Note: Another chapter? Already! Consider this makeup for my tardiness last time. I think we've had enough of a break from the main action; side characters are fun, but that's not what you're here for. It's time to begin the next story arc, and this is something that people have been asking me to do for a long time. I've been holding off until I found the right moment, but now seems like as good of a time as any.
Ruby couldn't sleep. Her dormitory was dark, even blacker than usual as thin pillows of snow blocked the moonlight from outside. Her teammates were fast asleep. Only she could lie there, distracted, her mind consumed. The time escaped her, and she dared not look at her scroll. Her skin was sticky with sweat. The harbinger of her doom had arrived.
It came in the form of an email, at roughly one in the afternoon. Blake received it, and her response was the typical, irritated grunt Ruby had come to expect. Sienna Khan wanted to have lunch with them this coming Saturday. Three days' time. The hour had arrived far sooner than she hoped.
She leaned back against her pillow, short hair clinging to her face. She kept her blanket off of her. How was it still so hot in the room in the dead of winter? Then again, it wasn't winter any longer. The spring solstice had come and gone in the blink of an eye, yet the nights were still long and the air thinner than ever. Her thoughts couldn't be contained. She thought of Sienna's almost cruel smile when she threatened them. She thought of Ironwood's fury when he pointed the loaded gun at her head. She heard the cries of the Grimm, a hundred at once, beginning for release. She saw, ever faintly, the look on her mother's face as she was about to be executed. Ruby closed her eyes, but the visions only became stronger. She took a deep breath, and let the darkness try to guide her back to sleep.
It didn't work. Of course, it didn't work.
She pulled out her Scroll to check the time against her better judgment. Without her glasses, the numbers were blurry and unclear. She didn't feel like putting them on.
She looked across the room to Weiss, who deserved better than she could ever give her, who had suffered so much to keep them safe. Ruby felt a shudder come over her. She was about to ask her to do something terrible, and she dreaded the thought of hurting someone who cared so much about her. But she was out of options. Out of time. If she was really as brilliant as everyone thought she would.
Then, she heard a knock at the door. Three quiet raps against the metal. Ruby looked at the door. Who the hell would be bothering her at this hour? Small glimmers of light from the hallway shown underneath. She did not see any shadows or movement. Was it Penny? Surprising her like she had so many times before? Ruby waited to hear her innocent call, but she was met with silence. Her teammates remained fast asleep. She considered getting off her upper bunk to check, but at the last moment, decided against it. She would let Penny think she was sleeping. Whatever bothered her could surely wait until morning.
Another knock. Slightly louder. She thought she heard a whisper coming from the other side. It was Penny… or was it? The audio was too muffled, but she definitely heard her name. She groaned. She was going to get forced out of bed, wasn't she? She couldn't even be allowed to be anxious anymore.
No… screw it actually. Penny, or whoever it was, could wait. She demanded sleep. She was a damned celebrity. The Hero of Vale. Her time was precious. She was going to get some sleep if it killed her. Screw Penny, and screw Sienna, and screw Ironwood, and screw the numbers on her Scroll she couldn't read.
Ruby sighed. She pressed her head back against the pillow. She closed her eyes. The knocking did not come again. She let the darkness come over her once more.
BANGBANGBANG
Ruby sat up straight. The pounding on the door was louder than thunder, shaking the room with its power.
BANGBANGBANGBANG
"Guys, wake up!" Ruby shouted quickly. She looked at her teammates.
They remained asleep.
"Guys? Guys!"
BANGBANGBANGBANGBANGBANGBANGBANG BANGBANGBANGBANGBANGBANGBANGBANG
BANGBANGBANGBANGBANGBANGBANGBANG
BANGBANGBANGBANGBANGBANGBANGBANG
The door shook on its hinges. The knob rattled, its screws flying loose. Her teammates did not stir, locked into their dreams. With every second the pounding grew louder, drilling its way into Ruby's head. Ruby clutched her mattress in terror. Her heavy breathing was drowned out by the shaking of the door. She went into a panic. Her strategic mind laid out a strategy: retrieve Crescent Rose, shove her teammates awake, pull them off the bed, and slap the sense into them if she had to. But her body wouldn't move when she told it to.
Why wouldn't it move?
Why?
Why?
She saw a shadow flicker beneath the doorway.
All at once, the pounding ceased. Everything was quiet. The stillness choked her. Ruby's eyes were wide, transfixed on the door. She waited, immobile, her skin damp with sweat and her fingers numb.
The knob turned slowly, and the door creaked open, pushing its mass into the room. The brightness from the hallway was like the sun, an endless canopy of white that seared Ruby's vision. Its radiance overwhelmed her, yet was not enough to cover even an inch of the room in anything but shadow. It refused to dim as her eyes adjusted to it. Her skin crawled. It was glorious, the light of beyond. It entranced her…
A hand reached into the room from above. Slender, black, its fingers like knives. It reached into the room, growing longer and longer until it was halfway inside and barely reached past its elbow. Ruby watched the hand freeze in the room's center and turn upright, palm toward the sky, inviting. It curled its index finger. A voice, muddled and scared, came from the void.
