The interior of the main building of Schnee Corporations could be considered overwhelming for anyone who did not have a basic knowledge of technology, the entrance was incredibly wide in the shape of a half circle, the white and gray dominated very strongly over the rest of the colors, creating a feeling similar of the Atlas Academy.
Multiple automated machines were in the process of creating all kinds of artifacts, combat robots were assembled by enormous paladins with the Schnee family logo stamped on their backs, while humans and faunus were in charge of creating smaller objects, such as Neo-Scrolls, spy devices, high-powered computers, among many more inventions.
"Schnee Corporations was founded in Vacuo, believe it or not, the fall of Atlas incredibly affected the technological advance of Remnant, so, as an attempt to appease this stoppage of inventions, Winter Schnee with the help of her family managed to create a company of high-end technology, there is no worthy competitor to Schnee Corps" Professor Neil Rumpeldore explained calmly, pointing to the multiple inventions on display located at the entrance.
Neil Rumpeldore was a deer faunus with a somewhat emaciated appearance, his 44 years of age seemed to be imperceptible due to his hair full of gray adorned with his incredibly long birth bumps, he had been a classmate of team RWBY and JNPR before the fall from Beacon, after that, he managed to obtain his license in Vacuo, getting a position as a technology teacher at Beacon a few years later.
The entire class was currently located in what was known as the invention hallway, where the work of scientists and robotics geniuses was exposed in its entirety, managing to attract the attention of the majority of students.
Except for Waylon, he knew the building perfectly.
"Winter Schnee hired Pietro Polendina as its first inventor, he was the one who established the foundations of the company as a technological one, his death was incredibly painful for the community, but his legacy continues in Schnee Corp, his teachings were applied by Velvet Scarlatina, the mastermind behind the Neo-Scroll and most of the weapons of the Atlesian army" Neil pointed to a room completely visible through a tinted window, multiple firearms were being built, while in the background a hologram of Velvet Scarlatina loomed over the engineers present in the room.
"It's much bigger than SDC's main headquarters" Roy commented quietly, admiring the building's infrastructure up close "Has it always been like this?"
"Every year it gets bigger" Waylon responded, his gaze seemed to be lost between several things, he knew every detail about these inventions, he didn't care to review them a second time "Mom does everything she can to keep all her products here…most of them are underground at level 33.1"
The students finally left the invention hallway, this time now finding themselves in the company's history room, where there were multiple holograms of people important to Schnee Corp, Pietro Polendina, Velvet Scarlatina, Winter Schnee herself, and many more inventors that the most of young Beacon students didn't know.
"The company is managed by Winter Schnee, however, like SDC, the mandate will pass to her descendant once she reaches a certain age or simply sees it necessary" Neil said normally, pointing to the hologram of the company's founder "That heir is Waylon Branwen, son of Winter herself and Qrow Branwen"
The students stopped in their tracks, turning slowly until they could fix their interested gazes on Waylon, whe boy smiled with some pride and simply shrugged his shoulders, he already knew that at some point Neil had to mention his status as heir, it was even a little late to have mentioned it.
It seemed to be almost a mirror between Weiss and him, his aunt was the heir to SDC for some time, before Jacques, Waylon's grandfather, decided to take it away from her and give it to Whitley, Winter did not seem to have any intention of taking that right away from her son, she has even been preparing him all these years to take the control one day in the future.
He is not really afraid of the company, he already knew very well all the aspects that the CEO of Schnee Corp managed, the only thing he really wants is for his mother to feel safe about handing over the company to him when necessary.
"If some of you are interested in Schnee Corp, don't worry, this company usually hires Huntsmen to test weapons and different electronic devices that will become your best friends in the future, they even assign special missions on boards with juicy rewards , so-" Neil was interrupted when another voice overtook his own, one evidently more mature and colder.
"So put all your efforts into being great Huntsmen for Remnant" Winter Schnee said firmly, looking at the students with critical analysis "Professor Rumpeldore, I'm sorry for being late, I just left a meeting and I have another one in just half an hour"
"There is no problem, Miss Schnee, class, this is Winter Schnee" Neil pointed to the woman with respect marked in his tone, most of the students shivered at the sight of the woman, her presence seemed to possess an icy aura that scared young aspiring Huntsmen.
"It's Waylon's mother" Riana murmured quietly, quickly connecting the physical similarities between the boy and his mother.
"Schnee Corp is an ally of Vale and Remnant, the protests against the company are meaningless, ignore them if possible" Winter quickly clarified, being aware of the multiple marches and protests against her legacy "...You are the future of our world, focus on your studies and improving yourselves, I know very well that you will achieve incredible things-"
"I'm sure they'll make it" A new voice interrupted Winter, the students lost all ability to breathe upon recognizing the intruder, even some of the staff were surprised by said appearance, beginning to whisper things to each other.
"Ruby" Winter murmured, recognizing her legal niece, the woman realized the tone her voice had acquired, so she quickly cleared her throat and spoke again "I didn't expect to see you here…"
"I want to talk to you, alone" Ruby responded, looking more serious than usual, Neithan looked at his mother with total emotion, a gesture that was repeated by most of the students.
"…Professor Rumpeldore, I deeply apologize for not being able to contribute to your presentation about my company, it seems that there is a matter that needs my urgent attention" Winter explained a little more gently, trying not to disappoint any student " …I would also like that son accompanied me"
"Of course," Neil leaned forward as a sign of respect, then looked for Waylon with his eyes "Waylon, you are excused for today"
Waylon nodded somewhat nervously, passing through the ball of students that had formed around Ruby, the boy was forced to push past a few people to get to his mother's side, simply remaining completely silent as he waited for his mother and cousin finished signing notebooks and some faces.
...
Winter, Waylon and Ruby walked in an incredibly awkward silence down the hallway towards the company's CEO's office, Waylon already walked through this same hallway hundreds of times when he was a child, although he used to do it accompanied by his father, It felt like something totally new and unknown to him.
Winter opened the door firmly, finding a tall man, dressed in a brown formal suit with gold lines on the edges, the man's skin was just as dark as his hair that fell back in the form of drags, Winter frowned with some irritation as she recognized the man, Ivan Cox.
