Chapter Forty-Six: Winter's Secret
Everyone but Penny turned towards Weiss after she had spoke in confusion. "Weiss?" Ruby asked as she came over towards girlfriend. Weiss continued to stare for a few more second at the strange girl before her eyes hardened and her hands clenched into fists.
Weiss quickly stood up before Ruby could reach out for her and strode over to the orange haired girl and before anyone could react she cocked back her fist and slammed it into her face.
"WEISS!" her three teammates cried as they surged forward Ruby bolted to her partners side and pulled her away while Yang and Blake went to check on Penny. "Why did you do that?" Ruby asked her eyes searching for answers for the white haired girls reaction.
"I had to be sure." Weiss spat as she looked down at her first, her knuckles had cracked over and were bleeding lightly.
"Be sure of what?" Yang asked as she looked back at her.
"That she isn't real." Weiss growled as she glared at the girl who was turning back to them.
Blake went to check on her only to pull back in surprise. Instead of a red mark or a bruising area on the other girl's face there was nothing. Her skin was just as pale and pristine as before, the only thing that was out of place was her nose was slightly off center which she corrected by pushing it back into place. "That was not a nice thing to do Miss Schnee. Though I must admit I had only calculated the chances that you would become confrontational at only a nine point seven percent. That must be why your attack got through."
Blake slowly backed away from the strange 'girl' looking towards Ruby and Weiss for a cue as to what to do. Yang was too was moving though she was stepping forward to place herself between Penny and her team.
"Weiss?" Ruby asked her eyes never leaving the 'girl'.
Weiss continued to glare at the doll, how could she have missed it? The damn thing acted and even had the same movements as that damned doll she had faced in that cursed chamber all those years ago. Ruby had even commented that she didn't think that it was a real girl with they first ran across it. "It's not a living being." She hissed out not looking away from the mechanical doll. "It is a robot, and engineered being with artificial feelings and computed thoughts." She glanced at Ruby who had shifted slightly in front of her, "It's nothing but a product of my father and a madman."
"What?" The three other girls gasped as they all wiped their gaze to the other 'girl' that was standing in the room looking at them with a happy but blank gaze. Both of the Faunus took long sniff of the air smelling the scent of oil and metal that seemed to radiate from her.
"Now Miss Schnee, you really shouldn't divulge the companies secrets. What would your father say?" Penny shook her head.
"My father can get fucked." Weiss snarled out, "He's the one responsible for all of this madness in the first place and once I can I'll make sure he pays for all of his crimes."
"That is not a nice thing to say about your father Miss Schnee." Penny shook her head, "He is a great man. He is the one paying for your sisters up keep."
"Shut up you mindless machine." Weiss growled out, "My father is the one responsible for making Winter the way she is now!"
"But Miss Schnee if she hadn't volunteered to save-" Penny started to say before Weiss cut in again trying to get to the mechanized girl.
"She did it to keep my father from killing me!" Weiss yelled, she tried to make her way forward only to be held back by Ruby, "Ruby let me go I want to destroy this, this thing."
"Weiss calm down." Ruby pleaded as she tried to hold back her angry girlfriend. "You're not making any sense, and she said Winter was in danger." That brought Weiss up short.
"Fine," Weiss huffed before relenting and pulling back. "Fine. You're right my sister comes first. Right then Penny tell us what you know."
Penny blinked a few times before nodding, "It is like I said Miss Schnee, we received intelligence that the White Fang will be attacking the Leviathan Holding Facility. We currently do not know when but it is believed that it will be soon. If we do not act soon they may kill you sister in not understanding that she is-"
"Enough." Weiss cut over her again and after taking a few deep breaths she centered herself. "We need to get to Mantle and we need to get there fast."
"Weiss?" Ruby asked as she cocked her head to the side.
"Ruby I will explain on the way but right now we need to get to Mantle." Weiss looked into wolf's silver eyes pleading with her.
Ruby could see the silent plea in the Heiress' eyes and gave a quick nod. "Alright then that's what we'll do." She turned to the other two girls who nodded in agreement. "Unfortunately Ozpin's grounded all Bullheads leaving Beacon while they are doing reconstruction, so no pilot is going to fly us…" She frowned as she trailed off, they needed to get to Mantel but how they were going to get there was a bit of a question.
