AN: Okay, so here's the deal. I've decided on a short of mid way points between the two options I gave last update. I will be giving the chapters frequently, but not all in a single day. I will update every other day until I'm the story is finished.
Honestly this should of come weeks ago, I've just been sitting on these chapters, in part of hoping I'd get my beta back, but that didn't happen and I've waited long enough
So here it is.
Tomorrow was the day, the end of it all, one way or another. Either the enemy would be crippled or they would. Winter had a better understanding of the troops and assets Ironwood had rallied, and if this failed, at least in a spectacular manner, not only would Atlas lose a significant portion of its military strength, but the recruits from the various kingdoms would be gone as well, and if anyone was going to die, it would be them.
Ironwood planned for the first wave to be predominately made of for foreign huntsman and automated troops, to reduce casualties to the Atlas army. It was… morally dubious, but he was putting Atlas first, even if his overall goal was to protect the world, he also knew that taking this his personal reasonability was putting most of the burden on Atlas, and he didn't want to win the battle only to weaken his nations standing in the world.
But her mind was on other things as well, she hadn't spoken with her sister in days, which never happened when they were this close to each other. They'd…reconciled a bit, but Weiss was still very upset with her, and she didn't want to leave on this mission without them being in a batter place.
As she thought of this her scroll hummed, and it was a text from Weiss. She didn't believe in things like fate, but this made her feel almost like it was. But she'd have given the thought more credit if thoughts of her sister hadn't dominated her mind for the past few days.
She read the text, and it only has three words "Can we talk?"
She types a quick response, "Yes, meet me in my room."
She put her scroll down and stood up and stretched her arms and back. Cutting it close, but better late than never, and she at least took some solace in the face she'd gotten her sister one of the safer details on the mission.
She looked at her scroll again, and no response from Weiss, so she assumed she was coming now. If she wasn't here in a few minutes, she'd give her a call. Had this been a year ago, she'd have called her immediately after the message and given her a time and place to meet her, and she'd have shown up precisely on time. Now she didn't think so. Not was Weiss upset with her, but she'd grown more independent in her time away from home. That much had been becoming clear when she had visited her at Beacon, and then when she'd escaped from home.
The knocking at her door, stopped her thoughts and she called "It's unlocked." She heard the door opened, and the clacking of shoes on her floor. Weiss came into the living room, and there was a noticeable tension in the air, but she was used to such tension. "Please sit down."
Weiss sat in one of her chairs, put her hands in her lap, and looked at the floor.
The silence lasted only a few moments before Winter broke the silence "What did you want to talk about Weiss?"
Weiss shifted a bit in her chair before answering. "Boys…I guess."
That was…a way more mundane and every day topic than she had expected, but she was a little happy to get to cover this topic with her sister, granted it was a few years after when she would have expected it but still. "Why? Is there a boy you like?" Winter hadn't expected such a silly topic to make her feel so good, it just seemed to make her feel…normal.
"Ummm…that's the thing I don't know."
Winter felt an odd sensation in her stomach at this response, and started to wonder if Weiss meant something else. Did she really not know if she liked him? Or was is possible that she did know, and thought it not appropriate to feel this way for him, for whatever reason.
"Would you like something to drink?" Winter asked, standing and moving to the kitchen.
"Wine, Red if you have it."
That was another little surprise, Weiss wasn't normally a drinker, in fact she was a bit of a teetotaler, and she thought their mother might have something to do with that. But now…it didn't seem so important, when she couldn't clearly see a future past the next few days.
She did have some wine, and got the best red she had, opened it and poured it into two glasses.
She went back to the living room and place Weiss's glass on the coffee table along with the bottle while she carried her own glass back to her seat.
"So." Winter said, "what do you mean 'you don't know'? "
"Exactly what I said, I don't know, I mean, I like him, but I'm not sure if I…like him in the way I think I might." She puttered off at the last line "Well, that's not exactly true, I'm pretty sure I know how I feel, but I think…I don't want to feel this way."
"Well." Winter started, thinking this may be more complicated that she had thought "So I just want to be clear, is the issue you're not sure if you like him...or that you like him and think it's not a good idea."
"The second." Weiss said as she sipped her wine. "I think…well to be frank I know there's an attraction there, but I don't think…logically… that I should even give the thought any concern."
"Why is that?"
"He's…well, he's not always been what I would call an upstanding citizen, and he's deceived me before."
"But you still have this attraction." Winter said, it wasn't a question but a statement. Many young women have a "bad boy" faze, but Weiss's issue seemed more self-aware than that, she was actively moving against the idea of the attraction. "Can you tell me his name?"
Wiess took another, longer sip of her wine, "I'd rather not, at least not right now."
"Well can you at least tell me if I know him?"
Weiss considered this for a moment then said, "You do."
That at least narrowed it down, Wiess had only been in contact with five boys for some time, unless of course she wasn't really talking about a boy, but that still narrowed down the options. "Well what do you like about…him?"
If Weiss had noticed the brief hesitation she didn't show it, instead she answered "Well, we have things in common, like…family issues. We have similar…tastes, or expectations at least of what to expect in certain situations."
Winter sighed, Weiss wasn't telling her anything useful, but rather what they had in common. "Weiss, how do you feel around him, what sensations would you described that as."
Weiss gave a thoughtful look. "I guess, I just feel comfortable around him. Like…he's had similar expectations of him in his life, and understands my issues in ways my other friends can't." She sipped her wine again " We get each other, and sometimes…it's just nice to sit with him, not even talking, just knowing someone understands."
