Disclaimer: RWBY is owned by Roosterteeth not me. Copy and paste
I know that there is a canon version of Atlas, but this is my story, I want my own Atlas. I know that Atlas is called the Kingdom of Atlas, but the continent is also called Solitas, I will be using them pretty much interchangeably throughout the story. I also realized that I made some mistakes in past chapters, I have gone back fixed them.
Chapter 4: Who is the Winter Knight?
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Altasean Specialist Winter Schnee greeted her younger sister. "Hello Weiss, it's good to see you. Welcome back home."
Winter had been one who seldomly smiled because of the stress of dealing with their father and then because of the strict discipline that was drilled into her because of enlisting in the Atlasean military. But this was practically an act of the gods bringing them together, she was going to be spending time with her sister for the next week, even though it would be limited by the mission, they also be working together as equals. If moment was one that deserved one of her rare smiles, then she could hold the personification of the Ice Empress.
Even though Winter had over 5 years of experience over her sister, it did not diminish the fact that Weiss had accepted and was leading her team on a mission that should have been reserved for at least a third-year team. Winter was confident in the abilities of the team that her sister was on, especially after General Ironwood had called Ozpin. She learned that team WRPA were already the top team among the first years at Beacon and were more than capable of taking on second year teams.
This mission had unfortunate timing. It did not give Weiss's team the opportunity to form stronger bonds, adapt new fighting techniques, or improve in areas they had struggled with. However, there was little choice in the matter, this was a time sensitive mission, the Winter Knight had been seen again and had traveled alongside two people only a few days ago and he was already on the move. It seemed he was nomadic.
Weiss beamed, "Winter, it's good to see you too sister, what are you doing here? N-Not that I don't enjoy seeing you again, I just wish that I had time to visit, but I don't—"
"Because you and your team are on an important assignment from Beacon that is located on the Atlas frontier. This mission has been coordinated by both your own Headmaster as well as the Headmaster of the Atlas Huntsmen Academy." Winter finished. She smirked at the flustered look on her younger sister's face. Weiss had always been one to be easily flustered if you were able to find the right moment to disrupt her composure. Even despite the years she spent away in the Atlasean military, Winter was still a master at being able to make her sister turn into a stuttering mess.
"W-Well… I believe that, um, some introductions are in order." The girl stuttered.
"I have been briefed of who you all are," Winter looked at the shortest member of the group first, "Ruby Rose, advanced enrollment by two years, daughter of former members of the legendary team STRQ, Summer and Taiyang, half-sister to Yang Xiaolong. Luna Arc, one of seven daughters out of the eight children of the renown hunters Joan and Nicholas Arc. Pyrrha Nikos, daughter of Leonidas and Cleopatra, four-time champion of the Mistral Combat League, and Weiss Schnee my sister and Heiress to the Schnee Dust Company." The four members of Warpath stood in silence, not sure how to respond since their introductions were done for them.
The spartan broke the awkward silence by stepped forward to politely shake the Specialist's hand, "Since Weiss mentioned that you are her sister, I take it you are Winter and you are our escort sent to bring us to the Huntsman Academy."
Winter nodded, "You are mostly correctly Ms. Nikos, I am Specialist Winter Schnee and my rank is Lieutenant Colonel. I have been entrusted the duty of overseeing your mission."
"Hold up a moment, I was under the impression that we would be working alongside the Headmaster himself, no offense Colonel, for this mission since he practically strongarmed Professor Ozpin into choosing us for this mission." Luna chimed in,
"Lt. Colonel, and I know that you did were not intending for offense, so I think nothing of it. It was the case that General Ironwood would lead this mission personally but there have been some unforeseen complications brought on by the AtIas Council, so he has assigned me to manage your team and to ensure that your team has suitable preparations for your mission in the one of the Dead Zones." Winter replied calmly. "Also, it's Lieutenant Colonel, I have not had that promotion yet."
"Dead Zones?"
"It's a nickname Pyrrha. It's used to reference areas in Solitas that are believed to be uninhabitable because of how isolated the area is terrain makes it or the area is too dangerous for people to attempt a settlement." Luna clarified. It was common knowledge that would have been taught to those who grew up on the continent.
"Now if you would follow me, we will continue this later. Have you brought all your bags?"
The girls nodded. They each had brought only one duffel bag of items and clothes that they considered necessary and one small case for weapon maintenance, except for Weiss, she brought a large suitcase for each. The other members of the team had banded together, to the mercy of the brothers, to convince, plead, and threaten the Heiress to have a one bag limit and that Atlas Academy would provide her with whatever 'essentials' she did not pack. The truth behind all that, however, was so that none of them would have to carry an extra 70lb. bag that did not belong to them or deal with complaints that would ensue from Weiss from not helping her.