"Winter" Ivan called, smiling slightly "I wanted to talk to you about…some business, but it seems like you brought a couple of guests"
Winter turned around, apparently half-ignoring the man "Ruby, Waylon, this is Ivan, from Cox Industries, he's a weapons supplier for Nexorum in Phimisal…our meeting wasn't supposed to be today"
Ivan laughed, taking a crystal glass from Winter's desk and drinking some of the Whiskey that the woman always kept nearby "I wanted to talk to you before returning to Phimisal, but it seems that it will have to be another time" The man did not seem to want to talk, so he left the room calmly, giving Waylon and Ruby an interested look.
Ruby looked to her side with a tired smile, looking at her cousin "Hey, Waylon, could you give me a moment alone with your mother? I'm sure you want to talk to her and maybe me, but there is something very important that I need to discuss"
Waylon snorted a little disappointed, he didn't make any effort to hide it, he simply nodded and spoke one last time "Sure"
Waylon left the office and began to walk through the hallways calmly, Ruby finally closed the door behind her somewhat slowly, trying to control her emotions.
"I managed to intercept one of the Schnee Corp trucks on the outskirts of the kingdom...Felicia was able to create some cartridge-shaped bombs" Ruby put her hand inside her cloak, throwing the cylindrical-shaped object to Winter's table, where the latter looked at the small cartridge with interest, managing to find her family's symbol in the middle "...Anything to say?"
"I don't understand your concern, it's a weapon" Winter looked quite calm, sitting in her chair as she continued her analysis of the object "Its mechanism is supposed to be complex, Felicia must be a genius to be able to take it apart without bursting it in the process"
Ruby rubbed the sides of her head with anger, trying to calm the incoming migraine at Winter's words, the black-haired woman was feeling a bit panicked because of how dangerous that sound weapon was, It wasn't normal how powerful it was, It would kill any faunus in a matter of seconds.
"This thing can kill any faunus nearby, or at least deafen them" Ruby explained, dropping her index finger firmly on the glass desk, tapping it a few times "Winter, why the hell were you sending this to Phimisal?"
Winter did not respond immediately, but rather looked at the cartridge once again with an expression of doubt, she did not seem very convinced about telling Ruby the truth, after all, the cartridge that acted as a sound bomb was not a public weapon.
It had been personally created in this very building, with the purpose of being sent directly to the Phimisal government and also to Mistral, Schnee Corporations usually only responded to the needs of Vale and Atlas as a kingdom, but the request for the bombs sound was a rather interesting exception.
The council of Phimisal and Mistral's practically begged for the manufacture of these bombs, Winter considered the reasons of both kingdoms for such a request, she was more than aware that the amount of decibels that the scream could generate were more than capable of killing a faunus, reading the file that both kingdoms gave her was, worrying.
"You know the Black Fang, right?" Winter began to speak, standing up and looking at the city of Vale through the huge window of her office.
Ruby nodded, still with a frown decorating her face "Yes, they are a pro-faunus movement from Mistral with aggressive methods, even worse than those used by Sienna Kahn or Adam Taurus, what does it have to do with the bombs?"
"The Black Fang is taking more and more towns in Mistral, they are becoming stronger over time and Phimisal is suffering from attacks in its lower city, so they need specific weapons to be able to put an end to that threat" Winter explained completely calmly, staring as Ruby grew annoyed with each passing second.
"Are you serious?! You just created deadly weapons?! We're not supposed to kill, Winter, we-" Ruby was interrupted by Winter, who seemed a little more involved in the conversation than before.
"Blake and Yang murdered Adam, Qrow has killed more than I can imagine and I myself left my father in a cell for General Ironwood to kill him in cold blood" Winter slammed her glass desk with some force "I was a soldier, Ruby, I know what to do when it's necessary, ideologies don't matter when a war is about to destroy hundreds of thousands of lives"
Ruby clenched her hands tightly, staring at her aunt, searching for some kind of doubt in her eyes, finding only firmness and hardness, she didn't seem to doubt her words, no, she was very convinced.
"That's all? Will you simply risk the lives of millions? The tribe already has access to these weapons, Winter, this cartridge managed to put me on the ground, what could it do to a bunch of innocent faunus unlucky enough to be in the wrong place at the wrong time...what could it do to your son? " Ruby smiled as she saw Winter's expression falter for a second, the mention of her son temporarily distracting her.
"You want Felicia, right? Okay" Winter growled, activating her Neo-Scroll and beginning to sort out a series of prompts, sending them to a contact assigned as Velvet "Ex Requiem will be sent to Atlas for some modifications...Felicia will probably intercept the armored with the weapon inside"
Winter created a quick map of the route the vehicle would use to get to the airship port at the edge of the city, sending it to Ruby in the blink of an eye "Contact me when you're done…tell Waylon to come in when you meet him"
"This isn't over, Winter" Ruby stated in a low hiss, turning around and approaching the entrance somewhat dramatically, opening the doors with her hands "You should think better about your methods of help, or else you won't be very different from Jacques Schnee"
Winter watched Ruby leave the room, the woman quickly opened the bottom drawer of her desk and took out a rubber ball, beginning to squeeze it, feeling a sudden wave of anger pass through her body, her mind seemed to want to remind her of her father, Jacques, a key piece in the fall of Atlas and Ironwood's loss of sanity.
She never compared herself to him, Schnee Corporations had provided hundreds of thousands of jobs throughout Remnant, any type of person with sufficient skills and knowledge were capable of working in her company, faunus were welcome as long as they gave the maximum effort, just like humans.
Under the command of Jacques Schnee, multiple tragedies occurred that stained the company's honor, multiple uncontrolled acts of racism in the mines and a considerable salary difference for humans and faunus, without exaggeration, Adam Taurus became a monster under the command of Jacques, but Ruby still dares to compare her with him?
It was an incredible lack of respect, Winter worked in unimaginable ways to get to where she is, she sacrificed everything, her mental and physical stability, her interpersonal relationships, she didn't even spend enough time with her son for that very reason.
She is different from Jacques, she knows it very well, and with that though, Winter completely destroyed the rubber ball with her bare hands.
...
Half an hour later
Waylon felt relatively strange when analyzing the new environment in which he found himself, an ordinary domestic room, equipped with a television, some furniture, a regular kitchen and a somewhat long wooden table with a capacity for several people, the room had a smell of strawberries straight from Atlesian laboratories, which made the boy even more nervous.
It was Winter's newest addition to her office, a kind of small house equipped enough to meet her comfort standards, apparently, Winter needed to be closer to her office than ever, so it was better to sleep in comfortable conditions so as not to degrade further physically.
Waylon bit his lip as he thought that his mother wouldn't be with Qrow much longer.
