Author's Notes:
-Six months deep into 2024... here we go again, still feels like more.
-I would have gotten this chapter out sooner, but I might be going through a quarter-life crisis again… (Can I cure this with tons of sugar? Whether it's ice cream or cheesecake? Or other sweets? Good food in general?)
Well… if nothing else I can understand Weiss right now… to an extent.
Now then, let's get the pain train rolling again. All aboard!
[cue music- Billie Eilish- What Was I Made For?]
Dirtied and blistered bare feet were shown walking along a lonely dirt path before the camera panned to show Weiss, her case resting on her back and her sword at her right side. Gloomy gray clouds covered the sky, creating a soft symphony of raindrops. The exhausted ex-heiress made her way down the long, lonely path, reaching the perimeter of the city. Before her was a small stairway and an overhead unblocked gate.
Finally… after so long. I'm here…
She stopped in her tracks, her legs shaking for a moment. She was exhausted, wanting nothing more to collapse then and there, but she had to press on.
My Arma Gigas is gone...
[lyrics start with the flashback]
A brief flashback was shown; Weiss and her Arma Gigas summon were cornered by a massive pack of Beowolves- well over a dozen of them, but only Weiss and her summon. She used a few glyphs to keep herself above the ground. The Arma Gigas was shown swinging its sword, using it to destroy the Grimm as Weiss steadied herself upon a tree branch. But despite destroying a significant amount of Beowolves, there were a few that managed to latch themselves onto the Arma Gigas's left arm. As the summon attempted to get off the wolves eating at him, more chomped down onto his right arm. Several consecutive bites later, the arms had been bitten off and the summon dissolved into nothing.
The ex-heiress gasped. "No! Nickolas Junior!" Weiss lashed out, "You monsters!"
She unleashed massive dust waves against them, destroying all the Grimm in highly explosive blasts, but at the cost of all her dust.
[second verse]
The flashback ended as she stood under the gate, mostly shielding herself from the rain. She held out her arm, feeling a drop fall into her hand.
Beaten and broken, I had no choice but to continue on foot. My aura's barely recovered… so little left. I have no dust left, no food, no water… My toothbrush disappeared three days ago, my hairbrush too… I need shelter… and fast. Can I find a combat school? Or a lodge that would accept me as I am- dirtied, disgusting and with little to no money?
She sighed, her eyes staring at the cloudy sky.
It's not like I can find something that doesn't exist…
From her left, Weiss pulled out the magic mirror and gazed into it. "Show me a shelter."
The mirror showed her a tall, castle-like building. It appeared to be about half the size of Beacon, yet possessing a similar shape and structure. The outer walls were blue and there were a few towers with shuttered windows. The courtyard was huge, stretching about half the size of Beacon's court. The grass was well trimmed, and off to the sides were brushes with blue flowers.
An overhead sign outside read; Aegis Academy
The rain went on, but Weiss pushed onward. In some ways, she hated the rain, seeing it as a sign that the world was against her (and that she was slowly being soaked to the bone). But in some ways, it felt that Mother Nature was crying for her. She shivered, huddling her arms together as the cold and damp began to take her.
[chorus]
I miss my friends. I miss my team… I miss Klein, and Estelle. I miss having a warm bed…
But I was nothing more than a faker in Atlas. A puppet for a rich man… even if that man was my own father… But yet… I'm cold and alone. What if leaving home was a mistake? What if coming here is a mistake? But do I really have any other choice?
Eventually, as the rain let up, she made it to the building. She put the mirror away and made her way forward.
As Weiss made her way to the doors, she saw two figures in the distance and heard faint remnants of conversation. One held a black umbrella in his hand, and the other was standing under an awning, barely shielded from the elements.
She saw a boy with milk chocolate skin, with similarly colored hair and eyes to match. His arched eyebrows were thick, raised up in surprise as he saw the fallen heiress. He wore black cargo pants and a dirtied white tank top (which Weiss guessed was a work shirt). He completed the look with black boots and a black belt. He didn't appear to possess any weapons (unless the umbrella itself was the weapon), but it was very much possible that he just didn't have them with him at that moment.