"Great, so we have to deal with two ice queens now?" The reaper grumbled. She received a sharp elbow and a reprimanding look from the champion. 'Be nice' the spartan mouthed, Ruby sighed in acceptance and followed.
"I am sure that you will appreciate the arrangements I have made for your transportation." Winter said with a smile. She turned and walked off the platform. As the team followed the Specialist. They were led away from the flow of the general public that arrived on other transports and to a more remote section of the airport.
"One more thing, once we arrive at the Academy, I can provide you with the most recent updates on the Winter Knight."
The Specialist stopped in front a large armored vehicle known as the Cougar. This model of the Cougar was a six-wheel drive that had extra steel plates formed onto its already thick armor as well as framed its bulked out bulletproof windows and most noticeably, and an automated 50 caliber turret mounted on top that could be switched to hold an even larger caliber turret. It was clear that Winter had pulled rank to some point to get this so that she could drive them around Atlas. Winter climbed up into the driver's seat and looked down quite a bit at the Beacon huntresses, she looked first to Weiss and then to the rest of the team.
"As team leader, you should ride up front with me so that you can tell me about your team as well as your time at Beacon however short it has been. This will also give me the opportunity to catch you up on the event that have transpired while you were gone."
Weiss smiled at this, "Of course Winter, that sounds like an excellent idea." She walks around the front of the Cougar and quiet literally climbs into the front passengers' seat. "What news have you heard from home?"
The Specialist smirked as she gave Weiss asked her question. She started up the Cougar after the other members of the team climbed into the back, "If you must know, Father nearly had an aneurism when he found out that you were being assigned your first mission as a huntress and you were being sent to Atlas to carry it out."
Weiss smiled at that; it was easy for her to imagine the tantrum that her Father would have thrown.
First, he would be explosive, shouting and cursing about how he was right and much of a waste of time and money she caused him with her decision to go to Beacon, he wouldn't get physical or throw anything unless someone provoked him further on purpose. Then there would be the stage of 'righteous' indignation, lashing out at anyone unfortunate enough to be caught in his line of sight, fortunately all the servants knew to avoid him once the shouting started. Finally, he would attempt to calm down, most likely with alcohol. He would have his secretary call in the company board and inform them that he would be unavailable for the next couple of days so he could proceed to drink, it would be at least half a bottle of some cheap brandy. He would be calmer after that, and Klein would be forced to care for a drunken Jacques for the rest of the day.
The ride to the Academy felt long even though it really wasn't, the Beacon huntress had just gotten off a ship after flying for a day and not even 20 minutes later, they were already in another vehicle. Winter enjoyed the time given to just talk to her sister, not about missions or life decisions. While the other members of the team riding comfortably in the back of the Cougar spent the time to view the city as they passed through.
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Atlas Academy was similar to Beacon in many ways; it was the most impressive structure which could be seen from anywhere in Atlas. A huge section of the mountain had been carved out specifically for the Academy so that it would have its own privacy away from the general population. Another similarity was that from this spot, those who attended the Academy were able to overlook and view the city of Atlas, just like Beacon could for Vale, even if the view were not as grand as Beacon's. The similarities did not go unnoticed by Weiss, she was beginning to make the assumption that if she ever visited the Shade and Haven Academies, were going to similar in these regards.
Winter led them through the unfamiliar hallways of the Academy. One of the more noticeable differences from Beacon is that Atlas Huntsman Academy concentrated more effort into having security, despite that fact that it is an academy with the sole purpose of training huntsman. It may be due to General Ironwood ran both the military and being the Headmaster or exposing soldiers to huntsman to gain better insight on how to better work with huntsman and/or if necessary learn how to combat them. None of the soldiers bothered the Beacon huntresses with more than a glance, the presence of the white-haired Officer Specialist escorting them through the grounds ensured that.
They looked at the looked around at rooms and hallways they passed before the reaper finally asked, "Shouldn't we be headed to the Headmaster's office? I mean that's where our Headmaster called us to when he said that we had a mission."
"Even if the Headmaster was here, we would not be doing this debrief in his office." Winter responded. "We are going to the command station. It has all the information for your mission and can display the topographical maps of the area you will be traversing on three-dimensional models."
Ruby agreed, "ok, that makes sense."
