Yang has a small talk with Blake and we learn more about team WYRC's past.
"Winter, I'm home!" Yang says excited while opening the door and walking right in.
Following the blonde huntress, Blake can notice that they were in what seemed to be a big warehouse. In fact, it was pretty similar to the warehouses the SDC used to store dust. Nevertheless, it was obvious that people lived in here, based on the many different artifacts, pieces of art, weapons and decorations that were placed around.
A clash of personalities…
"This place…" Blake says after following Yang in. "Is quite something."
"Isn't it great?!" the blonde huntress exclaims proudly. "I mean, you have no idea how hard it was to find a place as big as this in a location where it wouldn't be possible to get hacked or listened to. Lucky for us, and since I'm sure you've already seen the resemblance, when Winter was working for her father in acquiring dust warehouses; she got this one for herself. All we had to do afterwards was equip it with the security cameras, mics, jammers and other specs that Winter demands. She's pretty much obsessed with getting the latest gadgets."
"Weiss' sister?" the cat faunus remembers the white-haired older Schnee.
"I think you met her once, when she went to get Weiss out of that building after the SDC found your location." she stops in front of a big door and knocks, only opening when she hears nothing back. "She must have gone to visit Weiss and Ruby." she chuckles. "Totally knew that would happen."
"Winter doesn't live with Weiss?" Blake asks baffled but then remembers what she read about the older Schnee. "Oh, that's right. Winter is in the Atlas Military."
"Seems like you did your homework." Yang compliments her. "But yes, usually I stay with Winter while Ruby lives with Weiss at the Schnee Manor. Because of the dust factory fiasco, Weiss has been unable to move without the SDC guards and that has prevented us from seeing them. Winter has been missing her sister."
"I wanted to ask you about what happened that day." the cat faunus says. "Based on what I have seen, you all seem to be pretty good at hiding yourselves and your operation." she pointed at a jammer and an infrared camera on the other side of the wall. "Which makes me wonder how it was that the SDC found us."
Yang nods in agreement while waving at the camera, making Blake chuckle.
"It seems like Weiss had to get at one point some pretty specific faunus medicine to help your leg heal." the huntress tells her with a soft smile. "From what she told us, the dust bullets the SDC used were preventing your aura from closing your wound. Hence, she needed a very specific medicine that would eliminate the residual dust in your body."
Blake closes her eyes, remembering how Weiss kept stitching and re-stitching her wound every day, saying that she needed to put some medicine in order to help her heal while joking that it was good sewing practice for her. She, at first, had been appalled at the idea of letting a human see her that way. But after having spent those three weeks with Weiss and learning all she had done for her; it made Blake realize that all those years ago her mother had been right.
There are good humans.
"Also, we honestly weren't expecting the SDC to be keeping track of faunus medicine shipment." the huntress huffs. "But then again, we underestimated them. Although Weiss knew that she had to be careful regarding getting material like gauze and alcohol, she got careless with the faunus shops. The owners thought they were giving intel on a White Fang member and that's how the SDC found you."
"So fellow faunus were the ones that sold me out?" Blake chuckles bitterly. "In all honesty, it doesn't surprise me. In fact, it's another reminder that me being here, it puts Weiss in danger."
"Don't be dramatic." the huntress says to her. "It was just bad luck that Weiss happened to shop in a SDC friendly faunus store. Besides, nothing happened so you shouldn't bring yourself down."
"But…"
"Believe me when I tell you that Weiss is usually in constant danger and that what happened a couple of weeks ago was nothing."
"Is she really in such a position?" Blake is baffled. "I know she's the heiress and that the White Fang would not hesitate to take her if the opportunity arose, but surely she must be heavily protected by the SDC."
"Weiss' danger is not only physical." Yang says somberly and moves forward. "I don't know if you've heard some of the stories people say about Weiss."
"Not until recently." the cat faunus admits. "We at the White Fang are isolated and don't tend to have televisions or radios."
