Weiss paced back and forth outside of General Ironwood's office, her heart hammering in her chest as she held her scroll up to her ear. There was signal. There was hope.
"Weiss?"
"Winter!" Weiss cried, immediately stopping her nervous motions and feeling weak in her knees. "You're… oh, gods, you're alive. You're okay!"
"I'm okay," the elder Schnee confirmed. "And Atlas is… taking off, isn't it?"
Weiss took several deep breaths, unable to stem the flow of tears down her cheeks.
"It is. You're… we can't help you. Ilia left to try to find you, but…"
"She found me," Winter confirmed. "I've got Whitley, Jacques, and Robyn with me, too. We're in Robyn's tavern, and I'm… hold a moment."
Weiss listened as something heavy was dragged across the floor on the other side of the line, followed by an impact of what sounded like something slamming against a wall.
"Winter…?" Weiss asked worriedly.
"Barricading a door. Relax. Robyn Hill apparently has some sort of underground escape route, and the rest of them are headed down to the basement to try to get it set up. I'm due to head down there and follow…"
"Then I… I-I won't keep you long," Weiss said with a sniffle as she wiped her eyes on her sleeve. "I'm just… glad to hear you alive. I know you can get out of this. I know you'll… y-you'll find a way. Right?"
"Weiss," Winter said, a bit of admonishment in her voice. "Breathe."
Weiss did as she was told, though she only managed a few shuddering breaths.
"I'm sorry. I'm sorry for being…"
"You're not weak," Winter predicted. "You're under unfathomable stress, and there's everything to lose."
"I already lost Ruby," Weiss replied, feeling as though she was about to have a panic attack. "My friend. My teammate. My partner. She's gone, Winter. Marrow is downstairs taking care of Clover, Elm is down in the vault… I'm alone, and I don't know what to do to help. I can't help anyone else, I can't even help myself…"
"One of the hardest lessons I had to learn in my position as General Ironwood's second-in-command is that sometimes, the best way to help is to simply stay out of the way. I know that isn't what you want to hear, especially if you're grieving… but you have a precious moment in which to focus on yourself. Honor your fallen teammate. Center yourself and your emotions. Take care of you, while others take care of the current situations around you."
"Be… selfish, when it's warranted…" Weiss considered with a sigh as she began to pace once again. "Something Sun's struggled with for ages…"
"That's one way of putting it, yes," Winter encouraged. "I'm sure Marrow will take care of you as soon as he can. That being said… do you know Clover's status?"
"Stable," Weiss answered. "I'm sorry, I should have said so sooner."
"I can't blame you," Winter denied. "That's all I needed to hear. Well… that, and I need you to tell General Ironwood that I'm currently safe. Where is he?"
"In his office with Mr. Sleet and Mrs. Camilla," Weiss said warily as she eyed the nearby door. "He, Cinnamon, and Daisuke are currently negotiating the current situation in Atlas. I… wasn't invited, and I don't fully understand why. I have a bad feeling about it all."
"What would you contribute to such a conversation?" Winter asked. "That may sound harsh, but… you've heard the expression 'too many cooks in the kitchen?' Be relieved that you aren't sharing that burden."
"I… suppose," Weiss said as she closed her eyes and once again came to a stop. "It's truly okay to just… go lie down? Remove myself from all of this, even though our home is in crisis?"
"You're in crisis as well," Winter pointed out. "Never forget that you cannot accomplish anything while you're falling apart. One other thing- you need to tell The General that Jacques and Robyn are in league with each other."
"What?" Weiss asked, her eyes snapping open. "You don't mean…?"
"She's a paid actor," Winter explained. "All this time, Jacques has been manipulating the system not only in Atlas, but Mantle as well. None of it was real. None of her supposed revolution or campaigning for the people mattered. It was all to instate him directly or put a puppet into the available seat in his stead."
Weiss was suddenly filled with a very different emotion, her unoccupied fist clenching tightly without a conscious decision involved.
"That snake. Atlas, Mantle, our entire family… he needs to be brought to justice," Weiss spat, before her eyes widened in realization. "I… I may be able to make that happen…"
"Weiss…?"