"Well if the Bullheads are in the hanger we still can use them." Yang piped up, making everyone look at her, "I mean I've been taking flying classes and I've logged a lot of hours in the simulator. So we shouldn't have to many issues."
Weiss and Ruby looked over at the blonde who just shrugged, "Alright then." The wolf sighed, "So that our transportation problem solved but how do we sneak a Bullhead out of a hanger that is suppose to be on lock down?"
"Well I suppose I can come up with something." Blake smirked, making the other shake their heads.
"Right then we have a plan and a way to get out of here." Ruby nodded. "Now we need our gear and supplies. How soon can we move out?"
Blake looked off to the side, "Be in the hanger in a half hour and we'll be able to move out. Make sure you grab a Bullhead with a full tank." She looked at the blonde who took a mock affronted look. "And be there on time." With that she moved towards the door and with a last glance at the 'girl' she left the room.
"Right then we need to move quick." Yang said as she moved towards her wardrobe and started pulling out clothes. "Well we bought these for our next mission and I guess this is it." From with in the wardrobe she pulled a pair of black pants and a orange top. As she started to change both Ruby and Weiss moved to their own and started pulling out their own outfits. Weiss pulled out a blue dress that started dark near the top and lighted up towards the bottom. It had a right sash around the middle, the bodice was accented with a metal trim, finally she pulled out a shrug that covered her arms and a crossed her chest the under side of the jacket was also metal as was the clasp in front that embodied a sapphire. A pair of dark blue heels finished out the out fit. Once she was finished she looked over at her teammates seeing each they two were finished.
Yang's outfit was finished off with a long tan coat with gold accent and a pair of brown boots that zipped up the front, there was a purple bandanna wrapped around her left leg. In the blonde's hands were another outfit that she had taken from the panther's wardrobe though she couldn't make it out save for the long white coat. Ruby on the other had was in a outfit similar to her usual one only the top had changed. Instead of the customary black and red top she had changed into a red and black corset that laced up the front and had a red trim around the top and a white top with black cuffs that showed off the barest hint of her chest. She had a few black buckled straps that wrapped around her arms. She also wore a pair of black tights that Weiss had picked out for her, for reasons, and a pair of black boots that buckled on the side. Her red cape was bundled up around her neck and pinned with a her signature rose pin.
"Right then all ready?" Ruby asked getting a nod from her teammates, and getting two nods from them.
As they started to move towards the door Penny spoke up, "Miss Schnee I must protest. They should not be brought along this is a concern of the Schnee Dust Company."
"They are my team, and they will be coming." Weiss glared at the 'girl' and brushed past her. "Now we need to be quick in getting our equipment." Quickly the group moved through the dorm and towards the gym. Penny tried again several times to get Weiss to change her mind about bringing her team but each time Weiss either ignored the 'girl' or rebuked her.
After getting their weapons and Dust they moved towards the hanger. "I hope Blake comes through on time." Weiss muttered as they moved behind a stack of boxes. "Yang spot us a ride?"
"That one's filled up." Yang pointed to a Bullhead at the far side towards the open hanger bay. "Come on Kitten anytime now." The blonde glanced down at her scroll.
"You're so impatient." A smooth voice said as the panther slunk beside them, "Thanks for bringing my stuff. Now we should be good to go in, five, four, three, two…" As if on cue a small explosion of ice and water erupted from the other side of the hanger and drew the attention of the staff. Shouting and panicked yelling quickly followed as the staff ran over to the site of the explosion to see what was going on. "Time to move." Quickly the group crossed the hanger and got the Bullhead that Yang had pointed out.
"Buckle up this is gonna be a quick take off." Yang called as she got to the cockpit and started flipping switches to power up the Bullhead.
"Hey you can't be doing that." Someone called out spotting the Bullhead powering up. "Power down now!"
"Weiss need some time give us some room." Yang called. Weiss nodded and stood at the end of the Bullhead and summoned an array of repulsion glyphs pushing back the group of staff that were starting to make their way towards their transport.
