Yo!
Back again for another chapter. Not a ton to say atm. Hope you guys enjoy!
Start Chapter 16
By the time they get back to Mistral, Weiss Schnee hasn't slept in nearly twenty-seven hours. That had, in all fairness, not really been her intention. They'd been caught up in chasing Marcus Black, and had found his cabin after some twelve or so hours of being awake. The entire affair with him had taken about thirty minutes, and then keeping Mercury alive long enough that they could get him back to Mistral, or his aura could take over and heal him, had meant that neither she nor Qrow had been able to sleep.
Then again, with Mercury in such a state, Weiss isn't really able to bring herself to shut her eyes. She… she feels she needs to be there.
What she wouldn't give to have Jaune there, by her side.
…For his semblance! She means for his semblance, so that he could heal Mercury! That…
Ugh. She's arguing with herself. She must truly be exhausted to be reduced to such.
She's sitting with Qrow in the back rooms of one of Mistral's many hospitals, up on the emergency floors. The smell of cleaning solution and iron both mixes into the air, which she knows is because of the caked-on blood that she hadn't managed to work off all the way when she'd washed her hands earlier.
It… gets into places. Under Weiss' fingernails, into the divots and wrinkles in her skin. Poor Qrow's likely got it much worse than her.
They must look ghastly. The nurses and doctors don't seem to mind, however, and Weiss supposes that if someone got used to dealing with these sorts of things every day, they might not balk so much.
Weiss is very glad that she isn't accustomed to this, despite the fact that it would be helping her in the here and now.
"You alright, kid?"
She turns to see Qrow looking down at her out of the corner of his eye. It's got bags under it, and with the perpetual crow's feet that he seems to have, well… it makes him look an awful lot more haggard than he actually is.
"I'm… coping." Weiss admits.
"Yeah." Qrow hums out, looking bored on the surface, and yet Weiss knows him well enough from their time in Atlas to understand that he's likely worried for her sake.
"I've never killed someone before." Weiss says after a while, sort of just… deciding to rip the bandage off. "I've taken actions that have led to people dying before, but… I've never aimed my weapon at someone with the intent to kill them, and then accomplished that feat. It's…"
Weiss pauses, her thoughts a jumble of differing emotions and ideas.
"I don't really know what to think. I shouldn't feel… bad, should I?"
"Hah. Well, that's a complicated one." Qrow sighs, and it's only then, in a moment where an older Qrow would've assuredly reached for his hip flask, that Weiss realizes this Qrow doesn't have one at all. "I'm probably not the best person to be having this conversation with. I've… I don't know, gotten used to it, maybe? I've killed a few dozen people at this point. None of them good people, mind you. The reprobates of society. Murderers, kidnappers, slavers, those sorts. Or, well, when I had a choice. I did some fucked up shit as a member of the Branwen's, but… well, I'd rather not think about that at the moment, so let's not."
Weiss nods.
"But it's funny… no matter how terrible a person is, when you take a life… when you watch that life drain from out of someone's eyes, leaving behind a pile of meat where a person used to be… it does something to you. I don't know how to describe it." He laughs, a tired thing. "Like I said, I'm not really the person for this."
"I appreciate you putting in the effort." She tells him, straightening up a little. "It is… kind of you."
"Ah, well…" Qrow rubs at the back of his neck. "You remind me a bit of my sister, actually."
Weiss bristles immediately. "I what!? The bandit leader!?"
Qrow barks out a laugh. "I meant more that you're both haughty and headstrong, not that I think you're going to go off and start a bandit tribe. I just… I wanted you to know I was looking out for you."
"…Thank you."
"Mm." He coughs into one hand. "Listen, kid – er, Rubes. I know this is going to sound dumb as hell, but… don't blame yourself for what happened to that kid."
The contents of Weiss' stomach turn to ice. She sucks in a breath, and finds her throat is barren of any moisture.
She tries to speak, maybe to make some silly excuse, like she's fine, but she can't. She gives up a moment later. There's just no point, is there?
She hears that sound again; the squelching that had echoed out inside her skull the moment the Arma Gigas' blade had struck Mercury's side.
