YOO GUUUUYS! We don't own RWBY! And I hope you leave an awesome review! Special thanks to Kuchenjaeger for helping us fix and improve the German in this story!
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To Jay aka Jordan:
Yep, it's about to get serious! I'm glad you liked it! Dark's been trying to figure out the perfect way to put it in there. He really likes your ideas. :D Ren is pretty awesome, he's like Super Ninja! HAHA I love your idea of how Weiss and Winter interact, my brother seems to as well. The Blake bit would be awesome to see, maybe I can convince him to write it.
To Vanitas Lunar:
Here's the next chapter! Yep, those two really should be more considerate, but your right they stay on each other's nerves! I'm glad you liked Sleepy Ruby and how she woke up Weiss! XD So do we! I think he's actually Ruby's real Dad and the reason he isn't called that is because he was on some super long mission and when he came back he didn't want her to get confused by taking her away from Tai. Or something like that. Lol I can't wait for your next chapter! EEEEEEPPPPPPPP!
To jaffa3:
Yep! I wanted to but Dark wanted to go a different route. Don't worry, we both like that theory too! Thanks and I hope you enjoy this chapter!
To Yaksher:
Maaaayyybeee~
To New Universe Returns:
Will do!
To EndlessChains:
Thanks, as always we're glad you liked it! I'm glad you appreciated the different twists in the last chapter. As for Winter, well you'll see!
To proverbsrus:
AWESOME! Thanks for subscribing! XD I'll make sure the adorableness keeps going!
To manticore-gurl071134:
Thanks!
To RWBY Fan Mode:
YEP! Thanks, and I'm glad you liked Ren's idea. You'll find out about the Maiden later. Mwahaha!
To PupOnDRun:
I actually love and support that theory but for this story Dark wanted to take a different turn with it. I hope you like how this chapter turns out!
To Bob:
Thanks for your review! :D
To Shadow Nightblade:
It usually is because of that exact reason! Let's hope your right! :D Enjoy the chapter and tell us what you think next!
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Blake watched as Yang stabbed at her food, the blonde's eyes showing hints of red as the two teams sat around the table eating dinner. Qrow and Winter had left after twenty minutes, Blake telling them with a cold tone they should meet tomorrow when everyone was calmer. Qrow had agreed, surprising everyone when he had glared at Winter until she agreed. After they had left, Pyrrha had offered to cook, making an easy Mistral dish that was quickly vanishing from the plate she served it on despite the tense atmosphere.
"I think it'd be best if we let you guys handle this." Jaune spoke up, breaking the silence and earning looks of confusion from his friends as he pushed his plate back and took a long sip from his glass. "As much as I want to be there and argue over Weiss, we have no real grounds." He said as his team looked at him in surprise.
"He's right, plus we have a Mission tomorrow." Pyrrha added, disappointment in her tone as she looked at Blake in apology.
"But that doesn't mean we can't help." Jaune said, his sapphire blue eyes lit up with a protective glow to them. "When it comes down to it, Weiss isn't just our friend; she's our little sister." Jaune said, his words making Yang smile slightly as she looked around at the nods of agreement from the group.
"What can we do?" Nora asked with a slightly hopeless look as she picked at what was left of her food. "She wants to take our little Icy!" Nora said sadly, her eyes looking over at Weiss and Ruby, to find them both looking at her.
"Go away?" Weiss asked fearfully, making everyone pause as they realized the duo had been listening to them.
"NO!" All the women yelled at the same time, Blake moving to scoop the child up while Ruby climbed down from her chair and ran to Yang.
"Aber du hast es versprochen! I stay wi' y-ou 'n 'ang, n' 'u-by! Bitte geht nicht." Weiss started to cry, her words only harder to understand with her crying. Blake hugged the child, trying to calm her down while the others shared looks, having seen the look of fear on the child's face as she clung to Blake so tightly her little knuckles were white. Blake held her tightly, trying to calm the child down as she gasped between cries. (But you promised! Please don't go.)
"It's okay Weiss. No one's going anywhere. No one. Okay?" Blake told the child, amber eyes whirling with emotions as she looked at Yang and then at JNPR.
"'Ang?" Ruby's quiet voice spoke up as Weiss cried softly, drawing her sister's attention to her. "Why Rice go?" She asked, her big silver eyes looking up at Yang sadly.
