Chapter 34: The Plan Comes Together
Yo, readers! Are you ready for a serious chapter (probably) now that we alleviated some the angst with the last one? Well, you better be, otherwise you probably won't like this one. Maybe. I can't really say that for certain. Regardless, I should just stop talking and get to the story now. And, I don't own RWBY. Damn, I spoke again!
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While Ren was exercising the world of one more boring word-based board game, Yang mulled over her (not so cunning) plan in her head. Regardless of whether it worked or not, Yang was going to end up hurting because of it. But, Yang had to try out her plot regardless. It was her only real option right now.
Yang took a deep breath to stabilize herself, before leaning in close to Blake. The Faunus girl needed to be in on her plan in order for it to go off well. Once she explained her plot thoroughly, Yang then moved over to where Ruby was sitting.
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Meanwhile, out on the balcony, Weiss didn't pay much attention to what was going on behind the sliding glass door. Sure, she could see Yang whisper something to Ruby, but it didn't register in her mind that something might happen. Instead, she was too absorbed in hating everything. She hated her family, she hated her father, and most of all, she hated herself.
If only she had been strong enough, if only she made some unforeseen choice along the way, then maybe she could have avoided this whole mess. Weiss bitterly thought that she should have run away from her family a long time ago.
Then, some rapid knocking against the door got some of her attention. When Weiss looked back at the window, Yang was standing next to a sheepish looking Ruby. By the looks of it, Ruby had been dragged over to the door against her better judgment.
Yang knocked once more, then yelled loudly enough to be heard through the door, "Are you ready to come in yet?". Weiss shook her head in response. Why couldn't they all just understand that she wanted to be alone with her misery?
Yang sighed behind the glass door, and pulled Ruby to the forefront. With one swift motion, she yanked up her sister's shirt, exposing her midriff and bra. Ruby looked completely mortified at what her sister had done (for completely justifiable reasons).
At first, Weiss was entranced by the sight. No matter how many times she saw Ruby's body in various stages of undress, it always managed to make her blush a deep scarlet. But then, her arousal turned into burning anger. How DARE Yang embarrass Ruby like that? Did it not occur to her that her sister looked deeply uncomfortable when she lifted up her shirt?!
Now completely pissed off, Weiss tore away the patio furniture that served as a barricade against the sliding door.
"That blonde bitch is going to PAY!" Weiss angrily growled in her mind.
With the final piece of furniture removed, Weiss was now free to beat the ever-living shit out of Yang. She threw the door open and stomped into the doorway.
Yang, seeing murderous intent in Weiss' eyes, dropped Ruby's shirt and put her hands up in a surrendering gesture. "Hey, don't do anyt—" Yang tried to say before being tackled to the ground by Weiss.
"How DARE you?!" Weiss screamed at Yang's face, before grabbing a bunch of blonde locks in her fist. With a firm grip, Weiss began to pound the back of Yang's head into the ground.
"Hurry-up-Blake!" Yang yelled between blows. Before Weiss knew what Yang was talking about, Blake had snuck up behind Weiss and hit a very specific pressure point at the nape of Weiss' neck. Sometimes, ninja training could useful in not just combat situations.
The shock of the blow rendered Weiss' body completely numb and paralyzed. She flopped like a fish on land on top of Yang. Now that Weiss realized that she had been duped, even more negative emotions welled up in her heart.
As Yang rolled Weiss off of her, and Blake carried her over to the bed, Weiss couldn't help but think that she was so stupid for attacking Yang. The rational part of her mind told her that the others had only resorted to doing that for her own sake. That thought only made Weiss more depressed.
First, she found out that her father would always control her life, and now she learned that her attitude had made her friends, who only wanted to help, increasingly desperate. Weiss felt horrible.
Weiss retreated further into herself as Blake placed her into the center of the double bed. If Weiss could see herself now, she would only bitterly note the irony of becoming as emotionally lifeless as a doll while she struggled with those thoughts.
"I'm nothing… I'm nothing…" Weiss mumbled to herself.
Blake and Yang looked worriedly at each other. In hindsight, they may have made this situation much, much worse. Only Ruby could help Weiss now, but she still looked hesitant to do anything. Most of her emotions had burnt out by now.
Ruby could only focus on her sense of guilt. She was still blaming herself for what had happened with Mr. Schnee. How could a team leader, a person who was expected to face anything with a sense of courage and passion, let something this bad happen? She had let everyone down, especially the girl she loved.
"Weiss…" Ruby whispered as she reached out to her girlfriend weakly. She took a few staggering steps forward, before letting herself fall onto the bed, next to Weiss.
Even Ruby had no idea where she was going with this. All she wanted to do right now was apologize, to Weiss, to her sister, to Blake, to God, to whoever would hear her. But, the heiress needed to hear her apology first. That much she owed her.
"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, Weiss," Ruby said as tears of pity filled the corners of her eyes. "I'm sorry for everything…".
Weiss' depressing chant stopped when she heard Ruby speak to her. This was the first time she had spoken to her in hours. And she was apologizing? No, Ruby didn't do anything wrong. It was all her father's fault. No, the man who used to be her father. Weiss didn't know the man who looked and talked the same as her real dad. For all she cared, her real dad died several years ago. Something was starting to make sense to her…
"S-sorry?" Weiss asked to Ruby. Ruby's eyes widened as Weiss talked to her, and then vigorously nodded her head.
