- Location
- Nightopia
It's good for Yang's ego that it took so long for Ruby to realize she should call and report her success.
Also good for opsec, now the call just sounds like she's done with her vacation for any eavsdroppers!
Radiant Rebirth (Hollow Knight x RWBY)
- Thread starter Naron
- Start date
- Crossover
Also good for opsec, now the call just sounds like she's done with her vacation for any eavsdroppers!
2.8 The Schnee Gala
- Location
- Earth
All three teams had taken the following day off from their work. Weiss made certain that their request went through and ran herself ragged with preparations; yet despite it being so short notice, she pulled it off.
A little snag in her plan was that out of the twelve of them, Yatsuhashi could not come; he was overall too large to fit into anything except custom-order suits. The veritable giant at least did not seem perturbed about having to sit out, though; Ren and Fox maintained a similar state of zen, both comfortable in their dark suits. Meanwhile Coco had decided to be daring and dress similar to them, if in a notably higher quality. Her suit was maroon instead of black, too.
Of the other women, Pyrrha and Weiss had the easiest time in their dresses due to ample experience. Velvet and the rest of SPBY took it well enough, each wrapped in soft, non-threatening colours. Penny still felt the soft satin of her green and black dress from time to time; she was about the only one Weiss allowed to indulge in such a manner, too.
Then there were the two problem children. Nora shimmied around and was clearly not happy, but she bore it quietly; likely in an attempt to imitate Ren. Selina outright squirmed, however; the faunus woman's cheeks were tinged pink despite the fact her dress was the most modest out of them all; its dark green hem swished around Selina's ankles. She rumpled it up and smoothed it out ad infinitum, repeating the cycle each time she realised she did it again.
Weiss was not the only one to notice, either. Yang threw Selina a wink. "What happened to that boisterousness, eh?" she needled. "You're pretty cute like that."
"I thought this would be easier," the redhead returned glumly. "It's just weird."
She swished her hips experimentally and grimaced. "I want my pants back."
Weiss rolled her eyes at the complaints. "Oh, stop crying already. By how much you complain, it sounds like you never wore a dress before."
She expected some sort of retort, but was met with a suspicious silence. The wolf averted her gaze when Weiss sought it, surprising the heiress. That complicated things a little. And to top it off, Nora jumped on the subject at once: "No way! Never? I know it sucks but even I've worn one or two before!"
She grabbed Selina's shoulders in some odd expression of awe; Weiss felt similarly for a moment. She never conceived of a woman her age never having worn a dress before.
Selina herself shook her teammate off. "You wear skirts on the regular, it's not the same," she groused. "I haven't worn this breezy shit since I was five or so. Maybe even earlier."
She grimaced and, coming to a decision of some sort, turned around to walk back into SNNL's room.
"Where are you going?" Weiss called after her, to no response.
Coco chuckled. "Maybe she's getting cold feet?"
Yet nobody stopped Selina from leaving them. Weiss scowled and checked the time, but found they were a little ahead of schedule; if her friend needed to calm her nerves first, they could give her a few minutes.
They thankfully did not have to fetch her; Selina returned two minutes later, more at ease and clearly less awkward. The dress was still on, if a little rumpled. Weiss looked her up and down but could spot no difference. Her eyes narrowed.
"...what did you do?"
"I put on spats."
Weiss took in her cheerful tone and almost proud announcement, then palmed her face. A gesture she learned from Yang and really needed to stop using. "That is not proper, just so you are aware."
"Last time I checked I'm there to look pretty, not pull up that dress and flash people," Selina shot back with a wolfish grin. "So no one's ever gonna know I wear them. And honestly, no offense to you lot, but I don't feel like letting people peek at my ass when I don't mean to. That long skirt is just right for me."
Several others rolled their eyes at her commentary, including Pyrrha. It was also Selina's fellow redhead who spoke what they all thought in one way or another: "You are perhaps the most uncaring for incidental nudity among us all. Why exactly does this bother you now?"
"Just because, now shut up and let's go."
Some giggles followed, but they let her rebuttal stand. Weiss could hardly believe that brash and boisterous Selina's weakness was a dress; then again, perhaps she should not be too surprised. It just never occurred to her before that wearing these would not be common for her walk of life. She was not exactly happy, but her friend had a point; nobody would know about that little breach of decorum. Despite Weiss's scathing if mostly internal commentary, Selina was not the kind to casually hook up at a high society gala.
Though, and this she only admitted in the sanctity of her own mind, it would be funny. Especially with a faunus girl involved. And it would make for incredible blackmail material as well.
All these thoughts were dispelled with a final deep breath as Weiss centered herself, then led the group out of the dormitories. What students were around made space for their procession; Yatsuhashi walked with them out of solidarity, but remained behind at the academy gates with a few words of encouragement.
None of them were armed for the occasion, excepting Yang and Coco who could carry their weapons inconspicuously. Weiss was not certain she wished to know how her senior managed to fit a minigun into a purse, though she was tempted to ask some days.
They walked on foot toward the Schnee estate. Weiss's official explanation was to make an entrance; in reality, she was simply low on funds after renting so many dresses and suits. She was cut off from 'her' family account some time ago and since had to rely on what she put aside for rainy days. Not to mention that she found many of the fancier companies marking up prices for transporting faunus, or outright refusing to ferry them.
Regardless, an entrance she promised and an entrance they made. Heads turned wherever their group passed as was befitting a dozen well dressed, attractive hunters-to-be; anyone could tell, what with the complete lack of protective clothing despite the cold atlesean night.
The walk from Atlas Academy to Schnee Manor was thankfully not far, merely a few minutes on foot. A pair of limos passed them by and several more stood ready in the vast courtyard preceding the manor itself, disgorging passengers. Small groups chatted outside before entering, mostly greetings and some casual conversation with closer acquaintances. Conversation that ceased once Weiss's procession arrived.
They had fallen into formation without thought; Weiss walked front and center, back straight and her head held high. Selina and Coco flanked her, their respective teams following them orderly. Pyrrha and Yang took one side each.
Their arrival prompted surprised silence, followed by intent whispers. Weiss wore her fake smile and met gazes of people she knew before exchanging respectful nods. Her careful mask twiched ever so slightly whenever she spotted sneers direct to her left where Selina walked. Her friend seemed immune or simply unaware, more focussed on scanning the manor itself.
Seeing that nobody else moved yet, Weiss decided to make another statement; her step did not falter for a moment as she approached the entrance, ignoring whoever waited to be allowed in. Such was her right as a Schnee after all.
Security straightened up, but kept a respectful distance. The woman with the guest list scanned Weiss, then her entourage, and offered a simple nod. They were not on it, but nobody would deny her entry.