"RUBY COME INSIDE"
The shot back like a cannon, and retreated into the void. Ruby felt control over her limbs once again. She pushed herself upright and jumped down to the floor, bare feet cold against the hard tile. She didn't look at her teammates, or feel the room seep into nothingness behind her. Nothing mattered but the void. She took gentle steps at first, but soon her excitement got the best of her. She burst into the void, letting the glow wash over her. The hallway stretched into oblivion on either side, long stretches of pure matter as far as she could observe. The silence was replaced with a gentle hum, almost like a song her mother would sing to her.
The voice called again from her right.
It sang.
"R R U U
U
B
B BBBB
YYYY"
Ruby walked down the hall with increased determination. The voice—she needed to see it. She needed to feel it.
The light faded the deeper into it she walked; first, the darkness was only a small speck a hundred miles away. Then, it grew to the size of her thumbprint, hovering in the center of her vision. When her footsteps lost their echo against the walls, the darkness grew exponentially. It became wider, seeping into the corner of her eyes. It stretched overhead until its long shadow left her face covered in pitch black. It spread behind her, and when she looked behind her, she could no longer see the white hallway.
She saw nothing.
Felt nothing.
Was nothing.
"DRINK"
Another light.
Up ahead.
A glisten.
A small, flickering substance of thing.
She stepped toward it through the shadow, her feet dragging like wading through a thick sea. The gentle song turned to whispers.
Drink dRink
drink
DriNk
Drink
Drink drink
drInk DRInk
DriNK Drink
A podium stood in front of her, a meter high, crafted in gold, atop a short stone stairwell. Rested atop it was a chalice of silver, a thick basin the size of her head, and a handle too thick for her to grasp with one hand. The metal was polished so clean that Ruby could see a perfect mirror reflection of herself within its surface, all of her nervousness, her worthlessness made clearer in the opposite than in real life. Its sides were laced with blue gems etched like fractals, spiraling into themselves eternity more. Her gaze became lost within them, descending into.
IN
Ruby blinked. When her eyes re-opened, she saw Weiss, standing in front of her. Her blue eyes twinkled in the dark off the reflection of the chalice.
She stood on the opposite end of the podium.
Her face was blank.
"Everything we've built means nothing now."
Her voice was not her own.
Ruby's gaze broke away as if she had torn control away from some unseen force. She looked down into Weiss's hand, and she saw a golden blade in her grasp. Ruby tried to open her mouth, but she could not speak. She could not breathe. Something else breathed for her.
Weiss brought the knife up to her neck. There was a hint of something within her eyes—the final, fleeting doubt.
"For a better world than we could make."
Ruby stood idly as Weiss dragged the knife across her throat, vein to vein. Her flesh split open at her jugular. The skin parted and blood, thick and pure, rushed down from her wound. The bone beneath her chin jutted out, and the spliced tendons peeled back further to let out whatever was hidden within. Weiss gagged, her flesh fading, the blood seeping further down into her chest, running down her shoulders, spurting from the opening into her insides. It splattered into the cup, staining the pure metal within. Ruby just stood and watched as Weiss's fear, her passions, and her dreams all drained from her into the chalice. Her blue eyes became sunken and black, sinking into the back of her head. Her tongue, useless, flopped out of her mouth. When she had nothing left to give, she collapsed. Ruby felt a rush come over her.
Satisfaction.
She gazed into the cup. The blood was slowly absorbed into the metal like a sponge. When there was nothing left, she stood alone. Weiss's body lay in a heap.
Only for a moment.
Blake emerged from the shadow. She said nothing as she took the knife from Weiss's corpse. Her yellow eyes were narrow, eager to move on.
"This is all your fault."
She slit her throat for Ruby's glory, and the blood fell into the cup. When she fell, Yang stepped from the shadows and took the knife.
"We're all counting on you."
She slit her throat for Ruby's glory, and the blood fell into the cup. When she fell, Pyrrha stepped from the shadows and took the knife.
"Everything dies eventually."
She slit her throat for Ruby's glory, and the blood fell into the cup. When she fell, Jaune stepped from the shadows and took the knife.
"You've made everything worse."
He slit this throat for Ruby's glory, and the blood fell into the cup.
Nora.
Ren.
Coco.
Velvet.
Ozpin.
Ironwood.
Glynda.
Penny.
The twins.
Neo.
Her father.
Her uncle.
Everyone.
Everyone in the world.
They spilled their blood for her, and they fell into the cup.
Their pile of corpses grew greater than the tallest mountain, eclipsing the room.
And Ruby took their glory with grace.
She looked into the cup.
