The rest of the day went by according to plan. The robots delivered all the necessary supplies on schedule, and no more Grimm attempted to approach them.
The success of their mission should've put Weiss in a good mood, but the tension with Blake weighed too heavily for her to celebrate. They hardly spoke a word throughout the day.
Weiss still couldn't understand why Blake was so suspicious of their colleagues. Wasn't she the one who chose to become a Huntress? Didn't she see this as a way to become a better person? Why was she so quick to judge other Huntsmen and Huntresses? They're all on the same side at the end of the day.
A small part of her wondered if she was idolising Winter too much, as Adam had said, but she stamped down that idea at once. She knew her sister better than anyone. Winter wouldn't do something to hurt innocent people. True Huntsmen and Huntresses knew better than that.
No matter how much she assured herself, nothing relieved her mounting headache. By the end of the day, all Weiss wanted was a nice warm dinner and a bed to crawl into.
Ironwood called them during their flight back, demanding they head straight to his office once they landed. Judging by the tone of his voice, Weiss assumed they were in for more bad news.
The last thing she wanted was to sit through another meeting about how something else went wrong. Blake exchanged an equally miserable look with her.
They met up with the rest of their team before heading inside the school. Weiss didn't expect team JNR, Oscar, and Adam to swarm them when as soon as they entered the campus. They all bombarded them with questions, asking if everyone was accounted for. Adam didn't join in with the questioning, but he studied her face so intensely it made her stomach flip.
"What's going on?" Ruby spoke over their collective voices.
"A team of Huntsmen disappeared just now," Jaune explained at once. "Ironwood said you guys were still okay, but with everything going on…"
"We're fine, but what do you mean a team disappeared?" Ruby looked around the group for answers. No one had any to give her.
"Let's not clog the entrance," Clover, who was catching up with them, piped up. "Come on, the General's expecting us."
"He says it's a confidential meeting," Harriet added when she noticed Adam joining the rest of them.
"I can walk them to their destination," Adam countered coolly.
Harriet looked ready to protest, but Marrow stepped in and urged her to let it go. He practically pushed Harriet away to keep her from hassling them any further.
Weiss lingered at the back of the group. Adam slowed his pace until he was walking shoulder-to-shoulder with her. She kept her expression neutral when his hand grazed over her own.
"Did anything happen out there?" he asked her quietly.
"No, it all went according to plan."
"You seem tense."
"I-I'm fine. The mission was just a bit tiring."
He stared intently at her. She kept her eyes pointed forward and pretended not to notice. Right now, she didn't want to talk about Blake's accusations or think about the conspiracies surrounding Mantle. She wanted to forget about it all.
They arrived at the office faster than she would've liked. She hesitated, staying by Adam's side as the others filtered through the doorway.
"I'll be waiting at the cafeteria," he breathed, placing a hand on her shoulder. "You can talk to me at any time."
"Okay." She reached up to take his hand into hers.
Weiss reluctantly let go when Winter cleared her throat and gestured for Weiss to follow the others in.
The wall of wanted posters stared at her like the eyes of a predator. Even with her back turned to it, the faces of a dozen suspected Faunus remained tattooed into her head. She wanted to go for a long run – run until she couldn't anymore. She didn't know where she wanted to run to, but anywhere was better than here.
Ironwood started the meeting by showing them the photos of the team that went missing. Weiss recognised the three individuals. They were the team of three Faunus who came into the Mission Brief Room that morning.
"I last saw them debating on what missions to pick," Dr Watts explained conversationally. "They seemed interested in hunting some Grimm outside of the Kingdom. Perhaps a Grimm got the better of them and left their bodies somewhere in the wilderness?"
"Are you sure about that, sir?" Blake's challenge turned all eyes on her, but she didn't shrink away from the attention. Dr Watts looked particularly offended.
"Excuse me, girl, but I don't believe you were there when I last saw them."
"I heard them talking before leaving. They were concerned about Mantle."
"I can assure you they did not go to Mantle. I reviewed their last known location before their Scrolls went offline. They were quite far from civilisation."
To prove his point, he pulled up a map on his Scroll of where the team was last active. It pinged somewhere in the mountains north of the Kingdom. Blake's eyes narrowed at the map.
