Disclaimer: I do not own any of the material appearing in this story. The OC's belong to their respective owners.
Three Days Before the Star Festival
A few Atlesian soldiers searched through the remains of the mental hospital that had been burned down. Esdeath was overseeing the operation as she was also looking through the remains. "Anything?" Esdeath asked.
"No, we've been searching for days… and we haven't found a single patient who hadn't been killed by a gunshot or burnt alive." One of them said. "We've also noticed stab wounds."
"Most likely from Dark Weiss…" Esdeath quietly said. "How did she get her weapon back… there was no way she couldn't have had any freedom wandering around the institution."
"It could've been because she was a Schnee." A soldier guessed.
"Just because you're a Schnee doesn't mean you should have special privileges." Esdeath grumbled. "Mmmph… this is very concerning."
"Well, the good news is, that evil clone is gone… right?"
"That may be true, but there's something else that concerns me." Esdeath said as she wandered over to the padded room, or what was left of it. "There are no traces of Seryu here."
"If I had to guess, Dark Weiss may have freed her."
"But why… Seryu despises the Schnees with a passion." Esdeath folded her arms. "Something isn't right here."
A soldier folded his arms and rubbed his chin in thought. "So, what do you think it means?"
"It means that Seryu likely escaped alive." She grimaced a bit, a worried look was plastered on her face. Seryu… I hope you're not doing anything stupid.
Meanwhile, at a park in Toad Town…
BGM: Have A Nice Talk (Mario and Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story)
Whitley walked around the park with his hands behind his back. He had spotted a few Faunus wandering around and chatting with a few Toads and Koopas. He let out a simple wave toward the Faunus as the Faunus waved back at him. He continued to walk around as he started to walk across a small bridge that crossed a stream. However, midway through the bridge, he stopped to look at the stream. He looked down as he saw a few Cheep Cheep swim around, including a few Goldeen and Magikarp.
He would notice a few Faunus children in the distance, letting out a small chuckle. "Look at those kids, playing around without a care in the world."
"Truly disgusting creatures." A voice said as Whitley froze up.
End BGM
A man walked over and put his arms over the railing. "Just look at the sight of them. They have no business being all free. No Faunus deserves freedom. They don't deserve anything." He then turned to Whitley. "Haven't I taught you that, boy?"
"F-father?!" Whitley looked on in surprise.
"The faunus make a mess out of everything. It is time we put them in chains and make them see that we humans are the rightful heirs to this planet. They are just a virus that need to be either kept in check or be wiped out." Jacques turned to Whitley. "I taught you and your sisters that. Do you not remember?"
"I…"
"Those faunus do not deserve anything. They should be in cages. If you want to be heir to the Schnee Dust Company, then you ought to start treating Faunus like they are meant to be."
"Nnngh…" Whitley held on to his head, shutting his eyes. "GET OUT OF MY HEAD!" He yelled as he opened his eyes and saw Jacques Schnee no longer there. "Phew…" He sighed with relief but then hugged himself, shuddering a bit. He hadn't felt this uneasy ever since he helped Velvet out. He knew his father was in prison, but it felt like he was always there… badgering him about how the Faunus are the scum of the planet.
He walked away from the bridge, taking a slow deep breath to calm his nerves. He then heard the sounds of laughter as he turned his head and saw a few Sumo Bros picking on a Deer Faunus. "What's the matter, too shy to do anything?" One of the Sumo Bros chuckled.
"H-hey… those are my flowers!"
"These were your flowers." Another Sumo Bro chuckled, crushing them in his hands and then pushed her down.
"Oooh…" Whitley grimaced as he walked away from the sight, but his legs refused to take another step.
"Mother… what are the Faunus like? Father said they're really bad people."
"Don't listen to him, sweetheart. He's just had a bad day. The Faunus are beautiful creatures that roam Remnant. Unfortunately, some people like your father do not see the true beauty in them and would rather do horrible things to them. Your father, for instance, has a few Faunus as our personal servants. I do not like it, but your father refuses to see the light."
"So what do we do when these beautiful creatures are being treated horribly?"
"You can either ignore them… or you can choose to stand up for them."
"But what if one of these bullies are bigger than me… and I can't put up a fight?"
"Then you will have to do what you can to protect the faunus. Who knows, you might just befriend one of these beautiful creatures."
