Misfortune

Weiss couldn't help but feel a distant sense of pride as she approached the CCT tower. It was a beautiful piece of architecture, filled with the most cutting-edge technology, and Atlas - her homeland - was behind every facet of it. It was like a small piece of home, right here in Vale. A piece she would actually be allowed to enjoy…

No. No more of that.

Smoothing out her skirt and wiping any trace of her tears from her face, she took a deep breath before beginning to climb the tower steps.

At the top of the stairs, a pair of Atlesian soldiers quickly barred her way.

"Sorry Miss, but the tower is closed to the public. Students included."

Having expected it, Weiss merely held out her scroll, her temporary credentials already displayed on the screen. "I have authorization from Headmaster Ozpin."

One of the guards stepped forwards and snatched the device from her to examine. His partially covered face betrayed nothing as he glanced at the display.

The helmets the Atlas Military infantry wore never failed to irk her. Yes, they brought uniformity to the ranks, but up close like this? It was unsettling. Made them seem like emotionless machines.

Thankfully, the illusion didn't last long as he looked back at her again with a small grin, handing back her scroll. "Weiss Schnee, huh? Must be Specialist Schnee's little sister then."

Weiss frowned as she accepted the device back. "I am."

"Sorry. Didn't mean to offend, it's just a pleasure to meet you is all," he said as he scratched the scruff on his chin. "We graduated about the same time as her, so-"

The other guard elbowed him, cutting him off with a chuckle. "Not that she knew we existed. You're free to enter Miss. Apologies for the delay."

With nothing but a curt and professional nod, Weiss stepped past the two guards and into the building.

"Well, pardon me for being nice-"

The bickering voices cut off as the automated doors of the tower closed behind her. Without another word, she strode through the lobby, ignoring the soldiers and Atlesian Knights patrolling the area. It didn't take long before she was ascending the tower in the elevator.

It was quite interesting. Ozpin had stated that there would be increased security for the duration of the maintenance, but a part of her had been expecting no notable change. She certainly hadn't expected the number of guards on the ground floor alone to be nearly triple what she'd seen throughout the entirety of the CCT tower before, even if over half of them were simple machines.

It begged the question. Just what kind of threat was Ironwood so worried about that he felt this degree of security was necessary?

Her worries were interrupted by the elevator doors sliding open to reveal the empty call center.

Well, that was fine. She had better things to do than fuss over things well beyond her, particularly after the evening's emotional turmoil. She had a call to make. If she were lucky, Whitley would even be awake despite the late hour. If not, then she could at least claim to have made the attempt.

Weiss slid into one of the many booths with a deep sigh before placing her scroll into a slot in the machine. She quickly selected her brother from her contact list and waited. Honestly, what was she even thinking? Whitley was almost certainly–

"Ah. Hello and good evening Weiss."

Weiss couldn't help but stare at the screen for a moment before coming back to her senses.

"Good evening… Whitley."

The silence that followed her words was palpably awkward. Her brother quietly picked at his powdered blue vest as he waited for her to continue.

"Happy birthday?"

The deep sigh Whitely let out sounded equal measures exasperated and relieved as he rolled his eyes at her, smoothing out his bangs out with a hand. He seemed to be styling it a bit more since she had last seen him.

"I take it that father reminded you."

"Would you believe me if I said no?"

"No. But the fact you actually followed through this time is a welcome change."

Weiss bit her lip at the remark. "I do try to make time. It has just been quite difficult recently."

"Of course. I can only imagine. Beacon Academy is quite renowned for the quality of their graduates. Besides, while I like to think we have grown past our petty squabbles of the past, you're still you, and I'm still me."

"Meaning what exactly?"

"Meaning we have both been through this song and dance enough times to know that when we call, it's for a favor."

"Is that so? I'm surprised you even picked up the call then."

Whitley shook his head. "For all our disagreements, we are still family. Though I must admit, I may have assumed you needed a favor due to your current… demeanor."

Weiss gripped her hands tightly in her lap. "Beacon has required something of an adjustment... I will confess, my reasons for calling tonight are not entirely selfless. I did mean to wish you a happy birthday. However, if you must know, I also wished to have a reminder of home, in a way."

Whitely cocked his head and frowned as he examined her once again. "A reminder of home? Weiss, are you… alright?"

Weiss opened her mouth to say that yes, of course she was. To deny that there was something wrong with her…

A heavy silence hung in the air between them until Whitley mercifully spoke up once more.

"You know, not long before you left, Klein came to me to ask for assistance with a gift for you. While we were talking, he mentioned that you would change once you left the manor. At the time, I thought nothing of his words. Brushed them off as idle ramblings. I can see now that I was wrong to ignore him."

Weiss hung her head and clenched her hands under the desk. Of course Whitley had noticed too. "I have been trying to prevent that. To properly represent the Schnees here in Vale. However, Beacon is… different. The people here, they don't seem to understand boundaries in the way that the people of Atlas do. No matter what I do, or what I say, they keep pushing. It's frustrating, and strange, and…

"It's been incredibly difficult to find my place here."

"Weiss?"

"I am fine though. Really. No one suspects anything. Father has been keeping me in line, and I've been correcting my behavior as of late. It just takes time. I was simply hoping to take a break from… everything, I suppose. Indulge in a reminder of home. Of Atlas. This evening in particular has been… frustrating."

"Sister?"

"Yes?"

"When was the last time you ate?"

Weiss' thoughts screeched to a halt as her attention turned to her very empty stomach. She turned away, unable to maintain eye contact anymore. How long… Oh… "Breakfast…"

She could practically see Whitley shaking his head in disappointment as he sighed. "Well. It's good to see not everything about you has changed. Given your profession, you really ought to take better care of yourself."