They had been led through the grand halls of the academy and reached a very large room with a sign that designated it as a multipurpose room, a Laboratory, Mission Control Center, Experimental Hardlight Creations. It had practically everything: testing chambers for creating constructs from hardlight dust, protype models of mechanical arms, large sealable beakers for mixing chemical, new designs for scrolls and even showcasing blueprints using 3-d models on how to make improvements to the structure of the CCT towers.
"So cool." Ruby cooed in amazement, "This room is awesome!"
Luna whistled, "So this the Command center that you were mentioning to us."
This was one of the most high-tech rooms she had ever been in, the other one to compare it to would be the science division lab back in Arcadia, but unfortunately it was always under reconstruction. Protype gadgets were sent there to be tested from inventors all over the world; the types of gadgets ranged from things such as weapons, to vehicles, to data screens (think of tablets). A vast majority of them were failures in one way or another and the results usually ended with the devices exploding during the tests.
"This is indeed the Academy's Command Room Ms. Luna."
"Ok, I know that you are trying to hold to your military mannerism with us, but for the love on Oum just drop the formalities with us. We are not in any military, and we certainly aren't older than you; unless this is some Schnee super secret that you don't plan on revealing to the world, yet." The blonde teased.
"If you insist Luna, then we will continue." Winter refused to rise to the baiting attempts made by the blonde who then decided that it was best to move on.
She led the huntresses into the section of the room where the technology bordered both communication and holographical imagery. The piece of technology that stood out most in this area was the glowing round, bulky table in the center displaying a holographic map of the entire city of Atlas.
"This is a holographic imaging table, this is a protype and it has far more capabilities than what I you are seeing, most of which are classified beyond what you are allowed to know for your mission. We do hope to be able to incorporate it into more other types of devices in the future."
"What a buzzkill, something so cool and we aren't allowed to know anything about it." Luna was not the only one disappointed, but she was the only one willing to be vocal about it.
"Winter mentioned that they plan on incorporating this into more technology in the future, which means that you will get your chance to know more about it later, now if you would pay attention." Weiss clarified, hoping to bring the blonde's attention back on track.
"Whatever you say Ice Queen." The way that Luna said it made it sound much less sarcastic and demeaning and more like a friend giving another a pet name, it reminded her of a certain brawler back at Beacon.
"You've been hanging out with Yang quite a bit, haven't you?"
"What can I say, she really possesses a certain charm."
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All five of them gathered around the holotable, the members of WRPA standing on the side closer to the door while Winter strolled over to the opposite side of the table so that she could look at all of them.
Ruby was fascinated by the map and started trying to touch places on the map, instead of her hand going through the map, the areas were solid and the entire map shifts as she from her touch, this leaves the weapons geek with few words, "So cool."
Winter ignored the red hooded girl and input new commands into a screen on the table. The map of the city is taken away and in its place became a mountain range, which causes the silver eyed girl to jump back, momentarily, and the Specialist turns her attention back to the huntresses.
"This mountain range has been classified to be one of the many Dead Zones throughout the continent of Solitas, it encompasses a large area of land above the Great Lake between the settlements of Edoras and Arcadia."
The reaper starts to move the mountains around and shift the maps perspective. Winter takes a breath before she resets the map and makes it intangible, this causes Ruby to fall flat on the table. She chuckles in embarrassment and quickly climbs off the table.
"Now then, the weather in this specific area…"
She scrolls in using a touch pad to focuses on a section of the mountain range harbors a valley and enhances the image.
"Forces storms to circulate through most of the mountain range which means that the entire area experiences unpredictable weather. Unfortunately, you all will be searching through these valleys because, it is the most likely place he will go through to avoid us, the area is perfect to avoid and disappear from our aircraft."
"So that means that you need us to go in and search for him on foot." It was less of a question and more of a statement from the champion.
"It does, but you it seems that good fortune is with you, are familiar with Dr. Pietro Polendina? He has offered to lend your team prototype snow speeders as a favor. He would like to collect the data of their performance as well as assist you on your mission."
Weiss and Luna's jaws dropped at this, while Pyrrha and Ruby waited for someone to enlighten them about who he was.
"Are they safe, if they have never been tested before, isn't there a chance that they might blow up or something if we take them on the mission?" The scythe warrior was definitely concerns about the possibility of something else exploding around her and her team leader.
"Of course not you dolt! How could you even think about doubting Pietro Polendina's machines?!" Weiss ridiculed the younger huntress.
"Well maybe its because I have never heard of Pietro Polendina because I am not from Atlas!" The reaper venomously snapped back.
Before Weiss could continue arguing, she heard two firm throat clearing 'ahems', it grabbed the attention of both girls. They came from the champion and the specialist in the room, they both held the same look, of disappointment and agitation.
