Chapter Nine: Double Trouble

He sat in the street corner, leaning against the lightpost. On his arm was a pretty girl who seemed younger than him. She had soft, gentle features and a hat covering her head from the hot sun. She was holding his arm.

She had short blonde hair and pale white skin that suggested she didn't get much sun. Her lavender eyes stared at him, watching him.

He ran a hand through his grey hair as he looked down at his legs, crossing them. A small breeze wafted through the air, drawing his attention. Sitting across the street, hidden in shadows, was his partner. His work partner, a man of muscle and strength. He was staring at him, his mask he always wore hiding any movement of his eyes. He clenched his left hand, the tattoo of a beast's head and claw, the symbol of the White Fang, shining almost.

"Looks like I gotta go to work, kid," He said to her, looking at his partner. "Boss's orders."

"I can help you Mercury," She held him. "I'm useful."

"I can't expose a pretty girl like yourself to such dangerous work," He waved her away. "I gotta do this myself. You head home and I'll be back there soon."

"But, I don't mind getting my hands dirty," She clenched him harder.

"I said no," Mercury said. "Now, go home. I promise I'll be back."

"O-Okay," She spared him one last look, walking away, and leaving him to glance after her.

"What?" He asked his partner. "You know this ain't no place for a pretty little thing like her. Yes she's legal. She's got kids."

His partner, for his part, said nothing, glancing at a scorpion that was crawling by. A strong gust of wind blew it toward him, where he reached with his foot, which uncoiled like a spring, striking the scorpion and killing it instantly, shattering it into pieces.

"I guess you're ready, huh, Lieutenant?" He asked, a small chuckle. "Itchin' to get a piece of the Schnee brat, huh? I figured you preferred a more masculine type. 'Course, her brother didn't seem like the masculine type from how you described him. Funny who hired us to bump him off, eh? Didn't think I could get a bad taste in my mouth for a parent before that job.

A small growl from Lieutenant was enough to get him to stop talking.

"Alright, alright," He chuckled. "I suppose we need to take out the group. You remember the plan?"

With a stroke gust of wind, debris blocked the view of Lieutenant, the wind settling as the masked man disappeared.

"Man, you must really want that one," Mercury chuckled. "I suppose we have to go."

"Jeez, could this city get any more crowded?" Weiss asked as they pushed through the crowd. They had arrived in Lavender Town, a city about a hundred miles from the mainland of Sanus. From the instant they arrived, they were surrounded by the locals in a way far more crowded than any other city they'd been to.

"This place is wonderful," Blake held her arms out wide. "The crowded nature of the city makes it seem so alive."

"Menagerie is crowded as well in places," Maria whispered to Weiss.

"Well, the person that even thinks of touching my wallet is getting a very stern slap on the wrist." Weiss said. "With the end of my sword."

"Weiss, that's not cool," Maria said, gasping slightly as she realized she had punned and beginning to snicker.

"Are you drunk, old lady? Get it together." Ruby shoved her forward. "We're following you, remember?"

"Oh, right," Maria laughed, rubbing the back of her head. Ruby rolled her eyes as they followed. They managed to get a taxi, sitting down in it.

"This time, please try not to assault the driver," Blake chided Maria.

"It was like one time when I was younger," Maria waved her away. "He was askin' for it."

"I hope that Ilia gets home safe," Pyrrha looked at Ruby, ignoring the adults.

"She's a tough cookie," Ruby shrugged, pulling out a cigarette and lighting it. "She'll survive. She's got some spunk. But, obviously, this isn't a place for kids or people without Semblances. Even if she has one, she's definitely not battle ready."

"Yeah," Pyrrha nodded. "But, I hope she did, make it home."

"Old lady, didn't you say you had to call grampa?" Ruby asked Maria.

"Oh, shit, you're right!" Maria snapped her fingers. "I gotta do that."

"Did you tell him about Autumn's condition?" Blake asked.

"Uh, yeah, sure," Maria quickly changed the subject. "I wonder what food the hotel has in stock."

"So, you're just going to not let him know until we either kill Cinder or she dies, correct?" Blake nudged her.

"Sun's a worrier," Maria looked away. "If I tell him, he'll become anxious and he'll end up in almost as bad a condition as her. I'll just leave it at that."

