Chapter 16: Discord


"General Ironwood please… have a seat."

The General's face hardened as he looked across the table. Jacques Schnee was sitting at the head of it. His seat was by far the fanciest of them all. To his right and left sat the other members of the Atlas Council. The General gestured to Clover, Winter, and Penny who immediately took their seats. The General meanwhile remained standing for a moment, steeling his nerves before speaking.

"Councilman Sleet, Councilwoman Camilla," he said, nodding at the pair. His vision shifted, as the final guest stepped away from the window. He narrowed his eyes. "I wasn't expecting you here today."

"I was a last-minute invite… I must admit, Councilwoman Hill would have had a nice ring to it. Then again, I should just be grateful I was even invited to the table."

"Miss Hill, you were invited today to serve as a representative of the people of Mantle. Given the… other representative is currently in a jail cell, I couldn't invite her. Please, you are safe here, after all, you haven't done anything wrong." Jacques said, taking a sip of his wine. He lowered his glass, eyes boring into the General's own. "The same can't be said about you, James."

The man remained silent as he finally took his seat, hands folded over the table. "Now then, we have much to discuss, beginning by addressing the concerns of our Kingdom, James. Before we continue, I must ask, Is it under control?"

"Is what under control, Jacques?" Ironwood replied, his tone hard and unfeeling.

"You know what I am talking about," he replied, gesturing to Penny. The cybernetic girl stiffened a bit, looking down in shame, her long orange locks covering her face. "I just wish to know if we are safe with it being here, given what happened recently."

"Penny is not an it, and I recall there was some confusion. It was already proven that she was innocent and the video of her was doctored. Penny is completely under my control."

"Which is concerning, I think." the man continued, making Penny more uncomfortable by the minute. Winter reached for her hand beneath the table, giving her a reassuring smile. Ironwood meanwhile, sat forward in his seat, brow quirked in curiosity.

"Concerning? How so?"

"Let's talk about exactly what it is you control," Jacques began, sitting up a bit as the waiters entered the dining hall. They began placing dishes before everyone. Ironwood took notice of their movements, seeing several things that stood out to him. The other members of the council had gotten wine glasses, but everyone else hadn't. He even noticed nothing had been placed before Penny, further ostracizing her toward the others in the room. Jacques gestured to Sleet, who gave the General a nod.

"Over the last year, you have done some rather drastic things. Not only did you close our borders, but you also put Atlas under an embargo. You have been retaining all Dust shipments, souring our relations with the other Kingdoms, and increasing tensions locally as well. I have to ask, why is it that you have done something like this?"

"The Embargo was established so that the Kingdom of Atlas could amass a great number of dust containers. Dust Crystals, Vials, and Ammunition are being stored as we speak in preparation for a great event. One that will shake Remnant to the very core."

"And what kind of event would this be?" Camilla questioned, a look of concern on her face. "The last time I checked, the Kingdom of Atlas wasn't at war with anyone."

"Indeed we aren't, but we may as well be. Communications with the Kingdom of Mistral have all but diminished. We haven't checked in with Argus in several months. The situation in Vale hasn't improved since the Fall of Beacon and Vacuo, our only ally, is far too disconnected to even attempt to contact us. This senseless embargo is costing everyone in Atlas more than just money. It is costing us relationships, valuable relationships which we have forged for countless decades. This closure of borders and embargo has taken our last 80 years and regressed it back to before the War."

Jacques paused for another drink of wine, folding his hands before himself. "And we must know, what exactly is it that we expect to face? You've kept the Atlas Airfleet at the ready since the Fall of Beacon. Do you expect the people who attacked Beacon to do the same in Atlas?"

"Indeed I do. The force we are dealing with is something that no one on Remnant is even aware of. It is something that will end up destroying Atlas if we are not prepared. For that mission alone, was why I prioritized Atlas's safety."

"The Amity Project, correct?" Jacques asked, earning a nod from the man. "And what exactly is the Amity Project?"

"The future of Atlas and the rest of the world."

"Bah, I can hardly believe that. What does Amity Colosseum getting a checkup have to do with any of this? Or is that just a cover-up too? You know, I've been wondering why construction materials bound for Mantle were redirected to Amity. Why is it that only high-ranking officials are allowed up there, hm?" Robyn asked, locking eyes with the General.

"That is complicated,"

"Then please, do explain. We have quite a lot of time on our hands, after all." Jacques said, giving the man a sneer. He narrowed his eyes, glaring daggers at the man.

xxx

"Why doesn't that kid fuck off?" Yang asked, downing a glass of champagne. Levi didn't know how many she had drank, but she wasn't showing any signs of inebriation. "He's really starting to annoy me."

"Clearly he's there to stop Weiss from going upstairs. Probably under orders from his father, meaning there might be some credence to Weiss's little theory," Blake said, finishing her crabcakes. Ruby set down her empty plate of cookies, standing before them.

"Well, we gotta do something."

Levi narrowed his eyes, hand beneath his chin as he looked around the foyer. Two large tables had been set up filled with refreshments. Alto and Oscar were standing by one, the wolf faunus clearly enjoying herself. Several waiters were moving about, each holding trays filled with various dishes, from soups to desserts and of course, drinks. Jaune, Nora, and Ren were off to their own devices, the latter clearly not enjoying the party, while Jaune and Nora were content with the free food. His eyes fell on the one thing that could work, a tower of champagne glasses, likely meant for decorative purposes.

