The Cockerel Festival, Part 5!
A/N: Welcome, one and all, to Weiss Reacts! This is the beginning of the first half of the climax to this arc! Which means things WILL be getting crazy! Woo! I think. Is that how you say it? I don't know any more. Maybe I should stop this writing thing before I go insane.
Given the madness that is about to ensue, I feel it'd probably be a good time to end this rant right here.
DISCLAIMER: RWBY does not belong to me, otherwise Ozpin would have a beard.
All mentioned franchises and characters belong to their respective owners.
Beacon Infirmary, Morning of the Fifth Day...
Blake woke with a start, sweating profusely. Her gold eyes darted around, looking for her partner, but nobody was in sight, except Ren, who was calmly reading a notebook in one of the chairs near where Nora was suffering from a stomach upset from eating pancake batter.
"Yang!" She yelled out, looking around to see no chair or note from her on the bedside table. Ren jumped, clearly not expecting the yell, and the doe Faunus strolled over to her, staring at her.
"Miss Belladonna!"
"Yang. Where's Yang?" The catgirl looked worried, and with good reason- she needed to tell them about Siegmund. "What time is it?"
"It's nine AM." The nurse clarified, frowning. "Miss Xiao Long told me to tell you to meet her there if you woke up before the last match started."
"Last match..." Blake looked down briefly, before shaking her head. "I have to go. Now!"
She climbed out of bed and pushed the nurse aside, who cried out in shock.
"M-Miss Belladonna!" She yelled after the catgirl. "You need to be checked for Aura-"
"SCREW THAT! MY FRIEND'S IN DANGER!" Blake called out as she sprinted down the corridor. Ren looked up from his notepad.
"...frie-" He froze, as did Nora. Both of them knew that there was something up if Blake was panicking, after all.
"Does she mean..." Nora stared at her boyfriend.
"Team RWBY. Most likely Weiss." The gunslinger nodded, shaking his head. "Nora-"
"Don't even need to tell me twice, Renny." Nora pulled herself out of bed, causing the nurse to stare at her.
"M-Miss Valkyrie-"
"Don't worry about me! The Pancake God has granted me special powers to help protect my friends from the threats of this cruel, cruel world!" Nora posed dramatically, before running out and knocking over several shelves in the process..
Ren looked over apologetically at the nurse.
"I'll keep an eye over her. Don't worry." He ran off after her, as the nurse sighed exasperatedly as she began to pick up the mess.
"Why do I get the people who want to be heroes..."
Meanwhile, at the tournament tent...
Yang sighed, watching the competitor transport bus ride off to the last arena, the Field of Justice, looking at her watch.
"Maaaan, where's Blake?" She frowned, brushing a strand of hair out of her eyes. "I'm sure she'd be awake and discharged by now..."
"Xiao Long."
"Huh? Yang whirled around to see Adam approaching her, hand on the hilt of Wilt. Yang instinctively slipped on one half of Ember Celica, blinking at him.
"Adam? What are you-"
"YANG!"
Blake yelled as she ran up to her, before stopping in front of them, breathing heavily and shaking her head.
"Blake? What's going on?" Yang looked concerned.
Adam adjusted his mask. "You mean she hasn't been brought into the loop?"
"Loop?"
"Weiss." Blake choked out. "Weiss is in danger."
Yang's eyes widened. "What are you talking about?"
"Siegmund's back."
"...you mean..."
"The Schnee girl's grandfather." Adam responded calmly. "He's back in town. And targeting her."
Yang froze, shaking her head in denial. "No...no he can't be. T-that means..."
"Your friend's in danger. You have to warn her before it's too late. Ozpin already knows about it, and most likely so will his associate." The swordsman patted his weapon.
"We're going to run out of time. We going or not?"
Yang looked to Blake, as if to confirm her fears. The catgirl slowly nodded, confirming them indeed.
"We have to get to a transport." Yang declared after a moment of deliberation. "Now."
"Wait for us!" Ren called after them, dragging Nora after him.
"We're going on an adventure!" Nora called out happily.
Minutes later, at the Field of Justice arena...
Blake, Yang and the others ran down the long corridor to the stands, where everyone- Siegfried and the Schnee family included- was gathered. They looked down towards the arena to see Weiss and Ruby, ready for their match, waiting on their starting platforms.
"Dammit!" Blake cursed. "How are we going to get down there?!"