It sickens her, makes her want to wretch into the nearest bin. She stands, makes her way over to one, and heaves, but can't manage to get anything out. Nothing comes.
To be fair, she hasn't eaten anything all day.
Qrow's there, behind her, supporting her. "It wasn't your fault. The adrenaline, the moment, the lives at stake… you couldn't have made an accurate decision in that moment on how much force you needed, and not even I could've stopped my blade in time to save that kid. He was running right for you, right at a weapon mid swing. That's not on you."
Weiss, intellectually, knows that Qrow is telling the truth. The simple fact of the matter is that Mercury had endangered himself recklessly; but can they really blame him when it had been his father who had been about to be killed?
She doesn't think she can; just as much as she's sure they can't be blamed for doing the deed itself.
She eventually recovers, wiping at her mouth with the back of her hand. It comes away clean. She hadn't managed to vomit up anything at all.
It brings back the thoughts of the black goop she'd thrown up the other day in the hotel she and Qrow had been staying in. It had seemed so… odd. She decides then that once she's gotten some rest, she's going to let herself be examined here; see if there's anything wrong.
There likely isn't, but… well, one can't be too careful, Weiss thinks.
The door at the front of the room opens, and in steps the surgeon who'd been assigned to Mercury's case. Weiss' heart practically stops, even as she shoots forward, dimly aware of how crazed she must look running on fumes.
"How is he!?"
The woman gives an exhausted looking smile. "Stable. Barely." She stresses the word. "But I do believe he's going to make it."
Weiss damn near collapses to her knees; all the tension of the day – and night, and morning, and day all over again – catching up with her.
She cries quietly into her hands, the relief too much to bear.
"That's…" Qrow lets out a breath. "That's good to hear."
The doctor steps towards Qrow. "He owes the two of you his life. If you hadn't sewn him back up, well… I don't think he'd have made it. Hell, if it had taken you another five minutes to get here, I'm not sure he'd have made it."
Possibilities trek through Weiss' skull, thoughts of them being just a bit slower, or just a bit less fortunate. She forces herself to eject them from her brain, to not even consider them.
They will accost her when she lies down to rest regardless. She might as well free herself of them for now.
Weiss and Qrow both discuss such things – Mercury's condition, the circumstances that had led to their arrival, the disheveled state of both she and Qrow – for ten or so minutes, before a light comes on, the surgeon sighs, and tells them she's got to get back to work.
After that… well…
The world kind of crashes down onto the both of them.
Weiss barely has the energy to make it down the steps to the lobby, let alone to make it to a hotel to crash for the night. Instead of getting to do that, however, they have a lot of paperwork to fill out – official Hunter business, insurance related, which is going to be complicated given Weiss doesn't have any.
Luckily, upon seeing Weiss hesitate on filling her form out, Qrow sighs, sets down his own clipboard, and fills hers out for her.
He's letting her use Beacon's insurance, apparently, and putting the entire mission down under his name. It's… quite kind of him.
Qrow really is just as Ruby had always said; a total softy underneath all those manufactured spines.
Weiss makes an appointment for the following morning, before the nurse tells her that if she just wants blood drawn, she can handle it right then and there. The perks of being a Huntress, apparently, is being given preferential service.
It doesn't seem all that fair to the people who've been waiting in line, but…
When Weiss thinks about it, taking five minutes to get some blood drawn is probably a better idea than having to come back tomorrow.
Especially when her gameplan for tomorrow is to sleep, and then sleep some more.
So, she goes and gets blood drawn. It doesn't take very long, and the nurse tells her that they'll contact her with information regarding the results within a week or so. Weiss curses as she realizes she doesn't actually have a scroll capable of taking calls, but again, Qrow steps in, offering his own number.
Weiss doesn't like that nearly as much, but after Qrow promises to not eavesdrop on any private conversations with a doctor – which, in all fairness, is a rather scummy and un-Qrow-like thing to do – she acquiesces, and thanks him.
"Don't mention it, Rubes," he says as they exit out of the hospital, before pausing, seemingly intrigued. "Although, actually…"
He turns back towards Weiss, and shoots her an amused eyebrow.