An announcer called for "Weiss Schnee and associates", which quieted the ample chatter inside. Everyone turned to look, immediately making Weiss the center of attention.
She imperiously took in the entire entrance hall and everyone inside, noting that she knew most of the guests already present. Her gaze paused momentarily on each of the other heirs and heiresses as she offered faint nods of acknowledgement.
The first to move was her father, as expected. The spell Weiss's arrival put on the room broke the moment Jacques Schnee approached them. He was dressed immaculately, his goatee neatly trimmed and eyes alight with the usual fervour. Weiss saw it, but her companions likely only saw that benign smile he hid his cunning behind.
"Ah, Weiss," he greeted pleasantly. Conversations started back up around them, though Weiss herself felt decidedly small under his attention. "Your agreement to join us tonight was on such short notice, I was uncertain you would make it in time. Now I see I need not have worried."
She hated it so much, being scanned from top to bottom like prized lifestock. But she did not give him any cause for complaint, posture picture perfect and smile firmly in place.
"Of course, Father. If I may introduce?"
She motioned for her companions and received an amicable nod.
Weiss knew everyone was still listening, even if they pretended otherwise. She knew it would cost her, but could not resist introducing Selina before Coco. The irritation was palpable and satisfying, not that she let it show.
Yet even by their responses to her father's mere greeting, it became painfully obvious most of them did not belong. Pyrrha and Coco managed. Yang and Blake somehow worked through the double-edged flattery without reaction beyond placid smiles. Everyone else displayed something from confusion to alienation.
She was just glad her friends managed to remain somewhat graceful. Blake in particular could have ended far worse, considering her White Fang affiliations.
"Now that introductions are over," her father transitioned smoothly once he finished pretending to be friends with each of them in succession, "I need a moment of your time, Weiss."
She already expected it, but remained a little miffed. They came for her brother after all; he stood nearby, watching with that same fake benign look everyone else wore. Though Weiss had little hope to delay her father, she tried anyway: "In a moment if that is acceptable. I have yet to see Whitley."
"And you will. Likewise, I have not seen you in months. He can wait a few more minutes."
Weiss received the message loud and clear, resigning herself to her fate. "Very well," she responded while motioning for her friends to go ahead.
The group split up there; while Weiss was busy playing mouse to her father's cat, Coco led Velvet and Fox into the circuit of social combat. Neither of them was much for it, but they managed not to offend anyone. Yang and Blake followed Penny, who quickly singled out General Ironwood in the crowd; he greeted them amicably and with something that approached actual warmth. Nora zeroed in on the buffet, with Ren hovering over her to keep an eye on her manners.
Selina, however, decided to try getting to know another Schnee. It was not a hard choice to make, considering everyone seemed to hate her equally in this room. Not to mention he was cute; not quite her type, a bit too haughty, but pretty close with his fair features and slight frame. The young man actually stood shorter than Selina, barely taller than Weiss. His sharp features were reminiscent of his sisters and father as well; there really was no mistaking him.
Pyrrha followed her as she approached the lonesome boy.
"Hey there," Selina greeted with a little grin. Whitley startled as if surprised to be spoken to. His gaze left Weiss and snapped to her, though he immediately surprised Selina with his restraint. There were not one but two bombshells right in front of him, yet his eyes remained firmly on her face. The only slip went up instead of down.
"Yes?" he responded after a notable pause. "Can I help you, miss?"
His faux pleasant tone reminded her eerily of Weiss when they first met. She certainly had her work cut out for her, not that Selina minded. She shrugged softly.
"Meh, not help, really. But I was curious what you're like, being Weiss's brother and all."
Be it her nonchalance or her attitude, she immediately scored a crack in his mask; it smoothed over in moments.
"Pardon? I am not sure I follow," Whitley answered, genuinely confused but also wary. "In addition, may I have your name? I recognise Ms. Nikos of course, who would not," he added with a smile to the redhead, who returned one just as fake, "but I do not believe I ever heard of you before."
She was pretty sure he just insulted her. But really, that was par for the course even if it grated a little. But as so often, she rather failed forward instead of getting angry; so she bore it with a grin: "Name's Selina. Beacon first year on merit, partnered with Pyrrha here, and team leader of 'Sunlight'. Well, guess it makes sense you didn't hear of us before." She threw a demonstrative look out of a huge window nearby, into the atlesean twilight. "You don't get much sun in these parts."
Her winning grin was met by an unamused stare; Pyrrha quickly smoothed out a more honest smile, fast enough that neither of them noticed.
"Funny," Whitley deadpanned. "I of course hold the deepest respect for anyone who can obtain a place at Beacon despite lacking a proper education."
This time she caught it just fine and rolled her eyes. "Figures. Weiss did it too, after all."
The younger man opened his mouth to retort, only to register what Selina said. No words came out as he tried to comprehend her words. Meanwhile, Selina threw him another grin. "Just because I'm not into the fancy speak doesn't mean I'm an idiot, boyo."
Pyrrha immediately nudged her to stop, which Selina appreciated. She let Whitley recover and watched with some fascination how his placid mask slipped back into place. "Of course," he agreed readily, though there may be something mocking in his tone. "If this is all, then?"
She did not need to say anything; Whitley clearly saw that Selina was not about to back off. Unlike her, he also remained aware of the people watching their exchange from a distance.
"Pardon, but I would prefer not to associate with your kind too closely."
Being so focussed on him, Selina spotted the way he tensed up ever so slightly. Chances were he expected violence over the slight. Selina just rolled her eyes again and cocked her hip. "Well, too bad I'm not your type," she teased, then pointed over her shoulder. "Maybe Blake over there?" Her fellow faunus currently shook hands with an elderly man in a rich suit, someone from the Atlas City Council.
She got him good this time; Whitley stared at her in utter confusion.
"...what?"
Pyrrha seemed equally stumped by the sudden turn of events. Selina's grin was basically welded to her face now. "Kidding," she chirped, congratulating herself on a jab well placed. Then she did away with the humour. "But seriously, you can't spend your life dodging every faunus you meet. That gets old very fast and leads to dark places. So why not talk to me a bit? I don't bite."
It was so, so tempting to transition into teasing, but Selina bit down on it. She clearly managed to irritate Whitley already. He did well in trying to hide it, someone not familiar with Weiss's or another Schnee's mannerisms may have missed the signs.
"And of course I want to-" he started sarcastically, only to interrupt himself when Weiss arrived. "Oh, hello, sister."
The heiress graced him with a faint smile, perhaps half fake by Selina's estimate. "Hello, Whitley. Just a moment, please."
Then she turned to Selina, completely unamused. "I thought I asked you not to harass him."
"Ain't no harassment, just trying to break the ice."
