"Why isn't Whitley being forced to stay at Amity with us?" Weiss asked on the drive back.

"None of you are being forced to do anything," said Marrow. "He refused us. You have every right to as well, but if you want to keep enjoying the General's hospitality and our protection, then you need to follow our rules."

Weiss had no issue with that. She was perfectly content being safe in the heart of the largest military in the world and having a trained soldier as her personal bodyguard. But she couldn't explain why her brother didn't want that. He couldn't actually believe everything that had happened was just an unfortunate series of events—he had to realize the danger they were all in. So what was he playing at?

She felt like he was hiding something. What had he been up to this past year when he hadn't even been in the country? Why was he suddenly alright with having contact with her after all this time of avoiding her? What did he want to meet her for? And what had he meant when he told her not to do anything "ill-advised"? It was like he was expecting her to do something stupid. Granted, her track record over the past couple of months didn't exactly invalidate that, but it wasn't like he knew about what she'd been up to with Ruby.

Although the idea of denying Whitley what he wanted by not showing up was quite appealing, Weiss's desire for answers swayed her decision in the other direction.

"I have somewhere else I need to be today, at one," she said.

"Take it up with Clover," said Marrow.

"But can't you—?"

"I've got more important things to do than chauffeur you around all day. This is a one-time thing."

Weiss didn't press it further. When they arrived back at Amity Base, Weiss followed Marrow into the administrative building, hoping to ask Sergeant Ebi for another foray into the city. She was supposed to see her father in Atlas Supermax sometime that day as well, so she figured she could meet Whitley either before or after that.

Inside, Clover was holding a scroll in his palm. He was joined by three other people—a pale and lanky man with a shaved head and a poise to rival Whitley's; a tan and rather muscular woman with a short brown ponytail and her sleeves rolled up to her shoulders; and, the shortest of the bunch, a woman with skin only a bit lighter than Marrow's and white highlights in the brown of her low cut mohawk. They all wore uniforms identical to Marrow's: the standard white and navy blue, but with unique red accents that Weiss hadn't seen on any other soldiers. According to their name tags, they were called Vine Zeki, Elm Ederne, and Harriet Bree, respectively.

"Ah," said Clover. "Marrow just walked in with Weiss Schnee, sir."

"Good," Ironwood's voice said from the scroll. "Detective Amin, report."

"I encountered nothing out of the ordinary, General," said Marrow. "All was secure. We ran into Whitley Schnee, but he's continuing to reject our protection."

"Anything else?"

"No, sir." The other three seemed amused by his lack of findings.

"Thank you. Sergeant Ebi has further instructions for you. Everyone else, you have your orders."

"Yes, sir," they all said in unison. A click indicated that the call disconnected.

"Weiss," Clover said as he pocketed his scroll. "Since you're here, I think it's a convenient time for you to meet the team who is working to track down the person or persons responsible for the attempt on you and your relatives' lives. These four—you've already met Marrow—are my Ace Operatives, Atlas's most qualified detectives."

All eyes were on her. Vine gave her a calculating look, Elm smiled, and Harriet appeared to be sizing her up and was unimpressed.

"It's nice to meet you," Weiss said courteously.

"Come on, let's move," Harriet said to her associates. "Don't be too far behind, Marrow. We might need you to sniff something out."

The three left, leaving Weiss alone with Marrow and Clover.

"You should get back to your quarters," Clover told her. "We'll update you on any major developments."

"Actually, there was something else I wanted to ask you," said Weiss. She then posed her request.

"I'm sorry, but no," was his response.

"Excuse me?"

"With the current state of things, the General doesn't want you visiting your father until after the prison's gone into lockdown, which doesn't happen until nightfall. And we can't justify spending more resources escorting you into the city three times in one day."

"But—"

"I'm afraid this isn't open to discussion. I'm sorry, but you'll just have to reschedule."

"I— I understand," Weiss said, surprised by her own disappointment.

Once outside, Weiss took out her scroll and stared at her brother's name at the bottom of her contacts. She was about to dial it when she noticed the vehicle parked directly in front of the residential building she was staying in—a black SUV with tinted windows, quite unlike every other vehicle you could see within the base. Weiss decided to investigate and make the call later.