"If we could get back to the mission briefing, you will have your time to solve team problems later."
Surprisingly, Weiss paid more attention to the look she was receiving from Pyrrha, she had asked the champion to help her be better so she could keep the team safe and together for the mission by holding her accountable. Pyrrha was upholding her end, now it was time that she was does the same.
"Winter I need a moment, please, this needs to be addressed now."
The Lieutenant Colonel sighed and motioned for her sister to continue."
"Ruby, Winter, I apologize. My actions are unbecoming of a team leader."
This surprised the older Schnee, the Rose, and the Arc. Pyrrha stepped back closer to Ruby and gave Weiss a subtle smile and nod. Winter had been afraid that Weiss would have an exceedingly difficult time getting along with others at Beacon because of her pride, her younger sister is in fact much more prideful than herself.
Weiss gave them a standing bow as she apologized, "Winter, I apologize for interrupting, I should have let you explain to Ruby and Pyrrha on who Pietro is and..." She then turned to face her partner, "Ruby, I apologize for snapping at you, I was very excited about this and I forgot that since your childhood is so much different than mine, that you may not have heard of Dr. Polendina."
Ruby just gave an "Ok," because she didn't want to admit she did anything wrong.
Pyrrha gave the reaper a subtle hip check and a stern look when she looked back.
She tried again, "Um, ok, well Weiss, I'm sorry too for snapping back at you, I just get really annoyed when you assume that I know everything that you do."
Weiss smiled at the apology but was interrupted by the playful blonde in the room, before she could accept it.
"Now hug and make out."
All eyes became fixed on the blonde. "What? I thought it was a team bonding moment. Not the right thing to say?"
A single emphasized, "Nope." Was the only response she received.
"Now, if team drama is finally done interrupting, we may actually get through the mission briefing today."
"Yes Winter." Everyone retook their positions around the table and Winter continued.
While you are out in the field during your mission, I will be here, relaying you with any new information we uncover as well providing you support should you require it. Your scrolls need to be updated to the codes and software used by Atlas, this will also allow me to be able to track and monitor each of you after you link up to this terminal. In case you require emergency evacuation or encounter grimm that are well beyond your capabilities, any of you now have the ability to send out a distress beacon and I will send our response team immediately."
One of the conditions that Ozpin had set as a nonnegotiable when he informed Ironwood that team WRPA had accepted the mission, was that Ironwood had to do everything in his power give the huntresses the best chance to come make it back from this mission. Ironwood had agreed and put rotating shifts of members of the ACE OPS on standby for this mission as the emergency response team for the Beacon huntresses.
Winter typed in a command and four slots opened up in the table in front of each of the huntresses. "If you would please insert your scrolls into the table."
As they inserted their scrolls into the table, download icon appeared on each scroll. They beeped simultaneously as the download process was completed.
"Now then, our latest reports state that he was sighted by patrols near the settlement of Edoras which is located on the northwestern corner of the Solitas's Great Lake. Our investigators have also taken the statements of the two individuals who claim to have been rescued by him. A mother and son, Azula and Geode. They claim that it was because of his intervention that they survived a well-coordinated ambush by bandits as well as a grimm attack while they were traveling. He stayed with them and kept them safe until they made it to the city of Edoras, and then he left them."
"He just left? If he was at the settlement, wouldn't someone have attempted to stop him?" Pyrrha questioned, she was curious about his actions, they seemed so random and yet so intentional.
"He never entered the city's walls Miss Nikos. He made sure that they were close enough to the city to be found by a patrol and then left. Azula brought to our attention that from Edoras, Glace he said he was planning on heading east. We know that he is on foot so we have an approximate estimation on how far he is able to travel, however but we are unable to get a precise location on him." Winter stated.
"Why not?" Ruby asked. Weiss always bragged that Atlas had superior technology; how wouldn't they be able to find him?
"The drone aircraft we sent out to in an attempt to track him were forced to turn back as the area has been still experiencing a severe blizzard that seems to dissipate and reform at random intervals, though it does seem to be reforming less frequently. If we are unable to locate him soon, he will disappear and experience from past encounters with him has taught us that it may be years before we get another chance like this."
Luna spoke up being confused about the Winter Knight's decision, "You said that he is headed east? Why would he head out that way, there is nothing out there for over a hundred mile?"
"We are not sure, it is true that there are even fewer settlements above the Great Lake, the closest happens to be Arcadia, but it seems too far for him make it there." The Specialist pointed out.
Luna hissed at that, "Yikes, looks we will be completely on our own as well."