"What's your name? Your real name, I mean. It's not Ruby, am I right?"
Weiss grimaces, not in any position to be coming up with fake excuses right now. She's tired, she wants to go home – her home doesn't exist anymore, but home in this case means surrounded by those she loves – and lie down. Then, she wants to promptly forget all about everything else going on.
Yes, that sounds heavenly.
Less heavenly is the whole coming up with a fake name that's actually believable…
Or…
She could…
No, that's stupid. Asinine. Completely ridiculous…
…
"Weiss." She says, planting her hands on her hips. "You can call me that."
"Hah." Qrow seems amused. "Like the Schnee brat? Weiss Schnee? You're saying they named two of you Weiss Schnee?"
"Whether or not you believe me is your business," Weiss tells him, stepping right by him and making for the nearest hotel. "I've held up my end of the bargain."
Qrow doesn't say anything for a few seconds as he follows along behind her, but eventually, he sighs, and shakes his head.
"Sure. Fine. Whatever, 'Weiss'."
And Weiss smiles…
It's good to hear her own name out of someone's mouth again.
/
The next day or so is spent falling into and out of sleep repeatedly. Weiss ends up being out of commission for nearly sixteen hours, give or take, but when she finally does get up for real, it's well into the evening.
"Ah, sleeping beauty awakens." Qrow smirks at her as she enters into the hotel lobby, though judging by the cup of coffee that he's nursing, she has a feeling he can't have been awake much longer than her. "You feeling more human now?"
"Mm." She pours herself a cup of coffee as well, and then sits down on one of the couches opposite him. "Ugh. My head hurts."
"Yeah, that'll happen when you fuck up your sleep schedule. I'm pretty much perpetually fucking mine up, so I don't get the headaches as much anymore."
Weiss grunts out in acknowledgement as she takes greedy sips of her coffee, until she's finished the entire mug in just under two minutes. It helps that it's not too terribly hot, having evidently been sitting around a while.
If anything, it's a little colder than she'd like, but she really does need the caffeine at the moment.
"So, wanna' head down to check on the kid?"
She hums out to confirm that, and then stands when Qrow does.
"He's probably not going to be awake as of yet, but who knows, weirder shit's happened."
"You have a way with words."
"Thanks, I get told that a lot."
She rolls her eyes, but she's grinning against her better judgement.
The trip down to the hospital is about a kilometer. Not too bad for either of them, Hunters, but then, Weiss' legs are really crying for relief, and she's putting them through yet another sprint.
Well, they're not in any hurry this time, at least.
Unfortunately, Weiss is an awful lot more tired than she should be, and so when a family of three walks towards her, evidently expecting her to move out of the way, she's just not all there.
She collides with the – presumably – husband, and sends him to the floor. One would expect her to be the one knocked over due the difference in height and weight between them, but Weiss is a Huntress, and aura is a hell of a drug.
"I'm so sorry!" She winces as she reaches down, and offers a hand to the man. "I didn't mean to– I wasn't watching where I was going–"
"It's fine, it's fine," The man chuckles good-naturedly. "It's no trouble at all. I think we're all a little out of it this evening."
Right. It's… probably six or seven at night. The sun will be setting shortly. It feels like the morning for Weiss given she just woke up, but…
She turns, and looks over at the rest of the family standing there. The mother is a rather mature looking woman with brown hair and pale blue eyes. She has a look that screams wealth to Weiss, who has seen more than a few people who've dressed just like she is.
There's also a certain… confidence in her stance, however, that to Weiss says she might also have once been a combatant of some kind. Interesting, but not overly noteworthy. There are many Huntsmen and Huntresses around the world, and even more soldiers.
"Ah, but where are my manners," The man coughs into one fist. "My name is Jim. This is my wife, Carmel, and my daughter, Trivia."
Weiss looks down at the final member of the family, and sees a young girl, maybe nine or ten years old, looking up at her with a sort of… distrust feels too extreme. More wariness, Weiss will say.
"Hello, there," She kneels down, and offers out a hand to the young girl. "My name is Weiss. What's yours?"