It was full—not of blood, but of a fluid, black and thick and rotten to the smell.
She reached forward—not with her arms, but those black and slender, fingers like knives.
She held the cup. Felt the glory in her hands.
The voice called to her one last time.
DRINK
Ruby awoke with a scream, her face dripping with sweat. Her cries of terror immediately awoke her other teammates. Yang crawled out from the bunk beneath her, and Weiss frantically threw herself over the side.
"Ruby? What's wrong?"
Ruby couldn't speak, She clutched her chest, desperate to catch her breath.
A nightmare… that was all it was…
A nightmare.
Nothing more.
Ruby closed her eyes as Yang and Weiss tended to her. Blake, frustrated at being woken up, threw herself back under the covers. Ruby hugged herself for dear life.
She could taste something rotten on her lips.
Blake and Yang stood outside the door to The Sushi Palace. Like most buildings in the heart of Atlas, its walls were constructed of heavy stone to help filter the sweltering heat; even in the cold winter, the volcanic core beneath the Kingdom kept the air thick and steaming. A small sign was posted in its front window, next to a copy of its menu and its service hours. NO FAUNUS ALLOWED.
Yang scratched her head. "This is the right place?"
"Bribes do a lot of work around here," Blake acknowledged. She shuddered, not from the temperature, but from the constant eyes that fell on her back. She felt them see through her disguise, recognizing her inner traits. Of course, it was all in her head. She was here on assignment, and the doubts that plagued her mind were playing tricks on her senses. She had every right to be nervous. Everything they built was at risk of crumbling by their feet. They had one chance to turn things around, and even if they succeeded in their mission ahead, it would just be the start of a tumultuous weekend. They entered the palace.
The inside of the restaurant was somehow hotter than it was outside. The inner walls had been layered with thin wood, gently carved in the traditional Southern Mantle style. In the centerpiece of the restaurant was a large piece of black volcanic rock that had been transformed into a fountain, bubbling water over its jagged edges into a small, tone-filled pond. A soft violin melody played overhead. The restaurant, despite its name, was quite cramped, with only a handful of booths available on either side. It was empty, save for their hostess, who greeted them in a red satin dress, two large men sat in the back corner, who eyed them suspiciously—and the chef working in the back, chopping away at large chunks of various fish.
"Miss Khan is waiting for you," the hostess said. Without asking, she removed their jackets and hung them by the entrance. Though initially hesitant, they followed her to the opposite corner. Sienna Khan was waiting for them, the booth constructed so that she was hidden from view of the entrance. It took a large amount of effort for her to reserve the entire restaurant on such short notice, but it was the only way for them to have a conversation in peace. When she saw Blake and Yang come into view, she didn't rise to greet them. She only smirked, her fangs sticking out from beneath her upper lip.
"You two are late."
"Sorry," Yang said. "Got a bit caught up in… things."
"Well, you're here now. Sit. I already took the liberty of ordering for us."
Yang and Blake looked at each other suspiciously but took the booth opposite Sienna. The men at the foreign table hadn't stopped staring at them, and it took a moment to realize they were Sienna's bodyguards. At the very least, they would get a nice meal out of this.
Sienna had already ordered a cup of watermelon soda for herself, and she sipped it liberally. "Say what you want about Atlas, but being a fishing Kingdom, they make the best seafood. I'd been to this place once when I met with the Argus Ambassador. We both happened to be in the city, and he ordered this sashimi platter. I figured, Blake, you probably have a soft spot for sushi, so I got the same thing."
"That's a little stereotypical," Blake said softly.
"It's statistical," Sienna explained. "Cat Faunus usually have digestion systems that are designed for seafood. You grew up in Menagerie. I bet you don't have a lot of fancy meals like this. I figured I might as well treat you." She saw the discomfort on Blake's face. "And don't worry, I had my guys scope this place out. No one knows we're here, or what we're talking about. It's just us."
"That's… nice," Blake said unsurely. "We have a lot of business to discuss."
"That we do," Sienna noted. "That said—"
"I like sushi, too, by the way," Yang said quickly. Blake glared at her. "What? She didn't ask."
Sienna narrowed her gaze. "I'm a little surprised that you showed up, to be honest. I expected either just Blake or all four of you—maybe even just the redhead."
"Ruby and Weiss are busy," Yang said, careful not to give too much away. "We can assure you we're speaking on their behalf."
"I guess that will have to do," Sienna stated. "To be honest, I was worried about this meeting. I was afraid you weren't taking it seriously. I'm still not sure if you are."
"Believe us, this is serious," Blake said darkly. "We wouldn't be here if it wasn't serious."
"Right," Sienna stated. "I'm sure you would rather not waste any time, so let's get to the thing I'm sure you're most curious about. I looked into the names that you asked of me. Kali Kataliana. Raven Branwen. Qrow Branwen. Tai Yang Xiao Long. Winter, Whitley, and Willow Schnee. I asked some people to put together a protection plan for them."