"And that will go over swimmingly," Blake rolled her eyes.

When they stopped at the hotel, Maria went to a payphone, dialing his home number.

"Hello?" The voice on the other line answered.

"Uh, hi mom," Maria sighed in relief. "I'm just checking in. We're in Lavender Town, almost on our way to the Valean side. Just a thousand miles or so."

"Are you sure you can make it in time?" Glynda asked, her tone anxious. "You're running down the clock."

"I… I know," Maria blinked back the tears. "We'll do it, I just know it."

"I have faith in you," Glynda's stern voice softened. "I only wish I was still in fighting condition. I'd come down and help you fight."

"It's alright," Maria laughed. "We'll do just fine. Sun is still in the dark about this?"

"Of course," Glynda nodded. "But, you should tell him eventually."

"I can't," Maria shook her head. "I can't have him worry. Autumn already had enough complications when I gave birth. I don't need to worry him again. But, keep me posted on her condition from the Branwen Foundation."

"Right," Glynda said. "Be safe, Maria. There's no way such a dangerous opponent would let you rest easy. I fear she's more dangerous than the Grimmlords."

"That's what I fear," Maria looked up. Ruby was standing behind her, arms crossed.

"What?" Maria asked.

"You talkin' to great grandma?" Ruby asked.

"Oh, yeah, just updating her."

"She owes me a few things."

"Ah, is that Ruby?" Glynda asked. "Put her on the phone for me."

"Whatever," Maria sighed, handing Ruby the phone.

"Hello, my sweet great grandchild," Glynda said. "Are you keeping your grandmother in line?"

"The old lady needs more than just me to stay on track," Ruby looked at Maria.

"Well, when you all get back, I promise to teach you that trick. I could probably also teach you some other things. But, we'll see if your grandmother's lazy blood hasn't passed too much to you."

"We'll get home safe. Does grampa know?"

"No, but he may learn eventually. Just… get home safe."

"You got it." Ruby hung up the phone, glancing at Maria before straightening her shoulders and walking into the hotel, her grandmother following right behind.

Weiss looked around, looking for the desk. She found it, ringing the bell. The clerk walked over to her.

"May I help you?"

"Which way is the bathroom? I need to attend to a few things before I check into my room."

"Yes ma'am, it's down the hall, first door on the left."

"Thank you," Weiss walked down the hall, entering the bathroom. She did what she had to, washing her hands. As she washed her hands, the room seemed to darken, a fog rolling in as a chill swept through the room. Weiss stood at attention as the fog spilled into the room like that from a machine.

"So, you've come," She said quietly, hand reaching for her rapier. "The one who uses air as a Semblance, the one who murdered my brother in cold blood. You've shown your damned face to me."

The fog seemed to take a solid shape, electricity crackling as it seemed to channel lightning. Weiss turned to face it, swinging her rapier, a cold ice coating it as ten Glyphs appeared, shooting an icicle at the pillar of cold air. They passed through the pillar, striking the wall on the other side.

The column of air seemed to laugh as it moved away, disappearing as quickly as it came.

"Get back here, you bastard!" Weiss shouted, running to the window and looking out. "I'll fucking kill you!"

"Weiss, what's going on?" The door was opened as a shadow slinked under the door and turned the lock. Blake ran in, pulling her back. "Weiss, talk to me."

"That bastard is here!" Weiss shouted, struggling in the beast woman's grip as Blake held her fast. Blake held her fast, simply holding her. Were this an actual fight, Weiss could probably have broken her grip, or attacked her with a glyph, but she was shouting, trying to break free.

"Weiss, he's gone," Blake pulled her into something more resembling a hug. "Listen, getting worked up isn't going to help. They want you off your guard, unprepared and wildly charging in. That's how they'll kill you."

"I'll kill him," Weiss said, a little quieter, fist clenched around Myrtenaster as Blake simply held her.

"We will fight him together," Blake said. "I will stand by your side if I have to."

"No, Blake. I have to do this alone. It's what I'm supposed to do. I won't let him kill anyone else."

With that, Weiss released herself from Blake's grip, exiting the bathroom. Blake tried to follow her, but the glyph behind her held her back, the intense gravity it produced fastening her to it.

