Reaper woke up in the recovery room several hours later. She had a strange dream, though she couldn't remember most of it. The last image she had was of a nurse… a nurse with all black pits instead of eyes injecting some dark substance into her arm. Which was really strange because she recalled enjoying the dream despite that nightmare fuel. But this image, too, was fleeting, and in mere moments the only thing she had was a vague, unsure idea that she had even had a dream in the first place.
Shaking her head free of her morning grogginess, she examined her cast. It completely covered her left hand, ensuring the area stayed clean and the bones stayed where they belonged. Despite having a perfectly functioning arm above the wrist, she was still provided a sling as per hospital regulations.
There wasn't much to do in the hospital room, especially without use of her left hand. She lounged around waiting for visiting hours to start, because whether it was Neo or Winter who showed up first, at least it would break the monotony. About a half an hour later, her pink and brown lover walked through the door. Neo smiled at Reaper and immediately jumped onto the bed and pulled out a set of markers with a glint in her eye.
Weiss walked in a few moments later, rolling her eyes to the antics. Reaper just shrugged. It wasn't like she had any control over this situation, not without jerking her still-fragile casted hand. She didn't even know what Neo was drawing, the small girl assumedly happy she was the first to get a marker at the cast.
"How are you feeling?" Weiss asked.
Well, we never got to go after Roman and by now he's holed out who knows fucking where…
"We've been better," Reaper translated.
"Well, Winter's on her way here," Weiss warned, "Be ready."
"Ah shit…" Reaper cussed quietly, looking down at Neo's cartoon in-progress. She had just finished drawing a skull with its tongue out and was now setting up to draw something below it.
"Language," Weiss countered off-hand.
"Ah fuck…" Reaper 'corrected' to her team leader's ire.
Winter entered the room moments after, shooting a disapproving glare at Neo huddled on the hospital bed. Or perhaps it was aimed at Reaper, based on pure principle.
"You were instructed to stay in your hotel rooms," Winter scolded.
"We did what we thought we had to do," Weiss defended.
"Let the criminal speak for herself, Weiss," Winter deadpanned, "You obviously trust her enough to let her skirt the terms of her Custody." The older Schnee turned slowly back to the black-clad woman. "Why shouldn't I arrest you right now?"
"For whatever reason you haven't already arrested me before now?" Reaper quickly replied.
Winter's nostrils flared at the snide remark. "You are long overdue for a modicum of respect."
"I'm sorry, weren't you supposed to add 'criminal scum' to the end of that remark about 'respect'?" Reaper continually used responses full of snark.
"You have to save face," Weiss realized.
Winter maintained her poker face, which was ironically how Reaper saw it was a poker face. She wasn't immediately telling anyone off, because as much as she lied to herself about Reaper's rehabilitation, Winter didn't often lie to other people.
"Oh my god…" Reaper laughed, "I saved your men. They were in over their heads, and I saved them!"
"I still could have you arrested," Winter warned, walking up to Weiss and holding out her hand. "The device, please." Weiss somewhat reluctantly handed over Creature's eye, unsure of what her older sister was planning. "So, Reaper, tell me how this works?"
"Why do you even want to know?" Reaper's eyebrow cocked, "Wouldn't it be easier to stay here and hawk-eye me if you don't catch Roman?"
"I have a job to do, something your kind may not be accustomed with," Winter stated professionally, "And if you don't cooperate, I'll have no choice but to arrest you for obstruction of justice."
"This is too far, Winter!" Weiss jumped up.
"No, Weiss, this woman is dangerous, and spends her entire time in the company of my little sister!" Winter shouted. "I think I'm a little justified. You assume I'm fixated on some revenge because she almost killed me? I'm trying to stop her before she has the chance to do the same to you!"
"I'm not going to hurt her, Winter," Reaper argued.
"I hope you'll excuse the fact that I don't trust you," Winter rounded back on her, "You're constantly assuring my sister your slight against me was 'unintentional'."
"I trust her," Weiss stated, "I was wrong about your motive, but it doesn't change the fact that you don't see how Reaper has grown."
"She still uses the name of a murderer," Winter pointed out.
Neo capped her markers, finally turning her attention to the conversation in the room only to immediately stick her tongue out at Winter. Winter thankfully ignored her.
Reaper sat back a little, dissecting the situation. "This whole gambit is banking on the fact I don't tell you how to use the eye," she realized, "what happens if I do?"
"You don't get your chance to chase Torchwick yourself," Winter told her haughtily.
"And you don't have an excuse to stay in Vale and keep an eye on Weiss," Reaper called her bluff. "It's voice activated, which brings up a map that shows where Roman currently is."
"Roman hasn't found the tracker?" Winter questioned disbelievingly.
