Chapter 24: Roses Wilt in the Cold

Vale City, Vale. Schnee Air. Three days until Winter Day.

Ruby Rose - also known as the Grimm Reaper - patiently waited in the airport's bar for her wife to finish her meeting. After the defeat of her brother, Weiss managed to recover enough of the SDC's funds to kickstart her own airline business. Despite a few offers of lucrative military contracts Ciel had made, Weiss was adamant about only doing commercial work. But the airport also had a lab where a few scientists could experiment with dust as an alternative fuel source. Ruby was hoping to ask her wife if they could help her with a little problem.

Ruby felt a bit guilty; there were only a few days left before Winter Day - the holiday at the end of the year where people celebrate the Winter Maiden and her contributions to the seasons - and she still hadn't gotten Weiss a gift. And yet, here she was, about to ask her wife for help with her own problems. But at the same time, she knew that this wasn't something she could put off until later. While she waited, she got up from her seat to pace the floor, only for someone to stop her.

"Wait! Sit back down just a little longer!"

Ruby instinctively sat back down, glancing towards the source of the voice, she spotted a dark-skinned woman dressed in a pilot's uniform standing behind the bar with a pencil in her hand. Brushing a strand of dark hair out of her face, the woman stuck her tongue out in concentration as she sketched on a pad of paper. At last, she tore the paper off of the pad and walked over to hand it to Ruby. The huntress was most impressed; it was the most photo-realistic sketch she had ever seen.

"Whoa, you're good!" Ruby smiled. "Are you the one who designs the company's billboards or something?"

"Nah, it's just a little hobby of mine." The artist replied. "But thanks for being my model. Is there anything I can get for you while you wait?"

"Uh…" Ruby glanced at the rows of alcoholic beverages; unlike her uncle, she wasn't a heavy drinker. "... do you have milk?"

The pilot chuckled. "Sure. Let me check the kitchen."

After she left, Ruby noticed that she wasn't alone. Another woman with red hair in a pilot's uniform had snuck up behind her.

"Hey there, cutie." She leaned against the counter with a confident smirk. "My name's Gail. What's your's?"

"Uh, I'm Ruby." The huntress replied.

"Such a cute name for a cuter girl." Gail grinned. "How's about a tour of the barracks later? I get off at six. And I can get you off at seven."

Ruby finally understood what this woman was trying, but instead of being angry, she felt playful. "Sounds like fun."

Gail blinked in surprise. "R-really?"

"Yeah, just one question…" Ruby nonchalantly rubbed her knuckles against her chest, showing off the gold band around her finger. "Can my wife - your boss - come with us?"

Gail blushed as she suddenly realized who she had been flirting with. "O-oh! Mrs. Rose! I'm so sorry! I didn't see the ring! A-and I didn't recognize you without the, uh, the cape. Um, I-I gotta go fix something… you're awesome, by the way."

Ruby rolled her eyes and shook her head as the mechanic rushed away.

Finally, Weiss exited the training hangar, comforting a young man who walked alongside her. "It's alright, Joshua. You're okay. You're safe. Just breathe, okay?"

"I… I thought I was going to crash…" The student pilot trembled as if he were about to vomit. "I-I can't do this, Mrs. Schnee… I'm sorry, I-I-I just don't think I can do this…"

"It's okay, I promise." Weiss smiled as she gently rubbed his arm. "Just go to the barracks, get some rest, and we'll try again tomorrow, okay?"

"O-okay…"

Ruby tried to speak to Weiss, but her wife just motioned for her to wait as she led the young man out of the building.

"Mrs. Rose?" A deeper voice spoke up. Ruby turned around to see an older, dark-skinned woman with dreadlocks tied in a ponytail. She was dressed in a pilot's uniform with a horse-shaped patch over her left breast. "Sorry, if I disturbed you, but I'd just like to say it's nice to finally meet you, properly."

Ruby awkwardly shook the woman's hand as she tilted her head in confusion. "I'm sorry, ma'am, but I don't think I recognize you."

"That's alright." The woman chuckled. "After all, I was providing air support while you and your friends were fighting Salem. My name is Jane Blueberg. I was part of the platoon from Atlas who helped fight at the end of the Menagerie War."

