A/N: Welcome back to my fic, glad to have you here! This chapter is a continuation of the previous chapter and will start right where it left off. After this, there's gonna be one more chapter that'll finish this mission and then we'll move on. For those of you who would prefer I move on to other topics a bit sooner, I apologize but you'll have to wait.
One more thing, even though I don't have a designated schedule, I have been updating within a certain time frame and since exams and final projects are coming up and being turned in, I just want to let people know in case this is updated a little less often than usual for a bit.
Anyways, with that said, enjoy the fic! Feedback and suggestions are appreciated!
There was some shuffling outside the room, before the door abruptly burst open as Qrow slammed his foot against it. "I'm back!" He called loudly as he shuffled over to his seat, a small belch leaving his mouth.
"Welcome back, Qrow." Ozpin greeted with a nod. "The rest of us were just setting up."
"Must you be so obnoxious, Qrow?" Glynda mumbled with a scowl, rubbing her temple as she glared at the scruffy Huntsman.
"I'd say he's been a ray of sunshine." Torchwick snarked which earned him an icy glare from Glynda. He flinched lightly but his grin never left his face.
"See?" Qrow pointed over to the crook with a smirk. "He gets it!" He said earning a frustrated growl from the Disciplinarian.
"Uhh… Uncle Qrow?" Yang asked with a little bit of sweat on her brow. "Maybe… Maybe don't antagonize Ms. Goodwitch?"
"Pfft!" He waved a dismissive hand in her direction. "Don't antagonize Ms. Goodwitch, she says. Kid, with the time you've been at Beacon, you should know that anything and everything will get under Glynda's skin. So why bother?" He shrugged as he finally reached his seat, promptly collapsing in it and leaning back.
"Well, I don't know about you but I'm ready to see how this is going to continue." Sun said with a grin.
"It would be… incredibly appreciated if we could start sometime soon." Weiss said, clearly nervous and with trepidation in her tone. Winter sighed at the sight but figured that her words wouldn't help Weiss any further.
"I believe we're all ready to begin…" Ozpin muttered as he glanced down at his remote.
"Yeah! Dad and Uncle Qrow to the rescue!" Ruby shouted with a cheery grin, her mood improved over their small break.
"As much as I hate to admit it, I'm also finding this interesting enough…" Ironwood mumbled with crossed arms, prompting Ozpin to roll his eyes.
"Let's begin then, shall we?" Ozpin asked as he let the viewing play from where they had left off.
Soon enough, Taiyang and Qrow made it to the river Savimbi had told them about. They flew along it's length for a few minutes as Qrow looked out on the scenery that consisted off murky waters and thick tropical jungle. Typical for Central and Southern America and several parts of Africa.
"Woah…" Jaune murmured, wide eyed. "That's a really nice view…"
"It looks like some of the regions back on Menagerie…" Blake mumbled with some hesitation. Everyone in the room knew she was a faunus, well now they did for sure, but that didn't make it feel any easier to say it out loud.
"I've never been so I can't say," Sun spoke up. "but if I had to compare it to somewhere, easily, it resembles the border between Vale and Vacuo best, where the desert starts coming in."
"It appears that Friend-Sun is more accurate in his comparison but Friend-Blake is also really close!" Penny spoke up with a smile which easily settled the debate but Sun frowned at the twitches underneath Blake's bow.
"Hey Blake, why don't you take off the bow?" Sun asked with a raised eyebrow. "It's not like anyone doesn't know that you're a faunus already."
Blake bristled slightly before answering. "I'm just…" She glanced over at Winter, Ironwood and Torchwick before responding. "not comfortable with taking it off yet."
"Oh give me a break!" Torchwick scowled. "Do you honestly think I care if you have a damn bow or not? If you friend is gonna blow a fuse, then just take it off so I can get back to the show." He said with a small twitch of irritation.
"Well, you did call the faunus at the docks animals…" Sun pointed out and Torchwick rolled his eyes.
"Oh for fu- It's because the White Fang are a bunch of fanatics who make it way too easy to piss them off! I hate them so why not make fun of them while they're at it, the best way to do so by the way, is to poke fun at their race!" He ignored the Atlesian Generals eye twitch.
"So… You don't hate faunus then…" Sun pointed out slowly as Torchwick rolled his eyes.
"Ding! Ding! Ding! Congratulations, Kid! You win the prize of not being a complete idiot!" He snarled but Sun took it in stride.
Blake glanced over at Winter who spoke up next. "Ms. Belladonna, despite my family name, I can assure you that I am not like my father. You will not find any discrimination from me, not when I work side by side with faunus soldiers and trainee's alike." While she held a cold look despite the small smile, it wasn't from malice, simply plain indifference. She could tell that the words were genuine…
"I… I'll think about it…" Blake decided.
Qrow was brought out of his musings by a shout from Taiyang. "We're coming on the convoy now!" He said and Qrow got ready, right as machine gun fire started pelting the helicopter.
Ruby yelped slightly from the abrupt sound of bullets hitting metal before her sister snickering beside her caused her to fall into giggles too.
"Damn helicopter is like a bullet magnet…" Torchwick grumbled, earning a snort from Qrow.
As they got close, Qrow saw the transport barge Savimbi described, with a few gun boats on it's flanks acting as the source of the enemy fire. "The barge matches Savimbi's intel!" Qrow shouted. "Winter should be inside!"