"Stein is very clever," Reaper nodded.
Winter looked down at the eye. "On!... Activate!... Do something!"
"On," Reaper called out, and the eye sprang to life, projected a holo-image with a blinking light somewhere southwest of the current map range. "I had to answer a question to first activate it. Voiceprint is a logical next step for a mind like Stein's. That or a button, but there isn't one there."
"Hm…" Winter stared down the map until it closed itself, after which she pocketed it and began to leave to room.
"I'm surprised you actually told her," Weiss remarked after her sister left.
"She can't arrest me for obstruction, because you witnessed I didn't obstruct," Reaper explained, "and I'm betting she doesn't want to catch Torchwick as much as she wants to stay in Vale to watch over you."
"Oh…" Weiss realized Reaper was probably right. "You still want to chase Torchwick?"
"I don't know," Reaper admitted, surprising Weiss.
"We still can't," Weiss pointed out, "not without giving Winter ammo against you."
"I know…" Reaper assured, "But maybe he'll come to me. Or maybe Winter will actually go and catch him." She looked down at her cast and noticed Neo had finished her drawing. The skull was apparently busy licking away at a cone of Neapolitan ice cream. "Really?"
Neo winked.
Weiss walked over and stared at the cartoon. "And just like that, the tension of the room is broken. You two are disgusting."
A few days later, Weiss and Blake were waiting in Vale's primary airship station. They had spent the last two days organizing today, and were both nervous about everything that could go wrong. Thankfully things started great, as Blake's parents Kali and Ghira arrived first just as planned. Weiss was incredibly nervous about meeting Blake's parents for the first time.
"Hello, Blake!" Kali greeted cheerfully. Blake went to embrace her family, then waved for Weiss to approach.
"So, this is the Schnee girl." Ghira stated, his voice bold.
"Maybe not for very much longer…" Weiss told him.
"So I've heard." He responded in kind. "I don't trust the Schnee name. But I do trust my daughter. So, we'll see how the rest of this plays out."
"Yes sir." Weiss nodded.
"Oh come now. I think it's obvious she doesn't share her family's ideologies." Kali defended, gesturing towards Weiss and Blake's intertwined hands. "Be fair."
"I am, Kali." Ghira insisted.
Weiss's scroll buzzed. Weiss nodded to Blake. "My father is coming."
"Right. Mom, dad." Blake led her family a ways away. Out of sight, but within faunus earshot.
Weiss waiting in the center of the hall for her father's arrival. She didn't have to wait long. "Hello, daughter."
Weiss turned to face him. "Hello, father."
"I don't think I need to ask how things went." Jacques told her. "Ignoring your superior's orders, putting yourself in unnecessary danger… I think that criminal is starting to compromise your duty."
"Better than compromising my morals." Weiss shot back, taking Jacques by surprise.
"You speak of morals while you parade around with that thing?" He shot back.
"Excuse me!?" Weiss shouted. "I thought you reached an understanding with Blake!"
"I understand that she's an animal! And you can do better than that. And you will, for the sake of your future." Jacques warned.
"No." Weiss deadpanned. "I'm not your slave anymore. My life is mine. I'm staying at Beacon. I'm staying with my girlfriend. And I am leaving Atlas. For good."
"You and what money?" Jacques goaded.
"And that's exactly the root of the problem here. You think that is all that matters. I've had enough of you and your blood money." Weiss spun on her heel and walked away. "You won't be at the top forever. Someone is coming to knock you down. And they're closer than you think."
A stunned Jacques Schnee was left in the middle of the airport while Weiss found Blake and her parents again. Ghira seemed genuinely surprised at what he heard. "So… You're broke?"
"No. Reaper helped keep some money using some laundering techniques she picked up. It's not much, and it's not for me. It's startup money." Weiss told them.
"To mine. You want to use our secret mine to compete with your father." Ghira realized.
"No. I want your permission to utilize it to redeem my name. I want to help the faunus, and I want the world to see what my father really is." Weiss picked her words carefully.
"And to do that, you want to go into business with me?" Ghira asked
"No." Weiss shook her head. "I don't want to be a 'businesswoman'. I've seen enough 'businesspeople' in my life." She took Blake's hand to emphasis her next point. "I want this to be a family thing… if that's not too bold of me to say."
Faunus, a Schnee's family? Ghira nodded. "I think you and I may get along after all. Come home with us for the rest of your break. We have a lot to discuss."
Neo woke up one morning to see Reaper had left her hospital bed. She wandered the grounds looking for her until she came across a nearby graveyard. Here, she found Reaper standing in front of one of the headstones. She walked up to her lover's side and placed a hand on her shoulder. What's up?
