"There's a lot of guards in the Academy," Qrow said as they followed Winter to Ironwood's office.
Atlas Academy had an uncanny resemblance to the Schnee Manor. Cold white walls and pristine grey floors dominated the interior, and Altesian robots infested the building like weeds. Some stood in front of lecture halls, staring at anyone who passed by. Others marched up and down the halls in pairs. Even with a bustling student body populating its halls, it was like they'd walked into an active warzone.
How the students could enjoy their school life with guards monitoring them was beyond Weiss.
"We've had to increase security measures due to the recent terrorist attacks," Winter explained. "General Ironwood doesn't want a repeat of Beacon Academy, so he's decided to add extra patrols to the halls and classrooms."
"Why use robots? James has plenty of Huntsmen and Huntresses at his disposal." Qrow warily eyed one of the passing patrols.
"We'll discuss this in detail later." Winter's tone made it clear it was the end of that line of dialogue.
Ironwood's office was tucked away at the tallest tower overlooking the campus. The office smelled of coffee, and papers covered the General's desk. Dozens of wanted posters and criminal sketches plastered part of his wall. Most of the wanted individuals were Faunus.
Winter did say they were getting a lot of White Fang-related crimes. It's only natural to look at Faunus criminal. Still, it didn't stop the funny feeling Weiss was getting from the wall of faces.
"General Ironwood is currently in a meeting with our digital security team," Winter said when Qrow asked where he was. "He'll be with us shortly. Please, make yourselves comfortable until then."
Qrow collapsed on Ironwood's comfy office chair, stretching his feet up on the only clear spot on the desk. Winter chastised him for his behaviour, but he shrugged it off and assured her Ironwood wouldn't mind.
Weiss observed the various papers on the desk while they bickered. Most of it was reports and proposals on how to strengthen security. One of the papers detailed a new security check for incoming cargo airships. Her gut twisted into knots as she skimmed over the plan to conduct midflight inspections. Did Adam know about these new regulations?
"Were you able to deal with Father alright?" Winter was suddenly by her side again.
Weiss explained what happened once they touched down. She purposefully left her chat with Mother out. Of all the people she'd spoken with, it was Mother who left her still seething with rage. She wasn't sure what irked her more, Mother's embarrassing behaviour in front of Qrow, or the baseless comments she threw out. Regardless, the last thing Weiss wanted was to spend any more time thinking about her. Instead, she focused her efforts on detailing her irritating encounter with Whitley.
"Well, I'm not surprised Whitley is still…Whitley." Winter shook her head, disappointed. "He idolises Father so much he might as well be a mini version of him."
"Yeah, you're right," Weiss adamantly agreed. Mother had no idea what she was talking about.
"I suspect he's only gotten worse since Father started dabbling in politics." Winter shuffled through the documents covering Ironwood's table until she uncovered a folded newspaper.
"Schnee vs Hill: Atlas' Most Heated Political Battle!"
A photo of Father and his political opponent, Robyn Hill, was the feature image. Robyn Hill was younger than Weiss expected. She looked about Winter's age, photographed with a clean black blazer and her platinum blonde hair pulled back into a tight bun. There was also something familiar about Robyn that Weiss couldn't quite pin down.
Weiss skimmed the article. Her hands clenched into fists when she saw Father advocate for stricter screening procedures on Faunus-owned businesses, visitors, and mandatory containment for any Faunus suspected to have connections with the White Fang. He promised to protect the citizens of Mantle and Atlas by weeding out all Faunus criminals from the Kingdom.
Robyn Hill, on the other hand, promised to revise Atlas labour laws to better protect Faunus workers and to implement harsher punishments on businesses that operated under unethical means. She vowed to invest in better social programs and education for impoverished communities so all families have an equal chance at success. The final part of her campaign advocated for more transparency from Atlas Military.
The article made the effort to highlight Robyn's latest accusations against Atlas Military. Despite video evidence contradicting her claims, she insisted the Military allowed Faunus citizens to succumb to Grimm attacks.
"Why is Robyn Hill making false claims about the Military? Isn't it going to hurt her more in the long run?" Weiss asked.
"To garner more support from Mantle? Who knows." Winter scowled at Robyn's photograph. "And to think she once trained in Atlas Academy. It's no wonder she fell off the charts after graduating. She's got no integrity."
Weiss didn't expect to hear Winter talk so lowly about a fellow Huntress. Just what kind of accusations was Robyn making to offend Winter so deeply?
"Father is blaming General Ironwood for failing to protect civilians from the White Fang," Winter went on. "We've been doing everything we can, but it's not enough for him or his supporters. They want more than we can afford to give right now."
"What's going on with the White Fang anyway?" She knew the business leaks were a big deal, but it shouldn't have garnered such a dramatic reaction.
