Chapter 19: All the Things That Will Always Be

"Surely there must be something more you can do!" Weiss said. She was sitting in her office, and a holographic image of Councilwoman Robyn Hill was being projected over her desk. Ruby and May were in the office too, but they were keeping out of the way.

Councilwoman Hill looked every inch the politician that she was with her smart, ash-gray business jacket on over her wine-red blouse and a pin in the shape of the Kingdom of Atlas's crest on her lapel. She said, "I'm sorry, Miss Schnee. I've already opened an inquiry for misconduct against several of the Labor Board's members, after threatening them with doing just that."

"An inquiry isn't going to help the workers at Creek Basin Mine," Weiss said.

"I'm very aware of that," Councilwoman Hill said, sounding frustrated. "But the government isn't who you go to if you need a fast solution."

"Can't emergency services be dispatched?" Weiss asked.

"Unfortunately, not without an official request by the Schnee Dust Company," Councilwoman Hill said. "The land that the mine sits on isn't technically part of the Kingdom of Atlas, although it's still subject to…most of our laws. No doubt the result of some shrewd negotiations on the part of your family a generation or two ago. For all intents and purposes you, Miss Schnee, have more authority there than I do."

"I see," Weiss said.

"I'm going to see if I can apply some more pressure on the Board, but I can't promise anything. They have powerful friends. Or maybe it's more accurate to say, powerful overlords," Councilwoman Hill said. "I'm…sorry."

"Thank you for your assistance anyway, Councilwoman," Weiss said. She hit the button to end the call.

Weiss folded her hands on her desk as she tried to figure out what to do next. Admittedly, reaching out to Councilwoman Hill had been a long shot, but she was running out of options. She'd already tried contacting Alfonzo Wolfe. As the executive in charge of operations, he had the authority to give Weiss what she needed, but he wasn't returning her calls. No one else in the Company who wasn't her direct subordinate was giving her the time of day either. This was clearly Chairman Hail's doing, and he had her completely outmaneuvered. It seemed he was willing to let people die in order to prove to Weiss that he was a bigger player in the Schnee Dust Company than her. Although Weiss thought it was equally likely that he just wanted Creek Basin Mine operating again, no matter the cost in lives. Weiss didn't know which possibility was more deplorable.

May said, "The more things change…. Robyn's still the same as she ever was."

Ruby spoke up, asking, "You know her?"

"I used to work for her," May said, sounding a little nostalgic. "And we were friends. She even knew me before."

Weiss asked, "Before what?"

May didn't respond right away. A distrustful look crossed her face, but after apparently giving it some thought, she said," Since before I realized I wasn't my father's son."

"Oh," Weiss said. Then understanding dawned on her. "Oh!"

"The old man really flew into a rage when I told him," May said. "Tried to beat me to death with a chair. It was all he had to hand."

Ruby looked horrified. She said, "That's awful!"

"Yeah," May said, sounding almost nonchalant. "But he wasn't the one who came off worse for wear that day."

Weiss had wondered why May had reacted so strongly to the revelation that her own father was trying to kill her. Now she knew. Any words she could offer seemed inadequate, but she said, "May, I'm so sorry to hear about that."

"Don't be," May said. "That was the day my life really began."

Ruby walked over to May and gave her a soulful look. Then she threw her arms around her in a spontaneous hug.

May seemed to tense up. She glanced at Weiss, silently asking what she should do. When Weiss just shrugged, May made a passable but awkward effort to hug Ruby back.

When May finally extracted herself from Ruby's grasp, she said, "It was after I left home that Robyn and I came up with the idea of getting her elected to the Council. I was so excited when she eventually won. It felt like we were finally going to change the world."

"Then why aren't you still working for her?" Weiss asked.

May sighed. She crossed her arms and said, "Because even with Robyn in office, we didn't change anything. There are a lot of people out there with very deep pockets who have a vested interest in making sure things don't change. I wanted to take them all on, but Robyn was always afraid to push back too hard. She knew there were a million ways she could get ousted if she rocked the boat too much. She felt it was more important to keep what we'd gotten rather than risk losing it all. And maybe she was right, but I still called her a coward and left."