"Makes sense." the blonde murmurs. "That way it's easier for you to believe what your leaders tell you."
She's right…
"Anyway, Weiss has been known in Atlas as being faunus friendly. You know, one that advocates for faunus equality and non-discrimination laws."
"She is?" Blake asks shocked. "Is she insane?! How is she even allowed to be that way while being the heiress of the SDC?!"
"She used to be quieter, acting behind the scenes to help faunus workers and their children. But Weiss, once you get to know her, you realize that she cannot be complacent. And to her, hiding in her father's shadow was like saying that she agreed with everything he said."
"That is foolish of her." Blake murmurs. "Brave, but foolish."
"That is Weiss alright." Yang chuckles. "After she gained some responsibilities inside the SDC she started to ask more questions. Got to see firsthand what was happening at the mines and that just made her react. She started to grow bolder, meeting with faunus who worked at the dust mines to ask them about the working conditions and treatments they were receiving. She even had a contact, a rabbit faunus, who introduced her to many faunus figures inside the SDC labor force." the blonde's smile disappears. "And that was when she got her father's attention. For people like Weiss, it is one thing to privately say you like faunus but it is another to be publicly seen with them."
Based on Yang's somber tone, and from what she previously heard, it wasn't hard to realize that something must have happened to Weiss' contact. Now it wasn't uncommon to have whistleblowers. In fact, just like the SDC had faunus contacts, the White Fang had acquired human contacts as well. And just like the SDC seemed to do to faunus contacts once their usefulness ran out, the White Fang did the same.
"Her father got rid of her contact." the cat faunus closes her eyes.
"Weiss was devastated." Yang says sadly. "I didn't know her back then, but I used to see her on TV. And the way she smiled, it was more open and innocent until that day. Her dad, unconsciously, gave Weiss that final push to act and to actively do something against him and the SDC." she takes her scroll out and texts something quickly. "That's where we all come in. How we all got together and team WYRW started."
"Team WYRW? Blake chuckles. "Like huntresses."
"Well, we are huntresses." the blonde huffs. "Except Winter, who went to the Atlas Military after graduating Atlas Academy. And Weiss, who wasn't allowed to go to Atlas after Winter abandoned the SDC. Anyhow, when Winter left it was a huge scandal because her father wanted her to come back home and take the SDC."
"Things would have been easier for her if she did." Blake murmurs but knows Yang heard her clearly.
"Indeed." the blonde chuckles. "But then again, being complacent is not a Schnee trait. Pretty much like Weiss, Winter has always been against her father's policies and ideas. Besides, it also didn't help her father that one of Winter's teammates was a faunus. That only added to Winter's perspective on faunus rights."
"But I thought you said you were half-faunus." the cat faunus says confused.
"I wasn't talking about me." Yang answers sadly. "Think about it, if any of us had had an easy and simple life, do you think we would be here? I know I wouldn't. But somehow, these things find you and bring you in. When I went to Atlas Academy, I wasn't embarrassed of my heritage and I just wanted to hone my skills so I could return back home and teach other half-faunus to embrace their identity. But then I met a faunus girl and we became friends. She wanted to make people see that not all faunus were evil and that they could live with humans. But not everyone at Atlas wanted that to happen." she says darkly and moves to another room, Blake following immediately.
The moment they went inside, Blake noticed that it was a trophy room, one filled with many memories and pictures of four girls, most of the times smiling and hugging each other. It was pretty clear that Yang and Winter had been partners, based on the way they were always next to each other. But the two remaining girls, who were smiling cheekily and sticking their tongue out, they must have been Ruby and the faunus girl. Not that it was difficult to realize who of the two was Ruby because one of the girls had horns on her head.
She was a bull faunus just like Adam.