"For the past few weeks, they've been killing random Human civilians in Mantle. The poison they're using acts quickly to weaken their victims. With the murders compounding Ouronus' business leaks, it's been attracting a large number of Grimm to Mantle."
The homicides were news to Weiss. It had to be recent when she didn't find a lick of information during the ride to Mistral City.
"I read some articles about those business leaks," Weiss began. "Why are you guys so sure the White Fang is responsible for it?"
"Who else would commit a crime like that?" Winter asked with narrowed eyes.
"I don't know. I figured more people would've died if the White Fang are involved," Weiss recited the reason Adam had given her.
"It doesn't matter what the mortality rate is. There's no doubt the White Fang is responsible. New White Fang branches tend to be less violent when they're still establishing themselves. We weren't surprised when we discovered Sienna's signature at the recent crime scenes. With her present, there's reason to believe they'll strike again. And this time, they won't be as merciful."
Weiss pretended to stifle a yawn to hide the shock on her face.
What was Sienna doing in Atlas? Even if she left right after the Haven incident, there was no possible way she could've arrived in Atlas so soon. Still, it explained why the military is so certain the White Fang is responsible. Perhaps Adam will also agree once he hears this piece of information.
"Sounds like you've had a busy couple of days," Weiss said instead.
"Hill's campaign is only throwing fuel to the fire. Unfortunately, Hill and Father are our most popular candidates."
"At least Robyn's promises are reasonable." If she was going to fulfil everything she set out to do, the Faunus living in Mantle would benefit greatly.
Winter looked like she wanted to respond when the office door opened.
General Ironwood was more haggard than Weiss remembered. Heavy bags hung beneath his eyes, and there were noticeably more white strands in his messy hair. A shorter man followed him in. The man's royal purple coat was a stark contrast to the whites and greys worn by Military members. Unlike Ironwood, the man held himself up without a single shred of tension in his posture.
Winter greeted Ironwood with a salute while Qrow acknowledged him with a curt nod.
"Weiss, Qrow, I'm glad to see you two made it to Atlas safely," General Ironwood said politely.
"You should do something about the tiny old hag in Argus," Qrow suggested bluntly. "She's a pain in the ass to deal with."
Winter looked mortified at Qrow's response, but it managed to make Ironwood laugh. He also didn't seem to mind seeing Qrow occupying his chair like he owned the place.
"There's a reason we stationed her outside of Atlas."
"I do pity the sorry bunch who need to work under her," The nameless stranger piped in. "I can barely tolerate her through virtual meetings."
"Who's your friend?" Qrow asked.
"My apologies, this is Dr Arthur Watts, one of Atlas' finest technicians since Pietro passed," Ironwood said. "He's been helping with our new security measures. It wouldn't be as successful without his expertise."
"So he's the reason we couldn't contact any of you, huh?"
"I don't mean to stroke my own ego, but my security system is impenetrable. It's a shame Pietro isn't around to see it," Dr Watts boasted. "I'm terribly sorry for the inconvenience, but it was necessary to ensure White Fang agents couldn't coordinate attacks from the outside. I assure you it'll be gone once the current crisis is over."
"I imagine you must be worried about your teammates," Ironwood directed his comment at Weiss. "Rest assured we'll deliver them all safely to Atlas Academy. We'll be expecting to see them early this evening. Until then, we'll postpone our talk about Salem until everyone has arrived."
Both Weiss and Qrow were caught off guard at how openly he spoke her name. Neither Winter nor Dr Watts reacted to the information.
"Arthur, Winter, and the Ace Ops know about our situation," Ironwood elaborated. "I'll go into more detail about my plan later. In the meantime, we're preparing rooms and warm clothing for your group. Your arrangements should be complete by now, Miss Schnee. Please, make yourself at home while we wait."
"I could use a drink right about now." Qrow rose from the comfy office chair. "Got any strong coffee around here?"
"Now he's talking my language!" Dr Watts beamed. "I'm ready for my fourth cup today."
"We can all grab some coffee in the staff kitchen." The tension in Ironwood's shoulders slackened at the lighthearted topic. "I look forward to catching up with you, Qrow."
Weiss eagerly checked out the new clothes Ironwood's team laid out for her. Winter waited outside the reserved dorm while Weiss browsed through the warm selection of outfits. She spent an embarrassingly long time posing in different jackets, skirts, and boots in front of the mirror. She tried on every combination of clothes she could, sometimes stopping to take a photo of her favourite combination.
After exhausting her options, she settled on a simple white pea coat that pleated into a cute skirt. She kept the leggings Violet had given her and replaced her old shoes with knee-high white boots. It was a simple yet elegant combination of clothes, but she liked it. Her eyes lingered on the red scarf tucked beneath her coat. It was the only hint of colour in her outfit.