"News has reached the media, and Jacques put out a statement challenging the competency of Atlas Military," Ironwood said with a heavy sigh. "The series of recent events are going to draw in more Grimm.
"Dr Watts is creating more robots in case they break through Mantle's weakened defences. In the meantime, we must focus on launching Amity Tower. We'll be doubling down on security around the Amity launch site–"
"I have a question, sir," Blake cut him off. "If you're taking so many resources from Mantle, how can you ensure the safety of all the people living there?"
Once again, Ironwood explained how Dr Watts' robots served as a temporary solution for Mantle's diminished defences and Atlas' shortage of staff.
"But has anyone gone to Mantle to see how it's doing? Also, why aren't there any job requests from Mantle? There must be people looking for Huntsmen even with those robots around."
The room went silent. Weiss thought back to the wall of job requests. She tried to recall the details listed on the boards but couldn't remember seeing anything from Mantle. All the jobs she saw were around Atlas. She likely wasn't paying attention. There was so much information posted it was only natural to overlook something at a glance.
"Their requests go directly to the robots," Dr Watts said. "There's no need to send more people away from Atlas when robots can fulfil them."
"What if there's a bug? How do we know there isn't something wrong with their programming?"
"I would avoid criticising things you do not know about, girl. It makes you look like a fool."
Yang clicked her tongue irritably at Dr Watt's comment towards Blake.
"I still don't understand why we can't keep one or two teams in Mantle. Wouldn't it be better to have real people giving live reports on what's happening day to day?"
"I understand your concern, but I assure you Dr Watts was trained under Atlas' finest engineer," Ironwood answered before Dr Watts could. "He's continuing the good work and legacy of one of our best scientists. These androids are just as reliable as real soldiers."
"I've also checked on Mantle a few times myself," Winter added. "There's nothing to be concerned about."
Weiss nodded adamantly at Winter's response.
Dr Watts smirked when it appeared Blake had nothing left to say. The rest of the meeting consisted of Ironwood outlining their plan from this point onwards. Their main goal now was to secure the Amity Launch site so nothing can delay its launch.
Blake kept darting her eyes around the room, looking for something Weiss couldn't put her finger on. Weiss caught her gaze several times in the meeting, but she turned away in every instance.
At the end of the meeting, Ironwood informed them they had a day off during Election Night. Upon dismissal, the Ace Ops and Qrow went their separate ways while the rest of them stuck together.
For the first time since they arrived at Atlas, Blake didn't stick to Weiss' side. She pushed ahead of the group and disappeared down the end of the hall before anyone could stop her.
Jaune kept Weiss company when Blake stormed off, but it didn't shake the horrible feeling sinking into her stomach. She felt like she'd done something terribly wrong.
Blake didn't show up to dinner. Ruby went to look for her but said Blake was already curled in bed. Yang took to staring blankly at her plate when it was clear Blake had no intentions of eating with them.
"Is she feeling sick?" Adam asked.
"Blake seems a bit down today," Ruby answered, slumping in the seat where Blake usually sat. "I tried asking her what was wrong, but she wouldn't answer me."
Adam glanced down at Weiss.
She rolled her peas around the plate to avoid looking at him. Weiss had hoped a warm meal would help her feel better, but her appetite shrivelled at the sight of food.
"Does it have anything to do with…?" Jaune pointed his thumb at the end of the table where Yang was angrily shovelling food into her mouth.
"Maybe." Ruby frowned. "They've been ignoring each other for days now. It's driving me nuts."
"We could set up an intervention if this keeps up."
"Yang would kill us if we forced them to talk while we watched."
"You should give her space to cool off," Adam suggested. "Blake's the type who needs some quiet time when she's upset."
"I know, but I'm worried she's bottling her feelings in. She used to do that a lot back in Beacon. I want to be a good friend, but it's so hard when she's pushing me out."
"It's not like we can force her to talk. The best thing to do is be there for her and hope she'll talk when she's ready."
Weiss wasn't sure if he was talking about her or Blake.
"You're right. She'll probably be even more upset if I keep pushing her." Ruby sighed in resignation. "So, how did your guys' mission go?"
"It was...interesting," Adam smirked while Jaune buried his face into his hands with a groan. "Jaune's popular with older women."
"What?"
"I-it's not like that!" Jaune glared at Adam. "They were being nice a-and motherly-"
"They all hit on you."