"I believe you broke more than that by now," Pyrrha interjected, though she seemed less upset and more amused.
Whitley failed to notice and took the comment at face value. "Quite," he agreed.
Selina rolled her eyes. "Great, now all the fancy pants are ganging up on me," she complained with a theatralic sigh, then peered around. "Guess I'll go talk to the iron man, or get some of the buffet before Nora eats it all."
"Good luck with the latter," Weiss murmured. She grimaced upon realising the quip slipped out; Whitley noticed as well, glancing between his sister and Selina's retreating back.
"You certainly associate with... colourful individuals of late," he ventured carefully. Weiss bit down on her irritation, having had to justify much the same to their father just now. It was not Whitley's fault.
"Selina is boisterous, but quite harmless. Amicable, really." Weiss huffed even as she said it. "And yes, I did not expect it either. Her view of this entire matter is rather quite simple."
"Oh?"
"Yes. 'Humans bad, faunus bad, Grimm worse.' She told me as much in these exact words when I asked her about it."
It was a refreshingly straightforward stance on this complicated net of racial politics and probably the reason Weiss felt at ease around Selina; her friend had nary a dishonest bone in her body. What she said was what one got with her.
"I concur," Pyrrha added diplomatically. "Selina's way of life is far more simple than either of ours." She inclined her head toward Weiss, who nodded back absently.
"Indeed."
And Selina was not the only one, either. Ruby and Lumina were much the same, if not in quite that way. Although there was obviously more to Lumina than anyone ever expected.
Silence settled upon them for a moment as Weiss contemplated the moth and her task. Then she disregarded these musings. She had something important to do tonight. But first she needed to get rid of the plus-one.
"On second thought, Pyrrha, could you save Selina from embarassing herself?"
The redhead agreed readily and strode away, leaving Weiss and Whitley alone. Brother and sister gauged each other with sudden awkwardness; Weiss did not think this through, she suddenly had no idea what to say. Where to start or even what subjects to broach. In her panic she fell back into old habits and did as Winter would: turning away from the gathering, Weiss motioned for her brother to follow. "Walk with me for a bit. It has been a while since I was home."
Whitley followed without complaint, though the polite disinterest remained prominent in his expression. They passed Velvet and Coco along the way, who were currently talking to General Ironwood and Jacques Schnee. Coco did well in keeping attention as she spoke of her experiences at Beacon; her partner was oddly focussed on Ironwood.
Walking closeby, Weiss caught something along the lines of it being every child's dream to go on adventures with magic and ancient vaults. She could not help but crack a grin, safely hidden from view. Whatever Coco was trying, the men smiled indulgently. The general may even mean it.
"What has you so amused, sister?"
And of course she forgot that Whitley could see her face. Weiss's mirth dimmed upon being caught, but she could not quite wipe the smile away. "For how down-to-earth Coco usually is, she seemed mighty excited. Especially when considering who she was talking to."
A note of fondness crept into her voice unbidden; Weiss knew he noticed it, too.
"That being?" Whitley inquired. "The lady in the suit?"
"Yes. She leads second year's strongest team."
"I see. She seems better adjusted to our way of life than most of your entourage."
"I assure you they are all quite lovely in their own way." Such a comment would normally be code for something unflattering, but Weiss actually meant it. There was no sarcasm to be found.
She did not give Whitley time to dwell on it, though: "Now, tell me how things have been since my departure."
Their conversation continued from there; Weiss listened to her brother prattle on about his own studies, occasionally sharing a bit about hers. The fact he kept all mentions of personal interests under lock annoyed her a little, but such was the Schnee way. Her own thoughts were kept from him as well after all. The few lures she threw him were either missed or ignored, Weiss could not quite tell which.
She managed to entertain Whitley for about half an hour, at which point it would become strenuous to keep faking interest in the manor. So Weiss reluctantly steered them back toward the gala. As they strode past expensive paintings and furniture however, she decided to make one last attempt.
"Did Father say anything unusual of late?"
"Not that I am aware of," Whitley responded after mulling it over. "But he does not include me in his important meetings."
"What of your own tasks?" She pressed carefully. "I imagine you do budget reports and event planning, much like I had to at your age?"
Her brother frowned at that, ever so slightly. "Quite. Although Father made overtures that he wants me to take additional duties in the near future. I am not quite certain what he has in mind." He did not look exactly happy, though he certainly did not miss the subject they arrived at. They were siblings after all.
"Do you have a particular suspicion?"
Weiss chewed her lip in thought, pondering if she should let him in on what both his sisters suspected. She ultimately decided that he deserved an advance warning at least: "I spoke to Winter recently. From how she tells it, you may soon be heir."
Much to her own surprise, that was what finally got under his skin.
"I what?" he hissed, head snapping around to stare at her. "But you are the heiress!"
"I am," Weiss agreed solemnly. "Alas, you know how much Father likes his control. He can not control me anymore, and it seems he starts to realise that. This is his final gambit, either get me back in line to stay heiress, or make you the heir instead.
It was truly final as well, considering there were no more children after Whitley. He seemed to realise that as well, seeing how he stopped dead in his tracks.
The buzz of conversation was already audible, just a turn and a door away. Weiss stopped as well, a little surprised by his visceral reaction to the news. She was adept at reading tiny details from a socialite's countenance, but that open, wounded look he had left her completely stumped. It just made no sense.
"I-I see," he stammered softly. His composure returned, though he immediately turned his back to her. "Regardless, I believe it is time for me to retire. If you would give everyone else in your group my regards?"
So saying, he strode away before Weiss could find the right words to address him. Or rather, he fled.
Weiss's return to the party was an utterly confounded one. She did not understand why Whitley was so upset by the news. She expected some disquiet at the prospect of being heir, but not this.
The first person to accost her upon returning was Yang, accompanied by Selina. The pair all but ambushed her the moment she came in sight. "Where's your brother?" Yang asked curiously. "You two left together, right? I was kinda curious to meet him."
"He retired for the evening," Weiss told her absently. She was still trying to make sense of her brother's behaviour.
Naturally, both of them caught onto her mood immediately. "Something happen?" Selina asked her quietly. "Trouble in paradise?"
That earned her a soft headshake. "Not as such, just an odd end to our conversation. He did not take the news as well as I thought he would."
Yang gave her a searching look at that, but Weiss remained plain confused. Her friends exchanged glances and Selina hummed in thought. She looked around the hall before heaving a soft sigh.
"So, how tight is security around the place?"
"Decently? I do not like where this is going."
"And, hypothetically," the redhead continued without acknowledging her worries, "if they find me somewhere I'm not supposed to be. Can you bail me out?"
Now that was a simple one. "Absolutely. But you will tell me what you are planning right this instant."