"Sorry for that" Winter placed a plate of vegetables with a meat stew in front of her son, pushing the circular object forward a little "Your cousin was a little… chatty"
"Was it something bad?" The boy asked, staring at his mother.
"It's related to the company and an investigation she's doing, nothing you should worry about" Winter stated bluntly, grabbing the support of a chair and dragging it back, sitting right in front of her son "Let's better talk about you"
"Of course" Waylon felt nerves flood through his body, beginning to imagine all kinds of comments from his mother, some good, and most definitely analytical.
Winter began to eat calmly, carefully observing her son at all times, trying to look for any weakness in his neutral face, she knew he was nervous, but not how much.
"I heard you became a team leader, WBRN, right?" Winter asked, receiving a simple nod from her son "Well, you lead your cousin and your nephews…everything is fine with Roy?"
"I'm working on it" Waylon responded in the most normal tone he could find, internally screaming as he saw his mother's frown "We had difficulties a few weeks ago, he didn't want to follow orders because of our lack of communication these last few years"
"I never supported the way my sister raised Roy" Winter didn't seem to have any kind of pain or remorse as she said these words, as if criticizing Weiss was quite normal "The boy is weak, genetics couldn't do him justice, he doesn't have Weiss's dexterity nor is he an aura tank like Jaune, maybe it has to do with the fact that he was born prematurely"
"He born prematurely?" Waylon asked strangely, he had not heard anything related to the subject from his cousin.
"Roy was born 2 months early, Weiss had a lot of difficulty giving birth without losing a lot of blood, and that's probably why he's not as strong as you, your uncle Whitley was also born prematurely" Winter took a sip of his glass of water, taking a few seconds to speak again.
"Still, I'm glad you were able to reconnect with him, I know it was difficult to walk away, but it was necessary to bring out your full potential" Winter said with a small curve of her lips, showing a smile, which faded when she seemed to remember something "…Is it true that you had an outburst of anger in your first combat class?"
Waylon cursed himself internally, he must have considered many factors before losing control and going beyond what was necessary, his honor was insulted and he decided to defend it with his own hands, even so, he was much more clumsy and aggressive than usual, he may have lost for the first time in years, and all because of a simple statement.
"He said that the tournaments I won were gifts from you, Schnee Corporations financed several competitions I won and...I felt like he was attacking my legacy, that he was attacking you, and-" Waylon was interrupted when Winter calmly raised her right hand, giving him the sign to be silent.
"I raised you better than your grandfather did with me, our legacy is sacred, but there is no need to degrade yourself like an immature child because of that, we must maintain class, show a cold and stoic face before our enemies…" The woman crossed her hands under her chin, looking at her son while practically criticizing him "Do you really think I gave you an advantage in those tournaments? I made you strong, Waylon, I have harnessed your potential in the best way possible, and you decide to simply lose control and only raise more suspicions about your victories and mine?
"Mom-" Waylon quickly wanted to apologize, being interrupted by a loud bang on the table, coming from his own mother.
"The only thing I expect from you is perfection, I don't need your insecurities to affect your performance, one day, you will be the head of this company, and if you don't manage to put it on a pillar of glory greater than the one I put it on... then you are not more than a disappointment" Winter's words were cold and painful for the boy, who couldn't help but bow his head and simply resign himself to suffering inside.
Winter took a few more seconds to collect her thoughts "But…since you are so determined to protect our honor, I have a task for you"
Waylon raised his head quickly, his eyes lighting softly with a spark of hope.
"A weapon will be transported, tonight, Ruby will be the one to watch it but I don't trust her judgment too much...on the other hand, you seem prepared to serve as support, and even take the credit, you must protect the vehicle and the weapon at all costs from Felicia, obtaining information about her and the tribe is incredibly essential, any type of information is welcome" Winter explained with a firm and confident tone, Waylon remembered that was part of the Atlesian militia, which explained her voice.
"…I won't let you down" Waylon said, placing a hand on his chest with determination "The weapon will be protected…I promise."
"…Good" Winter smiled softly, standing up gently "Eat your plate before you go, I had a hard time cutting that"
"O-Of course!" Waylon began to eat quickly, not caring if he choked in the process.
...
Felicia's teeth were still hurting.
Several days had passed since the unwanted encounter between her and Ruby Rose, the possibility of defeating the biggest impediment to the tribe's plan had been in front of her without much difficulty, but her need to show off ended with a good cane across her entire jaw, which cut out her tongue and left her crying at Raven's feet.
Felicia adjusted her tall wizard hat better, even if she had been seriously injured recently, her responsibilities as part of the tribe had to continue to be attended to, in the Branwen territory new faces are not so usual, most of the time the members who joined the ranks tended to be descendants of other members, very rarely were they outsiders, and even more so if they were from the kingdoms.
She was lucky, of course, her semblance and her intelligence managed to attract the attention of the three leaders who managed the tribe, her stay in the territories had been intriguing, although also overwhelming, learning about the philosophy of the bandits had not been easy, they are strange and have a slightly old-fashioned way of seeing life.
The strong are those fit to live.
In the Branwen tribe there was a hierarchy of pure strength, the weak were the ones who had to work much harder than the rest and were more likely to be left behind in a battle, also to be abused in different ways by the strong, who usually took advantage of their resources to get what they wanted.
To Felicia's surprise, the weak were certainly few compared to the rest, usually because they did not become part of the tribe in the first place, or, in the process, were killed at the mere whim of their superiors.
Felicia could be considered more than strong, her intelligence and semblance made her practically unattainable for any normal bandit, she had the honor of being able to speak directly with Raven whenever she wanted, and even treat her as a kind of friend.
Raven snapped her fingers in front of Felicia, breaking her out of her thoughts "Did you hear what I said?"
"What?" Felicia murmured, not really understanding what was happening.
"Ivan contacted me, the microphone he installed in Winter Schnee's office gave us valuable information" Raven explained calmly, not fazed by the lack of attention on Felicia's part "A weapon will be transported tonight, apparently they want to trap you in the way to the Bull-Heads ports, I will have to help you this time"
"I guess it's inevitable" Felicia shrugged, downplaying the matter "So, all the Beacon teachers will be there, right? Yang, Nora, Ren, Cardin-"
"Ruby Rose" Raven interrupted Felicia, a frown adorning her forehead "It will be her against the two of us, it should be easy to defeat her and steal the weapon"
"That's weird, I thought Beacon would send us their entire army" Felicia murmured with some curiosity.