"That's an exaggeration."
"They only went away because they're scared of me."
"You have to tell me what happened!" Ruby's eyes sparkled in anticipation.
Their conversation quickly moved away from the topic of Blake. The three of them laughed and bonded over Jaune's effect on older moms like old friends. If Weiss didn't feel so ill, she would've found the topic more amusing. She was simply relieved they were too distracted to notice her foul mood.
Weiss was about ready to give up on her dinner when Blake arrived at their table.
"We need to talk," Blake said to Adam before any of them could get a word in.
"Do you want to eat something first?" Ruby asked. "It's been a long day and–"
"I'm okay, thanks." Blake smiled tightly before turning her attention back to Adam. "I want to talk to you alone."
An inexplicable rage consumed Weiss out of nowhere. She tore her eyes away from Blake and Adam, glaring at her miserable dinner.
"Is there a reason we can't talk out here?" he asked.
"It's important. Come on, we can use the dorms."
Weiss stabbed into her peas forcefully when he relented to Blake's request. Yang slammed her cup into the table as they left, drawing some curious stares from the students around them.
Ruby tried to ease the collective tension by mentioning a new weapon upgrade she had in mind. Jaune was happy to follow her lead.
By then, Weiss' dinner had gone cold, but she forced down every bite. It was either eat or go back to the dorm. Cold tasteless food was better than walking in on whatever Blake and Adam were doing. Ruby's Scroll lit up with a call from Blake when she emptied her plate, requesting they all meet at the dorms.
Weiss had a bad feeling when they arrived. The tense expression on Adam and Blake's faces further solidified the pit in her stomach. She isolated herself at the furthest corner of the room, trying to avoid looking at either of them.
"We both think something is wrong in Mantle," Blake said once the door shut. "Robyn Hill's accusations about the robots letting the Grimm run wild, the fact there are no job requests from Mantle, and a Faunus team interested in seeing the state of Mantle suddenly goes missing – it all seems too convenient."
"That seems a bit…extreme, Blake," Ruby said tentatively. "The robots aren't perfect, but I'm sure they're doing everything they can to protect civilians."
"They're not Penny, Ruby! We don't know what they're doing when no one is watching!"
Ruby's eyes widened at her comment. Blake winced at her own words but didn't apologise for it. Footsteps and muffled laughter moved past their shut door.
"So? Just because they aren't Penny doesn't mean they can't protect people," Ruby answered tersely.
"I'm sure they work fine when it comes to protecting Humans."
"What are you trying to say?"
"Something bad is happening in Mantle's Faunus community. Atlas Military and all their Huntsmen are letting it happen – just like they always have."
The accusation hung in the silence, poisoning the air as the seconds dragged on. Adam was staring at her at this point, but Weiss refused to meet his gaze. She didn't know how to respond.
There must be more to the story.
Winter wouldn't overlook the Faunus community. She's trained so hard to protect others. She would never go out of her way to ignore someone's suffering.
Weiss couldn't believe it.
"That's a serious accusation." Jaune broke the silence first.
"Robyn Hill's accusations are serious too," Blake shot back. "Why would she be the second runner-up to this election if she was lying?"
"It's not farfetched for people to fall for lies–"
"I don't think she's lying. It's even more damning that the one team who wanted to investigate Mantle disappeared! And no, I don't believe what Watts has to say about that. I don't believe anything I can't confirm with my own two eyes!"
"I get why you would be reluctant to suspect your colleagues like this," Adam added. Weiss swore he looked at her when he said it. "But the Faunus community don't have the best relationship with Atlas Military. That's a fact. I get not everyone in Atlas Military are the same, but the guys higher up tend to be the biggest scumbags."
"Ironwood wouldn't abandon Mantle," Jaune argued. "It hurts his mission more than anything if the Grimm manages to break in."
Ren and Nora voiced similar points after him. Weiss kept her mouth shut as others shared their opinions, but didn't stop the growing tightness in her throat.
"I agree with the others," Ruby piped in. "I understand why you're concerned, but I trust Ironwood as a Huntsman. I also trust Winter has good intentions. They've both sworn to protect the people from Grimm and other threats like us."
"You have a very naive view of your superiors," Adam retorted.
"They know better than to turn a blind eye to people who need help."