"Unfortunately, unlike on Sanus or Anima, there are fewer settlements in general, but those that make it are quite large prosperous. The conditions for living in such a climate means that it is too harsh for most to consider trying to live outside the walls of a settlement." Weiss added, clarifying the point that Luna was making, mostly for the benefit of her other two teammates who are not native to Atlas.
"Yes, that is an accurate assessment. We will drop you off in between the two settlements, near the mountain range where the lasts reports of him were. It would take days for him to pass through the mountain pass, so that is the best chance you will have to find him. We will keep you updated on any new information we find. When you land your mission officially starts, at that point you will have 96 hours or 5 days to locate him and contact us for extraction. From there it will decided by the Headmasters what happens next. If you are unable to locate him because of the weather or he refuses any peaceful attempts to be brought back, you are to abort the mission, it will not be counted as a failure on your part."
Winter typed in a more few commands into the console and the map focused on a more open pain in the mountain range. The Beacon huntresses watched the transition curiously, but patiently waited for Winter to explain.
"Now then," Winter continued, expanding the view of the map to a large area around the southern section of the mountain range, she also brough up the temperature readings from the area which read far into the negatives. The girls winced at that, Atlas seemed warm in comparison, sitting at around 20 Fahrenheit, even though aura could protect them from the extreme cold, no one's aura alone could last even a day in the temperature above the Great Lake.
"As this is an Atlas sponsored mission, we will provide you with specialized dust insulated winter gear for your mission, it is state of the art. The clothing itself is thin and form fitting, it is designed to stretch and flex as to not impair your movements. But do be careful, these suits are still not sturdy enough to handle full-fledged combat, they may be able to take a few blows and still shield you from the elements, however, remember that your aura cannot protect the clothing itself, so do not rely on it as armor. We will take tomorrow to modify each of your body glove to your specifications."
She pulled up images of what the winter gear looks like for the huntresses and four dark onesie looking outfits, they looked more like full body wetsuits than state of the art winter clothing.
"Meh, could look better." Luna commented.
"I am assuming that it is designed this way so that it could be worn underneath the normal gear and armor of hunters or soldiers." Mused the spartan, she liked the idea of how adaptable this suit was, "It would only require only a few adjustments in a huntsmen's armor since they are not uniform, and it wouldn't restrict the movement of those with less armor either."
Winter had to applaud the spartan. "You have excellent insight Ms. Nikos. This mission will be classified as Search and Rescue, meaning that you will not have the equipment to deal with higher class grimm on your own. You are to send out a distress beacon if you find yourself in that type of situation, and the quick response team Specialists will be immediately dispatched to you, understand?"
She received firm nods from the huntresses.
"Both the General and your own Headmaster agreed that they value your lives above the mission, so even if you do not find your objective, if all you return, it will still be considered successful. Any questions?"
"Excuse me" Ruby asked, "I'm just wondering why you are calling the Headmaster of the Atlas, General?"
"You dolt, I already explained all this to you, weren't you listening to anything I said on the flight over." Weiss paused for a moment before she sighed and apologized again. "Sorry Ruby, I snapped at you again."
"To be fair Weiss, I think the rest of us fell asleep on the flight over here, except you." Luna remarked,
Winter decided to clarify before it got out of hand, again. "Ms. Rose, the Headmaster of Atlas's Huntsman school is also the General who leads of the Atlas military.
"Wow, he must really be busy," Ruby said with awe.
"That he is, now any more questions?"
The reaper did in fact have another question, "Why is it important to find the Winter Knight? And why us? Professor Ozpin avoided answering questions on why he wanted us to find the Winter Knight when he was telling us about the mission."
"That is because of the sensitive nature regarding this mission. Winter sighed, "The reason that your Headmaster's did not reveal it to you was that I was not his place to tell you, it was the General's, however since he is preoccupied with the Atlesean Council, not here, he has authorized me in inform you."
"Inform of us of what?" Weiss asked, it seemed that this mission had a frightening amount of secrecy involved.
"The identity of the Winter Knight. The General has a promising theory about who the Winter Knight, and he is someone you know." The Specialist looks directly at Luna as she says the last part.
Luna looked confused by this, "That doesn't make any sense, how can I already know who the Winter Knight is? I am pretty sure I would remember growing up with a friend like that."
"Luna, you know, do you remember the incident 10 years ago?" Winter prompted,
"10 years ago? Are you talking about… oh," the Arc girl trembled. "No, no, you can't seriously be referring to that."