"Oh! Of course!" Ruby smiled. "So, how did you come to work for Weiss?"

"After the war, I'd finished my tour and decided to try my hand at commercial work." Jane explained. "No more bad folks shooting at me. I was actually able to help Mrs. Schnee acquire some of the decommissioned Atlesian aircrafts for her business."

"What's that patch for?" Ruby asked.

"Oh, it's my rank in the business." Jane explained, proudly. "It's actually pretty clever; see, this means I'm a knight. We're the pilots. Then there's the bishops, mechanics and meteorologists. The rooks, engineers who design and build our equipment. And the pawns - for lack of a better term - are janitors, stewardesses, chefs, and trainees. The problem is, right now, Mrs. Schnee only has five knights under her employ. Including myself and a trainee."

"Who are all the pilots?" Ruby asked, curiously. "If you don't mind, I'd like to know who my wife trusts to run her company."

"Of course." Jane nodded and led Ruby to the window, where they got a good view of the hangar and the people working in it. "That woman you met at the bar with the artsy skills is Kaylee Snowman. She's not the best pilot, but she works harder than anyone else. The redhead who tried to hit on you is Gail Greenland. She also served during the Menagerie War. She's got… anger management issues. That woman working on the helicopter over there is Cerena Polar. She did some time in prison for a false terrorist charge,but she was released after one of Mrs. Schnee's lawyers proved that she was nowhere near the crime. And to help her get back on her feet, Mrs. Schnee offered her a job as a pilot."

"And who was that boy Weiss was just with?" Ruby nodded towards the door. "He was shaking like a leaf."

"Oh, him." Jane sighed. "That's Joshua Cool. He's a special case. He was studying to be a pilot, but before he could graduate, he went on a vacation with a couple of friends. Some kind of psychopath abducted them and carved two of them up with a knife. Joshua managed to get away, but the killer was never caught. Since then, he's been a bit of an emotional wreck. But Mrs. Schnee is determined to help him overcome his fears. She's actually made a lot of progress with him. Just six months ago, he couldn't even step outside of his apartment without having a nervous breakdown."

Ruby smiled. "That's my Weissy…" She sighed, wistfully. "Always ready to help those in need. Well, whenever she's ready, let her know I'll be in her office."

"Oh, this is that kind of visit…" Jane smirked as she made her way back to the hangar.

However, Ruby either didn't hear the remark, or her mind was too preoccupied with the morning's events to care. Either way, she waited inside her wife's office, trying to figure out how to explain her problem to Weiss. Unfortunately, she quickly grew bored and resorted to playing with the Newton's cradle on Weiss' desk, her silver eyes hypnotically following the balls as they clacked back and forth. By the time Weiss finally arrived, Ruby was completely entranced.

Weiss brought her wife out of it with a soft kiss on the cheek. "What a lovely surprise, Gelibete." She purred, lovingly. "Wait, where's Penny?"

"She's with my dad and Aunt Raven for the weekend." Ruby explained. "I wanted a chance to talk to you in private."

Weiss suddenly put on a sultry smile to hide her blush. "Why, Ruby, I didn't know you could be so forward."

Ruby reluctantly pushed her away. "No, no, not like that." She shook her head to clear her mind of all naughty thoughts; she was here for a much more serious reason. "I need some help. I think something's wrong with my Semblance."

Weiss frowned. "What do you mean? What happened?"

"Well, while Penny was still asleep this morning, I noticed we were out of baby formula, so I just wanted to slip into town and get some more, right?" Ruby explained, unaware of how her voice slowly picked up speed. "And at first, my Semblance was working normally - like when I turn into rose petals and fly really fast - but then when I got into town, there was a pack of Beowolves attacking everyone in the streets, so naturally I had to stop them. But I forgot to bring spare cartridges with me, so I only had enough bullets to stop five of them, and then… uh…"

Weiss leaned forward, slightly. "Then what?"

"Something… new happened." Ruby mumbled.

"Elaborate." Weiss requested.

"Well, I saw a Beowolf attacking an old lady across the street, right?" When Weiss nodded, Ruby continued. "And, so, I didn't know whether to use my semblance to drag the old lady out of the way, or use my Silver Eyes to petrify the Beowolf. So, I tried to do both at the same time. And as I was running, my rose petals… turned silver. And everything else just kinda slowed down."