"From what I understand, Ruby Rose works alone, she doesn't get help even from my daughter or anyone else" Raven turned around, taking Omen firmly in her hand "Get ready"
"It's okay, I have to go to the dentist anyway" Felicia accompanied Raven and they both left the cabin, being greeted by the sight of the spacious camp filled with multiple bandits.
The atmosphere was as threatening as always, some of the bandits barely looked up to recognize Felicia, while the majority simply lowered their heads as a sign of respect to Raven, who appreciated the gesture.
Felicia looked at all the weapons located in small wooden boxes, guns, swords, axes, spears, daggers, and best of all, some technological beauties such as the small sound bombs in the form of cartridges, Schnee Corporations had genius of technology.
They both walked to the entrance, a series of somewhat old and worn vehicles were placed in a perfect row, there were certain gaps which indicated that there were trucks in use, Felicia simply shrugged her shoulders, approaching one and opening the door, sitting comfortably in the driver's seat.
Raven approached the window, addressing Felicia "I'm flying to the city, it's a few hours away, so we'll get there on time…I'd use one of my portals, but my brother might get suspicious"
"I get it, I get it" Felicia raised both hands in defeat "I'll see you there Rae, remember that you have to take your medicine if you don't want to get gray hair and end up the same or worse than the guy who sold ramen around town"
"Funny" Raven said scathingly, her body fading for a moment and she transformed into a crow, beginning to fly through the air.
Felicia sighed, starting the vehicle and getting used to how much it shook due to the lack of maintenance, without waiting any longer she stepped hard on the accelerator, beginning her journey to the city.
Ruby slipped through one of Beacon's windows with some difficulty, entering like a normal student was not very convenient when everyone knows you and wants to take a photo with you, so the legendary Huntress was forced not to use her legs again.
Ruby had felt a little strange and worried about Winter's message, in which she was told that Waylon would be part of the small operation to catch Felicia, the black-haired woman thought about refusing outright, if there was something she had learned with so many years of experience and the fact of having had to save the world at the age of 17, someone with experience was needed.
She was not ready when Beacon fell, but she was forced to make difficult decisions, luckily for her, those decisions ended up being the most appropriate and she managed to save Remnant, Waylon is somewhat older than she was when she began her journey, but he still had very limited experience.
Waylon had many achievements in terms of academics, however, Felicia Torchwick is not a simple Beowolf in the middle of the meadow, no, she is much more dangerous and clever, being able to even get trouble and escape without much real consequence.
Even so, Winter had been clear, Waylon had to participate in the protection of the vehicle and as support, the white-haired woman had her reasons, she wanted to test her son's skill and how prepared he was to have to face complicated situations, Ruby simply accepted, she didn't want to have any more discussions with her legal aunt.
Ruby stopped when she collided squarely with someone, forcing her to stop and have to look up, meeting her smiling sister, Yang wrapped her arms around the silver-eyed woman, squeezing her back and making her moan in pain.
"Ruby, you look good" Yang stated, releasing her after a couple of seconds "What are you doing here? Will you have a secret dinner with Oscar? I promise to turn a deaf ear"
"Sounds good" Ruby said, smiling a little mischievously, the gesture lasting a little as she remembered why she was at the academy in the first place "I'm looking for Waylon, I need to talk to him about…uh, some things"
"What kind of things?" Yang asked interested.
"Safe things, like, Blazblue" Ruby lied, feeling her gaze sharpen "Ok, not that, he asked for advice on how to be a team leader, and I decided to come talk about it in person, he said he was having some problems and here I am"
"It sounds strange, but okay" Yang shrugged, moving away to give her sister space "You'll love the WBRN team, it's like seeing yourself in a mirror"
"Then we should see the cafeteria, maybe it's not as trashed as we left it" Ruby commented with nostalgia in her voice, smiling softly as she remembered how Glynda scolded them shortly after leaving the academy's food court in ruins "I'm sorry I can't catch up with you, I have to leave in a few hours to continue looking for Felicia"
"Blake and I could give you a hand with that" Yang said casually, although it was more than obvious that she was trying to persuade Ruby "…You already said no with that look"
Ruby laughed softly, giving Yang a quick pat on the shoulder and starting to walk towards the hallway, but not before saying something else "Have fun, Yang, I'm already used to the weight I carry on my shoulders"
Ruby walked away from her sister and walked down the hallway calmly, It was strange that there weren't any students at the windows or similar, probably because they were usually out on campus, plus there were clubs, so there were also students performing activities for their respective clubs.
Ruby stopped when she found the location of the WBRN team, without much more than waiting she knocked on the door a couple of times, patiently waiting for a response, she managed to hear some aggressive movements inside, before Neithan Rose opened it.
Neithan had his eyes closed, in addition to having a frown on his forehead "We're a little busy, who are you-" The boy opened his eyes slowly, recognizing his mother easily, the silver-eyed boy barely took a second to pounce on his mother, hugging her very tightly.
"Mom! What are you doing here?" Neithan's question caused the rest of the WBRN team to look around, allowing the teens to recognize the woman.
"Aunt Ruby" Bryan murmured, somewhat surprised, quickly approaching her and wrapping her in a hug much softer than Neithan's "It's good to see you"
Roy repeated that same action, taking the woman's left arm and hugging it firmly "It's been a while, Aunt Ruby, we were a little busy with our team tactics, specifically, Checkmate"
Ruby laughed softly, patting the three boys' heads in succession "Waylon, I see you were a little inspired by my ideas"
Waylon got up from the ground in an agile movement, leaving his sketchbook aside and striding until he was in front of Ruby, smiling with happiness and arrogance "Of course I would do that, your team and mine have many characteristics in common, Of course we have different options, having two Schnee-Glyps users-"
"I wanted to talk to you about what your mother told me" Ruby quickly interrupted him, tensing the red-eyed man slightly, and then addressed the rest of the team "Tonight there will be a transfer of a Schnee Corporations prototype weapon, Ex Requiem, we have a theory that Felicia could intercept it, so we'll use it as bait, Winter informed me that Waylon would serve as support"
Bryan, Roy and Neithan opened their eyes, clearly shocked by what would happen tonight, yet it didn't take long for them to turn their attention to their leader, smiling in varying degrees as they began to speak.
"We can test Final Blast" Roy commented softly, placing his hand on the handle of his rapier out of mere instinct.