"Okay." Winter said "Now tell me, why you think it's a bad idea to pursue him, unless he's already dating one of your friends, in which case I'd say drop it for now, it's not worth losing a friend over."
"Not, that's not it. It's just…he's kind of got a reputation for being…deceptive. And I'm not just talking about rumors, I've seen it firsthand."
"So you don't trust him."
"That's… not exactly right, I means I trust him…in certain things, but in other things I'm not sure I could."
"Okay." Winter sipped her own wine "Let me ask you this, do you think he'd ever deceive you in a way that would hurt you, at least intentionally."
"No…I mean, I don't think so, but still."
"Weiss, I want to help you, and protect you from any pain, I think you know that." She said setting her glass down "But I've seen how well that works. You need to…make this decision for yourself, I'll be here to give you advice, and help you if I can, but…I can't direct your life."
Weiss looked at her for a moment, then fished off her wine in a very non-lady like manner. "I guess our family has the tendency to have changes of heart when it's the least convenient, first father lets me go, now you aren't going to tell me what to do."
"No, I'm not." Winter said "It what I should have done in the first place talked to you, then let you make your own decision." He took a deep breath "If you don't think he can be honest with you, or if you really think he'll hurt you, I'd sat let him go, but you need to make these choice for yourself."
"Winter." Weiss said "I'm sorry for being distant these past few days, but I was upset with you."
"You had every right to be, I was upset with myself honestly, from the moment I did it. It was a mistake, but I stand by the sentiment, I'd do anything to keep you safe, but now…I see that if I keep acting that way, I'll be like father."
"You'll never be like him." Weiss said and hugged her sister. "Thank for the talk, I think I'll go talk to him now."
"Alright." Winter felt her stomach turn at this point, because she wasn't sure if her sister would follow her advice or not, but she had to let her make this decision on her own.
They broke the embrace and Weiss thanked her again and left, and she was left to ponder.
She was certain who Weiss was talking about, Loki. He was the only one of her friends who hadn't paired off, and she'd made reference to him being one of her friends and not in a relationship. She didn't know him that well, thought he had brought a powerless Cinder to them and tipped them off to the attempted left of the relic. He had a…slippery quality to him, like he played his cards close to his chest, and acted like he knew more than everyone in the room.
He wasn't bad looking, but he just seemed…off. But Weiss knew him better than her, so maybe she knew better here.
She hoped she did.
Loki gasped as he got out of the shower, hissing with pain. Looking at the blight marks, he couldn't help but be concerned. The yellow pus was now tinged with red, and they hurt more than previously. This power was eating breaking his body a part. His use of the higher magic abilities had almost certainly quickened the process. He needed to get it out of him, but he wasn't sure how to do so without giving it back to Cinder. The only thing he'd thought of was transferring it into a object, like the relics, but that ran its own risk. He doubted a mundane item would contain it for long, and even then, if he could use it properly.
But he need it gone, if this persisted at this rate for a few more days, he wouldn't be able to hide it.
He'd get dressed and head down the bases forge, which they'd all be given free access to, along with any other huntsmen recruited for the mission. He had a bit more credit there than most, thanks to how he'd ingratiated himself to Ironwood, so he might be able to make something that would hold up for a few days at least, after that, it wouldn't matter.
But he needed to get these things dressed and covered. They were draining pretty thoroughly now, and if he didn't, it would become far to obvious something was wrong. He'd tried to heal them once, and that was when the situation got much worse.
He need to put some ointment on them first. He reached for the medicine cabinet, and as he did, a pain shoot up and down his arm, like his arm was breaking apart.
Gasping from the pain, he yanked his arm back, and sipped on the still wet floor.
He howled in pain, unable to hold it in any more.
"Loki?!" A voice called into the bathroom.
Before he could respond, the door to the bathroom openend and Weiss came in to see him in all his shame.
"Weiss!" He hissed in pain and angry "What are you doing?"
"I heard the bang and you yelling…" she trailed off looking at him, and the large, ugly, cracked and weeping marks over his body. "My god…what happened?"
No use in it now, he might as well get her help. "I'll tell you, but you need to help me get these dressed." He gestured to the medicine cabinet "Get the ointment and bandages."
She didn't say anything else as she did was he told her to do. She was quick and efficient, and his open sores now only throbbed and ached. She was quick to started applying the salve and bandages the wounds, and he couldn't help but think it was in part so she wouldn't have to look at them.
It took the better part of fifteen minutes, where the only sounds where his heavy breathing and her occasional gasp, whenever the sores ejected a nice stream of pus.
When all was said and done, the fact he was naked as the day he was born was being ignored by her, said wonders about her shock.
"Loki…what happened?"
"Hand me that robe." He gestured to a green robe on the back of the door "I'll explain in the living room." She grabbed the robe, helped him put it on, and got him on his feet. "I can walk, don't worry." He said and she let him go, but the way she hovered over him made him think she was certain he'd keel over any moment.
But he made it into the living room, granted it was at a shuffle, and sat down grunting out in pain.
"Loki…what- "
"Happened." He finished "Well, truth be told, I don't know." He looked at her for a moment "I believe this is the result of the power I…let's just say it, stole. Without the maiden's power, it's unstable and it's…not reacting well to me. When I did some the stronger magic I can use, it got worse."
"Like with my father."
Loki shrugged "Yes, well that and the teleportation I did to get there." He said "I was going to try and transfer it to something else today, an object, like the relics. I just need to find something strong enough to handle it for the next few days."