There was a gaudy woman standing near the refreshment table, speaking rather loudly about the waitstaff. "I can't believe Jacques ended up hiring so many Faunus to work this event. I understand things are dire but they don't deserve to be near such opulent food."

"You are telling me, darling. Look at that one right there, she's just stuffing her face like no tomorrow." her blonde friend said, whistling loudly. Alto looked away from her plate, swallowing the food in her mouth. "Where did Jacques find you? The municipal dump?"

"I'll have you know I'm a Specialist of the Atlas Military, if you could kindly fuck off, I would be very grateful," she replied, returning to her crabcakes. The woman gasped loudly.

"Well, I never! Someone has to teach this dog some manners!"

"And someone has to teach you about fashion. Don't you know pink and green are awful colors to pair together?" The wolf faunus returned, clearly not bothered by the woman's insults.

While this went on, Levi noticed a waiter walking by them. He flicked his wrist, summoning a violet glyph beneath him. He stepped onto it, but as he continued, he realized he was stuck. He pulled on his leg, glancing down at the floor at the spinning glyph. "What the… let go of me!"

Levi placed an ice glyph behind him, coating the marble floor with a thin sheet of ice. He waited for the man to pull on his leg, finally dismissing his glyph. He stumbled back, slipping on the ice, which caused the platter of soup in his grasp to go flying back. It crashed into the two guests, who were still berating Alto while Oscar tried to mediate.

"Aaaahhh! It burns!" the blonde woman cried, pushing her friend out of the way. She bumped Oscar into the table, which caused the champagne tower to fall over. Whitley turned around, his eyes widening as he saw the tower falling on him. He tried to move back but found his feet were glued to the ground.

The sound of glass breaking filled the foyer, throwing the whole room into silence. Whitley looked around, drenched in cold champagne. Several guests muffled their laughter while a few young ladies started snapping pictures. He shook a bit of the alcohol off of him, giving his sister a disgruntled look.

"If you excuse me."

Weiss muffled her laughter, glancing over her shoulder at her friends. Yang was laughing with Ruby while Blake was bumping fists with Levi. He looked up in time to see the look on her face. He merely winked, gesturing for her to head upstairs. He clapped his hands, turning to the band behind him.

"So, Gentlemen, how much do I have to pay you in order for you to play something that isn't Classical Music?"

"Honestly speaking? Not much. But we'd need sheet music or something, all of the music was chosen for us." the violinist said. Levi nodded, tilting his head a bit in thought.

"Well, it just so happens I might have a piece of music with me," he replied, reaching into his back pocket. He pulled out his worn music book, flipping through it. He pulled out three folded sheets of music, handing them to the bandleader. "What do you think?"

"Did you write this yourself?"

"I did, a couple of years ago. I was part of a Team back at Beacon that also doubled as a band. This was the song we were supposed to play at the Vytal Festival but…" he paused, shaking his head. "We never got the chance to… with the invasion and all."

"Hm… give us a few minutes to look this over. It seems like a pretty simple melody so it shouldn't be too hard. I take it you'll be singing?"

"Mhmm.. let's just say, I've been inspired since my last miniature concert," he said, giving his teammates a wink. The three girls were curious as to what he was planning, and if it was anything like what they heard back in the Farm House, they were all for it.

xxx

"The fact of the matter is, you've operated with a fair amount of autonomy for the past few years. But what we need from you now is trust," Sleet said, giving Ironwood a leveled gaze, holding his hand out. "We need you to work with us."

"Sir… I have–"

"It's obvious that no Kingdom intends to invade us," Camilla interjected, looking around the table. "We had no involvement in the incident at Haven, we have proof that our drones weren't acting on our orders at Beacon. At this point, the closure of Atlas is only hurting our relationship with the rest of Remnant."

"I-"

"The rest of Remnant? It's hurting us!" Robyn snapped, slamming her fist onto the table. "The people of Atlas and Mantle are suffering and they want to know why! They want to know why hundreds of their friends, family, and children are dying on the streets! They want to know how Ivy Brown managed to do what she did and they want to know why the Atlas Military isn't fixing the damn wall!"

A look of sadness washed over Ironwood's face as he looked at the table. He glanced to his right, Winter's incessant tapping had gotten worse. It was clear that this was getting to her. He looked back up, seeing the sneer on Jacques' face.

"Quite right, Miss Hill. I wouldn't have said it better myself," he replied, glancing at Robyn. "And I'm afraid there's more than just your choices that have brought harm to our citizens as of late. Have your forces found additional evidence as to who is slaughtering innocent civilians down in Mantle?"

"That is an ongoing investigation, the details of which are, unfortunately, classified," Clover quipped, causing Jacques to growl. Ironwood held up his hand, silencing the man.

"We can discuss a bit of it, in fact. Not all of the details, but we do have a solid lead," he said, speaking into his cuff. "Special Operative Athan, we need you in the dining hall."

Jacques perked up a bit when he heard the last name. "Athan? That faunus boy that came to my mansion several days ago. He's already a Special Operative? My, you are just giving titles as handouts aren't you?"

