This one's a bit heavy on that "oh shit the world's on fire" feeling we've been having a lot of lately. You may wish to prepare chocolate and/or fluff accordingly!
The interview was all over the news by dinner, debuting first on the Atlas Eye. Weiss had to reread the title they gave it three or four times. And when it finally sank in... then, she had to laugh.
Jacques Schnee Disowned by his Faunus Daughter.
Miraculously, the footage played out unedited. The reporter even made a few dire predictions about what this would mean for her father's campaign. Unfortunately, it wasn't quite the coup de grace they'd clearly expected it to be. A failed raid made the news the very next morning—the military had managed to catch only one out of the twenty White Fang members who'd been operating out of a warehouse in Mantle, and suddenly the encroaching threat of annihilation was all anyone wanted to hear him talk about.
"You did a good thing," Fiona assured them, late in the afternoon while they were helping set up for the protest. "It's just, well..."
"His followers don't care if he treats you like shit, as long as he promises to put Sienna Khan's head on a spike," said May.
"Cynicism!" Fiona shot back, half scolding and half smiling.
"Alright, alright." May rolled her eyes. "You got a lot of fence sitters. That's not nothing, he's going to take a serious hit in the polls. Thing is, there's no convincing dipshits who think he gets brownie points just for not tossing you off the edge of Atlas."
"Which is why we're helping the people who do know what an ass he is to get out and vote," said Fiona.
"So... waters?" said Yang, holding up her armful of plastic bottles.
"Waters! And as much food as we can get our hands on, too. The miners will need it once they get here, plus it's an easy way to encourage more people to show up."
"Something tells me this won't be our job once the curfew starts," said Blake.
May grinned. "Got it in one. As soon as the sun sets, we're the wall between these people and whatever Jimmy sends our way. It might be nothing, but we're not counting on it—the second you see anything military, you get over there. Doesn't matter if it's a person or a drone. Don't attack first, but don't give them any room to point guns past you either."
Darkness fell long before the sun actually went down. There was only a brief window of evening light in this neighborhood, between when the shadow of Atlas passed overhead and when the sun disappeared behind the mountains. Weiss took a handful of candles from a stranger and passed them around. They were one short, but when she hesitated Blake shook her head and smiled. "I'm fine, thanks."
They walked around the edges of the growing crowd, until they collided with a handful of familiar faces—as usual Weiss spotted Penny first, and she'd come with Pietro and Maria walking on either side of her. Ruby seemed to want both to greet her and to interrogate her father about whether the man Joanna had carried to his clinic was okay. She tried to do both at once, which led to a confusing jumble of words that Penny mostly just squinted at.
"He's recovering quite nicely so far," said Pietro, who must have managed to pick out some of what she'd meant. "I have him on strict orders to stay home for a few weeks, though I don't know if he'll be able to follow them."
Ruby sagged with relief. "That's so good to hear! He looked really bad when we saw him."
"That reminds me!" Pietro turned to Weiss. "I should have an opening at the end of the week. I've looked over all the measurements and such, and I think I can help reinforce those joints of yours!"
Weiss agreed quickly, because thinking about it too much left her breathless with something she hoped was excitement rather than dread. There wasn't time to talk about the details anyway—curfew had passed, and they had work to do.
They left Pietro behind when they moved back to the outskirts of the crowd, keeping their eyes peeled for trouble. Penny followed them with enthusiasm. Maria startled Weiss by doing the same. Noticing their hesitation, she scoffed and walked ahead of them, tapping grumpily at the pavement with her staff. "The day I can't handle one of these new drones is the day you might as well put me in the ground."
It wasn't long before they put that to the test.
"Citizens," chorused a small handful of drones, armored boots clanking in time with their tinny voices. "Please disperse."
Weiss did try not to break the things. Wings spread to block them from the crowd, she and her teammates took turns shoving them back a few steps. When they didn't take the hint—and when citizens, please disperse was starting to sound like a string of nonsense syllables—she glued them all to the road with her glyphs instead. Which... may have been something of a mistake.
"Aura user detected," said the drone in front of her. "Engaging countermeasures."
Countermeasures turned out to be pointing guns at her. Weiss drew her rapier, slicing off the arm of the drone in front of her before it could shoot. She would be fine, but it might miss and the sound would certainly panic the crowd. Instead there was a series of screeching and crunching noises—Blake had done the same thing she had, severing the weapon without destroying the drone, but the one in front of Yang had crumpled like a tin can and Ruby had cut hers nearly in half.