Weiss arched an eyebrow. "'Slowed down?'"

"I don't know!" Ruby shrugged. "It was like everyone else was moving through jello but I wasn't. I managed to move the old lady out of the way, and use my Silver Eyes on the Beowolf, and then everything sped back up to normal again."

"Sounds like your Silver Eyes somehow supercharged your Semblance," Weiss declared even as she rubbed her chin with a curious look in her eyes. "Though we'll need to run some tests to know for certain."

"My thoughts exactly," Ruby said with a nod. "I want to understand everything that happened there so I don't accidentally hurt anyone with these newfound abilities of mine."

"Well, give me a few minutes and I'll have Jane clear the runway." Weiss offered with a smile.

Later, Jane and Gail had escorted all of the aircrafts into the hangar while Kaylee and Cerena set up the monitors.

"You sure this isn't going to be a waste of our time?" Gail couldn't help but ask. "Nothing against the boss or her wife, but come on: moving at speeds like that? You don't actually believe that's possible, do you?"

"Honestly, I couldn't really say either way," Jane said with a shrug. "What I can say though is that something clearly happened that shook Mrs. Rose up, and I'm hoping to set her fears at ease if I can."

"Besides, it's just monitor duty: it could have been a lot worse," Kaylee declared with a nod to show that she agreed with Jane.

"Yeah, we could have been forced to clean up the latrines after someone thought it was a good idea to mix barbeque sauce and horseradish during Pizza Friday," Cerena called out before giving a shudder. "That was not a fun day in the prison."

"Okay, I didn't need to know that." Weiss shook her head in disgust before placing a modified pilot helmet over Ruby's head. "Okay, Ruby, when you activate your semblance, be sure to use your Silver Eyes at the same time. The visor built into this helmet will monitor your eyes and the plugs will let us monitor everything else. Gail's going to fire off a bullet in the same direction you'll be running just to give us a bit of perspective. Are you ready?"

"As ready as I'll ever be, I guess." Ruby nodded as she got into a sprinting stance.

Weiss stepped away from the landing strip to join her employees at the makeshift lab. Kaylee had written down Ruby's current top speed and was manning the speedometer while Jane adjusted the heart and brainwave monitors and Gail loaded the pistol and took aim at the target.

"Alright. On your mark… get set… go!"

Once Gail fired the gun, Ruby took her first step forward. Just like she had done so many times in the past, she activated her semblance and felt herself growing lighter than air. This time, however, she made a conscious effort to use her Silver Eyes at the same time. And just like earlier that morning, the rose petals changed from red to silver with every step she took towards the target. Glancing over her shoulder, she was shocked to see that she was already several feet ahead of the starting point; the bullet hadn't even left the barrel of the gun yet. With her Silver Eyes still flashing, Ruby skidded to a halt to take in her surroundings. She jogged towards Weiss and waved a hand in front of her face, enticing no reaction. With a small grin, she gingerly slipped the coffee mug out from Weiss' hand and replaced it with a flower pot before returning to the runway to finish the race.

Once she got to the end of the runway, she focused on turning off her Silver Eyes and everything returned to its normal pace. The bullet struck the target, a gust of wind burst through the field, rose petals fluttered everywhere, and Weiss spluttered indignantly once her lips touched the tiny clay pot.

Back at the starting line, Gail blinked in surprise. "Holy shit, that was fast!"

Meanwhile Weiss couldn't help but groan at the prank that Ruby had pulled. "You realize I'm going to punish you for this later, right?"

"Oh, really~"

Weiss' face instantly flushed in response to the playful tone in her wife's voice. "Not that kind of punishment!"

"Oh, alright: I'll put away the lacey underwear I was saving for tonight then."

"N…now, now: let's not be too hasty."

"Ladies, please: as happy I am for the two of you having such a healthy relationship, I didn't come out here to hear about your sex lives," Cerena declared with a flat expression.

"Sorry!" the Rose-Schnee pairing simultaneously called out with a flush.