At that, Selina threw her a grin. "Talking to Whitley is like talking to you when we first met. Except without Beacon and a dozen other people to soften you up a bit." That assessment stung, but Weiss could not dispute her point. Selina knew it too. "So I'm going to go look for him, try to get him to talk. He doesn't really have anyone to talk to around here, does he?"
"...I just tried that," Weiss reminded her friend.
"Yeah," Yang chimed in with a little grin of her own. "But you did it in that weird noble way where you need to look at every word from five angles. I'd do it too, but Sel already called dibs."
"So, you ready to cover for me?"
Weiss was sorely tempted to massage her temples. These two would be the death of her one day, if just by the number of headaches they caused. But at the end of the day she trusted them.
"Fine."
"Great! I'm gonna go look around for a bit. Glad you don't mind!"
She waved and went through the door Weiss took earlier. The heiress only had a moment to watch her friend's retreating back before an audible sniff from behind alerted her to two of her peers approaching the remaining pair. Yang somehow put on something akin to a smile and Weiss also fixed her expression, then turned around to start networking properly. She could worry about Selina later, that one was excellent at thinking on her feet. Even if she sacrificed some of Weiss's reputation for it, as some clearly suspected her to be a faunus-lover now.
Meanwhile, Selina herself was on the prowl.
She hated using her Semblance for how much it tended to slap her in the face, but just this once it was bearable. The manor only saw a handful of people on the regular and was cleaned well. Admittedly, the leftover scent of disinfectant still stung a bit. She bore it stoically while following the fresh trail of Weiss and one other until they split.
Following the other one, Selina ascended a staircase and passed through several corridors; her heart thundered in her chest even in the low ambient light. She was ready to hide if there were any guards in her way, but she saw none; only the gardens outside were patrolled, she noticed while passing by a window.
"Can I help you, miss?"
Selina yelped in surprise, eyes swivelling back to the butler that she somehow missed until he stood right in front of her. She barely managed not to run into him, too surprised to come up with a good retort. "Oh, uh, sorry. Didn't see you there."
The man himself seemed a little stocky, with the only few wrinkles found on his face. He smiled benignly under his prominent mustache, but there was something hawkish to his eyes. And did they just change colour? "Not at all, little missy," he chirped with sudden glee. "Now, I see you must be one of the guests. What takes you so far away from the gala?"
This was surreal, but Selina could work with it. "Oh, just curious how the upper crust live, is all. Not everyday I get to see a fancy manor from the inside."
On second thought, that was a weak excuse. She had no idea what the man thought right now, he just studied her thoughtfully. Selina really did not like the idea of having to attack someone; that would be really bad right now.
In the end his eyes changed colour again, this time she was certain. The butler chuckled. "Why, I see no reason to deny a friend of the young lady Weiss. She has dreadfully few of them as is."
Laughing again, he leaned forward conspiratorially and lowered his voice: "But just between us, we never saw each other. Master Jacques will not be amused should you be seen in these parts. So please avoid the balcony as well. Master Whitley does not seem inclined to company at the moment."
Then he winked at her and strolled away, a spring in his step. Selina stared after the departing man utterly confused. Was all high-society staff like that, or did she just deal with a weirdo?
Shaking her head, Selina decided not to look a gift horse in the mouth. She quietly thanked the Brothers and the Moth for her good fortune, though; if Lumina heard that thought, she gave no reaction.
Selina tried to open the balcony door softly, but it was clearly not soft enough; Whitley immediately snapped to attention and turned her way, eyes wide. Moreover, they were a little red as well.
"What-" "Shh."
She shushed him quickly and glanced below, but the patrol seemed to be elsewhere for now. Once she checked that, Selina looked back to the anxious boy and tried a smile. "Heard you ran away, so I figured you'd be out here or something."
Only then did she realise his nose and cheeks also had some colour to them. "And you really shouldn't be out without an aura. Come on, let's get you inside."
He did not move despite the cold night's bite he must be feeling. When Selina took a step forward to corral him, he quickly made one step back.
She rolled her eyes. "Come on, I don't bite."
"Well, excuse me for being worried to be alone with someone who, by all accounts, should want me dead. Not to mention that she can effortlessly break me over her knee."
"...you know what, that's fair. But seriously, if I had problems with you, I'd have problems with Weiss."
Maybe this was the fancy talk or something again; Selina really did not see the problem. And she really needed to get him inside. There was no time to argue. "Anyway, there's two ways we can do this: either you come over here, or I come over there and you get to make the trip over my shoulder."
Whitley twitched at the very real threat. He glanced around, considered the situation while Selina crossed her arms, and cautiously approached her. Almost like an abused animal, Selina thought before grimacing over the comparison. She stepped aside and gave him space to walk, grateful for his lack of night vision. Then she closed the door behind them, once again confronted with that same wary expression.
"So," she broke the silence before it became awkward. "You wanna talk about it?"
He stared at her for a long moment, clearly at his wits' end.
"Why do you pretend to care?" he finally asked. There was no heat to it, just confusion.
"I'm not pretending."
That earned her a scoff; Selina was uncertain if it was paranoia or because this guy just could not believe anyone would care. Somehow, this family consistently gave her more reasons to appreciate her own life more.
She heaved a sigh. If words could not convince him, then she would just do something instead. "Alright, fine. You know what? I'm going to give you a hug now. This is your five second warning."
A beat.
"What are you-" "Time's up"
He had no real chance to react or evade; before he knew it, Selina had him in her arms and held him tightly. It was the first time she really registered that he was shorter than her; not by much, but still. He was also stiff as a board, shaking ever so slightly. Yet when Selina did nothing beyond holding him, he slowly melted into her embrace.
"There there," she soothed, gently stroking his back and head. "You'll be okay."
All she got in response were a faint sniffle and a pair of arms sneaking around her waist. Progress. Selina smiled and repeated her earlier question: "Do you want to talk about it?"
He weakly shook his head, chin never quite leaving Selina's shoulder. She accepted it this time and stopped prodding. This was not exactly how she imagined things to go, but she would take what she could get.
By the end of the evening, Selina had nothing to tell her friends when everyone gathered to discuss the gala; she especially had nothing to tell Weiss. Part of it was that she would not risk her friend's ire by admitting that she gave Whitley her number. Even if it was just to stay in contact because the boy definitely needed more friends.
Weiss herself had networked with Pyrrha for support; Blake tried the same to much less success outside of the atlesean Council and Ironwood. Penny, Nora, and Yang mostly just enjoyed themselves while chaperoned by Ren.
When it came to the second-years however, Coco was grinning like a loon. "We got all the codes and passwords we need to get to the vault," she declared, to the group's notable excitement. Selina knew how she pulled that off, but kept quiet about it.