"Heh," said Ruby, rubbing the back of her head. "Oops?"
It wasn't clear whether it was that, or the camera drones flying overhead. But, inevitably, the military took notice.
Weiss had expected them to send police. Maybe a few military Huntsmen, if they were feeling especially flashy. She had not been expecting all of the Ace Ops—and a specialist.
"Is that your sister?" Ruby asked out of the corner of her mouth. Weiss nodded, and her partner began inching away from the dissected drones.
Clover approached Fiona and Joanna, gesturing cheerfully over their heads towards Robyn as if asking for a quick word. Marrow stood stiffly at his right, a few steps ahead of the rest of his team. Winter watched the exchange warily. It didn't look like they'd been spotted, yet.
Blake's ears pinned back. "What are they doing?" she demanded, clearly struggling to keep her voice hushed. "No offense to Winter, but sending her down here feels like it's meant to say something, and I don't like the message."
"That might be the least of our worries right now," said Yang. "I'm up for playing human wall with a cop, but that's not going to work against a Hunter."
"I can handle Winter," Weiss whispered.
Ruby nodded, brow furrowing as she thought. "The rest of us should spread out around the crowd. It might be fine, but Marrow can freeze people, right? I don't want to be all clumped up if they start anything."
Weiss edged around the press of people. It was easier than it had been before. The crowd had huddled closer together at the arrival of the military, contracting like a tensed muscle. As she approached the newcomers, she heard Robyn's voice rise over the general murmuring—it seemed like Clover had gotten his wish.
"I'm not obligated to arrest people for breaking curfew," she was saying. "I've decided to prioritize keeping an eye out for Grimm. It seems like a more efficient way to look out for public safety." Weiss didn't hear Clover's response.
As she ducked between two protesters, she saw Winter notice her. She wondered if this was what her sister had felt like during their teams match at the festival—watching her whole body go rigid, her head snapping around as if she'd spotted a Goliath. Abandoning her position next to the Ace Ops, she edged away from the press of people and met Weiss halfway.
"What are you doing here?" she hissed, as soon as Weiss was close enough to hear it.
"Me? What are you doing here? Is General Ironwood trying to show support for our father? He has to know you hate him."
"It's more complicated than that." Winter shut her eyes, took a deep breath, and opened them again. She lowered her voice—with the confrontation between Robyn and Clover still going on, no one was paying them much mind anyway. "I saw you on the news. I'm... glad you had the chance to say that, after the stunt he pulled at the festival."
"It's still not enough," Weiss muttered. "Too many of his followers don't care. It's—" She stopped, wings flaring as an idea struck her. "It's my word against his. None of them know what he's really like, and as long as I'm the only one talking about what it was like growing up they can just brush it off. But you were there too! If you backed me up..."
She saw it on Winter's face before she could gather herself to speak. It felt a bit like her first failed flight, the lurch when there wasn't enough air under her wings. "You won't do it."
"I wish I could, but there's more than just him we have to worry about." Winter's glance over Weiss' shoulder, towards where Robyn stood, was all the explanation she needed to give.
"Why?" Weiss demanded, incredulous. "How could she possibly do more damage than he would with a council seat?"
"Things have gotten worse since you've been home. If we could get her to work with us, then I'd choose her in a heartbeat, you know I would. I respect what she's trying to do, but there's a bigger picture. Taurus is still out there. The White Fang is escalating its attacks on Atlas. The whole kingdom is getting more and more unstable, and if we're going to keep it safe then the General needs the support of the council."
"Keep who safe?"
Winter flinched. "He won't be able to get to you in Vale," she said softly. "I checked. Being on the council doesn't give him any authority to make Ozpin send you home."
"I'm not talking about me!" Weiss caught herself too late—she'd almost shouted, and heads turned their way.
"The General is trying to help everyone," Winter insisted. "I know his decisions haven't always been perfect, but—"
"If he can get father to cooperate with his plan to help everyone, but not Robyn? That says more about General Ironwood than it does about her."
She couldn't have produced a more dramatic effect if she'd slapped Winter. They stood there for a long moment, silent, while Winter struggled to speak. Tension rose... and then snapped all at once, as the scrolls of every single military officer present blared out an alarm. Winter pulled hers from her pocket in a rush, brow furrowing. Her eyes widened.
Clover's back-and-forth with Robyn came to a screeching halt. "We have to go," he called out to his team. "Right now."
"What?" Weiss took a step towards Winter. "What's going on?"