"And?" Blake asked anxiously.
"I'm about seventy-five percent confident that I can keep them safe," Sienna explained. "Look, it's tricky. Some of them were easier to track down than others. This Qrow person is a Huntsman, but he seems to be constantly moving around the globe, and the feelers I put out couldn't get me close to him. As for Kali Kataliana, she is still in Menagerie. It's not the same island it was when you were a child, Blake. It's a lot harder to get people in and out."
"But you would be able to get her out?" Blake asked.
"I can't promise anything other than my best efforts," Sienna said sincerely. "Look… I want to make this work. Too many lives are at stake for this to not work. And I would hate for an innocent person, an innocent Faunus to suffer through all this. I think I can get them adequate protection, but it's… it's risky. Any layer of protection comes with a shockingly high cost, and I can't guarantee they'll be safe if the full might of Atlas comes after them. But I am willing to try, and if you agree to help, you won't have to make your move until we can get them into our care. I think that's reasonable."
Blake and Yang were taken aback. Their worst selves weren't expecting any extra effort on Sienna's part, especially since she didn't have to. They were the ones who were being exploited here. They were at her mercy, and she was giving them a generous opportunity. Yet, it was still a dangerous one. Like she said, how good was protection against someone as driven as Ironwood or as maniacal as Goodwitch? Promises of safety from the White Fang could be as valuable as the dirt. They considered their options, and Blake leaned forward, clasping her hands together.
"So, about that…"
"All right, Team RWBY. Listen up." Ruby sat on her upper bunk, her teammates sitting on the floor in front of her. They stared at with anticipation, the weight of the world once again on their shoulders. "We have a meeting with Sienna in just a few days. I know that this has been a hard few weeks, and I just wanted to thank all of you for keeping strong. It's… easy to fall apart under so much pressure, but you've helped me so much. I mean that."
"Well, it's not like you'd do any good if you're panicking," Weiss said with a knowing smirk.
"Right. I don't," Ruby said awkwardly. "Anyway, I know that this seems like a really difficult challenge for us, but we've been brainstorming like crazy, and I think we might actually have a solution. Sort of. Hopefully."
"We?" Yang noticed.
"Yes," said Ruby. "Blake and I actually came up with this plan together."
Yang, shocked, smiled at her moody teammate, who just sat quietly on the floor with the rest of them. "Really? You came up with this?"
Blake shrugged. "I mean… I helped."
"Blake came up with most of it," Ruby stated. Blake hid her blush.
Weiss folded her arms. "You want to go with a Blake plan? Does it involve complaining Sienna to death?"
"Weiss… it's good. Trust me." Ruby's earnest nod was enough to win over Weiss's heart, and against her better judgment, she relaxed her standards.
"Okay. What's the plan?"
"Well, to recap," Ruby explained. "We are in a really difficult position. General Ironwood wants to use us to spread Atlassian propaganda. Since we refused, he threatened to hurt our loved ones. The only reason he isn't able to do anything to them is because we have a partnership with Jacques Schnee, who funds most of Ironwood's political activities. If Ironwood hurts us, we use our influence to cut him off, but that only works if Jacques is willing to work with us. We therefore need to keep him happy as long as possible. On the other side, Sienna is blackmailing us to go after the Schnee Dust Company. Obviously, if we damage the Schnee Dust Company in any way, Jacques will likely cut ties with us, and we're right back to where we started. So, it seems like we have three options. We could side with Sienna, attack the Schnee Dust Company, and break off our relationship with Jacques—only this would put our loved ones in harm's way, so that's far too dangerous. We could side with Jacques and reject Sienna's offer—but that would turn her media machine against us. Blake could get outed as a Faunus. Our working deals with Jacques would be exposed. While Jacques would still be on our side to protect us from Ironwood, especially if he knew we protected him, we would suddenly make a lot more enemies and lose a huge amount of our public influence. I honestly don't know what would happen from there, but it's extremely risky to assume the tide will eventually work in our favor."
"What's the third option?" Yang asked.
"We side with Ironwood," Ruby explained. "We accept his deal to help Atlas, and he'd probably keep our families safe in return. Of course, this would also shatter our relationship with Sienna, which is still bad. Publicly siding with a bunch of fascists would be bad for the Team RWBY Fund as well, so that might piss off Jacques too. It's also the most morally unacceptable because once Ironwood has us, there's no telling what he'd ask us to do to keep our loyalty. He's keen on taking a mile for every inch. It's the quickest path to keeping everyone close to us safe, but it would burn every single bridge we ever built, basically."
"So, they're all terrible," Yang nodded. "Then what's the magical fourth option?"
"Okay, so here's the plan. First thing's first…"
"Is there any way we can go after a different Dust company?" Blake asked. The life immediately drained from Sienna's face.