Now they needed to stake out the vault; it lay at the center of Atlas and was locked off to just about anyone. Which meant that there was more work to do.
By herself Selina rejoiced that she managed to do some good today. Just as she climbed under her covers, she received a short message thanking her for the company. Feeling a little happier, the wolf quickly fell asleep.
And back in a certain manor, Willow Schnee smiled at the recordings she perused. The evening did not turn out quite like she hoped, but she would take what she could get. All her children deserved better, she knew that better than most. It was a start.
With a sarcastic "Oops", she deleted everything the cameras recorded during the gala. Not that her husband would ever check, but still. He oftentimes forgot that he was not the only one who could play the game.
So thinking, Willow grasped for another bottle of wine.
A little snag in her plan was that out of the twelve of them, Yatsuhashi could not come; he was overall too large to fit into anything except custom-order suits. The veritable giant at least did not seem perturbed about having to sit out, though; Ren and Fox maintained a similar state of zen, both comfortable in their dark suits. Meanwhile Coco had decided to be daring and dress similar to them, if in a notably higher quality. Her suit was maroon instead of black, too.
Of the other women, Pyrrha and Weiss had the easiest time in their dresses due to ample experience. Velvet and the rest of SPBY took it well enough, each wrapped in soft, non-threatening colours. Penny still felt the soft satin of her green and black dress from time to time; she was about the only one Weiss allowed to indulge in such a manner, too.
Then there were the two problem children. Nora shimmied around and was clearly not happy, but she bore it quietly; likely in an attempt to imitate Ren. Selina outright squirmed, however; the faunus woman's cheeks were tinged pink despite the fact her dress was the most modest out of them all; its dark green hem swished around Selina's ankles. She rumpled it up and smoothed it out ad infinitum, repeating the cycle each time she realised she did it again.
Weiss was not the only one to notice, either. Yang threw Selina a wink. "What happened to that boisterousness, eh?" she needled. "You're pretty cute like that."
"I thought this would be easier," the redhead returned glumly. "It's just weird."
She swished her hips experimentally and grimaced. "I want my pants back."
Weiss rolled her eyes at the complaints. "Oh, stop crying already. By how much you complain, it sounds like you never wore a dress before."
She expected some sort of retort, but was met with a suspicious silence. The wolf averted her gaze when Weiss sought it, surprising the heiress. That complicated things a little. And to top it off, Nora jumped on the subject at once: "No way! Never? I know it sucks but even I've worn one or two before!"
She grabbed Selina's shoulders in some odd expression of awe; Weiss felt similarly for a moment. She never conceived of a woman her age never having worn a dress before.
Selina herself shook her teammate off. "You wear skirts on the regular, it's not the same," she groused. "I haven't worn this breezy shit since I was five or so. Maybe even earlier."
She grimaced and, coming to a decision of some sort, turned around to walk back into SNNL's room.
"Where are you going?" Weiss called after her, to no response.
Coco chuckled. "Maybe she's getting cold feet?"
Yet nobody stopped Selina from leaving them. Weiss scowled and checked the time, but found they were a little ahead of schedule; if her friend needed to calm her nerves first, they could give her a few minutes.
They thankfully did not have to fetch her; Selina returned two minutes later, more at ease and clearly less awkward. The dress was still on, if a little rumpled. Weiss looked her up and down but could spot no difference. Her eyes narrowed.
"...what did you do?"
"I put on spats."
Weiss took in her cheerful tone and almost proud announcement, then palmed her face. A gesture she learned from Yang and really needed to stop using. "That is not proper, just so you are aware."
"Last time I checked I'm there to look pretty, not pull up that dress and flash people," Selina shot back with a wolfish grin. "So no one's ever gonna know I wear them. And honestly, no offense to you lot, but I don't feel like letting people peek at my ass when I don't mean to. That long skirt is just right for me."
Several others rolled their eyes at her commentary, including Pyrrha. It was also Selina's fellow redhead who spoke what they all thought in one way or another: "You are perhaps the most uncaring for incidental nudity among us all. Why exactly does this bother you now?"
"Just because, now shut up and let's go."
Some giggles followed, but they let her rebuttal stand. Weiss could hardly believe that brash and boisterous Selina's weakness was a dress; then again, perhaps she should not be too surprised. It just never occurred to her before that wearing these would not be common for her walk of life. She was not exactly happy, but her friend had a point; nobody would know about that little breach of decorum. Despite Weiss's scathing if mostly internal commentary, Selina was not the kind to casually hook up at a high society gala.
Though, and this she only admitted in the sanctity of her own mind, it would be funny. Especially with a faunus girl involved. And it would make for incredible blackmail material as well.
All these thoughts were dispelled with a final deep breath as Weiss centered herself, then led the group out of the dormitories. What students were around made space for their procession; Yatsuhashi walked with them out of solidarity, but remained behind at the academy gates with a few words of encouragement.
None of them were armed for the occasion, excepting Yang and Coco who could carry their weapons inconspicuously. Weiss was not certain she wished to know how her senior managed to fit a minigun into a purse, though she was tempted to ask some days.
They walked on foot toward the Schnee estate. Weiss's official explanation was to make an entrance; in reality, she was simply low on funds after renting so many dresses and suits. She was cut off from 'her' family account some time ago and since had to rely on what she put aside for rainy days. Not to mention that she found many of the fancier companies marking up prices for transporting faunus, or outright refusing to ferry them.
Regardless, an entrance she promised and an entrance they made. Heads turned wherever their group passed as was befitting a dozen well dressed, attractive hunters-to-be; anyone could tell, what with the complete lack of protective clothing despite the cold atlesean night.
The walk from Atlas Academy to Schnee Manor was thankfully not far, merely a few minutes on foot. A pair of limos passed them by and several more stood ready in the vast courtyard preceding the manor itself, disgorging passengers. Small groups chatted outside before entering, mostly greetings and some casual conversation with closer acquaintances. Conversation that ceased once Weiss's procession arrived.
They had fallen into formation without thought; Weiss walked front and center, back straight and her head held high. Selina and Coco flanked her, their respective teams following them orderly. Pyrrha and Yang took one side each.
Their arrival prompted surprised silence, followed by intent whispers. Weiss wore her fake smile and met gazes of people she knew before exchanging respectful nods. Her careful mask twiched ever so slightly whenever she spotted sneers direct to her left where Selina walked. Her friend seemed immune or simply unaware, more focussed on scanning the manor itself.
Seeing that nobody else moved yet, Weiss decided to make another statement; her step did not falter for a moment as she approached the entrance, ignoring whoever waited to be allowed in. Such was her right as a Schnee after all.