"Mrs. Rose," Weiss marched up to Maria, who was checking into the hotel along with Ruby and Pyrrha. "I need a word with you."

"Uh, Weiss, what is it?"

"I'm sorry, but this is where we part ways," Weiss said. "I have discovered the one who killed my brother and I will now go after him."

"Weiss, what are you talking about?" Maria asked. "We're supposed to be trying not to attract the attention of Cinder's men."

"I didn't sign up to fight Cinder. I came because by following Cinder, I would have the ability to find my brother's killer. Now that I have, I must take matters into my own hands. Do not follow me."

"Weiss, wait," Maria reached out for her, but Weiss slapped her hand away.

"Don't you dare try to change my mind. I must do this. For Whitley and for everyone else this bastard has brutally killed."

Weiss left, a dark look in her eyes as she marched. The cold air around her icy armor seemed to chill the room as she walked out of the hotel door.

Once she had left, she looked around, trying to find any sign of her target. She zeroed in on a small child sitting on the corner.

"Hey you, kid," She marched over to him. "Have you seen a large man with a tattoo of a beast's head and claws somewhere around here?"

The boy shook his head, a fearful look in his eyes. Weiss looked for someone else, asking them the same question. Again, she got the same answer. With each 'no', her fists clenched ever tighter, her hand reaching for her rapier, ready to whip it out at a moment's notice. One person she asked did seem to have some promising results.

"I think I saw someone like that heading this way earlier," He said. "They were heading towards that hotel at the docks."

"They?" Weiss demanded.

"Y-Yeah, there was two of 'em," He nodded fearfully. "B-But, I didn't see which way they went after that. They looked real dangerous."

"Perfect," Weiss said, walking in that direction, a stormy look in her eyes as her rage seemed to increase with each moment, threatening to boil over and explode on anyone who was foolish enough to cross her path.

Several people did indeed try to stop her from walking the way she was. Even vehicles that drove past were subject to the icy heiress' wrath, invisible (to them) icicles slamming into their exteriors.

Weiss stopped in the middle of the street, pausing as she saw two people walking toward her, complete confidence as they did so. She glared at them, eyes narrowed as she held her rapier toward them. She stared at them. The one on the left seemed unintimidating, but the one on the right… he definitely matched.

"Well, it looks like you were right," The one on the left, the cockier one, shrugged toward the one on the right. "She did show up. All we needed was a little bait."

"You two match a description I was given," Weiss said. "I'll give you one chance to give up your lives willingly. Otherwise, I'll make your deaths painful."

"I think you miss exactly what we can do to you, chick," The more talkative of the two chuckled. "But, since we already know your name, let us introduce ourselves. My name's Mercury and this is good ol' Lieutenant. Now, if you were expecting some brainwashed slaves of that demonic woman you refer to as Cinder, then sorry to say we're a bit more in control. Freelance, if you will."

"So, you fight for her under your own will," Weiss clenched her fist around her rapier. "Good. It wouldn't do my honor any favors to slay a mindless zombie subject to the whims of a tyrant bent on world conquest."

"Ooh, big talk coming from someone so short," Mercury laughed. "Well, if you insist on being stubborn, then—"

An icy spear shot forth, slicing his cheek. Weiss stood there, Myrtenaster extended, the blade glowing an icy blue light matching that of her eyes.

"Save your talk," She growled. "It'll make less words for me to force you to choke on. While my grudge is not against you, by allying yourself with this fuck, I'll kill you too."

"Very well then," Mercury chuckled. "But, I suppose you're wondering exactly what our Semblances are."

"It won't matter when you're dead," Weiss swung her rapier in an arcing motion, icicles shooting forward in the same direction, ten in all, slamming into buildings and the ground. However, the ones that were moving towards Mercury and Lieutenant never hit them. The ones that would have hit Mercury were shattered and the ones for Lieutenant stopped in midair.

"You don't get it, do you girly?" Mercury chuckled, now the only one standing there in front of Weiss. "You can't beat us. You're nowhere near strong enough to beat us."

"Don't underestimate me!" Weiss ran toward him. "I trained for years to be able to finally kill you!"