Beside the boy was a much older man in his forties with his hair completely grayed out. His toned skin had been slightly wrinkled and was heavily flaking. His green eyes were weary, but whether he was tired from the day's events, the weather or something greater remained unclear. The man wore long green robes with gold linings and gold and red flower blossoms scattered throughout. At his side appeared to be a sheathed katana. The robes were just short enough to reveal his shoes, a pair of black loafers. Soon his eyes opened up as he noticed Weiss's presence.
"Are you alright?" the man asked.
"She looks hurt!" the boy exclaimed. "Let her in before she collapses!"
Soon Weiss found herself sitting down in an office with blue carpeting, the man behind the desk and the boy off to the side.
[Post-Chorus]
"Who are you?" Weiss asked.
"I am Akimitsu Takaya, headmaster of Aegis Academy." He soon gestured to the boy. "This is my student, Taupe."
"Hello." Taupe greeted.
Weiss guessed. "Soon to be sixteen?"
He nodded with a smile. "Uh huh. Any reason you ask?"
"No reason. Forget it. I shouldn't even be asking."
At this, he began to grow concerned. "What brings you here?"
Weiss let out a long, sad sigh. "It's… a long story."
"I have time." Tayaka told her.
[verse 3]
Weiss let out a long sigh, followed by a long round of silence. "My name is Weiss. Weiss Schnee if I have to use my last name. I was a student at Beacon Academy, and everyone knows that Beacon fell. But what some don't realize… is that… A close friend of mine died, and… I feel horrible." She softly cried. "Because I failed to save her. That guilt followed me when I was brought back home by my father, and for months I lived in anxiety, hoping and praying she lived. But overtime, it seemed that my worst fears were confirmed.
"And while I thought of attending Atlas Academy to become a huntress, I never got the chance. After trying to defend my lost friend's good name, I lost control over my powers and lashed out at the Schnee Dust Company Charity Gala, unintentionally causing chaos and my father to not trust me anymore. He made my brother Whitley the heir instead, leaving me grounded and even lonelier.
[Chorus]
"Stripped of my inheritance and all my assets frozen, I reached the breaking point. I ran away from home, wanting to make my way to Argus to find my older sister. But eventually I learned that she wasn't there anymore." She broke down completely, sobbing. "I thought that by running away, I'd find freedom. I'd find happiness. Or at least, who I'm supposed to be…" She wiped away more tears. "But the only thing I've found is loneliness and regret." She held up the mirror, finishing with, "And this I guess."
"A magic mirror?" Takaya asked.
"You know what this is?" Weiss asked in astonishment.
"I've seen a lot of magical artifacts over the last few years. But I don't wish to overwhelm you. I'm surprised you found this." Takaya remarked.
"So am I." She sighed. "I haven't seen anyone in months. Not in real life anyway…"
Taupe grew concerned. "Weiss?"
She began to sob. "I'm sorry. I'm such a mess. I never should have come here. I made a mistake leaving home, but I have nowhere else to go!" She continued sobbing softly, her voice lowering. "I'm nothing more than a broken mirror that can't be fixed…"
A few moments of pained silence passed.
[outro]
Taupe warmly embraced. "Weiss… please, don't say that. You are enough. You made it this far."
"And we would be happy to take you in while you get back on your feet." Takaya offered.
Weiss looked up a little, almost in disbelief. "You really would?"
"Of course. You're a good person. I can see it in your eyes and the way you speak. We'll find a spare dorm so you can freshen up. Once you're done, meet us in the cafeteria. Your dinner's on me."
At this Weiss dried her tears. "Thank you."
Maybe… maybe I'll find something here.
And as the music faded, Weiss was held close by two strangers, but she was never more relieved and even a little happy
Takaya looked at the mirror in curiosity. "That mirror. If you're willing to share information.. What does it do?"