Security straightened up, but kept a respectful distance. The woman with the guest list scanned Weiss, then her entourage, and offered a simple nod. They were not on it, but nobody would deny her entry.
An announcer called for "Weiss Schnee and associates", which quieted the ample chatter inside. Everyone turned to look, immediately making Weiss the center of attention.
She imperiously took in the entire entrance hall and everyone inside, noting that she knew most of the guests already present. Her gaze paused momentarily on each of the other heirs and heiresses as she offered faint nods of acknowledgement.
The first to move was her father, as expected. The spell Weiss's arrival put on the room broke the moment Jacques Schnee approached them. He was dressed immaculately, his goatee neatly trimmed and eyes alight with the usual fervour. Weiss saw it, but her companions likely only saw that benign smile he hid his cunning behind.
"Ah, Weiss," he greeted pleasantly. Conversations started back up around them, though Weiss herself felt decidedly small under his attention. "Your agreement to join us tonight was on such short notice, I was uncertain you would make it in time. Now I see I need not have worried."
She hated it so much, being scanned from top to bottom like prized lifestock. But she did not give him any cause for complaint, posture picture perfect and smile firmly in place.
"Of course, Father. If I may introduce?"
She motioned for her companions and received an amicable nod.
Weiss knew everyone was still listening, even if they pretended otherwise. She knew it would cost her, but could not resist introducing Selina before Coco. The irritation was palpable and satisfying, not that she let it show.
Yet even by their responses to her father's mere greeting, it became painfully obvious most of them did not belong. Pyrrha and Coco managed. Yang and Blake somehow worked through the double-edged flattery without reaction beyond placid smiles. Everyone else displayed something from confusion to alienation.
She was just glad her friends managed to remain somewhat graceful. Blake in particular could have ended far worse, considering her White Fang affiliations.
"Now that introductions are over," her father transitioned smoothly once he finished pretending to be friends with each of them in succession, "I need a moment of your time, Weiss."
She already expected it, but remained a little miffed. They came for her brother after all; he stood nearby, watching with that same fake benign look everyone else wore. Though Weiss had little hope to delay her father, she tried anyway: "In a moment if that is acceptable. I have yet to see Whitley."
"And you will. Likewise, I have not seen you in months. He can wait a few more minutes."
Weiss received the message loud and clear, resigning herself to her fate. "Very well," she responded while motioning for her friends to go ahead.
The group split up there; while Weiss was busy playing mouse to her father's cat, Coco led Velvet and Fox into the circuit of social combat. Neither of them was much for it, but they managed not to offend anyone. Yang and Blake followed Penny, who quickly singled out General Ironwood in the crowd; he greeted them amicably and with something that approached actual warmth. Nora zeroed in on the buffet, with Ren hovering over her to keep an eye on her manners.
Selina, however, decided to try getting to know another Schnee. It was not a hard choice to make, considering everyone seemed to hate her equally in this room. Not to mention he was cute; not quite her type, a bit too haughty, but pretty close with his fair features and slight frame. The young man actually stood shorter than Selina, barely taller than Weiss. His sharp features were reminiscent of his sisters and father as well; there really was no mistaking him.
Pyrrha followed her as she approached the lonesome boy.
"Hey there," Selina greeted with a little grin. Whitley startled as if surprised to be spoken to. His gaze left Weiss and snapped to her, though he immediately surprised Selina with his restraint. There were not one but two bombshells right in front of him, yet his eyes remained firmly on her face. The only slip went up instead of down.
"Yes?" he responded after a notable pause. "Can I help you, miss?"
His faux pleasant tone reminded her eerily of Weiss when they first met. She certainly had her work cut out for her, not that Selina minded. She shrugged softly.
"Meh, not help, really. But I was curious what you're like, being Weiss's brother and all."
Be it her nonchalance or her attitude, she immediately scored a crack in his mask; it smoothed over in moments.
"Pardon? I am not sure I follow," Whitley answered, genuinely confused but also wary. "In addition, may I have your name? I recognise Ms. Nikos of course, who would not," he added with a smile to the redhead, who returned one just as fake, "but I do not believe I ever heard of you before."
She was pretty sure he just insulted her. But really, that was par for the course even if it grated a little. But as so often, she rather failed forward instead of getting angry; so she bore it with a grin: "Name's Selina. Beacon first year on merit, partnered with Pyrrha here, and team leader of 'Sunlight'. Well, guess it makes sense you didn't hear of us before." She threw a demonstrative look out of a huge window nearby, into the atlesean twilight. "You don't get much sun in these parts."
Her winning grin was met by an unamused stare; Pyrrha quickly smoothed out a more honest smile, fast enough that neither of them noticed.
"Funny," Whitley deadpanned. "I of course hold the deepest respect for anyone who can obtain a place at Beacon despite lacking a proper education."
This time she caught it just fine and rolled her eyes. "Figures. Weiss did it too, after all."
The younger man opened his mouth to retort, only to register what Selina said. No words came out as he tried to comprehend her words. Meanwhile, Selina threw him another grin. "Just because I'm not into the fancy speak doesn't mean I'm an idiot, boyo."
Pyrrha immediately nudged her to stop, which Selina appreciated. She let Whitley recover and watched with some fascination how his placid mask slipped back into place. "Of course," he agreed readily, though there may be something mocking in his tone. "If this is all, then?"
She did not need to say anything; Whitley clearly saw that Selina was not about to back off. Unlike her, he also remained aware of the people watching their exchange from a distance.
"Pardon, but I would prefer not to associate with your kind too closely."
Being so focussed on him, Selina spotted the way he tensed up ever so slightly. Chances were he expected violence over the slight. Selina just rolled her eyes again and cocked her hip. "Well, too bad I'm not your type," she teased, then pointed over her shoulder. "Maybe Blake over there?" Her fellow faunus currently shook hands with an elderly man in a rich suit, someone from the Atlas City Council.
She got him good this time; Whitley stared at her in utter confusion.
"...what?"
Pyrrha seemed equally stumped by the sudden turn of events. Selina's grin was basically welded to her face now. "Kidding," she chirped, congratulating herself on a jab well placed. Then she did away with the humour. "But seriously, you can't spend your life dodging every faunus you meet. That gets old very fast and leads to dark places. So why not talk to me a bit? I don't bite."
It was so, so tempting to transition into teasing, but Selina bit down on it. She clearly managed to irritate Whitley already. He did well in trying to hide it, someone not familiar with Weiss's or another Schnee's mannerisms may have missed the signs.
"And of course I want to-" he started sarcastically, only to interrupt himself when Weiss arrived. "Oh, hello, sister."
The heiress graced him with a faint smile, perhaps half fake by Selina's estimate. "Hello, Whitley. Just a moment, please."
