Chapter 23
Author's Note:Sorry about the slightly late posting, things got a little hectic last night. Exam after exam...oh, well. At least I'm one-third of the way done with the semester now. One thing I have noticed is that writing papers and essays are significantly easier now. It's probably because of this story, which has been at least ten pages long, every week, with the exception of the prologue. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy the chapter and I will see you guys next week.
Please review and donate to my Take-Over-The-World fund at /
#INeverGetAnyRest
"How are you feeling today, Ruby?" Weiss asked.
"Better. I think I might have just had a panic attack, yesterday…" Ruby explained.
"Well, today you can just relax. We're finished with our workout, so what do you want to do for the rest of the day?" Weiss asked.
"Whatever you want to do." Ruby replied.
Weiss scoffed. "Weren't you the one who wanted to go out and 'have fun' today?" Weiss mocked playfully.
"That doesn't mean you shouldn't enjoy yourself." Ruby stated.
"How about something we can both agree on, first? It's almost 1:00…so how about some lunch?" Weiss asked.
"Do you have anywhere in mind?" Ruby asked.
"Right over here, actually…" Weiss said as she pointed across the road. "I saw the special they have today and it sounds pretty good." She finished.
Ruby looked across the street to where Weiss was pointing and saw the sign hanging from the building. "Half off terror-fish? 10.99 lien for a half pound!? Woah, isn't that like a really expensive fish? Why is it so cheap? And aren't they Grimm?" Ruby wondered as they both made their way to the crosswalk.
"Yes, but the Schnee Agricultural Center has been developing an aquarium specifically for those fish, so they have become significantly less expensive since they began selling them to stores and restaurants. They sell for about 17 lien per pound, now." Weiss explained as the cars came to a halt at the red light.
"Then why are the marketing them as half off is that's actually a pretty reasonable price, given that they're trying to make a profit?" Ruby asked as both girls made their way across the street.
"Because our agricultural center only began selling them about 2 weeks ago; there hasn't been enough publicity for people to know that is a simple marketing ploy. The point is: all of the terror-fish will be about this price soon." Weiss finished as the girls entered the restaurant. It was a small store, only having eight tables on the inside, and twelve more outside sitting under umbrellas.
The two girls walked up to the hostess' station. "Just two?" the hostess asked.
"Yes, ma'am." Weiss said.
"Alright, please follow me." The hostess said as she picked up two menus and walked the two girls to a table outside, which was right next to the guardrail that separated the cement ground they were standing on from the ocean.
"Thanks!" Ruby said as she sat down.
"You're very welcome; your server will be with you soon." The hostess said before she walked back to her station.
"Weiss?" Ruby asked causing Weiss to look up. "Your family owns a whole lot of stuff, but you don't talk about them very much. What's your family like?" She asked.
"First, my family doesn't own a lot. My father owns everything." Weiss said.
"What do you mean?" Ruby asked.
"The Schnee Dust Company was founded by my grandfather; the company owns all of the mines and refineries. My grandfather didn't have much technology to work with in his time, so he was limited in his ability to produce…at least compared to the production we have today. Regardless, he still maintained a diligent workforce for miners and refiners by being fair and compliant with his workers, the majority of which were faunus." Weiss began.
"Is that because of the Faunus Rights Revolution?" Ruby asked.
"Yes. My grandfather was fairly unconcerned with people's feelings, which seems counter-intuitive at first; he only concerned himself with empirical, demonstrable evidence. Because of that, he always believed that faunus and humanity were equal since that is what the evidence suggested…and for his time, that was quite a statement to make. When the Faunus Rights Revolution went into full swing, he created the first faunus union. Its' creation was when he made his most notable speech." Weiss trailed off.
"Yeah. We learn about that in history classes." Ruby stated.
Weiss nodded her head before reciting an excerpt from the speech which has since become iconic for symbolizing freedom. "Here you have a Haven from evil. Make no mistake, however…they will come to make your water run dry and cause your farms fall barren and bring your walls down around you. If you let them. You must, therefore, resolve to defend your sovereignty or die." She said with impeccable annunciation; as though she had memorized it a thousand times.
"He's an awesome guy, trust me…you don't have to try and convince me of that." Ruby said. "I don't mean to sound rude…but what happened?" she asked in a worried tone, thinking she might offend her friend.
"It's not rude at all. When the Faunus Rights Revolution came to an end, he made it a point to create as many jobs as possible, having buildings built at his expense. A plethora of faunus began taking those jobs creating the largest faunus labor force, by a landslide. At the same time, the union that my grandfather created became recognized as an official political party with a new name: The White Fang. When most people compare the current White Fang with the previous version of it, they will say that it like a night and day difference. While I'll freely admit that the first White Fang is far more preferable than the current one, it wasn't perfect." Weis explained before seeing the waiter walk up to their table.