What would Adam think if he saw her? She blushed at her morbid curiosity and threw all her attention on her hair.
Adam had mentioned that he liked seeing her hair down. What does he think about her usual hairstyle? Weiss was always proud she managed to make her side ponytail look elegant; but did he see it the same way?
Why did she even care about his opinion so much?
"Is everything alright in there?" Winter's muffled voice called out to her.
"J-just fine," Weiss squealed. She'd completely forgotten Winter was still waiting for her.
Weiss decided to leave her hair alone as is. She'd always been fond of her hairstyle and didn't feel the need to disrupt it.
After shrugging on Adam's coat and throwing her backpack over her shoulders, she hurried out to meet Winter.
"You seem rather fond of that coat." Winter smiled at the oversized coat hanging off her smaller frame. "We have tailors who can help make it shorter."
"No, it's fine. My friend leant it to me."
"Your…friend?" Winter raised a brow. "That looks like a men's coat."
"Well, my friend's a guy." Weiss pretended to adjust the coat's sleeves when her sister's eyes narrowed. "Anyway, I'm feeling a bit hungry. Can we grab some snacks?"
Winter directed her to the Mission Brief Room, where a plate of communal cookies sat on the main control panel. All four walls were taken up by screens displaying active job requests from all over Atlas.
Weiss thought it was odd that the job requests detailed whether the client was Human or Faunus, but she brushed it off as a harmless data point. The jobs posted by Faunus clients didn't appear any different than their Human counterparts.
Weiss made herself comfortable in one of the black plastic chairs as she nibbled away on the plate of cookies.
"I thought your team comprised of only girls," Winter said taking a seat beside her.
"I can have friends outside my team too," she answered carefully. Weiss wasn't sure how much she should tell Winter. With so much happening in Atlas, Winter might not take too kindly to Adam's past.
"And is this friend also a student from Beacon?" Winter pressed on.
"No. We…met on the road."
"Weiss, there's a lot of dangerous people in the world. You must practice more caution or someone will take advantage of you–"
"I know that, but you don't have to worry about Adam. He's helped me more than you can imagine."
Weiss gave her sister a watered-down version of her journey, brushing over all the fights and arguments they had when they first started travelling together. She didn't include any details about the White Fang agents she ran into to save her sister any more stress.
Winter took the heavily filtered events well until Weiss revealed Adam was a Faunus. The effect was almost instantaneous. Winter's shoulders and back went taut in a split second.
"Hold on, you befriended a random Faunus in Mistral?" Winter interjected.
"Well…yes–"
"Do you know the danger you're putting yourself in by trusting random Faunus?"
A weight plummeted into her stomach. Winter wasn't supposed to respond like this. Why did it matter she placed her trust in a Faunus?
"They're not all criminals," she protested. "They're just people."
"I know, Weiss, I never said they weren't," Winter clarified. "Mistral has a high White Fang population, and I'm worried you're trusting someone with less than good intentions."
It was a small misunderstanding. She was completely overreacting to Winter's response. It felt like a weight lifted from her shoulders.
"He's helped me a lot, Winter. Trust me," Weiss assured. "I wouldn't have survived Mistral without his help."
"Given what you've told me so far, I'm inclined to believe you. He certainly does sound reliable."
Weiss beamed at her response. She knew Winter would understand.
"I'll need to properly thank him when I meet him."
Weiss cursed under her breath. Winter was going to have questions when Adam wasn't arriving on the same airship as the others.
Before she could come up with a cover story, Winter's Scroll went off. Winter excused herself to answer the call. Her expression grew more serious as the speaker on the other side went on.
"I need to go," Winter said once the call ended. "Stay here until your team gets here. Someone will get you once they arrive."
"What's wrong?"
"We found a White Fang stowaway in one of the cargo ships. I need to go deal with it." Winter's reply made Weiss' heart drop.
Once Winter was gone, Weiss pulled out her Scroll and called him. She tapped her foot impatiently until the ringing went to voicemail. She hung up and redialed within a single breath.
Watt's stupid security measures were likely preventing her call from reaching Adam, but it didn't matter to Weiss. There was no such thing as a perfect security system. There must be some fault that might let her call slip through to him. Weiss wasn't going to stop trying to run into that fault. She called him over and over until her Scroll warned her she was low on battery.
Weiss ignored the warning and continued to call until her Scroll died mid-ring.
Bit of an info-heavy chapter, but hopefully it introduced you to what's been going down in Atlas (and what will potentially happen later).
And yes, I changed Weiss' V7-8 outfit to Snowpea. Her canon outfit is something that I can't bring myself to like, unfortunately :')
Thanks to ZeraMyra, BrazeRancor, and Unsung Senpai for the reviews!