I want to apologize for everyone annoyed at my cliffhanger last chapter. The main reason for it was because I felt if I didn't end the chapter there, the events of the previous chapter would have been overshadowed, but it seems like Jacques arrival still managed to overshadow it for many people, which saddens me a bit.

Just a warning, this chapter is going to be harsh on Weiss and reveal a bit about her in this story. I apologize in advance for this, please don't hate me.

PLEASE READ CLOSING AN.

Chapter 43: Discarded and an Offer

Patch, Park

Jacques stepped off the airship, looking around at the collection of tables and the small crowd surrounding them. His eyes landed on Weiss and a look of disgust crossed his face. He walked forward, glaring as she shrank behind Ruby. "Weiss," he said in a calm, cold voice that made her flinch. "What do you think you're doing here?"

Weiss swallowed nervously. "Um… Having a birthday party for a friend?" she said, causing Ruby to glance at her.

Jacques scoffed. "You call these people and animals your friends? At best they're only interested in you for your status as heiress to my company and your reputation as a singer, and you know it, don't you?" he said, causing Weiss to flinch, tearing up slightly.

"N-no… That's not…" she muttered weakly, looking down.

Ruby's ears drooped slightly. "Weiss… That's not true… Has he raised you saying that your only worth is your title and position?" Ruby went to speak up when Jacques continued.

"And look at you, dressed like a commoner off the street and eating this… disgusting food in some backwater town!" he yelled, causing Ruby to glare at him while Weiss looked down, starting to tremble slightly.

"There's nothing wrong with Patch! Why do you-" she started before Jacques spoke up.

"Be quiet, you mangy beast!" he spat out with a snarl. Summer quickly stepped between the two, eyes shining dangerously.

"Don't you dare talk to my daughter like that, do you hear me? More importantly, don't talk to your own daughter like that!" the Green Rose said.

"Perhaps you should worry more about raising your spawn more properly instead of criticizing me for how I raise my children if you want people to mistake you for human," he said with a sneer.

Summer's tail twitched angrily before she spoke up. "I've been a far better parent than you and I was dead!" she snapped, causing Jacques to blink in surprise. "What's your excuse for not being able to compete with a dead woman?"

"Obviously you're insane if you expect me to believe you were dead at any point. I don't feel the need to justify your bizarre accusation," Jacques said, dismissively before turned to Weiss. "Weiss, we're leaving. Pack whatever things you have on this blasted island and we'll sort through what's acceptable for you to have when we return to Atlas."

Weiss stared at her father wide-eyed, tears running down her cheeks. "What? Why? I need to be here to help Ruby and my team!"

Jacques cast a glance at the Red Rose before giving her a withering glare. "This is the one you risked your life to save during the tournament?" Weiss paled. "I only permitted you to remain on your team because I assumed you wouldn't let this animal influence you. I suppose I was wrong."

Weiss felt her anger start to rise at this as she subtly clenched her fists. "I don't care what you say about me, but I won't stand by while you insult Ruby."

Jacques spoke up without looking away from Ruby. "Weiss, get on the-"

"No," Weiss said with a trembling voice, causing Ruby and Jacques to look at her.

"No?" Jacques asked incredulously. "You have the gall to tell me no?" He glanced at Ruby's warm smile before narrowing his eyes. "I see how it is. Weiss, I cannot allow you to let this… thing twist your mind!"

"Father, she isn't-" Weiss spoke up before Aurelius stepped forward, a look of annoyance on his face as his ear twitched.

"Jacques, do you have a problem?" the Blue Rose said calmly, eyes glowing slightly. Jacques glanced at him and scoffed.

"Of course you would turn yourself into an animal, Bisman. Go back to your hole, this doesn't concern you," Jacques snapped.

"It does when you insult my family and their friends," Aurelius responded, hands behind his back.

Jacques scoffed. "Family? Do you honestly expect me to think you know anything about family? Let me explain this to you. Weiss is my daughter. She is the heiress to the SDC and nothing more." Ruby subtly gripped Weiss' hand, giving it a squeeze when she saw the white-haired girl tremble. "If I tell her to do something, I expect her to do it, and I will not stand for her deluding herself into dating a faunus girl just because she thinks an animal can love her!"