Immediately, Weiss brightened up both in relief and worry. "Finally!" She hissed, barely able to hold in her thoughts.
"Do they…" Winter mumbled as she eyed the barge. "Did they place me inside that… crate?" She asked incredulous.
"They did what?!" Weiss shrieked, some of the audience wincing at the volume and pitch.
"Is a crate really that bad…?" Neptune asked slowly.
"Not on it's own, no." Ironwood spoke up. "But it's a potential sign for poor conditions. We'll need to see..."
"Bring us alongside, Tai!" Qrow shouted as Tai moved to comply, flying past the gunboats as best he could to get closer to the main barge. "Dammit! Taking fire!" Tai said as he flew past. Qrow paled as he saw a rocket flying towards their helicopter.
"Well shit…" Roman muttered in surprise.
"Uncle Qrow, NO!" Yang shouted, her eyes flickering red briefly at the soldiers on the ship. A calloused hand ruffling her hair reminded her that she was getting angry over nothing. She let loose a calming breath before relaxing. "You're messing up my hair, Qrow." Yang said as she tilted her head back at her Uncle.
"If that's the price to get you to calm down, then I'll pay it." He snipped back. Yang couldn't help but chuckle softly.
He opened his mouth to shout out a warning but the missile had already smashed into the side of the helicopter, rocking the vehicle which nearly made Qrow fall out and into the river below but he managed to stabilize himself.
"Ouch!" Jaune winced. "That has got to hurt…"
"Is the helicopter going to be okay…?" Ren asked warily.
"From the looks of it, the helicopter is no longer operational but it wouldn't simply explode then and there." Ironwood said confidently which eased some worries. "Qrow and Taiyang should have more than enough time to jump if they need to."
Torchwick grimaced, memories of the night he met Little Red surfacing. He stumbled and nearly fell out of a bullhead the exact same way thanks to the Vice-Headmistress sat not too far from him. "Nice job not falling and eating shit." He said, trying to distract himself from the annoyance crawling at the back of his mind.
Qrow didn't notice his irritation and just grinned. "It's a gift."
"Shit! We're going down!" Tai shouted as the helicopter began to descend.
Tai had luckily managed to bring the helicopter close enough to the barge, allowing Qrow to jump to it. "Jump, Qrow!" Tai shouted and Qrow did as he asked, leaping from the aircraft and hitting the deck, before falling into a roll.
Yang snorted. "Nice landing strategy, Qrow."
"Hey, don't mock your Uncle, you hear me?" Qrow grumbled back and she snickered along with Ruby but Qrow couldn't stop the small grin from showing.
Qrow winced as something smacked him in the side of the head, before said something fell into his lap. It was a scroll, he noticed, which he picked up. There was a message on it, which he promptly read. '10/10'. Qrow scowled and turned to the short stack with Torchwick, who gave him a thumbs up and a shit eating grin.
He grumbled as he turned back around, the fact that he knew she was laughing at him made it worse.
As Qrow stopped tumbling, he had a moment to see the helicopter burst into flames before it crashed into the water but that was all he could do before an MPLA soldier charged him, his machete raised high.
"Dad!" Ruby shouted with concern etched all over her face.
"I'm sure he's fine, Ms. Rose." Ozpin tried comforting her to a limited amount of success.
"Oz is right, kid. Your dad is a tough cookie. He'll be just fine." Qrow said with a small smile. It seemed that had done the trick.
Torchwick absently noticed that Neo had perked up slightly. If he knew her like he thought he did, which he did, as a woman who roots for and also was an underdog herself, he could probably guess that Neo was wondering if Qrow would be able to get out of this whole thing unscathed.
The soldier swung down but Qrow caught the fist the soldier held the machete with, effectively stopping his attack, before his own fist crashed into the man's left cheek. Qrow used the opening to pry the machete free, before swinging it and embedding it into the side of man's head, blood gushing from the wound as he went limp.
A majority of the theater cringed at the sight. While they had gotten slightly more used to the sight of blood and gore at this point, it still left a poor taste in their mouths.
"Ugh… That's… really, really gruesome…" Yang muttered, her face scrunched up in discomfort.
"You can say that again…" Blake said with a similar tone of unease.
"You get used to it sooner or later kiddos." Torchwick commented, causing some to turn to him with mild glares.
"Somehow, that doesn't make me feel much better." Weiss shot back with half lidded eyes.
Qrow looked to his side and breathed a sigh of relief as he saw Tai climb onto the barge, unharmed from the crash, before pulling the machete free and pushing the now dead man to the side, allowing himself to stand.
Yang and Ruby simultaneously breathed out sighs of relief. "Guess you two were right… He is okay." Yang said as her hand gripped Ruby's shoulder lightly.
"What did I tell ya, kids? When I said he's a tough cookie, I meant it." Qrow responded with s chuckle.
Ozpin only sipped his cocoa as he looked on fondly.
"Clear the decks!" Tai shouted as a firefight between the two elite CIA agents and the inexperienced and under-trained MPLA soldiers. Within a few minutes, the deck was clear of all hostiles. "Deck's clear!" Tai shouted, confirming what Qrow already knew.
"I like this version of you more, Qrow." Ironwood said, turning towards the man. "Efficient, concise, focused…" He adopted a look in between a grimace and a smirk. "sober…" He immediately regretted the jab at the look on Qrow's face.