"Okay." Weiss said as she looked around the room "What were you going to use?"
Loki shook his head "I'm going to have to make something."
"Okay…let's get you dressed, then we'll head to the forge."
"We?"
"You're going to need help, your not at your best, and besides, I'm not sure you've ever used a huntsman's forge."
"Well, no, but I've yet to meet a forge or machine I couldn't exploit."
"Still, you're going to need help if you want this done quickly."
He knew she was right, he didn't want to waste time hunting down materials or equipment, he didn't have the luxury of time. "Alright, let me get dressed, then we'll head down." With that he stood up and limped to his room, closing the door.
The fall had burst a few things on his skin, as he noticed that some of the bandages were already starting to bleed through. It was also taking longer than he would take normally, because he was moving so gingerly. But he was dressed soon enough, but he had forgone his normal taste in clothes for looser fitting more comfortable clothing. Part out of a desire to avoid pressuring the sores, and because he's be doing some dirty work.
He left his bed room and Weiss was standing there ready to go, and in his clearer mind set he now had a question. "Why were you here anyway."
Her body language might as well of been a billboard for how uncomfortable she was. "It's not important, let's just get to the forge."
In normal circumstances, his curiosity would cause him to push the question, but he was to intent on his plan.
"Alright, let's go." He said and with the headed towards the door. He was painfully aware of the awkward movement was, but there was no helping it, if he moved to quickly, he risked breaking open his injuries.
"Do you need any help?"
"No, I just need to take it slow." He said as they walked into the hall. He looked at her, "So, can you tell me what materials I can expect to find in the forge, and what types of dust."
"Any type of metal you could want, even that Silver Steel, granted that one isn't available to general use, you need to talk to the Quartermaster for that."
"I'm not concerned with the quartermaster, I have enough credit with the General to get what I want, what about the dust?"
"Mostly weapon and fuel grades."
"What about Adamantine?"
"Probably, but that's usually used for armor piercing rounds."
"It may be useful in the construction of the…housing unit."
The two went on in silence for the next few minutes, until they reached the lift to the forge. As the door opened, they were meet with a surprise.
"Blake?" Weiss said, doing her best to hide her surprise. "What were you doing in the Forge?"
Blake, for her credit didn't seem surprised to see them "I was just making some new gear for the mission, I needed something to hit harder." He patted what looked like a purse on her side. "What are you doing here?"
"I was just showing Loki to the forge, he needs equipment for the mission."
"Really? I was under the impression you weren't going."
"Well, I've changed my mind." Loki said, but the look Blake gave him, told him she knew something was not normal here. He had a strong suspension she could smell the sores. He'd know Faunus had heightened sense and that was why he'd taken a shower right before he was planning to leave, to help mask it. But they were open and weeping, and he was certain she was picking up on that. "Now if you don't mind, we have to pick up the pace, we don't have long." With that he walked onto the lift and Weiss followed suit.
Blake spoke one more time before the door closed "We'll see you tonight right?"
"Of course." Weiss replied just before the door closed and cut off their view of Blake.
"What are you doing tonight?"
"Just…well with tomorrow, we all wanted one night all together."
"I see."
"You didn't know? Didn't Thor tell you?"
Loki shrugged "He may of, but I've been…distant from other's these past few days, with my…condition."
"Well, if this goes well, are you willing to come?"
"We'll see how I feel after this." And with that the door's opened and they walked into the forge. It wasn't really a forge as Loki had understood it growing up, more of a machine shop. But there were still aspects of it. "I'll need to work fast."
Weiss watched as Loki worked on his…she wasn't sure if it was a weapon, it looked more like a cane or rod.
He'd chosen to allow the silver steel along with the toughest metal Atlas had, which she had known Thor had done with his axe, and infused it with Adamantine dust.
But he was looking rough, sweeting and breathing hard. She'd been helping where she could, but there wasn't time for her to ask specifics on construction or dimensions. She helped with water and hold things when he needed them, or hoping him move materials when needed.
As he milled, forged and ground the tool, it started to come into what was looking like a finished object. Now it looked more like a walking stick than ever, with shaft terminating in a fairly heavy knob. But with one thing that clearly made this a weapon. A moderately curved blade was at the top, running parallel to the shaft, with it extending six inches above and below the handle.
"Weiss, I need you to get the gas furnace going and it up to maximum temperature." He said as he ground out a of the rod.
She didn't answer, but just listened and started the furnace. The was usually used to quench blades to harden them, and she wondered what Loki planned to do.
"Move." He said from behind her and she moved out of the way, and in inserted the…cane? Rod? It didn't matter really.
"So…what is that?"
Loki was drinking a gulp of water but responded when he was done "I based it on a weapon I had once, more less a cane with a slashing blade on it."
"It's…unique."
"It's more useful than it looks trust me."
"Are you going to quench it?"
"In a manner of speaking."
"You don't have any oil though; do you want me to get some?"
"No, this won't need anything other than what I can do."
"Loki…please tell me you aren't going to use magic." Concern in her voice
"I'm afraid I'll have to, it may hold the power on its own, or it might not, I want to make sure I'll only have to do this once."
"Please don't…." Weiss muttered, she didn't want to see him hurt himself.
"Well…I'm going to do it." And that, he used a pair of tongs to pull the now glowing rod out of the furnace, and before she could try to dissuade him, she felt the air around them move and he whispered something, and the rod stopped glowing instantly, and Weiss was a bit surprised to see it look polished and finished, despite it's over all simplistic design.