"Her name was Copper, and I mean, at first I thought she was insane for coming to Atlas Academy and not choosing Beacon instead. But then again, she said that coming to Atlas was her way of rebelling against the SDC and the White Fang. And that resonated with Winter, who became close to her even though Copper was Ruby's partner and I was Winter's. To us, that didn't matter much because Ruby was already my sister and Winter spent most of her time with Copper, wanting to learn everything she could about faunus, their lives, customs and traditions. You see, at that time Winter still wanted to take over the SDC and make a true difference: Fix things for the faunus living there and improve relationships between the faunus community and the SDC. Pretty much like what Weiss wants to do now." she chuckles warmly and takes a fond look at the picture.
Blake merely waits, knowing that the tale Yang was telling her was not over; not when Winter had abandoned the SDC and their team no longer had four members.
"If things would have been that simple, we wouldn't be here." Yang says solemnly. "Well, maybe I would have stayed here in Atlas because even then I knew that I would follow Winter anywhere." she murmurs. "And Winter, she would have complained about being cooped-up in an office all day. But she would have been happy." she smiles. "Ruby would have been a huntress no matter what. She has always loved the thrill of killing Grimm and protecting innocents. And Copper…" she whispers. "She would have shone brighter than all of us. Would have made our world a better place. And we all know, deep down, that she was the most deserving of us to live."
Blake looks down, feeling the tension in the room and that this conversation was too deep and personal to be had with someone she just met a couple of hours ago. Yet she wanted to hear Yang, felt that the two of them had a connection, a common goal that had been set by them thanks to similar circumstances.
"I know I say this a lot, but it was honestly bad luck." Yang chuckles bitterly. "Being in the wrong place at the wrong time. We had been sent to a routine mission in the forest; to eliminate some Grimm that were getting close to the training field. And I don't know why, both the SDC and the White Fang chose that exact spot to ambush each other." she closes her eyes. "But what hurts the most…" she chokes out. "Is that Copper died trying her best to stop them from killing each other. Trying to explain to them that they didn't have to fight and hurt each other."
"Oh Yang…" the cat faunus says softly.
"Ruby was devastated. I mean, we all were, but Copper was Ruby's partner. After we graduated from the academy, she immediately got her huntress license and left Atlas, moving around the kingdoms in search of Grimm that were terrorizing less fortunate areas, usually ones where faunus lived. Winter and I think that was her way of carrying on Copper's mission as a huntress." Yang takes a deep breath, squeezing her hand and letting Blake notice how hard it was for her to talk about this.
"Winter, on the other hand, she just gave up. Abandoned the SDC, her family and joined the military, wanting to run away from being a Schnee and a huntress. But Copper had influenced her life too much and like Ruby, Winter focused on aiding faunus that were trying to prevent the White Fang from controlling their towns. And I…" the blonde gives her a sad smile. "I tried my best to keep us all together. I was the link between Winter and Ruby since I was Winter's partner and Ruby's sister. I sometimes went on missions with Ruby and other times I followed Winter, reminding both about the other and that we were still together."
Yang stands up from the chair and gives her a soft smile, grabbing in her hands the same picture Blake had been watching when she first came in.
"I think we all knew that it wasn't enough, that we needed to do something that would truly make a difference. Something more 'Copper style'. We got back together, the three of us, and started preparing and planning for our opportunity to take both the SDC and White Fang down. But it wasn't enough, there was something missing and it wasn't until Weiss joined us that we finally realized what we were doing wrong."
Blake simply stares at her, too absorbed in the tale she was hearing to even think of something to say.
"We were seeking revenge." the huntress smiles sadly. "And if Weiss wouldn't have reminded us of why the four of us had gone to Atlas Academy in the first place… Copper would have been disappointed in us."
"Why? Why did you want to become a huntress?" Blake asks, feeling herself reduced to a child in front of such a strong and determined person.
Yang smirks.
"To be a bringer of justice, of course!"
WBWBWBWBWB
"Hurry Ruby!" Weiss screams while using her glyphs to move forward, her steps doubling and becoming faster. "Or don't tell me that being around me has made you get all rusty?" she teases and smirks when she sees rose petals trying to move past her.