Whitley clenched his fists, looking down and spotting a rock on the ground as he picked it up. "Mother… you sure say the darndest things." He turned around, and without a moment's hesitation, he threw it at the Sumo Bro. However, his eyes widened the moment the rock left his hand. Crap! Did I just do that?!
The rock smacked a Sumo Bro upside the head. "…Who did that?" He wondered as they turned toward Whitley. "Did you do that?"
"So what if I did? You have no right to harm that Faunus."
"Aw, we're just havin' a little fun with the Doe. Ain't that right?"
"Yeah. Then you had to go and ruin our fun!"
Whitley would look between the Sumo Bros, seeing the Deer Faunus looking a bit sad. "Really… she doesn't look like she's having fun."
"And what are you gonna do about it, twinkle toes?" The Sumo Bro asked. "You think you can protect this little doe from us?" He said as Whitley, on instinct, got in a fighting stance. "Bahahaha! Look at this, he's got a death wish!"
"Well now, let's give him the good ol' one two!" The other said as they approached Whitley.
Oh great, NOW you've done it! Whitley thought as the Sumo Bros towered over Whitley as both of them cracked their knuckles. "Eheheh… can't we talk about thi-" One of the Sumo Bros punched Whitley hard in the gut, immediately making him hunch over as his eyes widened from the pain as the other delivered an uppercut that knocked him up into the air and had him crash to the ground. The Deer Faunus would watch on, grimacing at the sight of the Sumo Bros pummeling Whitley senseless.
"That'll teach you." The first Sumo Bro said as they walked away, leaving Whitley in a bloodied mess. The deer faunus would walk over to him and gently picked him up, hearing the sounds of him groaning as she walked over to the patch of flowers as she would lay him down on the flowers. She then put her hands on his chest as an aura came out of the flowers and enveloped Whitley. His wounds would slowly disappear in front of her eyes.
"Uuugh…" Whitley opened his eyes and saw the Deer Faunus in front of him. She had small freckles over her nose, she had brown eyes and short brunette hair. She was wearing a light yellow blouse and was wearing black stockings with tan shorts. She was also wearing brown sandals. There was a puffy deer tail behind her. "Wha…?"
"Hey, you okay?" She asked softly.
"Yeah… I guess…" He said. "Did… did you heal me?"
BGM: Light Through the Leaves of Love (Dragon Quest XI S: Echoes of an Elusive Age)
The faunus nodded. "Yes. My semblance is to heal and protect others. I call it Flower Protection. I'm… not very good with naming things." She said, blushing a bit.
"No no, it's fine." Whitley said.
"You see, flowers are a beautiful species in this world. All shapes and sizes, they're all so beautiful. I manipulate their aroma so I can use them in medicine. I'm actually learning how to be a doctor in the medical field."
Whitley let out a chuckle. "That sounds wonderful."
"It's a bit complicated though… but I knew this. It's not as simple as just shoving colored pills down someone's throat and call it a day." The faunus shook her head. "It's much more than that."
"Indeed." Whitley nodded. "Oh, forgive me… I haven't asked your name."
The deer faunus smiled sweetly. "My name is Ling. What's yours?"
"Whitley Schnee."
Ling's eyes widened. "A Schnee?"
Uh oh… Whitley grimaced. "Do… do you have something against the Schnees?"
"No. But I do know that one of them is a heartless jerk… but I'm not one to categorize all Schnees as bad. Just because one is a bad egg doesn't mean the rest of them are." Ling said. "Call it a hunch, but I do not see you as a bad person. Your father is Jacques Schnee, right?"
"How do you-"
"Because you look like the spitting image of him, minus the mustache."
"…Oh." Whitley let out a sigh. "Well, yeah, he's my father. He's currently in jail and we moved here to Toad Town… but I can't shake the feeling that my father is nearby, demanding that I ought to treat faunus like dirt. If Weiss or Winter couldn't do it, if mother or Klein can't do it, then he was hellbent on teaching me everything he knows. I… I don't want to be like him." He said, seeing movement in the corner of his eyes as he turned to see an image of Jacques Schnee standing there with his arms folded and looking very disappointed. He let out a gasp. Get out of my head, old man!
"Hmm?" Ling would look at what Whitley was looking at, but found nothing as she turned to see Whitley clutching his head. "What's wrong?"
"My father… he's right there… he… he…!"