"Right then here we go." Yang called out as she pulled back on the center stick lifting the Bullhead into a hover. "Hang on I'm gunning it." Before anyone could react the blonde pushed the throttle forward making the ship launch forward and out of the open Hanger doors. "Right there's tricky part done." She sighed, "Hey Weiss I'm gonna need a heading."
"Seventy two degrees, fifty three minutes thirty one seconds north, thirty two degrees, one minute fifty one seconds east." Weiss listed off with out any hesitation, "It's in the northern territory of Mantle, past the Great Wall." Yang nodded and quickly set the coordinates.
"Echo-Echo Five Zero, come in Echo-Echo Five Zero." A voice called through the radio drawing every ones attention. There was a few moments of pause before the call came again only this time sounding angrier.
"I suppose I should answer that." Yang sighed as she flipped the radio switch, "Echo-Echo Five Zero, responding. How can I help you?"
"Echo-Echo Five Zero you do not have permission to take off return to the hanger immediately." The voice over the radio said.
"Yeah I'm going to have to go with, no sorry." Yang replied in a sing song voice, "Any way's we'll be back as soon as we can bye." Before the person could respond she switched off the transponder and deactivated the Bullheads tracking. "Boring conversation."
While the brawler was finishing up setting in the flight path Weiss was glaring at the doll that was standing across from her. On either side Ruby and Blake were looking between the unsure of what they should do. Finally it was Ruby who broke the silence, "Blake, Yang put your clothes and weapon near the front why don't you get ready while Weiss tells us what's going on?"
Blake looked between the Heiress and the 'girl' before giving her leader a short nod and went to change into her new outfit. Seeing the panther get up Ruby sighed and reached over to take Weiss' hand, "Weiss, tell us what's going on."
The Heiress hesitated for a brief second before taking a steading breath, "Ruby do you remember telling you about how the ending of my training would have ended?"
Ruby nodded, "You said it would have ended in a procedure that either out right killed the people drove them insane only to die later." Weiss nodded and she caught Blake looking over her shoulder at them in horror while the Bullhead dipped slightly as Yang's own surprise caught her off guard.
"Right." Weiss nodded but before she could continue the doll spoke up again.
"Miss Schnee I really must pro-" Penny tried only to have the Heiress cut over her.
"Be silent you fucking Doll." Weiss hissed, "I told you before I don't give a damn about the SDC's secrets." Weiss continued her glare for a moment before returning to her story, "The procedure's purpose was to embed a person with the ability to summon and control Dust at will." Ruby frowned and Blake who had finally finished getting dressed also looked confused. Weiss finally got a good look at Blake's new out fit; it consisted of a pair of a pair of tight black pants with a white belt and tall black leather boots that went all the way up to mid thigh with golden highlights. Underneath the long sleeved white coat she had see earlier she wore a black halter top that exposed the panthers trim stomach. The look made the panther look sleek and deadly but made the Heiress pause was the missing bow that was usually standard for the girl.
It was Yang's voice that broke her observations, "Wait. I'm confused, what's the point of that? Can't you already do that with Dust?" The blonde looked back out of the cockpit at her.
"What I mean is the person would essentially become a Dust generator. They would be able to generate Dust inside their own body using their Aura, manipulate what type it was, they could create solid crystals or powered, they would be a walking weapon even without a weapon." Weiss explained clearer seeing the shocked looks of her teammates she continued, "To do this they would have to infuse an enormous amount of Dust into the person's body but as you can imagine that puts an immense amount of strain upon the person." The three other girls nodded and Yang turned back to look at the radar to make sure they weren't being followed.
"But how would that even be possible?" Blake questioned with a frown, she knew Weiss was a lot more knowledgeable about Dust mechanics but she was probably the second most knowledgeable about the volatile substance on the team.
