A.N. (3/10/23) - This chapter will finally kick things off for the plot.


Atlas (10) - Black Ice

A loud noise shook the entire building.

Multiple tremors repeated one after another, the shockwaves spreading and causing people and objects to topple over. Any guests that were too close to the bombers were unable to avoid the full force of the explosion, causing bodies to fly everywhere while only craters were left behind by the bombers.

Even though this was supposed to be a formal event, Rin did not come unprepared without any means of defending herself. Swallowing a jewel she prepared ahead of time, the stored magical energy bestowed upon her protection against the worst of the explosion. Because she was only wearing a dress instead of a mystic code, this would suffice should she be forced into a fight with someone.

"Ugh…!"

Lying next to her on the ground, Whitley groaned in pain but seemed otherwise unharmed. Rin did a quick examination to see if he was alright before concluding that he was fine. Compared to the rest of the guests around them, the two of them were relatively fortunate due to their position being secure enough from the nearest attack.

The room was filled with dust.

Something must have damaged the lights because only a dim glow illuminated the room. One of the roof support pillars had fallen down the middle of the room, blocking the occupants on the other side with concrete and debris. Maybe it was intentional because Rin also noticed that the exits were blocked. The bombers had used a combination of Dust and explosions so that there was a large pile of earth in the way.

Everyone was trapped inside here.

Rin glanced around just to be sure, but her efforts were futile. Whoever was behind this attack wanted them unable to escape.

"Terra!"

Her eyes widened with realization. Pulling out her Scroll, she cursed when she noticed the large crack running down the middle. Her attempts at trying to turn it on were in vain, and she forced herself to calm down.

If the attacks were only concentrated in the main room, then Terra should be fine since she left earlier. That said, Rin had no idea whether there were more attackers or not. Even now, she still had no clue what was the motive behind this attack. If their goal was to secure the building, then there was a chance that a few sweepers would run into Terra.

"First off, I need to find a way to reach her."

Leaving behind Whitley, she moved toward the nearest exit where she recalled Terra exiting. Pressing a palm against the wall, she spoke.

-Start-
"—Anfang."

Activating her magic circuits, she analyzed the material properties of what she touched and started forming a blueprint of the room in her mind. Identifying which parts of the wall were unstable, Rin found out where Terra was located and secured her route.

"But the issue is…"

Her spell had also informed her of a number of potential enemies pouring into the room. Judging by how they were slowly taking down several guests as they advanced, it was clear that they were here with ill intent.

"Damn it." She sighed. "Terra is safe, but everyone else is still in danger. If I choose to ignore them, then that means I'll leave them to the mercy of our attackers."

Rin cursed her bleeding heart and made a decision.

}-{

Weiss opened her eyes and immediately regretted it.

The scene before her distracted her momentarily from the ringing sound in her ear and the pounding headache. And yet, her eyes bore witness to the tragic sight of various people thrown all over the room in various states of disarray.

Some looked better than others, looking relatively unharmed and the likely reason being due to their Aura protecting them. Others appeared far worse, with torn clothes and grievous injuries from either the explosion or other reasons. She spotted one woman trapped under something heavy crying for help from those around her. Another old man was covered in something red and looked like he was on the brink of a nervous breakdown, his face white with shock. One boy around her age was lying still on the floor unresponsive to everything around him. She forced herself to look away from the last one and ignore the voice in her mind telling her that he was most likely dead.

What exactly happened?

Earlier, somebody in the crowd had yelled something about the waiters. Did a group of criminals manage to infiltrate the party and do all of this? She felt like her heart was about to leap to her throat as a thought crossed her mind. Was all of this a planned attack on the Schnee family? And if not, how many people here were either part of or related to the elite and prestigious families of Atlas?

"W-Winter…!"

Her sister would know what to do. She was supposed to be working with security today. Even though her voice was still weak, she croaked for Winter's name again as she struggled through all the dust and bodies. All around her, dozens of people were letting out cries of pain or asking for help. And yet, she ignored all of those voices in her pursuit of the person she was looking for.

The sound of gunfire rang out.

Fearing the worst, Weiss immediately ducked for cover and somehow found herself behind an overturned table. Her gaze quickly traveled across the room until they locked onto the source of the commotion.

Masked men were pouring in and shooting anyone they spotted. None of the guards or security droids could be seen for some reason. Helpless and unable to defend themselves, Weiss was horrified to hear the dying screams as a violent massacre started before her eyes.

Her body froze in fear.

None of her training prepared her for this. This was nothing like fighting a few Grimm or sparring with her tutors. At least then, she had a weapon or some Dust to use if she wanted to fight. She had no idea how to deal with the slaughter of innocents and their executors' cruelty.

Weiss couldn't stay here. Her Aura was already low from the earlier explosion, and she did not feel confident enough in her ability to protect herself at that moment. Getting up, she quickly fled the scene while the group of attackers was distracted and made her way in the direction she recalled Winter was. The shame Weiss felt at the fact that she was running away instead of confronting the gunmen ate away at her, but she forced her feet to continue moving.