"Mr. Athan has done exemplary work for the Atlas Military. He has fought against Grimm, helped the people of Mantle and, with the help of my sister, began the investigation that led to the arrest of Ivy Brown and her co-conspirators. Do not sully his name just because he is a faunus." Winter hissed, voice laced with anger. The doors opened, the young man in question stepped into the room.

"You've summoned me, sir?" he said, hands behind his head. Ironwood nodded, gesturing to the men and women present.

"They wish to know more about the one murdering civilians in Mantle," he said. Levi nodded, looking around the room. He locked eyes with Robyn, who gave him a smirk.

"Wasn't expecting to see you here, Kitty."

"Ditto. I hope you've kept your nose out of trouble." he returned, clearing his throat as he looked at the Council Members. "Ladies and Gentlemen of the Council, my name is Levi Athan. I was once a student of Beacon Academy. You must all be confused and worried as to what the General is doing, but all I ask is that you listen carefully to everything he is telling you, it's for the benefit of everyone."

"Of course, we shall listen to everything the General has to say. For the time being, tell us more about this serial killer." Councilman Sleet said. Levi nodded, reaching into his pocket for his scroll. He placed it on the table, activating the projection screen. It showed a picture of Tyrian Callows, a mugshot from his previous arrest.

"I'm sure you've all heard of Tyrian Callows. Well, this is the man responsible for murdering several citizens in Mantle the past few months. Before my arrival in Atlas, three journalists had been killed. The one responsible for those hits was Ivy Brown, who hired a Masked Woman to do her dirty work. Tyrian Callows must have arrived in Mantle at or around the same time because the death toll started climbing when he did.

Just a few days ago, me and my partner were walking down a street near Midtown when we heard a scream. We caught him in the act and tried fighting him, but the both of us failed to apprehend him."

"And you call yourself a Special Operative? Clearly, you aren't ready for that title, boy." Jacques said, making the faunus frown.

"We were out of our element, sir. The two of us were dealing with a man who is a trained killer. No matter what we did, we couldn't do harm to him. My partner almost lost her life to that man, but we managed to get away. The one who killed those people at Robyn's party was him, and his colleague, whom we have yet to identify, hacked into Mantle's surveillance system, stole footage of Penny's fights around the city, and superimposed her onto the footage from that party.

Not only that, but Pietro Polendina was able to discover something else. The person who did this was the same person who hacked Atlas's ships during the Vytal Festival. This person was using a modified version of AtlasOS 11."

"Are you certain of that?" Sleet asked firmly.

"We are, Dr. Polendina handed me this earlier today, something that was recovered from the Prydwen by Mr. Athan during the Fall of Beacon," Ironwood said, sliding the scroll across the table. It stopped right in front of Jacques' plate. He looked at it, recognizing the golden marks on the borders. He swallowed the lump in his throat.

"Then the person who attacked Beacon… he must be from Atlas," Camilla muttered.

"There's no other explanation then. But how was he able to get AtlasOS's source code?"

"Ladies and Gentlemen, the how doesn't matter. It doesn't pertain to what we are discussing here, is it? We are discussing the murder of countless civilians… and are we to believe Tyrian Callows is responsible for it? His transport was attacked years ago and he was never found." Jacques said, leaning back in his seat. "This is all a ploy to distract us from what matters."

"Why would I do that?" Ironwood asked, a firm look on his place. "Why would I distract you with this? You wanted to know about the person killing our citizens and we've presented it to you. Levi here isn't the only one who has faced off against Callows. Qrow Branwen as well as his niece, Ruby Rose, have also fought him in the past. Ruby Rose has identified him, and so have her friends, Lie Ren and Nora Valkyrie who were both present at that party."

"If that's the case, then why not put a BOLO out for him? Shouldn't the people of Mantle know who they are dealing with?" Robyn asked.

"The moment something like that gets announced, the people will panic, fear and doubt will spread across Mantle. That attracts Grimm, and need I remind you that is something we don't need right now."

"Grimm wouldn't be such an issue if the walls were repaired. Which brings me to my next topic, Project Amity. I've asked our fellow councilmen here to shed some light on your project. As it turns out, they know just about as much as I do." Jacques said. Robyn looked at them, a look of confusion on her face.

"Wait, even you don't know?"

Ironwood narrowed his eyes, clearing his throat as he spoke. "The Amity Project will help with all the issues you've presented. But you have to understand, our discretion is a top priority at this time."

"Are you saying you don't trust us?" Jacques cried, shooting to his feet. He opened his mouth to speak only to be silenced by Winter pounding her fist on the table. She shot to her feet, glaring at her Father.

"You can't buy trust like everything! You have to EARN it!" she shouted, her voice echoing through the dining hall. Jacques adjusted his tie, a smirk on his face.

"I couldn't have said it better myself," he said, directing himself at the General. "James, if I may be blunt, you have spent what little trust this Council had left in you. The hacker who turned Atlas drones against us was never captured, Tyrian Callows runs loose on our streets murdering to his heart's content, and you refuse to open up about your Project. How are we supposed to give you our trust if you have given us nothing as of late?"

"That's not-"

"Winter, that's enough," Ironwood spoke, causing her to look at him. She grit her teeth, stepping away from the table.

