It was just today that I noticed we are very quickly approaching this story having as many chapters as my last one. The best part? We've still got quite a ways to go before the end so don't worry about this story ending anytime soon. Now, on to a chapter that will actually get us some progress! Hopefully those of you that have been patiently waiting will enjoy it! I know I did writing it!
Weiss sat quietly at her desk, thinking to herself about everything once again that had occurred over the previous weeks. Never in her wildest dreams had she ever pictured her father to retrieve her from Beacon, only to lock her in her room and denounce her as heiress to the entire kingdom. She had expected to be kept under lock and key until she either broke out on her own or with Winter's help were she able, or broke down and surrendered to her father's demands if no opportunity to leave presented itself. Instead she had been immediately placed here, and later found out through the news that Ironwood had been demoted and placed under supervised probation after the events of Vale. Weiss had truly been afraid at that moment, unsure of what she would be able to do…
Until her father announced that Winter would be acting as head of the Atlas Military until further notice.
In truth, her father had stated that Winter would be acting General until a replacement was found, but she knew Jacques Schnee; and that by having Winter in the seat of power for the military, and Weiss locked up at home as the only bargaining chip Winter would be weak to, he effectively had the monopoly on Atlas' goings on until someone stood against him. Like that would even work with how much influence he had, however. And so it came to pass that Weiss and Winter spoke in secret through security measures that Jacques had put in place that Winter had been very careful to keep access to behind his back, and a plan to help Weiss escape began to form.
As a matter of fact, their plan had nearly reached its apex when Frost, Neo, and Emerald arrived, throwing a huge wrench into their ideas as the presence of allies complicated matters as to who would be where in the event of Weiss' escape. And so they were forced to adapt on the fly, by means of Weiss filtering Winter into her room when she had been discussing recent events with the others while disabling Penny's audio receivers so that her father couldn't later tap into them in some fashion.
Weiss now sat with her legs crossed on her seat, one foot gently swinging back and forth as it lightly tapped the side of her desk as she waited with baited breath. Her patience was rewarded moments later when a brief flash of light signaled the appearance of the other three ex-students in the room, her hand immediately reaching for Myrtenaster atop its stand to start moving the moment they had their bearings.
"Alright, now that the three of you are here-" Weiss began before the distinctly obnoxious sound of an alarm started going off all around them. A moment later, the double doors to Weiss' room flew off of their hinges to the far corners as Penny entered with her swords drawn and spinning as the cracking of energy building up filled the room with its sound atop the blaring alarms.
Neo noticed this first and was quick to react as she teleported the three of them a few feet to the side just as Penny's weapons released their charges, carving a few holes in the opposite wall and shattering the large window overlooking the mansion's courtyard and Atlas below. The moment was short-lived once again however, as Penny's weapons quickly started to fire short and rapid bursts at the group of them as they split up and started sprinting in opposite directions. Frost headed in one direction by himself as he was the largest target while Neo and Emerald broke off in the other as they all dipped and weaved through the hail of swords and energy bursts.
"Stick to the plan you guys!" Frost attempted, and barely succeeded, to yell over the sounds of combat and alarms. "Get Weiss to the hangar! I'll deal with Penny!" Before anyone else could say otherwise, Frost jumped towards the wall just next to the now open doorway before twisting his body and pushing off of it with the assistance of his Semblance, resulting in his body colliding with Penny's and sending them both out of the large window and into the courtyard.
"Well…I guess that's one way to stop her." Emerald stated with a surprised voice.
Weiss shook her head to regain her thoughts despite her surprise at the sudden actions that Frost had taken as well. "Be that as it may, we still need to get to the helipad. Did Winter give you the map?"
Neo nodded as she brought up the digital display on her Scroll, a bright green line worming its way through the floorplan for them to follow on their path. "All set. But we were only supposed to disable Penny. How are we supposed to get Frost now that he's out in the open?"
"If he's as resourceful fighting against her as he was getting her out of here, we'll probably get to the courtyard with him patiently waiting for us." Emerald replied with a confident grin. "The guy's clever when he needs to be, all things considering."
With that out of the way, the three of them then began to run down the corridors of the mansion, their weapons drawn and ready for the eventual conflict they would meet form the guards.
Frost and Penny both landed with the sounds of crunching ice and snow as their bodies bounced a few times on the solid concrete and brick beneath them. Frost kicked off the ground in one fluid motion as he landed on his feet in a ready stance, one gauntlet attached to his right hand as his left remained exposed so as to give him a direct line of contact for the electrical pulse he would attempt on Penny.
As for the red-haired android, a pair of swords lanced out in opposite directions from her to impale themselves into the ground itself for her body to catch itself and land at its feet as well. Her pose was also that of one ready to battle as her system went into a full security mode as per the reprogramming that had quickly occurred following the capture of Frost and the others. A small group of swords began spiraling to charge energy as others lanced in Frost's direction, the blades all forward in an attempt to skewer him on their points and end the conflict quickly.