"Screw you, Jimmy!" The drunk snapped, mildly irritated causing Winter to narrow her eyes.
"Show the General some respect, Qrow!" The Elder Schnee demanded.
Qrow snarled and opened his mouth, before taking a deep breath and snapping it with a click. He simply chose to look away with a grumble. 'Not here… Not with Ruby and Yang…' He thought.
"Winter, please, it was in poor taste…" Ironwood placated her. She grumbled a bit but inevitably quieted. He turned towards Qrow.
"I'm sorry, Qrow." Qrow's eyes widened slightly, before he sighed.
"Alright…" He accepted, before both looked back towards the screen.
A few bullets whizzed past Qrow's head and pelted the container behind him. His head snapped to the river and he saw the gunboat transports from before, their MG's trained on them once more. "Shit! We've got gunboats right on our tail!" Tai shouted as he ran for cover.
"Interesting design…" Ozpin commented with a sip from his mug.
"Crude and cheap but effective in it's design I'd say." Ironwood offered, to whom Ozpin returned with a nod.
"Doesn't Qrow have a rocket launcher though? Hard to imagine they'll really be a problem." Yang stated.
"You are correct Friend-Yang." Penny spoke up. "If my calculations are correct, the design and material of the enemy boats will result in their momentary destruction." She finished with a small smile.
"Why does she keep speaking like that?" Yang whispered to Ruby as quietly as she could.
"I don't know!" Ruby hissed back. "She's just quirky I guess!"
Little did they know, Penny had heard them, a contemplative frown now on her face.
"They ain't going to let us go without a fight!" Tai said as he aimed his weapon, an FN FAL battle rifle, and returned fire. "They're coming alongside! There are mounted MG's on each side of the barge!" Tai shouted, pointing to the one closest to Qrow.
"Something tells me there are gonna be a lot of explosions…" Sun mumbled with an eager grin. A good portion of the audience seemed to agree.
Qrow glanced to the left and spotted the mounted MG Tai pointed to by the railing. With a smirk, he ran up to it and aimed, before he opened fire on the gunboat now pulling up along the barge. The high caliber rounds punching holes into the gunboats hull, before it exploded in a shower of metal and machinery. "Keep firing on them! Don't let them get aboard!" Tai shouted as more gunboats joined the fight.
"YES! WOO-HOO!" Nora shouted at the fiery explosion.
"Nora, please…" Ren pleaded with her but as was typical for the red-headed girl, she ignored Ren completely.
"Maybe you should just let her enjoy herself for a little while?" Pyrrha offered with a small and significantly sly smile.
Ren only sighed. "Maybe…" He admitted, before leaning back in his seat.
As Qrow kept showering the enemy with bullets, the gunboats kept exploding. Empty bullet casing poured out from the MG and rained onto the deck rapidly as Qrow chewed through his ammunition, destroy gunboat after gunboat. "Keep firing on those damn gunboats!" Tai shouted, encouraging Qrow to keep firing as he did the same.
"Gotta hand it to you, you're making quick work of those things." Torchwick admitted begrudgingly.
"Of course he is!" Ruby shouted at the crook. "Uncle Qrow is the best!" By the look on Yang's face, she wholeheartedly agreed.
While Qrow himself smiled warmly at the sight, Torchwick looked towards Neo with a raised eyebrow. She simply lifted her hand and waved it in the 'meh' gesture. He just shrugged.
Qrow smirked as he glanced at the last remaining gunboats, before pulling the trigger once more only to gasp as his MG only let out a pathetic whirring noise, refusing to fire. Qrow glanced at it and noted that the barrel was overheated and as red as a hot iron straight from the forge.
Ruby gasped in horror before abruptly whirling in her seat. "Uncle Qrow, how could you?!" She shouted. "What did that weapon ever do to you for you to treat it so carelessly?!"
Qrow actually looked nervous when he responded. "I'm trying to save Winter, Kiddo… I think human lives take more priority over a weapon…" Ruby didn't back down.
"That's no excuse!" She shouted, her eyes ablaze. "If you had taken the proper precautions, the weapon would still work and you could use it to save Winter!"
Weiss blinked dumbly. "Is this still Ruby? Where's her usual… fumbling dolt self?" She asked, turning towards Blake.
"I… I don't know…" She responded.
"Huh…" Torchwick hummed as he stared at Ruby in bewilderment. "Didn't think Little Red could be so feisty."
It was then that Ruby noticed that she had the entire theaters attention, promptly realized what she had just done and to whom she had done it, before her face erupted in a blush so furious that her whole head reminisced of her cloak.
"Ah, there it is." Weiss said as the members of Team JNPR, bar Nora who cackled, chuckled lightly at the young leaders antics.
He scowled let go of the MG, before grabbing his RPG and running to the barge's stern. He crouched on one knee and aimed, before firing. For a moment it looked like he had missed but in it's haste to dodge, the gunboat veered right into the rockets path, which smashed against the hull but it wasn't out of the fight yet.
"And that..." Glynda spoke up as she readjusted her glasses. "Is why you never panic in a combat situation." Team's RWBY and JNPR shivered as Glynda's glare hit the backs of their heads.
Torchwick chuckled as Neo held up a conjured illusion of a sign, thanks to her semblance, which somewhat childishly read 'Pretty lights...'