"You're right, of course. I suppose that's one of the things I miss about the manor. Klein always seemed to know when to step in to prevent me from overworking myself."

"He has a knack for that. Now, other than alerting Father to your condition or sending an airship full of catering to your dorm room, is there anything I can actually help with?"

"Can…" Weiss bit her lip. "Can we just talk for a little while?"

"Talk?" Whitley cocked his eyebrow. "Is that not what we are doing right now?"

"No- Yes… I mean talk about something else? Not family, or school, or anything. Maybe why you're not blisteringly mad at me?"

"Who says I'm not? My own sister is calling me on my birthday for her own selfish reason." Whitley shrugged, a small smile curling onto his face. "Though, how could I possibly be mad when you are coming to me of all people in your time of need?"

Weiss pointedly ignored the smirk on his face. "I suppose you have a point. You should be mad. We haven't spoken in months, and this is what it took to contact you."

"It was hardly the longest period of time that we didn't speak."

"No, it's not. But after you thought to gift me these glasses, I should have at least made an attempt to extend an olive branch in kind. I never even thanked you for the thought…"

"The fact you are wearing them is thanks enough."

Weiss blinked, clenching her fists even tighter. "I-"

Whitley cocked an eyebrow. "Would you prefer I be mad at you?"

"Yes… No…" Weiss shook her head, letting out a deep sigh. "It would certainly make this… easier."

A small chuckle could be heard even as Whitley covered his mouth. "I suppose. Well, all the same I am glad to see you are putting those glasses to good use. I spent quite some time looking for the right pair, you know."

Weiss cocked her head as she took her brother in. Really took him in. The relaxed posture. The soft smile that actually seemed to reach his eyes. "...You're different from when we last spoke."

"You are not the only member of the family who's been hard at work, Sister. I didn't stop growing while you were gone. In fact, I believe I've learned more in these last few months than in all those years before you left."

"Your schooling is going well then?"

"Among other things, yes."

Weiss narrowed her eyes. "What's really going on Whitley?"

"Always so quick to assume the worst."

"Father taught us well."

Whitley rolled his eyes. "Would you believe me if I said there was nothing going on? That I am simply happy to see my sister acting more like a person than an Atlesian Knight?"

Weiss crossed her arms with a scoff. "I hardly believe it's as simple as that. Has Father been informing you of all my mistakes?"

"To a degree. For example, I am aware that the Winchester property deal was closed thanks to your efforts."

Weiss glared at the hard light display. "…You disapprove?"

"Not in the slightest. We all do what we must to survive Weiss. Myself included. Though given the bags under your eyes-"

"I said I'm fine!" Weiss let out a deep breath, rubbing at her eyes under the glasses. "I'm sorry. You didn't deserve that."

"An apology? My my, Weiss. You must be truly out of sorts." Whitley chuckled before leaning forwards in his chair. "I speak in jest of course. I know full well how much effort you and Klein put into keeping your secret, even at the manor. All alone at a school like Beacon, with three other girls around you at all times? I can only imagine how hard it has been."

Weiss adjusted her glasses with a tired sigh. "I assure you, I am managing. Even if my team does like to meddle."

"Indeed. Though I must say, I'm surprised you're not snapping at me for simply mentioning your secret this time," Whitley said, grinning.

"How many times must I apologize for that?" Weiss snapped back.

"It did leave quite an impact on me, so… Perhaps once more?"

"Fine. I suppose I owe you something for your birthday," Weiss said, rolling her eyes. "Whitley, I am sorry for yelling at you over seven years ago."

"See? Was that so hard?"

Weiss leveled a glare at him. "How has your Birthday been?"

"Quite relaxing, I dare say. Klein made crepes this morning, and father allowed me a small break from shadowing him while he ran the SDC."

"How has that been going?"

"It can be tedious, but I have found that the accounting work is far easier than I had expected. Certainly, it's much easier than what you and Winter do every day. Winter has said I should at the very least consider learning to fight, but honestly…"

"It wouldn't be the worst idea. What if something happened and the military wasn't there to protect you? The White Fang already– You need to be able to protect yourself, Whitley. You should at least consider unlocking your Aura."

Whitely sighed and shook his head. "You sound just like Winter."

"The fact Winter, who works directly under General Ironwood, is telling you the same thing should mean something to you."

"Perhaps. I'll tell you what Weiss, let's make a deal. You promise to call more than once a year and I'll consider learning how to fight."

"I…" Weiss glanced away as she gripped her wrist tightly. "...I'll try."

"I appreciate that. It was nice speaking to you, Weiss. With both you and Winter out of the house, the manor has felt rather sparse. I hardly see anyone except Klein and Mother wandering the halls nowadays. Father spends most of his time in his office."

"How is Mother?"

Whitley's face contorted into a pained grimace. "The same as ever."

"I see…"

There was another brief pause before Whitely perked up with a mischievous smile. "You mentioned earlier your team likes to meddle. I should have expected as much. I assume they're commoners, then? I do hope they have at least some good qualities…"

"Rest assured, there is nothing common about them." Weiss said as she shook her head with a small smile, "Honestly, you have no idea the amount of trouble they have-

A loud crack echoed out from far below as her call blinked out. Weiss' gaze snapped away from the black screen to the elevator door.

"No…"

Weiss shot to her feet and dashed to the nearest window to confirm her suspicions, straining her ears to try and hear anything else. More loud cracks rang out. Gunfire.

Without a word, she ran back to her booth, snatched up her scroll and made a beeline for the elevator, only to find it was already steadily climbing upward.