"Seriously?"
"I'm just asking," Blake implored her. "Look, we agree that the liberation of Faunus is important. We want to work toward that. There are dozens of other Dust companies in the world that exploit Faunus labor. Hell, drawing focus on some of the lesser-known ones might even be a good thing."
Sienna pinched the bridge of her nose. "The SDC is responsible for the deaths of thousands of Faunus per year. It's the closest thing we have to a modern slavery system."
"Okay, but—" Yang was silenced quickly.
"If we go for the head of the snake, the rest of it falls," Sienna explained. "It's far easier to go after the SDC and watch the rest of the world change as a result. Guys, come on… I'm trying to meet you halfway here. I really am."
"We're talking about our families," Yang said, remaining calm. "This is a very big decision for us."
"I'm wasting my time," Sienna muttered under her breath. "I knew you weren't going to go along with this…" She started to rise from her seat, but Blake stopped her.
"Hey! Hold on. We didn't say that we wouldn't."
Sienna stopped, a spark in her eyes. "You're going to help me?"
"It's complicated," Blake said carefully. "We just need to make sure that if we do this, there isn't an easier path. We're risking a lot to help you. We want to make sure it's worth it."
Sienna's shoulders dropped. She took a sip of her melon soda, trying to calm her nerves. Being in Atlas always worked her up, and she had fought so many bad-faith actors in her life that she had to be ready to stab anyone in the back before they stabbed hers. She swallowed, her tail curling up behind her.
"You know… this isn't about me," Sienna said wearily. "I've seen the inside of a Schnee Dust mine. I know what kind of hell it is to live in there. I would break the chains of every Faunus there if I could, but I can't… I need you. That pains me to say, putting my people's future in the hands of a few Huntresses. But it's the truth."
"Then have some faith in us," Yang said. "We promise: we're going to help those people. Again, it's just… complicated."
Sienna pursed her lips. "How complicated?"
"And that's not going to work," Weiss said, disappointed. "So what happens then?"
Ruby turned toward Blake. "I think you can explain it best."
Blake seemed somewhat surprised. Her part was supposed to come in later. She nervously stood up, drawing her teammates' attention to her. Fuck, she was able to give talks in front of a crowd of hundreds, but she was nervous communicating with her own friends? There was really something wrong with her.
"Yeah… so… like…" She cleared her throat. "Ruby and I decided that we need to appease Sienna. We know we're safe in our relationship with Jacques, so we shouldn't try to break that. Getting Sienna off our butts is the best option. But we were thinking… how to do that, you know? Sienna's only gonna be happy if we hurt the Schnee Dust Company, and if we hurt the Schnee Dust Company, that'll piss off Jacques. We can't have him pissed off. That's bad."
"Yes. We know," Weiss groaned. "Please get to the point."
"Weiss, come on," Ruby pleaded. Weiss sighed and kept her mouth shut.
"Okay, so we were brainstorming all these different ways to make Sienna happy without hurting the Schnee Dust Company," Blake said, slightly more comfortable without Weiss glaring her down. "And we kept coming up with these ideas, but we realized they wouldn't work, you know? The Schnee Dust Company is her one big target. Even if we redirect her, she's just gonna come back to it eventually. I watched a lot of Sienna Khan when I was younger. She's super stubborn. It's awesome but frustrating. She's not gonna let us get away without hurting the SDC. But that's when I had this thought, and this is what we're going to do. We're going to give Sienna what she wants. We're going to hurt the Schnee Dust Company."
Yang and Weiss shook their heads in disbelief.
"Um, didn't you just say we can't do that?" Yang asked.
"No. I mean… yes, but no," Blake stammered. "What we can't afford to do is piss off Jacques. That's what'll ultimately screw us. We assumed that there was no way to damage the Schnee Dust Company without getting him mad, and that's true… but he doesn't necessarily have to be mad at us. He's going to be mad at the person who injured his company's reputation. All we have to do is make sure he has no idea we're doing it."
Weiss crossed her arms. "What are you talking about?"
"Company secrets?" Sienna said, slow to follow. She picked up a piece of tuna sashimi and placed it on her tongue. It melted in her mouth. "What company secrets?"
"All company secrets," Blake stated, swiping at the sushi platter. "Financial statements, payroll, donations—where every single body has ever been buried. The SDC is a private company. They've never had to release any of this shit before. You want to know every dirty secret they've ever kept? We can give them to you."
"I… thought you said you didn't have access to company documents?"
"Well, we do… a little," Yang said enthusiastically. "It will take us a week or two to get them, but we can get them. Whatever can help the White Fang, we can provide."
Sienna licked her fangs clean. "This isn't what I'm asking for."
"We know. It's better."
"Better for you."
"Look, speaking out against the SDC randomly is gonna get us killed," Blake explained through a mouthful of yellowtail.