"You don't need to say anything," Weiss whispered to Ruby, "It's all his fault…".
"N-no?" Ruby asked, now confused. How could it NOT be her fault?
What Weiss had said to comfort Ruby was now starting to form together in her mind. No, it wasn't her fault. It wasn't her own, Ruby's, Yang's, or Blake's fault. It wasn't their fault at all! No, it was all because of HIM. Her father had caused all of this suffering. It was beginning to be clear now! He never gave love, only Ruby had shown her the love she needed! If her father gave her love, it was a long, long time ago!
Yes, it was making sense now! Weiss didn't need to dedicate herself to someone who only cared about the name she was born with, she wanted to be with someone who appreciated who she was on the inside! Weiss didn't need to be a Schnee, she needed to be herself!
"Don't apologize, Ruby. You're not the person who needs to," Weiss then said, now sounding a little serene.
"Then what should I do?" Ruby choked out.
"I… We… I need to think…" Weiss stammered. Even if she was now having a revelation, Weiss still had no idea what to do with it. How could she beat her father? He had the backing of the biggest company on the face of Remnant! And all Weiss had was the love of her new family. But, maybe that was exactly what she needed.
"I think we can do something here… something to show who we really are," Weiss pondered aloud. That got her strange looks form everyone.
"Like, are you saying we should fight back against Mr. Schnee?" asked Yang, wondering where Weiss was going with all of this.
"Maybe…" mused Weiss. In theory, she could do something. She did inherit the intelligence of her father, after all. The more important question was how. While her father had the backing and funding of the biggest company on Remnant, all Weiss had was her adopted family and her personal funds. But, maybe that's all she needed.
Weiss' eyes steeled over. She was done feeling pity for herself. No, she was pissed now. She was angry that her father would do all of this not only to her, but to Ruby as well. He couldn't just get away with all this!
Weiss needed to fight against her father. If you don't fight, you can't survive. And, if you can't survive, you can't win! Weiss needed a victory here not only to free herself, but everyone of Team RWBY from the ever-watching eye of the Schnee Dust Company.
Then, it hit her. What better way to strike back than turn her father's own plan against him? Not only was it ironic enough, but Weiss figured that such a counter-attack from her might scare off her father for good. Weiss certainly knew somebody who might have a bone to pick with the Schnee Dust Company right about now…
"I… think I got something," Weiss slowly said as a plot began to form more clearly in her mind. Ruby sat up in amazement at Weiss' new-found determination. As far as Ruby figured, Weiss had been pushed over the edge so far, that she looped all the way around from sadness to being a titanium woman.
Blake and Yang leaned in closer. Whatever Weiss had to say, it was apparently important enough for her to shrug of her sorrow for revenge.
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Ms. Han wasn't having a good week. Ever since she got back to the headquarters of the Azul Concern, she had been harassed endlessly for her failures. Luckily, she hadn't been fired. There just weren't enough people at the main office to justify her termination. But, that didn't mean her boss couldn't strip away her dignity. She had more or less been demoted to the position of intern, but without the amount of respect an actual intern got.
Sure, Ms. Han could be charitably called a complete moron, but that didn't mean that she meant all the stuff she did. She legitimately had no clue that people might be able to get offended by what she wrote.
While Ms. Han stewed in her own angst, she packed up her work for the day. She had gotten the jobs that nobody, even other interns, wanted. What that meant was that she was in charge of making copies of flyers and printing out all of the labels that needed to be put on envelopes.
As if that wasn't bad enough, her office got replaced with a small desk shoved off in some corner near the storage room. Every day, she got hit by the door every time a janitor or office drone needed something from in there. Her boss, Mr. Raines said it was 'to give her more access to what she needed'. She wasn't dumb enough to overlook that he had taken her office out of spite.
"Maybe I should look for a new job," Ms. Han thought to herself. If she had worn out her welcome here, then maybe it was time to move on. She had a degree, she could easily find a new job… probably.
Still, that was a scary thing to risk. One of the reasons Ms. Han agreed to work here was her hope to make new friends. In her mind, she got pretty close with that one Team RWBY. Oh well, maybe the universe would just drop a new chance for her right in her lap.
"I just need to be positive, is all," Ms. Han said to encourage herself. As she spun in her swivel chair to leave her desk, she accidentally knocked her half-finished cup of coffee into her lap. Well, that certainly wasn't a new chance at all.
Ms. Han managed to clean up most of the mess, but a massive damp patch still remained on the front of her pants. If she tried to leave right now, the late workers might think she peed herself. That certainly wouldn't help her already fledgling reputation in the slightest.
So, now she was forced to wait for an opening to leave.
Still, she held out for that hope. It was the only thing she had going for her right now.
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To be honest, I think this chapter could be a little better written. But, I honestly can't think of any better way to write it. Maybe I need to take a break… nah, I won't. Hey, at least I'm past the hard part now. I've already got stuff planned for the whole vengeance arc. I just needed a way to get there. Oh, and feel free to tell me what you think so far. This is The Draigg, signing off.