It was probably just the guards… That made sense. They would be coming up to let her know what was going on, to escort her out-

The gunfire below abruptly cut out. Weiss' blood ran cold as silence gripped the tower once more. That was far too quick…

The elevator continued to rise.

Fights only ever ever ended that quickly when it wasn't even a fight, and while the Atlesian Military was hardly anything to scoff at, they weren't that efficient. No, something was definitely wrong here.

Logic was failing her. Instincts she usually ignored were screaming that she was in danger…

"Nein, nein."

Weiss turned and ran for the stairwell as the loud clacking of her boots echoed through the empty room. Too much noise. Weiss threw the door open and hid on the other side before quickly tearing the boots off. If it was just guards, then no harm was done and she could retrieve them. If it wasn't, she needed every advantage she could get without Myrtenaster at her side.

With that out of the way, she listened intently. She could just about make out the grinding of the elevator still ascending. Good. Her scroll pinged with a notification. Probably Whitley. She pulled the device out and silenced it before opening up to her contacts and calling the first person she saw on the list who would be able to help. As her scroll rang, she heard the chime of the elevator arriving.

"Good evening, Weiss. To what do-"

"Professor, I think the CCT tower is being attacked," she whispered.

The seconds ticked by as Weiss held her breath, listening for movement in the other room.

"Excuse me?" Glynda's tone instantly took on the hard edge Weiss knew all too well from combat class. "Miss Schnee I'm sorry but I don't think I heard you correctly-"

"I'm in the tower. I heard gunfire and – hold on," she said. Slowly, Weiss peered through a small window in the door to get a better look at the person in the call center. A black-clad figure stood at one of the booths, doing… something. Definitely not one of the guards.

"Miss Schnee?"

"There's a woman. Maybe five and a half feet tall. She's in all black… and… has a White Fang symbol on her back, but it's… different. The wolf head is cruder, the teeth are sharper, and there's three red claw marks behind it – no circle."

Weiss ducked away from the door again as a knot worked its way up through her throat. What were those terrorists doing here? Why tonight of all nights?

"Alright. Is there anything else you can tell me?"

Weiss breathed deeply, trying to calm herself before glancing back out. "She's wearing a white face mask. I think it's meant to be a Grimm. She's got a scroll – oh no…"

"What? What is it?"

"She plugged her scroll in at the administration desk. A black chess piece just flashed across the screen..."

A sharp gasp cut across the line. "Weiss, I need you to listen to me very carefully. Do not engage them at any cost. Do you have your weapon?"

"No."

"Alright. Stay on the line, keep quiet and get as far away from the tower as you can. Help is on the way."

"Yes, ma'am." Weiss slowly nodded, moving away from the window.

She didn't bother retrieving her boots as she began descending the tower stairs, moving as quickly as she dared.

The silence of the tower, something that had been comforting in its own way before, now felt oppressive with how it made her acutely aware of every minor brush of fabric and every quiet breath. Part of her wanted to throw caution to the wind and rush down the stairs as quickly as possible. She was sure she could beat that White Fang goon to the bottom, but she couldn't take that risk. Not without her rapier. There was no telling if they were alone, and many faunus had enhanced hearing like Blake. Now more than ever she wished she had spent more time learning how to move like her…

"Talk to me Weiss. Tell me where you are."

Weiss let out a quiet breath and shoved those thoughts to the side as she continued her descent.

"Stairwell. Floor seven."

"Good. Ironwood has mobilized reinforcements, they should be arriving soon. You're doing well Weiss. Just keep moving."

The encouragement fell on deaf ears as the floors continued to pass by. The aching in the soles of her feet steadily grew with each step, but she barely gave it thought as she reached the bottom floor.

She didn't waste any time peeking out of the small window in the doorway to scout out the tower's darkened entrance hall-

Ice seeped into her veins as she took in the broken helmets, shredded armor plates and twisted blades that lay scattered throughout the room. The Knights' mechanized bodies were utterly torn to pieces and the guards… the men and women she'd spoken with not even an hour earlier, lay twisted and crumpled against the walls and pillars-

Weiss swallowed heavily, ducked away from the window, and raised her scroll to her ear.

"Professor?" she whispered.

"Yes Weiss?"

"All the guards are – they – Ms. Goodwitch, nobody's moving…"

There was a moment of palpable silence before Goodwitch responded. "Listen to me very carefully Weiss. Do you see any other intruders?"

Slowly, Weiss glanced through the window and scanned the room before ducking back once more. "Ok. Right now, I need you to focus on getting outside. You can do that right?"

"I-I think so."

"Good. You're almost there Weiss. Just a few more steps. Reinforcements will be there very soon. They will be watching for you once you're outside the tower."

"Ok."

Weiss steeled herself, took a deep breath and quietly opened the door. She could do this. She just had to cross one room. One tiny, little room. With nothing to defend herself but a scroll if things went wrong.

She slipped through the doorway, and eased it shut behind her. Slowly venturing out into the room before she lost her nerve.

The support pillars were her best route. The shadows they provided were worthless, but she could use them to block line of sight. Avoid a few of the… guards. It was impossible to avoid them all, but she just had to not look.

Even as she was forced to step over one of them or risk stepping out into the open…

She tried to avoid looking down. She really did, but a morbid curiosity overrode her sense.

Two glassy, distant eyes looked through her from behind a smashed visor.

Weiss' breath seized in her throat. Something about the man seemed almost… familiar.