Then she turned to Selina, completely unamused. "I thought I asked you not to harass him."
"Ain't no harassment, just trying to break the ice."
"I believe you broke more than that by now," Pyrrha interjected, though she seemed less upset and more amused.
Whitley failed to notice and took the comment at face value. "Quite," he agreed.
Selina rolled her eyes. "Great, now all the fancy pants are ganging up on me," she complained with a theatralic sigh, then peered around. "Guess I'll go talk to the iron man, or get some of the buffet before Nora eats it all."
"Good luck with the latter," Weiss murmured. She grimaced upon realising the quip slipped out; Whitley noticed as well, glancing between his sister and Selina's retreating back.
"You certainly associate with... colourful individuals of late," he ventured carefully. Weiss bit down on her irritation, having had to justify much the same to their father just now. It was not Whitley's fault.
"Selina is boisterous, but quite harmless. Amicable, really." Weiss huffed even as she said it. "And yes, I did not expect it either. Her view of this entire matter is rather quite simple."
"Oh?"
"Yes. 'Humans bad, faunus bad, Grimm worse.' She told me as much in these exact words when I asked her about it."
It was a refreshingly straightforward stance on this complicated net of racial politics and probably the reason Weiss felt at ease around Selina; her friend had nary a dishonest bone in her body. What she said was what one got with her.
"I concur," Pyrrha added diplomatically. "Selina's way of life is far more simple than either of ours." She inclined her head toward Weiss, who nodded back absently.
"Indeed."
And Selina was not the only one, either. Ruby and Lumina were much the same, if not in quite that way. Although there was obviously more to Lumina than anyone ever expected.
Silence settled upon them for a moment as Weiss contemplated the moth and her task. Then she disregarded these musings. She had something important to do tonight. But first she needed to get rid of the plus-one.
"On second thought, Pyrrha, could you save Selina from embarassing herself?"
The redhead agreed readily and strode away, leaving Weiss and Whitley alone. Brother and sister gauged each other with sudden awkwardness; Weiss did not think this through, she suddenly had no idea what to say. Where to start or even what subjects to broach. In her panic she fell back into old habits and did as Winter would: turning away from the gathering, Weiss motioned for her brother to follow. "Walk with me for a bit. It has been a while since I was home."
Whitley followed without complaint, though the polite disinterest remained prominent in his expression. They passed Velvet and Coco along the way, who were currently talking to General Ironwood and Jacques Schnee. Coco did well in keeping attention as she spoke of her experiences at Beacon; her partner was oddly focussed on Ironwood.
Walking closeby, Weiss caught something along the lines of it being every child's dream to go on adventures with magic and ancient vaults. She could not help but crack a grin, safely hidden from view. Whatever Coco was trying, the men smiled indulgently. The general may even mean it.
"What has you so amused, sister?"
And of course she forgot that Whitley could see her face. Weiss's mirth dimmed upon being caught, but she could not quite wipe the smile away. "For how down-to-earth Coco usually is, she seemed mighty excited. Especially when considering who she was talking to."
A note of fondness crept into her voice unbidden; Weiss knew he noticed it, too.
"That being?" Whitley inquired. "The lady in the suit?"
"Yes. She leads second year's strongest team."
"I see. She seems better adjusted to our way of life than most of your entourage."
"I assure you they are all quite lovely in their own way." Such a comment would normally be code for something unflattering, but Weiss actually meant it. There was no sarcasm to be found.
She did not give Whitley time to dwell on it, though: "Now, tell me how things have been since my departure."
Their conversation continued from there; Weiss listened to her brother prattle on about his own studies, occasionally sharing a bit about hers. The fact he kept all mentions of personal interests under lock annoyed her a little, but such was the Schnee way. Her own thoughts were kept from him as well after all. The few lures she threw him were either missed or ignored, Weiss could not quite tell which.
She managed to entertain Whitley for about half an hour, at which point it would become strenuous to keep faking interest in the manor. So Weiss reluctantly steered them back toward the gala. As they strode past expensive paintings and furniture however, she decided to make one last attempt.
"Did Father say anything unusual of late?"
"Not that I am aware of," Whitley responded after mulling it over. "But he does not include me in his important meetings."
"What of your own tasks?" She pressed carefully. "I imagine you do budget reports and event planning, much like I had to at your age?"
Her brother frowned at that, ever so slightly. "Quite. Although Father made overtures that he wants me to take additional duties in the near future. I am not quite certain what he has in mind." He did not look exactly happy, though he certainly did not miss the subject they arrived at. They were siblings after all.
"Do you have a particular suspicion?"
Weiss chewed her lip in thought, pondering if she should let him in on what both his sisters suspected. She ultimately decided that he deserved an advance warning at least: "I spoke to Winter recently. From how she tells it, you may soon be heir."
Much to her own surprise, that was what finally got under his skin.
"I what?" he hissed, head snapping around to stare at her. "But you are the heiress!"
"I am," Weiss agreed solemnly. "Alas, you know how much Father likes his control. He can not control me anymore, and it seems he starts to realise that. This is his final gambit, either get me back in line to stay heiress, or make you the heir instead.
It was truly final as well, considering there were no more children after Whitley. He seemed to realise that as well, seeing how he stopped dead in his tracks.
The buzz of conversation was already audible, just a turn and a door away. Weiss stopped as well, a little surprised by his visceral reaction to the news. She was adept at reading tiny details from a socialite's countenance, but that open, wounded look he had left her completely stumped. It just made no sense.
"I-I see," he stammered softly. His composure returned, though he immediately turned his back to her. "Regardless, I believe it is time for me to retire. If you would give everyone else in your group my regards?"
So saying, he strode away before Weiss could find the right words to address him. Or rather, he fled.
Weiss's return to the party was an utterly confounded one. She did not understand why Whitley was so upset by the news. She expected some disquiet at the prospect of being heir, but not this.
The first person to accost her upon returning was Yang, accompanied by Selina. The pair all but ambushed her the moment she came in sight. "Where's your brother?" Yang asked curiously. "You two left together, right? I was kinda curious to meet him."
"He retired for the evening," Weiss told her absently. She was still trying to make sense of her brother's behaviour.
Naturally, both of them caught onto her mood immediately. "Something happen?" Selina asked her quietly. "Trouble in paradise?"
That earned her a soft headshake. "Not as such, just an odd end to our conversation. He did not take the news as well as I thought he would."
Yang gave her a searching look at that, but Weiss remained plain confused. Her friends exchanged glances and Selina hummed in thought. She looked around the hall before heaving a soft sigh.
"So, how tight is security around the place?"
"Decently? I do not like where this is going."
"And, hypothetically," the redhead continued without acknowledging her worries, "if they find me somewhere I'm not supposed to be. Can you bail me out?"