Frost saw this and brought his armored fist into the ground onto the edge of a large slab of brick in the ground causing the other side to rip out of the ground from the blow as the swords embedded into it from multiple points, one even coming close enough to Frost that he instinctively sucked in his gut for a moment as it sat dangerously close to his abdomen. He quickly leapt back as Penny hoisted the slab up into the air before bringing it down with a sharp crack onto space he had been moments prior. Bits of shrapnel and debris flew about; however it did nothing as it harmlessly bounced off of either Penny's robotic form or Frost's Aura, resulting in no harm to either person.
With her line of sight clear once again though, Penny now had a free shot with the beam that had been charging through everything, the laser now arcing forth in a devastating path as it carved the ground in its approach of Frost's body. Without time to properly react, he mentally threw a large portion of his reserves into a round of energy bursts that he began to punch out of both fists in rapid succession. It wasn't enough to halt the beam's approach, but it was able to slow it enough that Frost was able to just barely twist his body to the side in time, though the force of the attack carving the ground apart was still enough to send his body flying for a few feet before he landed and slid across the ground in an awkward pose. The acrid smell of something burning filled the air as he took a deep breath, his head and eyes turning to see a portion of one side of his jacket melted away as it had still been caught by the blast and seared off. His breath came out in sharp takes as he looked about quickly to see the damage that had been done to the courtyard on the side he stood compared to Penny's.
It didn't look good, needless to say. His throat bobbed slightly as he gulped down a tight knot before pushing another portion of his Semblance into his legs and strongly pounced in Penny's direction as she once again began to unleash her attacks.
"Holy crap! Did anybody else hear that?!" One guard exclaimed from one of the hallways near the courtyard. "It sounded like something just exploded! Should we go check it out?"
"Naw, it's probably a distraction." His partner replied from beside him, both of their weapons drawn and pointed down the hallway they currently resided. "You heard the order. The Schnee girl and a pair of fugitives are heading in this direction. It's our job to stop them, not go running in the opposite direction. Just remember, you shoot the Schnee, and your ass is toast. The other two are the priority."
"Some guards you two are then." A voice came from directly behind them with a cool tone to it. "Can't even pay attention long enough to realize they can't see for shit."
The two rapidly turned to face their weapons directly at Emerald who simply stood with a cocky grin and her arms crossed in front of her, her weapons not even drawn as she leaned against the wall. The two guards immediately opened fire on the figure, only for it to shatter and dissipate as they felt a pair of hands tap them on the shoulders, causing them to turn around once again only to be presented with Neo as she stood calmly with her parasol open over her shoulder. The two once again opened fire only for Neo's arm to twist as she placed the fabric shield between her and the hail of bullets, causing them to harmlessly bounce off. With their attention drawn to the figure directly in front of them and the parasol blocking their view, they were unable to see the line of glyphs set up along the floor until the parasol and its owner disappeared with a quick flash of light and Weiss' body came sailing down the hall with her weapon drawn as her full acceleration was launched into the two guards, their armor protecting them from the worst of the damage but not enough to prevent them from being sent flying and being knocked out as they crashed into the wall at the other end of the hallway. Emerald slowly clapped from the wall opposite where her imitation created by Neo had been standing before she reached to her hips and retrieved her weapons once again.
"Well this has been pretty easy and all, so I hope Frost will be done with his mess soon so we don't have to wait on him."
"Don't be so cocky, you." Weiss retorted as they all sprinted down the hallway, continuing to follow the path set out for them. "Just because this has been the case since we left my room, don't expect it to be this simple once we reach the helipad. There will be a lot more than two guards there so we'll need to be careful. Speaking of which," Weiss turned to face Neo as they forged on. "How close are we?"
"Not far now." Neo replied with a quick glance at her Scroll. "Just around this corner and through a large set of doors. Then we'll be on top of them."
"Good." Weiss stated simply. "I can't wait to get out of here and actually do something productive again."
"You are such a busybody." Emerald pointed out with a disgusted look. "How do you even relax, anyways?"
"None of your business, Emerald." The white-haired girl snapped with a quick retort before the three of them sharply turned the corner and slammed open the large set of doors moments later, only for them all to skid to a halt, which was rather difficult to do with all of the ice and snow littering the ground. In front of the trio stood Weiss' father, Jacques Schnee…
And over two dozen guards, their weapons all aimed and ready to fire at a moment's notice.
"Hello…daughter." The older man said with an angry tone, even as his face continued to remain stoic and hold a menacing smirk on it.
"Father." Weiss replied curtly.
