Weiss' heels echoed in the damp corridor. It was not a place many would expect a Schnee to be, but the masses just didn't realise that her life was not all balls and glitz. So often it was she who had to get her hands dirty to allow them to maintain their ignorant bliss. The world was a cruel place and without her, it would only be too eager to swallow Atlas whole.
She was its protector, no matter what the dissidents spouted. Thankfully, they were rightfully derided by those who could actually think. They only had to look a short distance into the past to see what could have happened without her.
Though normally she got her hands dirty in the name of national security, today was personal. Two of her soldiers snapped to attention when they saw her. The prisoner probably didn't need both guards, but after so long searching she wasn't taking any chances.
Weiss paused with her hand on the door. For a moment she considered forcing her to wait another few days. To let her imagination run wild with all the possibilities of what could occur to someone in her circumstances. It was tempting, but the last three days had passed at a crawl. Weiss wanted answers and she would get them. One way or another.
Metal clanked as she slid back the heavy bolt; she knew it would have echoed around the cell horrifically. Everything about a place like this was designed to make the prisoners uncomfortable. Weiss opened the door and walked inside.
A smile formed on her lips. Chained to the wall, her hair and clothes unkempt, Celeste Sampson did not look like one of the leading psychiatrists in the world. Instead she appeared to be just what she was, a prisoner and a traitor.
It wasn't the first time Weiss had seen her; she'd been waiting at the airfield. After so long searching she'd wanted to see the proof with her own eyes. They hadn't removed the bag covering Celeste's head, but Weiss had recognised her instantly. It was the knowledge that Celeste was finally in her grasp that had allowed her to put this moment off for a few additional days. She'd been busy anyway.
The raid had not gone off flawlessly. The extraction team had bundled Celeste into a van and neutralised her bodyguard easily enough, but somehow the local law enforcement had become involved. The resulting chase had drawn an audience of thousands on television and had only ended when her troops had opened fire on the pursuing vehicles. They knew better than to disappoint her. No officers had been killed, but the Vacuan public had been rife with speculation regarding just who the criminals were.
No one had linked them to Atlas yet, at least not publicly. An accusation like that would have been unwise. Of course, some within the royal court knew just who Sampson had been before her appointment as an advisor; they knew just who would have the motive to abduct her.
The Atlesian Ambassador had been summoned to the Vacuan Council, and subsequently the Court, and had naturally denied everything; honestly she had no knowledge to betray. Even so, Weiss knew fingers were being pointed her way; there was even some talk of Vacuo withdrawing from the trade treaty. Weiss wasn't worried. It would take some time to smooth over, but she would. Even if she couldn't and the talks collapsed, it was worth it.
Without the risk she wouldn't be standing here looking down as Celeste squinted against the light streaming into the cell. Weiss turned the lone hanging bulb on. For the most part the room had been kept dark and cold. The switch was just beyond the limits of Celeste's movements.
Her chains rattled as she brought a hand up to cover her eyes. Her days of confinement in this room had left her skin darkened by filth. Though some might have said her treatment here had been inhumane, Weiss knew it was not. Celeste had not been abused by her men. She had a blanket, a pillow, hot meals, and she'd even been allowed to use an actual bathroom several times a day. Compared to her crimes, the punishment was lenient.
Weiss waited impassively as the door swung shut behind her. She dimly noted she had been right, it did echo off the concrete walls. The pair of them were left alone. Celeste peered at her between her fingers, blinking rapidly as the silhouette resolved itself.
"Weiss," her voice cracked with thirst. She didn't sound surprised. She must have known that she was unable to postpone this day forever.
"You shall not call me that. Not after what you did. You will address me as Councillor." When she'd been a child all she'd wanted was for people to call her Weiss, for her to be a person rather than the heir to her house. Now she knew better. Titles were important. They established a hierarchy from the start of the conversation. Celeste was in no way her equal.
"Councillor, this is illegal." Celeste climbed to her feet, straightening her spine, trying to appear authoritative.
Internally Weiss sighed. It was to going to be like this then. She had hoped that the days Celeste had been left to her own thoughts would have softened her will to resist.
"I have been abducted off the streets. Illegally extradited. Held in this room for days without access to legal representation. And I haven't even been charged with anything. It breaks every law. Both Vacuan and Atlesian."
Throwing the law in her face. Celeste didn't seem to understand. The law applied to those who were forced to adhere to it, not those who dictated it. No one knew where Celeste was, and in a few weeks or months, no one would care. She would not be getting a lawyer or a public trial. Her future would be decided here.