She found nothing out of the ordinary inside until she reached Ruby's room, which was adjacent to her own. She heard a voice through the door that she didn't recognize. Not bothering to knock, she opened it and stepped inside. A very short old woman in a nice suit stopped in the middle of her sentence and turned to face her. Ruby, who was sitting on her bed, gave Weiss a look that silently begged her for her help.

"And you are . . .?" said the woman.

"Weiss Schnee," Weiss answered. "Who are you?"

"Oh!" The woman's expression quickly changed from annoyance to one of kindness. "Miss Schnee, I didn't recognize you! What fortuitous timing, as I had some questions to ask you as well." She extended her hand. "Caroline Cordovin, director of the Civil Anomaly Bureau."

Weiss's heart sank. She'd suspected that the CAB might show up, but not so soon. And she definitely hadn't expected the director herself to get involved. With all the questionable decisions this woman had made during her many years at the head of the CAB and the controversial stances she held, Weiss couldn't say she was particularly excited to be meeting her.

"And what questions would those be?" Weiss asked, keeping her voice polite but refusing to shake her hand.

"We'll get to that in a bit." Cordovin retracted her hand and crossed her arms behind her back—if she was offended, it didn't show. "If you'll wait outside while I finish up with your little friend here, we can talk alone."

"I think I'd rather stay."

"I'm afraid you're confused. Ruby Rose has admitted to using an unregistered anomaly. Like every other anomalous in her position, she's claimed her anomaly to be a recent discovery. This cannot be verified without speaking to both her and her known acquaintances individually to ensure I get the full story without any falsifications."

Semblances used to be officially called "anomalies", and paragons were referred to as "anomalous". This was decades ago, but the Bureau never rebranded accordingly. Weiss now understood why. Calling Cordovin old-fashioned for still using the old terminology would be a vast understatement. It was just one sign among many of how outdated and mishandled this branch of government was.

"I'm familiar with the process," Weiss said coolly. "But it's going to be sort of difficult to question all her acquaintances while we're in a different city than them. Also, why is the director of the CAB getting involved in something as minor as unregistered semblance usage? This is below your pay grade."

"Unregistered anomaly usage is quite far from a 'minor' infraction as far as I'm concerned, Miss Schnee. But I'll have you know, no, I don't usually personally involve myself in these matters. However, it is one of my duties to investigate where there are possibilities of anomalous involvement in major incidents, such as the sabotage of a military-sanctioned aircraft in the capital's backyard."

"You think Ruby had something to do with that?"

"It is a slim possibility. There were three anomalous aboard that plane, two of which have unregistered anomalies."

"Penny's foreign," Weiss pointed out.

"An illegal?" Cordovin exclaimed, her eyes nearly bulging out of her head.

"What?" Weiss looked at Ruby who merely shrugged, just as perplexed as she was.

Cordovin cleared her throat, regaining her composure and almost looking embarrassed. "Apologies. Of course, young Miss Polendina is the daughter of an esteemed scientist directly vouched for by General Ironwood—and not being a resident of Remnant, as you pointed out, she does not fall under my bureau's jurisdiction. You, Miss Schnee, are both registered and a member of a highly respected family, albeit with one notable exception. The only variable unaccounted for is your unregistered friend, Miss Rose."

"I am registered!" Ruby said.

"But under a false anomaly—your so eloquently nicknamed 'insomnia'. This new teleportation ability of yours is not registered, which is what's important."

"If you have so much respect for my family name," said Weiss, "then shouldn't the fact that I trust her be good enough?"

Cordovin gave a pitying smile. "Respect I may have, but you'll find I don't put much faith in a Schnee's judge of character after what became of the man your mother married."

Weiss bit her tongue. Maintaining a calm demeanor was becoming increasingly difficult. Fortunately, she was saved before she could say anything rash.

"Caroline!" said a welcoming voice—Clover had arrived. "I thought I recognized your car."

"Sergeant Ebi." Cordovin didn't look too pleased by his presence.

"Is there anything I can help you with?"

"No, thank you. I just have a handful more questions to ask these two, then I'll be on my way."

"I'm afraid I can't allow that."

Cordovin pursed her lips. "You can't allow me to do my job?"

"Your job is not to harass the General's personal guests."