"Hey." Ling gently put her hands on his arms. "Look at me." She gently said as Whitley, using her hand to cup his chin and made him look at her. "You are not your father. You are more than that. You are a good person, Whitley… you can be more than what your father truly is."
"You…" Tears started to form in his eyes. "You… really mean that?"
"I do." Ling smiled.
"I… I want out of this hellhole that… my father put me in…" Whitley said, his voice nearly trembling. Ling softly smiled and brought him close to her, his face buried into her shoulder.
"You poor thing… your father did a number on your mind. I'll help you…" She gently cooed, rubbing his back.
Two Faunus walked by, one of them holding a soda in his mouth as he took a swig as the other faunus spotted the two. "Hey… isn't that the Schnee kid… hugging one of us?"
The other faunus did a spit take. "HE'S WHAT?!" He yelled as the two looked at Ling comforting Whitley. They then looked at each other and then back at the duo.
"…I'll be damned. I thought for sure he'd be like his father."
"Heh, good for him." The other chuckled as they walked away.
A few minutes passed as Whitley finally parted from Ling. "Thank you…" He said.
End BGM
"You're welcome." Ling smiled sweetly at him.
"Well, isn't this just cute." A voice said as they turned around to see a certain dog faunus approaching them. "A faunus in love with a human. How adorable."
Whitley let out a gasp. "You!"
"You know her?" Ling asked.
"Yeah, she nearly killed me when we first met!"
"What?!"
Seryu let out a chuckle. "Ah, so you do remember me." She said and then got a good look at Whitley. "Wait, now that I'm getting a better look at you…" She scowled. "The white hair, the proportions on your face… you must be a Schnee."
"And what of it!"
"As much as I despise humans… I despise Schnees the most!" Seryu growled. "Justice will come for all of them… especially you!"
Ling, on instinct, got in front of Whitley and spread her arms out. "Don't you dare."
"What's this? You're willing to protect a human… A Schnee?"
"Humans can be scum, but not everyone is a scumbag. This Schnee is more than just his own father! He's going down a different path other than his father. The fact that you don't see it proves that you have massive hatred in your heart."
Seryu smirked. "You call it hatred, I call it something else." She said, clapping her gloves together and pulling out a pistol.
BGM: No Time to Think! (Kingdom Hearts)
"Too bad you won't live to see it!" Seryu exclaimed, aiming directly at Ling as her eyes widened as she pulled the trigger, but in an instant, Whitley pushed Ling to the side and earned himself a bullet to his right shoulder.
"AGH!" Whitley yelped.
"Whitley!" Ling yelled.
"Oh ho! A Schnee protecting a Faunus! My my, this day is just full of surprises!" Seryu said and then smirked wickedly. "Let's see how well your protection can last!" She declared, shooting at him again, but Ling had planted her hands in some flowers as a wall of daisies would sprout up and protected Whitley from the bullets. "What?!" She growled and then turned to Ling. "You miserable traitor!" She yelled as she attempted to fire, but some Faunus came running in and tackled her to the ground.
"Get out of here! GO!" One of them yelled.
"Let's go!" Ling said, grabbing Whitley and running off with him as Seryu fought them off, delivering some heavy punches and kicks to knock them down. She would then form a shotgun and aimed at the two… when suddenly her scroll went off as she pulled it out and answered it.
End BGM
"Yeah, what is it? …Oh hi! You want me back at HQ? I'm drawing too much attention? Aww, but I was in the middle of shooting a Schn-… oh, alright… I guess you're right, I shouldn't be going all crazy in public. Alright, see you soon." Seryu hung up and turned to the Faunus. She then threw down a smoke bomb and then disappeared from their sights.
"Where'd she go?"
"She has to be somewhere! Find her!"
"Yeah!"
Seryu sat on a tree branch far away from the park, grumbling. "Dammit… I was having fun." She sighed and then looked to the side. "Why did you stop me from killing a Schnee and his girlfriend?"
"Because even though it was an opportunity, we shouldn't go and spread "justice" all willy nilly. Not in public." Adam said, leaning on a tree branch. "But don't worry, we'll get back at those Schnees soon enough."
"Oh, if you say so." Seryu pouted and then let out a chuckle. "Too bad for him… I have his scent. And I never forget a scent." She smirked as she disappeared into the trees along with Adam.
