Chapter 21: Unlocked Heart
Weiss could feel the bitterly cold winds nipping at her nose, even through her aura. She was glad she'd decided to wear her heavy winter coat which was a striking royal-blue color. It wasn't that her aura wouldn't be up to the task of keeping her protected from the frigid air, but she'd rather not be dependent on it. If she'd learned anything over the past few months it was that it was better to be safe than sorry.
Weiss was standing at the edge of Creek Basin Mine's airdock. The winter storm blanketing the mine had already intensified several times over since she'd arrived, and it wasn't showing any sign of letting up. The airdock was awash with a throng of the mine's workers who were trying to clamber onto the three large airships that Weiss had commandeered. The airships' crews so far had managed to keep things semi-orderly, but it hadn't been easy. It didn't help that the mine's airdock technically wasn't big enough to hold the three ships simultaneously. But some cajoling from Weiss and some creative piloting had managed to get all of them together on the ground in one piece.
Some raised voices started echoing over the airdock. Weiss glanced in the direction they were coming from and saw two of the workers in an argument that looked like it was about to come to blows. But suddenly, May swooped in between them. She quickly broke up the fight with what no doubt were stern words and directed the workers back to their places in line.
Weiss was glad that May had agreed to come to the mine with her and Ruby. As soon as they'd arrived, May had unilaterally declared herself in charge of crowd control. She was probably the only reason the mine's evacuation hadn't turned into a stampede, as she'd just demonstrated.
While May continued to manage the crowd, Weiss turned back to some nearby crates. The crates contained all manner of emergency supplies that Weiss and Rosalie had managed to nab at the last possible moment before the airships had departed. The crates, or rather the fact that they were still on the dock, were a source of great consternation for Weiss. But just as her patience was starting to reach its limit, a young man wearing a uniform that identified him as a member of the mine's administrative staff appeared with a pallet jack.
"About time," Weiss said to the hapless-looking staff member. Based on his age alone Weiss guessed he was the most junior employee at the mine. That was probably why he'd been given the unenviable task of venturing out into the storm to deal with her.
"Sorry ma'am," the staff member said. But then his eyes drifted over to one of the airships. He stared at it longingly.
"Focus on me!" Weiss said, snapping her fingers a few times in front of the staff member's face.
"Yes ma'am!" the staff member said like a soldier who'd just been berated by his commanding officer. His eyes locked onto Weiss again.
"Don't even think about trying to leave. You have a responsibility!" Weiss said. She pointed at the crates. "Start taking these to the administrative building! And tell the administrator that if these aren't all off this dock within the hour, he'll be down here hauling them away by hand!"
"Yes ma'am!" the staff member said. He quickly attached his pallet jack to the first crate and started wheeling it away.
Weiss couldn't believe it, but she was missing Albert Smoke, the mine's previous administrator. His replacement didn't seem to have the same amoral efficacy of a true bureaucrat.
Now that the matter of the emergency supplies was working its way toward being resolved, Weiss turned her attention back to the crowd. That was when Ruby suddenly appeared in front of her in a billow of rose petals. Ruby had her arms around a pair of mine workers, a mother and a daughter by the looks of them. They only look slightly perturbed from the unique experience of being passengers in Ruby's semblance.
"Here you go!" Ruby cheerfully said to the workers. "All safe and sound!"
The two workers mumbled their thanks and started wandering toward the airships.
Ruby turned to Weiss. She had a winter coat on too, which was black with red trim, and a pair of winter boots which were already caked with dirty snow.
Weiss asked Ruby, "Do you think there are still other workers out there?"
"Probably. I just keep finding more!" Ruby said. She'd been using her semblance to zip around the mine and check all the nooks and crannies to make sure no one was being left behind.
"Keep at it," Weiss said. "We've got to get to everyone we can before the storm becomes too severe for the airships to lift off."
"You can count on me!" Ruby said with a nod. Then she sped off again.
Weiss let out a breath. As the Schnee Dust Company's Director of Public Relations, she was used to managing events that were carefully choreographed and planned out months in advance. This evacuation was the complete opposite of that. What was worse, an important part of what little of a plan she'd had was noticeably absent. She hadn't seen or heard any sign of Blake.
Weiss briefly pulled her scroll out of her pocket, but the screen was blank. There were no messages waiting for her. She frowned, but then she put her scroll away. She'd understand Blake staying out of sight, but she'd at least expected some kind of indication that she was present. Weiss was growing more concerned by the minute, especially given Blake's cryptic comments regarding Yang when they'd talked. Unfortunately, she didn't have time to waste trying to figure out where Blake was at the moment. She supposed she'd just have to be thankful that so far they were making do without her.
"Quit shoving! You'll get your turn!" a voice suddenly called out from behind Weiss.
Weiss turned around and saw May walking up to her. May had opted to not dress for the weather. She was wearing her usual business suit. However, she wasn't showing any sign of being cold, so her aura must have been more than a match for the harsh conditions.
