The next two chapters are best enjoyed in one sitting.
Weiss knew the dreaded day was upon them when Blake shared a news article about Father's plan to meet Ironwood that night.
Adrenaline poured into her blood as the article stared back at her. Several smaller headlines were printed beneath it, detailing crimes supposedly committed by the Faunus. The only story that held some credibility was another case of poisoning connected to the White Fang, this time in a nightclub.
Joanna found them soon after.
"Robyn wants to talk to Adam and Blake," Joanna said. "We have work to do."
"What about the rest of us?" Jaune asked.
"Make sure you're prepared for a fight tonight."
Weiss spent most of her day loitering in the restaurant with Jaune, Yang, and Whitley. Jaune had offered to train with Whitely for the day, but he refused.
"You need to save your energy for tonight," was Whitley's reason for skipping his new routine. He sat closer to Weiss throughout the day.
Jaune spent most of the day speculating how they could break in and out of the Manor. Weiss was too wrapped up in her thoughts to register what he was saying. Yang was more interested in stirring her straw than any of Jaune's plans.
The agents working at the restaurant didn't mind having them take up their tables. They dropped by throughout the day to refill their cups with a knowing smile.
Joanna returned at noon to fetch Weiss for a small meeting. She assured Whitley that they would be back shortly when he moved to follow her. Yang took over Weiss' spot and prompted Whitley to talk about his recent sword-fighting lessons. Weiss flashed her a grateful smile before following Joanna out.
Joanna led her into one of the mission rooms. Agents greeted her with curt nods and tight smiles. Some were too busy digging through boxes of files to acknowledge her. Everyone now wore a black earpiece.
Drawings and public photographs of the Schnee Manor lined the walls. Journal articles detailing abuse from the SDC, written testimonials, and lists of available medical supplies and doctors scattered over the tabletops. Sapphire's business card was part of the mess.
They were preparing for victory even before the mission had even started. The weight that's been crushing Weiss all morning now made her dizzy.
"We managed to find an old blueprint of the Manor." Joanna directed her to a faded architecture article pinned to one of the walls. It had an old blueprint of the Manor's exterior layout. "It's outdated, but can you identify where the hidden passages are?"
Weiss pointed to each spot she could identify. Joanna marked each one with a red thumbtack.
"Is there a particular entrance you guys are aiming for?" Weiss asked.
"It'll depend on how many guards they have tonight," Joanna said. "Most of this will rely on you. You know the layout best."
Weiss stopped by the bathroom to wash her face once Joanna dismissed her, but it did little to ease her nausea. Yang continued to make small talk with Whitley even when Weiss returned. Jaune, sensing her soured mood, slid a full cup of ice water over to her.
"They're already preparing for victory," she whispered to Jaune.
"They'll have a field day if we succeed."
"If this succeeds." Weiss squeezed her glass cup. "What if we end up finding nothing?"
What if the information wasn't what they were looking for? All this work and hope would've been for nothing.
"Don't think about that right now." Jaune smiled assuringly. "We'll deal with whatever is inside when we get there."
The sky bled orange when Joanna returned to escort them upstairs. She had no objections to Whitley tagging along this time.
"Where's Blake?" Yang asked as they followed her upstairs.
"Blake and Adam are securing our ride," Joanna answered vaguely.
"In the process? How come they're doing it all by themselves?"
"Robyn wouldn't have sent them alone if she wasn't confident in their abilities. Have some more faith in your friends."
No one spoke another word until they got to Robyn's office. Three black earpieces waited for them on Robyn's desk. Once the door closed behind them, Robyn delved into their plan.
They were going to split up for the first half of the mission. Robyn explained it was easier to hide in smaller groups than in one big cluster when sneaking into the airships. This would also let them survey the Manor from different angles simultaneously.
"It's going to be essential we stay in touch." Robyn gestured at the three earpieces. "It's going to be a free for all once we cross into Schnee property, so be prepared to fight."
Jaune, who was closest to the desk, passed the earpieces to Weiss and Yang. Her hands shook as she secured the earpiece in place.
"We're going to rely on Weiss to guide us if something goes sideways."
Her dinner threatened to make a second appearance.
Weiss stared at Robyn's family portrait. Seeing the bright smiles on their faces left a weight on her heart. The mixed-family dynamic was an exception and not a norm, but it didn't have to be that way forever.
Fear is just a sign that something is about to change.
She saw the irony in latching onto Sienna's advice to Adam, but at least now Weiss could agree with her on one thing. Something was finally about to change.
"You can count on me," she promised.
"Good. Weiss, you'll be tagging along with me and Adam," Robyn ordered. "Everyone else, you're going with Fiona and Blake."
Whitely and Joanna walked them to the back alley to enter the sewer system. Weiss lingered with Whitley for as long as she could, letting everyone else climb down the underground entrance first.
"I'll see you when I get back," she said when it was her turn to follow the others down. "Everything will be okay. We'll get through the fallout together."