"Yes, I'm afraid I am referring to that event." She looked back to the rest of them. "The General and I have comprised a file of individuals who have the highest potential to be the Winter Knight as well as of missing individuals from the Wilk settlement from around the time which we believe was truly the beginning of the Winter Knight. You only need to focus on the names of the last page." Winter commented as she handed the list to her sister, Pyrrha and Ruby stepped on both sides of Weiss to see the names on the list, but Luna did not move from her spot.
The file had multiple sections for clarity and organization, the first section was the entire list of casualties from the raid, this included a category for bandits as well as an estimated number of grimm seen and killed. Other sections broke down the damages done to the town and the factions that had been damages the most, as well as causes of the death and injury. A majority of the names had marks next to them that referenced other pages of the report.
The last page of the file was an official statement titled: Still Missing. On this page there were 14 names listed by first name alphabetical order with a last description of the individual. (A/N: Everyone except for Lavan is another anime character. Da-rom Mayim means South Water in Hebrew).
=-=/-=-=-=-=/=-=-/-=-=-/=-=-=/
Still Missing:
Aquarius Camus: Age 40. Mayor of Wilk, 6'1". Long blue hair and purple eyes. Last seen wearing; gold suit with a sapphire tie, and golden fedora.
Esdeath: Age 24. Former Atlesian Specialist, 5'7". Light blue hair (length: down to waist), pale skin, blue eyes, accented Y tattoo on her chest. Last seen wearing white military uniform and with a fencing rapier.
Gray Fullbuster: Age 22. Male Stripper, 5'10". Dark blue tattoo on chest, black spikey hair, dark grey eyes. Last seen wearing silver cross neckless, open red plaid shirt, white fedora, and black cargo pants.
Haku: Age 27. Mayor' Secretary, 5'1". Often mistaken for a girl. Brown eyes, long black hair. Last seen wearing a green hoodie and brown pants.
Horokeu Usui: Age 14. Orphan, 5'2". Spiky light blue hair, black eyes, short/child. Last seen wearing; matching clothes of solid black with blue pattern; bandana, vest, and cargo shorts.
Issac McDougal: Age 29. Member of the Wilk Militia, 6'1". Dark green eyes. Hair braided into a ponytail last seen wearing blue militia uniform with a single heavy titanium gauntlet on his right arm.
Jaune Arc: Civilian. Age 7, 4'2". Blonde hair, sapphire blue eyes. Last seen wearing; white winter jacket and grey snow pants.
KuzanAokiji: Age 51. Retired Lieutenant of Mistral Marines, 6'11". Very tall and lanky, last seen wearing; green trench coat with a white undershirt and blue beany.
Katara Da-rom Mayim: Age 45. Trauma Surgeon, 5'6". Long brown hair, sapphire blue eyes. Last seen wearing; blue hospital scrubs with white sleeves, and a blue chocker with a light blue jewel engraved with rolling waves.
Lavan Shaina: Age 38. Retired huntress, 5'7". Hazel colored hair, brown eyes. Last seen wearing; a white cloak and jacket with a red underside, wide red belt with a triangle insignia buckle, brown leather pants and sturdy leather boots.
Rukia Kuchiki: Age 17. Sister and student of Byakuya Kuchiki; the master of the Aikiken Dojo, 5'1". Short, black hair with a strand hanging between her purple eyes. Last seen wearing; long black kimono robes of the Aikken Dojo.
Ami-MizunoMercury: Age 17. Cheerleader, 5'2". Blue hair, turquoise eyes. Last seen wearing; school uniform: white shirt, pink shirt bow, blue skirt, knee high blue boots.
Shoto Todoroki: Age 18. Wilk citizen/college student, 5'9". White and red hair. Scar over his left eye. Mismatch colored eyes, one turquoise other gray. Last seen wearing; blue jumpsuit with white boots.
Tōshirō Hitsugaya: Age 20. Youngest detective on Wilk police force, good friend of Byakuya Kuchiki, 5'3". short white hair, turquoise eyes, black shirt and long pants with white overcoat.
=/-=-=-=-/-==-=-=/
Ruby looked over to Luna, "Hey, Luna, you should take a look at-" Ruby started to say, but she was interrupted by Luna.
"Aokiji, Aquarius, Esdeath, Gray, Issac…" The Arc hadn't moved from her spot on the holotable or even looked over at them, her bangs seemed to cover her eyes. She said the names loud enough that it grabbed the attention of the other huntresses and Specialists in the room.
"What?" Ruby was confused as Luna was just standing there had started stating names. It didn't make sense to the reaper because she hadn't seen the last page of the file yet. Weiss recognized some of names and glanced down at the file in her hand, she grit her teeth as she put the pieces together that Luna already knew the names on the list. Pyrrha was puzzled only for a moment and when realization hit her, she took the file from the Heiress to confirm her suspicions and her face fell somber when she saw that her suspicions were right.