Weiss asked May, "How are things proceeding?"
"Some of the workers are refusing to get on the airships," May said.
"Understandable, given that the last time they boarded a Schnee Dust Company airship they ended up here," Weiss said.
"It's just as well, I guess," May said. "Even with not everyone going it's going to be standing room only. But what are we going to do with the people staying behind?"
Weiss thought about it for a moment. Then she said, "The administrative building is the largest and sturdiest one here. Go tell the administrator he needs to start setting up cots. There should be plenty in the crates of supplies we brought. And tell him that if I find out he did anything other than treat the workers with the utmost respect he'll be hearing from me personally."
May gave Weiss a cheeky grin. She said, "With pleasure."
May turned to leave, but Weiss said, "Hold on a moment."
Weiss pointed at May's feet. A gold-colored glyph that resembled a clock appeared on the ground underneath them. Weiss had to concentrate for a moment, but then the glyph's energy washed over May.
"Go!" Weiss said.
May turned into a blur as she took off running toward the administrative building with glyph-enhanced speed. She quickly vanished into the distance.
Weiss was ready to direct her attention to whatever the next obstacle would be when her scroll buzzed in her pocket. She quickly grabbed it, hoping it was Blake. But to her surprise, she saw Rosalie's name on the screen.
A scowl crossed Weiss's face. The only reason Rosalie would be calling her right now was if there was a serious emergency. Weiss hesitated, but then she hit the button to answer. She brought the scroll to her ear and said, "What is it?"
Rosalie's voice came from the other end of the line. She said, "I'm sorry to bother you, Miss Schnee. But Chairman Hail is trying to reach you."
Weiss froze. She'd known a reckoning was coming, but she hadn't expected it to arrive so quickly. Her first instinct was to have Rosalie tell Mr. Hail that she was busy and would call him back later, but the more she thought about it the more incensed she became. There wasn't a doubt in her mind that she was in the right, morally speaking. She wanted to hear Mr. Hail try to justify what she knew he was going to say to her.
"Put him through," Weiss said to Rosalie.
There was a brief but noticeable delay on Rosalie's end. She probably hadn't expected Weiss to actually accept Mr. Hail's call, but she dutifully said, "Of course, Miss Schnee."
There were a few clicks as the line shifted over. Then, before Weiss could even offer a greeting, Chairman Hail's angry voice blared out of her scroll. "Miss Schnee, what on Remnant do you think you're doing!?"
"I should think that's obvious, Mr. Hail," Weiss said with faux calm. "I'm protecting the Schnee Dust Company's most valuable assets, our workers."
"The workers don't need protecting!" Mr. Hail said. "They can shelter in place!"
Weiss glanced up at the storm overhead. What had once been light flurries had already given way to heavy snow. Weiss knew the spot where she was standing would soon be buried deep by the storm. She could even feel the plink of tiny hailstones. She said, "Since I'm at Creek Basin Mine and you are not, I'd say I'm in a better position to judge what an appropriate response to the situation is."
"The mine was finally starting to reach its quotas!" Mr. Hail wailed. "Many of the workers you're 'evacuating' won't return! Do you know how many more months this will set us back!?"
"Perhaps you should ask yourself why our workers wouldn't want to return to their jobs," Weiss said.
"That's none of my concern or yours!" Mr. Hail said. "Now here's what's going to happen, Miss Schnee. If you don't—!"
Weiss had finally hit her breaking point. Something inside her snapped, and she shouted into her scroll, "Listen you cancerous leech! I'm done playing your game! We both know you've been laying the groundwork to have me removed for months. Well congratulations! The day is here! You won!"
Mr. Hail's only response was a stunned silence.
"But don't get too comfortable basking in your victory!" Weiss said. "You've officially lost control of me! I'm not bound by the precious rules you cling to anymore! I'm finally free. You can't stop me any longer!"
Weiss tore her scroll away from her ear and jabbed the button to end the call. Her blood was boiling now. So much so that she didn't feel anything about the fact that her life had just changed forever other than righteous indignation.
Weiss angrily shoved her scroll back into her pocket. She looked around for something to focus her anger-fueled energy on when her eyes suddenly fell on Ruby. She hadn't even realized Ruby was there.
Ruby was standing not too far from Weiss. She'd obviously returned from rescuing more workers. She was beaming from ear to ear with a huge smile on her face.
Weiss felt her anger melting away. She asked, "How much of that did you overhear?"
Ruby didn't say anything. She kept smiling and stepped closer to Weiss.
Weiss said, "Don't look too happy. Do you have any idea how much money, power, and influence I just gave up?"
Ruby walked right up to Weiss. She placed her hands on Weiss's shoulders. Then she started leaning in close.