"Hello ladies, my name is Erik, and I'll be your server today. What can I get you two to start out with to drink?" Erik asked.
"I'll take a water, please." Weiss said.
"Sweet tea! And can I get some onion rings?" Ruby stated.
"As an appetizer?" Erik asked.
"Yep!" Ruby replied.
"No problem, I'll be back in a moment." Erik stated before walking away.
"He's nice. Now, what do you mean they weren't perfect?" Ruby asked.
"Though they weren't terrorists, they were certainly more extreme than necessary. They became convinced that the faunus who took my grandfather's job openings were traitorous to the ideals of being free. The old White Fang spoke greatly about self-reliance and independence, not understanding that it had to be earned; when your start with nothing, you have a much harder time rising through the ranks. The believed that my grandfather was leading them on with promises of promotion only to basically re-oppress them. As a result, he was assassinated." Weiss said monotonously.
"Really? I never heard anything about that…" Ruby stated.
"Though the official report states that it was a homicide, it is no secret that the White Fang, even today, celebrate his death and claim it as their own accomplishment. My father was around twenty-five years old, at the time, and developed an intense hatred of the faunus. To be fair, he did only despise the White Fang, at first, but when protests and strikes broke out all around his company and Atlas, in general, he lost the ability to distinguish between the two. He did, for a time, try to ease tensions…but as more faunus fell for the White Fang's lies, he stopped caring. Now he truly does take advantage of faunus labor. And, as I said earlier, my grandfather didn't have much technology in his time; my father, however, has developed countless machines which aid in the process of dust refinement and has personally patented all of them." Weiss explained.
"So that's why the White Fang despises your company so much. To be honest, your dad gave them a reason to." Ruby said.
"I know. He justified their lies." Weiss said as the waiter brought their drinks and sat them on the table. He placed the onion rings right in between the two before pulling out a pad and paper.
"So, what can I get you two to eat?" Erik asked.
"I'll have a grilled terror-fish with a sweet potato salad on the side." Weiss stated.
"Okay…and for you, Miss?" Erik said as he looked at Ruby.
"I'll have a fried terror-fish with french fries on the side." Ruby said before beginning her destruction of the pile of onion rings.
"I'll have it out for you two as soon as possible." Erik said before walking away.
"I don't know what I'm going to do…" Weiss said.
"What do you mean?" Ruby asked.
"I am the heiress, but I don't want to have to pretend to support my father until the day I take over the company. I wish I could start helping out more, but I know if my father found out about it, he would surely cut me off…and that would be worse. SDC needs new leadership, and I can't allow that to come second to anything." Weiss explained.
"Then do small things. Random acts of kindness or something like that." Ruby said. She looked over to see their waiter entering orders in on the computer. He scratched his head, under the work hat, and saw what looked to be dog ears. "Look." Ruby said as she pointed toward their waiter. "Start there." She said.
"He's a faunus…" Weiss mumbled.
"Yeah, leave him a big tip. That'll make his day." Ruby said in a playful tone.
"I guess that's all I can do right now." Weiss said as she looked out to the ocean to see all of the ships, both commercial and personal, calmly riding through the water.
"Oh. Ozpin said it's okay for you to start coming to the meetings with us." Ruby said, changing the subject.
"That will be good. I need something to take my mind off of these things…" Weiss said.
"I know what you mean…we have the Grimm to worry about, the White Fang, our school…" Ruby said.
"…out friends, our training…personal issues…" Weiss continued.
"Personal? Like with your family?" Ruby wondered.
"Not really…I just don't know what's going on with me right now. I feel like I've become a different person in the past few months." Weiss said.
"Heh…I don't really consider that to be a bad thing when I think back on how you acted when we first met." Ruby said meekly.
Weiss glanced up with an eyebrow raised to which Ruby winced, closing her eyes and expecting a scolding. "Yeah…I'm sorry about that…" Weiss apologized.
Ruby felt a warmth encase her hand before opening her eyes to see Weiss holding her hand. Weiss had her other hand on her chin staring out at the ocean and the ships, momentarily lost in her own thoughts. "You okay?" Ruby asked.
"Yes." Weiss said as she looked back at Ruby, again seeming to be lost in her thoughts as she looked at her. "How are you so strong?" she asked after remaining silent for a few moments.
Ruby began to stammer around her words. "You're really strong, too. No one is the same and we all have our own strengths so…"
"No. I mean you always remain cool and collected during intense, stressful situations. Even when I was scolding you yesterday about wanting to take time off…I was doing to because, at some point, I subconsciously realized how capable you are of handling it. I started pushing you even more before I finally realized that I was putting it all on you so I didn't have to deal with it…I'm sorry about that, too. But seriously, how do you do it?" Weiss asked.