"Directly speaking out is the whole point," Sienna reminded them. "I'm using you for your influence, not your espionage. Stealing company secrets is a major felony. If you get caught—"
"Don't worry about the details. Let us take care of that," Yang promised.
"Here's what I was saying," Blake continued. "We can't speak out directly without running our relationship with Jacques Schnee. We don't want that to happen. But… we are still beholden to public influence. He understands that. If damaging company secrets came out…"
"And if we had a Schnee on our team," Yang added.
"We would basically be forced to make a comment on it. And in order to keep our integrity, we would have to denounce the SDC's abuses. Even Jacques would understand that."
"You get your public denouncement."
"We get to preserve our relationship."
"You don't get any fault. It's not a crime to release information that someone else gave you, and it's not like the SDC can go after an activist organization like the White Fang anyway. Not any more than he has."
"And you stay in complete control," Blake explained. "You determine what information gets out and what stays hidden. Obviously, we would appreciate it if you kept our ties to Jacques private, but aside from that, you control the messaging. Think about it: the secrets of the SDC delivered to your doorstep. Jacques Schnee at your complete mercy. We think that's perfectly fair."
Sienna ate another piece of tuna, chewing it as she carefully considered Team RWBY's proposition. It wasn't quite what she was expecting, but to her surprise, it wasn't terrible. In fact, anything that put more power in her team's hands over the hands of Huntsmen was beneficial. Of course, Team RWBY was also suggesting they break the law, and that carried with it several massive risks that she wasn't sure if she was willing to take. If it somehow got out that she was involved in any of this… well, it would be more than her reputation that would be exterminated.
"I cannot endorse committing felonies," Sienna said cautiously. "So I am not going to help or encourage you in any way. In fact, I want to make it clear that I want absolutely no part of this."
Blake and Yang's confidence cratered. This was their only chance. Was it really going to be taken away from them like this?
"However," Sienna added. "If someone was to anonymously send me company documents related to the SDC… we would use them like you described. It would be very interesting if someone did that." She grabbed her soda, and just before she put it to her lips, Blake saw a small smile cross her lips. "But who would be crazy enough to do that?"
Blake smiled back. "Yeah… pretty crazy…"
Yang followed along carefully with Blake's plan, and as the pieces clicked into place, the more she realized it could work. Company secrets? A post-revelation admonishing? If they played their cards right…
"No. Sorry, but no," Weiss said firmly.
"It'll work," Blake insisted.
"No, it won't," Weiss insisted right back. "Obviously, it would be great if we could do it, but there's a pretty obvious flaw. We actually need someone on the inside in order to get access to company documents, someone with a high enough ranking to infiltrate the company and know what to take. My father cut me out of access years ago. My mother gave up her access. Winter is loyal to my father. Whitley… well, trust me, he won't help. The only people I can think of are top company executives."
"Weiss, hold on—"
"No, trust me on this," Weiss stated. "The executives aren't going to lift a finger to damage their bottom line. The only way I can even think of them turning on my father is if we offered them something worth more, which we don't have. What, are we supposed to find some dirt and then blackmail them into helping us."
"You're overthinking this—"
"And even if they help us, my father is going to know who tampered with his company. There'll be an easy trail leading right to them, and that will obviously lead right back to us. If you were going to get Schnee Dust Company secrets, you'd need someone who can take everything completely undetected, who won't draw suspicion, who won't tell on us at the first opportunity—oh, and someone my father won't threaten with jail for massive financial damage, because they're an innocent party we'd be roping into our scheme. There isn't anyone in the world who fits that description."
"Weiss!" Ruby said firmly. Her words weren't enough to stop Weiss from ranting; the rant just happened to be finished and Ruby took advantage. "We do have someone like that, though."
Blake nodded. "Yeah… your sister."
Weiss looked back and forth between Ruby and Blake. They both seemed so confident. Too confident. Had they lost their minds? Did they not remember exactly what Jacques had done to ensure that Winter never betrayed him? Surely, Blake's stupidity had seeped into Ruby's intelligent, beautiful brain, because it was the only way she would ever endorse such a plainly dumb idea.
"Winter isn't going to help us."
"Yes, she is," Blake explained. "She'll do it gladly, too."
"No, I mean… she literally can't," Weiss said forcefully.
"No… she can't now," Ruby said, her words laced with determination. "But that leads to the second part of our plan. The hardest part. We're going to cure Winter."
Weiss remained silent. Even though she heard the words correctly, they didn't seem real. Yang reacted with pleasant surprise, but… she just sat there.
"Ruby—"
"Weiss, let's explain."
"Ruby, you can't fix Winter," Weiss said, visibly hurting with each word. "I mean… of course I'd want to. I'd give anything to fix her. But you can't. There's no way to undo what my father did to her, I… I tried looking into it, I asked, I…"
"It's okay," Ruby said calmly. "We know… but we think we might have a way. Blake?"