Weiss cleared her throat as she suddenly got an idea. She took out her scroll and sent a group text to her science division asking for someone to help them analyze the data. Suddenly, the CEO's scroll blew up with multiple texts in all caps from the same person. A few minutes later, the door to the office building slammed open and a young woman with blue hair in a pixie cut and wearing a lab coat with a bishop patch on it stumbled out onto the runway and clumsily made her way towards Ruby.

"Hello, Mrs. Rose!" The woman beamed as she eagerly shook the Grimm Reaper's hand. "Forgive my being so forward, but I just had to meet you! I'm your number one fan!"

Ruby felt flattered. "The pleasure's mine, Ms…?"

"Doctor, actually." The woman corrected, trying to calm down. "Dr. Lace Topaz. I specialize in dust refinement, aviation technology, mathematics, and physical biology."

"Well met, Dr. Topaz: I foresee you have quite the future ahead of you," Ruby remarked.

"I…thank you for saying that," Dr. Topaz said with an unreadable expression on her face, apparently not quite knowing how to react to that statement. She cleared her throat and smiled once more. "Mrs. Schnee tells me that your Silver Eyes are having a unique effect on your semblance and thought that I might be able to help you understand it."

"Well I appreciate the gesture," Ruby said with a smile. "Honestly I'd gladly take all the help I could get on this front."

"Glad to hear it," Dr. Topaz said with a light grin. "Would you mind if I take a look at those readings?"

"Go right ahead, doctor." Jane motioned towards the computers, letting Topaz through.

Dr. Topaz rubbed her chin in thought as she studied the screens. "Hmm… very interesting… it would seem that Mrs. Schnee's prognosis was correct; your silver eyes have an amplifying effect on your semblance, Mrs. Rose… I hypothesize that since silver eyes' power is light based, and your semblance allows you to increase your speed, when you use them in conjunction, you have the potential to move at light speed."

"...excuse me a moment," Kaylee remarked upon hearing this before grabbing a glass of water and taking a sip…right before spitting out the contents all over everyone around. "The speed of light?! That's absolutely incredible!"

"Glad you think so, but did you really need to do the spit take there?" Gail rolled her eyes and crossed her arms.

"Yes, yes I did," Kaylee remarked with a teasing grin.

Dr. Topaz continued to study the data. "Hmm… hypothetically, Mrs. Rose, your aura should similarly be enhanced by your Silver Eyes while you run to protect you from heightened friction and an increase in gravity. Regardless, I recommend easing yourself into this new power. As well as scheduling regular check ups and keeping an eye out for any hypoglycemia or rapid heart activity."

"Thank you, doctor." Ruby smiled and shook Lace's hand again. "It was a pleasure meeting you."

Lace smiled back, warmly. "The pleasure was all mine."

Over the course of the next two days, Ruby followed the doctor's orders and paced herself in practicing this new combination of powers. At the same time, she was still struggling to think of the perfect Winter Day gift for Weiss. Given that Weiss' company was hosting a Winter Day party, she was running out of time. She was brought out of her thoughts when the police scanner she had set up in her home suddenly went off.

["Calling all cars, calling all cars. 10-31 at the Vale City Convention Center."]

Ruby picked up the code book next to the scanner and rapidly flipped through the pages until she found the code she was looking for. "What's going on?" Weiss asked as she entered the room.

"Robbery in progress, but don't worry: I'll be back in a flash," Ruby remarked before pausing. "...why do I get the feeling I just used someone else's catchphrase? Eh, never mind: I'll worry about it later."

Meanwhile, the robbery itself was taking place at the Vale City Dust Convention. Several men dressed in blue parkas stormed into the convention center with guns and ordered everyone who wasn't an employee to the ground. The leader of the group - a man with a similar blue parka but with a differently-shaped gun and a pair of goggles added to his outfit - ordered half of the men to cover the exits and the other half to start grabbing the high-grade dust crystals on display and any cash the convention guests had on them. His gun was loaded with ice dust, which he used earlier to embrittle the main entrance so his crew could drive an armored truck through it. One thug, in particular, spotted something interesting.

"Oooh, now that's the kinda 'ice' I like to see." One henchman grinned as he reached out towards one of the box office workers. However, the leader grabbed him by the wrist and pushed him back.