"It appears to show whatever, or whomever the holder requests." Weiss answered. "Sadly, I can't communicate with the target."
"Can you demonstrate for us?" Taupe asked.
She sighed. "I can. Show me Winter Schnee."
The mirror swirled with white energy before showing the eldest Schnee sibling in her bedroom at Atlas Academy. She held it out as the image began to form. Takaya and Taupe gasped. They had never seen anything quite like this. They stood over Weiss, all three of them observing Winter as she sat before a mirror, seeing the eldest Schnee sibling as she looked at a bruise upon the left side of her face. What had happened to her? Was it a training fight while Winter had lost her aura, or something more serious?
Weiss wished she could hear what Winter was thinking in that present moment.
At that moment, Winter's Scroll began to ring.
"Hello?" A silent pause was heard as a voice briefly spoke to her. "Oh, General Ironwood." She saluted him, even though he wasn't there. Was it a force of habit upon hearing his voice? "To what do I owe the pleasure of this call?" Another pause of silence was heard.
Her eyebrows suddenly raised up. "General Ironwood? You're taking that day off?"
More grumbled sounds came through.
"That is… surprising. You haven't taken off for your birthday in years." A pause. "But to answer your question- yes, I can still attend that meeting in your place."
"It's no trouble, Sir. I hope you enjoy your day off." A few more words seemed to be spoken. "Thanks for the kind regards. That mission may have been difficult, but I got through. I'm just glad it wasn't much worse." The conversation soon came to an end. "Of course I will. Have a good day and a happy birthday in the near future. Goodbye."
A moment later, she hung up, ending the call with her superior.
She willed the image to dissolve, believing there was nothing more to see.
At this, Takaya took his place behind his desk and Taupe took a few steps back.
"How did you survive out there, all alone?"
"Truth be told, I'm not entirely sure. Although for most of my journey, I had an Arma Gigas summon, which I named Nickolas Junior, after my grandfather. But my summon was eventually destroyed by Grimm." She looked at her weapon. "I lost all my dust defending myself from a pack of Beowolves."
Taupe looked extremely confused. "You named your Grimm summon?"
Soon Weiss realized how strange her decision seemed to them. "Damn, maybe I have been away from civilization too long…"
"It's alright. Just relax, take a bath, do what you need to do to unwind and you can meet us for dinner."
"Thanks again."
"It's no trouble. I can show you to one of our empty dorms." Takaya offered.
"That would be nice."
"Then let us depart."
With this, the three of them left the office.
Later that evening, within a large reception hall, a DJ spun records as the dances were well anyway. Upbeat music seemed to bounce off the walls as Drizella was shown grooving with her new husband, doing the tango. Her younger sisters, Anastasia and Daisy, were doing a fox trot, the older one teaching the flower girl the steps. In a small corner, Francis and Avril were dancing slowly, away from the crowd. Many other guests who were at the wedding (extended family or friends that the blonde brawler and unlucky huntsman knew nothing about), were also freestyling to an upbeat tune. At a table far in the back were Qrow and Yang, the latter now having her hair loose. Both of them had plates of food and champagne glasses about half full.
Yang took another sip of champagne, wondering how long it would take for alcohol to seep in (and how much longer she would actually be here.) Not wanting to appear too uncomfortable, she poked at her salmon with her fork, flaking off a small portion before taking a bite.
"Something on your mind?" Qrow asked.
The blonde brawler chewed on her food before giving off a sigh as she turned to the newly married couple, now waltzing on the dance floor. "I know I should be happy for them, and I am," she said before swallowing her salmon. "But I feel like I don't belong here…"
"I get it. You hardly know the couple, and you don't want to be here. But maybe you should relax. Who knows when you'll get to attend another party like this?"
She watched as Qrow took another sip of alcohol. "Parties aren't normally part of being a heroine. Well, unless you count Beacon's dance."
"Ah Beacon's dance. I remember you telling me you had a good time that night."