"No. She's gonna stay with us." Yang said, her voice firm and determined as Ruby nodded and cuddled into Yang's chest, her silver eyes watching Weiss cling to Blake.
"Did you understand what she said?" Pyrrha asked Jaune softly, her and the others choosing to clean up dinner while Yang and Blake comforted their toddler teammates.
"Sort of. Weiss doesn't want to be left. She wants to stay." Jaune said a bit gruffly, dropping the plates on the counter to clean and snatching the dish soap off the counter. Pyrrha nodded, understanding hitting her as she placed the scraps into a bowl for Zwei before passing Jaune the empty plates to wash. JNPR knew a bit of why Weiss was so clingy and just like Yang and Blake, were curious and worried about why she was so scared of being left behind.
When the teams had first met Weiss, she had been a distant and arrogant heiress with a cold shoulder and an even colder heart. It had taken the entire course of their first year for Weiss to open up to them, showing a slight clinginess to her teammates when she had gotten sick after their end-term exams. And even though everyone had shared their own pasts at that point none of them had learned much of hers. The more the group thought about it, Weiss had never mentioned but the bare minimum when talking about her past and shared no stories of her childhood outside of it being difficult thanks to the White Fang and her Father.
"Pyrrha? Where are you going?" Nora asked as the Spartan stopped helping Jaune and moved to where her heavy winter jacket hung up.
"To talk to Ms. Schnee." Pyrrha said as she stuffed her arms into the thick sleeves and reached for the winter boots nearly hidden in a corner.
"I'll join you." Yang said, her eyes on Pyrrha as she tried to set Ruby down. "Ruby, I need to go check this out." Yang told her little sister, trying to pry her tiny fingers off of her top and failing as Ruby fought her.
"I'll take her." Nora spoke up, walking over to Yang and helping her free herself from Ruby. "Let's make some cookies!" Nora said as she pulled Ruby away from Yang and saw the tears starting to form in her eyes.
"Strawberry?" Ruby asked, a pout still on her face as Nora grinned and set Ruby on her hip, using her free hand to wave Yang off.
"We'll be back." Yang said as she grabbed a small grey jacket that fit her but still showed off her midriff. Blake nodded at her, walking over to her to give her a kiss and then share a small warning with both women.
"Winter isn't going to be easy to talk to. We all know that. Just try to avoid letting her get to you." Blake told them, giving Yang a long look since she was more likely to lose her temper if Winter pushed the right buttons.
"Right." Yang said with a nod and looked over at Pyrrha, the Spartan effectively bundled against the cold. "Let's go Fluffy." She joked, ignoring Pyrrha's sputtered excuses as both walked out of the building.
`…`…`…`…`…`
"So what does this Dust do?" Winter asked Dr. Oobleck as the energetic man measured out a portion of the purple dust in front of him and darted over to some papers.
"It helps manipulate the area around one's Aura and allow an augmentation of massive proportions depending on the instant and measure it is used in." Dr. Oobleck said as he looked at the papers in his hands before darting over to a machine and grabbing his coffee.
"Basic for some of us would be great." Qrow said, waving lazily from where he was perched in a chair and leaning back with his eyes on the ceiling.
"Ah yes, it changes the area around the Aura to create an increase that depends on the moment and amount used." Dr. Oobleck said, bouncing on the balls of his feet as he spoke.
"So it enhances the Aura for an instant." Winter said blandly and moved to look over the mess of papers with a look of disdain. "Then explain how it changed my sister and her partner into children." She demanded, her eyes scanning over the scribbled notes.
"That is a bit harder. I've reviewed the footage of the incident and so far have been unable to replicate the process. It's one of the most incredible things I've ever seen!" Oobleck exclaimed, oblivious to the look of anger that crossed Winter's face as she dropped the papers down and sent a glare over to the energetic man. "If we could replicate the procedure then imagine the possibilities!" He cried as he darted around the room.
"I care little for how it can help others. See that it fixes my sister immediately." Winter snapped at Oobleck, interrupting his theories on how it could help people, as she slammed a hand down on the table with the notes hard enough for everything on it to jump. Before Oobleck could speak, his disapproving face preluding to what he wanted to say, Winter stormed out of the room.