"They are very much in love. They deserve to be happy and they're happiest together. I will not allow a self-important man child ruin it for them!" The Blue Rose declared, not noticing the smile from Winter.

"I'm at least twice your age and far more mature than you, Bisman. You have no right to call me a child!" Jacques snarled, causing Aurelius to let out a short laugh.

"I'm over 2600 years old, Jacques! You are all children to me, but you especially will still be a child even on your death bed!"

Jacques growled. "I don't care what you think. Weiss is my daughter and I won't have her spending time with a filthy, worthless mutt!"

Something snapped inside Weiss the moment she heard that. "She is not a mutt!" she screamed, tears running down her cheeks. "She is a person! She has hopes and dreams! She has people that she cares about and people that care about her! People like me! I don't care what you say about me, but don't you dare-"

Everyone watched in shock as Jacques stepped forward, slapping Weiss hard enough to knock her off her feet. Ruby let out a scream. "Don't you fucking touch Weiss, you bastard!" she roared before flinging herself at Jacques, only for Aurelius to grab her hood, bringing her to a stop as Winter quickly put herself between her father and the rest of Teams RWBY and JNPR.

"Attacking him won't help matters, Ruby!" Aurelius growled through gritted teeth. "The last thing we need is for him to go back to Atlas and portraying this as a Rose attacking him for no reason when we can't counter it." Ruby continued to struggle for a moment before Aurelius let out a frustrated growl. "Mors!" Ruby, Adrienne, and Summer cowered slightly at the word. "I should throw you into that ship of yours and send you back to Atlas, Jacques!"

"We offer this soul to Thanatos and beg for his mercy on his behalf, though he deserves none. May he be judged fairly for his crimes and be given a chance at redemption in the next life…" Adrienne muttered under her breath, causing Blake, Yang, and Team JNPR to look at her strangely.

"I was trying to be reasonable," Jacques said, straightening his tie. "I was going to give her a chance to come back, but it appears she has made her choice. By siding with Winter and these… animals, including you, she has proven herself to be undeserving of her position as heiress to the Schnee Dust Company. She is nothing more than embarrassment to the Schnee family name and I will refuse to allow anyone to refer to her as my daughter." Weiss looked on, wide-eyed before a quiet sob escaped her. "Perhaps if she comes to her senses and decides to abandon this nonsense and her pet I'll consider welcoming her back into the family."

Aurelius glared darkly at the man before turning to Weiss. He knelt down for a moment, idly registering the concerned look on Winter's face. "Weiss…" he muttered, causing the girl to look at him, trembling slightly. "I know I told you that you would be welcome amongst my family…" Weiss looked panicked before he continued. "…but I think you deserve to know just how serious I was when I said that and that people care about you." Weiss looked on in confusion. "I'm sure you're aware that I can turn people into faunus, but it might be possible to do something more… unique."

Weiss blinked, eyes widening. "W-what do you… Are you saying…"

Aurelius smiled. "As I said, you are always welcome with us, but if you so choose I could try to make you a proper member of my family, with all the benefits and quirks involved."

Jacques growled to himself before smiling cruelly. "Sure, you could do that, Weiss, but we both know that without your title of heiress you're nothing, and if you take this offer and become one of those animals, you'll be less than nothing."

Aurelius let out a growl before standing up. "Jacques… Leave. Now. I will not tolerate your presence any longer. You'll be leaving Patch even if I have to knock you unconscious and take you back to Atlas myself."

Jacques shrugged as he turned towards his ship. "Why would I want to spend any more time on this island? All that's here are filthy animals, backwards country dwellers…" He paused to cast a glance at Weiss. "…And worthless nobodies."

Weiss looked down and let out a sob, causing Ruby to drop down and wrap her in a hug. Aurelius glared at Jacques as the man stepped onto his ship, his gaze torn away when Weiss let out a strangled cry, burying her face into Ruby's chest as she sobbed. Yang walked over, eying the normally calm girl nervously. "What's going on with her?" she muttered to Winter, getting a sad sigh in return.

"Our… father is far more controlling than you would think. When I was heiress, he tried to instill a sense of duty onto me that I needed to do everything I could to be a proper daughter and a suitable successor. When I chose to join the Atlesian military out of defiance, I didn't learn until later, but… He exerted his influence on Weiss in even worse ways, drilling it into her head that she was nothing if she wasn't the heiress to the Schnee Dust Company, that her singing was a distraction he chose to permit, that it was her duty to bring pride to the Schnee name… And that the only reason anyone cared for her was because of her name."