Finally, she saw some resistance. Weiss recognized one of the soldiers that Winter brought with her fighting back. Letting out an anguished cry, he lifted his weapon and started shooting at the gunmen. But despite firing multiple shots at the enemy, the attackers seemed to ignore every bullet as they retaliated with a decisive blow that left the soldier dead.

Were these people invincible or something?

No, that wasn't the issue here. If they were that strong, then there would be nothing that Weiss could do if she was caught. Forcing herself to pick up the pace, she crossed the room until she finally reached her destination.

"W-What!?"

The scene before her didn't make sense. Gathered in a circle were several masked men with two people in the center surrounded by them. One was her father, injured and leaning on the shoulder of the other person. Despite that, Winter was able to fend off blow after blow using her sabre to defend against her attackers.

"Weiss!" Winter spotted her. "Stay back! Get away from here!"

"Winter, you're hurt!"

She blocked another attack. "I'll be fine! Find Whitley, get away from this place! These people are after us, they're here for the Schnee family!"

One person started to point their gun in her direction, but Winter quickly intercepted by using her blade to disarm him.

"B-But–!"

"Don't argue with me on this!"

Glyphs formed at the base underneath Winter, and the woman gave out a cry as hundreds of Nevermore flew everywhere. It was the most powerful display of her Semblance that Weiss had ever seen, and the results were immediate. Furiously attacking, the gunmen screamed as some were completely enveloped by the mass of birds. Winter was forced to drop her father as she used this opportunity to attack with increased fervor, slashing and hitting everyone within reach.

"That's quite enough now."

A voice spoke out before something happened that Weiss had no idea how to explain. Her body fell to the ground as an intense force impacted her, causing her to not be able to move while struggling to resist. In fact, it was literally an intense force that was pushing her down, almost as if somebody had turned the gravity up. It wasn't only her that was affected either, as she was able to make out Winter struggling under the effects of whatever was happening.

Was this a Semblance?

The person who spoke before was the obvious suspect, and she found herself staring as one man stepped forward and removed his mask. He was a small thin man with black hair and what appeared to be a crown on top of his head. Despite everything, it was that last detail that made Weiss blink. Was he trying to emulate royalty by wearing that? And from the way everyone else was acting, he seemed to be the person in charge of the attack.

Somebody lifted her up, and Weiss was harshly thrown to the ground adjacent to Winter. The three Schnee members were completely helpless to act.

"Umber, stop the struggling one."

Another person stepped forward and removed their mask. The revealed woman only stared in Winter's direction before her body completely froze. Weiss watched in horror as it all happened, the unnatural stiffness of Winter causing her to fear for her older sister's life.

"What now?" The woman named Umber spoke. "Gillian said that we needed people. Should we take her?"

"Yes, I suppose so." The man turned to face Jacques. "But don't forget our original mission. With Ironwood dead, all that's left is to deal with this one."

"Y-You…!"

One of them kicked Jacques in the side, causing him to wheeze in pain while everyone around them laughed. The leader raised a hand, and the rest became quiet.

"I thought there were supposed to be four of them?"

"We're still looking for the boy. This place is pretty big after all."

"Hmph, luxury paid for through the suffering of others. I suppose this is karma for everything that the SDC has done." A wicked smile crossed his face. "Well, if we're talking about karma, then I believe there's something we can do to appease the masses. Somebody get a Scroll out and start recording. I have a fun idea that might give us some good press."

The leader moved before Winter and knelt before suddenly putting a hand on top of her head. Weiss stared at him in anger, but a small part of her was afraid of what he was about to do.

"I've read about you," he said. "Estranged from your father, prioritizing your ambitions over your familial ties. Despite being from Atlas, I admire your dedication. But what I'm about to do next will not be pleasant… for you, at least"

"G-Get your filthy hands off me!"

He smirked. "Speaking even with Umber's sight working. But even so, you are still unable to free yourself from the fate of being controlled."

"W-Wha–?"

"You will obey me as your king and commit to our cause. To start, your first act of dedication will be the execution of our enemy." His smile grew wider. "Pick up your sword and stab your father in the heart."

"No!"

Weiss could not believe her eyes when Winter stood up, no longer under the restriction of whatever force was keeping them down. Her face was cold as somebody handed her a sword, and she realized that whatever that man did actually worked. Winter was completely under his control, and she was about to raise her blade against the man that raised them.

Nonononononononononononononono…!

What happened next would forever remain in her mind as one of the worst moments in her life.

Something exploded in the background, causing the attackers to look around for the source. Their leader almost fell over in shock, the unexpectedness distracting him as well as his men. But Winter ignored all of this as she continued to obey his earlier order, pressing the tip of her blade into her father's chest until he started to bleed.

He stared at his daughter.

He stopped breathing.

He was dead.

"FATHER!"

It was too late. His struggles ceased as whatever life remained in his body left at the same time Winter pulled out the blade. Blood dripped onto the floor and despite her action, she remained indifferent to the act of patricide she just committed.

"People of Remnant." The man from before spoke, and Weiss realized that they were actually filming this. "As you have just witnessed, today marks the death of a cruel tyrant at the hands of his daughter. The man in charge of the SDC is dead, and the name of the White Fang shall reach the four corners of Remnant."