"You do not have to." Ozpin clasped her shoulder from behind, causing her to jump slightly.
"Professor!" Yang cried. "We have to tell her about Sie-"
"The arena is defended from all directions by Schnee Kreuzritter robots." Ozpin assured her. "And rest assured, Hunters and Huntresses and other fighters from all around the world-"
Blake shook her head. "What if he got in here...before all the security was in place?"
"Are you suggesting that Siegmund is in the crowd?" Adam inquired, gripping his sword tighter.
"It'd make sense, for a slimy bastard like him to sneak around like that..." Yang clenched her fists.
Ozpin adjusted his glasses. "I had Goodwitch, Fall, Port and Oobleck scan all the visitors. None looked like Siegmund or were identified as him."
Ren rubbed his chin. "Wait. That video screen, flying over the stage. When does that get flown in?"
"An hour bef...oh, dear Dust." Ozpin froze, realising what Ren was saying.
As did the others. Ozpin looked upon the video screen to see a tall, red-clad figure clinging to the side, confirming his fears.
Siegmund was already here.
Ren looked around. "I'll grab my team."
Yang whirled around to find her mother and father. "I'll find my dad. He'll know what to-"
Both of them, of course, were interrupted by a large shockwave smashing through the arena below, as a massive spear smashed into the ground below.
Upon the field...
Weiss was knocked back by the sudden spear's descent into the field. She spawned a glyph behind her to catch herself in the air, as Ruby used her Crescent Rose to slow herself.
"Hey!" The heiress yelled. "T-this is interference! What's going-" She froze, finally processing what had fallen in front of her.
The spear's head was incredibly long, spanning half the length of the weapon itself. It resembled a serpents head, its jaws interlocked with slender, sharp teeth, seemingly separable to turn the spear into a two-pronged trident. The spear was a simple weapon, but powerful, and had a name that struck fear in the hearts of Hunters and outsiders alike.
Jormungandr, the World Serpent.
The spear made a perfect opponent to Balmung, the Dragonslayer- just as its wielder was the mortal enemy to Siegfried. His name was not Fafnir, but with his terrible countenance and dread strength, he might as well have been.
'No. No.'
Weiss stood up, drawing Myrtenaster and shaking her head. The unthinkable had happened.
Siegmund Schnee had returned.
She looked around hurriedly, watching for her grandfather. Ruby pulled herself up to her feet, having tumbled while stopping herself with Crescent Rose. She looked worriedly at the shocked Weiss.
"Weiss!" She called. "Weiss! What's going on?"
"Ruby...my grandfather..." Weiss choked out. "He's-"
"He is returned to reclaim his rightful throne."
Ruby had only time to look up in confusion before Siegmund jumped from the video screen and landed next to his spear in a crouching position, before whipping it out of the ground and slamming her away, out of the arena and away from Weiss. A sickening crack could be heard as the girl's body smashed onto the steel of the arena sides.
Weiss froze in shock.
"RUBY!"
"Heh." Siegmund spat, drawing himself to his full height and turning to Weiss, a sadistic grin on his face.
"Why are you so concerned about her? She is weak. A mere lowborn weakling. Unworthy of life, like her mother was.
Your place is with greater people, Weiss. I will not have you-"
"Shut. Up."
Siegmund looked up bemusedly at the announcer stand. The announcer, Beth, glared down at him, before grabbing a nearby chainsaw, knowing that her Hrunting was too far away to reach.
"You bastard." she spat with utmost hatred- nobody was allowed to hurt her students on her watch.
Not even him.
She leapt down at him, slashing the chainsaw at him, only for it to be casually shattered by a single strike from Jormungandr. Siegmund sighed, rolling his eyes.
"A Lupin. Lowborn. Not careful enough to keep their weapons on them." He pointed his spear at her, as she glared straight at him, hands raised to fight.
"Weiss, go!" Beth called over to her. "I'll hold him off."
"You'll be grateful that you aren't my target." Siegmund stated, before casually grabbing several metal balls out of his pocket and hurling them at Beth, causing an electric net to surround her.
"Grah!" She flinched at the burning, attempting to fight her way out- but in her suit, with no weapons, it would be nigh impossible.
"Weiss! Get out of here!" Beth pleaded.
Siegmund scoffed, before turning to Weiss, who gripped Myrtenaster tightly.
"Come now, child. You can't hope to win against me in a test of strength."