"Wow, such a shame it won't amount to much, huh?" Mercury shrugged. Weiss leapt into the air, rapier poised to strike as she rushed toward him. But, within a second, she was send flying backward. She landed hard in the wall of a building.

"What the hell?!" She exclaimed, stumbling to her feet. That hurt. That really hurt. Had she not had her ice armor, she would have broken several ribs. What the hell had he done to her? That was definitely Mercury's Semblance, but what was it?

She leapt out of the hole she'd made, moving as fast as she could toward Mercury. Her Glyphs appeared behind Mercury, the black snowflakes floating there, ready for her use. AS she moved toward Mercury, the wind whipped around her, knocking her off course.

"You can't beat both of us," Mercury gave her the finger guns as she slammed into a lamppost. "Together, we're unstoppable."

Weiss stood there, twelve blue snowflakes appeared around her. Weiss snapped her fingers, an icicle shooting out of each one. Mercury's leg shot out, smashing all of the ones coming for him.

"You really don't get it, do you?" He asked, rolling his eyes as Weiss moved behind him, aiming a slash for his back. He kicked her, his foot extending and hitting her into a building. A bolt of lightning slammed into her, a small explosion as it struck hard. "We knew you'd be so mad you couldn't fight us properly. You're unfocused."

"You're dead!" Weiss said, standing up, a little shaky, her armor crumbling away. Her vision was a little blurry and she was bleeding from her forehead. His physical power combined with the damage she'd taken was causing her more damage than she'd bargained for.

"Wait, that was armor?" Mercury questioned. "Impressive. But, I suppose this is the end."

With a crackle, another bolt of lightning streaked toward Weiss, threatening to fry her. But, just before that, something jumped in front of Weiss, the bolt striking home. A shriek of pain could be heard. Weiss could register the person in front of her, the flicking cat's ears as her vision cleared a little to give her the horrifying view of the person in front of her.

"Blake?" She asked. "Y-You jumped in front of the bolt. Why?"

"I can't let you get killed like this, dolt." Blake reached up to touch her face, smiling as a tear rolled down her cheek. Weiss could see the hole in her chest from the lightning strike "You have so much to live for. Don't let vengeance cloud you."

"Blake…" Weiss said as Pyrrha ran up.

"Man, that was close," Mercury breathed a sigh of relief. "Blake was the most dangerous one of them all, what with her controlling the shadows and all. But, with her gone, we can take you all out one by one. I'd say sorry about your friend, but it's nothing personal."

"You fool." Weiss said. "She wasn't my friend."

"Weiss, that's cruel," Pyrrha said, standing behind Weiss.

"I don't have any friends." Weiss said, her fist clenching. "And, she was certainly not someone I'd call a friend."

"Weiss, what the hell are you saying?" Pyrrha asked.

"That dumb bitch just loved to be nosy. Just like a cat. She should have minded her own damn business."

"How dare you, you bi—" Pyrrha started before she saw Weiss' fist tremble, her head tilted downward as something splashed on her shoe.

"Why does everyone I care about die?" She asked, her voice trembling. "Am I cursed like the Roses? Is my blood entangled in this feud like theirs or is mine a toilsome lot? Have I committed an unpardonable sin in a past life I must atone for?"

"Weiss…"

"I do not claim to be a good person, but I am not evil. I was brainwashed by a monster who used me for her own wicked end. If that is unpardonable, then I shall be damned. But, Blake managed to resist and flee from the wickedness."

Pyrrha started to say something when Weiss' body grew very cold. Her eyes glowed sapphire as a multitude of snowflakes at least a yard in diameter swirled around her. Some were blue, some were black, but all were tinged with a terrifying red glow.

"If you want my soul, come and take it," Weiss aimed her rapier. "But, you're going to suffer for what you did to Blake."

"Wh-what the hell?" Mercury gaped, looking around. This was not something they were told about. Was this a power not even Cinder knew about?

"You fools made the mistake of allowing me to use my true strength. And now, you will suffer the consequences."

Weiss began chanting an ancient prayer in Atlesian, the guttural words having a haunting echo as something began emerging from the midst of the snowflakes. Weiss' hair was whipped about, her dress flowing in the powerful winds gathering around her.