"Excuse me," she said, hastily leaving the room.

"Well… that outburst is telling. Seems to me like your soldiers aren't as disciplined as I thought."

"You know it's funny you bring up trust," Levi began, grabbing their attention. They had almost forgotten he had been present. "What General Ironwood is doing with Amity is something that will benefit not just Atlas, but the rest of Remnant. He is doing nothing but serving the people, and you are all treating him like a criminal. How is he supposed to trust you when you all see him like a dictator?"

"You are overstepping your boundaries, boy."

"I might, but that isn't what's important here. None of you know… none of you have a clue as to what is happening. And believe me, when you find out, you are going to be wishing, you were as merciful as the General has been with all of you." he said, clenching his fist tightly. "I was at Beacon when it was attacked. I watched as countless people were murdered and I was powerless to do anything. My teammates were killed in action, and the only one who survived nearly died herself.

I walked from Vale, through all of Anima until I made it to Mistral, searching for the one who destroyed everything. We fought the White Fang in Haven, and I almost died when its leader decided to come after us. Look at how he left me." he said, showing them his prosthetic arm and tail. "And that is just the tip of the iceberg."

"What are you talking about, Kitty?" Robyn asked, directing his question at the young man, who shifted his eyes back at her.

"I can't elaborate sadly, it isn't my place. However, I can say this. General Ironwood is doing what he is doing to protect all of Mantle. You don't know what we have seen, you don't know what hides in the darkness. You all see an embargo and a closure of borders but I see something entirely different." Levi said, hand shaking a bit. "I have seen war, suffering, and death. I have seen the Grimm take away everything we hold dear and yet I continue on. But if we don't do what the General asks of us, then this is where it ends. Atlas is staring at the face of oblivion, and it is not welcoming."

"Levi."

"So instead of blaming him and criminalizing him, listen to what he has to say. Give him some trust and let him open up! Because, and pardon my Vacuan, if we don't do as he says, we are all fucked! So stop treating him like a Criminal and let him fucking talk!" he shouted, his eyes briefly flashing. He stood up straight, tugging on his lapels. "General Ironwood, may I be excused?"

"Yes, you've provided us with what you know. Thank you, Mr. Athan." the General said, a small smile on his face. Levi nodded, hastily leaving the room.

"Charming. Seems his attitude hasn't changed from my last meeting with him."

Just before the dining room doors closed, Levi stuck his head back in, giving Jacques a smirk. "Oh by the way, Jacques, I'm gonna ask your daughter to be my girlfriend, hope you're cool with that. Although I don't exactly care if you are."

Clover let out a laugh as the door closed, rapidly muffling it with a glass of champagne. Ironwood shook his head. He briefly thought about disciplining the boy, but seeing Jacques seething was worth it.

xxx

"After such a long time, everything looks exactly the same." Weiss thought as she walked down the corridor. Her eyes scanned her surroundings, taking in all of the portraits hanging from the walls. There wasn't a single one with her or Winter in them, only a few with her brother and her mother.

She wondered why her father kept pictures of her mother hanging up. He clearly didn't love her, he said as much when she had turned ten. Perhaps, in some sick twisted way, he did still care for her. But she doubted that. A man like him, he only cared about power and status, it was why he was able to easily take the Schnee Dust Company from her.

She was so distracted that she didn't notice the waitress in front of her until they almost collided. The young woman gave her a look of concern. "Miss Schnee, is everything alright?"

"I'm fine, thank you. Keep up the great work," she said, earning a nod from the woman. It was when she left that Weiss noticed the empty wine glasses on her platter. She continued walking forward, glancing over her shoulder every so often. Weiss finally made it to her father's study, letting out a sigh of relief when she entered.

"That was a close one." she thought to herself, still staring at the door.

"Hello, darling."

Weiss frowned, glancing over her shoulder. Her mother was standing by the edge of her father's desk, a glass in her grasp. "Hi… mom."

Willow looked away from her daughter, a faraway look on her face. "I'm sorry I couldn't come down for your party, I'm… afraid I'm not feeling well."

"Um… it's okay, Mom. It's fine. It's not a fun kind of party anyway," she replied, rubbing her arm. She started walking toward the desk. Willow watched her curiously, a frown on her face.

"What are you doing i-hic-in your father's office?"

"I'm looking for something I left," she replied. Willow sighed, nodding her head.

"Left… that's right, I helped you leave," she said, squeezing her glass. "You left."

Weiss forced herself to move, clenching her jaw as she saw down behind her father's computer. She swiped her finger over the keyboard, the keyboard and holographic scream waking up. "I need to use Father's computer. I'd like for you to keep this between us."

Her mother reached for the bottle of vodka beside her, downing a bit of it. "Why? Why do you need to use it?"

"Because I believe he may have done something. Something wrong."

Willow let out a dry laugh. "I thought we all assumed that, at this point."

"Yes, well, some of us are trying to do something about it." her daughter replied sternly. Weiss heard the woman sigh beside her, causing her to look up. Willow tipped the bottle back, gulping it down as if it was water. Weiss took her arm, causing the woman to look at her.

"He started locking his home computer," she stated, reaching into her pocket for a scroll, which she set down on his desk. "But he's still got some blind spots."

