if I speak up on it. I am the team leader after all, and don't forget, I volunteered us to help out."
"It could be Ozpin that shows up, Ruby. I don't want you getting in trouble for this." Weiss expressed her worry.
"Honestly, if it's Ozpin, I think we'd be pretty okay. He always seemed like the most understanding at Beacon." Ruby said with a positive expression on her face.
Weiss was still nervous, but she let out a small smile and nodded.
Yang watched them, happy for the two, and happy she finally told her sister and Blake about how she had feelings for Weiss. And thinking about Blake, the blonde brawler looked down at her own partner, seeing her snoring while resting her head against her shoulder. "I guess I'm your pillow, Shadowcat." She whispered to herself, also thinking about the kiss they first shared.
While Weiss went to go check on Klein, Ruby glanced over at her sister, seeing Yang smiling down at Blake. It brought a sense of relief to Ruby, as everyone was finally starting to feel better, and knowing full well that something happened between her sister and Blake, she'd have a lot to talk about in the next few days.
"Klein," Weiss called out to the man she looked at as a Father. He was setting the airship down, and looked back to her.
"Snowflake, I'm glad to see you're awake. We're just setting down," He confirmed, and Weiss walked up to him, instantly wrapping her arms around him when she felt the airship was landed. "Snowflake?"
Weiss felt hugged him even tighter, so he wrapped one arm around her, patting her back a few times as he smiled. "Thank you."
"You don't have to thank me for flying you-."
"Not for that." Weiss slowly pulled away, as she brought both hands up to her wolf pendant. "Thank you for being here for me since I was born… I know you promised Mother not to say anything, so it means you knew from the beginning." She didn't care about letting a tear fall, and Klein instantly got up and hug her, not wanting to see his Snowflake cry.
"You shouldn't thank me for lying to you…" Klein said with a pained voice, suppressing his other personalities all night. "All I did was bring you pain with that lie."
Weiss shook her head so many times at that. "Please don't say that," She sniffled and gently pulled from the embrace. "I was able to grow up with a loving Mother, sister, and a Father," She said in reference to Klein himself. "And… Sometimes a brother." Weiss looked down to the side, hoping one day she could reconnect with her little brother, but she returned her attention to Klein. "You helped me live, Klein. I'll always love you."
Klein felt a few tears fall, as he pulled out a handkerchief and blew into it, his eyes changing color to yellow. "And I'll always love you too, my Snowflake." A moment later, he sneezed and his eyes shifted to a light blue, as he started to sneeze a few times, and wiggled his nose around, looking up to take note of Weiss giggling at his changes, something that made him happy to see.
Winter informed her team of business she had to attend to at Beacon, and while she knew that this little trip would make it back to Ironwood, she was prepared to deal with the consequences. "Stay here till I'm finished with business here, okay." The Atlas Specialist said to Olivia.
"I've proven that I wouldn't run before, so I hope you have some trust in me to not leave." Olivia countered, as she was feeling rather tired from the long night.
"Yes, well after everything that's happened, sometimes a stressing environment can set any individual off." Winter remarked with her arms held behind her back. "I simply need to speak with the Headmaster of this school about my mission."
Olivia did overhear her saying that to Ruby, Weiss and Yang before. "I won't lie to you and say that doesn't make me nervous… Your mission has something to do with us Hidden."
"I understand your concern, but you must realize that if there is a chance to locate The Relentless, having others knowing of their presence would be helpful." Winter stated.
"Yes, I know… Just please don't mention I'm here. Even if this is a school for Hunters, I still don't want anyone knowing what I am." Olivia requested.
Winter figured she would request her presence to not be a known factor, so she respectfully nodded. "Very well, but I do need to warn you that the General will have to know when we return to Atlas."
Olivia's heart was racing, but she couldn't get out of that. Winter had her orders, and going against a General would spell bad news for both of them. "O-Okay…"
"I'm sorry." Winter genuinely was, ever since she learned about her sister's heritage, and how Olivia must be feeling, so she turned on her boot and walked out, leaving the woman to her rest.
As the two teams were all awake and stepping off the airship, they noticed it was in fact Professor Ozpin who was waiting on them. "I told you…" Weiss whispered and looked distraught, but before Ruby could say anything, Winter walked past them.
The Atlas Specialist gave a respectful bow to the man. "Professor Ozpin, I apologize for this rather unexpected meeting, but I have urgent matters to attend to, and I can explain why two teams from your school were with me."
Both teams were surprised she was about to try and keep them from getting in trouble, except for Weiss, who was thankful that her sister was helping them so much. Ozpin however glanced at the two teams, who all still did look a little nervous on how he'd react, so he sighed and nodded. "Very well, but you of all people should know of informing someone when their students will go out missing."
Jaune spoke up. "M-Missing?"
Ozpin tapped his cane on the ground, nodding to the boy. "You should know a Headmaster always knows what goes on in his own school."
The blonde team leader rubbed the back of his head and chuckled a few times nervously. "R-Right."
Nora elbowed his side and whispered something about playing it cool, so Winter took back over and spoke. "This really is an urgent matter, Professor, so I'd rather we get back to your office to discuss this as soon as possible."
"Hmm, yes, well follow me. The rest of you, get back to your dorms before Ms. Goodwitch wakes up and catches you out this early." Ozpin gave them a warning, showing he wasn't going to punish them for being out of school, but Glynda would if she caught them.
Seven of the Eight students fled back to Beacon, with Zwei following right behind them. Weiss however stayed behind, looking to her sister. "W-Winter, should I… Be there too?"
Winter knew why she asked, but that would mean telling Ozpin that she was a Hidden, and with how things have been, she wasn't ready to just outright tell people that. "No, go on and get some rest, Weiss. I'll contact you when my meeting is over."
Weiss wanted to argue that, but when she felt Klein holding her shoulder, she saw his assuring smile, so she took a breath and nodded. After a moment, she bowed to Ozpin as well, as more of a silent apology. She then ran towards Beacon, hoping to catch up with her team.
Winter cleared her throat. "Professor, there is a lot to discuss."
Finally I can get things moving again from that night. It wasn't exactly how I wanted it to go, with how many chapters went into that single night, but I think it still worked out in the end. Hope you all were able to endure it.
To JJ- Honestly, that part with Nora feeling guilty was the hardest part to write in that chapter, since I wanted her to also be in character too. So I'm glad I was able to stay true to that in your eyes. As for Winter, seeing as her little sister's life is being uncovered, she needed to be there for her, and with the upcoming chapters, you know she'll be more active in this story for Weiss' sake.
I hoped you all enjoyed chapter 118. Remember, reviews are welcomed, but not required. See you all in chapter 119.