"Catching Felicia sounds great, imagine, Waylon, we would be so popular" Bryan couldn't help but laugh, starting to move his fingers to calm his excitement.
"She humiliated me in that Dust store, we should catch her and tie her to a tree, maybe hit her with a bat" Neithan commented with adorable malice, although his expression changed to an embarrassed one when Ruby gave him a small blow on the forehead.
Waylon's lips curved into a soft smile when he saw the enthusiasm of his team, the red-eyed man felt for a brief moment how all that set of positive emotions were transmitted to him, so his brain began to think about a team strategy quick and efficient to defeat Felicia.
Waylon managed to come up with a couple of basic strategies but they would work pretty well, Bryan could subdue Felicia with ease, he was the strongest of all, Roy could perfectly use his glyphs to force the magician to be on the move at all times, while Neithan could limit her by enclosing her in a ring of fire, Winter only expected perfection from him with this assignment.
He stopped his hand on top of his notebook, scratching the cover with his fingernail, perfection, Waylon evaluated his companions' abilities for the mission a little more calmly, Roy had a lack of energy and aura that could play a crucial role in a quick exchange, Bryan was somewhat slow, Neithan was still too young and did not coordinate well with the rest.
Waylon couldn't help but feel a little strange about the situation, Winter needed this operation to go perfectly, failure could mean a major loss for Schnee Corporations and a victory for the Branwen tribe, the WBRN team had talent and a lot of potential, but still It was a newly formed team with little experience together.
Waylon was very confident in his own abilities, unlike the rest, he excels in every possible area, attack, defense, speed, intelligence and aura, maybe, and just maybe, his team could become a burden for him.
"…I think it would be better if I did this alone, with Ruby" Waylon said, his voice coming out smaller than he intended "My mother expects the best from me, and we haven't had decent communication in the last few years, so -"
"You're leaving us behind" Roy stated, less upset than Waylon might think, although there was still a hint of disappointment in his voice "You still don't trust us"
"It's not that, Roy-" Waylon tried to explain, although he was interrupted once again, this time by Bryan.
"It's okay, we understand, you received training for as long as you can remember, you trust your abilities more" Bryan tried to form a smile on his face, although he only managed a crooked grimace.
Neithan sighed softly, frowning in annoyance "Do you think I'm a weak and useless child? RIGHT? You know what, it doesn't matter, I thought we were getting along well, but I see you're still an idiot"
"Neithan!" Ruby scolded him, now standing next to Waylon "Don't blame him for this, guys, a leader's decisions are not easy, believe me, I know from experience, if Waylon thinks it's better for him to take care of this, then accept it"
Neithan sighed irritably, throwing himself onto his bed and covering himself with the blanket in a clumsy movement that was clearly the result of a tantrum, Ruby only sighed with some confusion, Roy remained silent and sat at the desk next to the door, beginning to read a book, trying to hide his displeasure.
"I, uh" Bryan tried his best to ignore the now tense atmosphere in the room, so he opened the door and smiled at his aunt as naturally as possible "I'm going to go to HARM's room to look for Monica, yes, or maybe I'll go to mom's office…I don't know, don't look for me!" Bryan ran as fast as he could, leaving the rest of his team and Ruby completely alone.
There was no real need to stay in the room any longer, so Ruby and Waylon retreated to Oscar's office, explaining the situation in full, the Headmaster of Beacon agreed to let Waylon stay off campus for the entire day, in addition to having insisted that Ruby tell him the result of the mission and the performance of the young Branwen.
The hours passed faster than Ruby and Waylon would have thought, the atmosphere in the streets of Vale was strangely gloomy and quiet, not a single soul seemed to have had the courage to look out and see the most famous Huntress in the entire world at first glance, which was strangely comforting for the black-haired girl.
Ruby felt the need to review the small discussion of the WBRN team and how genuinely strange it seemed to her, Roy's attitude was something to be expected, since she knew due to Weiss that he and Waylon had a certainly tense relationship and that it would be difficult for them to connect in everything now that they were a team, but it was not impossible.
Bryan's reaction was predictable, Ruby knew her nephew very well and his very pleasant and certainly innocent way of behaving, always putting the well-being and emotions of others first before his own, although he also seemed somewhat disappointed by Waylon's decision.
The one who was more strange to Ruby was her own son, Neithan.
Neithan reacted aggressively and even somewhat childishly, Ruby would have expected the occasional adorable pout or a comical lament, however, her son's words were biting and certainly unnatural for him, calling his cousin an idiot? Be a useless and weak child?
Ruby couldn't keep her thoughts in her head, so it didn't take her long to ask her cousin "Hey...do you know what's going on with Neithan?"
Waylon did not respond immediately, because he had not been paying attention to his surroundings and also seemed to have immersed himself in his mind, so he responded simply "It's none of my business, maybe you should talk to him"
"…Are you feeling okay?" Ruby asked, placing a gentle hand on the boy's shoulder "That talk seemed tough for you"
"It wasn't, I just did what I felt was right, they're not ready for this kind of thing yet...I'm not ready either, but I trained for this my whole life" Waylon said firmly, looking at Ruby with determination "You understand, right?
"Each leader manages their team as they sees fit, if you think this is the best, then you should try it" Ruby smiled softly "But... I don't think you should push them away for fear that Winter will be disappointed in you"
"All my life I have destroyed my limits to be good enough for her, her expectations are always at the top, and I must exceed them" Waylon grabbed part of his hair, sinking his fingers into each strand with some force "I need to prove to her that I am strong, I am good enough to deserve to be her son"
Ruby felt the need to respond fiercely and openly insult her legal aunt, however, she could see that it was more than obvious that Waylon would choose the side in favor of his mother, even so, she felt a certain repulsion at seeing the way of thinking so strange of the boy.
"The vehicle will leave in a few minutes" Waylon stood up from the bench, looking at the sky adorned by the shattered moon "What's the plan?"
"You might want to write this down in your notebook, it's not every day I give out free strategies" Ruby laughed softly, beginning to explain her plan in great detail.
...
The Schnee Corporations armored vehicle was perfectly armored with layers of iron and steel that completely covered the truck, the company logo has a gray color instead of the usual white, in addition to the tires having two plates that partially cover the rubber.
Waylon gave the truck a quick check, his eyes barely able to assess the vehicle due to the drizzle that limited his vision for short but constant periods of time, forcing him to place his arm at the height of his forehead.