"Haku, Horkeu Jaune, Katarra, Lavan…" The blonde choked out, at this point she had to lean on the table for support, trying not to cry, but she was close. There were more names on that file, she knew the names, but she couldn't continue. Even though she had been a child, she still remembered them all, they had never been just names that ended up on a list, they were her friends, family, and people who she cared about. The Arc's hometown was a large city known as Arcadia, but Wilk had been constructed relatively close by and many of their family friends had settled there, so her had family frequently visited the sister city of Wilk.
This mission was opening up old wounds for her, who would it be? What would they think when her team found them after being alone for a decade? Why had they never tried to come home? The way all these emotions had been brought back made it all the memories feel raw and painful, this mission had just become the hardest for her, but if her team supported her, maybe, just maybe she could do it. But right now, she was unsure of everything.
Weiss was very much concerned for her teammate, she reached out and put a hand on the taller girl's shoulder, "Luna, if this is too much, I still have the power as team leader to call it off the mission and say that we weren't ready for this. I never realized how personal this mission was going to be for you."
"Thank you, Weiss," Luna whispered, she hugs the Heiress and Weiss embraced her trembling teammate. She stood there for a time, just holding the Arc girl, waiting for her to calm down.
"I'm, I'm good. This is something that I have to do, and that's why Headmaster Ironwood wanted me on this mission, even though I am not great like the rest of you. He is probably right, I probably do know who Glace actually is. Your best hope for this mission is to get me to him, and I will talk to him and then we can all can go home."
The other two members of the team also hugged her. Ruby looked up into Luna's eyes, "I may not know what exactly happened or how terrible you felt when you lost your friends and family, but I do know what it is like to lose someone very close to you as well." Luna looked down and saw understanding and compassion in those silver eyes.
Pyrrha may not been very fond of Luna for her fangirl attitude, but it would be wrong if she let her partner suffer. "We are here for you Luna."
"Thank you all," Luna trying to blink away her unshed tears.
Winter waited patiently as she watched them go through this heart wrenching moment. This was a lot to drop on them, especially Luna, according to her parents, she had been a very outgoing child and she had known almost everyone who had been killed and kidnapped when Wilk was attacked. She had a hard time recovering from the aftermath, when she did, she developed a strong conviction, she became determined that she would grow strong so to be able to protect everyone she cared about so that a tragedy like Wilk would never happen again.
When the blonde girl had recovered, Winter spoke to her.
"I think it is best if I explain so that we are all on the same page. Ms. Luna, if you would like, I can pull up a chair for you to have a seat while we go over what you already know." Luna shook her head and stood proud, she was going to be strong and hear this standing, she was not a helpless little girl who had run away and hid in the basement, she was a huntress and she would get through this.
"Very well then, 10 years ago a large bandit group raided the town of Wilk, the spike of negativity brought on a massive grimm attack. During the raid, dozens went missing, many of these people were good friends of the Arc family. The Arc's only son, Jaune Arc, also was recorded missing as well. It was a horrendous tragedy and because of the devastation of the grimm showing up right after the bandits, the Wilk militia as well as the Atlas military's quick response force were left unable to attempt any rescue operations to locate the bandits without leaving the city vulnerable."
"Luna, you and your family knew every individual listed in this file, aside from the bandits, we are hoping that you will recognize the identify of the Winter Knight if you should find him, but I need to hear you say it, can you do it?"
"Yes, I can do it. I can only pray that he is someone who was from Wilk and not a complete stranger."
Pyrrha, who had just finished looking through the entire file, had something to add, "Lieutenant, there seems to be a mistake made here."
"There shouldn't be, but what do you believe the error is?"
"You said that this page was for those who had the potential to be the Winter Knight, and yet there are several women listed here."
Winter nodded at her, "Those were my words yes, and you are also correct, the last page of the file is comprised of both those with the highest potential of being the Winter Knight, as well as those who are currently still classified as missing. There is something else we would like you to do should you find him; we would like you to ask about the fate of the other individuals listed in that file. If he knows, then he could finally bring closure to the families that remain."
"If you are uncomfortable with that, then you are free not to ask, but we do have a special request for one of those missing."
"We will ask him, it is better for the families to know what happen than be left wondering." Ruby could relate, as she still didn't know what happened to her mom who disappeared while on a mission.
The Specialist smiled at her, "Good, we are hoping that you discover the fate of Lavan Shaina." Luna gasped at the mention of her family's dearest friend. Her husband had been severely injured and incapacitated during the attack on Wilk, and since then he prayed for the safety of his wife.