Weiss waited until she was sure Celeste had finished. "Are you done?"
"No. Not unless you immediately release me. I'll ̶ ̶ "
Weiss raised two fingers on her left hand, that was it, but the gesture caught Celeste's attention; her face paled. She stared at the hand, her mind no doubt replaying all the tales that were attributed to her captor.
"I think that you are. Do you agree?" Weiss said her voice frigid. Celeste gulped and nodded. "Good. I did not come here to debate the legality of your situation. I came here to ask you a question, and it is one you undoubtedly already know that I am going to ask. Why? What did they promise you?"
"You've got it wrong. I didn't." Her eyes were wide, pleading to be believed.
Weiss took a step forward, fury filling her face. "Don't you dare lie to me. I know it was you."
"I'm not. It wasn't me." Celeste shrunk away from her, pressing her back against the cold stone of the wall.
"Only two people in the world knew about Amber. I never spoke of it. Ruby insisted she hadn't either. It took me a while to figure out how they knew, and then it dawned on me. Ruby told you in her counselling sessions. She opened up to you, and all you wanted was information you could sell." Weiss' brow darkened every time she mentioned Ruby's name. Celeste hadn't only betrayed her; she'd betrayed Ruby's confidence, her trust. But even that paled beside her greatest crime. "You turned the memory of the sweetest six-year-old girl into a weapon." She was but inches from Celeste, and every facet of her body was urging her to strike out.
"Please…" A tear rolled down her cheek through the dirt. "I never repeated anything she told me. You've got the wrong person. I only ever wanted to help Ruby."
Weiss spoke her next words slowly and deliberately calmly. "Do not say her name."
"Why not? Because it hurts? Because you still love her and can't work out why? We've only met a handful of times, but I feel like I know you. I spent hours listening to her. No matter what we were talking about, it always came back to you. She loved you Weiss. More than anything else. Where is the girl Ruby fell in love with? Would she be standing in your shoes?"
Weiss knew she had somehow lost control of the conversation. Despite being in chains, Celeste had twisted her words around and made this about her. Her and Ruby.
"Do not attempt to psychoanalyse me."
"Why isn't she with you now? Somewhere you know exactly why she left."
Weiss' stomach squirmed. Ruby hadn't even had the decency to tell her, to let her talk her out of it. She hadn't even left a note explaining herself. But Weiss did know. And it made her furious.
"It's not too late. It's never too late for love." Celeste must have known she was playing a dangerous game. "Just start doing the right thing. Show her you haven't changed from the girl she first met."
"And I suppose that involves releasing you." That was awfully convenient.
"Releasing someone who's innocent of her supposed crimes? Yes. What would Ruby do in your situation?"
"Ruby wouldn't be in my situation. If she was we'd all be dead. She doesn't have the stomach for it."
"Does that make her a bad person?"
"Of course it do ̶ ̶ " Weiss cut off, furious at herself. "We're not here to discuss her."
"You need to. You can't keep bottling everything up. I can see how much strain you're under."
"Don't mention her." The threat in her tone was clear.
"Or what? What more can you do with me? You've already had me abducted, held me here for days."
"You imagination is greatly lacking if you believe this is the worst situation that you can be in."
Celeste took some time to answer. When she spoke, her words were eloquent. "I know it could be worse. I know you could have me tortured to death if you wanted to and no one would argue against it. The Ice Queen's power is close to absolute. But Ruby didn't fall in love with the Ice Queen. No matter what you do to me, you'll always hurt more. I can help you Weiss, just like I helped Ruby. You just need to open up to me."
Every mention of the name sent daggers into her heart; Weiss was sure that was why Celeste kept mentioning her. It was a weapon deftly wielded. So deftly that Weiss didn't immediately discount her offer.
Every one of her mornings was painful. She woke with an aching heart and a cold bed. Even when she'd filled it, not one of her lovers managed to expunge the longing within her for more than a few heady moments. It filled her waking moments and her sleepless nights.
She was lonely. The Ice Queen had no need or want for friends. But Weiss barely had any. Most had abandoned her. She couldn't make them either. Power was the great divider. Only Winter was her equal. For everyone else she always had to question if their interactions were tempered by fear or want.
She was not happy, no matter what façade she presented to the world. Her life had lost the sense of fulfilment that came from the simplest things. A coffee in a crowded shop, receiving a piece of homework with a red one hundred at the top, waking up to breakfast in bed. The things that so many had. The things that transcended money and power. The things that most wouldn't realise how special they were until they lost them.