The former heiress opened the device, tapping the first video. Her eyes widened when she saw her Father, speaking with a man she didn't recognize. She looked over her shoulder at the corner behind her father's desk, seeing the small device, hidden behind a picture frame.

"You put a camera in here?"

"I put them in every room of this house. For our safety… in case I ever needed to…" Willow trailed off, stepping away from the desk. Weiss continued watching the video, listening to what her father and this man had discussed. It was just as she had imagined, her father had rigged the election.

"You… haven't come back to stay, have you?"

Weiss looked away from her, the device in her grasp, shaking her head. "No."

Her mother smiled. Despite her apparent happiness, the tears she was shedding told her daughter how she truly felt. "Good."

She grabbed the bottle from the desk, taking another drink from it. She pulled it away from her lips, glancing at the ceiling for a moment before facing her daughter. "A man came by. I'm… afraid your father may be involved in something more dangerous than he realizes."

"I'll get to the bottom of it."

Willow nodded, stumbling toward the door. "Weiss… don't forget about your brother."

"Whitley wants nothing to do with me," she replied, looking away dejectedly. Willow let out a bitter laugh, swirling the vodka in her bottle.

"Of course, he doesn't. You left him all alone… with us."

With that, the woman left, leaving Weiss alone. There was so much she wanted to say, so many things she needed to do. But she didn't have the time. She looked back to the scroll in her hand, her focus on the man that had been speaking with her father. "Who are you?"

Little did she know, the man in question was already in motion. He stood over the city of Mistral, an umbrella in his grasp. He smirked, tapping something on his scroll. He tapped on the folder named MANTLE_HEATING GRID_exe. He tapped it, shutting down the Heating Grid. Within seconds, the bright orange glow that spread throughout Mantle vanished. He tossed his umbrella aside, as snowflakes began falling around the city. He turned around, letting out a small chuckle.

"And so it finally begins…"

xxx

"So you really laid into the Council?" Yang asked, earning a nod from Levi.

"Totally, I was getting sick of Jacques's bullshit. You should have heard how they talked, they made it seem like Ironwood was a war criminal. It was sickening, I couldn't just stand there and say nothing."

"It's impressive, you know," Jaune said, causing Levi to look at him in confusion.

"Impressive? What's impressive?"

"Oh you know, your ability to walk, given the massive heft of your titanium balls." the blond knight said, making Levi burst into laughter. He high-fived his friend, a grin on his face.

"Boys, always so perverted," Blake said with a shake of her head.

"Yet you are smiling, you clearly enjoyed the joke, Blake." her partner said, wrapping an arm around her waist. "Come on, you gotta enjoy yourself."

"You know something, I'm really happy all of us were invited here tonight," Alto said, patting her stomach. "So much delicious food~ I have so many ideas for new dishes now! My grandma is going to be so proud of me when I go back home."

"Just make sure you let that food digest before doing anything strenuous. We don't want all of that food to come back up, do we?" Oscar said, earning a wink from Alto.

"I wish some of us would loosen up," Nora quipped, glancing at Ren, who was leaning against the nearby wall. He had his arms crossed, head bowed slightly.

"How can I possibly enjoy myself with everything that is going on? There are so many things converging on us that I just can't find it in myself to relax," he replied. His voice was stern, face twisted in a look of annoyance.

"Things are rough but… we shouldn't let that stop us from enjoying the little things. Even if it's a high society party in Atlas. Come on, none of us knew we'd ever end up here. We gotta enjoy all the free shit!" Yang cheerfully replied, downing another glass of champagne. "And as long as they keep the bubbly flowing, I am enjoying myself."

Ruby sighed, ignoring her sister's antics. She turned to Ren, a soft smile on her face. "Ren, if anything is bothering you, you can talk to us, you know?"

He sighed, nodding. "I know, Ruby. But for now, I'd like to keep to myself, okay?"

He pushed himself away from the wall, heading across the room. Nora sighed, crossing her arms as she watched him go. "Asshat."

"That's no way to treat your boyfriend, Nora," Alto spoke, making the ginger-haired girl groan.

"It doesn't exactly feel like he is my boyfriend. I gotta give him a stern talking to."

"Ahem, sir? The band and I have adequately reviewed your piece, I believe we are ready if you are." the leader of the band said, causing Levi to nod.

"Alrighty, time to make this boring party just a tad bit more lively," he said, catching the microphone that was tossed to him. He moved toward the base of the stairs, taking a deep breath as he started walking up them, flicking the microphone on. He turned around, facing the crowd before him.

"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen of Atlas! I hope you guys are enjoying Jacques Schnee's victory party, I know I am." Levi said, holding back the urge to laugh. A few people had sour looks on their faces, but others were listening in, wondering what he was doing. "Regardless of that, I thought this was the perfect time to treat you all to a little song. It was written by my late friend, Aria. I hope you guys like it."

He took a deep breath, as the soft sound of the piano filled the foyer. He closed his eyes for a moment, swallowing the lump in his throat. He brought the microphone to his lips, ears folded down as he began to sing.

"Just stop your crying, it's a sign of the times…

Welcome to the final show

Hope you're wearing your best clothes

You can't bribe the door on your way to the sky

You look pretty good down here

But you ain't really good~"

He paused, taking a couple steps up, he squeezed the microphone in his grasp, noticing the crowd had gotten bigger.