"I understand her worry, but even I need time." Oobleck said in the silence, before darting around the room again. Qrow groaned as he dropped the chair down to all fours and stood up. He'd go after Winter in a second, he really needed a drink. "I wouldn't if I were you. One sip leads to many." Oobleck said, distracting Qrow from the flask in his hand and making him give the other man a glare of his own.
"Whatever." Qrow growled as he shoved the flask back in his pocket and walked out of the room, leaving Oobleck to his tests.
It only took Qrow a few minutes to get to their room and realize Winter wasn't there. Deciding it was probably better to leave the woman alone for now, he fell back on the bed to catch some sleep. She'd come back later and he'd probably wake up to find her curled into his side. He smiled at the thought, that was the best way to wake up in his opinion.
`…`…`
Winter glared at the two young women in front of her, the back of her legs bumping one of the old desks in the abandoned classroom as she shifted slightly.
"We have a few questions we'd like you to answer." Yang said with a warning in her eyes as Pyrrha slipped out of her extremely heavy coat and set it on a dust covered desk.
"I do not have time for this." Winter said with annoyance dripping from her voice. Yang grit her teeth, her eyes narrowing slightly at the clear dismissal before Pyrrha lightly grasped her shoulder and forced her to take a deep calming breath.
"Look, we don't like you and you don't like us but you have answers about Weiss that we need." Yang bit out, earning a slightly interested look from Winter.
"What do you need to know that she cannot answer?" Winter scoffed though the look of interest didn't completely leave her eye as Pyrrha coughed lightly to bring her attention to her.
"Weiss has always been a sister to all of us. Before this happened and even now. We care about her and want to know why she's scared of being left or taken." Pyrrha said, causing a frown to form on Winter's face.
"I…do not understand." Winter finally said, a look of disgust with herself on her face as she admitted the small thing.
"Basically, Weiss is scared we're all going to leave her and we want to know why." Yang told her bluntly, watching as Winter gave her a look of confused disbelief. "Another thing, Schnee's hate Faunus, right?" Yang asked, ignoring the look from Pyrrha that told her to shut up.
"Yes, though some of us more than others." Winter admitted slowly, as if the words left a bad taste in her mouth.
"Weiss loves some of our Fauna friends. She's extremely clingy with them. Why?" Yang asked, her eyes glued to Winter's as they widened and thus missing the near silent sigh of relief from Pyrrha. "She's scared of humans and loves Faunus. Doesn't sound very Schnee, does it?" Yang asked sourly as Winter's hand gripped the desk behind her.
"No, no it doesn't." Winter admitted quietly, a look of new understanding in her eyes. "I believe I can answer your question but you have to swear that you will not share it." Winter said, her eyes, once again, like solid blue mirrors.
"No deal, we share with our teams." Yang said when Pyrrha opened her mouth to agree. Winter's eyes narrowed as she stood straight and looked down at Yang with a sneer.
"Then I will answer nothing and send your entire teams to jail for attempted kidnapping." Winter said, glaring into Yang's determined lilac eyes.
"Then we'll run. Your 'Father' already made it clear what he thought of there being a little Schnee." Yang said with a mocking lilt to her voice as Pyrrha's set her jaw and nodded in agreement. If Winter wanted to fight like this, then they really had no choice and as Huntsmen and Huntresses it was their job to protect the innocent; even if that innocent was a toddler turned teammate.
"You're quite determined." Winter said with a hint of praise in her voice as she nodded at Yang, who ignored her words and instead turned to Pyrrha.
"Get ahold of the others. Tell them, it's a go." Yang said, holding out her own scroll to Pyrrha and waiting for the Spartan to take it. This was part of Pyrrha's plan to both protect Weiss and to get Winter to talk. It was a bluff, but if need be, Yang had already said she and Blake would run with Weiss and Ruby.
"I didn't meet Weiss until she was six years old." Winter suddenly said, making Pyrrha pause with a finger hovering over the call button. "I don't know much of her past before then." She added, looking at both women with a look of complete truth on her face.
"What do you mean?" Yang asked, turning to give Winter her full attention as the older woman spoke. So far, she had been surprisingly easy to talk to, but that didn't mean Yang or Pyrrha were going to let themselves relax.