Right before the gunboat could pull up, a second rocket from Qrow's RPG blew it up, sending the burning hull to the bottom of the river. The last Gunboat was still a distance away, so Qrow got into cover as the MG pelted the two CIA agents.
"That was kinda mean." Yang spoke up with a smirk. "Did you have to let them pull up before blowing up the boat, Uncle Qrow?"
"I don't exactly time these things, Yang." Qrow chuckled.
Once it got closer, Qrow fired his RPG again but the rocket missed, causing Qrow to grunt in frustration. He calmed quickly before firing again, this time managing to get a direct hit but he wasn't able to stop them from pulling up alongside the barge.
"Huh, some grunts that actually have decent coordination and driving skills…" Torchwick glanced at Qrow with a grin, a mischievous glint in his eye. "Or, you know, Qrow is just a piss poor shot."
"Hey!" Qrow shouted as he turned towards the crook. Winter and Ozpin particularly had to hold themselves back from an outburst. "A rocket launcher isn't exactly my weapon of choice you know!"
"Like I said. Lousy shot." Torchwick repeated. Qrow snarled and turned away as Neo held up an illusion of a childish drawing of Qrow missing a target at point blank range.
"HA! That's amazing, can I have that?" Yang asked with mirth in her eyes. Neo simply nodded with a smirk before getting to work on drawing a picture for real.
"Should I ask where you got the paper from? Cause I know it wasn't your semblance." He said. Neo simply shook her head with a grin.
As the MPLA soldiers began to board, they paled when they spotted Qrow, a smirk on his face and his RPG pointed right at them. They didn't even have enough time to scream before their gunboat exploded. Qrow turned to Tai with a smirk. "That's the last of the gunboats!"
"Heh…" Qrow chuckled at the sight.
"Ruby…" Nora began slowly as she turned towards the younger girl. "Your Uncle… is AMAZING!" She finally screamed, a few wincing at the abrupt change in volume.
"Your friend knows how it is." Qrow chuckled, sending her an approving smirk and a wink. Nora promptly gasped in excitement.
Jaune patted Ren's shoulder apologetically.
Tai only shook his head in exasperation. "Okay, Qrow. We're clear." he said before turning towards the large container in the middle of the barge. "Open up the container!" He said, the two of them moving to do so.
"They've done it…" Ironwood noted as he leaned forward in anticipation. "Assuming this… Savimbi characters information is correct, Winter should be inside."
"That's good! No, that's great!" Weiss shouted with a large smile as she turned towards her big sister. "That means they can finally rescue you!"
"That's right, Weiss." Winter smiled but it didn't quite reach her eyes.
"You okay?" Qrow asked with a raised eyebrow, not particularly concerned.
"Of course." Winter said with irritation. 'I just have a bad feeling…' She thought as she turned away.
"Give me a hand with this, Qrow!" Tai shouted as the both of them grabbed onto the container door's latches before pulling them with an ear piercing shriek of metal grinding against metal, the door unlocking as they did so.
Winter's unease only grew as the audience's anticipation grew, Weiss especially bouncing on her seat similarly to her team leader with glee, relief and joy. She just knew that something was going to go wrong. Looking around, she noted that Ozpin, Ironwood and Qrow in particular seemed to share her unsure thoughts if she read their faces correctly.
The two looked at each other and nodded, before simultaneously prying the doors open. As soon as they did so, a blast of the most foul stench either of them had ever smelt hit them full force, causing both men to cover their noses and recoil in disgust.
"Oh my god…" Taiyang said as we waved the smell away, coughing in the meantime.
"That… isn't a good sign…" Neptune commented as the trepidation in the room grew.
"Course it isn't. A whole squad stuffed into a metal container in a place with a climate comparable to Vacuo or Menagerie?" Torchwick asked dryly. "Obviously it'll smell bad."
"I guess that's a fair point…" Ruby spoke up timidly. "But would it smell that bad?"
"No…" Ozpin said, the look in his eyes causing some to shiver. "No, it wouldn't"
Qrow and Tai looked into the dark container only to grimace in disgust and horror. Inside the container were two to three dozen rotting corpses, all of them dressed in military uniform, even if a few were only half dressed. Dozens of flies buzzed around in the container, feeding on the rotting corpses and blood was splattered all over the walls and the floors.
"WINTER!" The shriek of absolute horror came from Weiss as tears spilled from her eyes, her hands flying up to her mouth to push back the bile from the sight as her breathing quickened to a dangerous level.
Winter didn't say anything. She stood up and raced to her younger sisters side, before wrapping her arms around her. The younger girl immediately buried her face into her sisters chest as Winter shushed the younger girl and stroked her hair.
"Dear god…" Ironwood muttered wide eyed as he stared on.
Qrow put a hand over his mouth to try and ease the feeling of nausea. Hearing Ruby and that Jaune kid spilling their stomachs contents told him they didn't have nearly as much luck but they both must have somehow thrown up into a bag or container if the sound was anything to go by.
"What… What the hell?" Yang muttered, wide eyed as a few tears from the sheer sight gathered in her eyes.
"This… This is inhumane I- Who… Who is responsible for this?!" Glynda roared as she stood from her seat, aghast and disgusted from the sight as her expression broadcast her fury. A hand wrapping around her grip brought her fury on Ozpin, who only shook his head solemnly.
"Winter…" Qrow called out with trepidation. "Are you in there?!"