"We never learn

We've been here before

Why are we always stuck and running

From the bullet?

The bullet?

We never learn, we've been here before

Why are we always stuck and running

From your bullet?

A bullet~"

As the drums kicked in, he climbed to the middle of the stairs, spinning around on his heel, keeping himself balanced as he continued to sing.

"Just stop your crying, it's a sign of the times

We gotta get away from here

We gotta get away from here…

Just stop your crying, it'll be alright

They told me that they end is near

We gotta get away from here…

Just stop your crying have the time of your life

Breaking through the atmosphere

And things are pretty good from here…

Remember everything will be alright~

We can meet again somewhere

Somewhere far away from here~"

He climbed up a few more steps, swaying to the rhythm of the song. By now, all eyes were on him, some people were recording, while others were muttering things. Thankfully couldn't hear any negative comments over the music. The front entrance briefly opened, and a few people stepped in, but their movements were drowned out by his voice.

"We never learn, we've been here before~

Why are we always stuck here running from the bullets?

The bullets?

We never learn, we've been here before

Why are we always stuck here running from the bullets?

The bullets?

Just stop your crying, it's a sign of the times.

We gotta get away from here

We gotta get away from here…

Stop your crying baby it'll be alright

They told me that they end is near

We gotta get away from here…

We never learn we've been here before

Why are we always stuck here running from the bullets?

The bullets?

We never learn we've been here before

Why are we always stuck here running from the bullets?

The bullets?"

He raced up the steps, carried by the song as he continued to sing, he turned around when he reached the top, sweeping his arm outward, holding the microphone close to his lips.

"We don't talk enough

We should open up

For it's all too much~

Will we ever learn?

We've been here before

It's just what we know."

He briefly looked at his friends, who were giving him thumbs up. Yang was snapping pictures while Alto and Ruby were recording, clearly enjoying the song. He slowly started making his way back down, staring up at the large chandelier hanging in the middle of the foyer.

"Stop your crying baby, it's a sign of the times…

We gotta get away~

We got to get away~

We got to get away

We got to get away

We got to get away~"

He brushed the tears from his eyes as he sang, tipping his head back slightly as he held his microphone above him, mechanical hand clenched into a tight fist.

"We got to we got to away

We got to we got to away

We got we got to awayyyyyyy!"

He spread his arms as he bowed to the crowd, who had broken into applause. As he rose from his bow, he glanced to his right, spotting Weiss at the edge of the stairs, giving him a heartwarming smile. He returned it, drying the last of his tears. She gestured to the bottom of the stairs with her head, causing him to look down.

Standing near the foot of the stairs was his former teammate. Her long sky-blue hair was tied into twin tails, held up by light green ribbons. She was wearing an officer's uniform, similar to the one Winter wore, but hers had been modified, she was wearing a short pleated skirt instead of the uniform pants, her sleek, metallic gray-black legs glinting in the light. She was wearing a pair of matching knee-high black boots.

She had a small smile on her face, her burgundy-colored eyes glimmering in the lights. For several seconds he did nothing but stare at her, before finally finding it in him to start moving. He turned the microphone off as he did, the device slipping from his grasp. The silver-haired faunus slowed to a stop in front of the woman.

Before he could even say something, she threw herself at him, hugging him tightly. He hugged her back, tears falling from his eyes. "Levi… it's been so long,"

"I… Sona…" he mumbled, drying his tears as he pulled away from the hug, bowing his head. He looked away, not wanting to look his former teammate in the eye. "I'm so sorry, Sona. This whole time… I couldn't bear to face you after what happened. Me and Aria had that stupid argument, and everything happened so fast."

"You don't have to apologize to me, Levi. It isn't your fault, what happened at Beacon Academy… it was none of our faults."

"But Cadence and Aria would still be here if I had been with you!"

"Or you could have died with them. There's no reason for you to be guilty over what happened. We all fought with everything we had." she said, wiping the tears from his face. "I don't remember much about that night, I took such a heavy hit I was coming in and out. But I remember Aria and Cadence fighting the Grimm back, waiting for rescue, and talking about how they were gonna apologize to you when it was all over. They may be gone, but we carry the legacy of Team Acapella, don't ever forget that, okay?"

"I won't. I'm… happy that you are still here, Sona. I was an idiot for telling the General I didn't want to see you. We could have caught up, spent more time together."

"Hey, don't act like we're about to die," Sona said, giggling. "We've got loads of time, but now that we met up again, don't expect me to avoid you. I did it before as a courtesy, the next time, I won't be so merciful."

"Looks to me like you still have your sense of humor, Sona," Weiss said, giving the blue-haired girl a smile. "Good to see you again, especially with your new prosthetics."

"It's good to see you again too, Weiss. You look very pretty with that braid," she replied, before looking away. "And yes, these prosthetics have been a massive help. My father developed a brand new kind of eye, so I had an entire socket installed and matched with my skin tone. Looks pretty flawless huh?"

"It does, you look just like you always did," Weiss said, in a cheerful tone.

"Indeed I do… I wish we could keep chatting, but the General asked me to join them. He wants me to show the Council the results from our investigation. I must thank both of you for starting that. All of that information was invaluable, even if…" she paused, rubbing her arm almost in embarrassment. "Even if it led to my father's arrest."

