Chapter Forty-Five: Haunting Past.
"As you can see Lord Schnee we are ready for the next trial." The Doctor said into the scroll in his hand. Weiss shuddered at his words but knew better than to speak out. "Since the last trial of Leviathan we have made the necessary adjustments and our predicted success is nearly ninety two percent." Weiss' jaw tightened in fear and anger. The last time Leviathan had been tried the predicted success was nearly ninety percent and it still failed and –
"Then proceed." Lord Schnee said with a bored tone. "I have no care whether this test is successful or not. If it is then you are clear to proceed with her training but if not use the data to try again." Weiss dug her nails into her hands at her own father's words. He didn't care if she even survived this damned procedure, he hadn't even bothered to show up like he had last time, but last time it had been Winter's life on the line not hers, last time Winter had volunteered to undergo the test protecting her from the Doctor's madness. But last time it had failed. Last time Winter had smiled and told her everything was going to be fine ant to not worry. Last time her sister had been her normal calm confident self stating she had nothing to worry about, the Schnee genetic template was stable enough for Leviathan to take hold and that they'd never have to preform the procedure on her. But it failed. And now they were going to attempt it again on her.
Once the Doctor hung up with her father he smiled widely at her and Weiss had to suppress another shudder. His pale skin was smooth and flawless looking like plastic instead of flesh, his green eyes were alight with madness as he approached her. "Now there's not need to worry Miss Schnee, we're nearly certain Leviathan will succeed." Beside him his assistant just stared at her jotting down notes on her scroll. Weiss hated them both. They had fueled her father's desires and his own madness for power. They had ripped her life apart all in the name of their 'science', they had killed countless people just for data and results. They had taken so much from her and now they were going to kill her. "Now let's get you prepped. Sylvia please fetch the nurse." The nurse came in had had her switch into a loose fitting garb as well as took her blood pressure which she unhelpfully noted was very high. From her place on the medical bed Weiss glared at the uncaring people in the room as they discussed the upcoming procedure as if she wasn't even there.
With barely even a word the nurses started to move the bed out the door and into a long empty hallway following the Doctor as he and his assistant continued making notes and having things adjusted. Weiss wanted nothing more than to curl up into a ball and cry as they forced the bed down the hall but she would not give them the satisfaction of seeing her break, she was going to make them all pay for all that they had done to her. If Leviathan did work she would see them all burn for this and recall her name. With that frame of mind Weiss steeled her nerves but couldn't stop her hands from trembling. As they reached the end of the of the hallway Weiss's heart was thundering in her ears while they opened the doors.
The room was in a word, cavernous. Weiss knew that they were only on the first floor of the nearly inconspicuous building in the mountains but the room dipped nearly twenty stories below them, soared another ten above them and stretched for hundred feet on each side. Metal catwalks stretched over the wide expanse linking the far wall, a few had scientist on them near the control panels of the massive pillion generators and towering liquid Dust container. All of this was background information to Weiss as she stared down towards the center of it all; there she saw a small container no bigger than a single person shower that was metal on three sides with a class door over the fourth, large metal tubes connected it to the liquid Dust containers and wires connected to the generators.
"Isn't it beautiful Miss Schnee?" The Doctor asked as he came beside her with that damned wide smile on his face, "Leviathan, the panicle of human augmentation. You should feel lucky that you'll get to experience it." Weiss held back her biting comment knowing if she opened her mouth she might vomit. "Well I guess we should get down there, wouldn't do for the star of the show to be late." Still smiling the Doctor motioned for them to go forward again and towards one of the freight elevators. Weiss could feel the trembling of her hands increase but refused to allow it to show.
They were just about to reach the edge of the catwalk when the whole building shook sending many to the ground and overturning the bed Weiss was on sending her tumbling to the ground and strike her head hard on the floor. "What the hell was that?" The Doctor snarled as he stood up glaring around them. Before anyone could answer a second rumble ripped through the building only this time it was accompanied with fire and smoke as a portion of the nearest wall was blown open sending rubble into the air.
"The White Fang are attacking!" A person shouted out just as another bomb exploded tossing a few scientist off their catwalk and to the ground far below.
The Doctor snarled again as he grabbed his scroll, "Deploy the Knights, I want all of them dead. We've worked too long for them to ruin it now!" Another explosion followed his words, this one causing the Red liquid Dust container to crack and spill its volatile cargo on the ground. Instantly the ground floor became an inferno causing the people below to scream out in fear and pain as the flames incinerated them. Those fortunate, or unfortunate enough as it turned out to be a few floors above the flames were consumed by the heat as the smoke started to rise. "No, no, no!" The Doctor screamed as he looked over the edge as al of his hard work and years of devotion burned.