Aurelius let out a sigh. "Her heart may have found something she cares for more, but to spend your entire life being told you exist solely to fulfill a singular purpose and then have it torn away from you… It's not something many people can take, mentally or emotionally. When someone is told every day of their life that they're worthless without a certain person or their connection to a group, it's even worse."

Yang clenched her fist. "So, when he said all that…"

Summer looked down with tears in her eyes. "He was deliberately trying to destroy her spirit and make her doubt that any of this was real so she would come back."

Aurelius let out a sigh. "It doesn't matter. He may have been the one to do this, but we will be the ones to help her pick up the pieces." Winter glanced at him with a weak, but grateful smile. He looked around the park with a sigh. "We should get everything cleaned up… Ruby, we'll take care of this. Take Weiss back home and keep her company, alright?"

Ruby looked up and nodded sadly. She went to stand up before Weiss gripped onto her more tightly, causing her to sit back down. "Don't worry, Weiss. We'll head back home when you're ready, okay?" Weiss nodded slightly, but didn't answer otherwise. Ruby glanced in the direction Jacques' airship left, anger building inside her. "I don't care how much wealth or power you have, Jacques. You hurt Weiss and I swear I'll never forgive you. Whatever Aurelius has planned, I'm going to help every step of the way…"

Several days later, Xiao Long Residence Living Room, with Yang, Blake, Aurelius, Winter, and Ruby

"So, I hear you managed to get the CCT Network fixed up last night," Yang said to Aurelius, sitting in front of the television as she casually browsed channels.

"We were able to create a method of allowing some of the technology used in the CCT Towers to interface with Bastion's systems. It's a beautiful combination of Sanctuary's arcane design and Atlesian tech, though I'm more than a little worried about what's going to come out of Atlas over the next few days," Aurelius said, a frown on his face.

Blake looked at the Blue Rose before speaking up. "There's something I wanted to ask. What's with all the words your family uses? I've heard Ruby say nox quite a bit, umbra's come up a few times, but you've also used malum and mors." Ruby squirmed in her seat at the last word.

Aurelius let out a sigh. "When Salem, the Black Rose, betrayed us, it became common practice for the Rose family to use words associated with black roses as curses and profanities. Nox and umbra are the weakest of the four most common, being tied to black roses simply because they're words often used to describe the color. Malum means misfortune, a common thing that black roses represent, making it one of the more extreme. Mors, however, means death and when used by a Rose is meant to invoke my declaration that Salem would pay tenfold for her crimes. When used by another Rose, it's meant to imply the person they're cursing deserves a painful death, but if I say it, it's a subtle promise of a true punishment. In this case, Jacques will pay for everything he's done. Before he dies, he will see everything he's worked for destroyed in front of his very eyes. He will be reduced to nothing, and then he will be forced to live as nothing for a month before he may die… If I happen to remember he exists in the first place." As he said this, an image of Jacques appeared on the screen, causing Yang to pause at the news program.

"It saddens me to say that the rumors that Weiss is no longer heiress are true." Jacques said, starting his speech. "The recent attack on Vale and Beacon, terrible as it was, has left my beloved daughter with severe mental and emotional trauma. While I'm not entirely certain how much this has affected her, I feel that it is responsible for her choice to engage in a homosexual relationship with a faunus, something that borders on bestiality." Ruby let out a growl as he continued his speech. "When I finally found her, I begged her to return home. I tried my best to make her see she needed professional help, but she refused. As many of you now, the vast majority of the world's Dust is mined, refined, or both by the Schnee Dust Company and, as a result, I cannot allow the company to pass to someone so clearly unstable. Therefore, it is with a heavy heart, I must announce that I had to disown my daughter until she agrees to get the help she needs." A small applause came from the crowd before the program returned to the news anchor, but the group turned around at the quiet sniffle behind them.

Ruby looked sadly at the white-haired girl as she wiped her bloodshot eyes. The Red Rose quickly jumped up, moving over to her girlfriend. "Weiss? Is something wrong?"