"The rain could complicate transportation" the driver said, his raspy voice clearly affected by age "We'll go slowly so you can watch our backs"
"Understood" Ruby nodded, simply letting the strong drops of water hit her face with complete freedom "I'll be on the lookout for any kind of interruption from the front, Waylon, you should watch our backs"
"Don't worry" Waylon sighed lightly, summoning a copy of Harbinger and placing it on his lower back, jumping onto the roof, an action that was replicated by Ruby, he focused all his attention on the back of the truck, while she stayed low and focused on what was happening in front.
Sooner or later, the vehicle began to move at a moderate speed, Waylon and Ruby put their brains to work as quickly as possible, sharpening their gaze to be able to discern the shadows that loomed over the dark city of Vale, which continued in darkness and unusual silence.
Ruby felt the need to close her eyes for a moment, running her hand over her forehead as she tried to calm an incoming migraine, her head began to throb in a somewhat subtle but annoying way, a deafening ringing reaching her ears, causing her to I moaned from the unpleasant sensation.
"Are you OK?" Waylon asked, turning slightly to look at his cousin, finding her kneeling, the boy walked cautiously towards her, making sure not to be thrown back by the movement of the truck, the red-eyed placed his hand on Ruby's neck, finding that she was quite warm "Do you have a fever?"
"My aura…?" Ruby sighed, confused, her aura was still active normally, so her concern increased a little more "My aura is still here, what the hell…"
The truck moved somewhat violently for a moment, Waylon staggered backwards and was forced to support himself with his summoned sword, when he checked the origin of the movement, he found that it had been a simple pothole in the street.
"Ruby?" Waylon called his cousin, finding her body lying completely on the metal floor, he approached her quickly and took her by the shoulders, shaking her "Ruby?!" Shit! What the hell is going on?"
Ruby gasped hard, getting up with some difficulty as she tried to recover, her head was spinning and her stomach seemed to want to release everything she had eaten that day, the woman managed to stand up completely, somewhat wobbly, being helped by her cousin.
Ruby's eyes sharpened as she recognized a black crow staring at her, the bird's pupils were infused with a deep red, putting Ruby on full alert.
"Raven" Ruby whispered, her body vanished in a cloud of petals and she headed in the direction of the raven, even if her brain seemed to want to explode and burst her skull, her determination managed to ignore the pain.
"Ruby!" He screamed, Waylon sighed a little nervously, realizing that he was now alone, his thoughts began to race and create hypothetical scenarios due to the mere presence of his aunt, he didn't know much about Raven Branwen, but what he did know was enough to make him nervous.
Raven Branwen was the spring maiden, in addition to being his biological aunt, he had never had any contact with her, he saw her in person, so the feeling of fear crossing his back was unfamiliar to him.
The only maid he knew was his mother, if Raven caused chaos-
Waylon's thoughts were interrupted when the truck was hit by a rocket-like projectile, completely shattering the front window and moving the vehicle violently until it overturned, the boy felt his aura burst as he fell to the ground, feeling his head hit the concrete painfully.
Waylon's vision was somewhat blurry, his eyes could not clearly identify what was in front of him, in addition to hearing some moans inside the vehicle, it must be the driver, the boy's feet began to move slowly, with the purpose to approach the truck to help the man.
"Waylon Branwen, right? You're more handsome in person" A female voice caught the boy's attention, her tone had something of mischief and mockery, so he looked up to identify her, she was dressed like a magician, at the woman's feet there was a rocket launcher with smoke, so he only need a few more seconds to connect the wires.
"Felicia Torchwick" Waylon murmured, standing up and slowly approaching the back of the overturned truck, finding himself with a sword surrounded by monitors with broken screens "You're…pretty too, I guess"
Felicia laughed, doing some juggling with Melodic Cudgel "That sword over there looks interesting, don't you want me to take a look at it? I swear to return it"
Waylon growled, taking the weapon and gripping it tightly, the sword had a curved edge on a single edge, the length was practically identical to Harbinger's, although unlike his father's sword, this one had multiple tubes and gears just a few centimeters above the handle surrounded by simple cloth, the weapon of a dark grayish color was completely unknown to the boy, so the disadvantages became more noticeable with each passing second.
One more quick look revealed a little more information, the letters VS engraved on the underside of the blade, as well as a trigger located on the top of the handle.
And to accompany it, also the name of the weapon on one of the destroyed monitors, Ex Requiem.
Waylon checked his Neo-Scroll, finding the clock-shaped device completely destroyed "Felicia, right? I heard you gave my cousin a hard time, I'm not Neithan, I'm not that easy to defeat"
"Your aura is below red" Felicia mentioned, shrugging her shoulders and raising her cane in the direction of Waylon "Give me the sword and you can leave with a kiss on the cheek"
Waylon did not respond to the provocation, but instead propelled himself forward with his right leg and moved Ex Requiem in a spin, finding himself impressed to understand that the weapon was lighter than his Harbinger summon, so he managed to push Felicia away.
Waylon raised the weapon and tried to cut the woman, the sword met Melodic Cudgel, starting a struggle that ended with the cane winning, allowing Felicia to kick the boy directly in the stomach.
"Shit" Waylon cursed under his breath, leaning on the gun as he looked at Felicia, who didn't seem to be putting in any effort to fight, he had to change her strategy, or else he would end up losing the weapon.
He would end up disappointing Winter.
Waylon decided to try his luck, so he pulled the trigger with more effort than necessary, causing the gears to begin to spin and the weapon to be infused with blue particles, beginning to tremble and shake gently.
The boy stood up from the ground and swung the weapon towards Felicia's stomach, the woman placed her staff vertically to evade the attack, being surprised when Melodic Cudgel ended up being thrown into the air, leaving her unarmed.
"That's weird-" Felicia whispered in confusion, her face was hit hard by the edge of the weapon, feeling a fairly direct heat on her right cheek as she stumbled backwards, what energy was that sword using?
Waylon smiled fiercely, once again striking Felicia directly with the sword, managing to confuse her and allowing him to punch her in the jaw hard enough to knock her to the ground.
Waylon picked up Ex Requiem, preparing her to give one last blow to Felicia, to his misfortune, the woman created a strange small cartridge, throwing it directly at Waylon, the small object exploded in the air, leaving a powerful and deafening sound wave to spread.
The red-eyed man staggered clumsily to the sides, his ears filled with a horrible noise that bounced off his eardrums constantly, his head began to ache deeply, almost as if a chisel was being hammered into his skull, Waylon failed to avoid Melodic Cudgel's direct blow to the face, managing to fall to the ground.