"Weiss didn't come to the Schnee Manor until she was six. I was twenty-seven at the time so I didn't really care for a younger sister but Father insisted I become her tutor. At first she was like a doll, always doing what she was told but whenever she'd hear a loud noise she'd flinch and cry for her previous caretaker." Winter told them, and swallowed before continuing. "I was curious as to why, so I looked into her prior care. She was raised by a woman named Mocha Fair after our mother's death, before she retired and Weiss was brought to the Manor. When I looked further into it all traces of the woman were nonexistent." She went on, drawing confused looks from Pyrrha and Yang.
"So? What does this Mocha woman have to do with anything?" Yang asked, annoyed that she wasn't getting a straight answer.
"Mocha Fair was a hidden Faunus." Winter said, leaving both the other women shocked. "From what I was able to find, Father used to visit Weiss on occasion. My theory is, he discovered Mocha was a Faunus and had her killed." She told them and watched as Pyrrha paled and gripped Yang's scroll tightly.
"Killed?" Yang asked, swallowing weakly as her hands dropped to her sides. "He had a woman killed? For being a Faunus?" She whispered as Winter nodded, her eyes going to Pyrrha as she closed the scroll and slipped it into her own pocket.
"He would have been angry when he found out." Pyrrha said softly, her emerald eyes on Winter as she spoke. "Angry and loud." She added before finding a chair and falling into it.
"Weiss doesn't like it when we get angry or loud. If she was near your Father when he found out about Mocha…" Yang trailed off, her eyes going wide as she leaned back against a stack of chairs.
"Gathering all that information. Her first impressions of humans would have been angry beasts that took her away from a loving home." Winter said in the silence, her own words making her slump back against the desk and chair behind her.
"What do we do now?" Yang asked in the silence, her eyes staring out the dark window as her own reflection stared back.
"I'm requesting an extended mission from Team RWBY." Winter spoke up, her voice returning to its usual calm and arrogant tone as she stood up straight and looked at Yang. Yang looked at her in disbelief, opening and closing her mouth as she tried to come up with some response to the ludicrous words. "You said you would run, didn't you? To protect my sister?" Winter asked with a glint in her eye.
"Yeah, in a heartbeat." Yang exclaimed, standing up to look Winter in the eye.
"A request to clear out a small nest of Ursa has recently come up and it specifically wants Team RWBY to complete it. Ms. Autumn Neverfall sent it straight to Ozpin. A nest has gotten dangerously close to her cabin and she wishes to see it exterminated immediately." Winter said, pulling out her own scroll and sending a message out.
`…`…`…`…`
"…A private bullhead will pick us up in the morning at four a.m." Yang finished explaining to everyone later that night. The talk with Winter had been a roller coaster ride of twists that even she hadn't seen coming.
"You'll be out there for a month, and we'll be able to scroll call you guys." Pyrrha added as she looked around at her own team, who nodded as well.
"What about Mr. Schnee?" Blake asked as she gripped her mug of hot tea in her hands.
"She said she'll try to convince him that the reason Weiss never responded to him was due to us being on an extended mission with no signal and that the rumors of a baby Schnee are just rumors." Yang said with a relieved look as everyone nodded and relaxed.
"It's like you guys are going on a vacation!" Nora said excitedly, her bouncy attitude drawing smiles out of everyone as they relaxed.
"So do you think you'll have enough supplies over there?" Jaune asked as he took a drink of his own warm tea.
"Winter said she'll get us everything." Yang shrugged with a smile. "I'm almost tempted to ask her if I can take Bumblebee!" Yang joked drawing a few dry laughs from the group before Ren and Blake froze and jumped from their chairs.
"What is it?" Jaune asked, reaching for his weapon and hissing a curse when it wasn't there. The group of six were unarmed and judging from Ren and Blake's stiff postures they were in danger.
"The girls!" Blake gasped as a scream rent through the air, a shadow clone left in her place as she vanished down the hallway with the others at her heels.
"Bake/Ang!" Twin screams cried out just as the group reached the RWBY dorm room. Blake barreled through it, knocking the door off its hinges as she ran into it.
"Don't move!" Someone yelled as they all piled into the room to see a dark skinned woman with pale mint hair and red eyes holding a screaming and fighting Ruby in her arms while her partner, a young man with gunmetal hair and a cocky expression, held Weiss under one arm.
"Let 'em go!" Yang yelled, her eyes turning a blood red as she looked at the two kidnappers, their faces suddenly blurring and becoming covered in shadow.