"Under normal circumstances it's not." Weiss continued, "But the man in charge of the project developed a stabilizing component as well as a incubating unit that was meant to help with the process, I don't remember the exact formula for the stabilizing component but it wasn't very effective." Her tone turned bitter towards the end. Before she could be asked why she continued, "At first they didn't use the stabilizing component, the people that went through the procedure with out it didn't last much longer than the first injection. Depending on the first injection the person's body would be over come by the effects of the Dust, people who were injected with fire type would combust until nothing was left but a pile of ash, ice dust resulted in a person being frozen solid from the inside out, wind dust would literally rip a person apart." Weiss shuddered, she had been forced to witness the initial tests. "The only thing that seemed to help was if the subject had a semi stable genetic code."
"A what?" Ruby asked cocking her head to the side.
Weiss paused thinking of the best way to explain what she meant, "I mean very little variation in their genetic make up. Like if their mother and father shared similar traits then there would be very little variation in their child."
"That makes sense but why did their genetics matter?" Ruby asked still confused.
"The procedure was a forced mutation of sorts." Weiss explained, "It forced the body to adapt and change so it needed a stable base code to manipulate. The stabilizing component used in the procedure was meant to add a blank to a persons genetics to possibly help it work."
"But wouldn't it make more sense if the person's genetics were varied?" Blake asked from her spot across from them, "I mean if it has to change then an unstable genetic code that could change easier would be best, right?"
Weiss shook her head, "No. It was originally an idea that that might be the case but it proved to not be the case. I'm not sure why though to be honest I never really studied it that much." She shrugged before continuing, "Look after we get back we can discuss the details but right now you need to know what's going on." Both girl's nodded, "So like I was saying my father and the Doctor were convinced that the key to the procedure working was a stable genetic code so they decided that I would be the next test subject. I was terrified, I had seen what had happened to the people they forced into that procedure, those that weren't out right killed lost their minds in a few hours and then killed themselves because their minds couldn't handle the stress of the change. It was to much, I was sure I was going to die and I knew my father wouldn't care, even if I did survive somehow and lost my mind he'd just gladly use that as a way to gather new data."
Weiss closed her eyes and took a deep breath, "The night before I was to go under the procedure the first time Winter somehow convinced them that she should be the one to undergo the procedure and took my place. I had to watch as she was placed in that damn incubator and was injected with refined Dust, I can still hear her screaming." Her breaths were coming in fast and quick and the Heiress as if she was on the verge of losing it when she felt Ruby slip in hand into her own and gave it a squeeze. Weiss gave her a thankful smile and she pulled herself back together.
"In the end somehow she survived the procedure and was able to keep her mind, for a few days." Blake and Ruby exchanged looks of shock but Weiss paid no attention, "At first everything was alright but then small things started to slip, she'd forget what day it was then it was formulas that she had memorized since she was a child then with seemingly each passing hour more and more slipped. She slowly regressed to the point where she didn't recognize anyone had no idea where she was or who she even was but she still had all the power the procedure gave her. She became a danger to everyone around her and herself. As her condition deteriorated she was prone to mood swings and it would make her lose control of the powers. If she got mad she'd incinerate everything around her which would scare her making things freeze. If she got to happy she'd electrocute things. Finally it reached the point where the only thing that kept her sane was a little doll, she'd keep it with her all the time cradling it and rocking it. I thought for sure my father would have her killed when it reached the point that she was providing them no more useful data but instead he placed her in a facility meant to house her and try to rehabilitate her."
By the time she was finished Weiss had tears in her eyes and she felt Ruby pull her into her side as the wolf ran her lips across her temple. "Winter saved me once but the next time I almost didn't get as lucky." Weiss looked over at Blake, "I was within minutes of being forced to go through the procedure when the White Fang attacked the facility destroying it and killing the Doctor in the process."
Blake gave her a look of surprise as she tried to remember an attack a SDC facility, "I don't think I was involved in that but I am glad that it saved you from such a fate." Weiss nodded in agreement. "But what does this have to do with your sister? I thought we were going to the Leviathan?"
Weiss gave her a small sad smile, "We are. Winter is the Leviathan."
Ozpin slumped back into his chair as he watched the Bullhead's tracker disappear over the northern Vale ocean. Well at least he knew he was headed towards Atlas but why were they going there? Did they know about the plan to aid the people of Atlas and even if they did did they honestly think they could help. With a heavy sigh he pulled his cup of coffee closer to him and shock his head, he'd have to send someone after them soon, it was a good thing CFVY got along with RWBY with how often they were sent after them.
