The Manor was suffocating. Robotic soldiers patrolled the hallways in groups of two to four, taking up opposite sides of every hall. No matter where they went, the robots' mechanical footsteps followed them. The androids they passed along the way stared blankly at them as they went. It was like they'd stepped into a prison.
Father walked Qrow and Weiss to the Library. It was a relief to see one of their butlers dusting inside rather than another Altesian robot.
"I'd love to chat with you some more, Mr Branwen, but I have an important guest waiting for me in my office," Father said.
Weiss had never heard him invite someone into his office before. The only time she'd ever stepped foot into his study was when he gave her permission to. Even then, he supervised her every move.
"That's fine. We can take care of ourselves." Qrow shrugged.
"Is that so?" Father's eyes narrowed on the black coat draped over her shoulders. Weiss instinctively ducked her head, as if his gaze alone could pierce her.
"Like I said, we only need to make a few phone calls." Qrow wedged himself in between Weiss and Father. "There's no need to waste your time on us, Mr Schnee. I wouldn't want to keep you away from your guest."
Father looked like he wanted to say more, but decided it wasn't worth fighting Qrow over. He instead ordered the working butler to keep them company during their stay.
"This is quite a place you have here," Qrow noted once Father was gone.
"I don't miss it much." Weiss frowned as she observed the Library. Even in daylight, the cold blues and greys sucked any warmth out of the room. "Let's make our calls and get out of here."
They attempted to call Ironwood and Winter again but to no avail.
Weiss beckoned the butler over and asked him for a phone. She doubted both their Scrolls were faulty, but what other options did they have? He returned a few minutes later with a handheld. Qrow secluded himself in the far end of the room to make his call while Weiss collapsed on a leather couch.
She pulled up Adam's contact and sent him a quick message to update him. She repeated this with Ruby. Weiss fidgeted with her Scroll, her heart sinking when they didn't respond to her message.
Adam might've been busy trying to sneak on board a cargo airship, but Ruby? Weiss knew Ruby would be anticipating any news from her, so why wasn't she answering? Were her messages not getting out? Weiss couldn't see any errors popping up. Their lack of response made her more restless by the second.
Weiss leapt to her feet when the doors behind her opened.
"Ah, Sister, I thought I heard you returning."
"Brother."
Whitely held himself up like he owned all of Atlas, but his usual swagger lost some of its edge. The colourless tint of his skin made him appear sickly, and his cheeks looked hollow. He'd always been scrawny and pale, but this was a new low even for him. She felt a pang of worry until he opened his mouth.
"I almost couldn't make time to see you. I've been terribly busy with meetings and reports. It's not easy running a multibillion-dollar business," he boasted. "I see you've finally come to your senses to crawl back home. It's been embarrassing for us to explain your absence. You ought to know better than to humiliate the family like this."
"I'll be out of here soon," Weiss snapped. She should've known better than to think something was wrong.
"You're leaving?" Whitley's eyes narrowed on her. "You just got home."
"I wouldn't come here if I had a choice."
"Father would never let you leave like that again." Whitley's composure gave way to an unusual display of frustration. "You're delusional if you think you can leave us like that again!"
"I'm only here on official business."
Qrow was arguing with someone, demanding they get Ironwood on the phone at once.
"Father will be livid when he hears about this." Whitley sneered.
"Father will have to deal with it."
Weiss held herself up a bit straighter, finding it a lot easier to defy their father in front of her little brother. Whitely's face contorted into anger.
"No wonder Father took your status as the Heiress away! It's a good thing he got rid of you before you could damage his political campaign! You're a stain on this family, just like Winter!"
"Don't talk about Winter like that!" Weiss couldn't care less if Whitley threw insults at her, but she wouldn't let him bad-mouth Winter.
"I'm only telling the truth. Father told me how sloppy Winter's work was when she was the Heiress! All she ever cared about was getting into fights like some brute!"
"Winter's an actual hero! You'll never be half the person she is even if you tried."
"Why should I waste time becoming a Huntsmen? We have robots who can do all the fighting for us. It's a rather barbaric profession if you ask me."
"Don't give yourself so much credit. You could never become a Huntsman. You can't even unlock our family's Semblance."
Weiss knew it was a low blow, but she didn't care when Whitley felt it was okay to insult Winter like that.
"At least I don't look like I crawled out of a charity box! Where did you get that oversized curtain; the back of a dumpster?!" Whitley rubbed his arm irritably. It was only then Weiss noticed his sleeves were pulled down. Simply seeing him without his sleeves rolled up reminded her so much of Father.
"Don't you have special papers to get back to?" Weiss asked with a smirk. She'd won this argument when he resorted to petty insults.
"Hmph! I should've known better than to waste my time speaking with you, Sister. Good day to you, and good riddance!"