Chuckling, Weiss increases her speed, almost catching up to Ruby and creating an ice block that forced Ruby to decrease her speed and change direction, giving the white-haired woman an advantage over her friend.
"That's cheating!" she hears Ruby complain and feels her weight landing on her back, forcing her to use a glyph under her to prevent them from hitting the ground.
"Ruby! Do you plan to kill both of us?!" she huffs and stands up, watching Ruby stick her tongue at her before preparing to use her semblance again. "You…" she murmurs and jumps on top of Ruby, hugging her tight and not letting go of her neck and waist.
"I only cheated after you started cheating." the huntress pouts. "I swear, sometimes you're such a child, challenging me to a race back home when we could have just gone with Winter in the car."
"But this is more exciting!" Weiss says happily and gets down from Ruby. "Besides, it has been so long since I've been able to use my glyphs and dust." she whispers.
"Weiss…" Ruby says softly.
"And I also wouldn't want you to get all rusty, I mean, you do have to protect me." the heiress adds and all sympathy Ruby had felt dissipated.
"I swear…." she starts saying but stops when she notices Winter's car catching up to them. "This is not over." she says to Weiss who smirks and puts Myrtenaster away while getting inside the car, followed by an annoyed Ruby.
"So…" Winter tells them after the car starts moving again. "Who won?"
"I did." both Weiss and Ruby answer at the same time, making Winter chuckle.
"Oh really? If that's true then that must mean that you're getting rusty Ruby." the older Schnee teases the huntress who huffs.
"I swear, you Schnee are terrible." Ruby mutters and they laugh.
"Don't be that way Ruby!" Weiss says cheekily while hugging Ruby close. "You know you love us like this!"
"She did say that earlier. That she loves us like sisters." Winter adds while also moving to where Weiss and Ruby are to hug them. "Hug attack." she whispers.
"Too much affection!" the red-hooded woman says embarrassed, shrinking herself. "What happened to you two being Ice Queens?"
This makes Weiss and Winter stare at each other.
"It seems like the Rose and Xiao Long charm have melted our cold hearts." Weiss smiles brightly at her and Ruby can't stop herself from returning the smile and affection.
"You cheater." Ruby murmurs while squeezing Weiss back, making Winter chuckle at the sight of her teammate finally letting someone close.
After Copper died, Ruby had closed herself off, leaving Atlas behind and investing herself in becoming a huntress. Her sacrifice had, of course, made her become one of the best huntresses in the kingdoms. But at the same time, that had led Ruby to a life similar to the one of a nomad; with no place to call home and her only belongings what fit in her bag. In fact, it had taken Winter and Yang quite some time to convince Ruby to join their mission, only getting her to finally come back to Atlas after telling her about Weiss.
So to see Ruby letting Weiss in, it was a sight that Winter committed to memory.
"Did you tell Yang that you were leaving?" Weiss asks her suddenly.
"I think I forgot." Winter says embarrassed. "Honestly, I was in such a hurry to get to the Manor that it must have slipped my mind."
"Good thing she doesn't worry much." Ruby adds.
"She knows I can take care of myself."
"Still, I would worry. Specially now." Weiss reminds her and Winter nods in agreement, the three of them taking their seat belts off once the car arrives.
Getting down and placing Weiss between Ruby and her, the three women start to walk towards the warehouse, staying silent until they reach the safety of their home.
Once they're inside, Winter lets Weiss move next to her and watches Ruby move with her sister, the three of them now walking together.
"We need to think things through." Winter says simply. "Too much is at stake and we've started to reveal our cards." she huffs. "With making my visit at the Manor known, my father will start suspecting of my motives for being there and will have someone digging into the matter."
"I still don't like the fact that Weiss has to keep living there." Ruby says bitterly. "But I know that we can get a lot of tips and info from there."