Ruby asked, "But you're still friends, right?"

"I'd like to think we are," May said.

"How'd you end up here?" Ruby asked.

"Same way you did," May said. "I needed a job, so I applied. Although my job didn't come with a new girlfriend like yours. Some people have all the luck."

Ruby's eyes went wide. She looked over at Weiss. Weiss herself felt a brief surge of panic before she forced herself to calm back down. She said, "I've heard the rumors concerning myself and Ruby as well. I assure you they're not true."

"Sure," May said in a tone that made it clear she didn't believe Weiss in the slightest.

"Regardless!" Weiss said sharply. "Councilwoman Hill clearly won't be able to help us in the short term. We'll have to come up with another plan."

"You can try," May said. "But it won't work."

"Pardon?" Weiss asked.

"I'm sure you're not used to being on the receiving end of this, but the powers that be have told you no," May said. "You're not going to get anywhere playing their game."

Ruby asked, "Why does it even have to be a game? This isn't about winning. It's about saving people!"

"It's about winning for them," May said.

Weiss said, "Then maybe it's time to lose."

Both Ruby and May turned toward Weiss. A terrible realization was dawning on her. She recalled how she'd silently looked down on Blake for thinking that she could turn the White Fang into a front for positive change. She hadn't said anything to Blake about it of course because that would have been both rude and unhelpful. But now she wondered if she was in more or less the same situation. She'd been trying to reform the Schnee Dust Company, her family's company, from within. Was that a fool's errand too?

Weiss realized she had a terrible choice to make. On one hand she held the well-being of the workers at Creek Basin Mine. On the other hand she held her hope that she could do more good from within the Company than from without. But Weiss didn't feel like that was a choice at all. The path forward to her was as clear as it was insane.

Weiss fixed her gaze on Ruby. She asked, "Do you recall when I asked you if I was becoming a villainess?"

"Yeah?" Ruby said, sounding concerned.

"I'm about to cross a line," Weiss said. "Although I'm not sure in what direction."

"What do you mean?" Ruby asked.

Instead of answering, Weiss pushed the button on her intercom.

Rosalie's voice came over the speaker. "Yes, Miss Schnee?"

"Rosalie, please come in here for a moment," Weiss said.

"Of course," Rosalie said.

A few seconds later, the door to Weiss's office opened, and Rosalie walked in. She asked, "What do you need, Miss Schnee?"

"I need your approval on something," Weiss said.

For once Rosalie looked like she was at a loss for words. She asked, "Whatever could you mean?"

Weiss said, "I'm about to abuse and misuse my power and authority. This will likely cost me my position at the Company, and subsequently your jobs as well, Rosalie, Ruby. So if either of you object, I won't do anything. But I intend to save as many of the workers at Creek Basin Mine as I can."

The office was silent as Weiss's words sunk in. But then Rosalie said, "I told you once before, Miss Schnee. I don't work for this company. I work for you."

Weiss turned to Ruby who smiled and said, "Don't expect me to stop you!"

Weiss asked, "And what about you, May? This would be an excellent time for you to ask the security director for another assignment."

"What? Just when it's getting interesting?" May said. "No way."

"Thank you all," Weiss said. She was pretty sure she was acting crazy, and when the implications of what she was doing caught up with her she fully expected to suffer a full-blown existential crisis. She'd worked for the Schnee Dust Company for her entire adult life. It had been her dream and her calling. But maybe it was time to see what she could do as her own person, free from the legacy of her family.

Rosalie asked, "What do you need us to do, Miss Schnee?"

"Rosalie, I'm sure you have friends in the IT department," Weiss said. "I want all my personal files backed up to disk and moved off-site. Just in case I get locked out of the Company's systems at an inopportune moment."

"I can make that happen," Rosalie said with a grin.

"Ruby, you've gotten quite adept at deciphering schedules," Weiss said. "I want you to work with May. This company has a literal fleet of airships. I want a list of every single one we might be able to divert to Creek Basin Mine to help evacuate the facility."