"There was anomalous involvement—"

"There were paragon victims," Clover interrupted. "If we uncover any evidence of actual paragon involvement in this, we'll be in touch. But as it stands, this investigation is beyond your authority."

She didn't seem able to come up with a rebuttal to that, so she changed course. "Putting that aside, Ruby Rose has still admitted to unregistered anomaly usage, which irrefutably is my bureau's business."

"Which is why we notified you of said usage and cleared her of any suspicion of malicious intent behind it. Once she receives an official summons in the mail, she'll have a fourteen-day window to appear before her local CAB office for questioning. Without proof of a crime committed, you can't force her to answer any sooner."

"That is the protocol," Cordovin admitted in a defeated voice.

"Then we're done here," said Clover. "Allow me to walk you to your car?"

"I can see myself out, thank you." She gave one last look at Weiss and Ruby, then left without another word.

"Thank you!" Ruby said to Clover. It was clear she hadn't held up well under Cordovin's interrogation.

He nodded. "Try not to make an enemy of that one."

Once he was gone, Weiss found that Ruby had shortened the gap between them and was giving her a stern look. "Where have you been?" the girl demanded.

"I'm surprised you even noticed I was gone," Weiss retorted.

"What?" Ruby looked confused. "Of course I noticed! You just disappeared without saying anything while there's someone out there who wants to kill you. I was worried!"

Weiss felt a bit guilty about that, but not enough to make her forget her annoyance toward the girl. "I had protection, I was perfectly safe. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to make a call."

"What? No, wait!"

Ruby's protests fell on deaf ears as Weiss stepped out into the hall and dialed her brother, closing the door behind her for a bit of privacy. He picked up after just two rings.

"Whatever you have to say, I'm sure it can wait a while longer until we speak in person," he said. "I'm rather busy at the moment."

"I'm not coming," said Weiss.

"I beg your pardon?"

"I can't make it. We can talk now, or we'll have to reschedule."

"And why can't you make it? You've only just arrived. I can't imagine you have too much else going on."

"I'm not allowed to leave the base without an escort, and no one's available. So I'm stuck here."

"You're not allowed? I forgot, were you enlisted in the military like our dear elder sister? Or perhaps you've been detained and never mentioned it."

"No, but—"

"Then they can't disallow you to do anything. Need I remind you that you have a debt to me?"

Weiss's response was delayed. "So that's what this is about? You're calling in your favor?"

"I am."

"And why can't it wait?"

"As I've already said, I'm rather busy. I have time to talk at one, and that's it, and I'd like to get this taken care of before I depart for Vale soon."

"You're leaving? After Father's just been attacked?"

"Me staying isn't going to change anything."

"Have you even been to see him?"

"I've been to Atlas Supermax exactly once in my life, and that was after he was first incarcerated. I will not be going there again."

"Why?"

"Irrelevant. Will I be seeing you soon?"

Weiss bit her lip. It should have been an easy choice, but she did owe him. And her curiosity and suspicion had only increased since the start of the call. What exactly had his schedule so full? She had to know.

"Fine. I'll . . . figure something out," she said.

"Great. I'll see you in a few hours." He ended the call.

Weiss didn't like her new habit of breaking rules. It drew an ugly similarity to Roman Torchwick. Laws were made to control those not lucky enough to be in a position to write them. She couldn't let herself adopt that kind of mindset. Yet she'd just looked the director of the CAB in the eye while having an undisclosed evolution to her semblance, and here she was debating how to break yet another rule—a rule set in place for her own safety, no less. Her rebelliousness was adding up.

That was a worry for another time. Right now, her biggest concern was figuring out how to get out of Amity without being seen, and preferably back in as well. The solution became quickly obvious, and she'd just given it—that is to say, her—the cold shoulder. It also solved the safety concern, in the unlikely event anything dangerous were to occur; Ruby had already saved her life several times.

Weiss sighed and turned back around. She'd barely knocked once on Ruby's door before it was whipped open. Ruby was standing there looking annoyed.

"I need your help," Weiss said, doing her best to not appear sheepish.

"Where was that two minutes ago?"

"Hey, you're the one who's been avoiding me ever since we got here," Weiss defended. "Excuse me if I take offense to that."