But they were also the things that were denied to her. In this she was a sacrifice to the people that she served. That was what it was. Many looked at her seat in the Council chambers, her throne, and thought she their ruler.
It may have been true, but power was a paradox. The greater it was, the more chains that accompanied it. They wrapped around her and weighed her down. A million issues pressed her at every moment. Few risked speaking their mind to her. She'd had to put aside her fanciful dreams in pursuit of serving those under her. She might have been the closest thing Atlas had to a queen, but she was also the servant of all. Those she ruled all had more liberty than she.
She'd never spoken of her feelings. Not even to Winter. Weiss knew it would help though. Opening up to Ruby had once helped her, would opening up to Celeste do the same? She was good. The change she'd caused in Ruby had been apparent for all to see. It would be beneficial to speak to someone.
But at the same time it was something that could never be. She could not be seen visiting a psychiatrist. Not be seen admitting that she had problems. That she was weak. A single picture that slipped into a magazine would have been a sword wielded by those who subtly fought against her still. Those who wished to destabilise the foundations of everything she'd built.
Weiss simply couldn't allow that to occur. She didn't need help. She didn't need a shrink. Especially the one before her.
"You wish for me to open up to you when you have already betrayed a secret that was confided to you." Her voice was the one of the Ice Queen.
"Weiss, I promise you I didn't. I'll swear it to you on anything. I would never have broken Ruby's confidence."
"The innocent don't run."
"I didn't have a choice. I had no evidence to support my cause; there couldn't have been. All I had was my word. The word I'm giving you now."
"If not you then who?"
"I don't know. If you and Ruby spoke to no one else then it could have been someone who worked for me. I wrote everything down. They could have seen the files. Anyone could have broken in."
"It might very well have been someone who worked for you," Weiss agreed. "However they all swear their innocence, even now. And it is plain you did not extend your advice to flee to them; they did not run."
Celeste wilted at the knowledge that one of her last avenues for acquittal had been thoroughly explored. "Please… I promise you it wasn't me. I'll do anything to prove it. I can help you Weiss. If you just let me."
"You can help me from a cell. Eventually one of you will confess. It doesn't matter how long it will take for you to break. Everyone breaks."
Weiss turned away from Celeste who had silent tears streaming down her face. One day the truth would be revealed. Her name stopped her.
"Weiss, can I say one more thing before you leave? Ruby was always worried about you. She always wanted to know how to help you. She always told me how frustrated she was, and no matter what you've told yourself, know that she never held it against you. No one would. It wasn't your fault. What you did was a mercy. There's no need to keep tormenting yourself. Forgive yourself. Just like Amber and Lyra would if they could speak to you."
Weiss' fingers twitched. She was torn between turning around and striking Celeste and curling into a shaking ball on the floor. Celeste didn't have the right to mention them. And yet the words were not some desperate attempt to save herself, they were said with unfeigned empathy. They arrowed into her. They were the words she'd longed to hear, the ones she'd told herself but could never bring herself to believe them. She couldn't now. She'd murdered Amber. Nothing would ever change that. No mere words could undo her crime.
She rapped her knuckles on the door and it swung open. When she spoke to the soldiers outside her tone failed to convey the emotional maelstrom within her; it was entirely flat and devoid of anything. "Put her with the others."
Her heels clicked in the damp corridor; a steady, efficient rhythm. Her waiting troops snapped to attention as they saw her. It was only after she'd left the building did she realise she'd left the light in the cell on.
Weiss wiggled her feet trying to get the blood circulating around them again. She resisted the urge to grimace or massage them as pins flared within. There wasn't really the room for that much movement anyway. She'd been perched on the edge of her seat in the cramped van for the better part of ninety minutes.
It had not been a particularly pleasant hour and a half. Her seat was hard and unforgiving, the air was like a sauna's, and worst of all she was bored. Absolutely nothing had happened. All the rows of monitors in front of her showed various images of normal streets. Her earpiece was silent apart from the regular reports from the others stationed nearby.
Weiss extracted an embroidered handkerchief from her pocket and mopped her sopping brow. Surveillance vans couldn't have air conditioning lest its presence reveal that all wasn't as it seemed. She understood the reasoning but, at this moment, wished an exception had been made; heat wafted from the electronics all around her.
Annoyingly, the forehead of the other occupant of the van appeared to be completely devoid of sweat. She had no idea how that was possible. No doubt if she voiced the question Erashan would have given her lecture about mind over matter or something equally frustrating. She didn't particularly want to sit through that now, not when she was already in a bad enough mood.