"Right!" Ruby said. "But what are you going to do?"

"I'm going to see about reinforcements," Weiss said.

"You mean Jaune?" Ruby asked.

Weiss reflexively felt a pang of jealousy when she heard Ruby say Jaune's name, but she knew not to let it bother her this time. And apparently she wasn't the only one who was less than impressed with Jaune because May said, "Ugh. I hope not. That guy was not at all interested in helping me beef up our security procedures."

"No. Not Jaune," Weiss said. "I've got someone more unconventional in mind."

Blake was standing alone in her warehouse office, sullen and miserable. She hadn't seen Yang since yesterday, and at this point she wasn't sure if she ever would again. She dearly wished she'd had a chance to explain herself better to Yang. It wasn't that she intended to die in order to save the White Fang, far from it. But she was willing to risk the possibility. If she could turn the White Fang around and make them a force for good, they could literally change the world. That was Blake's hope anyway. However, it all seemed so much less important now that Yang was gone. But Blake felt like she didn't have any other choice but to keep soldiering on. Without Yang, what else did she have but the White Fang?

A knock sounded at the door, but it passed right over Blake. She continued to stand there motionless. When the knock came again, Blake jumped with a start. She hastily said, "Come in!"

The door opened. A guard was standing there, but he stepped aside. Ilia was waiting behind him. She had a tray in her hands with a bowl resting on it.

Ilia did not immediately walk into the room.

"Ilia, come in," Blake said.

Ilia finally took a step forward and entered the office. The guard closed the door behind her.

Blake asked, "Was there something you wanted to talk about?"

"I brought you some lunch," Ilia said.

Blake caught the scent of noodles coming from the bowl on Ilia's tray as she walked over to the office's large table.

"Thank you, Ilia, but I'm not hungry," Blake said.

Ilia set the tray down and said, "You haven't eaten in over a day, Blake. You need food."

Blake sighed. She knew that tone of voice. She said, "If it will make you feel better."

"It will," Ilia said.

Blake paced over to the bowl and picked it up. A pair of chopsticks had been stabbed into the noodles. Blake wasn't wearing her mask. She hadn't bothered with it since Yang had left. She wasn't exactly sure why, and she didn't care to engage in any self-reflection at the moment.

Blake grabbed the chopsticks and started halfheartedly shoveling noodles into her mouth. They didn't have much in the way of taste, but Blake suspected that wasn't the noodles' fault.

Ilia said, "I know you're upset about Yang leaving, but she was only holding you back, Blake. You've outgrown her."

Blake paused with a bite of noodles halfway to her mouth. She slowly lowered them back into the bowl and calmly set the bowl down. Then she quietly said, "Ilia. Never say anything like that to me again."

"Blake…. I—" Ilia started to say.

Blake turned her head and gave Ilia a deadly glare. She repeated, "Never. Say anything. Like that. To me. Again."

"But I…!" Ilia trailed off. "I'm sorry."

Blake's sudden anger had buoyed her up, but now she was already beginning to slide back into an even deeper despair. In many ways Ilia was the only person in the world she had left, the last indomitable rock she could cling to in the storm. For all she knew, Ilia was the only one in the White Fang who was still genuinely loyal to her. She needed Ilia, but she still wouldn't tolerate for a second Ilia trying to poison her against Yang.

Suddenly, the scroll in Blake's pocket buzzed. Blake pulled it out, hoping against hope that it was Yang. However, she got quite the shock when she saw Weiss's name on the screen. And not only was Weiss calling her directly, she was requesting a video call. Whatever this was, it had to be monumentally important.

Blake's eyes flicked over to Ilia. She didn't know how Ilia would react to witnessing Weiss's call. But Blake realized if she ultimately hoped to foster cooperation between humans like Weiss and the White Fang then Ilia was a good place to start.

Blake answered the call and Weiss appeared on the screen. Ilia wasn't in view of the scroll's camera, but she could still see the image of Weiss. She hissed, "Is that—?!"