The mention of her sister's name only worsened Weiss condition as she readjusted her death grip on Winter, assuring herself that her sister was fine and with her but that sight, the thought of something so horrible happening to someone so close to her, she couldn't bear it.
Tai grimaced as he stepped forward, his boot squelching as it stepped into a mix of dried human body fluids. "Bodies are badly decomposed… These men have been dead for weeks…" He stated. Qrow swore under his breath but he was undeterred.
"Shit…" Qrow hissed. "I'm not one for military men but… Those men deserve the rest they're getting…"
"Agreed…" Ironwood muttered before sighing tiredly. "To think something like this exists at all… Even during The Great War they didn't force prisoners into conditions so awful..."
Blake's ears twitched at the sight, before lowering flat against her skull as she leaned back from the screen, as if trying to distance herself from the sight onscreen. Everything she was seeing made the things Adam did seem tame… And as she thought about it, some deaths, stealing dust and destroying SDC facilities didn't seem nearly as bad as… as that! She reached up and untied her bow from her ears, letting them metaphorically breath before bringing the bow up to her face. She wondered what Adam would say at the sight of something like this...
The two stepped over a few bodies before coming to one lying on their side. The body looked vaguely feminine with a tuft of white hair. "Winter…?" Qrow asked, his voice almost a whisper as Tai kneeled down next to the body.
Weiss looked up, wide eyed before snapping her gaze towards the screen so violently that she almost got whiplash. "Weiss, no!" Winter tried to get her to look away but she resisted. She needed to see this as much as it pained her. "Please, be alive…! Please…!"
Ren found his situation reversed. Where perhaps half an hour ago he was the one being comforted by Nora, now it was his turn as his best friend clung to him like Weiss did to her sister. He couldn't read his thoughts but by the look on Nora's face he could tell what she was thinking. He stroked her shoulder gently and pressed himself closer, a message to her. 'That won't happen to either of us.'
With a bit of hesitation, Tai rolled the body onto it's back. While the body was just as badly decomposed as the others, with it's face frozen in an expression of agony, it was not Winter Schnee.
"Oh… Oh thank god…! Thank god!" Weiss broke down into relieved tears at the sight, pressing her face back into Winter's chest. She felt horrible that she was so relieved but she was just so happy that it wasn't Winter.
Both men, despite themselves, breathed a small sigh of relief even though they knew they shouldn't have. It was selfish of them but Winter was their top priority.
Qrow looked over Tai's shoulder and froze as he spotted another body. This one, while also in a horrible state and covered in wounds and filth, was in much better condition compared to the other ones. It was easy to identify them as a woman but what made Qrow freeze was the long white hair that flowed down the woman's shoulders. "Winter?!" Qrow shouted as he rushed forward, unable to contain himself.
"That's her…!" Ironwood murmured as he leaned forward.
"Winter?!" Weiss yelled as she looked at the screen once more. She was still absolutely worried but the tone of Qrow's voice told her she might be alive. Or at least that's what she told herself.
"This is some dark stuff, huh Neo…?" Torchwick murmured before sparing a glance at his partner, the tricolor girl nodding back at him with a slightly wide-eyed and open mouth look.
Qrow placed a hand on Winter's shoulder. She twitched, before her eyes snapped open and she flailed around with a startled cry, her bloodshot ice blue eyes snapping around wildly. Now that Qrow was closer, he could see the extent of her injuries. She had a several bloody bruises and pores on the left side of her face and her left forearm looked as if the skin was flailed from it. Aside from that she had dozens of cuts, bruises, scraps and a whole plethora of other injuries, with an incredibly high chance of infection from all the dirt and grime all over her.
"She's alive…! She's alive, she's alive! You- you're hurt but you're alive!" Weiss mumbled as she devolved into incoherent sobbing and babbling against her sisters chest. Had she noticed Winter's poor state, it was overpowered by the sheer relief that her sister was alive and breathing.
Winter herself looked shocked for lack of a batter word. She had been a Specialist for a decent amount of time, a little over half a decade, but she had never been in a situation even remotely similar to what her alternate self was in. She grimaced at the sight, the thought of some of the Faunus in Jacques's Dust mines coming to the front of her mind. She wondered what some of the more extremist members of the White Fang would say to the sight of this… Of one of the Schnee line is such a state...
"WINTER!" Qrow shouted, trying to get her attention. He placed is hands on her shoulders again and her eyes snapped to him. "It's me! It's me, Qrow!" It took her a few seconds for the words and the face looking at her to register in her head, but once she realized who it was, a look of pure relief and gratitude melted her fear away as her eyes watered from long unshed tears.
"She looks so… relieved…" Ruby's soft, childlike voice cut through the air like a knife through butter. If one paid attention, they could hear her voice waver and crack from her emotions at the sight.
"I would be too…" Blake mumbled to her team leader. "This is… all of this is horrible…"
Yang wrapped a hand around Ruby's shoulder, before squishing the younger girl against her in a warm embrace. "I'm not sure you should be watching this, Rubes…" She said and while Ruby sniffled and pressed her face into her sisters shoulder, she didn't keep it there.
"No… No, I… I'll have to face things like this some day…" She said and despite the tears in her eyes and the wavering of her voice, her silver eyes shown with resolve. She didn't mask the small smirk that stretched her lips as she spoke quietly. "Besides, this isn't technically real, right? It only looks real…"
Yang chuckled softly while stroking her sisters head. "Yeah… You're right Rubes… I don't like it, but you're right..."
