Whitley wasn't answering his scroll. Weiss attempted multiple times to call him, both before and after deciding to go through with this, and they all went straight to voicemail. He was her only lead. If she couldn't talk to him and if Clover wasn't giving her any alternatives to pursue, then she only had two options: give up or sneak out again.

Ruby was sitting on a bench outside the residential building, engrossed in her scroll until Weiss came up and sat down beside her. Weiss had just seen the Ace Operatives on their way out of the base. With fewer people around to notice their absence, now was the best time to do this.

Ruby didn't say anything at first. Neither did Weiss. She was still second-guessing whether she should actually ask what she was planning to, and not because she was worried Ruby would say no; she was conflicted because she knew the girl would say yes.

"They arrested Junior," Ruby said conversationally.

"Really?" Weiss said.

"Yeah. It must've been because of Uncle Qrow and Mayor Ozpin. He'd still be out there if it wasn't for us."

"You mean if you hadn't dragged me into his club and nearly gotten us killed?"

Ruby shifted uncomfortably. "Yeah, that. I was thinking of going back there once we're back in Vale. It'll probably be abandoned, or at least run by someone new who isn't a criminal . . . hopefully. There might be some clue I could find with the Skeleton Key, maybe . . . You think this is a terrible idea, don't you?"

Weiss hesitated. "Well, if Junior and his ruffians are truly out of the picture, then an attempt seems harmless enough. But the likelihood of finding anything is extremely small."

"I know. I'm just trying to think of new leads. With Torchwick gone, the Key is the best shot we've got of digging up any secrets. We'd just need to find where to use it."

Weiss realized that without the mystery of the Skeleton Key to keep her mind occupied, Ruby was veering back into the obsession that had gotten them into so much trouble back home. Weiss had known this would happen sooner or later, but it was in Ruby's best interest if she delayed that for as long as possible. That meant the girl would need another distraction.

"Fine," said Weiss. "You can have the Key back."

Ruby's eyes lit up. "Really?"

"Temporarily," she clarified. "You will use it exactly when and where I tell you to, and then you'll give it back to me."

"Wait, you . . . want me to hack into something?"

"Yes. I'm . . . I'm going after Partridge, and I'll need your help to do it."

After Ruby recovered from her surprise over this declaration, she grinned, which worsened Weiss's apprehensions. "Are you saying what I think you're saying?"

"God, I hope not." Weiss ran her hands through her hair. "I just . . . If there's something I can do to help resolve this situation, I want to do it. But this is going to be nothing like our fumbles during the investigation into what happened to your mother. I am not going to take any risks."

"That's what we said the first time."

Weiss, thinking about it, was horrified to realize that she was right. "I changed my mind. I'm no longer doing this."

"No! I think this is good! At least tell me your plan, first."

Weiss sighed. "I don't have one. I just know that Whitley knows more than he's letting on, so I wanted to see what else you could learn using the Key if we went back to the manor."

"That doesn't seem so bad. But I think you're right that we should do things different this time. We—okay, mostly me—made a lot of bad choices before. You know I'll always be there to protect you, but I'd like to not have to as much as possible. So I say we think things through more."

Weiss was impressed. "That's very mature of you."

"Yeah, well . . . I've just been thinking a lot. Pyrrha wouldn't have made the same mistakes I did. If I'm going to be The Insomniac, I need to be able to start thinking like a hero, and not just trying to fight like one."

Weiss had forgotten that's what Ruby wanted to call her vigilante alter ego. "That's such a ridiculous name."

"Ouch," Ruby sounded genuinely offended. "I thought you said you weren't going to form an opinion!"

"I'm sorry. But if you had to follow that theme, then I would say you just drop the 'c' and call yourself Insomnia. It flows better."

Ruby looked thoughtful. "Hm. I kind of like that. Sounds kind of menacing, though."

"But it doesn't matter, regardless."

"Are you saying that because you still think you can change my mind about this?"

"No, but that still doesn't mean I approve of it. I'm saying that because it compromises the entire 'secret identity' aspect of vigilantism. The CAB knows about your semblance now and its association with the word 'insomnia'. If a teleporting superhero shows up and starts calling themselves that, you're going to be the first suspect."

After several seconds of silence, all Ruby had to say was a single dejected, "Oh."

"I'm sure you can come up with some other equally ridiculous alias."

"Well, yeah. I have ideas. I just . . . really liked this one."

Weiss hadn't expected her to be this disheartened about this. "Why is that word so important to you?"

"It's always been a big part of my life, you know? I mean, I've never actually had insomnia. That's a whole different thing that people really suffer from. My semblance never let me sleep but it always kept me feeling healthy and wide awake. Insomnia's still what I called it, though, and it had its own challenges I had to struggle with. But also, it's . . ." Ruby blushed slightly. "Well, it's what brought us together."