"You hurt Ruby." Weiss muttered, swapping Myrtenaster to its white setting and standing her ground, feeling her legs trembling from fear but ignoring it.
She mastered her fear of him, despite all the horror she had experienced at his hands and the fact that he was far stronger than she could ever hope to be.
He had hurt her best friend, her partner, her love, and she would not stand for it.
"You. Hurt. Ruby."
The tyrant merely laughed uproariously and contemptuously.
"What concern have you with a lowborn like her? She is simply inferior, destined to die like her mother did! Don't tell me you...ohoho, you love her.
Of course you do. Your pathetic father polluted your mind. Even after all my best efforts..." The man sighed, shaking his head. "Very well, we'll have to talk somewhere private."
Before Weiss could move, Siegmund had already grabbed her by the collar, lifting her up for the audience to see. She felt her air being cut off, as she struggled to escape his iron grip.
Siegmund laughed.
"Behold, Huntresses, Huntsmen, outsiders!" He declared. "I, Siegmund Schnee, have returned, to reclaim my rightful place in society...and to avenge the sins of an ungrateful son, as well as to right his wrongs!
And I shall start with his daughter. I shall raise her right, and failing that...I must do as any good father would." He slung Jormungandr on his back, looking with a smile for his son- and finding him, standing up.
Siegfried roared loudly from the crowd, drawing Balmung and clasping it with both hands.
"The hell you will. Get away from my DAUGHTER!"
Yelling wordlessly, he charged down the stalls, building up speed to leap onto the arena and strike at him.
Siegmund merely smirked, whipping out a small, chrome cylindrical pad. Weiss' eyes widened as she realised what Siegmund had brought with him.
"Teleporter, activate."
"GRAH!" Siegfried roared and leapt into the air, raising Balmung over his head.
Siegfried's Balmung sunk itself into the fields, cleaving the ground in two. Siegmund- and Weiss- were gone.
For a moment, there was only silence in the stadium, with only the winds making any sound while rushing through the tall grasses.
"Weiss..." Siegfried muttered at last, as Beth stared at him through the netting, clearly concerned. "My daughter..."
He shook his head, before releasing a heartbroken, tearful cry and falling to his knees, shaking his head.
"Weiss...no..."
Siegmund had taken his daughter once more.
And Dust knew what he wanted to do to her this time.
Blake exhaled, still in shock from what had just happened.
In the blink of an eye, Siegmund had simply swooped in and teleported out with their best friend, possibly fatally injuring Ruby in the process.
Yang yelled out. "RUBY! RUBES!
Find my parents, I need to get to Ruby!" Yang sprinted towards the place near where her sister had fallen, preparing for the worst.
Blake turned to Ozpin, who was still staring at the spot where Siegmund had been.
"Professor..."
"..." He grabbed a nearby intercom, calling out on it.
"All Beacon Huntsmen and Huntresses, report back to your dorms immediately. All non-trainee Huntsmen and Huntresses, report to Beacon Hall for an emergency meeting.
The Tournament is cancelled. Any civilians, please vacate the grounds immediately- we will reimburse you should you need it."
Blake cried out. "Sir-"
"I cannot allow you to look for Miss Schnee yourself, Miss Belladonna." Ozpin reprimanded her. "Siegmund Schnee is a very dangerous individual-"
"I don't care." Blake cut him off brusquely. "Weiss is my friend. I failed to warn her, now I have to find her.
I'm not just going to sit here and angst about the fact that I couldn't stop her getting kidnapped, I'm going to do something about it. Are you going to let me, or not, Professor?"
Ozpin simply, after a moment of decision, shook his head.
"I cannot allow you to go after her." The headmaster stated sternly and calmly. "Miss Belladonna, please go back to your dorm. We will discuss this later."
"B-but-" Blake reached out as Ozpin walked off.
Ren shook his head, interrupting her.
"Don't, Blake. He won't budge. You know he won't."
"But..." Blake clenched her fists and turned to the gunslinger.
"Ren, this was my fault. I didn't tell Weiss Siegmund was coming and now she's gone- and Ruby might be dead, for all I know!"
"No, no I'm not." Ruby stated, waving at her from behind as Yang and Ruby walked up behind them.
"Her Aura took most of the hit. The cracking we heard was the concrete..." The brawler stated, relieved, and she gave her sister a big hug.
"I'm just glad you're alright, Rubes..."