"Ah, I'm afraid Trivia is very shy," Carmel, the wife, says, and Weiss feels a bit bad about imposing on her then. "But I'm sure she's delighted to meet you, aren't you, Trivia?"
From the expression on Trivia's face, then, the brief flash of fear followed by a curt and quick nod, Weiss already feels herself building some… apprehension about these three. She's been around wealth long enough in her life to know these types of people by feel alone.
The kinds worried only about appearances.
It's evident in the suave outfits all three have on. It's evident in the tailored suit that Jim has on; emblazoned with the symbol of the company who'd created it on the front, an establishment she happens to know charges well into the five-figure range for a single piece of apparel. It's evident in the necklace of real pearls that Carmel wears around her neck.
It's evident in the way that Trivia, young Trivia, says nothing, does nothing. The way that she stays entirely silent.
It's not immediately worthy of alarm, not truly. Trivia is likely just acquiescing to her parents' requests to stay silent and largely out of sight. It's not exactly great parenting, but then, Weiss wouldn't really know great parenting if it hit her squarely in the chest.
So, for now, she'll allow them to get on their way.
"Well, I apologize again for bumping into you, and I apologize to you as well, Trivia, for stressing–"
And then Weiss' eyes widen.
Because Trivia, the girl beneath her…
Her eyes have suddenly changed color. They've gone from the brown they'd been before…
To one brown, and one pink.
And that…
That has entirely different alarm bells going off in Weiss' head.
Because she knows those eyes.
No sooner has Weiss' expression shifted, however, than has Jim rounded on his daughter with a snarl, and grabbed her by the collar. Weiss takes a step back, stunned by the complete turn in behavior from the man, but she's still close enough to catch his fevered, hissing whispers.
"Why aren't you wearing your contacts!?"
Trivia shakes her head in abject fear, and Weiss is about a second away from stepping in, stopping all of this, when Qrow places a hand on her shoulder.
He taps Atlesian Morse into her back.
Wait.
Weiss doesn't want to wait; she wants to rescue this poor girl from–
Watch. Qrow taps into her back this time, and Weiss… it's choppy, and Qrow can't properly communicate with her in a subset of language he's only ever learned for use in combat scenarios, but she thinks she knows what Qrow is saying.
Pay attention, keep track of their abuses.
Weiss nods subtly, even as Jim keeps speaking.
"Don't you see!?" He hisses out, barely audible. "You've frightened this poor lady with your freakish abilities! This is why we tell you to wear your contacts!"
Carmel kneels down beside her husband as well. "Why didn't you wear them."
Trivia hastily makes some signs with her hands, which, to Weiss, indicates that she's not shy, like they'd said, but likely mute. That… yes, that adds up. If this is who Weiss thinks she is…
How odd, that she would run into two antagonists from her life. That she would meet a young Mercury Black, and then, a few days later…
"Oh, Neo made you do it!?" Jim reaches up, and, to Weiss' horror, smacks his daughter across the face. "Don't give me that garbage, Trivia! Your imaginary friend can't control you!"
Weiss has had just about enough of this. She knows what Qrow is saying, to watch and record moments of abuse so that they can report this, but she's not about to sit by and watch this happen, either.
Yet, just as Weiss moves in to give them a piece of their minds, the two stand up, and are suddenly all smiles yet again.
"Our apologies for our daughters' behavior." Jim chuckles out, but the sound is so incredibly fake that Weiss wants to spit at it. "She has a very… overactive imagination. You'll have to excuse her."
Weiss is biting down hard on the insides of her cheek, even as Jim clears his throat. "Well, we should probably be going. Quite the busy day today. It's been nice meeting you."
The sentiment is not shared.
The three move to walk away, but as they do so, Weiss meets Trivia's eyes one final time, and in them…
In them she sees something she never thought she'd see from Neopolitan.
A look of purest defeat. Of begrudging acceptance. Of total subservience.
And Weiss decides that enough is enough.
"How dare you treat your daughter like that!?"