"...it's just a pleasure to meet you is all. We graduated about the same time as her, so-"

She pushed down the bile rising in her throat and did everything she could to shove the memory to the back of her mind as she pushed toward the entryway-

Movement in the shadows at the other end of the room freezing her before she could step away from the guard.

An unarmored man calmly walked out from behind one of the support pillars across the room with a small box in his hands, leaving his back to her as he slowly strolled over to one of the pillars near the elevator, blocking her path forwards.

Her eyes were instantly drawn to the edges of a white half mask that peeked out from the side of his head, as well as a jet black sheath on his hip. The absence of armor and white and red flower emblem on his back only served to worry her more, as he stalked through the room.

What was he-

The elevator chimed. Any remaining blood drained from Weiss' face as the doors slid open to reveal the woman from before.

Weiss instinctively ducked herself further into cover behind the pillar, trying to avoid the guard while still pressing herself as tightly against it as possible. Poking her eye out from cover just barely enough to watch as the man affixed a blinking box to the pillar he was at before turning away, pulling out another device from the bag slung over his shoulder.

She could just barely make out red Dust packed behind the light of the device he had just planted.

Dust charges.

Fear clawed at Weiss' throat as she watched the woman stalk down to the man.

She had to get out. Now.

Except, she couldn't. Without a weapon, she'd be cut down the moment they saw her. Just like–

Weiss shook the thoughts from her head. She'd have to go back the way she came. Find another way…

"It's done." A female voice rang out.

The man nodded before turning to plant another charge.

Weiss made a dash for the only pillar between her and the stairwell the instant his back was to her. Praying neither of them heard her as she slipped behind it. Peeking out just in time to see him finish planting his device.

"Good. The charges are planted," the man stated, satisfaction oozing from his voice.

Another quick glance back told her neither of them were looking in her direction. She took the opportunity to sneak behind the front desk. Just a little further…

"Great," the woman droned. "We should get out of here then."

Wait, if they were leaving, then she might be able to slip out behind them without them-

"Not yet."

Nein! Why not yet?! Weiss carefully peaked over the desk, watching as the man slipped the bag off his shoulder, letting it drop to the ground.

"Stay here. Make sure nobody leaves."

The woman crossed her arms as she rapidly tapped her foot. "We don't have time for this. Ci-"

Her protests were cut off by a surprised yelp as the man jabbed a finger into her chest.

"Wait. Here. I've got something to take care of first."

The woman sputtered some indignant response, but the man clearly wasn't listening. Instead, he slowly turned his head in her direction with a predatory smile. No, not in her direction…

He was looking directly at her.

Weiss felt her stomach drop. A glyph instantly appeared in front of her, shooting her toward the stairwell and crashed through the doorway with enough force that her aura flickered for a brief moment.

The sound of a gunshot pinging off the door had Weiss scrambling further into the stairwell. Summoning a series of glyphs straight up the center gap as she did, before shooting upward. Bringing her scroll to her ear.

"Glynda! They saw me!"

The sounds of wind and movement and shouting echoed out from the other end of the scroll call until Glynda's panicked voice finally broke through.

"Weiss? Talk to me-"

The booming crash of the door being torn from its hinges rang out from below.

"They're chasing me! Back up the stairwell!

"Get to the top floor. Do whatever you have to, break a window, just get out of there."

"Understood!" Weiss gripped the scroll firmly as she slammed her way through the doorway at the top and dashed for the back of the room. Pain lanced through her wings, but she ignored it.

Ok. Break a window. How? They were probably tempered glass. She wasn't exactly a powerhouse. If she had her Dust or weapon, maybe then – wait! That would work!

Weiss quickly tapped a few commands into her scroll and stepped away from the window. Seconds felt like an eternity as she silently prayed to whoever was listening for her plan to work. She was distantly aware of Glynda speaking, but didn't have it in her to listen anymore. Instead, she simply watched the small speck of light hurtling toward her through the sky.

The stairwell door flew open as her weapon locker finally crashed through the CCT tower, raining glass down on the room and slamming into the floor beside her. She wrenched the locker open, snatched up Myrtenaster and managed a single step toward the window before the crack of a gun rang out and a bullet whizzed past her ear.

Weiss whipped around with Myrtenaster held at the ready.

The red haired man she had locked eyes with emerged from the stairwell, chuckling as he slipped a rifle onto his belt. Rather than being coiled and ready for a fight, his stance was loose, almost relaxed, with a long red sword held casually to his side. Weiss swallowed the bile that built in her throat as she watched him stalk into the room.

He very clearly did not feel threatened by her…

The glassy eyes of the guard slumped against the pillar flashed through her mind.

"It's interesting," he began as he slid the blade into the rifle-turned-sheathe.

Weiss kept her mouth shut as she tensed her muscles, preparing to spring into action at a moment's notice.

Glass crunched beneath the man's feet with every step as he slowly approached her, a hand resting on the hilt of his blade. "A human like you should have stumbled trying what you did in the dark. Especially one that got where they are without lifting a finger."

Weiss shifted a foot, angling it back toward the window. It would only take a moment to –

"Not that it matters. You're not leaving here alive, Schnee." His voice dripped with venom.

A flash of movement was all the warning she got before the hilt of his sword blasted toward her with a thunderous boom. She barely formed a glyph in time to block the sudden strike before he slid past her and slammed a boot into her back, crushing her wings and throwing her down the middle alley and into the center of the room.

A pained hiss mixed with the jingling of glass as Weiss vaulted out of the roll and back onto her feet. She quickly raised Myrtenaster, cycling it to Ice Dust and spinning to unleash the swath of ice up the middle alley-

The familiar clicking of the Dust cylinder rotating didn't reach her ears.