"How many times do I have to tell you idiots?" The parka-clad leader grumbled as he stood over his goon, aiming the gun at his forehead. "We don't mess with personal items. We're just here for the dust and the cash."

"But boss-!"

The leader cut his goon off by aiming his frosty gun at him. "Did I stutter?"

In response, the goon held up his hands in defeat and continued looking for cash.

"I…it feels weird thanking a thief, but still, I appreciate you stopping that guy from taking my engagement ring," the office worker the boss had helped out felt the need to call out even as the goons got back to work.

"Not a problem, though for the record, I wouldn't be too grateful: after all, from the looks of things, that fiance of yours didn't actually spend much money on that ring of yours…not unless cubic zirconia suddenly became priceless," the leader called out with what appeared to be a sympathetic look on his face, showcasing that he didn't approve of that sort of cheap mindset from the fiance and that while he wouldn't have stolen it even if it was valuable, there wouldn't be any real reason for someone less honorable then him to steal it other then simple pettiness.

Suddenly, the front doors burst open and a storm of rose petals spiraled around the room. In between eye blinks, the leader watched as his men were rounded up and tied up outside of the building. At last, the rose petals reformed into a young woman dressed in red and black wearing a chrome skull-mask.

"Not that I don't appreciate how you stopped your goons from killing and helping out a lady with her engagement, but you did cause a disturbance here, so I have to take you in," the Grimm Reaper declared. "Nothing personal, though: you actually do seem like an okay guy."

"Don't worry: the feeling's mutual," the man in the parka said with a grin.

The Grimm Reaper drew Crescent Rose and rushed forwards to apprehend the criminal. But the thief drew his own weapon and aimed it at the floor in front of him, coating it in a sleek layer of ice. Unfortunately, the hooded huntress was moving so fast that she didn't have time to stop in time before slipping on the patch of ice. Her enemy took advantage of her disorientation and fired more ice dust in her path, causing her to slide along the walls and crash into a nearby booth.

The Grimm Reaper quickly regained her footing and converted her weapon into a sniper. Aiming at the wall, she used the recoil to propel herself in the opposite direction, sliding back across the ice in hopes of striking her opponent down. But the thief had anticipated this tactic and dodged out of the way at the last minute before freezing the huntress' feet to the floor.

"Sorry, Reaper, but I'm afraid not even you are energetic enough to chase after someone with your legs frozen."

"Who are you?" Ruby growled out even as she tried to discreetly use her Semblance to try and slip out of the ice. "What do you want?"

"Call me Captain Icicle, and you can relax as if I wanted you dead, you'd already be pushing up daisies," the thief called out with a chuckle. "But as to what I want, I simply want to grab a few things from this building that I don't believe should be just sitting around collecting dust like this…and before you make some grand heroic speech about how those objects don't belong to me, well, I believe you have other problems to deal with."

Ruby was tired of hearing this man talk. She finally shattered the ice around her feet and grabbed Crescent Rose to shoot his gun out of his hands. Then, she rushed forward to hit him.

"Waaaaaaaaaaait!" Captain Icicle cried out just in time to stop Ruby's fist from connecting with his face.

"Make it quick." She demanded.

"I've been planning this for a long time, Grimm Reaper." The parka-clad thief smirked, holding up a detonator in his other hand. "I've hidden ten cryogenic bombs all over the city. They're already primed and once I lift my thumb off of this button, it'll activate a timer for five minutes. If you can't find them all, they'll freeze over all of Vale City. And everyone in it."

"How do I know you aren't bluffing?" Ruby couldn't help but ask.

"I suppose you don't…though just to show that I'm a fair sport, I'll go ahead and let you know where to start looking so that you know what those bombs look like. The first bomb should be at a local dust shop two blocks from here. After that, it's your choice, Grimm Reaper," Captain Icicle declared with a mocking grin. "Catch the thief or protect the civilians, and I doubt even you're fast enough to do both."

Clenching her jaw, the Grimm Reaper decided now was as good a time as any to see how well her new power worked in combat. By the time Icicle had released the button, she had already taken her first step. Her Silver Eyes supercharged her semblance, and she quickly began her desperate search for the bombs.

The first bomb was easy enough to find; turns out that, like Captain Icicle had claimed, it was stashed in a dust shop she used to frequent as a kid. She grabbed it just as the oblivious shopkeep was about to sweep it under a cabinet.