"That kind of thinking is completely delusional."
"Don't talk to my sister like that!" Yang snapped.
"I'm with him on this one." Blake's response made Yang's hair flash gold. "I became a Huntress to make the world a safer place, not blindly take orders from Atlas Military. I didn't sign up to be a loyal lapdog!"
Yang stared at Blake, completely stone-faced. Jaune and his team eyed her warily as if expecting her to lose her temper and attack.
"Ironwood told us that he's trying to get it done as soon as possible, right?" Ruby interjected. "We should focus on getting it finished first. Once that's done, Ironwood promised to stop taking resources from Mantle. That'll be a perfect time for us to see if he's the type of person to stay true to his words."
"You don't get it. It's so much more than that!" Blake shook her head. "I'm sorry, but I need some time to myself."
She stormed out, slamming the door shut behind her. The silence that followed her departure was deafening. It was only made worse when Adam approached and asked to speak with Weiss alone. Everyone's attention fell on them. Even as they murmured amongst themselves and kept their eyes away, Weiss knew they were listening to every word.
With great reluctance, she peeled herself off the wall and followed him out to the hall. They didn't get very far before he turned to face her. She looked away.
"You didn't say anything back there," he said bluntly.
"What do you want me to say?" she spoke to the wall.
"I want to know why you didn't speak up."
Weiss's fingers played feverishly with her rapier's Dust Compartment. He stared holes into the side of her head. Tonight, his gaze left a bitter taste in her mouth.
"I didn't know what to say." It was the truth. The silence told her that wasn't the answer he was looking for.
"Why?"
"What do you mean why?"
"Aren't you at least curious about anything Blake brought up?"
"Am I curious if my sister's a bigot? Honestly, that's not how I like to think of Winter."
"I warned you not to idolise her so much."
"I thought you'd be willing to give her and Atlas Huntsmen a chance."
"I did, but things have changed now. Blake's brought up too many red flags for me to ignore."
"I trust Winter. She's my sister."
"Just because she's your sister doesn't mean she's above turning her back on the Faunus like her superiors."
"Winter wouldn't do that!"
"And how do you know that for sure?"
"I-I just do!"
"Then why didn't you tell me about the concerns Blake brought up? Why didn't you tell me about that Huntsmen team? If you're so confident about your sister and her colleagues, why keep it from me?"
"I'm sorry, but I wasn't aware I had to tell you about every single detail of my day."
They didn't say a word as two patrolling robots passed by them.
"Are you going to continue helping the Military?" Adam asked once the robots were out of sight. He sounded exasperated, but he kept his voice calm and quiet.
"The mission we have is far too important to abandon," she said the first thing that popped to mind. It wasn't an excuse. It was a fact. "I don't think Ironwood would turn his back on Mantle. And I certainly don't think my sister would do something so horrible!"
"You should know better after everything you've seen. I knew you were placing too much trust in your sister, but I never thought it made you completely blind."
"I know my sister well enough to know what she would and wouldn't do, unlike you!" she snapped, finally turning her head to face him. He scowled at her, and she gave him her best glare.
"Are you sure about that, Weiss? Wasn't she the same person who waved off your brother's bruises?"
"You don't know anything about our family dynamic, so don't talk like you do."
"But I know how easy it is for people in power to step all over us!"
"I told you Winter isn't some villain you're trying to make her out to be. I'm not going to stand here and let you insult her like that!"
A weight pressed down on her chest and gut. The invisible pressure fanned the rage blazing from Adam's comments about Winter.
"So that's it. You'll choose to side with the Military."
"I'm choosing to side with my sister." It took some effort on her part to spit out the answer, and somehow it only made her feel worse afterwards.
She almost expected him to start yelling at her, but he shook his head and turned his back to her.
"When Blake told me her concerns, I at least had confidence we'd be able to convince you to see our side of the story," he said. "I'm disappointed to see I was wrong about you."
His comment stung more than anything she's ever heard before. Even when they were still hostile with each other, none of his insults hit her quite like this. Weiss watched him leave, biting back the stinging in her eyes.
She stood by herself in that empty hall, boiling in frustration and confusion. Weiss hadn't realised how much time passed until Jaune's team passed her on their way back to their room.