She never repaired it…

"Nein…" Weiss breathed, glancing at the broken mechanism as her opponent resheathed his blade.

Contempt oozing from him as he shook his head once more. "I expected you to be weak, but a broken weapon? You Schnees really are worthless without someone else to pick up your slack."

"Backup is almost here." Weiss choked out, desperately buying time as she racked her mind for ideas. "You should leave… While you have the chance."

"I'll have to stop wasting my time then."

This time instead of launching the blade, Weiss barely saw him draw his sword. The tip connected with her own blade and drove her back as her aura flickered from just the impact. Her eyes couldn't keep up as he repeatedly shoved her back with relentless strikes, catching her with a wide slash that sent her tumbling back into a pile of debris.

Weiss instinctively rolled with the impact. Her wings screaming at her as they were crushed beneath her, while pieces of tempered glass chimed and clinked as they flew off her. Digging relentlessly into her feet.

"Feel that? That pain is only a fraction of what you and your family have caused me-"

"That's enough!"

Indignant fury coursed through Weiss as she grabbed Myrtenaster's cylinder and threw her strength into cranking it to yellow. She felt something slowly giving way before her weapon let out a quiet snap as something broke inside.

The man watched on with amusement dancing in his eyes as a large yellow glyph formed at her feet, quickly burning through all the Lightning Dust she had. All at once, the clock hands of the glyph began spinning rapidly, energy surged through her, as an array of white glyphs formed a dome around him.

Weiss let out a cry and drove forwards. The world blurred as she shot from glyph to glyph.

Anger quickly gave way to shock as again and again, she struck at him, only for the attack to be deflected away.

Faster!

She pushed her speed to its absolute limit, leaving her nearly unable to strike at the man when she passed him. And yet even that wasn't enough as metal still clashed with metal.

Her reserves nearly depleted, Weiss leapt for the glyph directly over the man's head, pouring every last ounce of power into her glyph before launching herself down. Myrtenaster stabbing towards the faunus with every ounce of speed and force she could muster…

…only to watch in horror as he caught the strike with the flat of the blade.

The last drops of energy burned away at that moment, sending her crashing into the ground as the aftereffects of the time dilation gripped her.

The man just looked down on her as his hair, weapon and the emblem on his back shimmered with a hazy red glow.

"Pathetic"

The world turned red.

Searing pain tore through her as her back - her wings - slammed into a wall with a sickening thud, shattering her Aura as she let out a piercing scream.

"I almost wish I could listen to that all day."

Weiss forced her eyes open and blearily looked up at the man looming over her. Myrtenaster and her glasses lay a few feet away. She tried to force herself to her feet, but her body would not react.

"In fact…"

She didn't even have time to react before he slowly sunk his blade through the side of her stomach.

Weiss' vision swam and stars exploded in front of her eyes. She tried to hold back, but a hoarse scream was torn from her lips as the metal pushed further and further into her body.

"Music to my ears."

The man tore his blade free, sending a fresh wave of agony through her. He flicked it to the side once before resheathing it. "I should be thanking you, Schnee. Thanks to you, no one will forget this night. Not with your body-"

His words were left unsaid, cut off when he leapt back. Confusion pushed through the pain in Weiss' mind until bullets raked the area between them, interrupted by the occasional ring of metal on metal. Two gunships dropped into view behind the broken windows of the tower, bathing the area in a blinding white light.

A silhouetted figure flying through the hole Weiss' weapons locker had made with a heavy impact. Several small swords fanned out behind her as she took a familiar stance.

Penny's voice cut through the gunship's noise. "Intruder, you are surrounded. Surrender now and no one will be-"

Before Weiss could even try to warn her, there was a blur of movement as the man instantly closed the distance between them. The sound of metal on metal rang out as three of Penny's swords intercepted the strike while the rest swept down to counterattack, only to be deflected away effortlessly.

The sound of battle continued, but Weiss forced herself to look away. She needed to get out of here. Quickly. Penny was good. However, against… whoever this was, she'd only buy her a minute or two. She needed to focus. Needed to patch her injuries as best she could.

Tearing off and balling up some of her shirt's fabric and pressing it against the wound before tearing off another strip of cloth to bind it to the wound in an effort to staunch the bleeding. Once the wound was bound, Weiss took a deep breath before slowly dragging herself to her feet, stumbling slightly as she tried to glance back at the ongoing fight.

She nearly blinded herself squinting into the harsh light. Even worse, the two silhouetted figures were a haze to her, with nothing but the clanging of metal barely audible above the heavy engines of the gunships to tell her they were still fighting.

She tried to take a small step forward, but was barely able to keep her balance as darkness crept into the edges of her vision.

Penny's surprised yelp had her gaze snapping back up just in time to see the man blowing past her as he dashed towards the shattered window. His sword blurred as he deflected several of the airship's bullets before leaping out into the night sky.

A series of explosions rocked the tower moments later.

Penny paused in the open space as the building shook, clearly about to give chase before she hesitated. She glanced back and, after a brief pause, catapulted herself towards Weiss, snatched her up and launched them both out of the tower.

Her arm pressed tightly into Weiss' side as they flew through the air. The explosions petered off almost immediately, though she barely even noticed as she focused past the pain, desperate to summon a glyph to help slow their fall.

A familiar purple glow engulfed the two of them, slowing their descent until Penny's feet finally made contact with solid ground. Despite the heavy impact, there was no break in her movements as she launched two of her swords into a nearby building, pulling them further away from the tower. Weiss could hear the crashing of rubble and glass as it slammed into the ground behind them, panic growing in her chest as Penny carried her towards the growing crowd of people at the edge of the area where scroll cameras flashed repeatedly.

