Here's chapter 129, everyone.
"What are you thinking we do today?" Yang asked the team from her bed.
Ruby looked over from her own bunk, pressing her finger up to her chin in thought. "Hmm, well it's the weekend, and Mom is supposed to show up soon. Soooo, maybe ask if she can make some adjustments to our weapons?"
Weiss perked up at that, looking up from her bunk. "I'm surprised you'd even want to make any changes to your scythe, Ruby. Anytime anyone gets close to it, you guard it like your life depends on it."
"Well duh, because it does. It's my weapon that I use to defend myself with. I'm totally useless without it in a fight, but it is my Mom after all. I obviously trust her with my baby." Ruby replied with a grin.
"There she goes, calling a scythe her baby again." Yang teased, earning a pout from her younger sister.
Weiss simply rolled her eyes and shrugged. "I personally don't believe Myrtenaster needs any adjustments. It was your Mother who worked on it after all, so I'm not really sure there's anything else she can do for it."
"Not true. That was years ago, and Mom can do anything if she is super focused on it." Ruby praised, while Weiss still didn't feel like she needed an upgrade.
"I appreciate the thought, Ruby, but I'm okay. I'll still go with you if you'd like, but not for my own weapon." Weiss remarked.
Ruby wanted to try and say more, but she felt it was better to respect her partner's wishes and left it alone. "Okay, Wolfy," Weiss groaned in response, while Ruby giggled and looked to Blake. "What about you, Blake? Anything you wanna do?"
Blake was putting away one of the books she'd draw in, shrugging at the question. "Not sure honestly. If going to see your Mom about weapon upgrades, I'll go too, but I'm kind of in the same boat with Weiss. I don't really think I'll want to make any changes."
"Ugghhhh, you guys are so lame… Though I guess I did say that Crescent Rose is perfect and doesn't need changes." Ruby chuckled to herself.
"You're too much of a hassle, Ruby Rose." Weiss said as she got up from her bed.
"Last names this early? Gonna have to watch out for any nasty bites from our Ice Wolf." Yang teased, earning a death glare from the white haired girl. "E-Easy now, Ice Wolf. Was just teasing."
"Uh huh." Weiss was already dressed for the day and started to head out of the dorm, looking over her shoulder. "I'm going for a short walk. I have some calls to make, so if you know what time we'll be visiting your Mother, Ruby, message me."
Ruby looked a little concerned for her partner. "Are you okay?"
Weiss sighed, turning to show her partner how she looked. "Ruby, stop worrying over every little thing I do by myself. It's honestly a little annoying, no offense."
Yang chuckled and laid back on her bed. "Can you really blame her, Ice Wolf?"
"N-No, she's right. I shouldn't overly worry. Go on, Weiss. I'll let you know when we're ready to go." Ruby assured, as Weiss responded with a thankful nod and left the room. "Ugh, I didn't think it annoyed her."
"Eh, she's not wrong to be honest. I mean, trust me, Ruby. I don't blame you at all for being worried, but Weiss is a big girl and can handle herself too. She doesn't always need someone to help her." Yang explained.
"I know… She's strong, but I just can't help it sometimes." Ruby pouted while grabbing her pillow and placing her face down on it.
Blake spoke up next. "Try not to make a big deal out of it, Ruby. Just think about seeing your Mom later."
Ruby blushed a little out of embarrassment, since she got called out on being such a worrywart. "Okay, okay. Sorry."
Blake and Yang chuckled a little, since she wasn't upset about anything, more so she was just being her pouty self.
Weiss held her scroll in her hands, sighing to herself since she didn't know if she really wanted to make the call in the first place. "Just call her. It's not that hard."
With a few taps on her scroll, she managed to get to her contact list and started to call her Mother. After a few moments, Weiss could hear the nervousness in her Mother's voice. "Weiss... "
"Mother…" Weiss took a few moments, knowing both were very much unable to think of what to really say, but she had to just up and speak. "I'm not angry."
"Winter said you wouldn't be." Willow sighed. "You have to know, I couldn't say anything… I only wanted you to live a happy life that your Mother-."
"Stop it. We already talked about this. YOU are my Mother, and honestly, this isn't why I called you, Mom." Weiss stated, surprising Willow. "I spoke with Blake's Mother. Kali Belladonna. You know her, right?"
Willow's eyes shot open, though luckily it wasn't a video call, so Weiss didn't see. "Kali? Wait… Blake Belladonna. I can't believe I didn't put two and two together." She sighed. "Yes, I know Kali, but… I haven't spoken to her in years."
"I know, she told me, but I did promise to ask you to contact her if you can. From what she told me, she was your friend, Mother." Weiss said with concern.