He slammed the door shut on his way out. Weiss rolled her eyes and collapsed onto the couch again. Whitley had always been a bit of a brat, but she didn't think he could get any more annoying until now.
She continued to stare at her Scroll, waiting for her friends to reply until Qrow finally finished his call.
"Good news, I got in contact with James," Qrow said, sitting beside her. "He's sending your sister over to pick us up. There's an airship going to Argus to get the others."
"Is Winter alright? Did he say why she wasn't responding to my calls?"
"It's a new security measure his technician put up in response to the recent White Fang attacks. No communication can get in or out of Atlas without exclusive permission."
Weiss had hoped Sienna's defeat in Haven would discourage any more crimes from the White Fang. She wasn't naive enough to believe everyone was willing to stand down, but it was still surprising to hear the crimes had gotten worse in Atlas.
"But we're in Atlas right now. How come they still couldn't get our calls?" Weiss asked.
"Until our Scrolls are registered in the system, we can't contact anyone inside Atlas."
That relieved the paranoia she had for Winter's safety.
"That kid back there is your brother?" Qrow asked.
"Unfortunately." Weiss scoffed. "Whitley's always been Father's favourite."
"He looks like Ruby's age when she got accepted into Beacon." She caught an infliction of pride in his voice. "He's an angry kid, though."
"I wouldn't say he's angry, just spoiled and bad-tempered."
"I don't know, kid. Given how warm your dad is, I wouldn't put it past him to hurt your brother too."
"It's unlikely. If Whitley was in trouble, Winter would help him."
Whenever Winter came home to visit, she never found any reason to worry about Whitley's safety. If anything, she felt just as annoyed about his snobbish attitude.
"How did you know, by the way? A-about Father being…"
"An abusive piece of shit?" Qrow finished for her. "You learn a lot when you start teaching, kid. Unfortunately, one of the first things I learned was spotting signs of abuse."
Weiss didn't think it was so obvious that Qrow spotted it right away. Had any of her past teachers in Beacon ever come to the same conclusion?
"Don't worry, kid, I'll make sure nothing happens." He lazily ruffled her hair.
"Thank you for this," she said. "I hope you don't take what Ruby said to heart. She's just been under a lot of stress lately."
"It's not like what she said wasn't true." He chuckled darkly. "I'm surprised it took so long for her to come to the same conclusion as everyone else."
"She looks up to you. When we first met, she wouldn't shut up about how you taught her how to fight." Weiss smiled at the mention of simpler times. "She's lucky to have an uncle like you."
Ruby had no idea how lucky she was to have a second father figure to lean on while Weiss could only rely on her older sister. And it wasn't like Winter was around all that much. Most of the time, Weiss had no one growing up.
The doors behind them burst open. Weiss leapt off the couch, instinctively reaching for her sword. Mother leaned against the door handle for support, a bottle of wine sloshed dark liquid all over the floor.
"Mother," she greeted, the tension in her body deflating.
"Oh, so you remember I exist. That's nice to know." Mother stumbled into the room, nearly falling flat on her face had she not reached the back of their couch in time.
Weiss couldn't look at her. She was mortified Qrow had to witness the absolute trainwreck that was her entire family in a single day. She wished the guards had intercepted Mother before she came in to make a fool of herself.
"Looks like we overstayed our welcome here." Qrow helped himself up when Mother fell onto the couch, spilling blotches of wine onto the cushions.
"I want to speak to my daughter," Mother slurred, dragging herself to an upright position.
"She wants some privacy right now, Mrs Schnee," Qrow said firmly.
"And who the fuck are you supposed to be?!"
"It's okay, Qrow. She's completely harmless" Weiss barely flinched at the scowl Mother threw at her.
"You sure, kid?"
"Don't worry, the worst she'll do is throw some insults around."
"I want to talk alone." Mother sneered at Qrow. The butler watching over them tensed when she redirected her glare at him. "Get this stranger out of here!"
"But Mr Schnee said–"
"I don't care what Jacques said! You work under my house, so you'll listen to my orders!"
"Do you mind giving us some space?" Weiss asked Qrow quietly. "I can handle this myself."
"If you need anything, just call. I'll be right outside that door."
He eyed Mother warily before leaving, with the butler trailing after him. The door swung closed behind Qrow, but it never clicked shut.
"So you decided to bring a guard," Mother said accusingly. "To your own home too. How despicable."
"Is there anything you need, Mother?" Weiss responded with forced politeness.
"You left without saying a word to us," Mother hiccuped.
"I needed some time to myself." She turned her back on Mother.
"I didn't know if you were alive or not. No one could contact you."
Since when did Mother care if she was alive or not? Weiss ignored the prickling on her scar and shrugged.