She reached out her right arm and placed it on Qrow's chest as if to make sure she wasn't hallucinating while forcing herself not to cry, before she collapsed from her exhaustion once more. "What did they do to her, Tai…?" Qrow asked as both of them grabbed Winter's arms and hauled her up.
Qrow's sorrowful gaze snapped to Winter as she softly cleared her throat before looking over to him. "I… I realize that this is an irrational thought considering our circumstances but… I feel the need to express my gratitude. Even if it isn't technically you who deserves it, or I who needs to show it…" She said, her face tired and sorrowful as her arms were still wrapped around Weiss who had calmed considerably.
"Yeah… Yeah, I… I get it, Winter…" Qrow responded, somewhat uncertainly as he rubbed a hand on the back of his neck. "I know what you mean and I think I might be able to relate in a way…" Winter's eyebrows raised as Qrow trailed off, before shaking his head. "But don't thank me or the other me until you're, technically your other self, is home safe…" Winter gaped slightly, before nodding and looking back towards the screen.
Goodwitch subtly watched the two with interest, musing their lack of their usual immature fighting and taunting, replaced by what could only be compassion and respect. 'Perhaps, despite the horrid things we are viewing, it may have some good things to come of it…' She thought as she idly noticed the air between the two of them had cleared somewhat.
They placed her arms around their necks and shoulders as they began to drag her out of the container before the sound of a helicopter approaching made their heads snap to the direction of the sound.
"You've gotta be kidding me…" Qrow mumbled, before clenching his fist with a mumbled swear under his breath.
"Another helicopter…?" Jaune whispered before forcing a nervous smile. "Maybe it's a friendly one and it'll be able to take them home?"
Torchwick and Neo gave the kid a deadpan and unamused look. "Kid, you and I both know that you're not that naive…" Roman snorted as Jaune seemed to slump slightly.
"Alright, I guess you got me… Yeah…" He muttered dejectedly but a hand on his shoulder and a smile courtesy of Pyrrha cheered him up. He could tell she appreciated the effort, even if it was for Weiss and Winter and not herself.
A second later, missiles and bullets started raining down on the neck, the stern of the barge getting completely destroyed in the first salvo. "Shit! We got a Hind right on us!" Tai yelled.
"Get Winter to cover!" Qrow shouted as they made it out of the container, Tai moving to do as he was asked. "Come on Winter!" He said as he threw the injured and exhausted woman over his shoulder.
Despite himself, Qrow couldn't help but snort. "How's it feel to be a sack of potatoes?" He chuckled slightly at the face she made.
"Unless you would like to experience that for yourself, you'll shut your mouth." She said and even though Qrow didn't take her threat too seriously, he knew she wouldn't be afraid to go through with it so he did as she asked but didn't bother wiping the smirk from his face.
"That arms crate is a gold mine! Grab the TGM!" Tai shouted and Qrow didn't need to be told twice. He made a mad dash for a nearby rocket launcher on the ground, the same one that used homing missiles to bring down their own helicopter. He picked it up and whirled, quickly aiming the weapon up and firing it. The guided missile met it's mark, exploding against the side of the helicopter, damaging it, but not destroying it.
"Quite an efficient weapon…" Ozpin noted as Ironwood smiled familiarly.
"It reminds me of one of the weapons one of my Ace Operatives uses… Although, it lacks the lock on and homing function like this rocket launcher possesses, if I remember right." Ironwood hummed in contemplation. "Perhaps it might be a good idea to develop a weapon with a similar function, I don't believe we currently have one capable of something like that specifically."
"You'd think the Great and Mighty Atlas would have a weapon capable of locking onto a target when a technologically inferior universe does." Torchwick chuckled with a sly smirk. "Ironic."
Despite the tense and sorrowful atmosphere, a good portion of the audience snorted and chuckled at the quip, namely Qrow and Ozpin.
"Take it down! Blow it out of the sky, Qrow!" Tai shouted and Qrow obliged.
He fired a second rocket which the helicopter nearly managed to dodge, but ultimately was enough to knock the helicopter out. The smoke from the previous hit turned into roaring flames as the helicopter exploded and spiraled out of control. Right as it did so, the barge knocked against something which threw Qrow off of his feet. "Dammit, we've run aground!" Tai shouted through his radio.
Pyrrha chuckled nervously. "I just realized I might have forgotten there was no one steering the barge…"
"It seems that Taiyang and Qrow did as well so there's no harm done, Ms. Nikos." Ruby, Yang and even Winter giggled at the sputtering look and Qrows face.
"Oz… Why…?" Qrow asked with a betrayed look.
Ozpin simply took a long sip of his hot cocoa.
Qrow just managed to pull himself to his knees and peer over the railing to see the helicopter crash into some nearby huts, the resulting explosion starting a small fire and completely destroying the crudely built buildings.
"Oof…" Sun winced, although he held onto a small smile. "The guys who built those aren't gonna be too happy."
"And by the sound of the explosion, any enemy soldier in the area will most likely know where Qrow, Tai and Winter are." Ironwood noted with a concerned and serious gaze.
Sun only chuckled nervously. "That's… not good…" He settled on.