"She was, yes, but… There was just so much going on in my life, sweetie. Not to mention, Jacques… He made things very difficult in terms of going back to Menagerie." Willow explained. "I-I know it sounds like I'm making excuses-."
"No, you're not." Weiss interrupted. "Blake's Mother didn't exactly explain the details, but she told me you had a lot to focus on… Which I'm guessing meant me."
Willow frowned, but refused to let Weiss make herself seem like she was the one at fault. "Don't insinuate such things. You're my number one priority, along with your sister and brother, but that doesn't mean just because I chose to focus on my children, that I couldn't make time for my friends. If there is anyone to blame, it truly is me."
Weiss let out a somber chuckle. "The blame game will get us nowhere, Mom… Just promise me you'll try to call Mrs. Belladonna. She really wants to speak again."
"I will… And thank you for bringing this up to me, my little Snowflake. Kali is a dear friend of mine, and… And I hate that I couldn't find the time to call her, but I'll make up for lost time." Willow assured, and took a breath. "Still, I'll go to Beacon this week. We need to-."
"Talk. I know." Weiss closed her eyes for a moment, thinking about everything that's happened with her. "We will, but I'm doing better now. I would really like to focus more on my studies here at Beacon."
Willow couldn't help but smile at that, since her daughter always expressed the desire to become a huntress at a young age, and ever since the personal problems of her birth and heritage popped up, she worried that Weiss' dreams of becoming a huntress would have to be put on hold. Hearing her expressing that desire again brought joy to Willow's heart.
"Will my little Snowflake still be the Shining Knight that she wanted to be all those years ago?" Willow couldn't help but tease, missing the bonding she could have with her daughter.
Weiss blushed heavily and almost dropped her scroll. "M-Mother we've talked about that! Ugh, I was eight when I said that silly title…"
Willow gently laughed a bit, holding her hand up to her mouth to suppress her laughter. "I'm sorry, sweetie. I just enjoyed the memory. You were always so excited to be called that one day when you become a huntress."
"Hmph, well that was still back when I was a child. I am almost eighteen now, so 'The Shining Knight' title is not exactly what you call a respectable name for a huntress." Weiss stated, pouting a bit at the teasing.
"Well I still think it's a good title, but if you do come up with another, you know I'll want to know. So I can proudly tell the others of the huntress that I raised." Willow genuinely said, as Weiss' heart skipped a beat.
"Mom…" Weiss let out a small smile. "You'll be the first to know… And… Thank you." She knew their little back and forth about her old title was something that Willow brought up so they could bond again, something Weiss really needed.
"You don't have to thank me, Snowflake. I love you and can't wait to see you with your huntress license." Willow said supportingly.
Weiss gently grabbed her pendant, squeezing it close as she was happy that she and her Mother wouldn't grow apart like how she had been with Whitley. "I should go, Mom. Um, when do you think you'll come over?"
"This week. I promise to let you know a day before I go." Willow answered. "You can ask me anything right now though… I can't just ignore anything you have on your mind about all of this, Snowflake."
"There's enough to not really discuss over the scroll, Mom, but I did already learn a good bit about myself." Weiss stated, but continued since she had at least a few things she could ask. "Did you ever think that there was a good time to tell me, or anyone for that matter?"
Willow thought about how to answer that. "There was never a 'good' time to tell you, but I did want to deep down. I wanted you to know the truth, to see your birth Mother and hug her. To see you both having that moment. I didn't want you to not know for your entire life."
Weiss ran her hand through her hair, feeling her heart beating a bit faster. "I see. Well, what made you choose the people you told about me?"
"You mean Klein?" Willow let out a small smile. "Because he knew of your birth Mother, and from how much he showed care and compassion for your older sister, I knew he would do the same for you, and that's why I wanted him to know the truth, to know the real you."
Hearing that brought a tear to Weiss' face, as she squeezed her wolf pendant a bit harder. "He always did make me feel like I had a Father… Thank you for telling him back then, Mom."
"Don't thank me, sweetie. Honestly, I myself need to thank him more than ever." Willow stated.
Weiss looked down the hall, noticing Nora was turning a corner and saw her. "Uh oh… Um, Mom I'll speak with you later. I think one of my friends is about to try and tackle me…"
Willow was confused, but from knowing Summer for so long, she had experience being tackled by a friend. "Good luck, sweetie. I love you, and good luck."
"Love you too, Mom." Weiss instantly pocketed her scroll as Nora ran over and tackled her, making her groan as they tumbled. "Ow… Why…"
"I never got to say thank you to you personally for Kuroyuri!" Nora smiled and hugged her friend as Weiss was gasping for air.