Loki however had dropped to a knee, clutching his chest, where she saw something seeping through his shirt. "Loki, you know for someone so smart, you can be incredibly stupid." She said ans she rushed over to help him back to his feet.
"No time for the lecture." He rasped "Is there a place I can do the transfer in a more secluded area?"
"We can go to one of the testing rooms, but Loki, can you even do the transfer."
"Yes." He near whispered "It shouldn't be nearly as draining as some other magic, given I'll be removing it from my body."
She believed him unconditionally, and that realization made her stop. "Loki…are you using your semblance on me?"
He didn't respond, and she took that as a yes. She felt like someone had punched her in the chest. This was the exact thing she'd talk to Winter about being afraid of him doing.
"It doesn't matter, I need to do this now, if it stays in me much longer, it's going to kill me." He gasped, and she believed him this time on her own accord.
"Fine, let's get this over with." She said as she helped him limp to one of the testing rooms where Hunters could put new weapons and gear through their paces.
It wasn't a big room, just large enough to test gear to make sure it functions on a basic level. But Loki deemed it large enough and placed his cane in the middle of the floor and started placing familiar object around them. They looked like the runes he'd used to when he cured her father, but these looked…like silver rather than bone.
"Are those different than the ones you used for my father?"
"Yes, those were bone, these are silver." He said, and she mentally noted she guessed correctly.
"Why use these? Are the other broken?"
"No, but since I'm transferring the power into and object rather than a person, silver is more likely to work." Weiss wasn't even going to ask why it made a difference, but trusted Loki to know how and why it did. Once he placed the last rune and stepped back. "Now there is a decent chance this could incapacitate me or even kill me, so…" He said raising his hands "If this kills me…I don't know tell Thor…well I'm sure you'll think of something touching."
Before she could say anything, he activated the spell. The air seemed to get heavier and hotter as Loki muttered something under his breath. As he did so, something…gaseous and glowing flowed from his body.
"Loki…" she said and the air suddenly felt charged with energy as it transfer. His face was twisted in concentration, and sweat was running down his face. This didn't feel like what had happened with her father, this was…much more energetic, and she felt like there was a dangerous presence in the room.
This went on for a few minutes and Loki was starting to grunt, with the effort. This didn't seem right, she wasn't there when he took the power, but he'd seemed fine when they'd seen him afterwards, energetic even.
"Loki…is everything…alright?" He didn't say anything, as the power flowed out of him, and then spoke suddenly and so quietly she almost didn't hear him.
"Damn." Was all he said, and a powerful pulse radiated from Loki's cane.
It threw her against the wall and Loki was thoroughly lifted up and tossed high onto the wall, where he bounced off and landed on the floor, unmoving.
"Loki!" She cried and quickly jumped to her feet, despite the power of the pulse, her aura had kept her safe and unharmed, mostly. But Loki wasn't moving, and if the fall in his bathroom had opened the sores so badly, that had probably burst them all.
She got to him, and rolled him over. He groaned, which was a good sign, but she hiked his shirt up to examined his sores. One of the bandages was coming off, and she peeled it away, and what she saw came as a surprise.
It looked, well the best word was dry. It wasn't discharging the pus and blood the others had when he feel earlier.
Loki's eye's opened slightly and muttered "Did it work?"
"I don't know you tell me, you're the sorcerer." She said as she started to look at his other dressings. "But your sores aren't open, and it anything, they look…better."
Loki sat up and said "They feel better." He shook his head and looked at his hands. "It's gone, that's for sure, my natural Aura is healing me, but." He looked over to his cane "I need to check, and see if it's in there."
He stood up and walked over to it and held his hand over it for a moment the gripped it. At this angle, she could see his face. But he stood up clutching the cane, and the way he was holding it, it reminded her more of a short stabbing spear with the blade on the top.
"Catch!" He called and threw it towards Weiss. She caught it without fail and felt something surge through her arm. It almost seemed to vibrate in her hand, it in the dim light, it almost glowed. There was power in this thing.
"It worked then?"
"Indeed." He said as he walked to her and she handed it back to him. While it reminded her of a cane or walking stick in appearance, it felt far more like a weapon in hand than she had thought it would.
"Will you be able to use your magic like before with it?"
"Doubtful, this magic is supposed to be used through a living conduit, in a non-living container the power will probably me muted, but I can probably still do some tricks with it, or enhance other things with it, like dust." He held out the…spear she supposed, gripping it near the head and she saw a slot for a dust crystal, which she hadn't noticed before. "So." He said, looking and sounding much better "Why were you at my room?"
There it was, she knew he'd come back to that at some point, the fact he dropped so quickly earlier was because he had more important issues on his mind. But that little trick of his with his semblance had made her question the idea all together, as it confirmed in her mind the worst-case scenario.
"It was nothing." She finally said, "I just wanted to ask you about the gathering tonight." She knew she'd made a mistake the moment she said it.
"But I didn't even know about it, what could you have asked."
"Well, I didn't know you didn't know." She could tell he knew she wasn't completely honest. How did you trick a trickster? She then remembered something Loki had mentioned in one of their talks, about his skill in deception. The best deceptions were mostly truth, and the more truth you had, the better the trick "I was just going to ask if you wanted to go with me, so we wouldn't have to be the only two who showed up alone."
"Ah, I see." He nodded and she wasn't convinced he bought it, but he seemed less interested. "Well, I need another shower, and I'm sure you'd like to freshen up, and if the offer still stands, I would like to go to you."