Just as Ozpin started to reach for his scroll to summon Miss Adel the office door opened admitting an worried looking James and an irate looking Glynda, this wasn't going to be good, at least Qrow wasn't here, yet. "How may I help you?"
" 'Marionette' is gone." James said with out any preamble. Ozpin just cocked an eyebrow, that was indeed worrying.
"Any idea where she might have run off to?" He asked.
Glynda glared at Ironwood before turning her glare on him, "She is with RWBY on that Bullhead that just flew away. A Bullhead that I might add was unauthorized to take off let alone be flow by students!" She continued to glare at him.
"I was just about to order Team CFVY to bring them back," He explained trying to pacify the irate blonde. "Once RWBY has returned I will ensure they face disciplinary measures." Glynda relaxed slightly and Ozpin had just started to think that things were going to turn out fine when a report flashed across holo-screen causing him freeze, someone had hacked into the main frame and stolen a load of information including the location of 'Leviathan'. It had taken this long to find the breach because as mainframe hadn't been damaged during the attack it was a low priority compared to the other repairs. Now he knew where Miss Schnee and her team was headed, but why take… "James does Penny know anything about the Schnee family?"
Being caught off guard by the question the General hesitated, "Yes she is familiar with their family history as well as past experiments. Why?"
"It seems Beacon has had a security breach, part of the information that was stolen seems to be the location of 'Leviathan'." Ozpin explained drawing a gasp from Glynda, "Is it possible that Penny could some how communicate with Atlas and gain information about a possible attack?"
"Possibly…" James trailed off before shaking his head, "But why would anyone want to attack her? She's harmless and of no use in a fight."
"The answer isn't why but who." A voice said as a portal tore open in the middle of the room. James drew his gun and aimed it at the portal as he expected Raven to step through but the room was shocked to see the form of Taiyang step through first.
"I really hope you don't plane on using that on me Jimmy" Taiyang chuckled lightly as he raised his hands.
"Tia." Glynda exclaimed as she stepped towards the man only to stop as Raven appeared behind him, her red eyes roaming the room, she noticed that James adjusted his aim towards the woman. Raven's eyes blazed for a moment and Glynda knew she had to intervene before things got out of hand, "James lower your weapon."
"I'd do it General," Raven glared at the man, her hand slowly went to her weapon as she lowered into her stance. "Unless you want to replace even more parts."
Reluctantly Ironwood holstered his gun but continued to glare at the woman. "Why are you here Raven?"
Raven ignored the General and turned to Ozpin, "The White Fang is the ones who stole the information from Beacon, the current leader plans to use 'Leviathan' as a weapon but he is unaware of her current status. Once he realizes she's useless he'll no doubt dispose of her."
"So that would be why Miss Schnee's team just left." Glynda sighed, "We'll need to send someone after them quickly as well as evacuate Winter should the need arise."
"Schnee? As in Ruby's teammate?" Tai asked.
"Technically Miss Schnee is your daughter's girlfriend." Ozpin chuckled seeing the surprised look on the man's face, "I'm sure if you stick around long enough you'll be introduced."
"Well that's dif-" Tia started to say when the door to the off burst open.
"Ozpin we have a major prob-" Qrow started to say only to stop when he spotted everyone in the room. He paused and looked confused for a minute, "Do you already know?"
"Know what Qrow?" Ozpin asked a bit confused.
"There's a horde of Grimm heading towards the defense wall, reports show there's at least six thousand." Qrow explained as he pulled out his flask and took a drag, "The worst part is it has Chimera mixed in."
Tia let out a long whistle as he rocked back on his heels. "That's a big problem indeed."
Ozpin was already acting sending out a system wide alarm alerting all Hunters in Vale as well as summoning all team leaders to the auditorium to be briefed. "James rally your troops, we can deal with the council later. Glynda start breaking teams down into rally points we'll need to divide them across the wall to help the defenders." The two nodded and quickly left leaving the Headmaster alone in the room with the broken team. "I know this may be asking a lot but-"
"You want us to head out as well don't you?" Qrow cut over him as he drew another drink.