"Hey, Neo." Reaper said, staring on at the headstone. It read Valerie Hope. "She apparently came from Vale. She moved to Atlas to join the military, but her family is here. Her wishes were to be buried here if she fell in the line of duty."
Neo looked on at the headstone herself. Reaper continued speaking. "I know nothing about her. But I used her to justify my bloodlust… I'm starting to think Winter is right about me."
Neo looked up and frowned.
Reaper seemed lost in thought for the next few minutes. Eventually, she spoke up again. "Neo, I've been thinking a lot the past week… about my role here. What I'm doing. When we graduate, exit the program… what do you want to do?"
'I want to do whatever you want to do.' Neo signed. 'As long as I'm with you, I don't care.'
"But what if I don't know?" Reaper asked her. "Neither of us have actually thought about what we're doing with our lives. Are we just going to hunt? Place to place, journey to journey…"
'We'll figure it out when we have to.' Neo signed.
"I don't know if that's good enough… I'm scared." Reaper admitted. "Not scared that I'll regress to what I was… I'm scared that I won't even try to resist the regression."
Neo looked up at Reaper with a stern face. 'I'll still be there, no matter what. I'll push you in the right direction.'
"You? You come from the same place I do… you kinda pushed me to become Reaper, Remember?" Reaper smiled and shook her head.
Neo shook her head. 'At first I only came to Beacon for you. But the longer I stay, the more I enjoy it. I love being able to walk down the street without worrying about police. I love having true friends and not worrying about them betraying me for money. I want to be a huntress, Reaper. And I want to be one with you.'
Reaper and pulled the girl close with her good arm. "Thank you, Neo… I have no idea what I would do without you… I… I need you. So don't go now."
Neo smiled and shook her head. Don't worry. I won't.
"It's… it's you… Reaper Rose…"
The girls turned to the new voice, a young boy. They noted he was being watched by a man with a badge and a gun. "Who are you?" Reaper asked.
He walked up next to them, looking at the headstone. "Valerie Hope. She was a strong girl. She wasn't always a good one. When she was a teenager, she fell into a bad crowd." Reaper decided to shut up and see where this went. "She had a brother who idolized her. A stupid little brother who followed her wherever she went.
"One day, she looked back and saw he followed her into the Underworld. That was her wake up call. She tried to be a better role model, even joining the military is Atlas. But by then, her brother found someone else to follow. Someone who left him for dead and let him be arrested…"
Reaper looked between the boy and the guard, putting the connections together.
"I finally realized what Valerie was trying to do, too little too late. But an opportunity came, in the form of a new role model. A girl who was a criminal, who turned herself in to be a huntress." The boy looked at Reaper with a smile. "If I can go one more week without getting in trouble, I'll have gone six months with good behavior. Then, I qualify for Rehabilitative Custody. I'm going to apply for Beacon."
"You're her brother." Reaper deduced.
"Matthew Hope." The boy smiled and held out his hand. "It's a true pleasure to meet you, Miss Reaper."
She took it and laughed. "I'm not a good role model, Matthew."
"But you pulled yourself out. Found a way to become a better person again." He argued.
"This girl's the real role model," Reaper draped her good arm around Neo, "I'm not even good at 'being a better person'. She keeps me straight."
"You still started the Rahab Custody program?" Matthew argued.
"I was the trial. She's the face of it all," Reaper told him, "She even won the Vytal tournament!"
"Wow, really!" Matthew's eyes went wide, "I wasn't able to watch it…"
"Oh, yeah," Reaper smiled, "My girl kicks ass!"
"Cool…" Matthew nodded. "What are you doing here, anyway?"
"I'm, umm…" Reaper avoided looking at Valerie's grave, not wanting to suffer that awkward conversation, "We're waiting for my own 'warden' to pick us up."
"In a graveyard?" Matthew asked.
"Sure?"
"Hey girls!" Taiyangs voice rang across the yard, "There you are!"
"Oh thank god…" Reaper stated under her breath.
"Wait!" Matthew called out as Reaper and Neo turned to walk away. "I'll see you both at Beacon!"
"You better make it, Matthew!" Reaper smirked, "God knows this program needs better cases to prove it than me!"
"You're doing better than you think, Reaper!" Matthew called back.
Reaper settled in the backseat of the car with Neo, smiling at the interaction. It was a nice contrast to her interaction with Winter and made her think, just maybe, Reaper could put her dark past behind her after all. By the end of the day, she found herself looking forward to the start of the next year.
Leid Kale stepped into the main hall of Salem's castle, looking up to the dark queen and politely waiting for permission to speak. Salem smiled, finding she was quite fond of the stark contrast to Tyrian. "Is it done?" She asked her subject.
"It is, my queen," Kale meekly replied, much to Salem's pleasure.