That made her heart skip and beat and she felt gross that she was still infatuated with him, even though she'd decided in her mind to not try and pursue anything. "Well then, I'll see you tonight."
"Indeed." Was all he said, his smile back on his face, and the smile made her heart skip another beat.
In the shower for the second time that day, Loki felt better than he had I days. The 'blight' spots were no longer discharging the pus and the felt better, his Aura healing them quickly. He'd be better in the morning more likely than not.
As he got out of the shower, she noticed that some of the black pieces of the sores were flaking off, exposing red, but otherwise healthy skin beneath. That was a good sign.
His mind wondered back to the…spear he supposed, that he made. He really should test its abilities before actual combat, but it was unlikely that he'd be able to give it proper range of test in the time frame anyway. Besides, he'd handled far more unstable and dangerous weapons before.
But he thought of Weiss and her…explanation for coming to his room was…off. She wasn't telling him the whole truth, but she wasn't lying completely either.
He's uncover out the truth soon, she wasn't a very talented liar and she didn't really want to keep it a secret anyway. She was on the verge of telling him right then and there, she'd probably let it slip sooner or later, especially if there was alcohol at the gathering.
Ruby hadn't ever really been one for party's or large gatherings, in part because she wasn't super great at making new friends. But this was better, people she knew and liked and just enjoying the company.
But, despite this the air felt…tense. Like everyone was just going through the motions of what was expected in this situation. Well, that wasn't right, a few people seemed on edge. Jaune, she understood, he'd been a bit off ever sense their conversation. But something was bothering Yang, she wasn't cutting loss like she normally would have, and not drinking like she would normally. Everyone else seemed to be fine, even happy.
The only people missing were Weiss, and Loki. The Apartment Weiss had brought them to when they first got to Atlas was where they were having this get together, and she'd gotten a text from Weiss she'd just left with Loki, so that was ten minutes away by car, so they should be here soon.
That was something else that was odd. They seemed way…closer than they should be, especially given Weiss's closed off nature. Granted she was much more open now than when they first meet, but still, they spent a lot of time together. The fact he'd duped her when they first meet was another reason their friendship seemed so odd to her.
She'd be lying if she said she didn't feel a bit jealous. Weiss was her partner, and she thought that if she ever needed to talk to someone, it would be her.
But she really didn't want to muddle her thoughts with this. These were issues that would have to be dealt with after…what ever happened tomorrow. It was hard for her mind to truly wrap around the scale of what this all meant, it was the beginning of the end. If they won, then it was all over, the war, the Grimm, everything. Maybe not completely, but mostly.
She'd found herself wondering what they…all of them, would do afterwards. Would the world need huntsmen? It would, she was sure, but probably not in the demand they were now. But would else could she do? Despite what she told Jaune, she really didn't think she could do anything else, and she really didn't want to.
"Ruby! Come check this out!" Sun called braking her out of her thoughts. "Nora's trying to drink Thor under the table!"
"Coming!" She called back with cheer in her voice, she really wasn't interested in seeing Nora and Thor trying to out drink each other, but she wanted to be engaged with them and not off in her own little world.
"So, you are sure that you be arrested for being here this time?" Loki asked Weiss as they walked to the apartment.
"Yes, I cleared with my father, he's deeded this place to me, he says it to say thanks for helping cure him."
"Hmmm, so your relationship is improving then?"
"I'm not sure, he still seems, distant, distracted like he's not completely there."
"Well, it's something, how about your mother?"
"She's, not doing well. I tried to speak to her a few times, but…her condition has gotten worse, she's drinking more than ever."
"I'm sorry to hear that." Loki said. "Everyone has their demons, some are just more visible than others."
"You…don't have a spell or something to help her, do you?"
Loki looked at her and saw the look on her face, and his stomach churned at what he had to tell her. "Not in this form and not with this magic. Her condition is medical and mental, and not something I can just remove from her."
Weiss went silent as they came up to the door, and opened and Loki saw an all too familiar site of Thor in his cups. What was really more interesting was that Nora was matching his drink for drink. Nora hadn't ever struck him a big drinker, but he had known he ability to consume food was impressive.
They were both getting loud, but Thor caught site him and stopped drinking and called "Brother you made it! Come and see which of us will emerge from the drink victorious!"
That was the old Thor, the fun-loving drinker. It made him feel like he was closer to home.
"Yeah, there a betting pool to!" Sun called "I've got 10 on Nora."
"As much as I love Nora, Thor drinks beer like water, she doesn't have a chance." Yang added.
"How uncouth." Weiss muttered but Loki walked forward to the "event".
"20 on Thor." Loki said and threw the money down. Thor could out drink a fish if he wanted to, at least in his normal form. Here the odds were much more even, but his larger size and higher muscle mass would allow him to edge Nora out, despite the girls' ravenous appetite.
As the two continued, Loki hadn't expected this type of energy. It was for more cheerful than he would have expected, given what was to be undertaken the next day. He didn't know if it was the young age of most here, or if it was they had great confidence in the ability to win.
Loki milled around the event which eventually ended in Thor's victory, with Nora finally slumping over in her chair, and Ren carrying her to the bed room. To her credit, Thor was wobbling on his feet, and as far as Loki knew, she was actually a fairly light drinker in general.
The party proceeded for a few hours, with light conversations with food and drink, but Loki was more interested in the people. Yang wasn't drinking at all, and Jaune would get a thousand-yard stare when he didn't think anyone was watching, and Ruby was constantly looking at either Jaune or Weiss.