"One." She thought to herself even as she quickly took note of what the bomb looked like to help with her search.

The second bomb was resting in the palm of a statue in the middle of the park where she would take Zwei for a walk.

"Two."

Her search took her to a carshow, where the next bomb had replaced a hood ornament.

"Three."

The next bomb was slightly more difficult. Ruby spotted it at the top of a ten story hotel, perched on the flagpole. She hastily maneuvered around the bellhops and guests, until she reached the stairwell. From that point, she raced up to the roof to grab her target.

"Four."

From her new vantage point, she easily spotted the next two bombs across the street. She jumped off of the roof and used Crescent Rose to hook onto a gargoyle to swing onto the other building.

"Five, six."

Back on the ground, she was once more reduced to searching everywhere with great detail. But through sheer determination, she managed to find three more bombs hidden throughout the city.

"Seven, eight, nine…"

With one bomb left out in the open, she was beginning to think that she just might be able to prevent a disaster. But as she arrived at the four-minute mark, even with her incredible speed, she started to worry. Especially since the final cryogenic bomb seemed to be nowhere in sight.

"Ten…? Ten…? Where's ten?!" She wondered to herself as she circled around the entire city. She then stopped as the answer suddenly came to her. "...so that's your game, eh Captain?"

She ran out of the city limits with the nine bombs she had collected, tied them to a weather balloon, and sent them up into the sky before heading back to the convention center.

Meanwhile Captain Icicle was loading up his stolen goods into his getaway vehicle, only to stop as the Grimm Reaper appeared before him. "You again? Don't you have a bunch of bombs to take care of? I know for certain that there's at least one bomb you haven't found yet."

"About that: I took a look inside the convention center and guess what I happened to find in the box office?" the Grimm Reaper asked before holding up a familiar looking device. "Looking for this?"

Captain Icicle gasped at the bomb in the Grimm Reaper's hand. "How did you…?"

"...figure out that you had set your final bomb inside the building you were hoping to rob? Please: you aren't the first person to try blowing up the place they were stealing from to try and get away from those chasing you and you won't be the last either. Now you have two choices: either tell me how to defuse this thing or we both get blown up."

"You…you're bluffing: even if you didn't already know how to defuse the bombs already, you wouldn't risk your own life just to get at me."

"You…do know what my profession is, right?" Ruby couldn't help but ask. "I risk my life everyday to keep people safe, and as for those bombs, I actually ran them out of the city due to bombs not being my forte. Really if it comes down to it, I'll just leave this bomb here and make my escape, so really, it all comes down to which you find more important: your money or your life."

Captain Icicle starred at the bomb in horror for a few seconds before giving a sigh. "Cut the blue wire: that's how you disable the bombs."

"Good to know," Ruby declared before knocking the thief out with her Crescent Rose and proceeding to cut the wire in question just in time to see an icy explosion go off in the distance. "Huh, what do you know? He wasn't wrong about me not being fast enough to disarm the bombs and capture him at the same time: I'll need to remember to work on that."

Sometime later, Captain Icicle regained consciousness just in time to find himself being loaded into a squad car with all of his weapons having been removed. As he was being escorted into the building, he grumbled at the sight of his captor waiting for him at the door with her wife.

"By the way, that thing about leaving you to die via an explosion while I ran away? That was when you should have claimed I was bluffing," the Grimm Reaper said with a smug grin.

Captain Icicle blinked upon hearing this before giving a low chuckle. "Well played, Reaper: well played."

As he was led away, the VCPD captain approached the two huntresses.

"So, what can you tell me about this guy?" Ruby asked.

"The 'captain's' real name is Leroy Blue. A local small-time crook who used to work for Roman Torchwick before he went legit." The police officer informed the duo before handing Weiss a manilla folder full of scientific documents. "We received an anonymous tip about where his hideout was and we found this. Apparently, last week, he and his crew broke into an SDC warehouse and stole copies of Nicholas Schnee's original formula for combining water and wind dust into ice dust."