Weiss leaned against the girl, whimpering slightly. "He took away my singing," she said, voice breaking as Ruby's eyes widened. Ruby quickly wrapped the girl in a hug.

"What do you mean? What did Jacques do?"

"H-he called my record studio and threatened to cut off their Dust supply if they didn't terminate their contact with me…" She let out a quiet sob as she buried her face into Ruby's shoulder. "You're the only thing he hasn't taken from me…"

Ruby gently rubbed her girlfriend's back, tears forming in her eyes. "It's okay Weiss, let it all out…" Weiss sobbed as Ruby rocked from side to side. "I won't leave you. I swear, I'll never leave your side, okay?" Weiss nodded meekly and continued to tremble in Ruby's arms.

After a while, Weiss calmed down slightly and sat on the couch. She pulled her legs up and tucked her knees under her chin, looking at Aurelius. "About that offer you gave me yesterday…" she started before taking a deep breath. "What would happen if I accepted?"

Aurelius tapped the armrest of the chair he was sitting in. "That wholly depends on you." Weiss looked up at the Blue Rose in confusion. "At the basic level, you will, for all intents and purposes, become a true Rose, with all the powers, weaknesses, and responsibilities that come with it. Your body will most likely shift to reflect this, such as your eyes turning silver or your hair changing, along with whatever changes you wish to improve on. On top of that, you may remain human or become a faunus depending on what you wish. As a Rose, you would be as much one of my family as Ruby, Summer, or Adrienne as well." Weiss nodded and went to speak before Aurelius put a hand up. "However, I feel you should understand that while you would gain much, you would lose parts of yourself as well. Your personality would be the same, but other than that, there's no way to be certain what you will gain or lose."

Weiss nodded. "And if I refuse?"

Aurelius looked at her sadly. "While you won't be a Rose in the same way Ruby is, you will still be welcome among us. So long as you choose to stand beside Ruby, you will be considered family."

Weiss looked down. "Could I have some time to think about it, please?"

Aurelius nodded, putting a hand on her shoulder as he stood up. "Take as long as you need. Winter and I need to return to Bastion to help plan the reconstruction. We will return in a few days to check on you, alright?" Weiss nodded slightly as Aurelius went towards to door.

Winter knelt down and wrapped her arms around her sister. "I'm sorry you have to go through this, Weiss."

Weiss let out a sad sigh. "It's not your fault, Winter. You couldn't have known any of this would happen."

Winter looked at Weiss sadly before standing up. "Be safe, alright?" Weiss nodded before Winter stepped outside, blinking as she saw Aurelius on his Scroll. "What are you doing?"

Aurelius glanced up briefly. "I am trying to come up with a solution to this mess, or at least part of it." Winter raised an eyebrow at this. "Have you ever heard of the Tri Peaks Records Studio? It's been around since before the Great War, has been having difficulty getting enough Dust to operate for almost six years due to being owned by a faunus, and, most importantly, they're big fans of a certain singer." Winter blinked for a second before smiling.

"Do you really intend to convince them to offer Weiss a contract?" she asked.

"Of course. I can't sit by while Jacques destroys her life, after all," he said, dialing a number as he walked down the path, leaving Winter to smile with a light blush on her face.

"I never expected you to go this far for her…" she thought before she started to follow behind.

Long chapter, probably the hardest to write simply because I don't like the idea of tearing Weiss down like this. As you can see, Jacques is evil and Aurelius is going to make him suffer in every way he can if he gets to Jacques first.

Weiss is going to be struggling with the choice she now has to make for a while. At present, if she takes the offer the only physical change I'm not certain of is her hair, with her probably becoming a faunus if she takes the offer.

Weiss' white hair is fairly iconic for her character, but I feel like it'd be a reminder of the past she was forced to abandon and her old self. There's three other options, however. The first, and most subtle, is that her hair stays mostly white while the tips of her hair, faunus ears, and tail become black. The second option is that her hair simply takes on the traditional Rose family style of being black with the tips being the same color as her cloak. The third is more symbolic of it starting out white with black tips, but the black essentially "creeps" up until her hair is completely black, after which the tips become white. The third option would basically symbolize her adjusting to her new life and her quest to become a new person, the one she was always meant to be.

As always, leave a review to let me know what you think of this question, give input on the chapter, or tell me that I'm a horrible person for writing this chapter in the first place.