"Is this going to take much longer?" There were about a thousand things she could have done in the time she'd wasted here.
Erashan studied her for a moment. "Need I remind you that your presence on this operation was your idea?"
He didn't need to remind her; that was why she was regretting it so much. She knew the lost time was self-inflicted. "I didn't expect for it to take this long. You said the meet was scheduled for four."
"And it was. But Torchwick doesn't seem to set much by the way of punctuality."
That was the truth. She really should have suspected that Torchwick would be late, but she hadn't wanted to miss it if he came at the appointed time. In reality she didn't need to be here. The operation would go off smoothly whether she was present or not, but she wasn't here for the sake of efficiency.
Her long-awaited interrogation with Celeste had not gone as planned. There had not been the satisfaction of a confession; instead Celeste had twisted her mind around and raised thoughts that were better left buried. It had been her intention to put that part of her life behind her, instead it followed her just like a wraith.
After that she hadn't been able to face her office and the mountain of paperwork that accompanied hosting a Ball. She'd had to get out and do something to take her mind off it. This operation had seemed perfect. For the first time in months she had Myrtenaster at hand with the full intent of using it if trouble arose. In combat she didn't need to think, didn't need to worry about the possible chain of events a single decision from her could set into motion with ramifications for the entirety of Atlas. Combat was simple. Black and white. This afternoon should have been a relief.
But she hadn't banked on just how uncomfortable the van would be while wearing full body armour. At Erashan's insistence, she'd abandoned her usual combat skirts and was dressed entirely in black plates and ballistic weave. She could see the sense. It had been stupid to rely solely on her Aura to protect her. There was no harm in using body armour. She'd drawn a line at the full-face helmet though; people had to see her.
Of course her discomfort would have been short-lived if Torchwick had arrived on time. Some might have worried that he'd somehow managed to slip their surveillance; fortunately Weiss knew that was impossible. Neither Torchwick nor his sidekick could pick their noses without a dozen people knowing about it.
His file said he was good ̶ ̶ and he'd proven himself to be with his actions in Vale ̶ ̶ but here he was at a major disadvantage. He had no way of knowing that he'd become a target for her security services. Since his pardon he might have been unable to resist the call of an easy score, but for the most part they had been minor in scope ̶ ̶ certainly not large enough to justify the manpower that was watching him ̶ ̶ unfortunately he'd unwittingly attracted her attention.
Her teams had plenty of experience in observing someone. Torchwick didn't know anything he did on his scroll was routed through her servers; his calls were listened to; his rented apartment and car had been bugged. They had eyes and ears on every inch of his life and, in all honesty, it was fascinating.
Though he had chosen a less than reputable career path Torchwick was a professional. The way he wove all the different threads of a con together was miraculous. He managed to balance a dozen spinning plates, a dozen marks all at the same time, and no one was off the table. Not ordinary businessmen and women, not nobles, and not even other criminals. If Torchwick thought he could make money from them and get away with it, that was exactly what he did; just like he was doing now.
Torchwick had unwittingly led them to the hideout of a criminal gang that various Council initiatives against organised crime had been unable to entirely eradicate. They were not people to be trifled with, but Torchwick didn't seem to care. In Weiss' opinion he was simply doing it for the thrill. He sought excitement rather than financial gain, and the bigger the risk the better.
A voice came over the radio. "Targets sighted. Sector four."
Weiss found the appropriate monitor on the bank in front of her. It was Torchwick and likely Neo as well. That was always hard to tell. Watching the feed from their apartment Weiss had seen her shed an entire appearance as easily as most shed clothes. Neo could have been almost anyone, and judging by the reports from Vale, camouflage was only the tip of her skillset.
A steady stream of observers checked in as the pair passed their positions before coming to the warehouse where the meet was set to take place. If it had been anyone else Weiss would have ordered them taken into custody already, but there was no harm in them stealing from other criminals, plus she wanted to see them in action for herself. See if Torchwick was really able to pull off a scheme as audacious as this one.
They hadn't been able to get bugs inside the warehouse; not when it was alive with activity throughout the day and night. They were blind in there, but it didn't matter. Most of the con had been carried out in neutral locations they had been able to observe. All that would happen today was that Torchwick would exchange his briefcase of merchandise for cash. The moment he left the building he would be arrested along with everyone else. Not that he would see the inside of a prison cell; both he and Neo were far too useful to incarcerate.
The next few minutes trickled by as they all waited. Weiss checked Myrtenaster just as she knew everyone else poised would be checking their own weapons. They were pointless checks, ones that she had already made a dozen times, but in these moments they always seemed utterly vital.