She's not quiet about it. Several other people on the opposite side of the street turn to see what all the fuss is about, and Qrow winces visibly, even as he takes a step forward, preparing to back her up if this gets ugly.
Jim and Carmel turn to her with shocked expressions, but there is anger in the both of them. Much more extreme anger from Jim's side, but a cooler, more dangerous fury on Carmel's.
Just as before, she thinks this woman is a former combatant. She gives nothing away.
"Who are you to tell us how to raise our daughter!?" Jim calls back, evidently fuming.
"A better person than the two of you, evidently! Not that that's all that difficult!"
Jim steps towards her, or makes to, if not for Carmel stopping him with a hand on his chest.
"Ignore her, darling." She speaks, evidently the cooler head amongst them. "We've no reason to listen to the opinions of some… harlot."
Weiss bristles, but she refuses to rise to their insults. It's clear they want that. Maybe to get Weiss screaming at them, or to attack them. Then, they can sue her into the ground, and force her to let this all go.
She's not going to allow it.
Not when it wouldn't just be her paying the price.
"Fine. But this isn't over."
"Hah." Carmel turns away without a care in the world. "I do believe it is. Come along, darling."
The family disappears beyond a corner, and Weiss does her best to unscrew her jaw. She turns to Qrow, holds out her hand, and tells him, "I need to borrow your scroll."
"Who are you calling?"
"Who else? I'm calling child protective services."
Qrow cackles. "Not one to fuck around, are you?"
"Of course not!" Weiss harrumphs. "They're clearly abusing their poor daughter. Did you see how she was reacting? They called her a freak!"
"They said she had freakish powers."
She levels a death glare at Qrow, and the man raises his hands in surrender.
"Hey, I don't disagree at all. I'm just saying if you want to nail these assholes, you're going to need to do it the right way. These kinds of things are hard as hell. If you want, I can keep an eye on them, and report the truth to the ones who go and investigate them. Unfortunately, in most cases, the children don't stick up for themselves. It's not exactly surprising. Those are still her parents. Whether they're assholes or not. She's never known anything else. And those services aren't great on the kids either, even if she does get taken from her parents. Often, they end up in the foster care system, which…" Qrow sighs. "Which I wish was a lot better than it actually is. I've heard some horror stories is all I'll say."
"Hmph." Weiss plants her hands on her hips. "I'm not letting them take advantage of her! I'll adopt the girl myself if I have to; they're not going to get away with what they're doing!"
"You sure you don't have enough on your plate, kid?"
"I can handle it."
"Suuure." Qrow rolls his eyes. "We'll pretend I believe that. A kid is an awful lot of responsibility. I've seen someone realize just how much responsibility a bit too late to make a decision otherwise, and… regret it, let's say."
Weiss knows he's talking about Raven. But she isn't Raven, and Vanille is no ordinary girl.
One day, she'll become one of the most powerful women in all the world, and play a large part in why both Vale and Atlas will fall to the Grimm.
Preventing her from becoming that person will, effectively, save hundreds of thousands of lives.
"Alright, c'mon, we're off to go visit the kid, and then I've got a phone call of my own to make."
"You're not going to let me call child protective services?"
"I'll do something better than calling them, trust me." Qrow tells her, winking. "But for now, let's see the kid. That'll ease your mind a little, no?"
Weiss sighs, but agrees that it probably will, yes. She straightens out her outfit, takes a breath, and then nods.
"Alright… let's go."
End Chapter 16
Alright, we get some Weiss-exclusive time this week. We're approaching the end of the first part of this story, but rather obviously this story itself still has quite a long way to go!
Not a ton to say. I'll talk to you guys again next week! Although, if you want to support me, and get access to the next FIVE chapters of this story right now, far sooner than they'll release on FF or AO3, then consider checking out my Patron! There's an e in there after the r and before the o. I assume you know what I'm talking about, but FF and AO3 don't like me typing that. It's just website dot com /Deferonz!
Want to support me without signing up for a monthly payment? Check out my Kofi! just website dot com /Deferonz
I'm currently taking Drawing commissions, and one-shot writing commissions! Feel free to send a dm to this account, a review or comment on this story, or reach out to me through other means!