Frost's body once again bounced off of the surface of the courtyard a few times as he was caught by the blast of another of Penny's beams. His chest heaved as he attempted to catch his breath from the exhausting fight, his jacket in tatters as multiple holes littered both sides of it from both blades and beams alike.
"You cannot win this excursion, criminal." Penny spoke with an authoritative voice. "Surrender and you may be granted your life in prison rather than that of a death sentence."
Frost lifted his body off of the ground with a grunt of pain as his unarmored arm reached over to hold his side, coming back with a trace of blood from a cut he had received on his right side from a sword he hadn't quite managed to dodge. "You know…Ruby would be absolutely devastated if she saw what you had become Penny. Do you remember her?"
"I do not know of anyone by the name of Ruby. I only know the names of the Schnee family and the Atlas Military leaders as per my programming. Anyone else is of no consequence."
Frost chucked lightly as he stood straighter. "You see, that's where you're wrong. I know about how unique you are, and there's no way they could remake you so fast without something salvaged from your previous body in Vale. So those memories are in there somewhere, they're just blocked. As for no one else being of consequence…you grossly underestimate your opponents when they've had actual training since so many of them are beaten so easily. But what about when they have something that counters you? How do you stop something that can shut you down with just a touch?"
"Such an action is impossible with the combat programming I have received. You cannot stop me from doing my duty and keeping Miss Weiss in her room. Her father demands it."
Frost sighed as he dropped his shoulders for a moment. "Well…I tried. Guess the firewall's too tough. Should've figured that words alone wouldn't crack it anyways, even if she does have a soul in a robot body. Plan B it is then." With that, Frost once again returned to sprinting towards Penny on the opposite end of the courtyard as her blades all began spinning in one gigantic blast to stop him once and for all. His face twisted with grim determination as he plowed forward even as a bright ball of light began to form directly ahead of him.
"What you are doing is foolish, girl." Jacques stated with disdain as he calmly regarded only his daughter, ignoring the other two with her. "You cannot hope to escape, especially not after what you've done with your conspirators."
"My conspirators?!" Weiss exclaimed as she put a hand to her chest. "How dare you accuse me when you're the real villain here! Everything you've claimed to promote has been nothing but a lie to appease the masses! Your "assistance" to the Faunus by giving them work with strict requirements? Nothing but glorified slavery! And your actions being for the benefit of Remnant as a whole? All you've wanted is to make yourself the wealthiest man in the world and damn anyone else that tries! I met a student from here at the tournament that said his father's business went under because of you! Do you know how many people you've put out of business if they don't explicitly work for you?!"
"I could spend all day rattling off the names of those too foolish to work WITH me, but that wouldn't do anything to convince you of how naïve you truly are. What I have done is take power out of the hands of those not smart enough or brave enough to utilize it and used it in a way that works for everyone. As for those flea-bitten mongrels you call people-" Jacques stated with a spit of disgust. "they are nothing but animals and deserve to be treated as such. You of all people should know what they've done to our family! Why are you on their side in this?!"
"I never said I was on the side of the White Fang! I meant the Faunus who refuse to associate with their violent actions and actually want to exist in peace."
"Pah. They're all the same regardless. But it seems you refuse to let go of your delusions of grandeur. So be it. If this is who you are…then you don't even deserve the name Schnee." With that, Jacques started slowly marching forward even as the guards kept their sights trained on the trio. The older man didn't even look at any of them as he walked between them all, Weiss' angry scowl turning to follow him as he opened the door to the interior and walked through only to pause as she screamed at him with a portion of the door still open.
"You coward! It's no wonder mother only sits in the garden and drinks! You took everything our family stood for and destroyed it! I'm only upset it took me this long to realize it!"
The door opened fully as Jacques walked back out and shut the door behind him. "Is that so? Well in that case…" He turned his attention to the guards who had their weapons still raised. "Kill the three of them. Then toss their bodies over the mountainside for the Grimm. That's all they deserve."
"Belay that order, men. Lower your weapons." A voice came from behind the large group of guards as the airship doors sat open, unnoticed by anyone. The sound of clicking heels on concrete echoed through the air as the group broke to let the new person in their midst pass with nods of their heads. As the last of the guards moved aside, all eyes widened at the sight of Winter with her weapon drawn.
"Ah, so this is how it is to be then?" Jacques stated with a sadistic chuckle. "Betrayed by both of my daughters. Well this will make leading the kingdom rather difficult, now won't it?"
"Not as much as you would think, father." Winter replied coolly. "Men, turn your sights to Jacques Schnee. If he so much as moves threateningly, stun him. Lethal force is unauthorized."
"Ah, but you forget who it is you are speaking to, Winter." Jacques replied with venom as he spoke her name. "Men, turn your sights to the treasonous ex-General, Winter Schnee and the other three here and shoot on my command." No guard turned their sights off of his body however as his brow began to sweat. "…What is this?!"