Weiss hadn't thought about it like that. Lately, Ruby's presence in her life had been a constant she was just grateful to have—something she both feared losing and also took for granted. It was amazing that if not for that one little "condition", Weiss would have never met Ruby and she'd be living a much lonelier—albeit safer—life.

"Oh well," said Ruby. "I guess it doesn't matter too much right now. Did you still want to try to find out what your brother's hiding?"

"Yes. No. I mean . . ." Weiss stood, feeling indecisive despite knowing there was never any real doubt as to what choice she'd make. "I'll decide on the way."


Outside the gate to the manor, Weiss and Ruby waited after ringing the buzzer. Only silence stirred from the other end.

"I guess he's not home," said Ruby.

"He did say he's been rather busy," said Weiss. "I can't question him, but at least your job will be simpler."

"Want me to Blink us inside?"

Weiss tried the buzzer one more time just to be safe but was met with the same result. "Can't you just try to use the Key instead?"

"I already did. Also, blinking's faster." Ruby grabbed her wrist and then teleported them all the way to the front steps.

Weiss stumbled on the landing and had to grab onto Ruby to steady herself, who she then proceeded to smack on the arm. "Warn me before you do that, you dolt!"

Ruby ignored her and took to examining the Skeleton Key. "It's not seeing anything. We need to go inside."

"Obviously," said Weiss, still perturbed. "Try to access the security cameras. I'd prefer it if Whitley never knew we came back here."

Once inside, Weiss started leading them toward her father's office. She felt nervous. No one had answered the buzzer, but there was still that slim chance that someone was here to catch them breaking and entering, made easier by them announcing their arrival. She just hoped they could find something useful and get out of here as quickly as possible.

"Got it!" Ruby said as they climbed the last steps of the staircase. "I see the cameras. Aaaand there's the footage. I really love this thing."

"You can access the feed? How much?" Weiss asked.

"Hmm. Looks like it's got a few weeks stored. Oof, that's a lot of gigabytes. I've gotta clear some space on my scroll."

"What could possibly be taking up so much space on your scroll?"

"Games, pictures, videos. Mostly games. I always forget to uninstall them when I quit playing them."

"Just use mine. There's hardly anything on it that wasn't there when I bought it."

"Alright. The Key sees your scroll, too." Ruby pushed a few buttons. "It's transferring."

Weiss felt her scroll vibrate once in her pocket. Sure enough, there was the progress bar. "That thing is way more powerful than it has any right to be."

"I know, right? It's crazy. It doesn't even seem like it's really 'hacking' anything. It's like it's just already got full access to any piece of tech it sees."

"How is that possible?"

Ruby shrugged. "I just know it doesn't work on everything. It didn't see the buzzer outside or the gate lock. It couldn't see the TV in my room, either, but it saw the one in Penny's, which was a different model."

"So it really does only work on Schnee tech."

"I told you. You still don't think the STC had anything to do with making this thing?"

"I doubt it. I would've found something about it in the files we got from Whitley if they did. And plus, it'd be just way too risky. To deliberately implement such a powerful exploit into every piece of technology they made would create way too big of a liability for very little gain. Remember when one faulty component made all those products horribly malfunction? They had to fire their CTO and their PR still never fully recovered."

"I mean, the STC was already pretty scummy before that, too. It just took a bunch of people getting hurt before it really tipped the scales against them. It didn't really help that their products started to kind of suck after that, either."

Weiss felt a twinge of contempt at that statement, still harboring an unwarranted sense of pride for the family business. She had to remind herself that the STC that collapsed wasn't the family business—it was her father's business. And Ruby was right. That incident had marked the beginning of a drop in quality and lack of innovation in STC products that allowed their competitors to finally start catching up.

"Just open the door," Weiss said as they arrived at her father's old office.

"Done," said Ruby. The lock clicked.

Once inside, Weiss made straight for the desk. Whitley's laptop was absent—he hadn't even left the charging cable—but everything else looked the same. The desk drawers were mostly empty save for an unopened bottle of champagne, a watch display case that was missing its watches, some magazines that featured her father on the cover, and a photo album containing images of him shaking hands with various influential people.

"I always knew your dad had a pretty big ego, but . . . isn't this taking it a little far?" Ruby was staring at the portrait on the back wall.

"Good thinking," Weiss said, immediately giving up on the desk and pulling the frame forward so they could see the vault.

"That's a mechanical lock," Ruby observed. "Key's no good. You think your brother's got anything important hidden in there?"

"It's not likely, but it's worth a shot. Have you found anything yet?"