"Weiss, what about all these innocent people!?" Pyrrha shouted over the wind. "Will you hurt them too?!"

"War always has casualties," Weiss continued her chanting, a book of solid ice appearing before her as she read through its contents, pointing her rapier at Mercury. The snowflakes began gathering snow, ice snaking out of them as if it was liquid, yet still very frozen. Absolute zero even.

The ice began to take shape, beginning to form legs. A torso came next, finally, a head and arms. However, this wasn't the construct that had fought with Blake. This was something else entirely. This was a reptilian creature, glowing red eyes and scales that rippled as if it was alive. It stood at six feet tall, wings wrapped around it like a cloak. Its eyes fixed on Mercury.

"Wyvern," Weiss' voice was cold, hollow. "Eviscerate them."

Pyrrha glanced around, a crowd nearby, staring and pointing at the creature. Wait, had Weiss made a creature so powerful that people without a Semblance could see it? What sort of dangerous powers did she have hidden away?

The creature gave a demonic roar and moved with a speed Pyrrha could barely track. It sliced for Mercury, who just barely moved out of the way. The other wielder was nowhere to be seen. The Wyvern, on the other hand, kept slicing for Mercury, its wing hands slicing with a speed that nearly rent the air.

As the creature battled with Mercury, Weiss bent down, taking off Blake's bow from her arm, where it had been since Weiss had knocked it off her head in their battle. With a cold expression on her face, she removed her own hair tie, replacing it with the bow. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, that calm look morphing to anger as she aimed her rapier at Mercury, a single small snowflake, blue in color, shot an icicle at him. He dodged it, dodging another slice as the Wyvern slashed a metal pole.

The pole was rent in multiple pieces, the roof it was supporting crashing down. Mercury used his Semblance on the Wyvern, the ice cracking slightly, but no real damage to the creature being suffered.

Pyrrha looked at Weiss, her eyes glowing icy blue, a far more angry expression in them than she'd ever seen. She had to do something quick.

She saw the other figure hiding in the corner of the alleyway. He held up his hand, disappearing in a cloud, a lightning bolt shooting toward Weiss. Reacting quickly, Pyrrha slammed her hands down on Weiss' head, knocking her to the ground. She knew Weiss was far weaker without her armor, so she hoped she could take advantage of that.

Weiss slumped to the ground, unconscious. The creature stopped in its tracks, cracking as it an ice pick was being used on it. It finally gave one last roar, this one sounding like it was in pain, and exploded into shards of ice that melted almost instantly. The lightning bolt aiming for Weiss missed her, striking a nearby building. Pyrrha grabbed Weiss, running off with her and leaving Blake. She wished she could take her, but there was no use leaving the dead there. She needed to escape with Weiss, to make sure that at least one of her friends involved in this battle could escape. She had lost Jaune, and now Blake. She was not going to lose Weiss either.

Her thoughts turned to Jaune and where he could be. How was he? Was he being treated well? Could he escape? Would she be able to see him again?

She saw a vehicle a hundred feet ahead. She was no track star, but Milo Akoúo could help with lifting Weiss. She needed to put distance between them. It would be hard for her to fight them herself and she couldn't rely on Ruby coming to bail them out.

She didn't feel useless, but this was definitely not a situation she was ready for with her Semblance. Not yet anyway. She and Weiss could regroup and come up with a plan later. Their first and most important priority was escape. Then, they could handle the fight.

She started the engine, taking off, the crowd having scattered. She tore through the town to the open area outside of the town. She glanced at the mirror, hoping she wouldn't see them for a while.

Mercury watched them go.

"They're out of my range," He chuckled. "Scary creature though. Didn't know she could do that. You going after them, Lieutenant?"

He glanced where his partner was once standing to see him gone.

"Good," Mercury smirked. "You can take 'em both."


And here's another chapter. I wanted to establish Weiss as something more than a Polnareff parody. She's always been different, but I wanted to establish her character arc a little better with this particular scene. I blame RWBY: Ice Queendom for some of my ideas that went into Weiss when I decided on how to use her. But, I will say, Weiss is definitely in my top two for this part (plus, she's parodying my favorite character from Stardust Crusaders). I hope you enjoy and we'll see if they can manage to escape next chapter.