"What? No, I haven't been . . . avoiding you," Ruby said without meeting her eyes.

Weiss cocked an eyebrow.

"I've just had some stuff on my mind, alright?"

"Then talk to me about it."

"It's not important. You've got enough to worry about, what with your dad and your sister and an evil mastermind trying to hunt down you and your entire family."

"If it's going to keep you at a distance while I need you here for me, then I believe it's extremely important."

"Talking to you about this won't really help that," Ruby muttered.

"Why?" Weiss said, feeling a strong urge to wring her neck; the girl was being more irritatingly mysterious than her brother.

"It doesn't matter," said Ruby. "Look, I'm here for you, alright? I promise. It's just not the time for that conversation . . . not anymore."

Weiss studied her for several long seconds. "Does this have anything to do with whatever you were going to tell me at your father's house?"

A noticeable hint of red rose within Ruby's cheeks. "What did you need my help with?"

Reluctantly, Weiss allowed her the change of subject. "I need your semblance to sneak into the city so I can meet my brother."

"Oh. Okay. Wait . . . what? You just got back to Amity, and now you need me to smuggle you back out?"

Weiss succinctly explained the situation, mentioning how Whitley wanted to cash in his half of the quid pro quo they made for the STC information that helped them locate Torchwick, but glossing over where exactly she'd bumped into him.

"So, Clover let you go before," Ruby said, "but he won't now? Why?"

"Honestly, I got the impression he just wanted to get rid of Marrow before, but now he needs him," said Weiss. "Are you going to help me or not?"

"Of course I will. But in exchange, you're going to tell me where you were today."

Weiss wasn't sure she wanted to, as she could predict where telling the truth would lead, but she didn't like lying to Ruby. "I went to see my mother."

"Oh," said Ruby. There was a noticeable shift in the atmosphere as well as the tone of her voice, as they'd reached a touchy subject and they both knew it. "You . . . never talk about your mom."

She didn't—and for very good reason. The last person outside her family Weiss had talked to about this had been Blake, who couldn't exactly relate to her plight, what with having two living parents whose biggest malfeasance was loving her too much—that and being politicians. But with all these emotions brought back to the surface, now was as good a time as any to open up again, and there was no other person who could understand better than Ruby.

"Hey, I am here for you, remember?" the girl said after several seconds of silence.

Weiss checked her scroll, noting just how much time she still had to kill. With a steadying breath, she invited herself into Ruby's room and gracefully took a seat on her bed. Ruby closed the door and pulled up a chair to sit across from her, not saying anything.

"All semblances have a price," Weiss said. "Some are steeper than others. My mother's semblance is the same as mine, but her price isn't. Mine exhausts me on a physical level, but hers . . . it drains on her mentally."

"Okay . . ." Ruby clearly didn't see the full scope of what that meant.

"Every time she used it, it took a very small piece of her with it—so small that she didn't even know what her price was until it was already too late. Eventually, it added up and there was no fixing it. The theory is that her semblance saw the damage her mind was going through, and it tried to passively cure it, similar to how Penny's semblance works. And that still required a price."

Understanding dawned on Ruby's face. "So her mind was trying to heal itself, but it was also hurting itself by doing so."

Weiss nodded. "Her semblance degraded her mind faster than it healed it. She became unstable. She began to have episodes. And it kept getting worse and worse, until one day there was just . . . nothing left of her." She wouldn't be able to keep the tears contained for much longer, not after saying it all out loud.

"Oh. So she's . . .?"

"She's alive, but completely catatonic."

"And . . . you can't help her?"

Weiss shook her head. "I've tried. My semblance just doesn't work on her. I don't know why. I think it might have something to do with the fact that I got my semblance from her. Or it could be something else. She told me, back when she was still . . . whole, how there were a couple of instances where she tried to heal someone but her semblance inexplicably had no effect on them."

"I'm so sorry. I thought I had it bad but . . ." She didn't finish the thought. Instead, she tried to take a more positive spin on things. "I mean, at least there's still hope, right?"

It wasn't hope that Weiss had—it was desperation.