"Trust me, neither Yang nor I like it either." the older Schnee promises her teammate. "But perhaps with what Yang wants to show us we'll get the lead we need."
"Do you really think she has something? I thought she was joking." Weiss says embarrassed and passes Winter's room.
"Yang would never joke about this. Specially if it's something that concerns your safety." Ruby tells her friend with a warm smile while opening the door to the study. "So if she asked us to come meet her, knowing the risks you face when you leave the manor, then she has something."
"Or someone." Winter adds and the three women stop walking when they notice that Yang is not alone.
In fact, the woman that was standing next to Yang seemed very familiar to Weiss, who held her breath while waiting for the black-haired faunus to turn around.
"Oh, you're back!" Yang says excitedly while walking towards Winter and hugging her tight. "Next time please let me know you're leaving?" she asks softly.
"I'm sorry." Winter nods and hugs her girlfriend, knowing that it was time to let her teammates know about them.
Nevertheless, she knew that neither Ruby nor Weiss were paying attention to them. Instead, the huntress and her sister were watching the cat faunus, who had turned around and was now looking at Weiss longingly.
I found her… Blake thinks while staring at the white angel in front of her. The woman that had been plaguing her dreams since she woke up from the nightmare she had been living. The woman that had offered her friendship and love without asking for anything in return.
Her savior.
"Blake…" Weiss whispers and feels tears falling from her eyes.
She found me… She really found me.
"Weiss." Blake murmurs and starts moving towards Weiss, which makes Ruby place herself in front of her friend and for the cat faunus to stop moving.
"Ruby…" Yang says to her sister. "It's alright." she gives her a warm smile. "Can't you see that Blake just wants to get close to her?" she points at Blake and that's when team WYR notices that the faunus woman was crying.
Nodding, Ruby moves out of the way and Blake takes that as encouragement enough to finally close the distance between the white-haired woman and her, immediately hugging her tight and feeling all the tension she had in her body abandoning her.
Weiss, meanwhile, also had tears in her eyes; the sight of the woman in front of her, who always seemed so strong, crying like a child making her lose her composure. Yet should she really be surprised? Weiss had noticed right from the start of their strange friendship that Blake held a special power over her, one that had made her save faunus woman when their eyes met that night at the factory. The one that had made her nourish Blake back to health in an abandoned room. The one that had made her share her deepest fears and regrets with a complete stranger who had never felt like one.
"How?" Winter asks surprised. "How did you find her?"
This makes Yang chuckle.
"Like I told her when she asked me the same question… She turned down the wrong guy."
Understanding what her girlfriend meant with this, Winter can't stop herself from chuckling as well.
"I can't believe it." Ruby says to them while getting close after having heard them talk. "You mean to tell me she was the one asking questions about Weiss?"
Yang nods in confirmation.
"Then why just let her get close to Weiss?" Ruby asks worriedly. "For all we know, she could be waiting for the right chance to take Weiss with her and deliver her to the White Fang."
"Do you really think, sister, that I would bring Weiss here if I suspected her safety was in danger?" Yang asks seriously while pointing at Blake who was still crying while being held by Weiss. "And the woman in front of me…" she adds with a soft smile. "The one that is crying like a child and is pretty close to falling down… I don't think she could be capable of hurting one hair in Weiss's head."
"You… You kept your promise." Weiss whispers with complete awe and feels Blake squeezing her tighter.
"I promised I would find you." Blake chokes out before letting go just enough to stare at Weiss. "And I did." she whimpers and hugs her desperately again.
Ruby, meanwhile, had been staring at the two women hugging. She, like Yang said, didn't think that the broken woman in front of them could be capable of doing anything against Weiss. And the reason why Ruby could say this so confidently was because the woman that she was watching her best friend hug seemed so fragile and lost. Like she had been seeking for a long time a light to guide her home.
Yet to Ruby's deepest fear, it seemed like the faunus woman had found that light in Weiss.