There were things going on under the surface, and for the first time in a long time, he found he wasn't all that curious. He knew what Yang was dealing with, or at least thought he did, he'd talk to her at some point tonight. Thor had no clue, because if he did, he'd be making sure everyone knew.
Weiss was drinking more than he'd ever seen her do, and he privately thought she might want to be careful if alcoholism ran in the family.
He watched Yang move to the balcony of the apartment and step outside. Now was his chance, and he followed her.
She was leaning on the railing, looking out over the dark city.
"So." He began "Do you know for sure yet?"
"More or less." She said without bothering to look at him.
He walked up next to her and leaned on the railing himself. "So, what's the word then?" He knew the answer, she wasn't drinking and knew one way or another, that left the answer all too clear.
"Looks like I was right." She said, "I don't know what I'm going to do about this."
"Well maybe you or my brother will be dead tomorrow and it won't matter." He said smirking.
"Your sense of human sucks, you know, that right?"
"Matter of opinion." He said, "But I personally you should keep it to yourself for now, there's nothing you can do about it right now or tomorrow, and the news isn't exactly the best thing to spring on someone before a large battle."
"Well you know, does it weigh on you at all?"
"I don't care, that's why you even bothered to come to me in the first place."
"That's not true." She muttered.
"Oh, so why did you come to me?"
"Not that part, the other one, that you don't care, that's total bullshit and you know it."
"Is it now?"
"You put that front up, but you don't hide it as well as you think you do. When one of us is upset or in danger, you put that stone face on, but when you think no one's watching, it drops like a ton of brinks. You ran to Weiss's aid as soon as she called you, you got all our sorry asses out of jail by taking out Cinder and telling Ironwood about the theft."
"How do you know it's just not more of my self-serving attitude?"
"Your eyes." She said finally looking at him "You show concern when were in trouble, and pain when the others are dismissive or mistrust of you."
Loki licked the inside of the lips, rolling his tong around for a moment before responding "You are…rather observant aren't you. That or I'm losing my touch."
"I've seen those eye's before, someone who wants to belong, but can't or won't"
"Whose eyes were those?"
"My Uncle Qrow, his semblance means he can't stay near his family. He wants to around us, but can't. You want to be around other's but…. well it's a bit of can't and won't."
"You're more perceptive than I gave you credit for." Loki said this, which was followed by a silence.
"I'm going back inside, it's cold." Yang finally said while she turned to leave "You'll keep quiet, right?"
"I may love mischief and chaos." Loki said without looking at her "But I do have a certain pragmatism to me, I'll let you be the one to let it be known."
Yang didn't say anything, she just went back in, and Loki looked out over the city. His mind wondered, which he found it doing more and more recently. He'd thought this world was temporary stop on his endless journey through time and space, a blip on his experience. But it was feeling more and more like the last stop.
Mortality had always been an abstract to him, even if Asgardians could die, he'd been banished from it. He didn't know if he died here in mortal form is the same rules would apply, and tomorrow he might.
"You alone out here?" A voice came from behind him.
"I was… Weiss." He said, not turning to look at her. Her voice sounded…off, not the usual crisp and concise tones, her words seemed more drawn out. He had seen her have a few drinks, of wine rather than beer.
She walked up next to him and put her hand on his back, rubbing it. He was certain she was at least tipsy now.
"I wanted to talk to you." She said.
"About what?"
"What I originally came to your room for, you know, the day you did the transfer."
"I see." Looks like he wouldn't have to actually pry for the information at all.
"Mmmmhhhmmm." She said, leaning on the railing, in a manner that told Loki she was using it to support herself. This was odd to see, Weiss almost always came off as prim and proper, or at least tried to. She was clearly drunk on some level, more than the tipsy he'd thought she was. "I've…sort of developed some feelings for you." She said, probably louder than she thought she was being.
"Ahhh." He said. "I suspected as much, you and your friends…don't hide feelings as well as you think you do."
"So…" She was leaning against him now. "You got an opinion on that?"
Loki looked over at her and saw the glass of wine in her hand. Her reached over and gently pulled it out of her hand and downed what was left "That maybe you should be cut off, you have to work in the morning."
"I'll be fine, Aura will heal any of the side effects of a hangover."
"Perhaps, but it's not a good habit." He set the glass down as he said this.
"Like it will matter, we'll all probably be dead tomorrow." She muttered "You also didn't answer my question."
"Yes, well you can do better than me." He said, not quite sure where these words were coming from.
"Better than a god?! I doubt it!" She started rubbing his back again.
"A fallen god." He corrected "And not truly one of the renown of my brother."
"Semantics." She added. "If Xiao Long can get one, then I should definitely be able to."
She was drunk, but her voice was fading, implying that she was falling asleep. "Come on, let's get you to the bed."
"Oh, you're so forward now." She said leaning on him, giggling.
"Yes." He said while he lead her in "But we must be quiet." She was fading quick, and while he had no idea how much she had actually drunk, he knew her tolerance wasn't all that high, her small size and infrequent drinking habits made sure of that.
His brother was making a buffoon of himself, and was currently in a push up contest with Sun. Thor was mocking him by adding claps to his routine while keeping his pace. The laughter and cheering was distracting enough, but he thought Yang had caught them out of the corner of her eyes.
He didn't bother to wait and see, and brought Weiss into the bedroom Nora was sleeping off her own drinking, and helped her into the bed with the other girl.