"We both know that she is far too skilled to have been brought down by grimm, even with her 'injuries'. This is a personal request because she was also a good friend of the General as well as your family friend." Winter looked at them, "If it is any consolation, I also believe that the General's theory holds merit, and if he is correct, you will not be under any threat from the Winter Knight."
"If he was someone who was kidnapped by bandits and got free, then why has he avoided coming back to home for the last society." Weiss wondered aloud.
Winter pondered her sister's question for a moment before answering, "It may be the abilities he gained during the ordeal, there are reports that when he is spotted near a settlement storms follow soon after. But until he can tell us his reason, we can only speculate."
The spartan agreed with most of what the Specialist stated, but she noticed that someone had gone silent through the explanations. "What do you think Luna?"
There was no response from the Arc.
Pyrrha had noticed how revealing all this new information for the mission had changed her partner's attitude. The strong, optimistic, cheery fangirl had become silent, solemn, and had emotionally withdrawn. The champion thought that she would probably act the same way if their positions were reversed, especially since they had learned that the Winter Knight could be someone close to her.
Pyrrha laid a hand on the girl's shoulder, "Luna are you alright? I know that this is a lot for you to take in, but there is still hope."
Luna was leaning heavily on the table for support but the feeling of Pyrrha's hand touch snapped her out of her thoughts.
"hmm, yeah, I mean what did you were you saying?" She was still coming back from her thoughts.
"How are you doing? We all know that this is a lot for you to deal with." The champion knew that the blonde was still trying hide how she felt with this revelation.
"Thanks for your concern Pyrrha, it's just that this isn't the first time that this has happened. We have had people come to us before with information stating that they found a survivor who had been kidnapped from a major settlement during an attack years ago and is now residing in some isolated settlement, only for it to never be true when we go to find the survivor. We try to stay hopeful when we make such an effort, but it's always been based on limited information, in wide and extremely hostile areas. There never really was a chance to begin with." She said the last part in almost a whisper.
Pyrrha gave her an encouraging smile, "Don't worry Luna, we'll get through this."
Luna smiled back at her idol before turning her attention back to Winter.
"Before the General went to the meeting, he gave me the file that has the full report of the latest incident that involves the Winter Knight, so we do have a more accurate description of him." Winter started, "I do believe that we should take this to a more relaxing setting."
The specialist started to leave, and motioned for them to follow only to be stopped by a trail of rose petals and a Ruby.
"But won't you need the holotable to play what happened?" she asked hopefully
"Unfortunately this is not anything that we have any physical evidence or a recording on, so as enjoyable as it is to use the holotable, it will not help us. Allow me to lead you to the cafeteria and I will get us some refreshments before we continue.
"Aww, ok," the reaper followed glumly.
"Don't worry Ruby, I'm sure they'll let you play with the table later. And I heard the cafeteria has cookies." The blonde added.
"Cookies! What are we waiting for!" The reaper disappeared, leaving a trail of rose petal.
The elder Schnee was very confused when the Rose bolted off on her own, "But she doesn't know—"
"Don't worry, she will either come back in a moment, or she will find her way."
They walked back through the Academy following the trail left by the reaper.
"Looks like she is headed the right way. And something to keep in mind," Winter reminded them. "You have been given the entirety of tomorrow to prepare for this mission."
"Yes, and I believe that you said we needed to get fitted for our suits." Pyrrha followed.
"Well, it looks like that will be something you will be doing tomorrow after you have rest." Winter finished. "Come along, once we have eaten, I will show you to your temporary quarters and I can share the report in the morning."
The Beacon huntresses felt exhaustion hit them like a wave. It was like they had been punched in the gut and thrown back into Initiation again. They were experiencing the stress that came from going through so many emotions at once, the jetlag was from an entire days' worth of flying was not helping either. The followed the elder Schnee for food and then to wash up and then get some much needed sleep.
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Author's Note:
Frustrated that I still did not name who the Winter Knight is? Most of you probably have a solid guess of who the Winter Knight is and are probably right, but until I actually say his name, you cannot be right, nor can you be wrong. Oh, would you look at that, it seems that there are a multitude of ice users from other animes in this story. Could one of them actually be the Winter Knight or could it be a canon character like Cardin… wait, did I just say that Cardin could be important? Wow, ok, no its not Cardin. Could all this be a rabbit trail to try and confuse you. Probably. And for the record, because only one of these characters could be the Winter Knight, the rest will only be the names of those characters, without having that kind of powers.
Stay tuned for the next chapter: The Ones who met a Legend