"You're not going to stay." It wasn't a question.
"I have work to do," Weiss replied. It was the truth, after all. "I'm sorry for intruding so suddenly."
"You're just like Winter." Mother stumbled to her feet. "It's always about work. There's never time for anything but work. Who cares about family when you got work?"
Weiss perked her head up at the comparison to her sister. It was the greatest compliment Mother could ever give her.
"Do you remember that you have a little brother, Weiss?"
"He reminded me about his existence earlier."
"You know he's got no one else to talk to when you're gone. The least you can do is check up on him."
"You make it sound like he actually misses me."
Weiss couldn't imagine Whitley, spoiled to death Whitley, missing her when Father doted on him. And for what? Was it because he was the family's only son?
"You're his sister. Of course he misses you. You two used to be so close…"
"That was years ago. It doesn't matter anymore."
"Just because it seems like he's got it better than you, doesn't mean you can treat him like this!"
Weiss clenched her teeth and turned to face Mother.
The wine in Mother's hand was the reason any colour bled into her pasty face. Stringy clumps of hair vomited out of her low ponytail. It was like she'd just rolled out of bed and started drinking herself into another blackout. Wine stains dotted her clothes like dried blood. A pungent stench of sweat and alcohol clung to her like a cloud of miasma.
Remnants of the kind woman who used to love her had turned rotten. The stranger that replaced her was an insult to the person she once was.
"Don't think I don't know what this is about, Weiss. You and Winter are always trying to make yourselves feel better by putting him down." Mother pointed a finger accusingly at her. Her hand swayed so much that she could barely keep it on Weiss.
A gentle knock on the door saved her the trouble of responding. Qrow poked his head in and informed her that Winter has just arrived.
"You should at least tell Whitley you'll visit," Mother said once the door swung close. "It would make him happy."
"I don't think you know your kids as much as you think you do."
Weiss knew she'd crossed a line, but she refused to apologise when what she said was the truth.
"I should go." She brushed past Mother and hurried to the door.
"You can run away all you want, Weiss, but he'll always be family," Mother slurred. She staggered drunkenly in a poor attempt to catch up to her. "You should know better than to leave Whitley like this."
Says the woman who abandoned her without a moment of hesitation.
Weiss slammed the door close behind her. Qrow didn't say anything when they followed the butler out.
Winter was at their main entrance speaking with Father. Winter held herself tall, her pristine white uniform glowing in the sunlight. She wore her long hair back in a high bun with not a single strand out of place.
"Winter, it's good to see you." Weiss greeted her with a smile.
"Weiss," Winter's eyes searched Weiss for any signs of injury.
"My point still stands, Winter," Father said as if Weiss hadn't interrupted them. "It's irresponsible for you to take your little sister away so soon. She hasn't the slightest understanding of personal responsibility. She needs to spend some time at home and learn her lesson."
"Unfortunately, that's not a call you can make anymore," Winter responded coldly. "Weiss isn't a minor, and she's no longer bound by her duty as the family Heiress. She can go as she pleases."
Father didn't bother hiding his distaste for Winter's response. Though his sneer was not directed at Weiss, it still struck fear deep into her gut. Winter; however, stood firm as a rock. She stared him dead in the eyes as a silent challenge to try and stop her.
"She's always taken after you. Rebellious and utterly disrespectful," Father spat.
"Thank you," Winter grinned defiantly. "Now, if you'll excuse us, Father, we have an important meeting with General Ironwood."
Weiss hurried after Winter. Qrow positioned himself right behind her to prevent Father from reaching her. A smile stretched on her face as the front doors slammed shut behind her.
She was finally free.
"Do you have any idea how worried I've been?" Winter scolded once they boarded the airship. "Sneaking out of Atlas like that! Why didn't you at least come to Atlas Academy to find me? What were you thinking–!?"
Weiss barreled into Winter with the tightest embrace she could muster. It felt like forever since she hugged her sister.
"I'm sorry about worrying you," she said sincerely. "I miss you, Winter."
Winter sighed, exasperated, before returning her hug.
"I'm happy to see you're okay, Weiss."
Wild to think V9 ends this weekend. How do you guys like this Volume so far? I'll probably need to rewatch it again to form my final opinion.
Thanks to BrazeRancor, RokenDarkly, CMDR Quillon, LiteralWhiteTrash, Iwr1918, zerpjustice, Unsung Senpai, Zairaaquino, a Guest reader, and XxGreenDemonxX for the reviews!
To answer CMDR Quillon's question: no. I might make some one shots based on this AU but that's as far as I'm willing to go in terms of a sequel.
Idk if XxGreenDemonxX will even reach this chapter at the time of publishing lol, but in regards to their review: you probably read the old version of this fanfic.