"No. The Key only sees our scrolls, the door lock, and the cameras."

"Go look around, then. I'll try guessing the combination."

"On it, boss." Ruby saluted and then left the room.

Weiss rolled her eyes and began racking her brain for significant numbers. But, try as she might, she couldn't think of any particular combination her father or Whitley would be attached to. Either of them would have likely done the intelligent thing and chosen a completely arbitrary string of numbers. Still, Weiss thought it was worth at least attempting relevant dates and birthdays. Sooner than expected, though, Ruby returned.

"Um, Weiss. You really need to see this." She sounded concerned.

Weiss perked up. "You found something?"

"No, it's more like someone's about to find us."

Ruby showed Weiss the Skeleton Key. On it were several camera angles from around the manor. One showed the front gate where all four of the Ace Operatives currently stood. It seemed like Vine was attempting to get through the lock.

"Is this live?" said Weiss.

"Yes."

"What are they doing here? Do they have a warrant?"

Ruby shrugged. "I don't know, but we really need to get out of here before they get in."

Weiss was about to agree, but then her scroll began to vibrate. It was Whitley. He was calling her at a far from inconspicuous time. Did he know where they were? Whatever the case, she wasn't going to pass up this opportunity. They had time before the Ace Ops got inside.

"They're past the gate," said Ruby.

"Let's go around the back. Lock the door again and see if you can erase us from the security footage." Weiss set off at a moderate pace as she answered the call. "Hello, Brother."

"Sister," came Whitley's voice. "Now that I'm off my flight, I can finally return your calls. What was it you had to say that required my attention so urgently?"

"Your flight?" Weiss repeated. "So you actually left in the middle of all of this?"

"I already delayed my ticket once due to this incident. I could not afford the inconvenience of doing so again. If I don't show up, the hotel will give my reservation to someone else, and then it'd be next to impossible to find somewhere else to stay during the Festival."

"With all that's happening, the Vytal Festival is your biggest concern?"

"My business is my biggest concern, but progress is steady and I have time to spare. It's not often you get the opportunity to attend the Vytal Festival in your home country, one with double the funding of the previous two Festivals combined, no less."

"You're unbelievable."

"I resent that."

"I cannot believe that you're not even the slightest bit curious about all of this."

"Of course I'm curious. But that's all it is—curiosity. It's not something worth dwelling on. Whatever comes of it, my presence in Atlas won't change anything. I'll learn the truth as soon as qualified personnel uncover it, same as everyone else. I implore you to be content with the same."

"Who says I'm not?"

"Only you can," Whitley replied. "I just thought I'd give my take all the same. And, as abrupt as this is, I actually have to go already. But could you lend me a favor? The next time you're in the city, I'd like to request that you stop by the manor and collect my tablet for me. I believe I forgot it in my old bedroom. You can return it to me when you arrive in Vale. I'll let the gardeners know to hide a spare key near that bench you always favored."

Weiss paused, tempted. He'd left his tablet here. Could he have anything of interest stored away on that?

"What are you doing?" Ruby hissed. "They just passed the fountain."

No. He wouldn't have told her where to find it if there was anything on it he didn't want her to know about. His room was on the opposite side of the manor. She'd come back for it at a less precarious time.

"I'll see what I can do," she said as she resumed walking.

"Thank you," said Whitley. "You can call again later, and then we can discuss whatever it was you called me about in the first place. But I really do have to hang up now. Farewell, Sister."

Weiss put her scroll away and picked up the pace. She took them down a right turn leading straight toward the back of the building.

"Hey, Weiss," Ruby said a few minutes later. "Take a look at this."

Weiss moved closer to her so she could see the Skeleton Key. The camera watching the entrance hall showed them the Ace Ops entering the manor. Harriet, Vine, and Elm chose to go down the eastern corridor on the ground floor while Marrow lagged behind. He was acting strange. He kept kneeling down, looking around at the ground in front of him for a couple of seconds, and then repeating the process a few steps away.

"What's he doing?" Ruby asked.

"I don't know," said Weiss.

Eventually, Marrow stopped doing whatever it was he was doing and took off with a quick pace. He climbed the stairs and traveled the same exact path Weiss and Ruby had. He stopped for a minute when he reached Weiss's father's office but then continued on after realizing he couldn't get inside.

Weiss and Ruby reached the end of the hallway they were in and took the left fork only briefly until they reached a particular window. From it, they could see a clear view through the trees in the backyard to the street on the north-western edge of the property. Weiss took the Skeleton Key back from Ruby without asking and shut it off.

"We're done here," she said as she tucked the device into the same pocket as her scroll, dismissing Ruby's protests. "Now get us out."