"I...didn't...expect you...to do that" Felicia sighed, clearly irritated "It would be a shame to deform that face, but you deserve it..."
Waylon noticed that Felicia was equally stunned, although to a lesser extent by the sonic explosion, with the little effort he managed to muster he weakly pushed her forward, managing to free himself from her and falling directly to the ground.
Felicia gasped from the pain and dizziness that was present in her mind, her feet tripped over each other as she turned around due to the crunching of glass, when she looked, she found the driver of the vehicle, his head bleeding from the pieces of glass embedded in his skin, the man's fingers were slowly marking something on his latest generation Scroll, although he didn't seem to be doing it very well, since the flesh of his fingers was completely red from the wounds and irritation.
"Are you going to call your boss?" Felicia asked angrily, approaching the man as quickly as she could and grabbing him by the neck, tightening her grip until he whimpered in pain "I trust in the boy…let's do it hard? Huh? Maybe seeing someone die in front of him and not being able to save them is enough to break his mind"
The man opened his mouth to respond, only to be slammed to the ground when the woman let him go, Felicia placed her boot on top of the driver's head, beginning to crush him with increasing force, drawing moans and cries of pain from him.
Waylon looked around, his brain was pumping blood as fast as it could while the energies returned to his body, there didn't seem to be anyone around, the nearby buildings seemed to have people living in them, although it's not like they did much to help, they were probably there, silently lamenting or praying, they did not want to get involved directly.
Waylon couldn't help but gritted his teeth in helplessness.
The boy felt a slight itch in his hand, as he looked, Ex Requiem emitted a white and bluish energy that seemed to have completely accumulated on the edge, the gears turned furiously, creating sparks and a screech due to the constantly colliding metal, Waylon squeezed his fingers and readied the gun, swinging it forward with all his might and pulling the trigger.
The edge of the sword released a wave of energy with a curved shape, traveling through the air at high speed and hitting Felicia squarely, breaking her aura in an instant and moving her away from the man, preventing him from dying.
Waylon sighed in relief.
The boy dragged his feet as best he could, approaching the driver and looking for signs of lethal damage, his head was dripping with blood and his body was bruised, the small copper metal plate displayed his name, John Hellman.
"John, calm down, you'll be fine" Waylon murmured, his voice was full of fear and nerves, he didn't believe his own words "Ruby will come back… I'm sure"
John did not respond, he seemed to have lost consciousness a while ago, Waylon sighed in fear as he checked Felicia's condition, finding that she was no longer there, the boy maintained his grip on Ex Requiem, the weapon was secured, he accomplished his objective, no?
So why did he felt like he failed?
...
Ruby's foot slipped due to the accumulation of water caused by the rain, the woman groaned irritably, raised her head and found the figure of Raven, standing on top of the edge of the small apartment complex in which they had both stopped, or rather, where Ruby could no longer continue.
"Your willpower is impressive" Raven began to speak, without even looking at Ruby "I recommend you stay away, there would be no honor in murdering you like this...and besides, Yang would hate me for life"
"You act like you care about her" Ruby said venomously, trying to get up with the help of her arms, failing quickly "What…what the hell do you want? Why do you use Felicia? The war against Salem ended more than 20 years ago, Raven, you shouldn't be against us"
"The lifestyle that Qrow chose is not according to me, Ruby, I have been a bandit since I was born, I was raised to survive" Raven finally turned around, looking with contempt at her opponent "This world is corrupt, the Huntsmen are just an excuse for protectors, how many people have died because of their greed? How many have perished due to their lack of action? Your mother died because of Ozpin"
"My mother died for wanting to do the right thing" Ruby gasped, her silver eyes infused with rage "You are a murderer, your tribe has taken the lives of thousands, no, millions of people, all for a useless feeling of power, you are not better than all those Huntsmen, you're just as pitiful as them"
"You're not-" Raven was going to respond with her biting tone, however, her Scroll vibrated indicating an incoming message, upon reading it, Felicia's condition became more than clear, the operation had been a failure, soon, the police would be here "…It seems that Waylon managed to stop Felicia"
Ruby's heart stopped at that precise moment, she had left Waylon alone, how the hell could she forget?
"Waylon's talent is being wasted by Beacon, my brother made him weak," Raven commented casually, walking past Ruby as she continued to writhe from the throbbing pain in her head "This…little war we have is going to end badly, and when the time comes to choose the right side, he will end up much worse than me"
Raven transformed into a crow and took flight, completely ignoring the rain that hit her bird-shaped body, Ruby let out a scream of pure anger, firmly hitting the concrete of the building, cracking it halfway.
"Waylon…" The woman murmured, standing up after an inhuman effort, her body vanished and a cloud of petals filled the drizzly atmosphere, heading towards her cousin's current location.
...
The ambulances and patrol cars arrived sooner than Ruby would have thought, the police and doctors were doing their best job trying to figure out what had happened, apparently, the driver of the vehicle was terribly injured and needed urgent attention, Waylon, on the other hand, had superficial wounds, although his ears and eardrums had been damaged by a sound bomb, courtesy of Felicia.
Ruby approached her cousin, who was sitting on the edge of the back of a patrol car, the boy raised his head weakly as he recognized the woman, making Ruby's stomach turn slightly.
"Are you OK?" She asked, checking his face, feeling guilty as she saw cuts and a trail of blood coming from the boy's ear "I'm sorry…I'm so sorry"
Waylon didn't answer anything, the nails of his fingers dug into his palms hard, revealing a growing anger rising in his body "I failed...we were supposed to defeat Felicia and capture her...protect the weapon, but, I failed, the driver is in a coma, he might not wake up for weeks, he has a family…two kids, his wife is unemployed, what the hell are they supposed to do without him?"
"This is my fault" Ruby stated, cupping the boy's cheeks firmly "If I hadn't left you, if my emotions hadn't taken control of me-"
"That doesn't matter, I was supposed to prepare myself for this since I was a child, what am I supposed to be now? A damned failure" Waylon said with fury, although, to his dismay, his crimson eyes were clouded by a curtain of tears, which began to come out rather quickly "My…mother, she will be disappointed, Winter expects great things from me, how can I be worthy of your love and attention when I am unable to protect our legacy?"