"No!" she shouted as she threw a hand up to hide herself.

Weiss was unsure if her cry had been heard until Penny abruptly changed directions. Her swords accelerated the two of them faster and faster, Beacon's campus flashed by at an alarming rate until they finally skidded to a stop not far from one of the school's side entrances. Weiss stumbled slightly when Penny finally lowered her to her feet, though her stomach protested the additional weight. She couldn't allow herself to lose any more blood, so she pressed a hand against the makeshift bandage that lay hidden beneath her jacket despite the pain it brought.

Penny beamed as she glanced around the area. "I believe we are safe here."

Weiss almost let out a groan upon seeing the ballroom not too far away. Of course, it was likely empty by this point; the music was no longer playing and the lights had been fully turned off, but the simple fact that she was back where this whole night began was… vexing.

She tried to take a step towards the entrance but nearly collapsed as the adrenaline finally ran its course, leaving exhaustion in its wake.

Penny turned back towards the tower, watching the rubble floating upward in the distance.

"I believe Glynda is currently occupied, but she was most happy to see you were alive. Your teammates will be relieved to know you are safe as well. They were quite concerned at the dance." Penny glanced over at her, a small frowning as she quickly glanced down Weiss' form. "Though, perhaps some medical attention should take priority. You seem to be injured."

Weiss scoffed. She absolutely needed to get medical attention; she could feel blood soaking through her makeshift bandages at a concerning rate. She'd need to get her side checked out, as well as her back and wings–

She froze as she glanced between Penny and her bleeding side. Pressing her jacket hard into the wound, stifling a gasp as the fiery pain raced up her side.

Anyone who saw the wound would see her wings.

"Is Winter back?" Weiss gasped, glancing up at Penny's beaming smile, only to watch as the girl's expression quickly became downcast.

"No… But I know she would be happy you are safe." Penny glanced back at the tower. "I am also quite sure she would be proud of your actions tonight. You were very brave facing down that assailant. He was quite skilled."

Scheisse.

Weiss nodded as if she was paying attention. Her mind churned out idea after idea on how to handle this latest predicament. She needed to handle this herself, of that she was sure. She was hardly a doctor though-

Penny perked up, bringing a hand to her ear. "Yes, sir. I have Miss Schnee with me. As per her request, we are a safe distance from the tower. Did you apprehend the suspects?"

Where could she go? The infirmary was out of the question. The training arena had medical supplies for this sort of wound, but was very far away. Additionally, the locker rooms were not exactly private…

"Yes, sir. He was a male faunus with red-hair. Six foot four inches tall. He had two small bull horns on the top of his head…"

Weiss ignored Penny as she continued to give her description of their assailant. Instead, she racked her brain even harder.

Her teammates were not exactly the type to run away from danger, so the much closer and private dorm room was potentially an option, though they didn't have nearly the same supplies, and the building might also be busy-

Weiss winced as she felt blood seeping through the bandages. Did she have a better option?

No. She would just have to take the risk.

Besides, it wasn't as if they'd think less of her.

She shook her head vehemently to clear those foolish thoughts before taking a small step towards the side entrance, watching Penny carefully for any reaction. The strange girl only quietly nodded while looking back towards the tower, likely focused on what Weiss could only assume was some form of communications device.

Weiss slowly took another step, then another, meticulously creating more and more distance until she was right by the door. Thankfully, Penny was still distracted, so with a quiet, steadying breath, she cracked the door open, slipped inside and ran for her dorm. She knew fleeing like this would look suspicious, but she didn't have the luxury of worrying about that right now…

A wave of nausea washed over her, forcing her to stop, lean against the hallway wall and take deep breaths until her head stopped spinning. Small drops of red fell on the floor as she quickly took off again, sticking to the shadows of the hallways as she skirted around the dance hall, ignoring anyone she saw along the way.

Students still littered the hallways. However, the commotion due to the attack was working in her favor. Most of them were on calls or closely watching their scroll's screen as news reports played.

"-reports are still coming in; however, the authorities have advised the public to be on the lookout for a tall male faunus with bull horns and red hair. He is to be considered armed and extremely dangerous-"

The report made it easy for her to quietly slip past the bulk of students before sprinting through the doors, into the dorms and up the stairs. She pointedly ignored the yells from down the first year hallway, and dragged herself over her dorm room's threshold before throwing the door shut.

A dark, empty room mercifully greeted her when she turned around.

Weiss sighed deeply before locking the door without bothering to flick the lights on before she set to work. Her head was fuzzy from the run which was decidedly not a good sign; she had to do something about the bleeding now.

Stitches were the ideal option, but she didn't have the supplies or the skill for that. Bandages would be worthless without something to help along the clotting, but it would certainly be better than nothing. If only Klein were here. He always seemed to know just how to handle things like this. Actually, now that she thought about it, the only injury he hadn't at least helped with was the wing burn a few years ago…

Oh… Oh, that might actually work.

Weiss quickly dropped to the floor and pulled her weapons case out from under her bed, leaving a bloody imprint on the handle. Her hands trembled and slipped as she hurried to unlatch it, pulled out a fire dust vial and tore away the torn cloth in the way of the wound. She was poised to unceremoniously dump some of the dust onto the open wound when better judgment finally cracked her frantic mind.

She stumbled her way to the bathroom and threw the light on, grabbed the team's first aid kit and haphazardly tossed it onto the counter. Without preamble, she tore away her makeshift bandages, causing a sudden spike of sharp pain to lance out from the wound.