"I'm not interested in making this a three way…." Weiss muttered and faded into sleep just as he got her into bed. She was sound asleep as he pulled the blanket over her. Thinking of something, he pulled the covers up, and took her shoes off.
He heard a faint laugh, from her and looked up to see her smiling at this, but still clearly asleep. He looked at her, and his chest felt…weird. These mortals, well he was one of them, and he thought he was maybe starting to see Thor's attraction to them.
Weiss question was still in his mind, and he had to think on it. He wasn't exactly in touch with his emotions.
"You in here being a pervert?" A voice, Yang's voice came from behind.
"You think I'd do that?" He turned to look at her, and noticed she was smiling.
"I don't know, I've read some of those stories, about you, you've done some weird stuff."
"Not everything in those stories are true you know."
"Whatever you say." She said, "What are you doing here?"
"Weiss was…done for the night, I was…putting her to bed." He started to walk to the door.
"Aren't you just a bit sweetheart." She said still smiling.
"I'm going back to the base, I don't think I'll be missed."
"While I don't want to make you feel bad, I think you're right." She said "You're a real wallflower."
"If Thor's asks where I went- "
"I'll tell him, see you tomorrow."
With that he left, the last thing he saw was Sun finally collapsing in the contest, and Thor jumping up in victory, only to fall squarely on his back, the physical exertion and drinking putting him off his balance.
Weiss woke the next day feeling thirsty but otherwise fine. IT took her a moment to remember where she was and what had happened the night before, which she didn't fully recall, but she knew she'd drank more than she should have.
The other side of the bed was warm, like there had been a body there not long. But she was still mostly clothed except for her shoe's, which she didn't remember taking off, but that didn't mean much.
She heard some voices coming from the living room, and rubbing her head, she got up to get some water.
Ren and Nora were in the kitchen eating breakfast.
"Morning!" Nora said in a chipper voice that Weiss wasn't sure matched how she felt inside.
"Good morning." She said looking around "Just you two?"
"I volunteered to stay in case you two…needed anything, all the other's went back to the base."
Weiss nodded "How long until we have to report." She asked more to herself than anyone else as she pulled out her scroll to check the time.
"Three hours." Ren said before she could even look.
"Well, I'm going to take a shower." Weiss said "If I'm going to die, I want to die clean."
Bullhead – Mission Deployment
Thor looked over the data pad explain the plan while he sat in the bullhead. This bullhead, along with many, many others were on aircraft carriers carrying them close to the combat zone. The plan was…not exactly what he expected. The first wave of attacks was from the infantry or air force, but the navy. They had these torpedo's that were designed like drills. Theses silver-steel drills would penetrate the shell in thousands of places, drill in and detonating in the areas where it was believed Salem had her base set up.
The plan was fairly simple, flood them out. Force it to come to the surface of have all inside die. The problem was the pure logistics of this, the creature was so large the just a few "small" holes wouldn't do it. That was why thousands were needed.
Once it surfaced, assuming it did, then the troops would enter through the openings and attack the enemy directly.
He really thought that just laying into the creature with artillery and weapons like the torpedoes, but that might not even kill it, given its size.
Thor looked at the other's as they strapped into the Bullhead they had been assigned. His brother was carrying what looked like a short spear that reminded him of a weapon he'd used before. Most of the other's had their old equipment, more less even if it was slightly modified. Blake was the only one who seemed to bring anything extra.
They were all silent, some looking almost sick with apprehension. Thor felt none of that, he was far too old and used to this sort of thing to feel these things anymore.
None of them were actually green in battle, but the idea of what all this meant was probably weight heavily on their heads.
"Yang?" Thor heard Ruby call out to her sister, who was sitting next to him allowing him to hear the conversation. "You think Uncle Qrow and dad are okay?"
A normal question for her to ask as far as Thor was concerned. Of the large number of volunteers, their Uncle and father weren't among them. Granted he had no way of knowing this for sure, but if they'd been here, he was certain they'd have found them by now.
He heard similar conversations from the others, wondering what family members were up to, how they were doing and so on.
Thor turned to his brother "Are you alright brother?" He said, smiling.
"Of course." He said, not returning the smile "Just like the good old days."
"Would have thought you would want more than a pointed stick on this mission." He teased his brother's weapon choice.
"It's got some surprises, don't worry about that." He said.
The engines started to roar to life and take off. If they were mobilizing the air units, then the navy must either be in place or already attacking. He hadn't really paid attention to the time frame, he just knew where he was going and how he was supposed to "watch the exit" as it were.
They were airborne and moving out with a whole fleet of Bullheads, with the naval ships growing smaller as they flew away from them. The navy was going to move in for support, but most of the fighting was going to be the ground troops.
As they flew to the combat zone, what looked like a black shadow on the horizon came into view, where there shouldn't be one. This creature was truly massive by the standards of this world. But he didn't feel any particular trepidation in this fact.
Yang apparently did, as she silently grabbed his hand, squeezing it. Thinking of the time he'd been rendered blind and an invalid, and she'd made similar gestures to comfort him, he squeezed back.
The creature, as they flew over it, looked old. Its white shell has sea life growing on it, though not as much as he would of thought given how old it was. But seemed…remarkable passive for just having a plethora of holed drilled into it.
It didn't seem to be moving now that it was on the surface. He didn't know much about the creature, but maybe it was really much more than an oversized Grimm.