"This is you…being relieved of your position as the head of the Schnee Dust Company. Everything you have just said has been recorded using the airships audio sensors and sent directly to my Scroll and that of the Council of Atlas. Taking power from those less worthy? I wonder how some would feel given the pressure and blackmail you have on a good number of them so that you could overthrow Ironwood. My loyalty has long since belonged to him, not a pathetic man that refuses to acknowledge anything other than fortune or fame. Take him away." Winter then turned to face Weiss with a soft smile. "I am so proud of you Weiss. You never gave up on what you thought was important and your morals are strong for it, unlike our father. The airship is already warm and ready to leave, so go find your friends and end this bloody war."
"I will. But I do have one question…why? Why do all of this if you were going to be there this whole time?"
"Because while I trusted that you were in the right, I needed to test your resolve. I brought father here as the ultimate test of your conviction. If you were unable to stand against him then I wouldn't have been able to let you go without worrying if you could handle yourself. Running away forever wouldn't have solved anything. You needed to face him head-on and state your intentions clearly. And you did splendidly. Now go find your team, sister, and know that whenever you return that I will be waiting here with open arms, as will our mother…perhaps." A light chuckle escaped her as she smiled brighter. "I can't make any promises."
A singe tear escaped Weiss' eye as she leapt forward and gave her sister a tight hug. "Thank you, Winter."
"Go. You still have a friend fighting in the courtyard after all according to my security cameras."
Time seemed to slow as Frost neared the ball of light in front of Penny as his legs began to glow brighter and brighter before he pushed off of the ground with a leap as the beam arched out from Penny's weapons. From his peripheral vision he spotted the shape of an airship as it came around the mountainside and descended towards the courtyard. His attention returned to the robotic girl below him as his left hand began to crackle with the telltale signs of electricity as he built up a charge to short circuit Penny's systems and disable her. As his body descended, her face angled upwards as his shadow fell overhead and her eyes widened at the electricity buildup.
Then everything seemed to return to normal time as his body fell atop her with a crunching sound as his hand clasped her shoulder and sent waves of electricity coursing through her system, causing warnings and alarms to go off within her head. As these things happened however, a small piece of data from her memory banks popped up as the sight of a crying girl with red and black hair knelt crying next to an exit in a large arena filled her field of view.
"Ruby…I'm…sorry…"
Frost smiled sadly to himself as he caught Penny' weight on his shoulder before he started to trudge forward towards the edge of the courtyard where the airship was landing. As the doors to the ship opened and Neo and Emerald both reached out to help him into the ship as well as the unconscious Penny, eyes widened at the sight of him, covered in bruises and bleeding from multiple wounds on his body as he slumped into an unoccupied seat within the vehicle. He heard muffled sounds as his vision began to fade and his head bobbed with fatigue from all that he had just done in his fight with Penny.
"Ruby went…Mistral…take us there…"
"No…" Frost mumbled out while he was still coherent. "Need to go…to Patch…get Yang…first…"
And then his vision faded as his body went slack from exhaustion.
"Is he alright?" Weiss called back from the cockpit of the airship. "He looks like he's taken a lot of hits from her. Also, make sure she's securely in place and restrained just in case we don't get the reactivation code from Winter before she comes back online and tries to attack us."
"He'll be fine. He's a little banged up and cut, but we should be able to treat it while we travel." Emerald looked up with a thought of realization before turning to face the cockpit. "Where are we heading to, anyways?"
"Ruby went off to Mistral, remember?" Weiss replied. "I programmed a path for the autopilot to have it going take us there to meet up with her."
"No…" Frost could be heard barely by those in the back of the ship. "Need to go…to Patch…get Yang…first…"
"We need to get Yang first! We should head to Patch since its closer and so that we can let his injuries heal for a day or two before we move on."
"If you insist." Weiss replied. "But if she starts going pun happy the moment we arrive we're leaving for Mistral immediately without her."
Emerald laughed from the back. "That sounds reasonable to me, but I doubt the big guy will agree with that plan much."
"Well I'm the pilot, so I make no promises."
"You're not the only one that can fly one of these things, princess. Neo here knows how to fly an airship as well."
"I'm the one flying this ship and that's final. Besides…" Weiss said as she motioned with her head towards Neo off to the side for Emerald to look as well. Both of them watched as Neo didn't even pay attention to them as she treated Frost's injuries after carefully removing his jacket and folding it at his side with a determined look on her face.
"I think she's a little occupied."
Unbeknownst to the others, Neo smiled to herself as she treated Frost's injuries before whispering quiet enough that only she would hear it. "You always have to be the big hero with your dramatic entrances and saving everyone don't you, you big idiot."
"Please…never stop being you."