Weiss suddenly realized that Ruby was about to kiss her. They were in public, and Ruby was about to kiss her. She was going to kiss Ruby publicly. Weiss thought about stopping what was about to happen, but why? What did it matter anymore? She'd just renounced the chains that bound her to the need for respectability among her social peers. Why shouldn't she reap the benefits?
Ruby's lips found Weiss's, and the world suddenly seemed to get much warmer. Weiss closed her eyes and drank in Ruby's kiss. She drank in the taste of freedom. It was indescribable.
Eventually, Weiss's and Ruby's lips parted. Weiss opened her eyes. Her hands had apparently found Ruby without her realizing it because they were tenderly resting on Ruby's hips.
Weiss suddenly became aware of the world around her again. Reflexively, she pulled out of Ruby's arms. However, no one around Weiss seemed to have paid much attention to what had just happened. All of the workers were too preoccupied trying to get onto the airships. Weiss was actually a little disappointed at how anticlimactic it all felt.
"Just a rumor, huh?" a voice suddenly said.
Weiss spun around and saw May walking up. May had apparently returned from the administrative building already.
"May…I…" Weiss stammered. She felt her cheeks burning red. Maybe it hadn't been such a good idea to use her glyph on May after all.
"I wouldn't worry about it," May said. "Everyone knows already."
"Surely not…everyone," Weiss said.
"Like I said, don't worry about it." May waved her hand dismissively. "Now let's hurry up and get all these people onto the airships. I do not want to get stuck here."
An hour or two or maybe even three later, Weiss was standing at the front of a crowded airship's cabin. The airship along with its two companions had successfully escaped Creek Basin Mine and was carrying its oversized load of passengers back to Atlas. It was flying smoothly, having risen above the storm.
The cabin was absolutely packed full of mine workers. Every seat was taken with some people even doubling up. All the aisles were jammed full too. But despite the crowd, it was surprisingly quiet. The gentle whine of the engines was the only sound to be heard.
Weiss looked over the airship's passengers. Some were sitting stoically. Some were sleeping. Some were quietly weeping. And some were even embracing one another. Weiss felt a great swell of pride in her chest. Whatever may come, she knew deep in her heart that she'd unambiguously done the right thing. These people, these victims of her company, were safe.
Weiss turned toward the cockpit door and opened it up. She ordinarily did very poorly in crowds, especially crowds of strangers. She was pleased she'd remained calm during the flight so far, but now that she no longer had the monumental task of coordinating an evacuation to focus on, she wanted to escape the crush of people before her usual anxiety reasserted itself. She slipped into the cockpit and shut the door behind her.
In the cockpit the pilot was busy flying the airship, but her copilot turned to Weiss and nodded. Then he silently pointed at a corner of the cockpit's floor near where Weiss was standing. Ruby was curled up there, leaning against one of the cockpit's sides. She was fast asleep. Weiss didn't blame her. She'd practically run a marathon back at the mine.
A cute little snore escaped Ruby. Weiss smiled. She ordinarily wouldn't debase herself by sitting on the floor, but she supposed these weren't ordinary circumstances. She lowered herself down and sat next to Ruby.
Ruby's head lolled to the side and came to rest on Weiss's shoulder. Weiss let out a contented sigh. There was something about the moment that made her feel like everything was right with the world for once. She knew that wasn't true of course, but it was nice to be able to pretend.
A buzz suddenly came from Weiss's pocket. She considered ignoring it, but she decided she'd better at least see who it was. For all she knew, Rosalie was trying to warn her about some nasty surprise Mr. Hail was cooking up.
Weiss pulled out her scroll. Several messages were waiting for her on the screen, and new ones were still popping up.
Blake:
I've activated my scroll's emergency signal.
You need to rescue Yang, southwest of mine.
You won't find me.
If you can't locate my signal try Yang's too.
Weiss didn't understand what she was reading at first. But once she started putting the pieces together, dread shot through her. The implications of Blake's messages were alarming to say the least. Weiss quickly tapped out a reply.
Me:
What's happened?
Weiss waited, but she didn't get a response. She tried again.
Me:
Blake, please tell me what's going on!
Again, there was no reply.
Ruby must have been jostled by Weiss's movements because she stirred. Her eyes opened, and she smiled dreamily at Weiss. But then she must have noticed Weiss's unhappy expression because she lifted her head off of Weiss's shoulder and asked, "What's wrong?"
"I don't know," Weiss said. "But your sister needs our help."
Author's Note: Believe it or not, I had no plans for Weiss to leave the Schnee Dust Company when I initially outlined this story. But as always, Weiss does her own thing. At least I'm in agreement with her for once. This was far more dramatically interesting than what I had come up with.
As always, I welcome constructive criticism. Please feel free to leave a review. And if you like what you've read, taking the time to favorite and/or follow really helps me out. You can also find me on tumblr (electronicyarn) if you want to send me a message or be notified of updates.