An explosion rocked the van on its tires. Dimly Weiss recognised what had caused it. Dust, likely unrefined and still in its crystal form. Highly unstable, it was the bane of any mining operation. Just how it had ended up in the middle of her city was certainly something that merited investigation. Weiss managed to process all that at the same time she barked an order into her microphone.
"All teams move in." The deal had gone south and she wouldn't let any disturbance boil over to affect civilians. They would shut it down here. Their van was already in motion by the time she'd finished speaking and she almost tumbled out of her chair.
They didn't have far to travel; they'd only been a block away. Weiss threw the doors open and jumped out. Traces of smoke clouded the air as smaller explosions caused the walls to tremble. Erashan came out behind her, a steady stream of orders coming from him; as usual he was making her wishes a reality.
The few people who had been in the street were standing frozen, showing the usual reaction that civilians had to danger. "Get out of here," Weiss shouted. She didn't know if it was her cry or another van screeching to a halt with armed soldiers pouring from it that encouraged them to move. When they did they ran.
The fireteam moved with premeditated efficiency. The operation might have deteriorated, but there was always a backup plan. They moved until they pressed against the walls on either side of the nearest door, pressed a black pad to it, and then braced. Weiss did too, turning her face away.
There was a thump, and the door caved in. A grenade flew through the opening. A dozen much louder bangs followed, all accompanied by flashes of light. Protected by their full-face helmets her troops moved in before they'd finished.
As much as Weiss had come here to lose herself in combat, she let them the work. Even the best hunter on the continent would get in the way here. Skill did not make up for hours and hours of practice together.
As the police arrived and began to create a cordon around the area she followed her team through the door, Erashan preceding her as ever. It was difficult to see inside. Following standard protocol the power had been cut and the smoke wasn't helping matters. It wasn't thick, but a fire was definitely burning.
She only just managed to avoid tripping on a body. He wasn't dead, or at least he shouldn't have been. Her teams were armed with Yellow Dust rounds; technically classed as less-than-lethal they overloaded the victim's nervous system, but nothing was absolute.
Those on the floor here may have been fighting, or they may have been running for the exit. Ultimately it hadn't mattered. In situations like this her teams treated everyone as hostile. Between the breaching charge and flashbang the criminals hadn't stood a chance.
More shots came from up ahead. It would have been a firefight if it wasn't so one sided. There were the reports of live rounds, more panic fire than anything, and then the careful bursts of her soldiers. Room by room they swept the building, their reports coming through her earpiece. Warmth filled Weiss. This was her well-oiled machine in action. Her father would have been proud of what she'd constructed.
He might have disagreed, but she'd always been of the mind that a Schnee should lead from the front. Be willing to do whatever she ordered her subordinates to. She ran towards where Torchwick should have been. She didn't meet any resistance, but then hadn't expected to; ADRG only recruited the very best, they didn't make mistakes.
It became obvious she was going the right way as the temperature soared. The main room of the warehouse was aglow with flames. The Dust explosion had ripped a hole in the roof, bringing it down in a cascade of twisted metal. Nearby crates had been thrown across the room by the concussive force, spilling their contents.
It was with some trepidation that Weiss noticed the rifles were the model used by the Atlesian Military, and one of the latest at that. After witnessing first-hand what military hardware could do in the wrong hands in Vale, she'd clamped down on the trade of it, and clamped down hard. Selling or accidentally misplacing weaponry carried a death sentence. It was harsh, but it was necessary. And it obviously wasn't harsh enough for some. The evidence here could prove vital to catching them.
"Get that fire under control," Weiss keyed her microphone as she dashed forward ducking under a spar from the roof.
Dust accidents were always nasty, mainly due to their unpredictability. At any moment another crystal might release its latent energy. The moment she saw the hungry flames Weiss raised her right hand and pulled Myrtenaster's trigger with her left.
Ice sprayed from her glyph. The slush evaporated almost instantly when it came into contact with the fire. She needed more. It took an effort of will to tap the reserve of blue Dust sewn into her the undergarments she was wearing beneath her body armour. Her tailor normally embroidered a line or two of Dust into all her clothes. After the Osier ball she never wanted to be in a similar situation entirely unarmed again.
Cold seeped into her skin as the Dust flared. The ice flowing from her glyph turned into a torrent which beat back the flames. Deftly she rotated her glyph, wielding it like a huge hose, manoeuvring it wherever the fire was hottest. But she was only one person; flames surged in her wake.