She wasn't sure when the tears began to fall, or whether it was her or Ruby who initiated the hug. She just knew that one moment she was sitting alone on the bed, and the next she was wrapped in Ruby's arms with her face buried in her shoulder, sobs infrequently escaping her. It wasn't unlike the day Ruby first discovered her true semblance and she'd woken up panicked and yelling from the first nightmare of her life—one motherless daughter comforting another, both of whose deepest desire was nothing more than closure.

"You'll find a way," Ruby whispered. "If anyone can, it's you."

Part of Weiss believed her. The rest couldn't forget the years of trying and numerous failed attempts. And so, she cried on. What's more, she found that she didn't care. Where a past, lonelier Weiss would have felt shame for showing such weakness, the current one felt only comforted by the fact that she had someone in her life she could be so safely exposed to.


At noon, Ruby knocked on Weiss's door and didn't have to wait long for an answer.

"You're late," said Weiss.

"You're ready, then?" Ruby walked in without being invited, not responding to Weiss's comment.

Weiss looked up and down the hallway to make sure it was clear before shutting and locking the door. "Of course I am. Where's Penny?" She realized she hadn't seen the orange-haired girl all day and was worried she might notice they were gone.

"Studying," said Ruby.

"For what? Isn't she supposed to be on vacation?"

Ruby shrugged. "Are we leaving or what?"

She was right, despite being the one who'd shown up two minutes late; the sooner they left, the sooner they could be back and the lower the likelihood of them getting in trouble. Weiss joined her by the window and took her hand. Her room had a better view, which is why they'd decided to teleport out from here.

One unpleasant sensation later, they were outside of Amity without any hiccups. After another few minutes, they found a cab and set off for their destination. It wasn't as instantaneous as in Vale, where every other car you saw was a taxi, but Atlas was still a busy city and it didn't take too long.

"So you really don't know what your brother wants from you?" Ruby asked during the drive.

"Not a clue," said Weiss. "And I have no idea why he wants to meet at the family manor. That was one of the first things we lost when Father was convicted."

"Maybe he bought it?"

"He can't have," Weiss said, though with doubt in her voice. "We were each left with a bit of money after the dust settled, but not even remotely enough for that. I can't imagine him being able to earn enough in such a short amount of time, either—he might have two degrees, but he had Father's reputation to deal with."

"You don't think he could be caught up in anything illegal, do you?"

Weiss was about to give a firm "No," as her answer, but then she changed her mind. A year ago she would've never been caught so much as jaywalking, but she wasn't the same person she was then. The brother she remembered would never have committed any crimes without good reason, but who knew how the time since their family fell apart had changed him?

"I expect I'll find out," she finally said.

They arrived just under half an hour early. The mansion Weiss had grown up in looked no different than the last time she'd been here, yet seeing it now somehow felt so alien. It was like her memories of the place were from a past life, even though it hadn't been that long at all since she'd had her own room there. The one she could most vividly recall was the day she stepped out the front door for what she'd presumed to be the last time; she'd been nervous of what the future had in store for her, but also immensely satisfied with the knowledge she'd never be coming back. But the ability to call the place "home" had been long gone to her even then—her mother had taken that with her the day she was committed, leaving Weiss alone with just her father, Whitley, and the ever-changing household staff.

She didn't want to go back inside. She didn't even want to be back in Atlas so soon. Why did her father have to go and get himself attacked? The day she came back to Atlas was supposed to be a triumphant day. She was supposed to have grown as a person and adapted to her new life outside her family's shadow, overcome her past woes and traumas, ready to return with all that put well behind her—and most importantly of all, having attained all the knowledge and experience she needed to rectify her failure as a daughter. But she hadn't made any progress at all, and she felt like she'd be starting back at square one whenever she returned to Vale.

"You alright?" Ruby asked, standing beside her outside the gate.

"I'm fine," Weiss lied. "We should find some way to occupy the next twenty minutes."

"Can't you just go in early?"

"No." Respect for precise punctuality was one trait she and her brother shared.

"We could get some ice cream. That always makes me feel better."

Weiss gestured around the large, affluent neighborhood they currently stood in. "Where exactly do you expect to find ice cream around here?"

"I don't know. What's your suggestion?" Ruby said defensively.