"Don't worry about me, Yang." Ruby shook her head. She clenched her own fist, looking towards where Weiss had been, merely minutes ago. Tears welled in her eyes, but she held them back.
Weiss wouldn't want her to cry, and she knew she had to be strong, if she wanted to get her out of this situation intact.
"I'm not the one who needs worrying about."
The stadium was muted for once. Freya, Winter and Elsa ran down to Siegfried, to comfort him, as did the Arcs, Qrow- most of the people who were friends with him.
The situation needed unity and solidarity more than ever.
Meanwhile, elsewhere in Vale...
Weiss woke up, shaking her head and grasping it.
"What the..." She felt her head throb with pain, before she remembered where she was, and what had happened to her.
Siegmund was nearby, a hand planting Jormungandr in the ground, as he overlooked pristine wilderness, shaking his head. Weiss pulled herself up, grabbing her fallen Myrtenaster and placing herself into a combat pose.
"The wonders of nature." Siegmund stated, not even moving to look at Weiss, clenching Jormungandr tightly.
"The rules in it are simple. The weak die and the strong survive. There is no other way.
Kraft Macht Frei.
The old Schnee motto. Power will set you free." Siegmund chuckled, shaking his head and still not turning to face Weiss, who was checking Myrtenaster.
"The words I lived by for years- power, strength and force set one free, in a world where power was the only way to prevail over those who would prey upon you. I achieved that alone- perfecting myself, day after day, to become stronger than any opponent that would seek to overcome me.
Your father was too foolish to understand that the rules of nature applied even to the world of man.
We, humanity, prevailed over the Faunus once before, therefore they are weak, and deserve only death. And within humanity, only the strong prosper. The lowborn weak must therefore die off. It is only the law of all things.
Your father didn't understand that. He wanted to sympathise with pathetic beasts like that Belladonna boy and pathetic lowborns like the Arcs. He even married one, would you believe it? Of course, you should be grateful, even if she is a lowborn. You wouldn't exist if she had not birthed you, after all, as loathe I am to admit it.
I am, of course, willing to overlook your tainted blood, Weiss." Siegmund continued. "You have potential. You are one of the best Huntresses in all of Vytal.
I am willing to see you as the true heir to the Schnee legacy. Join me, meine liebe Enkelin." He turned around, extending his hand to her, seemingly oblivious to the fact that Weiss was pointing her sword at him.
"I...would rather die." Weiss responded angrily. Siegmund gave her a bemused stare.
"Oh?"
"How dare you call anyone weak? You, and you alone, are weak and petty enough to not be able to let your son go- to let what you saw as wrongs pass, because you don't have the inner strength to admit they were right. You alone are twisted enough that you could see kindness, a lack of bigotry, and a conscience, as weakness.
So what if I associate with Faunus? So what if I associate with so-called lowborns? You said it yourself. I'm one of the best Huntresses in Vytal, Grandfather.
I didn't get there by being a miserable, complete monster of a man, pushing everyone else away.
I got here by being with my team- two lowborns and a Faunus, the very things you hate. And they have helped me more than any stupid motto or philosophy will.
Don't talk to me about self-reliance, or independence, or anything. You're just a hateful, cruel man who can't get over the fact that nobody thinks like you. Maybe, once upon a time, I thought exactly like you- that perfecting and relying on myself would've worked and carried me through life.
But not now." Weiss glared at him with as much fury as she could muster.
"And you hurt Ruby.
I'm willing to forgive everything else you've ever done to me.
But. Not. That."
Siegmund laughed heartily, lowering his hand. "Very well, Weiss, you drive a good point. And you have shown me where you truly lie."
"The time for talk is over." Weiss raised Myrtenaster. "I'm not afraid of you.
Not anymore."
"So you aren't." The tyrant sighed, planting his spear in the ground, before hefting it into his hands, pointing it at Weiss.
"Well then, Enkelin, let me refresh your memory."
Siegmund, with a deft movement, stabbed at Weiss' torso, causing the heiress to dodge quickly and parry the blow. He smiled, before knocking Myrtenaster out of the way and shoving Weiss away with his spear.
"Not even strong enough to protect yourself from an old man." Siegmund scoffed. "And you call yourself strong."
Weiss gave him a vengeful glare, pulling herself up and readying her sword again.
"I just have to be stronger than you."
Siegmund laughed again.
"Not likely, child. Not likely."
With a roar, he charged at Weiss again, allowing her to interrupt him by stabbing her rapier into the ground, causing a jet of ice to freeze him solid.