Weiss slowly sat up to a high pitched ringing in her ears and her vision swimming. Slowly as she shook her head the world started to come back into focus. She could see people running for cover from the continued explosions as parts of the rafters of the ceiling were falling down slamming into catwalks dragging the people that were on them do their doom in the hellfire below. She could hear the screams of them as they burned and ran trying everything to survive. She looked up just in time to see a portion of the floor they were on crack around the edge, a portion that held the Doctors assistant. Just as she finally cleared the fog from her head she saw the portion give way and heard Sylvia scream as she plummeted,
"SYLVIA!" The Doctor yelled as the woman disappeared into the flames Those bastard! They'll pay for this, I'll kill them all myself in the slowest most painful ways imaginable." The man seethed as he gripped the railing he was holding onto with all of his might, "Those animals don't know what they've done. Years of hard work and labor gone. All of our data now wasted!" He didn't notice as Weiss struggled to her feet using the overturned bed to help her up.
"The 'Eisen-Krieger' inbound with reinforcements." A voice shouted over the speakers as more explosions filled the air. Weiss struggled to take a step as she staggered about hear head still swimming, the smoke and heat were making it hard for her to stand and stay up right but slowly she swayed towards the end of her bed and towards the Doctor. Her vision shifted as if she was seeing things though a fog as she felt another explosion rock the building, she watched as the railing that the Doctor was leaning against gave way causing the man to jerk forward suddenly, he tried to twist to prevent himself from falling but it was all for not. The tile under his feet cracked and slipped causing him to tumble over the side and into the fire. Weiss watched as the man fell, his green eyes flashing and a smirk on his face. Just as the man disappeared into the fire Weiss felt her legs collapse causing her to fall to the floor, she could feel the heat of the flames below her as the smoke collected in her lungs.
Weiss jerked awake her heart hammering in her chest as she panted in the darkness. She could feel the sweat on her brow as she tried to get her breathing under control, it was just a nightmare. A nightmare of the day the Doctor had died and the Leviathan facility had been destroyed by the White Fang. Taking a deep breath Weiss looked around remembering that she and Ruby were currently not in their dorm but in one of Vale's fancier hotels after Yang asked them if she could have their room for the weekend. Glancing to her side she found the crimson wolf curled up beside her with the sheets wrapped around her body. Weiss couldn't help but smile as she saw her wolf's ear twitch as she slept before throwing her arm over her eyes only to have the sight of the inferno flash in her mind causing her heart to race again and her body crawl with heat.
As quietly as she could Weiss slipped out from under the sheets and hoisted herself off of the bed. Not even bothering with a robe to cover herself Weiss made her way over to the large glass doors that lead out to the balcony, she could still feel the stickiness on her thighs from their early activates but it didn't really bother her too much. Glancing over her shoulder to make sure Ruby hadn't awoken the Heiress slide the door open and stepped out into cold night air.
Weiss felt the cold air on her bare skin causing it to prick with bumps and tightened. Taking in a deep breath the Heiress felt her tension melt away from her. She noted that Vale was receiving a light dusting of snow as she padded over to the edge of the balcony and looked over the city. Her blue eyes drifted across the silent city as she tried to rid her mind of the dream, leaning forward she placed her exposed arms on the stone railing and into the light layer of snow.
As she continued to watch the city below her she felt the snow tingle against her bare skin calming her down and allowing the dream to slip from her mind. The cold had once been a harsh teacher to her but now it served as a calming companion even as exposed as she was. Weiss knew that her fondness of the cold didn't help her perceived image as the 'Ice Queen' but frankly she didn't care and with the memory of the inferno fresh in her mind the Heiress didn't mind the cold right now.
With a sigh Weiss rested her chin against her arms and let her mind drift as the muted sounds of the city drifted up towards her. She didn't have a direct memory for what happened after she had passed out from the smoke but from the reports she had read she knew that General Ironwood had arrived in time with his troops to repel the White Fang, actually they had been fortunate that he had been in the area running them through a training exercise when the automatic distress signal had gone off. The General had found her on the ground and evacuated her back to the 'Eisen-Krieger'. From the reports she had learned that most of the staff from the facility had been killed or died due to their injuries most of the bodies they had recovered were burned beyond recognition so identifying them was a slow going process. There was a note of that the body of the Doctor and Sylvia had been found; Sylvia had been crushed by a beam and the Doctor's body had been impladed and torn apart by exposed pieces of metal. The pictures accompanying the report had made her ill but it did confirm to her that the madman was dead.