Yang smiled. "Finally got Blake to break out of her shell."
A moment of silence passed between them.
Qrow took another sip. "Truth be told, I'm not sure Ruby would even want to be here."
"Probably not. She never really was a social butterfly." Yang remarked. She swirled her glass, letting the alcohol swish back and forth; there was little champagne left in the glass. "I've always been the more sociable of us two, and yet… I'm hiding here off to the side."
Taking the bottle of champagne at his right, he topped off her glass. "You could forget about your troubles, if just one for one night."
Yang laughed. "You're a bad influence."
Qrow chuckled. "I know." She took another sip, the alcohol gradually settling in. The unlucky huntsman turned back to a collection of sweet and spicy meatballs, the only food item he hadn't eaten yet. "It's been a long day."
"Been a long week," Yang corrected.
The huntsman finished his plate as a few people walked up to them. There was an early elderly couple and two identical men in their twenties. The same party that was sitting on the right side of the cathedral earlier during the ceremony.
"Oh sorry, I thought our table was over here." the woman apologized.
The elderly man looked at a piece of paper in his hands. "No, we're in the right place."
"But why are we sharing our table with a couple of strangers?" one of the men in their twenties asked.
"Maybe because the wedding couple ran out of space to put them?" the second of them asked.
Yang squinted at them. "You look familiar…"
"You're the groom's parents?" Qrow guessed. "And… Eric's brothers?"
"Adopted parents and foster brothers, but you have the right idea." Mr. Owphyir answered.
"We tried for years to have children. Believing it wasn't meant to be, we decided to adopt." Mrs. Owphyir continued, soon smiling. "Not long thereafter, we were blessed with a miracle. Two miracles, at the same time."
"Oh!" Yang exclaimed.
They're twins…
"Eric felt that he was unworthy of having the name Owphyir because he was adopted."
"Aw… that's… kinda sad." Yang mentioned. "Keeping his name or not, he needs more confidence."
"Oftentimes we have a lot of decisions to make before us." Mrs. Owphyir stated. "But what's truly in a name? Is a name truly binding, or is it only when we let it bind us that it becomes suffocating?"
As the Owphyir family left to get their plates of food, Yang ruminated over the woman's words.
What is in a name? Yang Xiao-Long, blonde brawler, hot mess. How different would things be if I was Yang Branwen? Probably a lot.
She started to imagine an alternate timeline. One where Yang was raised in the Branwen Tribe as a child, holding a small stick in her hands as a five year old, copying the sword movements of her mother. She imagined herself getting her weapons during her pre teen years, now painted red and yellow.
I'd be raised by my mom, taken into the tribe. I probably wouldn't have lost my arm.
She saw an adult of herself, both arms intact, wearing a black and red version of the first outfit she wore at Beacon, her emblem being colored a dark orange instead of yellow.
Heir to a throne of bandits. I never would have known my dad.
Then she imagined Ruby vanishing from the picture.
I wouldn't know Ruby. Or Weiss… Or Blake… Or any of my friends from Beacon. Unless Raven sent me to infiltrate Beacon to learn its secrets and knowledge.
She imagined herself at Beacon, spending time with Weiss and Blake, not thinking much of them, yet looking at Ruby closely.
Would I have turned to the light like Qrow did? Would I learn that I had a half-sister?
Her thoughts were interrupted by Qrow holding a bottle in his hand before placing it on a table.
"I found a small bottle of sweet red wine. Wanna split it?"
"Sure."
Qrow poured himself a glass and then one for Yang, using a couple of new glasses he had found.
"I propose a toast; To better days ahead."
"To better days."
They clinked their glasses and drank.
A montage began of Yang thinking as she sipped from her glass.
It's not wrong to have a drink or two every once in a while.
She took a sip.
It's not wrong for me to want to be somewhere else.
And another sip.
But I do need to be patient.
And another.
I'll see Ruby and her friends soon.
She looked at the little wine she had left.
Everything will be fine.