"Are you kidding me?!" Weiss fumed. "It took me six years of private tutoring to perfect my grandfather's ice dust formula! How did a high school drop-out learn how to make it from outdated notes in less than a week?! Is it seriously as easy to mix as cake batter and I'm just pretentious?!"

"Actually from what we could gather, he dropped out of school to be able to better look after his little sister, Eliza, after his father was arrested for abuse charges and that before that happened he was at the top of his class with a very good prospect of getting degrees in chemistry and engineering," the officer declared. "Rest assured we'll be keeping an eye out for that sister of his to try and make sure she stays out of trouble."

"Well that makes it slightly better," Weiss called out, calming down due to being able to acknowledge the man's apparent intelligence as well as what was said about the man's sister, "But that doesn't explain why someone like that would end up stealing dust like this."

"My best guess is that he became part of Torchwick's gang as a means to help pay the bills following his father's arrest before finding that he enjoyed the lifestyle or something like that."

"Makes sense: I won't deny that dealing with high tech weaponry and/or fighting with powerful foes is a good way to get the heart pumping," Ruby declared before raising her hands in a calming manner upon noticing her wife's glare. "I never said I approved of his life choices: I just said they made sense from a certain point of view."

"That's fair," Weiss said with a sigh before gaining a teasing grin. "By the way: love of weapons? Enjoys a good fight? Smarter than one might think at first glance? Cares for those around them in their own way? Are you sure you didn't just capture a gender swapped villainous version of yourself?"

"Weiss don't be silly," Ruby remarked with a huff. "We both know that my evil twin wouldn't bother stealing your company's Dust formulas as they'd be too busy seducing the hot CEO directly for that sort of information."

"Oh, really~"

"Come to the Dark Side, Weiss: we have cookies~"

"You realize I'm still standing here, right?" the officer called out with a flat look.

"Sorry!" the Rose-Schnee pairing simultaneously called out with a flush.

The next day, Schnee Air was hosting an official Winter Day celebration with all of its employees and their families. Jane was dressed in her formal military uniform and mingling with the other employees while Gail kept fussing over her suit's tie. Kaylee brought the two of them cups of hot cocoa while Cerena and her father secluded themselves away from the crowd to catch up on their personal lives. Joshua was also isolated from the larger crowd; hiding inside of the flight simulator with his older brother who was visiting to check on him.

At the same time, Ruby had finally figured out the perfect gift for Weiss and excused herself from the party.

"Do you really have to go now?" Weiss couldn't help but ask.

"Sorry, Weiss, but I promised that I'd help clear out the ice from that explosion from yesterday, but don't worry: I'll be back as soon as I can," Ruby declared before giving her wife a quick kiss and running out the door. Once she arrived at the large artificial iceberg, she drew Crescent Rose in her right hand and Rose Thorn in her left. "Ready, Freckles?"

"Affirmative." Rose Thorn's AI replied in a robotic tone.

Over the course of the next thirty minutes, Ruby used her weapons combined with her newfound power to carve away at the ice. While the blade in Crescent Rose shaped the ice, Rose Thorn's laser smoothed it out into finer details. At last, Ruby stopped carving to step back and marvel at her work. She merely smiled before taking out her scroll. "Hey, Klein, any chance you would be able to get a truck out here without Weiss knowing about it?"

Sometime later, Weiss showed up at the airfield with Penny in her arms. "Okay, I'm here, Ruby: what is it that you wanted me to see?"

"Just a moment: I'm still finishing up with the last minute preparations."

Weiss blinked in confusion as she approached the truck, curious as to what was under the large tarp. At last, Ruby slid out from under the tarp and gave it a firm tug.

"Tada!" Ruby declared as she unveiled a large ice sculpture.

Weiss gasped in surprise while Penny happily clapped. The ice sculpture depicted the CEO in an elegant pose, wielding Myrtenaster and aiming it up at the sky while cradling Penny in her other arm.

"Wha…what is this?" Weiss couldn't help but ask.

"Didn't want the ice in those cryobombs to go to waste, so after I let them go off outside of the city, I went ahead and used the ice to sculpt you your Winter Day present," Ruby declared before gaining a nervous expression. "Do you…like it?"

"Like it?" Weiss simply smiled as she pulled her wife close to her. "I love it."

"I'm glad," Ruby remarked before the two closed the gap for a kiss.