The reports had also stated that most of the White Fang had been able to escape but those that had been taken into custody had swallowed poison to prevent them from spilling any of their secrets. Weiss suspected that the reports were false as their deaths came after they had been transferred to Atlas and not while they were on the Battleship but with little evidence to prove otherwise there was nothing she could do.
But the most comforting report that Weiss had read had been in regards to the facility. In short everything inside had been destroyed, none of the equipment had been salvable and the data had been corrupted. Nothing of Leviathan was left, there would be no more experiments, no more tests, no more worry that she'd become just another failed subject to be tossed aside. Her father had spared Winter but she knew he had no qualms about disposing of her. And with the Doctor keeping all of his notes and designs secret his death had prevented anyone from trying to revive it. Leviathan was over.
Weiss was brought out of her thoughts as she heard a horn from far below her as a late night driver passed the hotel. Straightening up the Heiress looked up into sky. The lights of Vale reflected off the clouds giving the sky a dim orange glow allowing her to see the snow slowly drift down around her. With her face upturned Weiss felt the snow land on her skin before melting, closing her eyes against she took a deep breath and allowed the rest of the tension slip from her body.
"Weiss?" A soft voice called from behind her. Weiss turned around quickly to find a breath taking sight. Ruby was standing at the edge of the balcony just inside the door also with out a robe. The wolf's pale skin seemed to glow in the dim light, her dark tail contrasting as it wrapped lowly around her waist and thigh. Even though the Heiress had seen the wolf nude before she was still drawn in by the alluring curves of her hips and they swell of her breasts. As Weiss drug her eyes up the younger girl's body she stopped when she reached those silver eyes that shown just as brightly as they did in the light. Ruby Rose was absolutely stunning to her. Weiss just smiled and held out her hand in an offer for the wolf to join her.
Ruby hesitated for a brief second before padding out on to the balcony taking a hold of the Heiress' out stretched hand. She had awoken a few minutes ago to find Weiss missing from the bed. The wolf had perked her ears up trying to locate her missing bed mate but hearing nothing coming from with in the room she had looked around for any signs as to where Weiss had gone. It had been the curtain over the balcony door being askew that alerted her to where her girlfriend had gone. But seeing the Heiress standing in the falling snow devoid of clothes had been a sight Ruby had not been ready for. Ruby had thought Weiss was an angel with a halo and wings of snow.
As soon as Ruby had taken her hand Weiss gave it a gentle tug pulling Ruby flush against her body. Wrapping her arms around the wolf's waist she flared her Aura a bit to help keep the cold away from Ruby. For her part Ruby shivered as bare feet hit the snow but the warmth of Weiss' skin against her own replaced it. Ruby looked up at the Heiress, "What are you doing out here?"
Weiss stroked up and down her wolf's spine making her shiver slightly, "I needed some fresh air." She responded softly looking into the glowing silver orbs before her.
"In the snow?" Ruby asked with a smirk making Weiss roll her eyes. "You really are an Ic-"
Weiss pressed a finger into Ruby's lips giving her a light glare. "Finish that sentence and you'll really see an Ice Queen." Ruby just smirked and nuzzled against her neck, "Why are you up?"
"Realized you weren't in bed and wondered where you were." Ruby replied, "Didn't hear you in the bathroom and saw the curtain open so I figured you were out here."
"And you came out why?" Weiss continued asking knowing that even with her Aura Ruby was as comfortable as she was in the cold.
"I missed you." Ruby answered readily as she continued to nuzzle against her partner's neck. Truthfully she was getting cold and was debating on whether she should pull them backing into the warmth of the room.
Weiss just hummed in response as she continued to stroke Ruby's spine stopping in between her shoulder blades and just above the spot where her tail started, with each low pass she could feel Ruby shudder with pleasure. Apparently Faunus had a few more spots on their bodies where they were sensitive to touch, Ruby had explained that Faunus with tails were usually more sensitive near the base where the tail and spine split as there were more nerves there and the same was true for Faunus with animal ears, with Ruby having both Weiss found it very fun and easy to tease the wolf. "You could have waited, I would have been back eventually."
"Yeah but then I'd have to wait." Ruby smirked only to shudder again as Weiss' nails trailed down her back. "You really need to stop that." She whispered with a small glare at the Heiress.
"Oh?" Weiss challenged her wolf. "And if I don't?"
Ruby continued to glare, "Then I'll have an icicle hanging down between my legs." For all her composure and training in keeping a straight face Weiss couldn't help but laugh at Ruby's remark. "It's not funny!" Ruby pouted.