Weiss considered for a moment, then turned away from the gate and set off down the sidewalk. Ruby followed, but she didn't get any answers from Weiss about where they were going. It didn't take long until they reached the end of the street where a bench waited just around the corner, protected by the shade of the two trees planted on either side of it. Weiss sat down and invited Ruby to sit next to her. From here they had a partial view of the main city's skyline. There were a handful of skyscrapers visible, all less impressive than Vale's least noteworthy ones, and none of them Schnee Tower—or what had once been Schnee Tower.

"I used to come here a lot as a kid," Weiss said. "Usually after school. I'd make my driver let me off before we reached the house and I'd come here to read or work on homework . . . or sometimes I'd just do nothing but enjoy the private moment away from all the suffocation at home."

"It must've been pretty cold out here during the winter," said Ruby.

"It was worth it. This was the only place where I felt like I could breathe. After I convinced Father to let me transfer to public school and I met Blake, I didn't come here as much. But then she found Adam and started spending more and more time with him, and then she left without saying anything."

They sat in silence for a brief lull until Ruby finally spoke up. "If only you'd been born in Vale—or I'd been born in Atlas. I didn't really have a lot of friends growing up. We could've really used each other back then."

Weiss looked over at her, and she saw something strange. On the surface, it was just Ruby's comforting smile, but there was some inexplicable deeper level to it. In that fleeting instant, Weiss saw something more than just the face of her friend—she saw something she didn't understand. And for some reason, she found herself wondering if she'd ever taken the time to notice just how pretty the girl was.

And as quick as it came, the moment was gone.

"Yeah," Weiss said, already pushing the memory of whatever she'd just felt into the back of her mind where it would probably be forgotten before it could ever be understood. "If only."

Several more minutes passed, and it wasn't until Ruby pulled out the Skeleton Key and began toying with it some more that one of them spoke again.

"You still haven't figured that thing out?" Weiss said incredulously

"It's not easy, alright?" said Ruby. "I don't think it's meant to be intuitive. I think whoever made this didn't want anyone else to be able to use it. But I feel like I'm getting close. There are only so many inputs I can try."

Weiss just watched her work for a bit, observing with a guilty pang how much she struggled with it. When Ruby tried holding it in her right hand, the quiver in her left made it too difficult to actually touch the buttons she meant to touch. When she switched to the other way around, the unfamiliarity of using her non-dominant hand combined with not being able to hold the device still yielded similar difficulties.

"Has your arm not gotten any better?" Weiss asked.

"Stop," said Ruby.

"What?"

"I don't want you worrying about that. This was my mistake, my choice, and that's that."

"You took that bullet because of me. Of course I'm going to worry about you!"

"I took that bullet because of myself—I took it for you. If I'd just been better, you never would have been shot at at all."

If she'd been better—not if she hadn't suggested the plan that Weiss had agreed to in the first place.

"You don't regret even going to that warehouse?" said Weiss.

"I mean, in hindsight . . . sort of? I don't like the outcome, but with what we knew then, it was still the right thing to do."

Weiss's conflicted feelings about those words must have shown on her face, as Ruby moved on before she could say anything. "Not everyone has a semblance like mine, and not everyone has the kind of tech Pyrrha left behind. But those of us that do, we've got to hold ourselves to a higher standard, you know? I could do a lot of good with my semblance—help a lot of people. And if I don't, then that makes me a bad person."

"Is that what you really want? To help people? Are you sure you're not just trying to live out some comic book fantasy?"

"Why does it have to be one or the other? I idolize superheroes, both real and made up, because of all the good they do—not because of their cool powers or awesome costumes."

Weiss looked into her eyes and saw honesty within them. "But you realize this obligation you feel is just as fictional as those comic characters, right? Choosing not to put your own life in constant danger doesn't make you a bad person. There are other ways to make an impact."

"What about you? Your semblance is amazing! You can help people that no one else can. Would you be able to live with yourself if you just decided not to?"

"The difference is that I don't have to risk my life to cure people with my semblance."

"And what if your price was the same as your mom's?"

Ruby caught her off guard with that one. And after many seconds had passed, Weiss still didn't have an answer.

"What would you do then?" Ruby pressed.

Weiss checked her scroll and stood. "It's almost one. Let's go see what Whitley wants."


A/N: Credit to my beta readers: Bardothren, I Write Big, and 0neWhoWanders. They're great writers who are a huge help with making this story as good as it can be.