Levi and Weiss shared a look, both feeling sorry for the girl. She perked up, giving them a bright smile. "Well, we'll catch up later. Hopefully, this meeting ends up with the General keeping his position."

"He will, don't you worry. I got something that'll turn the tides in his favor." the former heiress said, a giddy look on her face. "I've never been so excited for something in my life!"

"I'll say, you seem like a different you."

"Given all of the things we've gone through, I need some form of excitement, especially if I can get back at my father. He's done so much harm to everyone that I just want to kick him right in the-"

Levi grabbed a hold of her face, silencing her with a kiss, much to her surprise. She let out a squeak as he kissed her lips. She started kissing him back, eyes fluttering closed as she returned the kiss. Everything she had been feeling toward him for the past few weeks finally came out. She held him tightly as they kissed, not wanting the moment to end. She ignored the voices and comments around her as well as the camera clicks. In that moment, she and Levi were alone, and there was no one else there, no one to ruin their moment.

"About goddamn time," Yang said, from her spot near the refreshment table. "Not bad, eh? I'm proud of him."

"Yeah," Jaune said, shaking his head. "He'll take good care of her, after everything they've been through, it makes sense that they'd end up together."

"Cheer up, Jaune. One day, you'll find the right girl for you, maybe she's closer than you think," the blonde brawler said, giving him a wink. Ruby smiled, staring at the picture she had snapped of Weiss and Levi, holding her scroll close to her heart.

"I'm just happy that my friends are happy. It reminds me that no matter how bad things are, all of us can enjoy the little things,"

"Damn straight, like these crabcakes!" Alto added, biting down on her snack. Jaune, Ruby, and Yang turned to her, looks of shock on their faces.

"How are you still hungry?!"

Levi and Weiss finally separated, panting slightly from their union. He held her hand tightly in his own, staring deeply into her eyes. "I promise, I'll try to be the perfect man for you. You have… no idea how much you mean to me."

"Silly, you already are the perfect man. You just keep being you, okay? We'll talk later, for now, I have something important to do. Make sure Alto doesn't give herself indigestion, alright?" she asked, earning a nod from him. She kissed his cheek, giving him a shy wave as she headed toward the dining hall. Levi watched her go, a content smile on his face.

"Hey, congratulations dude!" Yang cried as she clapped his shoulder, making him jump.

"Ah, Yang! Hi!" he exclaimed, jumping back a bit. She let out a laugh, hands on her hips.

"Oh come on, I thought Faunuses had good hearing!"

"I was in another place, okay?"

"Oh, I'll bet. Come on, you must have a lot of emotions running through you. From speaking with Sona again to finally giving your Snowflake a much needed smooch~"

"Jeez, I'm never gonna live this down, am I?"

"You're part of Team RWBY, Levi, we never let anyone live anything down," Ruby added, joining the pair.

"So it would seem."


Location: Mantle

Snow kept falling over the city, the people who were out on the streets were shivering, wondering why the Heating Grid had gone down. The soldiers stationed around Mantle were calling their superiors, but they hadn't gotten a reply.

"What the hell is going on man?"

"I dunno, we'd have to speak to the General himself, but he's at Schnee Manor right now."

"Let's just stay calm, I'm sure there's a reason why this is happening," one of them said, tapping his earpiece. "Atlas Central Command, this is Private Horvath checking in. The Heating Grid is down in Mantle, people are starting to panic."

"We're already looking into it, Private. Just try to maintain order while we speak with Councilman Schnee. Perhaps the system is down due to Maintenance, you know that happens sometimes."

"Order received, I'll do my best, over and out," Horvath said, glancing up at Atlas. "Something tells me this ain't maintenance."

From the nearby building, Arthur Watts stood watch, hidden behind a massive billboard, promoting one of DiCappriccio's operas. He smirked as the cold breeze kicked in, blowing in more snow from the north. The streets were beginning to fill up, and people were starting to panic. He stared at his scroll for a moment, blocking every attempt the Atlas Cybersecurity Team tried to reignite the Heating Grid.

"Oh, this is going far smoother than I thought it would be. This system is severely outdated… I can't believe this is what my beloved AtlasOS turned into." He mused as he pocketed his scroll. He glanced over his shoulder, giving his companion a smirk. "So, are you ready? You've been waiting for this moment ever since you attained that orb."

"I am extremely excited," Cadence said, a devilish grin on her face. She stepped forward, staring down at her hometown, as it was slowly covered in snow. "I have waited for an extremely long time for this. It'll be so cathartic to finally get one over on Atlas."

She clenched her fist tightly, looking at her obsidian-colored hand. It was dark as night and looked vastly different from her human hand. The flesh around the part where Grimm connected with human skin was scarred horribly as if it had been burned by acid. Her once slender digits extended into ghastly clawed fingers. She clenched her fist, looking up at the Doctor.

"My youth wasn't the happiest. All my life, my father told me we would be recognized and accepted by Atlas High Society. But no matter what he did, or how he forced me to dance, they never recognized our talents. Because we came from Mantle, because our ancestors were miners… they treated us like trash!"