"Your team was legendary in its time, it still can be." Ozpin replied.
"We aren't a team anymore." Tai pointed out, "Qrow and I barely work together any more and Raven…"
The woman let out a long sigh and shook her head, "I would be a hindrance to them. Our history is to heavy to fight with each other like we once did."
Ozpin slammed his hand down hard against his desk cracking the glass as he glared out at the three legendary Hunters. "Now is not the time for you to try and air your issues. Now is time for you to be the heroes you had once been. It was time you take up the mantle once again and stand against the Grimm." The old Hunter roared a them making all three take a small step back, "I know this sounds like a low blow but if Summer was here she would be ashamed of what her once great team had become; A drunkard, a recluse and a runaway." Each of them shrunk back more as he glared at them individually. "STRQ was the best team that ever emerged from Beacon and even with Summer gone your team can still be just as great."
There was a heavy silence in the air as Tai and Qrow exchanged uneasy looks. Raven had her head down her shoulders shaking, before either man could speak she took a few steps towards Ozpin and raised her head. She had tears in her red eyes but the Headmaster could see a fire in them, a fire reminiscent of her daughter. With a scream Raven cocked her fist back and slammed it into the side of Ozpin's face, he let the blow land but did prevent it from doing any real damage, though her metal gauntlet had cut his cheek causing a line of blood to run down his face.
"You, you, you bastard." She growled out as her breathing came in short harsh gasps. "You utter and miserable bastard. How dare you bring Summer into this, how dare you use her against us, the people who loved her more than you'll ever know. How fucking dare you." Raven slowly regained her composure as she straightened her back, with one more glare at the Headmaster she spun on her heel and moved towards the door. "Come on boy's, we have some Grimm to kill." Both Tia and Qrow exchanged looks of amusement and disbelief before shaking their heads and went to follow the black haired woman.
Once they left the room Ozpin sighed and hung his head, his Aura quickly healed the cut on his cheek. "Well then old friend, this is your play is it?" The Headmaster straighten up and grabbed his cane as he too walked towards the door, "Then I guess I had better take my place as well."
In the northern part of Mantle there was a mountainous region. The mountains were tall and jagged stretching nearly endlessly into the sky. With the nearly impassable landscape there was no need for the defense wall to be here. The rocky land was harsh and unlivable meaning there was no one who wanted to live there. All of those combine made it the ideal place to a hidden research facility.
Though no active research went on in the facility currently it was more a long term observational research. With no need for researchers to be there themselves the staff was kept to a minimum of a few caretakers, a cook, and a handful of guards.
The facility did have one current resident though. She was a young woman who was kept away from the rest of the world, locked away in a room that consisted of a bed, a desk, a few chairs and a table. Books for small children were scattered across the floor, along with dolls and toys. To this woman, this room was her world. This room and a small doll she always keep clutched to her chest. The doll was a small girl with long white hair, ice blue eyes with a white dress. The doll was perfectly kept, the woman brushed the doll's hair every day, cleared her dress and cared for her like she was alive. The only blemish on the doll was a long scratch across the doll's left eye.
The woman rocked with the doll back and forth as she mutter to it, "It's okay Weiss, it's okay. Big sis is here, I'll protect you."
Winter Schnee rocked with the doll, blissfully unaware of the world outside of her room. She would hold her sister and protect her, just like she had always done. It was her job to protect Weiss. That's right Weiss was safe so long as she was there.
Okay, so not dead... Kinda. Life's been hard lately, between getting screwed over by a government department which prevented me from getting a job and getting told that instead of a year and a half of school left I'd have to do a minimum of three more possibly more to get another degree so I can get the job I want. Which means I had to go back to the bank for another loan which they were slow about. So now back in school while trying to balance a job and social obligations leaves very little time to write. Hopefully know that I'm back in the grooveish I can get back and finish this fic.
For those of you who have stayed around in my absence; thanks a lot and I deeply apologize for the long wait. Keep being cool you funky cats and as always find something to smile about today.