"Alright, alright." Weiss relented as she pulled Ruby closer against her body. She could feel the cold already clinging to the wolf's skin. With a frown Weiss sighed, "Come on let's get you back inside before you catch a cold."
Ruby nodded as Weiss led them back into their room but once they were back under the cover as she was curled up against her side she spoke up, "What were you thinking about? Earlier that is."
"You remember how I told you I was trained?" Weiss started after a few minutes of thought, she felt Ruby nod. "Part of that training involved, a procedure, or at least would have culminated in a procedure had events not unfolded the way they did."
"A procedure?" Ruby questioned.
Weiss nodded, "Yeah. It wasn't like a normal procedure either but a far more, twisted one."
"What do you mean?" Ruby asked making Weiss sigh.
"It wasn't pretty, nearly everyone who went through the procedure either didn't make it or were driving mad only to die a few hours later." Weiss explained making Ruby hiss in disgust and pull herself tighter against the Heiress, "Like I said it was twisted. Fortunately before I could undergo the procedure the White Fang attacked the lab and the lead scientist was killed. I guess I should thank them for that." She chuckled at the last part.
"But why didn't it start up again?" Ruby asked, if the lead scientist was killed surely someone could step up and take over. Not that she wanted that to happen but isn't that the way things usually went?
"The man in charge of the project didn't like giving out his secrets to anyone, even my father. And he wasn't the only one killed, there were many others that were killed that day and after seeing how much the loss of the lab had cost him my father decided to defund the project." Weiss explained. Well for the most part that was true, her father continued to keep 'Leviathan' funded as it paid for those who watched-
"Weiss?" Ruby broke through her though thoughts.
"Hmm?" The Heiress hummed as she looked down at her wolf.
"I asked if you were okay. You went all quiet and looked sad." Ruby frowned.
Weiss felt a soft smile creep across her lips, "Yes Ruby I'm fine. Now come on let's get some sleep. We're going to be busy tomorrow so it won't do to sleep in." With that she pressed her lips into the crimson tresses of the wolf between her ears and pulled their bodies closer together. Ruby sighed contently as she wrapped her tail around their legs and nuzzled into Weiss neck. After a few moments the two had drifted off once again.
The next two weeks passed rather quickly for Team RWBY as they had to make up for missing nearly four weeks of schooling. The professors were pushing everyone as hard as they could to make up for the lost time, many of them would assign multiple assignments every day to make up for it. Even combat training had started to assign after class hours that each student had to fulfill each week. Once those injured students were cleared for duty they also had to start to fill those hours.
Much to her relief Blake had been cleared a few days after classes had resumed. She had to get use to a new set of weapons and also start working the stiffness out of her muscles. She had started to teach Yang how to pulse her aura in order to fight off Adam's semblance, it as slow going as Yang's natural Aura control was to let it blaze. It was slow going but there was some progress regarding both.
Her new weapons were just as deadly as he old ones but much more maneuverable. Ruby had made sure the weapons were able to transform with nary a flick and turn of her wrists, the ribbons had been replaced with variable chains that lengthened to any length she needed. Sure it wasn't as soft as her ribbons but the chains were more versatile. Since she was already use to dual wielding the only thing she had to get use to was the new weight in her left hand, the cleaver blade had been much heavier.
Along with Blake's upgrades to her weapon Ruby had started redesigning the entire teams weapons, regardless if they wanted it or not. For Yang she had extended Ember Celica to cover all the way up to her shoulders as well as adding the extra steel the wolf had added a power function that added an extra punch when the brawler needed it. For Weiss, much to the protest of the Heiress she had designed a dual dust revolver function, stacking them on top of each other allowing the Heiress to combined two types of dust for even more powerful attacks, she had also added a way for the blade to retract to the exhaust port allowing it to be more portable. When she was redesigning Crescent Rose, Ruby looked at her design as well as her uncle's comparing the two designs and how they stacked up to each other.
Her uncle's 'Grimeater' had more forms than most weapons at five; it's inactive compact form, a large sword, duel shotguns, the scythe and a rarely used long spear form. Qrow had told her that the spear form was only useful when he came up against very tall Grim, so he didn't use it often but he had built it in a long time ago and never bothered to rebuild it. His scythe blade was sharp on both sides, she had considered doing that but she wanted a non-lethal option when facing human opponents. But now that she looked at if, if she was drawing Crescent Rose then it was likely she was going to put that person down hard, so maybe she should look at a smaller weapon for her non-lethal option. Something to come back too.
Finally after drawing several different versions Ruby had settled on a more streamlined scythe. It would allow for her to attack quicker as well as move faster, sure it would mean she had less shots in her rifle but he could reload pretty damn quick so it didn't really matter to her. She added a double edge to her blade making it deadlier as well as serrating the lower edge.