"I'm mean…I'm sure you could do the same." Ruby responded.
"No. I couldn't. If I were leading the Hunt I would have been cussing, worrying myself, and I would have yelled after it was over. But you…you kept your cool during the hunt, you didn't worry, you strategized. You pushed your feelings aside and accomplished the impossible. And then when it was over, you didn't take out frustration over the Hunt…you were mad because you thought that YOU weren't good enough to keep your team safe. You put, literally, everything on you…and then you carry that burden without complaint." Weiss said enviously.
"First of all, 'we' accomplished the impossible, not me. Secondly, if you're talking about cussing and throwing tantrums, I just don't see the point. I don't do that stuff because it won't solve any issues." Ruby said.
"But don't you have some way of relieving anger?" Weiss asked.
"Yeah: Healing." Ruby said.
"I don't follow." Weiss replied.
"If I get stabbed, shot, or cut, cussing won't make me heal any faster. It won't make the pain go away or pay for medical expenses. So, what's the point?" Ruby asked.
"That's what I mean. Most people get mad without thinking. But you think about it all beforehand, and you say you don't see any reason to do so. I've never met anyone else who can do that." Weiss said.
Both of the ladies saw Erik coming with the food. As soon as he exited the door to the building, sirens began going off in the distance. Everyone began looking in the direction of the noise. The ships out in the ocean wee the reason for the siren and, as you looked closer, you could see people waving their arms as though they were trying to get someone's attention. Before anyone could figure out what they were doing, the restaurant that Ruby and Weiss were eating at had been crushed. Everyone inside, and close to the building was dead. Weiss looked at the Erik as his head and shoulders were sticking from the rubble, laying lifeless.
"Weiss!" Ruby yelled as she grabbed her and fired Crescent Rose so the recoil would carry them away. She landed on top of a building across the street before putting Weiss down.
"What happened?" Weiss asked.
Before Ruby could answer, a massive tentacle was raised from the wreckage of the building. The appendage was easily as thick as a school bus. In the distance, all of the ships could be seen capsizing, one after the other, courtesy of the monster.
"Is that a Kraken?!" Ruby asked.
"They don't come this far inland!" Weiss yelled.
"They're not supposed the come this far inland." Ruby yelled before pulling out her scroll and activating the distress signal. Sirens all across the city began going off as Ozpin, as well as most of the other meeting staff, joined a group call immediately after.
"Miss Rose, what is happening?" Ozpin asked.
"A Kraken is attacking near the harbor!" Ruby said before turning the phone's video call on and showing the beast destroying ships.
"The military has been notified, but we're mobilizing the students to help get the civilians to safety. Not including us, we have nine volunteer teams requesting to help fight the monster." Jaune stated.
"Permission granted. Civilians are our number one priority. Don't fight the beast head on, but we will need to distract it." Ozpin said.
"Ozpin." Ironwood said. "We scanned the area for biometric signals, to help get the civilians to safety, but the scanner was disrupted by a signal coming from behind the Kraken. There's a vessel the exact size of a P-74 Menagerie-class submarine behind the Kraken letting out a violently loud sound. It's too high for humans, or even faunus, to hear, but the monster seems to be going to crazy because of it." He stated.
"They're controlling it?" Cardin asked.
"No. The Kraken is probably running away from the sound, but they 'herded' it here. Now it's attacking everything to try and get the sound to stop." Jaune stated.
"He's been distracted by the ships, so far, but they're all gone now. He's coming toward the city!" Weiss said.
"The military will be arriving within the hour. Right now, we only have one option." Jaune said.
"Agreed. We're boarding the airships right now. Hold on for another few minutes, Rose." Coco stated.
Weiss activated a glyph above the girl's heads, which prevented the monster from crushing them with his tentacle. "Ruby, we've got to move!" Weiss yelled.
"Okay! Be safe, guys." Ruby said as she put her scroll away before jumping to the docks with Weiss by her side.
"We can't attack this thing by ourselves." Weiss said.
"I know…" Ruby said as she thought of her next move. "Weiss, freeze the water. The civilians in the immediate area come first." She yelled.
Weiss activated a multitude of glyphs, in the shape of a circle, on the surface of the water around the beast. Myrtenaster began to glow blue as the water bean to freeze around the Kraken before encasing in entirely. Most of the people had already run away from the immediate area, but there were a few hiding for dear life within the surrounding buildings. Weiss activated one glyph after another, under those people, causing them to float into the air and away from the battle.
"Weiss! The ice is cracking!" Ruby yelled as she was pulling a few people from another building and telling them to run. The beacon airship finally arrived which held teams JNPR, CFVY, and CRDL. They landed next to Ruby and Weiss right as a massive portion of the ice seemed to be blasted through the air.
"How'd he bust through the ice so fast?" Coco asked.