Her mouth tightened into a thin line. "I can't talk about it here. Too many people who might panic. Stay with your teammates—don't let anyone go anywhere alone." And then, grimacing, "I'll explain tomorrow, if it hasn't hit the news by then."
Within minutes, all that was left of the military show of force was a handful of anxious police. Weiss couldn't take the time to wonder what was going on. She was too busy staying between them and the crowd, and keeping an eye out in case they moved to interfere with the protest. Even with her rapier sheathed, she could still put up a barrier between the two groups if she had to.
More joined the swell of people as the night wore on. Robyn gave her speech—though by then, only about half the small army of reporters was still present. The moon rose, and the crowd slowly dispersed. By the time they packed up the traffic cones they'd used to block the streets where they stood, Weiss was struggling to keep her eyes open.
"Thanks again for your help," Fiona told them. She did her best to flash them a smile, but it was clearly strained. "May got you hooked up with a hotel, right?"
Yang nodded. "Yeah, we're good. I called ahead to make sure."
"Well... good luck! I'll be in touch soon, if you're up for another night like this."
They glanced at one another. Blake nodded fractionally, and Weiss mimicked her—Yang just cracked her knuckles. "Definitely," said Ruby. Then, hastily, "As long as it doesn't conflict with Weiss' appointment!"
Rolling her eyes fondly, Weiss waved a last farewell to Fiona. They walked for a while with Penny, Pietro, and Maria, before eventually splitting off to track down the faunus friendly hotel the Happy Huntresses had pointed them to. In less than an hour they were upstairs, and Ruby was already halfway asleep.
Yang eyed the other bed, blatantly sizing up whether or not it could fit three. Which, it turned out, it could—not comfortably, but having spent the last two nights on Cas' floor even Weiss couldn't find it in herself to mind. She just curled up on her stomach, lying partly on top of Blake and hiding her face in the crook of her neck. Yang tucked herself in at her other side, one arm flung across the small of her back, legs entangled.
This became a problem some hours later, when Weiss' scroll went off. She was exhausted, she was comfortable, and she did not want to move. It might not have woken her at all if it weren't for the jolt of adrenaline that shot through her. Like feeling a drop in a dream, except she was remembering all the times it had been a call from him she'd woken up to.
It wasn't him, of course. But Weiss highly doubted Winter was about to give her good news at six in the morning.
Groaning, she squirmed out from under Yang's arm and leg and groped for her scroll. Yang didn't exactly make it easy—still asleep, she clung on even tighter. Blake stirred, grumbling under her breath for a moment before reluctantly cracking an eye open. "Winter?" she asked.
"Mm."
Blake passed her the scroll. She only just managed to catch it before the call went to her voicemail, and her greeting was more of an unintelligible string of grunts than an actual hello.
"Sleet is dead."
"What?" Weiss sat up, rubbing sleep out of her eyes. "Wait, councilman Sleet?"
"Yes. The White Fang attacked his home during the protest."
"The—what?! How do you know it was them?" Weiss was fully awake now—and with her voice rising, it wasn't long before Ruby and Yang followed suit. Blake waved them quiet. She sat staring wide-eyed at the scroll, her ears twitching, caught between swiveling forward to hear better and flattening anxiously.
"It wasn't hard to miss," Winter said bitterly. "The house was on fire when we got there."
Weiss hated to ask, but knew she had to. "Did anyone see Taurus there?" Sure enough, Blake tensed up. Weiss and Yang both moved to grab her hands at the same time. Her grip was nearly bruising. Ruby shuffled across the room, hair still sticking up in all directions, and settled next to her to listen.
"The cameras caught him. He was gone by the time we got there, and... Sleet's security detail didn't make it."
"What happens now?" Weiss asked, her voice shaky. "I mean... there's already an empty seat."
"Back to back elections, most likely. Until then we'll have to increase security on Camilla and the general. And..." Winter hesitated for a long moment. "You might want to stay away from Robyn for a while."
"What? Why?"
"This wasn't a spur-of-the-moment attack. It was planned. Thoroughly. They had at least a few days warning that we'd be distracted during the protest. Someone told Taurus it was happening."
Weiss swallowed hard. "That could have been anyone, though. She's been going around telling anyone who'll listen for days. We still don't know who broke him out of the courthouse, for all we know someone talked to her without even realizing!"
"That's not the point, Weiss! I'm hearing the word treason. I can't imagine Robyn had anything to do with the attack, but father is going to use it to go after her and I won't be able to help you if you get caught in the crossfire. I know you don't want me pushing my advice on you but... it's not safe for you to be here right now. You were on the news, and I—please, go back to Vale, or Menagerie, it doesn't matter where. Just get out of Atlas."