Ruby seemed to be contemplating the best way to argue her way into getting the Key back, but then her eyes suddenly focused onto something over Weiss's shoulder. "Oh, shoot, he's here!"

Weiss turned around, alarmed, but she didn't see anything. Then, without warning, Ruby grabbed her hand and teleported them to the curb. When Weiss recovered from her disorientation, it was to see a smirk on her friend's face. Sometime soon, Weiss would have to find a way to pay her back for this.


Having spent far less time than expected at the manor, they decided not to head back right away. They'd been overly cautious the last time. Amity was a large base. It'd be difficult to find them even if they were still there, exploring around the parts they hadn't yet seen. If anyone attempted looking for them, it'd be a stretch to assume they'd left.

They still couldn't stop anywhere or partake in any activities, as that was a distraction and time investment that they really couldn't afford right now. Instead, Weiss simply asked their cab driver to do a scenic drive around the city before taking them back to Amity. It wasn't much, but it allowed Ruby to get a feel for Atlas and to see most of the important sights up close. It was worth doing this now in case they didn't get another chance before they had to fly back to Vale. Ruby seemed to appreciate it, and it gave Weiss time to start sifting through the security footage they'd acquired. She was determined to not let this excursion be a total waste.

"Atlas really is a lot different than Vale," Ruby said at the end of it. "Everything here's so much more . . . I don't know, cleaner, I guess? More organized. It's a lot greener, too. In Vale you've only really got a handful of parks and you'll see some trees on the sidewalk here and there, but it's mostly just buildings, buildings, and more buildings. Atlas has actual lawns and landscaping. I also like how the skyscrapers are all spread out, instead of being grouped up in the middle, and how there aren't as many of them."

"This is the capital," Weiss reminded her. "It has to be more presentable, otherwise other countries will think less of Remnant as a whole. Now, are you going to use your semblance or not?"

"Oh, right. You ready?"

"Would you care if I wasn't?"

Ruby responded by grabbing her arm and teleporting them into Weiss's room. Weiss shook off her discomfort and then took a seat on her bed, appreciating the warmth of the inside air in contrast to the chill breeze that was picking up outside.

"So, what now?" Ruby asked.

"I don't know," said Weiss. "I don't like the implications of the Ace Ops investigating Whitley. But I suppose it means we're on the right track."

"You think there's a chance he might be wrapped up in all this?"

"I want to believe he isn't. If he was, why would have flown to Vale?"

"He could've been lying."

"That would be par for the course at this point. Whatever the case, the only lead we have on Partridge is finding out whatever Whitley knows about him. I just need to keep searching for the answers in these videos." Weiss pulled out her scroll and, noticing its battery was low, plugged it in.

"Make sure you charge the Key, too," said Ruby. "It was on sixty percent when you stole it from me."

"Right."

Ruby stood awkwardly for a bit, unsure of what to do with herself while Weiss was busy with her scroll, until finally saying, "Welp. I guess I'll go see what Penny's up to."

Left alone in her room, Weiss continued doing what she said she would. She fast-forwarded the footage as much as she could without risking missing anything, but the strange thing was that she'd seen nothing so far, neither shady nor innocent. She'd gone back a few days, yet the only time Whitley had even been to the manor was around the same time Weiss and Ruby had last been there. The only people that seemed to visit it regularly were a small team of gardeners that came in the early mornings to do their jobs.

She didn't have too much time to think about it, though, as a knock on her door soon interrupted her work. She got up from her bed and opened it to find Marrow in the hallway, who seemed surprised she answered.

"May I help you?" Weiss asked politely, well aware of how suspicious this timing was.

Marrow looked over her shoulder into the room before responding, not finding anything. "Do you think this is a game?"

"Excuse me?"

"You already almost died once here. You would have if it weren't for your friend's unregistered semblance. What do you think you're accomplishing by throwing yourself back into the line of fire?"

Weiss crossed her arms. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Is that so?" He sniffed the air in her direction, which caused her to take an uncomfortable step back from him. "You were at that mansion at the same time as us. Why?"

"That's a lie," Weiss said, wondering how he could have possibly known that. No one was that good of a detective. "I don't even know what 'mansion' you're referring to."

Marrow appeared to consider her for a moment, his eyes distrustful. Finally, he said, "You can leave the base and break the rules the General put in place for your protection all you want, but if you keep going the way you're going, you're going to get in a lot more trouble than just getting kicked out of Amity. Let it go. If I catch you meddling in our investigation again, I'm going straight to Clover . . . and then your sister."

Weiss swallowed. "I'll keep that in mind."

"Hmph," was all he had left to say.

Weiss closed the door and then leaned her head against it. There goes yet another thing she had to worry about.


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