"He didn't. That was a sonic wave. Whoever is behind the Kraken wants it to do as much damage as possible." Velvet said.
"What is our plan of attack?" Pyrrha asked.
"Cut its tentacles off, at least." Jaune said.
"I don't have a knife that big." Coco joked.
"Any other ideas?" Cardin asked.
"Yes." Ren said causing everyone to look at him. "Jaune, contact Ozpin and tell him to get every person out of the ocean. Ships, swimmers, surfers, everyone. Nora, you're going to electrocute it." He said in a calm tone.
"Good idea! Nice one, Ren." Jaune said as he pulled his scroll out.
"Yes?" Ozpin asked.
"Ozpin, sound an emergency evacuation for ocean goers. We're going to try and electrocute it. Get everyone off their ships and out of the water." Jaune explained.
"I'll have it done. I will contact you when it is safe to continue." He said before cutting off the call.
"Until then…" Coco said.
"…we have to keep it busy." Ruby finished.
Sirens began to sound all throughout the base. Lionel hid in a bathroom when her heard footsteps violently running through the halls, the sound of weapons being loaded and cursing filled his ears. A voice came over the intercom, "Three White Fang found dead, in the forest, between perimeters F-04 and F-06. Another found dead at the perimeter F-06 entrance. We have an intruder; shoot on sight." The voice rang out.
"They must be talking about that other guy I saw earlier. I hate amateurs." Lionel thought as he waited for to sound of footsteps to come to an end. Lionel made sure his leather gloves were securely tightened on his hand before proceeding; he looked at his knuckles, rubbing the small gem slightly below them. He stuck is head outside of the door, to make sure the coast was clear, and darted out, using the walls as cover.
As he made his way down the hall, he began noticing a trend of soldiers making rounds throughout the entire base. "They seem to be following standard lockdown protocol. Soldiers at every corner and exit; soldiers making consistent rounds…and…they're probably watching the cargo bay like a hawk. I'd better Ozpin know what's happening." He thought as he pulled out his scroll only to see no service. "…and they blocked all external signals. I am receiving the tracker signals, and they seem to be at the top of the elevator shaft. That makes sense, use it as another barrier since the controls to activate it are down here." He thought before putting his scroll away and continuing through the halls.
Lionel came to a closed door with a sign above it that said 'East Wing' with an arrow pointed forward, indicating that if you stay straight you will end up there. The bottom half of the sign said 'Central Intelligence' With an arrow pointed to the right. "That makes sense. I went down twenty-two flights of stairs in a cylindrical structure, so the first half of the structure is east and the other is west, then they both converge on one area to lead to one last area; the deepest underground and most defended area." He thought as he looked at the gem on his glove again and activated it. The gem began to glow a slight white color before it flooded with purple.
He walked out in their line of vision, but as soon as they reacted to his presence, he had his palm pointed toward them. "Gotta love that mental dust." Lionel said as the purple gem continued to glow. The two White Fang soldiers positioned in at this area were wobbling as though they were drunk. "Why don't you two take a nap." He said as he clenched a fist, causing the purple to glow even brighter. The two soldier's backs hit the wall before sliding down in unconsciousness.
Lionel walked up to the door and opened it. "It said to go right for the central intelligence." He thought as he opened the door. He was met with a small room with a door directly across from him that said 'East Wing' above it and a door to his right that said 'Central Intelligence' above it, as well. He walked into the middle of the room and faced the 'Central Intelligence' door. "I doubt Yang is in here, but I'm sure I can use their camera to find out where she is." He thought before the door to his left, the 'East Wing' door, flew open.
Lionel didn't hesitate, but rather had his arm held out, ready for an attack, before the other person's blade even reached his throat. He didn't attack, however...neither of them did. Lionel had his left hand pointed directly at this person's face, and would have won in the case of a quick draw event; the gem was glowing a bright red and this person could feel the heat emanating from the glove. A short time after Lionel had his attack prepared, the sharp edge of a blade was resting on his throat. It was a strange looking sword, with crevices every so often on the blade. There were two barrels situated at the end of the hilt with a clockwork-like mechanism sitting right where the blade and hilt met. "Fancy meeting you here." The swordsman said.
"I should have known it was you…you were never very good at stealth." Lionel said as he lowered his hand to his side.
"You mean I take action instead of hiding." The swordsman said as he, too, lowered his blade to his side.
"Sure. Keep telling yourself that. Anyway, why are you here?" Lionel asked.
"The same reason you are." The swordsman said.
"The White Fang have become a menace and no one is doing anything to stop them?" Lionel asked half seriously and half joking. The swordsman raised an eyebrow and cocked a small grin. "…and…" Lionel started.
"…to save my niece." The swordsman said with a calm tone.
"Then get ready, Qrow…we're about to start a war." Lionel said as they both looked at the door in front of them.