"Get a room you two," Gail called out with a groan even as the duo continued to make out.

"Ah, let 'em be, Gail." Kaylee chuckled as she handed her friend a glass of hot apple cider. "Let's get on with the party."

And all over Remnant, everyone was getting into the holiday spirit.

Xiao Long Household, Patch.

Taiyang pulled a turkey out of the oven and presented it to Raven, Qrow, Winter, Dr. Oobleck, and Professor Port at the dinner table. He cut off a drumstick and placed it in Zwei's food dish before carving the rest of it for everyone else.

Xiao Long-Belladonna apartment, Vale City.

Holly and Roger arrived with a fruitcake they had been working on all day, just as Yang and Blake finished pouring four cups of eggnog.

Branwen Tribe Capesite, Haven.

Vernal couldn't help but smile as the tribe worked together to prepare a feast to celebrate all of the hard work they put in this year.

Belladonna residence, Menagerie.

Ilia watched as Ghira and Kali set up the finishing touches on the decorations, somewhat upset that she couldn't spend the holidays with Yang and Blake this year but nonetheless happy that she wasn't alone this year. Especially once Saber, Mata, and Sun arrived.

Crimsonoff Farm, New Rushland.

Cyan snuggled in between Svetlana and Mikhail as they settled onto the couch and watched It's A Wonderful Life.

NRPD, New Rushland.

Commissioner Maroon sipped her hot cocoa with a smile as her son handed out candy canes to the other officers and detectives.

Quartz apartment, New Rushland.

While Cassian slept in his bedroom, Cynthia quietly snuck some candy into the stocking he'd hung over the living room mantle.

Unknown Location

Lavender Quartz had left her armor at her latest apartment while she went out for drinks. Once at the bar, she sat down at a secluded table and took out a photo of her children, gazing at it with a smile.

Ironwood Asylum, New Rushland.

Emerald couldn't help but smile as she, Izzy, and Ivy all enjoyed the gifts that Svetlana and Boris had been allowed to leave for them due to their recent good behavior, content in the fact that at least two people outside this facility were looking forward to the day when they were freed.

Secret Squad Headquarters, Atlas

Ciel allowed a small grin to appear on her face as she watched as Onyx spent some time with his daughter Tammy and Amethyst spent some time with her niece Hope, all while they were being overlooked by their respective legal guardians. Seeing even criminals enjoying the holidays simply reinforced her decision to give her old friends from Beacon a call after exchanging gifts with James, Melanie, Militia, Octavia, and Polu.

Somewhere in the Atlesian Sea

Victoria Glacier decided to take a break from her research to sit next to Norman's cryogenic chamber and stargaze in his company the way they used to. Although it was cold, it still wasn't snowing; she rectified that with the aid of her ice dust.

Unknown Location

Jasmine and Alex couldn't help but share a grin as the rest of the Shadow Alliance of Doppelgangers came together to exchange gifts with one another.

Argus.

Team JNPR decided to spread a little holiday cheer by dressing Pyrrha up as the Winter Maiden and the others as her helpers as they handed out presents to young orphans.

Shade soup kitchen, Vacuo City.

Team CFVY were focusing their efforts on providing a hot meal for the less fortunate.

The Realm of Light.

Elsa never asked to be worshiped in such a manner on her birthday, but then again, neither did any of her sisters. Regardless of what the mortals thought of her, she was just happy to finally be reunited with her three sisters, her father, and even her mother.

Schnee Air, Vale.

Ruby and Weiss shared one last kiss before holding their daughter in their arms as they gazed at the stars.

"Merry Winter Day, Gelibete." Weiss whispered, happily.

"Merry Winter Day, Weissy." Ruby smiled.

To Be Continued!

Epilogue:

While the rest of Schnee Air were celebrating the holidays, one employee in particular discreetly moved away from the festivities. Checking to make sure that no one was watching, she removed her glasses and faced a secluded corner of the building. Suddenly, her Golden Eyes shone with power as her body transformed into a swarm of blue violet petals that allowed her to pass through the seams of the wall and into a secret lab. Once inside, she continued working on her latest pet project; a blue high caliber sniper-scythe.

"Merry Winter Day…" She mused to herself.