Neptune only groaned, before looking over at the rest of the theater. "Ignore him, for he knows not what he says." That earned a few giggles out of RWBY and JNPR, especially Blake who covered her mouth to hide her smile.
"Winter is going under, Qrow!" Tai's startled shout brought him out of his stupor and his gaze snapped to the river, "I'll get her!" He shouted, before vaulting the railing and diving into the water.
"WHAT?!" Weiss, who had more or less calmed down and stayed wrapped in her sister's arms, flinched and her eyes locked onto the screen, before snapping his gaze to Qrow. "You better save her, you drunk hooligan!" She shouted.
Qrow sputtered and growled as Winter, Torchwick and Neo chuckled at his expense, he decided to stomp down any anger as he realized what the younger Schnee must have been going through. "Don't sweat it, kid." Qrow replied with a semi-forced smile but Weiss seemed to be at least a little mollified by it.
"Uhh…" Nora wondered with what amounted to a confused smile as she glanced over at Neptune's wide eyed face and trembling hands. "What's wrong with-" Before she could finish, Neptune leapt out of his seat and vaulted over it, shielding himself from the TV.
"What was that?!" Nora laughed, although not as boisterously as usual due to the tension, even if it was slowly dissipating.
"Neptune is uh… He's, well… afraid of water." Sun managed to say after mulling over his words.
"What…?" Ren mumbled quietly as Ruby and Yang snickered, the later of which was sure Weiss would have had an amazing look of confusion and anger at the irony of Neptune's fear.
"His name is Neptune…" Torchwick stated as one of his eye's twitched
"He uses a Trident as a weapon…" Blake continued, equally as exasperated.
"And he's afraid of... water…?" Qrow finished as he took a look at his flask, wondering if it's contents were really something he should have drank so much of.
"That about sums it up." Sun gave them a thumbs up.
The theater was all quiet for not even two seconds before the entire theater began to laugh at different levels of mirth. The Professors and Atlas personnel simply chuckled with amusement while Torchwick, Neo and the rest of the students laughed boisterously, bar Ren, Weiss and Nora, who kept quiet but fought an up twitch in his lips, couldn't decide on bewilderment, mirth or anger and cackled as much as her breath allowed, respectively.
It was safe to say that Neptune was not having a good time.
Once he was submerged, it took a few seconds but he quickly found Winter's limp body slowly sinking into the river. He swam down after and grabbed her, before hauling her to the surface. Once they were above water, Qrow leaned Winter against him so she could breathe as they started their short swim to the shore.
Qrow snorted good-naturedly as he heard Weiss sigh with relief. "Told you, kid. Don't got anything to worry about."
"I'm less worried for my health and safety when I'm not in your vicinity." Winter stated, deadpan and while Qrow slumped in his seat, defeated, Weiss allowed herself a small giggle which made Winter beam, although she quickly hid it away.
As they swam, Qrow was forced to back stroke, giving both himself and Winter a great view of the barge which had tilted to one side and begun to sink into the river. He grimaced as Winter let out a few deep, raspy coughs.
"That doesn't sound very promising." Ozpin commented as he took a sip of cocoa. "It's quite possible your alternate self has a few illnesses if the dirt on your injuries is anything to go by… Although I'm not sure which disease specifically." He suddenly stiffened and broke out into a cold sweat as the manifestation of the souls of the damned glared at him.
"Ozpin... Do you truly believe it is a good idea to say such… negative… things when the girl has finally cheered up?" Glynda asked icily, her smile so fake even Torchwick was impressed, causing Ozpin to swallow nervously.
"It is possible I… I might have made some… hasty decisions that-" He flinched as Glynda shifted slightly. "And I promise to be leagues more cautious next time." He blurted out, before holding in the sighs of all sighs as Glynda turned away with a satisfied nod.
As the two of them made it to the shore, Tai spoke up. "We've probably attracted the attention of every MPLA foot soldier in the area." He said, turning to Qrow with a grave look. "We need to move!" He said, gesturing towards the somewhat hidden path ahead of them.
"Looks like Jimmy-" "General." "I will call you Jimmy and you will like it!" Qrow huffed as Ironwoods interruption as Ozpin held in a sigh, Torchwick just laughing openly. "Like I was saying… I'm going to give credit where credit is due and say you were right."
"I… I see. Thank you, then." Ironwood responded uncertainly.
"It's not going to be easy to get through that Jungle though…" Blake noted, Sun nodding in agreement.
"Jungle and desert are the hardest terrain to traverse. I have a feeling those two can handle it, though." He said with a smile.
"Yeah!" Ruby piped up with a fist thrown into the air. "Uncle Qrow is the best! If anyone is able to, it'll be him!" Qrow smiled at the confidence in her tone and the thumbs up Yang flashed him.
Qrow got to his feet and grabbed Winter's arm, before slugging her over his shoulder and wrapping his left hand around her abdomen. The two then slowly started their march into the jungle, Tai's weapon raised in preparation for a fight that hopefully wouldn't come.
They made it to a small drop off but it was enough to hamper their progress due to Winter's state. Tai climbed up first, before turning to help Winter up. "Come on Winter, I've got you... I got you." Tai said as the two of them pushed her up and over the ledge, Qrow following right after. Winter let out a few more raspy coughs as Qrow picked her up once more before they kept moving.
"I'm sorry…" Weiss began as she looked over to Ozpin. "Is it alright if we take a small break? I think I need to… think for a bit." She said with an apologetic looked plastered over her flushed face and puffy eyes.