"Ice? You flatter me." Siegmund smiled, before he started to glow slightly, heating the ice off of him. The smell of smoke surrounded him, as if he had melted the ice off with fire.
He then retaliated by hurling a fireball at her, causing her to dodge as the tree behind her set aflame. Weiss rolled away, blasting his chest with a three-shot barrage, barely even fazing him.
"Heh. Pathetic." Siegmund scoffed. "I will do you one better!"
Opening his mouth and drawing in breath, he opened it to breathe a jet of fire over the trees, setting them aflame and forcing Weiss back into the fight.
Only for Weiss to see him charge at her and leap into the air, spear pointed at her.
"GRAH!"
Meanwhile, in RWBY dorm...
Blake, Yang and Ruby sat in a circle on the lower bunks, unable to leave since Ozpin had called a state of emergency around Beacon, now that Siegmund had single-handedly breached it.
Blake was on her laptop, fervently tracking down the energy trail that Siegmund's teleportation had left for her.
"Come on..." She smacked her laptop again, as it threw up more false trails, leading towards various locales like the Schnee Shopping Centre, Mountain Glenn, and even faraway locations like Mitakihara, Fuyuki City- as far as Inaba. "Dammit...how did he scramble the trail?"
"How can you even track him?" Yang raised an eyebrow.
"Siegfried showed me the Teleporter in an email." Blake explained hastily, still searching for Weiss. "He wanted me to know about it- an alternate way of teleportation using some form of particles- Minovsky Particles or something similar sounding- that didn't use Spiral Power to move great distances. It was complicated, but he told me how it usually left energy trails easily tracked, which I did when he used it a bunch of times as a test to teleport between the Kreuzelburg, Beacon and Alexander Arc's house."
"Can you find anything?" Ruby inquired worriedly.
"He's done something to the trails that give me false positives." The catgirl stated, shaking her head. "I'm getting locks on his location from Kamogawa, from Vacuo, from somewhere in Atlas..."
"Dammit..." Yang exhaled deeply. "How did we let that happen? How did...how did Siegmund get past us?"
"It's not your fault, Yang." Ruby patted her on the back, leaning into her to give her a hug- only for Yang to return the gesture.
"You need comforting more than me, Rubes."
"I..." The reaper shook her head.
"Y-you're not worried?"
"Weiss is a big girl, and I'm not worried." Ruby smiled, although it was slightly bitter.
"...we'll get Weiss back. I know it. We'll get her back."
We'll do it, right, Blake?"
"Damn straight." Blake nodded. "If I could just unscramble these damn trails!"
Suddenly, Ren bust through the dorm door, clutching a device in his hands. Yang and Ruby looked up at him.
"Ren-"
"No time." The gunslinger tossed Blake a device, which she caught and scanned over it.
It was a small USB dongle, labelled 'Wukong-Gunther Signal Clarifier' hastily scrawled onto it with black marker.
"They figured out how the teleporter worked and managed to get Siegfried to send them the notes on short notice. They don't know if this program would work- they hacked it together quickly- but t-"
"Thanks." Blake nodded. "I need all the help I can get. Tell them from me."
"Professor Faust is also attempting to divine her location with her magic circles. She's not getting too far either." Ren said, sighing. "Just thought I'd let you know.
Good luck, Blake." He stepped out, shutting the door behind him.
Blake plugged in the USB dongle, running the program alongside her tracker. Yang and Ruby pulled up next to her, looking hopefully at the screen.
"Did it work?" Ruby inquired hopefully. "Please tell me it worked. Please."
"Come on, Blakey..." Yang clasped her shoulder tightly. "Come on, come on..."
The trails began disappearing one by one, leaving only one, positive trail.
It led to several dozen miles out of Vale, upon a mountain known to be a Grimm nest.
Yang looked on in wonder. "Is that where..."
Ruby cheered, pumping her fist. "Weiss! We found you!
Now we can absolutely kick Siegmund's backside."
"Damn straight." Yang smirked, donning Ember Celica. "Emergency state or no, we're going to find Weiss."
Blake smirked. "Just who the hell do you think we are, right?"
"RIGHT!"
The catgirl donned her triangle glasses. It wasn't over, not yet. They weren't going to leave Weiss to die.
'Oh. Now the chase begins, Siegmund.
Weiss, if you can hear this, don't worry.
We're coming for you.'
To be continued...