"Something is wrong." Loki said as the Bullhead landed alongside several others, with Hunters, Huntress, standard military droids and what looked like civilian volunteers rushed into the opening in the shell. IT was bigger than what Thor would of thought, he thought the Bullhead may have been able to fly down if it cared to try.
"What wrong?" Thor asked as the last of group disappeared into the tunnel.
"This seems, to easy."
"Well brother." Thor waved his hand at the group, which comprised on of their friends "We aren't being given the most glamorous job, we get the watch the exit."
"Still." Loki muttered and walked to the edge of cliff, which was really the edge of the Grimm's shell, and looked out into the ocean as the massive naval fleet approached. "Those big guns will be here soon."
The radio crackled and they heard the leader of their team expedition call "We appear to be in the Main chamber, keep out exit clear."
"Roger that." Weiss responded.
They waited. And waited. And waited more.
"Is the silence good or bad?" Ruby eventually asked.
"Given we haven't heard any panic screams or calls for help or extraction, I'd say it's good." Weiss said to her partner.
Thor looked out to the sea, and wondered if Loki had been right, this was to easy. The Navy was now right up on the Grimm, and the ground forces had maintained foot holds.
Then he heard an all to family cry. The howling horn like call of the Wendo. Then came the shrill cries of the Shriekers mixed in.
He picked up his axe and moved to the opening. The other's all moved to do the same, then he heard his brother speak. "It's closing up." He said point at the hole in the shell.
Thor looked and saw he was right. "Anything you can do to stop it."
"If Weiss will help me." He said walking up to it, raising his spear.
"What do you need?"
"Ice." He said, "We can create a tunnel of ice to keep it open."
"What about the other teams?" She asked his brother.
"Nothing we can do to help them, they'll have to let their own guards come up with something else, are you ready?"
Weiss nodded, and together, with his magic and her glyphs a wall of Ice coated the tunnel.
As they finished however, the creature shifted suddenly and they all had to struggle to keep their footing.
Thor looked to see the Grimm had raised one of its claws out of the water, and the Navy had responded by shelling it, with surprising effectiveness given the size of the rounds, he could only assume they were also silver-steel based weapons.
But that soon became clear it didn't matter, as the wounds caused it not to bleed blood, but swarms of flying Grimm.
Soon, shadows overhead started to block out the sun and Looking up, there were countless Grimm flying over heard, towards the fleet.
Then the ground next to them exploded with a shell from one of the ships. They were firing either at the Grim in the air, or the one they were all on. He looked down at the sea, and saw under the surface w tide of black with red, yellow and white shining through.
He turned to the Bullhead and saw one of the flying, a giant Nevermore slam into it and carry it off the edge.
He looked back to the fleet and saw several of the ship in flames.
"Everyone!" He called "Inside." And lead the rush into the ice cave, several of them having the same idea.
"Hello!" A voice called over the radio. "We're being overrun! More than Grimm, something-" the voice was cut off instantly.
After they had been running for ten minutes they started to slow down to a walk and eventually stopped to regroup.. Thor looked at the walls of Ice, and turned to his brother. "Loki, how long will this Ice last?"
Loki just shrugged "I honestly can't say, if left along, I'd say a day, but I get the feeling it won't be left alone, look." He pointed to a crack forming in the ice.
"So." Weiss said "Do we continue on or go back."
"Go back to what!" Jaune almost shouted "There's no way out back there, the Bullheads gone, the fleets destroyed, if their anyone left, they're heading back to Atlas."
"That make it simple then." Thor said and made to continue on.
"But if we go that way…" Ruby said.
"We'll proably die." Loki finished for her.
"Same as if we go back, but I'd rather die in battle, and maybe get something done, than running and getting shot in the back."
"How has it come to this, the army…" Weiss started to say.
"Salem knew we we're coming." Loki cut her off.
"How can you know that!" Jaune said again in a raised tone.
"None of the Grim attacked until all the forces were drawn in and close enough that retreat wasn't possible." Loki took a deep breath "She may have intended for this attack to happen from the beginning." He said with a sigh.
"Why!" Jaune asked the questions that were certainly on the other's minds.
"To cripple humanities fight capabilities, to destroy the will to fight, maybe to brining the fight to battle on her terms, I can't speak to her mind set, but those seem likely."
Jaune was the closest to panicking, he was rubbing his hands through his hair and it was making the other's nervous.
"Jaune come here." Thor said, and Jaune, while panicked came over.
"What?" he asked.
Thor looked at his brother, who nodded and her flipped his spear in his hand, so he was holding out just under the blade, and cracked Jaune over the back of the head, sending him to the ground like a ton of bricks.
"Jaune!" Ruby shouted and ran to him, and gave Thor a betrayed look.
"He was getting hysterical." Thor said "He'll be fine, but we can't have him panicking right now."
"I thought Jaune was made of tougher stuff." Yang muttered.
"Oh, I don't it's his own safety he's worried about." Loki added "I think he's worried about all of you being killed."
"How can you know that?" Yang asked Loki.
"The boy is almost suicidal with his own life if it means protecting one of you, but in here, I think he knows even if he does something mind shatteringly stupid to save one of you it won't matter." He looked over the group " All he has to offer to try and save anyone is his life, and that's not going to be enough in here."
They were silent for some time before Thor spoke one more time.
"If this is to be our end, then let's not die like cowards, let's try and do as much damage to the enemy as possible."
He didn't wait to see if they followed him or not, because he fully intended to see this all the way to it's conclusion.
AN: Okay, tell me what you think.