"What?…" Ruby murmured, not quite understanding the boy's words, even so, she decided to ignore his words for the moment "You did what you could, okay? You defeated her, the driver will be fine, we will all be fine, this is part of being a Huntsman, Waylon, we must live with the consequences of our victories and defeats, no matter how much it hurts us"
Waylon let out one last gasp before bursting into tears and sobs, wrapping himself firmly around Ruby's neck and hugging her tightly. The woman said nothing more and agreed to her cousin's silent request, to lend him her shoulder to vent.
...
Winter Schnee reviewed in total silence the results of her son's secret operation with Ruby, the results were somewhat disappointing, Felicia had escaped, although Ex Requiem ended up in Waylon's possession and had been tested, it seemed to be an incredibly powerful weapon, even if it wasn't finished.
Still, she shouldn't settle, the truck driver, John Hellman, had been seriously injured and would spend a few weeks in the hospital, maybe months if the damage to his internal organs was too much for his aura-less body, Winter had to give an explanation to his family, in addition to a small financial help.
Waylon had failed, that was the important thing.
Winter gritted her teeth, her son had failed in his main objective, she expected a much more satisfactory success than the simple possession of the weapon, disappointing results were something not accepted in the Schnee family, Winter would have to take action against her own son, he must improve, no matter what.
"I'd love to know what the hell you got into that kid's head" Ruby Rose pushed open the doors to Winter's office, glaring at her with pure venom "Have you even called him to ask about how he's feeling?"
"The police and doctors have already informed me of everything, nothing the aura can't fix" Winter said coldly, her gaze sharpened towards Ruby "Your failure is irrelevant, Ruby, although it impresses me, however, my son had to overcome this, he's a Schnee, his special abilities should have been useful against Felicia, and even so, he couldn't capture her"
"It's your damn son!" Ruby responded angrily, slamming Winter's desk hard, partially shattering the glass "He feels incredibly guilty for what happened to that driver, I was hoping he would blame me, but no, he himself placed the burden of my failure on himself, his shoulders, and you're just okay with that? Do you let him torture himself with his insecurities?"
"I am making him strong, I decide how I raise my son, his body and mind must adapt to the cruelty of this world, unlike you, I am determined that he continue with my legacy" Winter's eyes let out a small spark of her maiden power, both women were facing each other, almost as if they were ready to start fighting "Your opinion is irrelevant"
"…You know something?" Ruby snorted, turning around and approaching the entrance, giving Winter one last look accompanied by a scathing comment "Your father put you, Weiss, and Whitley through hell, what you do to Waylon is even worse… you're not better than Jacques, you are much worse than him"
Ruby slammed the door with enough force to splinter some of the decorated material, Winter began doing breathing exercises to calm the rising fury in her chest, she wasn't going to lose control, she was better than that, she had dignity and acted like an adult person.
The woman sat back down at her desk, her Scroll had had contact with her son for a couple of hours, Winter had been planning to scold him in many ways, although, right now, she did not feel encouraged enough to insult him.
Add to that, also, the little tantrum of her legal niece just a couple of seconds ago.
Winter sighed irritably, turning off the device and wistfully remembering the arguments she had with her father, stopping quickly before reaching a somewhat disturbing truth.
Winter was just as disappointed in her son, just as Jacques had been in her when she spit on the family legacy in his face.
...
The Beacon terrace was lonely and quiet, just as Waylon expected it to be at such a time of night, unfortunately for him, the lack of company did not seem to be helping his brain, on the contrary, it only made him feel more pitiful.
He hadn't even deigned to knock on the door to tell his teammates what had happened, how could he? He insulted them and their abilities, boasting of being better, however, he turned out to be worse alone that with them, his dignity had also been hurt.
Failure should not be an option, but he was living it and taking it fully, which was incredibly horrible and heavy on his mind, it was practically like being shot directly in the heart, the pain, in this case, was caused by his own consciousness.
Waylon grabbed Ex Requiem tightly and looked back when he heard the pebbles that lined the ground move against each other, the invading person ended up being none other than Riana Ren, dressed in kitty-themed pajamas.
She looked pretty.
"Hey" Riana called, quickly noticing Waylon's swollen eyes "Are you okay?"
"No" He responded, turning around and continuing to stare into the abyss "How did you know I was here?"
"I heard the window open, our rooms are a little close" Riana stated, approaching the boy's side and sitting down carefully "…Did something happen?"
Waylon did not respond immediately, Riana was the daughter of Lie Ren and Nora Valkyrie, two world-class Huntsmen that many young people would definitely kill to have both of them as mentors, Riana, even so, did not seem to want to brag about the legacy she must carry or her last name, rather, he doesn't even seem to care.
"Do you feel like your parents will be disappointed in you if you fail?" Waylon asked, turning slightly to make eye contact with Riana.
"Uh" Riana murmured, feeling a strange sensation from Waylon's sadness-infused gaze "I don't think they are disappointed in me, they support me in everything I do, and they want the best for me"
Waylon stayed silent, looking around the campus with disinterest.
"…Did something happen with your parents?" Riana asked, gently placing her hand on the boy's shoulder "I can talk to you, of course, only if you want"
"…I let my mother down" Waylon shrugged, feeling unable to explain the full context to Riana "She entrusted me with something important and I failed, I put another person's life in danger, how am I supposed to be worthy of carrying on my legacy? Of being the person she wants me to be?"
"How about the person you want to be?" Riana proposed, feeling nervous when Waylon gave her a confused look "I mean, well, I don't know your mother and maybe it's offensive to talk about her without knowing the whole background, but I think she should accept you just as you are, with your qualities and defects, we all fail, Eijiro has failed, my parents have done it in the past... regretting about it is useless, it is better to learn to live with them and continue"
Waylon looked at the girl with wide eyes, completely surprised and confused by her words, continue even knowing that he had failed? What would he mother say? Improving is always an option, but accepting who you are as a whole?
"That…sounds strange" Waylon responded, looking at Riana with a weak but genuine smile "Thanks for the advice"
"I will always be here for you" Riana blushed when she understood the confidence she had to tell him that, fortunately, Waylon's calmer expression confirmed that she had not said anything wrong "…Do you want to go inside and watch TV?"
Waylon laughed softly, standing up from the edge and helping Riana do the same "Sure, just, let's not make too much noise, Neithan goes crazy when they wake him up in the middle of the night"
Riana nodded and they both entered the academy dormitories again, the day had not been good at all for Waylon, and probably the next ones would not be so kind to him either, however, he still has time to understand his mistakes and accept them, and maybe, just maybe, he can put a face to his mother.