And with another swig, she finished her second glass and left her worries behind.
All the while, 'Coco Cocoa' was shown within her hotel room. Pointing her fingertips to her necklace, the spy smirked.
This has been going all too well. I've been able to take out five of their recruits without them noticing, and sabotaged their efforts to get more. The book meeting over The String of Fate was a massive failure! Hardly anyone showed up, and most of those who did weren't brave enough to join! Ha! This couldn't be better!
Time to inform Athena of my progress.
She fished out her Scroll and dialed a number. She waited as the Scroll rang once. Twice… Thrice…
Tawny bit back a sigh. I hope she's not having sex with Ares again…
After five rings, a voice on the other end responded, "Hello?"
A split screen formed, showing Tawny on the right and Athena on the left.
"Courageous Cat to Winking Owl. Reporting." Tawny began.
"Winking Owl to Courageous Cat, what have you got?" Athena asked.
"Progress has been going quite well. As you're well aware, The String of Fate couldn't bind anyone to the Black Cat's cause. I even wrote a bad review of the book before the meeting."
"That probably wasn't necessary, but I'm glad to see the Black Cat's efforts are quite cursed indeed."
"And the real cat has taken out five mice."
"Well done, Cat. Is the Black Cat hiding in plain sight?"
"Indeed she is. She's still using ribbons. This time purple."
At this, Athena raised an eyebrow. "Purple ribbons you say? Hmm… how peculiar… And you say that the Black Cat has gotten so few recruits. Have any of them been professional fighters? Or have their souls bared open?"
"None in either category."
"Perfect. Continue taking out lesser recruits when they're away from the fortress, and Blake will believe her allies have deserted her. And do be sure to inform us of any major changes."
"As you wish, Wise Owl. Farewell and good night."
"Goodnight, and good luck, my little spy."
With this, the conversation ended, leaving Tawny to think over her successes. To her, Blake and her closest allies didn't seem to be suspicious in the slightest.
Those four are so gullible! Tawny wickedly grinned. They think I'm a shy bookworm, viola player and a chess master. Little do they know that I haven't read a book in years, never played the viola, or any instrument. And that they're all the pawns on my chessboard. One by one, their pawns will fall and my side will win.
As the night went on, Weiss was shown in a dormitory wearing a pair of white sweatpants and a light blue turtleneck. She was also shown wearing baby blue socks on her feet as she sat near her bed on a small fold-up chair, complete with midnight blue and white sheets and a snowflake blanket. To the left of her chair nearby the bed was a small nightstand with a lamp and an alarm clock. Her Scroll, her wallet, and a paper bag labeled 'Fenix Atar's Belongings' rested on that stand. In the corner behind that nightstand was a bag with everything else she had, including her suitcase and the magic mirror she had found.
Using the lamp's light, she took a piece of paper and wrote out;
New friends;
Takaya
Taupe
She smiled, shutting off the lamp, lifted the covers and climbed into bed.
Ah, a new set of clothes, a really good meal, a hot shower, properly brushed hair and oral care, and the first bed I've had to sleep in in months…
Despite her fatigue, some of her thoughts wandered off as she began to drift to sleep.
Maybe… maybe I can finally be happy. Maybe… maybe I can train to become a huntress and protect this city.
She imagined herself as a huntress; wearing an outfit similar to what she wore during her first year at Beacon, only with a slightly bigger skirt and a different hem design. She also wore a blue scarf and a pair of low raised blue heels.
I'll be Weiss… the hero of Kunchinashi. The Ice-Heart Heroine. The Snow Angel Huntress… Maybe even find a new team…
Another vision came to mind, of Huntress Weiss socializing with other huntsmen and huntresses over coffee and ice cream.
The future's looking brighter than it was before. I wasn't sure where I was going, but I think I'm where I'm meant to be…
Weiss smiled as she believed everything would be alright.
I'll find… what I was made for.
Within moments, Weiss was fully asleep, finally safe and sound.