"I know exactly what I need to do," Weiss announced. "I need to stay distracted. I can't simply laze about and wait to be doted over."
"Weiss, that isn't… I need to go. Ilia's here, and she doesn't look happy."
"Wait!" Weiss cried. "Let me speak to her!"
There was an odd shuffling sound on the other side of the scroll before an entirely different voice answered.
"Weiss?"
"Ilia… I absolutely love you," Weiss said with an uncontrollable grin.
"You tell me this now, after you've gone all-in on Marrow?" Ilia seethed. "Gods damn it, we could've been something special."
"I-I didn't mean…" Weiss stammered.
"Yeah, I know, I'm just fuckin' with ya," Ilia clarified. "…but honestly, if you were single, I'd be making moves at this point. Love you too, Weiss. Your family's safe, and your dad's a total fucking ass. I'm tempted to stab him."
"I'm tempted to let you," Weiss considered. "Just… get out of there alive, please? I want to hug you so badly right now…"
"I could use a hug, yeah," Ilia replied. "I can't talk much, but… we're gonna get through this, okay? All of us. We're not losing anyone else."
"We won't," Weiss echoed, not quite believing it. "Please stay in contact when you can, and… call Sun. I can tell him you're safe, but he'll want to hear your voice."
"Of course. I'll get on that as soon as we're safe. Things aren't great down here. Take care of yourself, alright?"
"You too," Weiss replied before the call disconnected.
There were only a few seconds in which Weiss felt somewhat at peace. Winter and Ilia were alive, and progress was being made. She had a new direction, and a new goal. Those small reassurances were immediately nullified by a horrifying sound from close by. Nothing good could come of it. Nothing Weiss could think of could possibly be more foreboding.
From immediately to her left, a brief flurry of gunfire rang out from inside of General Ironwood's office, followed by an eerie silence.
Weiss' blood felt like ice in her veins as she stared at the door. There was no screaming, no sound of a struggle. Just the foretelling of death, and then absolute quietude. Her heels sounded nerve-shreddingly loud as she began to slowly walk across the floor, drawing her own firearm and Myrtenaster.
"General…?" Weiss called out, raising her voice. "General Ironwood!?"
Predictably, there was no reply. Weiss' breathing quickened as she made her way up to the door, finding it locked. She knew there was no getting through the reinforced steel. Marrow would have the security clearance to get through, but by the time she went and retrieved him… Weiss didn't want to think about the possibilities. General Ironwood, Cinnamon, Daisuke, Councilman Sleet, and Councilwoman Camilla were in that room together… and all of them were armed. Anyone could have fired the shots… and anyone could have fallen victim to them. There was no time.
With a shaky hand, Weiss raised her magnum toward the I.D. reader. With a quick, silent prayer, she fired off a high-caliber bullet into the device.
The door slid open immediately, and Weiss ran inside, weapons drawn.
"…the two of you have a very… interesting relationship," Winter pointed out with a raised brow as Ilia handed back the borrowed scroll. "Even without hearing her replies, I cannot imagine anyone else holding a conversation like that with Weiss…"
"Then you haven't seen Weiss around her friends much," Ilia said with a shrug. "She's… I thought she was a bit stiff and uncompromising when we first met, but she's surprisingly down to earth and friendly after a while. I just wish she'd let go of her guilt."
"Weiss isn't one to let anything go easily," Winter warned as she began to walk toward the hallway leading away from the central floor. "It's going to take time."
"What are you doing?" Ilia asked.
"You coming back upstairs tells me we've been played," Winter explained. "I'm guessing we're effectively screwed, and nailing the windows shut will be a worthwhile pursuit if we're trapped."
"I guess you're right," Ilia said with a sigh as she began to follow Winter. "And… yeah. Fortunately, Whitley's quick thinking saved us. Jacques, Robyn, Neon, and the kids are heading out to… wherever. Then, they're coming back to pick up the two of us, Em, and Whitley."
Winter turned suddenly, looking Ilia over as the faunus came to a slow stop.
"…you're limping."
"…I'll be fine," Ilia insisted.
"You'll be a liability in combat if that gets worse," Winter chided. "Go and sit down somewhere. I can nail planks across the windows quickly with my Semblance and Whitley, and you need rest. I'm assuming we're going to be here for a while."