"You better keep your promise." Whitley played with the strap of his sword's sheath. "Tell Adam and Jaune I'll be cheering them on too."
She expected him to cover up his last remark with a flimsy excuse of wanting his sword-fighting teachers back, but he didn't add anything else.
"We'll all be coming back." She ruffled his hair. "I promised you wouldn't be alone anymore, and I intend on keeping it."
Whitley barreled into her with a tight embrace. Weiss found herself back in the shoes of her younger self – to a time when her brother still sought her out to play and for comfort.
She hugged him back just as tightly. The memories from their childhood made it that much harder to let him go.
Weiss wasn't sure why May had tagged along, but her purpose in the mission became clear when they emerged from underground.
"We're lucky this place uses Human guards," May said, activating her Semblance. She explained they'd be hidden from plain sight, but they still needed to stick close to her and keep quiet.
Weiss couldn't believe they were just going to walk in the front door.
She kept a single hand on her sword as they moved in. They followed a worker inside the cargo facility, passing a bored security guard along the way, carefully weaved between moving bodies inside the base, and tailed a group of pilots to the airships. Her heart couldn't stop racing from how close they were to passing employees. One misstep was all it took to blow their entire operation. Her hands and legs trembled as she clumsily followed May's lead.
When they were finally outside again, the sky was dark. Green lights dotted either side of the concrete runway, outlining a path for them to follow. Even with a breath of fresh air, the pressure crushing Weiss' chest didn't grow any lighter.
"Your rides are back there," May whispered, pointing to two airships furthest from the rest of the base.
They paused momentarily for Robyn to check in with Adam and Blake through the earpiece. Once Adam confirmed it was safe, they closed in. Weiss followed Robyn into the back of the first airship, whispering a soft 'good luck' to everyone before leaving the protective barrier that was May's Semblance.
The cargo airship was stuffed to the very top with boxes. Robyn pulled out one of the stacks of boxes, revealing a narrow pathway that went further into the airship.
"Go ahead. Adam will be here soon."
Weiss squeezed through the narrow path until she reached a dead end. She crouched onto the floor, hugging her knees tightly. She clenched her clammy palms when the light at the end of the tunnel went dark. Soft footsteps hurried over to her.
"Hey." Adam crouched down next to her. "You doing alright?"
"Nervous, but I'll survive. I don't know how you can be so calm about this."
"I've had lots of practice." He kissed her forehead. "Relax. You're safe with me."
They didn't get to say anymore when they heard the pilot boarding the ship, grumbling about someone moving his keys. Adam wrapped his arms around her as their ride hummed to life. She buried her face into the crook of his neck and braced herself for something to go wrong.
Even once they were in the air, Weiss found it impossible to relax. She balled her hands into fists around Adam's blazer, finding it impossible to let go. He kept his arms around her the entire ride. His firm embrace was the only thing keeping her from completely freaking out.
The airship trembled as they landed. They stayed perfectly still as the pilot gathered his things at a snail's pace. She swore he saw them when he sauntered near the cargo to grab something off the floor.
The door slammed shut behind the pilot, leaving the airship to groan as it settled. They moved when Robyn gave them the command to do so. Robyn led them back to where they'd entered from, clearing the boxes blocking their exit.
"Weiss, follow Adam and don't try to help him fight unless I tell you to. I'll catch up," Robyn ordered, opening the back of the airship.
Weiss half-expected to see a dozen guards on the other side, relaxing when she saw their cargo ship had landed in a secluded corner of the runway.
She followed Adam into the treelines. Moonlight washed between leaves and branches, giving her just enough light to see him.
Weiss ran into him when he stopped abruptly. She held a hand over her mouth at the ominous blue glow of three patrolling robots beyond the foliage. She didn't expect them to be patrolling so far from the Manor.
Weiss reached for her sword, stopping when Adam grabbed her wrist.
"Let me handle it," he whispered.
"Are you sure?"
"Trust me."
She nodded, retreating further into the shadows when he let her go. Adam kept one hand on his sword as he inched closer to the robots, freezing when the robots swept through the dark foliage with a beam of light. Weiss held her breath as the light passed over the area he was in.
Metal footsteps continued walking as if nothing was amiss.
Robyn crept up beside Adam. Weiss didn't know when she caught up with them.
Adam muttered something under his breath. They suddenly split off in opposite directions. A swing of his sword and a single arrow was all it took to take down their targets. Weiss stepped out when Robyn assured her the coast was clear.
"Is it safe to take them out like this?" Weiss asked as Adam hid the broken robots behind a bush.
"We don't have a choice," Robyn said. "Let's hope whoever programmed them didn't include a fail-safe for this exact thing."
The closer they got to the Manor, the more robots they ran into. Weiss felt useless when Adam and Robyn took care of the threats for her. Even when she wanted to help, it felt like she was intruding on a perfected routine.