"Ang!" Ruby bawled, reaching for her sister as Weiss shook and stared at Blake with terrified blue eyes, the little heiress not saying a word as she reached for Blake.
"Sorry about this." The girl said and dropped a red crystal on the floor as the man fell out of the window with Weiss.
"RUBY/WEISS!" Blake and Yang yelled, diving for the girls as their kidnappers dove out of the window and the Dust Crystal exploded.
`…`…`…`…`
"What the hell was that?" Qrow snapped as he shot up in bed, Winter doing the same and reaching for her sword. Qrow didn't wait for a response as he jumped out of bed and grabbed a shirt and pants, having slept in a pair of pale blue boxers with Winter beside him.
"Qrow!" Winter snapped, tossing the man his weapon as she pulled on her own clothes. As Qrow slung his sword into place his scroll started to go off.
"WHAT?!" Qrow yelled into the phone as he grabbed his boots and stuffed his feet inside. "THEY'RE WHAT?" Qrow roared, his eyes flashing a dangerous and glowing red before he threw his scroll across the room and took off.
"Qrow! What's going on?" Winter yelled after him, leaving her shoes and jacket behind as she ran after him in her uniform jeans and the tank top she had slept in.
"There was an explosion at the dorms. They can't find Ruby or Weiss." Qrow tossed over his shoulder, slamming his shoulder into the door leading outside and breaking it off one hinge. Winter felt her heart drop as the words hit her and sped up, using her glyphs to get them both across the snow and to the burning building.
"Qrow!" A familiar pale blonde yelled as he carried a first year out of the building and passed them to a paramedic. The large dorm was in flames from the first floor to the third.
"What happened?" Qrow demanded as he looked around for his nieces and their girlfriends, part of him still not believing what had happened. Jaune looked around at his scattered teammates helping the first and second years before sighing and wiping his face.
"We were all talking about our Missions for tomorrow when Ren and Blake heard someone enter our floor. We took off when we heard Weiss scream and found her and Ruby getting kidnapped by two other people." Jaune told them, shaking his head and blinking slowly as his adrenaline ran out and his Aura took over. "They threw a Fire Dust crystal at us and dove out the window as it exploded. Yang and Blake took the brunt of the blast but were mostly okay. They tried to chase after them, but lost them." Jaune finished and looked back at the burning building.
"One crystal wouldn't have caused this big of a fire. This was planned." Winter spoke up, making Jaune jump as he looked behind Qrow to see the other woman, gulping as her burning blue eyes turned on him. "What did these kidnappers look like?" She asked, her anger growing as the flames behind Jaune suddenly leapt further into the air as another explosion rocked the building.
"I don't know. I was behind everyone and could only catch a glimpse before they jumped. I know one was a dark girl with lots of green and the other was a guy with a metal leg. His pants got caught on the window when he jumped." Jaune rambled, doing his best to meet Winter's gaze as Qrow's eyes narrowed, a sense of déjà vu waving over him as Jaune described the kidnappers.
"Mr. Arc, were there any other recognizable qualities to these people?" Ozpin said, walking up to the trio with his new favorite mug and his cane.
"No sir, it was hard to focus on them." Jaune told him, before looking over at his teammates to see Yang and Blake were walking towards them.
"Uncle Qrow!" Yang yelled, jogging over to the man with Blake close at her heels. "Ruby and Weiss were,"
"Taken. I know." Qrow said and grabbed Yang's shoulder, squeezing it as he looked her in the eye. "We'll find them." He told her and gave her a sharp nod when she relaxed and nodded in agreement.
"We found this while we were chasing them." Blake said, holding up a ripped bandanna with what looked like an emblem of some kind.
"Thank you Miss Belladonna." Ozpin said as he carefully took the ripped fabric to exam it.
"We'll figure this out." Jaune said, clapping a hand on Yang's shoulder to comfort her as Pyrrha and Nora hugged both girls. None of them noticed Qrow carefully take the ripped cloth and hold it up to his eyes.
"Any ideas?" Winter asked, her voice soft and showing the fear and worry she had tried so hard to keep at bay.
"A few." Qrow muttered, passing the cloth back to Ozpin before slipping out of his shirt and dropping it on a shivering Winter. "Keep it." Qrow told her when she gave him a glare and tried to give it back. Rolling her eyes, she gratefully slipped it on, sighing instinctively as the warm clothing folded around her.