Cadence turned to Arthur, a grin on her face. "I thought becoming a Huntress was my solution! If I could bring honor and glory to my family name, then perhaps we would be respected. But I was lied to! Ozpin was training me to fight against something that we had no chance of winning against! I gave him everything, and he failed me, leaving me to die! And then Tyrian found me, and I saw the truth. If not for my Mistress, I wouldn't be here!"

"Don't forget, the reason you can even move is thanks to that mechanical spine I implanted in you. Not only did I have to forge that by hand, but I had to recreate your entire rib cage. It is a miracle that you can still breathe."

"But of course! You gave me a second chance, but it was Salem who opened my eyes. She made me whole again. I was once hailed as the White Swan of Mantle, but now I'm not even capable of being the Black Swan. It doesn't matter… Mantle remembered my name, but Atlas didn't give a shit about it… but I'll make sure they remember me."

She reached into her cloak, extracting the emotion orb from within, holding it above her head. She channeled her aura into it, the orb started glowing a brilliant pink as a dark miasma washed over her. She let out a laugh, sending a blast high into the air. Almost instantly, the roar of hundreds of Harpies filled the air, her lips curved into a grin.

"And now, the fun truly begins! Find yourself a hiding place, Doctor, I don't want anything bad to happen to you."

"Don't worry, Odette, I have no plans to stick around. I have other ventures to look forward to, namely, checking out Ironwood's project out in the tundra. It might take me a few days to return, so I leave Mantle to you. I hope you enjoy yourself," the man said, giving the woman a pat on the head. "You've certainly earned it. Ah… and if you run into that migraine of mine, make sure you teach her what it means to mess with Salem."

"You got it. I'll give her the message… I eagerly await our battle, she has something that belongs to me." the woman said, reaching up to her ear. "Oh sister dear, it's time for you to come out. I need a meatshield in case I get attacked."

"Don't you get tired of annoying me? My work is done, Dad's in jail and Mom hasn't been the same. Find someone else to do your dirty work for you."

The pinkette growled angrily, squeezing the emotion orb in her grasp. "You listen here, you little duck-faced runt. My thumb is hovering over the send button. I have more than enough evidence for the MPD to arrest you for the murder of those journalists. Not only that, but you also assassinated that homeless man for Ivy Brown. She took the fall for you and you got out completely free. If you want your ass to remain free, you will do as I say, is that understood?"

She heard a sigh on the other line, followed by a hiss. "Fine."

The pink-haired woman sighed, stretching her arms above her head as she waved the Emotion Orb around. "Come to me, my lovelies! Time to show this city what it truly means to suffer!"

Down in the streets below, people were shouting at the soldiers, all of whom were trying to keep the people appeased. Gunshots were echoing across the city, as the first wave of Grimm were starting to invade the city. One of them held his hand up, silencing the crowd.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, we are looking into the cause of the Grid's shutdown. For now, I must advise that you return to your homes. Grimm have started appearing in the northern border and can breach the wall at any moment. Remain calm, we will see to it that the heat is restored."

"Yeah, bullshit! You Atlas fucks just want to control us by any means possible! They shut down the grid, what's next? You'll shut off our power too?!" a man exclaimed.

"If they aren't going to turn the heat back on then let's heat ourselves up!" someone cried, throwing a rock at a nearby window. An alarm started blaring as the man climbed into the building. He returned seconds later, large uncut Fire Dust crystals in his grasp. "Join me, everyone! Let's start heating up the streets ourselves!"

The soldiers watched as they started breaking apart chairs and other pieces of furniture, some being things taken from nearby shops. Large bonfires started on the streets, the people throwing whatever they could into the flames.

"Those fucking bastards! I can't believe they would do this to us, and after we voted for Schnee!"

"We need to head to Atlas and find him! He needs to hang for this!"

"Fuck the Schnees!" a man shouted, hands cupped over his mouth.

"Yeah! Fuck the Schnees!"

As the crowd began to chant, the soldiers took a step back, arms trained on the crowd as they continued stoking the flames. One of them turned around, holding his finger to his communicator, trying to remain calm. "The situation is getting out of control, please advise…"

"Stand your ground, soldier. The Mantle Police Department has been deployed to your area. Squadron 56 is being sent to the Northern Wall. Be advised, Sabyrs, Manticores, and Harpies have breached the city limits. Expect their arrival at your location within minutes."

The man sighed, pulling the loading rod of his rifle. "It's gonna be a long night."


A/N: After 49 chapters, it finally happened lol. Pairing Weiss with Levi was always the end game, but I never planned on it being a damn slowburn. What's funny is that I hate slowburn romance and I ended up unintentionally writing one. I guess things are just meant to be sometimes haha. The fluffy moments between them were really fun to write. It was around the end of Argus that Weiss actually started feeling things for Levi, though it started way before that. But uh yeah, that part is resolved, and now we enter the back half of Volume 7 and the slow descent into madness. Ah yes, the song used in this chapter is called Sign of the Times, by Harry Styles. It is a song written from the point of view of a mother who just gave birth but isn't going to survive, and she's telling her newborn to stop crying and enjoy their life. It alludes to Aria, Levi's former leader, whose mother died during childbirth. Aria and Alto's father isn't a very good man, it's obvious why neither liked him very much lol. I hope you like what you see and if not that's fine too. See you all soon, peace~