Back at the Schnee Home…
"Easy does it…" Klein said, pulling the bullet out of Whitley's shoulder as he applied medicine on his wound. Whitley responded by hissing in pain and gritting his teeth. "Ah yes, I should've told you it would have stung a bit."
"Nnngh…" Whitley winced, as he felt a gentle hand on his own as he looked over and saw Ling giving him a comforting look.
"What happened?" Willow asked with concern as Weiss and Winter were also there.
"Nnngh… this crazy Faunus came out of nowhere and attacked the both of us. I took a bullet for Li-aaaagh!"
"There, that should do it." Klein said.
"What was her name?" Weiss asked.
"I… I am not sure. She was at the mental hospital that I was in along with Dark Weiss, but… other than that, I don't know her name. All I know is that she's a Dog Faunus that's hellbent on "justice"."
Winter's eyes widened.Why does that sound eerily familiar… She thought, rubbing her left arm.
"Winter, are you okay?" Weiss asked.
"I… I just had a chill run up my spine… I don't know why." She responded.
"Mmm… this makes me uneasy. Did she say anything else?" Willow asked.
"She mentioned that out of all the humans she despises, she hates Schnees the most."
Klein's eyes turned red. "Bah! Of course! It's probably another one of Jacques's many enemies that he made! That good for nothin' bastard!" He said as his eyes turned to pink. "Oh, pardon me… I didn't mean to go that far…"
"It's alright, Klein. I'm somehow not surprised one of my deadbeat ex-husband's enemies are out to get us." Willow said. "To think one of them came all the way from Atlas to the Mushroom Kingdom. That's a bit concerning."
"Don't worry, we're not going to let this girl take us down." Winter said. "Ling, was it? Do you have a place nearby?"
"Of course. My house is actually a few blocks from here."
"I'll take you home." Whitley said, standing up. "It's the least I can do after you helped me out earlier."
Ling let out a giggle. "Okay!" She said as she walked out with Whitley.
"Ah, he's definitely not like his father." Klein said, his eyes yellow.
"Indeed." Willow smiled and then leaned close to her daughters. "You might want to go keep an eye on him, just in case if this bitch decides to come back." She said as Weiss and Winter looked at her in surprise. "What?"
"I never thought we'd ever hear you curse." Weiss said.
"What? She's a dog faunus." Willow shrugged. "It's fitting."
"…She's not wrong." Winter shrugged as they walked out the door to keep an eye out for Whitley, both of them also on the lookout for the Dog Faunus that shot their brother in the shoulder. They quickly hid in a bush as Whitley took her up the porch to her home.
"Thanks, Whitley." Ling smiled sweetly. "I'll see you soon, okay?"
"Alright." Whitley smiled as he started to walk off.
"Oh, Whitley!" Ling caught his attention as he turned around where Ling walked over to him. "I forgot to thank you for saving me from those Sumo Bros."
"Eh, it was no-" Ling leaned in and kissed him on the cheek, causing Whitley to blush a deep red. "-thing… I… uh… you're… wel-welcome!" He stammered as Ling happily walked back to her house. He could feel Jacques' presence behind him as he turned around and saw him there with his arms folded.
"What do you have to say for yourself? You are a Schnee! You're supposed to-"
"Sorry, father. But I'm not listening to you anymore." He said.
"What! How dare you! You ought to be asha-" Whitley let out an annoyed growl.
"SHUT UP, OLD MAN!" He yelled, delivering a massive kick between his legs.
In prison…
"Mmmph!" Jacques shuddered. "Why did I just get a cold chill up my spine? …And why do my legs feel weak?"
Back in Toad Town…
Whitley clenched his fists, glaring at his old man while Weiss and Winter watched him kick absolutely nothing. "Why did he just kick the air?" Weiss wondered.
"I've a feeling he's being haunted." Winter said and walked behind Whitley. "Hey… Whitley, you okay?"
"…Sis? When did you-"
"That doesn't matter. Are you okay?"
"…No… father… he… he's continuing to-"
Winter immediately hugged Whitley. "Shhh, not another word. We're here for you."
"Yeah, what she said." Weiss said, hugging him as well. "And I've a feeling Ling will be there for you all the time."
"Y-yeah…" Whitley nodded as the Schnees walked off together, with Ling watching from her window.
At least Whitley's not gonna be like his old man.