Blake pulled out her Scroll and opened her web browser. She already had the material she needed pulled up for this occasion. She flipped around her Scroll so Weiss and Yang could see. Blake showed them a picture of a man—or at least, they thought it was a man. Their face was covered in so many tattoos and piercings that they resembled a walking art project, and their shaved head was adorned with three embedded spikes sticking out just underneath the skin on the left side. One of their eyes was completely blue, and there was a hole in their cheek that revealed metal fillings in their teeth. Even so, they were smiling happily in the photograph, proud of their unusual appearance.
"This is Rami Stiltskin," Blake explained. "He's a prominent body modification expert. One of the best there is."
"Wait," said Yang, recalling the name. "Stiltskin? The guy who removed your Faunus traits?"
"Yep," Blake nodded. "His Semblance allows him to manipulate any part of Human or Faunus flesh and reshape it as he desires. He mainly does tattoos, piercings, implants, boob jobs—you know, cosmetic shit. But he's highly sympathetic to Faunus causes, and uses his powers to alleviate traits that cause medical problems. Full trait removal, organ restructuring…" Blake paused. "I mean, take a look. It's crazy."
She pulled open another page on her browser and showed it to Weiss. Blake had pulled down excerpts and photographs from Stiltskin's professional website, and Weiss scanned through the various testimonials from his patients. There were a few things she would expect from a tattoo artist: a lot of pictures of ink and skin, various grotesque forms on shoulders and thighs that people seemed very proud to show off. But there were other cases that she read through that caught her attention. A dog Faunus, born colorblind, had the nerve cells in her eyes recrafted to allow her to see the world better. A man who lost his hand in a childhood accident had his fingers regrown in nearly perfect working order. Another man, again wounded in a serious accident, had several feet of small intestines regrown. Spines realigned. Hearing restored. And of course, the greatest example of his success was standing in front of her, holding up the Scroll. It took a few moments for Weiss to understand Blake's logic; when she did, she reacted not with amazement, but horror.
"Wait… you can't be serious…"
"I am serious."
"R-Ruby… that's not…" Weiss stammered, trying to find the words to escape this madness. She couldn't believe Ruby was even considering such an insane solution.
"He's currently residing in Atlas, according to his KnightsPage account," Blake stated. "He's scoping out a new shop location, during which he isn't taking any appointments. But I still have his number, and I'm one of his most successful projects. If I show up at his doorstep with an interesting case—"
"Blake, you're talking about my sister's brain!" Weiss said in disbelief. "This isn't like healing a broken bone or cutting off a cat tail. You are seriously suggesting that we let a fucking tattoo artist perform brain surgery on my sister!"
"I mean," Blake muttered, "when you put it like that, it sounds a little crazy."
"It is crazy! It is very crazy!" Weiss insisted. "It's like… you know that Mistran fable about the girls and the wings and flying close to the sun? This! This is flying way too close to the sun!"
"But maybe it isn't," Ruby said, trying to make Weiss see her logic. "Look, Winter is the way she is because your dad did some kind of surgery on her brain, right? It's not trauma. It's not psychological. It's strictly physical damage. Winter is basically just injured. It's all flesh. If he can heal a spine or regrow fingers, why can't he repair a brain?"
"Because… it's more complicated than that!" Weiss said as if it was obvious. "You need to be, like… a neurosurgeon or something. You have to study… brain things."
"He does study brain things," Blake promised. "He studies everything. When I went to get my procedures done, he changed a lot. My skeletal structure, my skin—hell, the dude had to edit my skull to get make sure my cat ears were disconnected from everything because they actually had non-working bits of ear inside of them. When I was with him, he had piles and piles of medical textbooks he was referencing. The dude is wildly self-taught."
"Oh, well that's a relief," Weiss said sarcastically. "My problem was that he has literally zero training on this, but at least he reads books. That makes it better."
"Weiss, seriously… read these," Blake insisted, handing Weiss her Scroll. "Look at how many people he's helped. Look at all of the stuff he's done. We're not even asking him to do surgery on Winter; we just need him to reverse whatever injury is already there. Please, read it."
Weiss's better nature told her this would accomplish nothing. Even as she scrolled through the dozens of testimonials, the miracles, the second chances, her wisdom was telling her not to trust this man. They were seriously asking her to put her sister's life into the hands of someone with spikes in their head? An "artist"?
And then she kept scrolling through the testimonials.
And she kept scrolling.
And scrolling.
And… wow, there were a lot of these.
A heart repair of atypical cardiomyopathy.
A paralyzed woman able to walk again.
A deer Faunus who suffered brain damage from a car crash, now able to speak again.
A dementia patient with their symptoms partially reduced.
Head trauma—healed.
Quite a lot of it—healed.