A dull ache radiated from her wings as she frantically tore off her jacket and picked at the straps of her bindings until she saw the bands near the wound were cut clean through.

"Wonderful," Weiss muttered as she began to struggle with the now ruined harness. However, the cut bands quickly tangled together until, with a frustrated growl, she tore the whole damn thing off, letting her wings hang free. Once that was done, she ripped off the tattered remains of her shirt and threw the mass of leather and fabric onto the growing pile of bloody fabric at her feet.

The wound looked tiny for how much blood she was losing. Just a relatively thin line that punched into her left side, about an inch or two below her ribs. A small mercy. With shaky blood-covered hands, she desperately pulled the disinfectant from the first aid kit and applied it liberally, then pressed a wad of gauze against the wound to slow the bleeding. The gel made her stomach burn, but she knew that what came next would be much worse.

When the gel stopped burning, she threw the soiled gauze onto the pile, finished undressing and stepped into the shower with a washcloth and phial of Dust in hand. After setting the phial down, she coiled the washcloth and bit down tightly. With a deep breath, she retrieved the phial, popped the lid off and leaned against the tiled wall. For a brief moment, she simply stared at the shimmering red powder-

No. No hesitation. Before she could have any more second thoughts, she sprinkled some of the Dust onto the open wound, snapped the lid shut again and set the phial down before channeling a sliver of her aura into the dust to activate it.

Pain exploded behind her eyes as the smell of burnt flesh and blood clogged her nose. She tried to restrain her body's instinct to convulse from the pain as wave after wave of burning agony coursed through her. Her hip and wings slammed into the porcelain tub as she lost control of her legs, but she didn't even notice the impact as she curled into a ball and screamed into the washcloth while tears streaked down from her eyes. Her wings were crushed beneath her as she writhed, but the discomfort was so miniscule compared to the Dust burn that it barely even registered amidst the agonizing spasms that wracked her body again and again until she practically ripped the shower curtains off their rings.

Eventually her body ran out of energy to even move. Whimpers and heavy breathing were the only sign of life as her eyes fluttered and the washcloth fell from her mouth while the burning pain finally ebbed away.

…

Weiss' half-lidded eyes took in the bathroom ceiling above her. How much time had passed? It felt like hours…

She bit her lip and blindly reached for the shower faucet and cranked it on, letting the cool water of the shower wash over her and bring some sense of life back into her bones.

"Scheiße,"Weiss groaned as she slowly pulled herself into a sitting position. Her legs shook from the effort as she crawled to her knees and examined the wound through the torrent of water. The wound pulsed sharply with every movement, but she needed to make sure she had done this right. A choked sigh of relief escaped her when she saw the charred cut; it was still a bit red, but it looked properly cauterized.

Weiss groaned and lowered herself onto her back before turning to lay on her side while the water washed over her. She could see the water tinging itself pink with blood and sweat, a small indicator that she could finally take a moment to recover from her ordeal. She could stand up and properly clean herself when she had the energy to do so.

…

Her team.

Weiss' eyes snapped open.

Her team could, at any second, return to a locked, bloody dorm room where she was practically passed out in the bathtub. With a reluctant sigh, Weiss forced herself up, turned off the shower, and took a moment to look at the room around her. Blood and cloth scraps littered the room despite her efforts to keep it localized.

Dust, what would her father say if he saw this… Would he be more upset that she had nearly died or that she had left enough evidence lying around to be convicted of murder?

Groaning, she slowly brought her arms to the tub edge. Her legs quivered as she finally managed to get to her feet and climb out of the shower. After methodically drying herself off, she applied more disinfectant to the freshly cauterized wound and wrapped gauze around it that was thick enough that she couldn't see through.

It wasn't perfect, but it would do. Her aura would eventually start healing it before any infections set in, and if not… well she would worry about that if the time came.

Her head spun as she slowly went about cleaning up her mess, starting with the pile of soiled cloth, broken harness and bloody gauze that she scooped into a tight ball and shoved into a bag to be dealt with later. She disregarded her jacket in favor of methodically wiping down every smear of blood she could find before retrieving a change of clothing and her spare harness from her closet with a silent thank you to Klein.

Once she was dressed, she slipped on the harness with a practiced ease, wincing as the tenser bands pressed tightly against the wrapped gauze. That was fine. It was nothing she hadn't experienced before. Her hair was also still a bit damp, but that was easy enough to explain. That only left her jacket and glasses…

Weiss sighed in disbelief when she held up her jacket. The cut in the leather was barely noticeable, and the red lining worked wonders in hiding the patch of blood that had soaked into it. A small miracle maybe, though given Winter's propensity for planning ahead, that was likely a conscious decision on her part. It would appear she owed her a "thanks" for that.

Still, it would need to be cleaned a bit…

Weiss scrubbed at the dark red patches with hand soap and what little strength she had left until the washcloth started letting out clear liquid when she wrung it out.

Leaving the jacket hanging by her bed, she scanned the dark room for the final piece of her facade. Her eyesight blurred as exhaustion began to finally set in.

Her scroll and weapon were still back at the tower… Probably her glasses too. They'd probably fallen off at some point during the attack. Weiss let out a sigh. She would have to ask Whitley for another pair at some point. She did promise to call him…

Well, she could deal with that come morning. With one final glance around the room, she all but collapsed on the soft mattress of her bed. She didn't even bother to suppress the pained whine as she shifted to lay on her good side to avoid putting additional strain on her wings and the wound.

She should have stayed away from the dance. It probably hadn't been worth it… and yet she couldn't bring herself to regret it. Where were they, anyway?