"Of course, Miss Schnee. I wouldn't be much of a Professor if I didn't know when to sit down and rest for a moment. Go on, we'll wait until you're ready." Ozpin heard Torchwick mumbled something about his words being a 'bold assumption', but a quiet, pained hiss from something jabbing him in the side, presumably from Neo, shut him up with a grumble.
"I- Thank you." Weiss said as she stood up from her seat and quietly left the room.
"I think I'll join her." Winter said matter-of-factually, before following Weiss through the same door she left through.
"So… We gonna talk thoughts now?" Qrow asked rhetorically.
"If everyone is okay with it." Ozpin didn't need to turn to know that Torchwick had raised a hand but another sharp hiss was all that came of it before silence returned for a few more moments.
"All of that was… pretty gruesome and scary, if I'm being honest." Ruby spoke up with a sheepish frown. "But I'm glad we're watching this… If this is all something I'll… We'll, have to get used to when we become huntresses, then I'm okay with it." She said, her uncertainty waning, before all but vanishing by the time her words were done.
"Well, isn't this heartwarm-" "Oh I'm so proud of you Ruby!" Yang interrupted Roman's cynicism with a bear hug that would have crushed Ruby's internal organs were it not for her aura.
"I agree, it isn't a bad way of looking at all of this." Pyrrha spoke up with a warm smile.
Ironwood hummed in contemplation, before glancing at Ozpin. "I have to compliment you. Your students seem much more mature then most their own age."
"Perhaps." Ozpin relented, before glancing at Ruby dying from a lack of air inside Yang's arms as Nora cackled at the sight. "But I believe they still have a ways to go."
"Weiss?" Winter asked softly as she entered the restroom. As the door opened, she saw her younger sister staring at herself in the mirror, looking over her face and trying to clean up. Weiss turned as she heard Winter call her name.
"Hello, Winter…" She said with a small smile, but it didn't quite reach her eyes.
"Weiss… Are you… Is everything okay?" Winter asked softly. She frowned as Weiss didn't respond for a few moments before eventually sighing.
"I don't know…" She said, her voice wavering slightly. "But I think I will be…" Despite the assurance, that didn't stop Winter from walking up to Weiss and trapping her in a gentle hug, who did nothing to resist and eagerly returned the embrace. Weiss sniffled once as she placed her chin on Winter's shoulder.
"I-I'm sorry… I should be stronger than this… It isn't proper for a Schnee to-"
"Quiet." Winter commanded somewhat harshly as Weiss mouth snapped with a click. Winter sighed, before speaking. "It's okay for you to express yourself Weiss and it absolutely isn't okay for you to hold in your feelings." She pulled them apart, before placing her hands on Weiss's shoulder. "I'm glad that you didn't and I am very proud of you for being able to look at something like that."
"Winter…" Weiss murmured softly as tears gathered in her eyes once more.
"You may be a Schnee… But you are also a human being, Weiss. You have ambitions, motivations and feelings. Don't throw those away just because of our family name. There's all the time in the world to dedicate yourself to the greater good, weather that be your training to be a Huntsman or your preparations to inherit the company… I'm sure you can enjoy yourself, at least for a little while. And as you do so, I'll be here with and for you, Weiss." She smiled warmly as Weiss renewed their hug, pressing her head to Winters shoulder and letting out quiet, muffled sobs.
"Once you've calmed down… How about you tell me about your time at Beacon? Perhaps you've picked up some new hobbies but I can already tell you've made some new friends. I would love to hear anything you have to tell me." Winter felt Weiss nod against her shoulder softly, before she simply closed her eyes and enjoyed her sisters embrace.
A/N: The second part of Pyrrhic Victory is done, the final part is on the way, I think this is turning out pretty good.
I'd also like to apologize if any of the cast seem a little OC, Winter in particular this time around. In Volume 3 canon, while Winter was shown to be warm, she could also be cold and harsh and that's not something I showed for what I believe was understandable reasons but I'm not sure how the rest of you feel.
Since Winter was in an enclosed space (The theater) either with people she knows or with people she doesn't really care about, she didn't see a reason to put on a sort of professional mask. (Not like kids could do much and I get Roman was there but I doubt he'd make a fuss out of anything either. He's just tryna chill.) It could be argued she doesn't really have one in the first place but in the show she seemed to act MUCH warmer and friendlier when she was alone with Weiss when compared to with other people, but that's just me. There was also the fact that Weiss was crying her heart out due to watching a heavily mutilated and injured version of Winter on screen, so I felt there wasn't really a reason for Winter to go on the whole "Stop whining and get better" spiel she does with Weiss sometimes, even if there wasn't any training going on, which is when that usually happened.
Tbh, that's probably gonna be a trend for this fic. While I will try to keep characters as in character as I possibly can, there are some aspects of some of the characters that literally wouldn't allow this whole viewing session to happen. (I.E. Ozpin shutting it down if they were to learn about his past or Salem just nuking everyone lmao) So while I will make the characters reactions and actions as close to what I believe their real, in character reactions will be, I'll probably alter some things too.
Regardless of my unease due to Winter, I'm NOT unhappy with her and I'm fairly satisfied with this chapter, but, like I said in the AN at the top, I'd like to know what all of you think. That said, I'll see all of you when the next chapter is out.