She turned down Jaune's generous offer to listen to whatever was on her mind and returned to her dorm. Ruby and Yang were quietly talking by the window when she went in. Neither asked what took her so long to return.
Weiss crawled into bed first, burying herself beneath her cover and shut her eyes.
At some point, Blake returned to the dorm. Although Ruby and Yang were still up, Blake refused to say a word to either of them and went straight to bed.
Weiss woke up to someone shaking her awake. She groggily cracked her eyes open to see the dark outline of Yang by her bedside.
"Blake's missing," Yang said before Weiss could respond. Those two dreadful words snapped her awake.
"What do you mean she's missing?" Weiss asked, pulling her covers off. She checked her Scroll. It was 2:45 am.
"I woke up earlier for a bathroom break and noticed her bed was empty," Yang explained, typing frantically into her Scroll. "I-I thought she went out for some water, but I've been waiting here for half an hour and still nothing."
"Have you tried calling?"
"Yes! She's not picking up."
Their door opened; blinding white lights flicked on as Weiss threw on her jacket. Ruby rushed in with Ren, Nora, and Oscar.
"Where's Jaune?" Weiss asked when she couldn't see him in the crowd.
"He's going to wake Adam up," Ruby replied. "Have you heard anything from Blake yet?"
"No. She's still not answering." Yang sounded close to tears now, sending message after message to Blake.
"How long ago has she been gone?" Ren asked.
"I-I don't know!" Yang threw her Scroll onto Blake's empty mattress.
"Yang and I went to bed at ten," Ruby clarified. "Blake was asleep by then."
"That leaves us a four-hour window unaccounted for…" Ren frowned.
They all jumped when their door flung open again. Jaune was on the other side pale as snow.
"It's Adam," he said. A horrible sense of dread clutched her heart when she saw the panic on Jaune's face. "H-he's gone too."
They picked up their weapons and scoured the entirety of Atlas Academy, using a group chat to coordinate their search. Weiss poked her head into every lecture hall, broom closet, training hall – anywhere they could've snuck off to. She braced herself to find them in a compromising position behind every door, but her fears were always unfounded. Not that it should matter.
She'd rather find him together with Blake than for him to remain missing. At least then, she knew he was safe.
Her terror grew with every empty room, leaving her trembling from head to toe. They all rendezvoused back at Team RWBY's dorm an hour later. Yang looked even more dishevelled than before. She could hardly string a sentence together without her voice wavering.
"What if…what if they disappeared like that one Huntsmen team?" Oscar speculated tentatively.
"That team disappeared outside of Atlas," Ruby reminded him. "I don't understand how they both vanished under our noses."
"They couldn't have…run away…could they?" Nora's question was the final nail in the coffin for Yang.
Yang collapsed on Blake's bed and buried her face in her hands, shoulders trembling. Ruby and Weiss sat on either side of her. Ruby embraced her sister while Weiss awkwardly rested her hand on Yang's back.
The sudden ringing of her Scroll made everyone's eyes lock onto Weiss. She scrambled to get her Scroll out. Her heart plummeted when it was an unknown number calling her.
"Could it be someone who…took them?" Oscar's theory was absurd, but Weiss was willing to entertain it if that meant finding out where Adam was.
She answered the call and put it on speaker for everyone. The first thing they heard was static. The call was barely getting through to them, but there was someone on the other side. The group converged around her Scroll with bated breaths.
"Weiss?" Adam's voice spoke up so quietly that the interference almost drowned it out.
"Where are you?" she asked at once.
"We don't—time-danger!" Blake's voice cut in and out from the static. Yang let out an audible gasp when she heard her speaking.
"You two need to speak up," Jaune said. "We can barely hear you."
"We went—-investigate—-right!-wrong with the—-!"
"We don't understand what you're saying."
"Shit!-sorry—caught up—" Adam spoke again. Weiss clung to his every word, but no matter how hard she concentrated, he wasn't making any sense.
"You—-forget the Scrolls—-going—-feathers—-you hear that?! You need—-out—-now—!"
The call cut off. Weiss tried calling back, but no matter how many times she redialed the number they didn't pick up again.
I woke up at 3 am and couldn't fall asleep after. Got a wedding to sit through with half a brain cell left. I hope your day is going better than mine :')
Thanks to blazingshade3, Gleaming Onyx, and denewyosh for the reviews!