Erashan stood impotently at her side. Though nothing would have stopped him risking the danger with her, he had no ability with Dustcraft. He could do nothing to help her. Weiss could feel her skin searing in the scalding heat, but she refused to withdraw.
A cerulean ball flew over her head. It crashed down in the midst of the fires before erupting in a wave of cold. A soldier appeared next to her, a fresh sphere steadily growing in his hand. Weiss exchanged a nod with him.
A finger-width beam of blue shot out, ice blossoming on whatever surface it touched. More troops arrived to answer her call. The majority of ADRG had been recruited straight from the top combat schools on the planet; the rest had excelled in Special Forces regiments around the world. Those who had external Semblances put them to good use. Weiss recognised all of them; she'd studied the troops under her command.
"Someone deal with the smoke," Weiss yelled. With so much steam erupting where the copious amounts of ice melted it wafted over them all, searing her eyes and clawing its way down into her lungs. She could have of course, but she had a natural affinity for Blue Dust. Knowing when to delegate was one of the key skills of leadership. Wind rushed in from behind her, driving the smoke away and through the hole in the roof.
With the combined efforts of around half of her troops they gradually beat back the flames. They were far more effective than any firefighters could have been, but then most firefighters didn't have Semblances or copious supplies of Dust.
As her soldiers on the opposite side of the conflagration linked up it became easier until there was only what appeared to be the source of the flames left, the Dust containers. With a last concentrated effort they buried them beneath a mountain of ice.
Weiss sagged, her glyph disappearing, and she wasn't the only one. No amount of training could prepare someone for an extended use of their Semblance. It was utterly exhausting and a nerve pounded against her temple.
At that moment all Weiss wanted to was sit down in the filthy water pooled at her feet, but she couldn't. She had to set an example for those under her. She couldn't show any signs of weakness. Straightening her spine she turned to Erashan. "Are they in custody?"
He checked before shaking his head. "They aren't, but they haven't breached the perimeter. They likely went to ground." With Neo nothing was ever certain, but she'd ordered no one to be let in or out.
Weiss activated her microphone. "Targets Alpha and Beta are still unaccounted for. Sweep the building. Find them."
Weiss tried to piece together what had happened here. The Dust wouldn't have exploded without a reason. Most likely Torchwick hadn't been as clever as he thought he was. He'd missed a single detail that had brought the scam tumbling down around him. Or maybe he'd just insulted the wrong person as he was apt to do. The fire had most likely been a desperate escape plan.
It had certainly caused enough chaos. Between it and their efforts to combat the flames a large amount of the merchandise had been destroyed and that was discounting the bodies. Torchwick certainly was ruthless when he needed to be. It was a good trait to have.
Once the sight of burnt corpses would have made her stomach revolt, now they barely touched her. She just made sure they hadn't been wearing the clothes of either of their targets. It hardly mattered that they were dead anyway. Every single person who'd been in this building would be charged with weapons trafficking and with this amount of evidence they wouldn't be acquitted.
"Ma'am! Sir!" The shout didn't come over the radio and Weiss turned to see a soldier beckoning her over.
The congregated soldiers were straining to move a section of the roof that had collapsed. Beneath it a small figure was lying protectively over a larger one. Their skin, hair, and clothes were blackened. They'd been lucky that the roof hadn't crushed them, but the flames had found them still.
Weiss swore internally. Her curiosity to see them in action had backfired. If she'd just had them brought in straight away none of this would have happened. It was just another addition to her long list of mistakes.
Despite how the effort made her head pound, she cast a black attraction glyph above the twisted metal. With its help the soldiers managed to open up a path. She was the first down it. Like the rest of the building it stank of the remnants of fire. There was something else on the ground though, some kind of thick gelatinous fluid that was dissolving even as she looked at it.
Removing her glove she pressed her fingers to the girl's neck. The moment Weiss touched her, Neo's eyes flared open. They took in the armed soldiers all around, the one touching her, and she snarled. Or at least tried to; without sound it didn't seem all that threatening. Neo attempted to push herself, to fight, but her body betrayed her. Her arm shook before giving way and she collapsed unconscious on top of the one she'd sought to protect.
Weiss caught his wrist. His pulse was weak, but it was there. They were both alive, just. She rose. "Get them to hospital." The gathered soldiers parted as she strode through them, her chin up and her spine straight.
Weiss hated hospitals. She hated the smell. She hated the antiseptic white of every surface. But most of all she hated the waiting. It didn't matter how much money she had in her accounts, or how many thousands of soldiers she could deploy with a command, time trickled by regardless.