They were both fast and stealthy fighters. While Adam focused on destroying as many robots as he could in a single swoop, Robyn hid in the shadows and shot any stray targets that avoided his blade.
The yellow glow from the Manor's windows stood out in the night like a giant beacon. They followed the light until they arrived at the exterior gates. Even with the foliage and metal bars obscuring their view, Weiss saw dozens of robots patrolling the exterior of the building. They secured the Manor as if it were a military base, blocking every potential entryway on the premises. Patrols marched together in groups of two to four. Weiss knew Father tightened security, but she didn't expect him to have an entire fleet at his disposal.
"Blake," Adam whispered into his earpiece. "What's your position? I'm southbound from the Manor. I can't see an opening from here."
"We arrived at the gate, westbound," Blake answered, sounding breathless. Weiss wondered if she and Fiona were the ones doing all the fighting. "The building is completely covered on our end too."
"Scout the parameters. Report back once you're done."
"Understood."
No matter where they went, they found the Manor grounds crowded with guards. Weiss' morale dropped further and further with every entrance they found secured by the robots.
What if it was impossible to get in?
Neither Adam nor Robyn voiced their concerns, but the taught expression on their faces told her a similar line of thought ran through their head.
"Guys," Blake's voice suddenly sounded in their earpieces. "We have an opening."
Blake told them about the small number of guards frequenting a particular part of the Manor. Weiss knew exactly where it was from Blake's description.
She led them to the back of the Manor where the Servants' Quarters were. Unlike the rest of the building, the Servants' Quarters was tucked away in the shadows, with a single staircase leading down to a door that could only be opened from the inside. It was the only part of the Manor where there was not a single window, leaving it an imposing fortress of grey.
It was also where the library's secret passageway led.
When they met up with Blake's group, Weiss understood why Blake thought they had an opportunity to break in. It had the least amount of guards, with only three patrolling robots passing by. Two additional guards stood to watch over the staircase.
"We've been watching them for a while," Blake explained softly. "Three guards come by every minute. It's like clockwork."
"Weiss, is there a way we can get in through here?" Robyn asked.
Weiss revealed the secret passageway leading straight into the library.
"We'll wait for the next set of guards to round the corner first," Adam suggested. "Let's try to get them all from a distance. Robyn, can you handle it in one go?"
"This is child's play for me, Red," Robyn scoffed, loading her crossbow. "I'll need you and Blake on standby in case we need to ambush."
"Isn't it going to be hard to stay undercover, though?" Jaune pointed to a surveillance camera overlooking the staircase.
There were two more cameras set up at both corners of the building. Weiss didn't remember seeing them when she ran away. Father must've ramped up their security since then.
"All the more reason to get the job done quickly." Robyn crouched close to the gated fence. "Fiona, help me with those cameras."
Fiona loaded her crossbow and crouched beside Robyn. Adam and Blake stood on either side of them, swords unsheathed.
They held bated breaths when the new set of patrols rounded the corner. For a moment, the world went silent as the targets inched closer and closer to Robyn's firing range.
Twin crossbows fired with a soft twang. Robyn and Fiona loaded and fired their next shot before their first arrows reached their targets. Robyn's arrows penetrated through the robots' heads in quick succession. Fiona's arrows shot through the tiny security cameras without fail.
Weiss was ready to leap the gate when gunfire roared through the night. A final robot they hadn't anticipated rushed up from the stairs firing in their direction. Bullets clanged sharply against the metal bars of the fence.
Robyn and Fiona recoiled back while Adam and Blake leapt over the gate.
Blake used her Semblance to leave as many decoys behind as she could. With the robot focused on Blake, Adam rushed in from the side and sliced the robot cleanly in half.
With stealth out of the window, Weiss used her Semblance to help propel everyone up and over the metal gate. She summoned extra Glyphs to help them close in on the Manor faster, her heart racing at the clink of metal rushing towards them from either side of the building.
She was already knocking against the wall when Robyn ordered her to find the secret passage. Her heart lurched when her knuckle produced a hollow sound. Weiss pushed against the wall, cursing as charging metal footsteps grew louder.
The wall wasn't budging, no matter how hard she pushed.
"Move!" Yang shoved her aside and slammed her body weight into the wall.
Guns reloaded. There was so much metal clanging that Weiss almost missed Robyn's command to brace for battle.
Yang's hair lit up in a brilliant display of gold as she threw herself into the wall, successfully forcing the secret passageway open. Jaune and Weiss helped her push the rest of the door open.
Weiss rushed inside first. She didn't stop running until the passageway closed behind them with a heavy thump.
Thank you to BrazeRancor, Gleaming Onyx, BL4CK 4NG3L, a Guest reader, and CMDR Quillon for the reviews!
And no worries, CMDR Quillon! This is a long story so I don't expect you guys to comment on every single chapter. I really appreciate the times you're able to tho! 33