White Fang.

And finally, it clicked inside her head on who she was supposed to focus her hatred on. It did not matter that none of the people here had any traits that marked one as a faunus. It did not matter that their masks were not exactly the same as what she knew members of the White Fang wore. No, all she knew was that a member of the White Fang had just forced her older sister to kill a member of their family.

She hated them.

At that moment, Weiss had never felt like she wanted to kill anyone as much as she did. But her body was still unable to move under whatever restrictive force was keeping her down.

"Alright, that's good enough. Send that video out and let everyone know who is at fault here."

"What about the girl?"

All eyes went to her, and Weiss froze as she saw Winter also looking with the rest of them.

"Hmph, she's nothing. A girl like her won't be as much use to us, and there's no point killing her. Just knock her out and have everyone retreat for now."

Hate.

Hate.

Hate.

Hatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehate.

The last thing she saw before her vision went black was the indifferent look on the man's face.

}-{

That was the scene Rin came upon when she entered the area.

"So it was you after all."

Fighting her way here, she realized that there was something familiar with the attackers. Her suspicions were confirmed when she finally saw the leader of this group, a thin man wearing an object on his head trying to emulate royalty.

The Crown.

An organization based in Vacuo that intended to restore the monarchy by placing the leaders of their group at the head of the kingdom. Oddly enough, it wasn't her metaknowledge that told her who they were, but her interrogation of Marcus Black. The reason she remembered who they were was due to what Marcus told her about their leaders' Semblance.

The man before her was supposedly named Jax Asturias who had a Semblance that could take control of people's minds. While dangerous, Rin had no need to fear it since she was capable of protecting herself from spiritual influence. According to Marcus, he wasn't much of a fighter so his threat only lay in his Semblance.

No, it was the other leader of the Crown that she was wary of.

Gillian Asturias was the other leader of their organization and the twin sister to Jax. She also had a powerful Semblance of her own that allowed her to transfer Aura between different people. Even though it appeared that she wasn't here, the fact that every grunt she came across before arriving here had been strengthened with Aura made it clear that she was also involved.

Marcus himself was the first person Rin met who displayed this trait, having carried a large amount of Aura that allowed him to disregard his safety while fighting. It made him a more dangerous fighter that allowed him to fight on the same level as a huntsman like Qrow. It even allowed him to hold up against her Gandr through the simple fact that his Aura protected him from the full effects of the curse.

"Hm?" Jax looked at her. "What is that supposed to mean? Do I know you?"

Rin ignored him and stared at Winter standing next to him. She kept her expression neutral even as she felt her anger growing inside her at the sight of her friend being controlled by another person. Seeing her sister Weiss and the bleeding form of Jacques on the ground nearby only made it worse since she knew that Winter would be heartbroken if she regained control of herself.

"I'll only say this once, let her go."

He laughed.

Then Rin launched toward him with reinforced limbs and he stopped laughing. Her body was covered in enough magical energy that she should have reached him in an instant. The jewel she swallowed earlier made it so that she was protected similarly to an Aura user, so she had no need to fear most conventional attacks.

And yet, she was stopped.

-The Black Sovereign Has No Face-
"Authoritarian Personalism!"

An oppressive force crashed down upon her body and she was instantly forced to the ground. The force managed to bypass her protection despite the fact that it was capable of stopping even the black mud of Merlot when he attacked Argus.

But that wasn't what shocked her.

That's… That's a Noble Phantasm!

There was no doubt about it. This wasn't simply an attack caused by gravity, but a powerful conceptual interference caused by whatever Jax was doing. Judging by its strength, it was most likely capable of even affecting Heroic Spirits of low caliber if used against them.

How did someone on Remnant gain access to a Noble Phantasm?!

"That surprised me," Jax said. "But it seems that we better get going. Who knows how long it will take before the authorities storm this place?"

"Should I gather our forces?"

"Yes. We're leaving."

Rin was unable to move as their group walked past her without even sparing her a glance. Still shocked at the revelation of his Noble Phantasm, she didn't notice the same unsettling feeling she felt earlier was coming from Jax until after he left the area. Once the effects of the restriction were lifted, she moved her body until she was upright and stared in the direction they left with so many questions running through her mind.

"What in the world is going on?"


The past few chapters have been building up to this moment.

If you're unaware, The Crown is an antagonist group from the RWBY novels, which is why some of you readers might be unfamiliar with them. I've given multiple hints before that The Crown would play a role in this story, although the fact is that they weren't really a threat in canon compared to the likes of other RWBY villains. This is where the crossover elements start to come into play, and my decision to have Jax Asturias a Noble Phantasm will be explained later on.

Winter killing off Jacques is a bit of a risky move on my part, but I decided to go with it due to the reasoning that I needed Weiss to have a motive for being involved in the story. Having her sister mind controlled and her father killed should be a good enough reason. Likewise, the introduction of a Noble Phantasm all but guarantees that Rin will investigate what the heck is going on, and this will help work things out so that the two will eventually team up together.