"Are you s-"
"I just got done telling Weiss to take time for herself and her needs. Do the same, please," Winter ordered as she disappeared into a nearby room to hunt for wooden planks.
"…fine, fine," Ilia grumbled as she turned in the opposite direction and stepped into Robyn Hill's office. "Pretty sure there's a couch or chair in here…"
Ilia strode farther into the office, finding it lavishly furnished with a black leather couch off to the side away from Robyn's desk. Ignoring all of the ostentatious décor and mounds of paperwork atop the workspace, the faunus sat down with a hissing breath. Her wound was starting to sting the more she walked, ran, and fought, and her aura was struggling to keep up with healing it over. Without a care, Ilia slid off her pants and kicked them to the wooden floor, letting her bare legs rest against the cool leather of the sofa as she inspected her wound. The large circular gash left by Salem's impalement of her leg was at least closed, though the edges of the wound appeared jagged and discolored. Even lightly touching the area around the hole was enough to cause Ilia to hiss and lightly curse, her breathing hitching as black dots danced in her vision.
"…you alright over there?"
Ilia looked up through her haze to see Emerald closing the door to the office and looking concerned as she made a slow approach. The faunus made no effort to cover herself, entirely uncaring of whether or not her friend saw her lounging around in underwear.
"…still breathing," Ilia said, doing her best to sound optimistic. "I got tagged by Salem when I tried to take her one-on-one. Fucking stupid…"
"About that…" Emerald began, her eyes wide and voice full of obvious disbelief as she kneeled before Ilia. "What were you thinking?"
"…in the moment, I kinda wasn't," Ilia admitted as she watched Emerald lean over her leg to inspect the wound. "Just… do it, I guess. It's an instinct that has both saved my ass and gotten me in trouble time and time again."
"What are the odds like with that approach?" Emerald asked as she gingerly touched Ilia's thigh, furrowing her brows.
The faunus' leg muscles tensed horribly under the sensation, and she bit her lip to keep from crying out.
"…about 50/50, I'd say. Still… gotta take chances. I don't know where I'd be right now if I hadn't thrown caution to the wind several times in the past few months."
"Probably not hiding out from grimm in some deceitful cunt's office with me," Emerald considered. "How bad does this hurt?"
Ilia's vision went almost completely black as Emerald pressed down on her skin. A noise escaped her that she didn't know she was capable of making, and for a moment, she forgot to breathe.
"Shit, I'm sorry…" Emerald said as she drew her hand back.
"…does that answer your question?" Ilia asked breathlessly. "I feel like shit right now. I can walk, run, and put weight on the leg, but it aches. Touching it is… not fun."
"Want me to kiss it better?" Emerald asked, trying to bring some levity to the situation.
"At this point? Go for it," Ilia instructed as she kept her eyes closed and focused on just breathing.
The gentle sensation of lips barely making contact with her skin caught Ilia completely by surprise, and she opened her eyes to find Emerald looking up at her sheepishly.
"…sorry, that was lame…"
"Not gonna lie, I didn't hate it," Ilia said. "Still hurts like hell, though. Kiss it again, but maybe a little higher."
"…higher?" Emerald asked, not quite following the suggestion. "Like…above the wound?"
"You could say that," Ilia said cryptically.
There was an unspoken conversation between the two women as they stared at each other. Emerald eventually looked away for a moment and allowed herself a little smile.
"…that really is how you live, isn't it? Well… I guess none of your dice rolls have paid off recently?"
"Depends on how you look at things," Ilia answered. "But right now, no, they're not feeling like they've gone my way lately."
"Well," Emerald began as she planted a ginger kiss a few inches above Ilia's wound. "We've got a little time to kill before the boat gets back. I could change that…"
"Let's see you try," Ilia challenged as she reached down to slide her panties to the side in preparation for Emerald's next, higher kiss.
The thief happily obliged, only to feel slender fingers weaving their way through her hair as she pressed forward with her tongue between Ilia's legs.
Author's Note:
Family drama, cliffhanger gunfights, and lesbian sex all in one chapter?
It must be another family-friendly update to whatever this goddamned bullshit has become!
-RD