Normally she would have been pleased for it. There simply weren't enough hours in the day for everything vying for her attention. An extra one or two would have been a godsend. If time really flowed slower in the grounds of a hospital she would have moved her office here years ago, but it didn't. It was only an illusion brought about by her helplessness. And her guilt.
It was inevitable that the familiar demon had found her once again. She shouldn't have felt guilty. Torchwick and Neo were criminals. They might have been selling fake jewels instead of guns, but they must have seen evidence of the weapons. Under different circumstances they would be sharing the fate of the rest of the gang. They were bad people and the situation was of their own making. It shouldn't have fallen on her shoulders as well.
It did though. Despite how they were criminals, she'd read the reports from Vale. Roman and Neo had kept those she'd once called her friends safe; they'd guided them through a world most had been unsuited for, and seen that they got out the other side. Despite how Yang, Blake, and the rest had abandoned her, Weiss still felt like she owed the pair of them for that.
Looking down at their beds she unsuccessfully attempted to crush the pangs. Neither had come through unscathed. Neo's burns had only been superficial, Roman's had been much worse, and that wasn't mentioning the bullet he'd taken in the back. He'd already been through one round of surgery and it would be Neo's turn anytime now.
In a thin hospital gown she was a truly tiny thing. If not for her figure it would have been hard to believe she was more than a child. With half her hair scorched and her eyebrows singed off she looked pitiful. At least she would survive though; Roman's future was much less certain. Any plans Weiss had had for the pair of them had been shelved.
A nurse knocked politely on the open door. "Lady Schnee," she curtseyed when Weiss turned to her. Even in a hospital she was unable to escape the weight of her bloodline. "We need to begin prepping Neopolitan for surgery. We could wait if you wish."
"No, begin now." Weiss walked past her and the rest of the nurses in the corridor, she'd lingered here for too long anyway. She'd have to work all night to catch up with the workload she'd missed today.
Two of her soldiers were stationed outside the room on the off chance that the pair of them had tried to slip away. They wouldn't be needed; Roman wouldn't be moving under his own power for some time.
A crash came from behind her and a woman screamed. Weiss reversed her course with a squeal from her shoes. She burst back into the room. A nurse clutched her arm, blood streaming from the scratch marks beneath her fingers. The rest of the hospital staff had pressed themselves back again the walls. The two guards had drawn their sidearms and were pointing them at the figure knelt on top of the bed.
Neo's eyes were wide and panicked. She didn't know where she was, she didn't know what was happening, she'd been undressed against her will, and people were pointing guns at her. She seemed unable to decide whether fight or run.
Weiss pushed the two pistols down towards the floor. That they contained Dust rounds didn't placate her anger. In the state she was in they didn't need guns to deal with Neo.
"Leave," Weiss instructed the hospital staff and they gratefully obeyed. "Where's Mae?"
"Here," Mae said breathlessly from behind her. The translator must have started running the moment she heard the commotion.
With that sorted, Weiss turned her attention back to Neo. She'd managed to get a syringe from somewhere and held it between them as if it were a mighty sword.
"We're not going to hurt you." To her side Mae signed her words. As far as she knew that wasn't necessary; Neo could hear, she just couldn't speak.
Judging by her tightening knuckles and bared teeth Neo didn't believe her.
"You were in an accident." That was probably the most diplomatic way of putting it. "Do you remember?"
Neo didn't respond. Weiss caught how often her eyes were flicking to her two men. They seemed to scare her far more than she or Mae did, and it wasn't to do with the fact they were armed. Weiss really didn't want to deduce the reason why; her traitorous mind didn't listen to her though.
"Go and wait at the end of the corridor."
"Ma'am, that really ̶ ̶ "
"Do not second guess me. That was an order," she hissed at them. They might only have been concerned for her safety, but she'd made her will clear.
With them gone Neo's attention finally settled on her. Looking into her eyes Weiss was given a glimpse of just how unstable she was. The reports had inferred that sure, but there was a big difference from reading and coming face to face with it. Weiss had no doubt that if provoked Neo would at least try and kill everyone in the hospital. Try, because as weak as she was the overweight security guard downstairs would probably be able to restrain her.
"You were in an accident. You were hurt. You're in hospital." Even though Weiss kept her voice calm and reassuring, Neo's nostrils flared and she signed something around her makeshift weapon.
"Get back," Mae translated for her.
Weiss withdrew a step, keeping her hands in plain sight. "Do you know who I am?"
Neo gave a minuscule nod. It wasn't surprising. In all honesty Weiss longed for the day when the answer to that question was no.