Of course each of the weapon upgrades would have to wait until the winter break. Blake's upgrade was necessary, as she had completely lost her weapons so hers were marked priority had moved to the front of the forging line. But for now Ruby was content to have her sketches and design plans which had been approved by a Master Forger as well as a Dust Mechanic.
"Ruby if you keep daydreaming you won't get your homework done." Weiss pointed out for what felt like the fifth time that hour. But Ruby couldn't help but star out at the winter wonderland that was now the campus of Beacon. The past two weeks had dump an abnormal amount of snow on Vale and Ruby wanted to go have fun.
"Huh?" Ruby asked as she snapped out of her staring from her spot on the top bed. Although she didn't sleep there anymore she used her bed to study from time to time.
Weiss sighed and leaned back in her chair as she looked up at her wolf, "Get back to studying. Once you're finished… then I guess we can go outside." The Heiress sighed. Though she hated the reward system she had to admit it worked pretty well on Ruby. She could here her wolf's tail shift quickly one the sheets making her smirk. A snicker came from behind the Heiress making her narrow her eyes, "Something you want to add Yang?"
"I just find it funny that you've found a way to bribe Ruby to actually keep her attention on her homework." Yang snickered making Ruby pout cutely.
"Oh and you're saying Blake hasn't?" Weiss replied with a raised eyebrow making the blonde cough. Two days ago Blake had threatened Yang that unless the blonde finished an assignment she was pushing off by the time they went to bed the brawler would be sleeping in the hall. It had taken Yang thirty minutes to finish it with ten minutes to spare. Beside the blonde the panther started to chuckle.
"She got you there Yang." Blake continued to chuckle. "And if I recall don't you have a test in-" She was cut off as the door to their dorm room was thrown open. All four girls turned to stare at their intruder in surprise.
Standing in their door was the strange orange-haired girl who quickly scanned the room, her strange green eyes falling on Weiss.
"Miss Schnee." The girl said as she took a few steps into their room, "I have important information for you."
Weiss narrowed her eyes at the girl, she still felt that the girl was somehow familiar but she couldn't put her finger on how. "You're name was Penny right?" The Heiress questioned.
"Yes Miss Schnee." Penny nodded, "Now please I have information for you that is very important." Penny gestured for Weiss to follow her which elected a small growl from the wolf who had sat up and was growing tense, Blake, Weiss noted had also tensed and was staring at the girl intently her hand straying to the knife she usually kept hidden near her pillow. That the two teammates who had the best senses had grown tense started making alarm bells ring in Weiss' head and a quick glance to Yang showed she wasn't the only one.
"No, I will not be following you." Weiss shook her head, making both of the Faunus relax a little, but not much. "If you have information for me you can inform me here, I trust my team."
The girl seemed to hesitate before she spoke again, "I really must insist Miss Schnee this information is highly sensitive."
"And my team can handle the information." Weiss insisted getting slightly annoyed.
"Miss Schnee it pertains to SDC private business." Penny tried again to explain.
"And my team has already dealt with SDC business and know more than the public about my families company." Weiss spat out her eyes narrowing.
"Miss Schnee I must ins-" Penny tried.
"Just say it already." Weiss snapped out over the girl.
"The White Fang are planning to attack Leviathan's Containment Facility." Penny explained making Weiss freeze.
The three other girls in the room looked between the strange girl and their teammate as a tense silence settled in on the room. Ruby moved gently towards her girlfriend and was about to place a hand on her shoulder when Weiss finally broke the silence.
"Winter." The Heiress said in a voice just above a whisper.
A/N: Okay so I'm not gonna say sorry for being... missing I guess is the best term but life's been pretty rough over the past few months. Between health issues, getting rejected for every job I applied to because my 'degree isn't exactly what they want', up rooting from one location and moving back home (kinda), still getting rejected by even part time jobs because 'I'm over qualified' or something along those lines, and now going back to school to get another degree and getting an on off job as a sub for my old school system I really haven't had the time or really drive to write. But now that things are getting back into a groove I'm starting to find more time to actually sit down an write, the drive is still lacking but hopefully that will come back with time.
Anyway enough of my issues and back to what this things are usually for. I had most of this chapter actually typed out and done save the last bits. Hopefully it won't be another six months before another chapter comes out but I'm promising nothing. I'll try to get another chapter out as soon as I can. There's only about five to six left honestly and I'll try to answer everything in those.
With that: Here looking at you kid, share your smile with someone you care about and until we meet again, stay frosty.