"Y-You're welcome… Air, p-please…" Weiss struggled saying as Nora released her and grinned. "Ugh… Do you not know your own strength, Nora…"
Nora kept her happy grin on as she shrugged. "Heh, sorry bout that, Weiss. Sooooo, whatcha doing out in the halls by yourself? I coulda sworn you'd have Ruby stuck to you."
Weiss blushed and crossed her arms. "W-What do you mean by that? Ruby is not always around me, Valkyrie…" Nora smirked and gave her a knowing look. "W-What?"
"You already told us you two are together, together, so what's the point in trying to hide it, silly?" Nora questioned.
"Ugh, you're worse than Yang." Weiss groaned, dropping her arms in defeat. "I was just making a few private calls, that YOU interrupted."
Nora rubbed the back of her head. "Oh… Whoops."
Weiss rolled her eyes, but realized she was close to her locker. "Hmm, well, I guess you can make it up to me with a sparring match? I don't want to lose my touch."
"Ooh! You never challenge me to spar! I'll go get my stuff!" Nora quickly ran to her locker, as Weiss blinked a few times, wondering if she made a mistake in requesting for a spar with the orange haired girl.
"Wait, what did I just do…"
Willow put her scroll away and sighed, looking down at her lap as she was glad that the call she had with her daughter didn't go the way she thought it would. "She forgave me again… All I ever do is make things harder on her, and yet she forgives me."
As she said that, she slowly got up and began to walk out of her room, but was met with Jacques opening the door. "Hmm… I didn't think you'd be in here."
"This was still my room too, Jacques. Could you please step aside so I can get some breakfast…" Willow didn't want to deal with his bullshit at that point.
Jacques knew not to grab at her, but he didn't move aside either. "We should still talk about your recent behavior. Is it so bad to-."
"We already talked, and from how you just spoke to me, I doubt repeating everything we talked about will do anything." Willow remarked. "So, I'll ask again to please step aside."
The CEO sighed, stepping slightly to the side, showing that he wouldn't cause trouble, but he wasn't ready to just drop the subject. "Do you even care about where you live? How you live? All I've done was make sure we stayed at the top."
"The top of what, Jacques? A mountain of oppression? Well, good luck with that lonely mountaintop you get to stand on, because I want nothing to do with it." Willow said as she began to walk.
"Will you just give me a moment to speak?" Jacques said, raising his voice slightly.
Hearing how loud he almost got made Willow stop and take a deep breath, before turning around to stare at him. "That right there. You almost exploded just because I don't agree with you. I'm not expecting you to understand what I mean."
"I'm not a damn simpleton, Willow. I know exactly what life has to offer, and grasping at the most you can take, is what everyone strives for. You even told me yourself, that gi… Weiss, she wants to be a huntress, correct?" Jacques questioned, surprising Willow.
"Yes, she does, and before you even think about getting in the way of that-."
"I have no intentions of that, but you still know that she probably wants to be at the top just like anyone would. What is so damn wrong about keeping our place in this world?" Jacques asked.
Willow sighed, almost feeling like she truly lost someone again. "You just won't get it, and I tried telling you it was a waste of time repeating myself. I'll say it again though, even though you won't listen. Your ideal life is for you alone, Jacques. Let them, and myself pick what we wish to do with our lives."
"There is more danger in-."
"Enough. Stop acting like you care what happens to us." Willow said coldly, turning on her heel. "Just do what I said before and keep to yourself. I won't cause any public eye trouble, and you will leave yourself out."
Jacques grit his teeth, clenching his fists as he was about to try and grab at his wife's arm, but realized what she said.
"She doesn't know a damn thing. I've kept them safe… I took in that child… Winter chose to leave, and so did Weiss. I don't need her to tell me whether I care or not. That damn woman should be thanking me!"
With that, the conflicted CEO slammed his door shut and Willow frowned when she heard it, walking off to the kitchen with that familiar pain in her heart.
I know it's been awhile since I updated this, but there isn't much to really say other than that I just didn't have the motivation to. I went to RTX and saw the RWBY panel which sort of gave me a bit of inspiration back because of the new poster, so we'll see if I can keep up on updates. Sorry for taking so long on this.
To JJ- Yeah, I had a thought of having Summer really lash out, but it felt like it would go extend the chapter too much. As for the flashback, we'll see if I want to work on it for this or not. There's a lot to work on with this story still, so I got lots of ideas that may not make it in. I also want to apologize for taking so long on updating this.
I hoped you all enjoyed chapter 129. Remember, reviews are welcomed, but not required. See you all in chapter 130.