She saw the faces of the people he helped, sometimes in tears, sometimes hugging him, always smiling. She glanced up at Blake—a woman she never would have guessed was a Faunus, having been so thoroughly transformed that barely a trace of her true self remained. She had never even heard of this man until a few months ago, and now, seeing his work, her resolve was shaken. That oh-so-reasonable doubt seemed a lot less reasonable.
The truth was: she didn't know the specifics of what happened to Winter. Her father refused to share the details, and he was so secretive that he never gave her the chance to discover the answers. She knew it couldn't be a full lobotomy; Winter was far too functional for that. But it involved scars. Physical scars. Maybe he implanted something in her mind. Maybe he removed a small chunk of her grey matter, or cut a few connections in just the right place. Yet, no matter what it was, it was physical. It was flesh.
And no one understood flesh like Stiltskin.
"Weiss, I know this is a lot," Ruby said, calling Weiss from her reading. "I'm not going to pretend it's safe. I have no idea if this man can even do anything. You're right that this is dangerous, and even if he tries to help Winter, there's no guarantee she'll be okay. She could get worse. She could die. That's why we needed to run this by you before we took any steps. She's your sister, and anything we do with her has to go through you. That's only fair."
Weiss frowned. "Winter's not going to agree to get this done. If she suspects you're trying to tear her away from Jacques, she's going to fight back."
"We know. That's where you'd come in," Blake said, taking back her Scroll. "After we meet with Sienna, we're going to have the perfect excuse to hang around the city. We arrange to meet up with Stiltskin beforehand."
"Penny is still intercepting our communications," Ruby assured her. "Atlas won't be able to read what we're talking about."
"In the meantime, you arrange something with Winter. Lower her guard. Don't make her suspect a thing."
"Then, you lure her to Stiltskin."
Weiss's frown deepened. "You mean I kidnap her."
"No."
"Yeah."
Ruby looked at Blake, who just shrugged.
"What? I mean, that's what it is."
"I kidnap my sister. Bring her to this Stiltskin," Weiss said slowly. "And then… he heals her? How long will that take?"
"No clue. Depends on the extent of the injury, I guess. But my sessions with him were pretty brief. It took a lot of them, and I had to get them spread out, but the actual healing was relatively quick. Honestly, the worst part is just that it fucking hurts a lot."
"And then once she's healed," Yang said, jumping into the conversation, "she'll help us get classified docs for Sienna?"
"Hopefully," Ruby sighed. "We'd still have to ask her, but ideally she'd be pretty thankful for us helping her. If Jacques never realizes what's happening, she'd be the perfect undercover ally. She could literally walk into SDC headquarters, steal all the files on camera, and Jacques would be convinced she couldn't be responsible."
"Assuming that Stiltskin can actually heal her… and that Weiss can get Winter to him without any trouble."
"Yeah. Like I said: hardest part."
"So Blake and I go talk to Sienna, Weiss deals with Winter, and… what are you going to be doing, Ruby?"
Ruby bowed her head uncomfortably. "I'm… going to be staying here, running cover."
"You're not coming into Atlas?"
Ruby shook her head. "We're going to have to create some excuse for you three to leave. It might be easier if I can stay here and keep an eye on Ozpin and Ironwood. Besides… that dream I had last night… this memory thing with my mom… this… this Rosaline woman. The Holy Grail. I want to try to look into all of that the best I can, and I can't do that if I'm distracted with this plan—and I can't help you if I'm distracted with this. I know you all can handle it. You have my total confidence. Blake. Yang." Ruby looked expectantly at her girlfriend. "Weiss?"
Weiss took a deep breath and slowly stood up. She placed her hands on her hips, stewing on the possibilities in front of her.
"My sister… had her freedom taken from her," she sighed. "She doesn't get to make choices for herself anymore. Everything she is, everything she does, is meant to serve the goals of someone else. And now, you're asking me to decide on her behalf. Violate her consent to alter her mind again, all to make her do something for our sake. You… you do know what you're asking of me, right?"
Ruby nodded. "Of course."
Blake stepped forward. "Weiss, think about it like this—"
"Stop. Let me finish," Weiss ordered. "None of you knew Winter. The real Winter. I might be the only person in the world who understands what she would have wanted. You're all trying to think about her health and safety or think about protecting ourselves. But the only thing that matters is what Winter would want to do. If she can't make choices anymore, then I want to be damn sure that if we choose for her, it's something she would want. And the Winter that I knew…" Weiss clenched her fist. "…was willing to sacrifice everything she had to keep me safe. She would be ashamed of what my father did to her… and she would take any risk to reclaim her life."
She stared not at Blake, but through her. "You think this man can fix her mind?"
Blake, hesitant, bowed her head. "I trusted him with my life. That's the only reason I would trust him with hers."
Weiss groaned, pissed off beyond belief. "Gods, I can't believe I'm being talked into this crazy bullshit."
"That a yes?"
"Yeah," Weiss nodded. "Let's fly too close to the sun."