"Then you know you've worked with me before." Technically that was stretching the truth; they'd worked for Ozpin not her, even if their goals had been aligned. "You haven't been arrested. You're not in custody. You're safe here."
Neo didn't believe her. Still brandishing the syringe she swung her legs over the side of the bed. Weiss didn't need the silent gasp to guess just how much that movement had hurt. In some ways Neo was the unluckier of the two; her burns hadn't seared off her nerves. Neo wasn't a stranger to pain though, and she dropped down onto the cold floor. Her thin legs trembled. The flesh exposed by the gown was crisscrossed with old scars.
Neo had to brace herself against the bed to support her weight. Her whole body shook. Weiss had seen enough. She took a step forward despite Neo's earlier protestations. "Get back into bed. You're in no state to be up."
Few would have refused her when she addressed them in that tone. Neo was one of the few though. She bared her teeth and Weiss' vision swam. It was as if a thick, clouded window had been placed between them. Neo was still there, but her features were blurred.
Weiss shook her head and definition returned to her gaze. Under any other circumstances she was sure she would have been left wondering just how Neo had vanished, in these particular ones though, Neo had barely been able to sustain her Semblance for more than a few heartbeats.
She tried to make use of the distraction. The half a dozen feet between hers and Roman's beds was a chasm she obviously didn't trust herself to cross unaided. Slowly she worked her way along the various tables holding medical equipment.
For someone who had the strength of a qualified huntress her tottering was pitiful. Weiss couldn't bear to see anyone brought so low.
"Neo…"
She spun around, almost falling in the process, to find the pair of them staring at her. The shock on her face plainly stated she'd believed her Semblance had worked. Her outline blurred again, but this time it was only the slightest smudge.
"You're safe here," Weiss reiterated. "You don't need to escape."
Having finally reached Roman's bed Neo reached behind her, fishing for his hand laying atop the covers. No doubt she felt the numerous wires attached to it, but she shook it anyway. He didn't respond.
"You need rest." Weiss halted as Neo brandished the syringe in her direction again. There were tears in the corner of her eyes. No one liked being powerless; especially those who weren't used to it.
Neo's desperate shaking of Roman increased in intensity. This time she did get a reaction out of him; he spasmed against her touch.
"Stop! You're hurting him." Weiss moved forward intending to drag her away.
Neo froze. Incredibly slowly she turned around and for the first time got a good look at the person who was clearly so special to her. The syringe fell from her limp fingers. His numerous injuries were not a pleasant sight, but it could have been worse. At least Neo was spared that by the bandages.
The parts of his face skin that she could see were either scorched red or mottled black with bruising. Neo trembled and this time Weiss knew it was not with fatigue. She was terrified.
"It's going to be ok." It was a lie, there was no way Weiss could promise that, but it was a kind lie. Neo didn't believe it though, her imagination was running wild. No doubt she saw herself losing him, being alone in the cruel world.
The tears streaming down her face were silent, but they were no less powerful for it. Turning towards Weiss her face crumpled. Her hands shook as she signed.
"Help him," Mae translated.
Neo swallowed hard and opened her mouth. "Please," she begged. Even without being broken by grief, her voice was deeper than it should have been from such a tiny girl. It sounded as if it hadn't been used in years.
"I promise." Weiss managed to suppress her shock at the plea. A single word, hesitant and fragmented, but it had contained an entire world of feeling and desperation. Few things could have persuaded Neo to break her self-imposed silence; fear for Roman was one of them. "But he would want you to get better as well."
Neo looked at the floor. Weiss doubted she would ever hear another word from her. "Get into bed." She held out her hand for support. Neo was too proud to accept it, but she did take her advice. Slowly she shuffled back across the room, before hauling herself into her bed. She rolled over and buried her face in the soft pillow.
Weiss signalled Mae out of the room. This outpouring of pain was no place for outsiders. It resonated with a feeling deep inside Weiss. At this moment in time she understood Neo perfectly. It was with great care that Weiss drew the covers over her shuddering form. Neo flinched when she sensed someone so close. Weiss shushed her. She tucked Neo in and then she left her.
Ultimately everyone was alone in their grief, and just because Neo didn't make a sound as she wept, it didn't mean she was suffering any less.
A/N: So Neo has finally spoken. If you read Roman's Grotto you will know that her affliction is purely psychological, and here she found something which superseded her pain. On the other hand we saw both the Ice Queen, and Weiss. She is both very scary, and very sad. I hope you enjoyed.
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