Well, they'd be here eventually. Maybe a few minutes of rest before they inevitably returned and interrogated her wouldn't be the worst thing…

Just a few minutes…

Author Notes:

German stuff:
Wunderbar - Wonderful
Nein - No
Scheisse - This German word literally translates to "shit," "crap," or "damn" and is the most commonly used German swear word
Scheiße - Fuck ( Thought i should be noted this is literal translation)

ShinraSorceress Notes: While, for the most part, we do try to provide an explanation or hint at some justification for why things in Clipped Wings are different from canon, this is still a full AU rather than a simple canon divergent fic (even if has been subtle up until now) and some changes have been made without providing that justification so that we can better tell the story we want to tell. As an aside, writing psychopaths is fun. XP

Track Notes: We will be adding railings and stairwells at our own discretion, because CRWBY has the same safety standards as the Death Star.

Heeeeeeeeeeeeeeyo! Did yah miss us?! DID YAH?!

We miss you all X)

Now I would apologize for the wait buuuut frankly given the length of this chapter, the back end planning and long term shit we got sorted… I am not the LEAST bit sorry.

For real though, this chapter took a long time to get through. Mostly because before even starting on editing we made a full time line, laid out some of the groundwork for things we have to do going forwards, and took a small break. But here we are, back and better than ever! ish!

To that end, something we don't do all too often… Announcement!

Some of you may have noticed this fic is now part of a series. Well I am proud to announce Clipped Wings will be continuing for a while yet and is part of the Lost & Found series. Why a series? Well because we launched a second fic yah sillies! It's called Remnant Revised. It's a collection of one shots focusing on events and parts of this AU that help flush out major events or changes we have made to the Canon RWBY timeline/world. This is not World of Remnant or anything, you do not NEED to read it for Clipped to make sense/work. However if you're craving more of Clipped's world, this fic will be updated every so often to give you that. Our first chapter focuses on some of the changes we've made to Mantle and Adam's back story.

More on the series and this story's future soon.

Right, now onto the chapter.

So Whitley eh? Y'all were gettin' your Sherlock hats on, and sadly it turns out he's not the secret BBEG XD Honestly he was a bit of a strange one to write. I had thought he would be a smiley little git and a total daddys boy but… he surprised me. I think part of that came down to the fact he has two older sisters. Anyone with siblings will know what I mean. A lot of the time characters write themselves and Whitley is a prime example of this. I really do like the banter between them, and I really hope a bit of the sibling-ness got through. Even if they are not traditional siblings. I doubt that makes any sense. Eh I tried.

So small plug. ShinraSorceress put in WORK editing the Remnants Revised chapter. They really helped bring Adam to life, and so if you haven't, go read it. I promise it will only enhance this chapter.

Ok enough procrastination. Let's talk about the big one.

This is the first MAJOR departure from canon outside of the whole, yah know, Weiss with Wings bit. There have been a lot of subtle shifts and a lot of things behind the scenes that changed but this is the first real big, noticeable, in your face, change.

Now I obviously won't get too far into the details, however I think it's important to note that this does not mean that from this point on we are flat out ignoring canon. At some point I may release the AU timeline but until then, just know we are trying our best to keep merge and mix and make canon RWBY work for this story. HOWEVER. There are some things that just do NOT work. One such thing is the CCT attack.

There are a lot of questions and they WILL be answered eventually.

Ok fine. Let's actually talk about the big one.

Weiss. She got season 5'ed. That did actually happen. Thankfully in a less immediately life-threatening spot.

There were a lot of ways this scene could play out. It got rewritten about 4 times before finally being edited and changed a bit more. I think the hardest part was writing a believable 17 year old Huntress-in-training in a way that made sense. On one hand, she is competent. On the other hand this is suddenly very real and emotions are ugly. But she has faced down grimm! Yah dumb blood thirsty animals are a bit different from having an armed gunman in your home. Everyone has a plan till they get punched in the face, and finding that sweet spot for Weiss was a challenge.

Also there is just something about seeing a well laid out plan in action, and having a Weiss sized wrench thrown into it that was so satisfying. Sorry Team Evil, it won't be that easy this time around. (Yes, I am refraining from naming anyone specific. No, I won't apologize.)

So with that all said, I really do think we got Weiss' reactions and emotions right but let us know what you think. Think she would have been less put off by seeing dead bodies for the first time? Was Adam as horrifying as you hoped/expected or do we need to throw some more red dust on the fire?

We always love to hear all your thoughts, theories, guesses, questions, and all the edits we missed XD! Rest assured we will continue to respond. Yes even to your "good chapters"

A huge shout out to the TWO beta readers working on this fic. That's right TWO. Shikotan (ShinraSorceress on AO3) who helps with all the technical edits, and Alucard45 who handles all the continuity editing/tracking and German. Both are amazing, talented and just all around awesome. Please check out their shit, like comment, subscribe, you get the idea.

This fiction is inspired by a lot of other works, my original story included. If you want better writing than mine but same kind of stuff, hit these up. They be great.
Inspired by Craving the Sky by najio.
Inspired by Concrete Angel by IShipYouNot, No_Count.
Inspired by Burried Truth by DEM3TER.
Inspired by The Weight Around Her Neck by Apathetic_Abstract_Apotheosis.

One final thing before I go.

The subject matter Canon RWBY has been exploring has been hitting a bit close to home for me. So I wanted to take a second and remind everyone who is a part of this community, or any other community. You are not alone. You matter. I know that a few words in the author's notes of a fanfic don't really mean much, but all the same I felt the need to say something.

If you are struggling there are places you can call or go for help. Please, don't let your story end,

Stay strong. Fly high and fly far,
Quinn signing off.