"Weiss," Blake said.

"Blake," Weiss responded. "Thank you for taking my call."

"What's this about?" Blake asked.

"I need your help," Weiss said.

"You need my help?" Blake echoed. Given that Weiss had called like this, that was what she'd expected. However, it still surprised her.

"A severe winter storm is heading for Creek Basin Mine right now, and the mine isn't equipped to shelter most of its workers," Weiss said. "I'm mobilizing as many Company airships as I can find to head there right now and rescue as many people as they can."

"I'm surprised the higher-ups over there are letting you do that," Blake said.

"They're not," Weiss said. "I'm acting in defiance of just about every authority figure in my company. This will likely be my last act as a director here."

Blake was taken aback. She asked, "Are you sure that's smart?"

"I doubt it is," Weiss said. "But I've reached the limit of what I can accomplish from within the Company. So here I am."

"Then where do I come in?" Blake asked.

"I'd like you to organize any resources the White Fang has and mount a rescue of your own," Weiss said. "Some of the workers might be more inclined to follow their fellow faunus rather than a Schnee Dust Company employee. Or…me."

Blake was silent for a moment as she considered her options.

Weiss said, "You did want to find a way for us to work together."

"I did," Blake admitted. "And not just you and I…."

Blake realized this was her chance to see if her ideals had any hope of surviving in the real world. Without any warning, she walked over next to Ilia, making sure to put her in view of her scroll's camera.

Ilia had been silently watching the call with a dumbfounded expression on her face. Now, caught in the proverbial limelight, she exclaimed, "Blake!? What are you doing!?"

Weiss asked, "Who's this?"

Blake said, "This is Ilia. Ilia, I'm sure you've heard of Weiss Schnee."

"Uuuh…. Hi?" Ilia said, sounding very nervous.

"A pleasure to meet you," Weiss said with rote courtesy.

Blake said to Weiss, "Ilia's my top lieutenant. I'll need her to help with this rescue. Ilia, how many bullheads do we still have access to? I know it's not as many as it used to be."

"Five. Maybe six?" Ilia said. She was still staring at the image of Weiss on the screen, looking like a deer caught in the headlights.

Blake said, "Get a small number of volunteers and some pilots. Tell them no uniforms or masks. Make sure they know about the storm and that we're going to Creek Basin Mine to rescue our fellow faunus."

"O-okay," Ilia said, although she stood there rooted in place, still staring at Blake's scroll.

Weiss said, "You'd better hurry, Ms. Ilia. We only have a few hours at most."

"Right!" Ilia said. She suddenly jumped into action and scurried over to the office's door. She quickly let herself out.

Weiss asked, "Can we trust her?"

"I wouldn't have done that if we couldn't," Blake said.

"Then I'll defer to your judgment," Weiss said. "I assume Yang will be joining us as well?"

"No," Blake said. "She won't be."

"But…? Blake, what's happened?!" Weiss asked, suddenly sounding alarmed.

"I'll tell you about it afterward. This can't wait," Blake said.

"But—!" Weiss started to say.

Blake ended the call. This was it. This was exactly the opportunity she'd been hoping for. It really felt to her like the destiny of the White Fang would be determined in the next few hours. If only the one person who could make her feel like it had all been worth it was there by her side.

Blake turned to the table. Her map of Atlas was still spread out over it. She glanced at the marker that represented Creek Basin Mine. But then the hair on the back of her neck stood on end, and she suddenly had the feeling she was being watched.

Blake turned, but when her eyes drifted past her office's windows, she froze. An eagle was perched on the frame of one of the open windows. It seemed to be watching Blake very intently.

A moment passed. Then Blake took a step forward. However, the bird hopped off its perch and flew away.

Blake reached out her hand. In a small voice, she said, "Yang?"

Author's Note: Is Weiss/Ilia a thing? Who am I kidding. Of course it's a thing. The second half of this chapter made me think it might be fun to write something like that. I'm obviously far too busy to do that right now, but maybe someday.

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.