"I can't just leave!"
"Yes, you can!"
"I have to go. I have to think about this."
"Okay." Winter's voice shook slightly. "Okay, but... be careful. Please." That, at least, Weiss could promise.
Winter ended the call.
"I can't go," Weiss burst out. "I can't! What if something happens to Camilla and the General and it's just him running an entire kingdom?"
Yang put her hands on her shoulders. "Breathe, okay? That hasn't happened. We've got plenty of trouble without borrowing more."
"If you want to stay, then we're staying," said Ruby. "Right?"
Blake nodded, a bit distractedly—she was tapping at her scroll, bringing up her parents' contact information. "Honestly, I think Winter's wrong about us being able to avoid the problem if we just leave. If this keeps escalating it's going to affect Vale and Menagerie too."
"Breathe," Yang said again, and dropped a kiss on Weiss' shoulder. "We're right here with you. Whatever happens, we'll handle it together."
"And call in the cavalry," added Ruby, grinning at Blake. She managed a tired smile in return, and held up her scroll right as the call went through.
"Blake, honey?" Kali frowned at the screen. From the look of her surroundings, she'd been in the middle of breakfast. "It's so early over there, what's wrong?"
"Sleet was murdered last night."
Kali dropped her teacup. Ignoring the mess, she rushed from the room, video blurring as she shouted, "Ghira!"
Footsteps thundered on the stairs. When the video came back into focus Kali and Ghira were both in frame. He had a towel around his shoulders, and his hair was wet. It took a long time to explain—mostly because the contents of her call with Winter came spilling out of her and Blake at the same time, completely out of order, voices rising until Ghira had to tell them both to stop and start over from the beginning.
"We have to do something," Blake said, once they'd finished. "Winter as good as told Weiss that the General wants her father to win, and if he does then things are going to get even worse."
Kali shook her head sadly. "I hate to say this, but I think the best thing you can do now is to get out of there as soon as you can."
"But..."
"With Sleet gone, James has the majority vote on the council by himself," said Ghira. "The kingdom is effectively under martial law until the election. This is the closest Atlas has been to an autocracy since before the great war, and with these attacks being blamed on the White Fang..."
Weiss squared her shoulders, and her wings mantled around her. "This is my home. I have to at least try."
Ghira squeezed his eyes shut. When he opened them again, he looked much older. "I've told you all that I grew up here in Menagerie. There aren't many of them left—it was more than seventy years ago, now—but when I was a boy, there were faunus all over the island who didn't move here by choice. They were thrown out of their homes and sent to an island full of Grimm by humans who didn't want them to survive. And everything that's happening right now is just how the stories they told me always started." He took a deep breath. "I won't tell you to run. But I need you all to understand how dangerous this could get."
It was suddenly very hard to swallow.
"Don't let anyone separate you," Kali told them. "Make sure there are people outside of Atlas who know where you are. If anyone tries to hold one of you somewhere, make noise. Talk to us, talk to Winter, and talk to Ozpin. You're his students, and he's someone even General Ironwood can't ignore. Atlas won't want to antagonize Vale. That's going to give you some protection even if things go very wrong. Use every advantage you have. It's not fair that you might get out of a tight situation because you're related to a famous Huntsman or a Chieftain or even Jacques, but that doesn't matter if it keeps you safe. Understand?"
They nodded.
"Okay." Kali gave them a tight, anxious smile. "Good luck, and be careful."
"Call every day," added Ghira. "If you drop out of contact we're going to assume something happened and raise hell."
"We will," Blake promised, and ended the call.
There was a tense silence. Ruby fidgeted with her pajamas for a moment, then straightened her back as if bracing for a blow. "Okay. Okay... we need to tell Robyn what just happened. It'll probably be on the news soon anyway, but giving her extra warning will be good."
"I have May's scroll ID," said Yang. "I can handle that part."
"Right. From there... I guess we just ask her what we can do to help?"
Weiss swallowed. "Actually, I think I might have an idea." All eyes turned to her. "Winter as good as told me the General wants my father to win—and now that he practically is the council, he'll be able to put a lot of pressure on the election. She can't publicly agree with what I said about him on the news... but she isn't the only one who saw what he did to me."
Yang's eyes widened. Weiss picked up her scroll, steeled herself, and dialed.
"Hello, Klein," she said. "I'm sorry to wake you, but it's an emergency. I need to speak with my mother."