Now that was a simple one. "Absolutely. But you will tell me what you are planning right this instant."
At that, Selina threw her a grin. "Talking to Whitley is like talking to you when we first met. Except without Beacon and a dozen other people to soften you up a bit." That assessment stung, but Weiss could not dispute her point. Selina knew it too. "So I'm going to go look for him, try to get him to talk. He doesn't really have anyone to talk to around here, does he?"
"...I just tried that," Weiss reminded her friend.
"Yeah," Yang chimed in with a little grin of her own. "But you did it in that weird noble way where you need to look at every word from five angles. I'd do it too, but Sel already called dibs."
"So, you ready to cover for me?"
Weiss was sorely tempted to massage her temples. These two would be the death of her one day, if just by the number of headaches they caused. But at the end of the day she trusted them.
"Fine."
"Great! I'm gonna go look around for a bit. Glad you don't mind!"
She waved and went through the door Weiss took earlier. The heiress only had a moment to watch her friend's retreating back before an audible sniff from behind alerted her to two of her peers approaching the remaining pair. Yang somehow put on something akin to a smile and Weiss also fixed her expression, then turned around to start networking properly. She could worry about Selina later, that one was excellent at thinking on her feet. Even if she sacrificed some of Weiss's reputation for it, as some clearly suspected her to be a faunus-lover now.
Meanwhile, Selina herself was on the prowl.
She hated using her Semblance for how much it tended to slap her in the face, but just this once it was bearable. The manor only saw a handful of people on the regular and was cleaned well. Admittedly, the leftover scent of disinfectant still stung a bit. She bore it stoically while following the fresh trail of Weiss and one other until they split.
Following the other one, Selina ascended a staircase and passed through several corridors; her heart thundered in her chest even in the low ambient light. She was ready to hide if there were any guards in her way, but she saw none; only the gardens outside were patrolled, she noticed while passing by a window.
"Can I help you, miss?"
Selina yelped in surprise, eyes swivelling back to the butler that she somehow missed until he stood right in front of her. She barely managed not to run into him, too surprised to come up with a good retort. "Oh, uh, sorry. Didn't see you there."
The man himself seemed a little stocky, with the only few wrinkles found on his face. He smiled benignly under his prominent mustache, but there was something hawkish to his eyes. And did they just change colour? "Not at all, little missy," he chirped with sudden glee. "Now, I see you must be one of the guests. What takes you so far away from the gala?"
This was surreal, but Selina could work with it. "Oh, just curious how the upper crust live, is all. Not everyday I get to see a fancy manor from the inside."
On second thought, that was a weak excuse. She had no idea what the man thought right now, he just studied her thoughtfully. Selina really did not like the idea of having to attack someone; that would be really bad right now.
In the end his eyes changed colour again, this time she was certain. The butler chuckled. "Why, I see no reason to deny a friend of the young lady Weiss. She has dreadfully few of them as is."
Laughing again, he leaned forward conspiratorially and lowered his voice: "But just between us, we never saw each other. Master Jacques will not be amused should you be seen in these parts. So please avoid the balcony as well. Master Whitley does not seem inclined to company at the moment."
Then he winked at her and strolled away, a spring in his step. Selina stared after the departing man utterly confused. Was all high-society staff like that, or did she just deal with a weirdo?
Shaking her head, Selina decided not to look a gift horse in the mouth. She quietly thanked the Brothers and the Moth for her good fortune, though; if Lumina heard that thought, she gave no reaction.
Selina tried to open the balcony door softly, but it was clearly not soft enough; Whitley immediately snapped to attention and turned her way, eyes wide. Moreover, they were a little red as well.
"What-" "Shh."
She shushed him quickly and glanced below, but the patrol seemed to be elsewhere for now. Once she checked that, Selina looked back to the anxious boy and tried a smile. "Heard you ran away, so I figured you'd be out here or something."
Only then did she realise his nose and cheeks also had some colour to them. "And you really shouldn't be out without an aura. Come on, let's get you inside."
He did not move despite the cold night's bite he must be feeling. When Selina took a step forward to corral him, he quickly made one step back.
She rolled her eyes. "Come on, I don't bite."
"Well, excuse me for being worried to be alone with someone who, by all accounts, should want me dead. Not to mention that she can effortlessly break me over her knee."
"...you know what, that's fair. But seriously, if I had problems with you, I'd have problems with Weiss."
Maybe this was the fancy talk or something again; Selina really did not see the problem. And she really needed to get him inside. There was no time to argue. "Anyway, there's two ways we can do this: either you come over here, or I come over there and you get to make the trip over my shoulder."
Whitley twitched at the very real threat. He glanced around, considered the situation while Selina crossed her arms, and cautiously approached her. Almost like an abused animal, Selina thought before grimacing over the comparison. She stepped aside and gave him space to walk, grateful for his lack of night vision. Then she closed the door behind them, once again confronted with that same wary expression.
"So," she broke the silence before it became awkward. "You wanna talk about it?"
He stared at her for a long moment, clearly at his wits' end.
"Why do you pretend to care?" he finally asked. There was no heat to it, just confusion.
"I'm not pretending."
That earned her a scoff; Selina was uncertain if it was paranoia or because this guy just could not believe anyone would care. Somehow, this family consistently gave her more reasons to appreciate her own life more.
She heaved a sigh. If words could not convince him, then she would just do something instead. "Alright, fine. You know what? I'm going to give you a hug now. This is your five second warning."
A beat.
"What are you-" "Time's up"
He had no real chance to react or evade; before he knew it, Selina had him in her arms and held him tightly. It was the first time she really registered that he was shorter than her; not by much, but still. He was also stiff as a board, shaking ever so slightly. Yet when Selina did nothing beyond holding him, he slowly melted into her embrace.
"There there," she soothed, gently stroking his back and head. "You'll be okay."
All she got in response were a faint sniffle and a pair of arms sneaking around her waist. Progress. Selina smiled and repeated her earlier question: "Do you want to talk about it?"
He weakly shook his head, chin never quite leaving Selina's shoulder. She accepted it this time and stopped prodding. This was not exactly how she imagined things to go, but she would take what she could get.
By the end of the evening, Selina had nothing to tell her friends when everyone gathered to discuss the gala; she especially had nothing to tell Weiss. Part of it was that she would not risk her friend's ire by admitting that she gave Whitley her number. Even if it was just to stay in contact because the boy definitely needed more friends.
Weiss herself had networked with Pyrrha for support; Blake tried the same to much less success outside of the atlesean Council and Ironwood. Penny, Nora, and Yang mostly just enjoyed themselves while chaperoned by Ren.
When it came to the second-years however, Coco was grinning like a loon. "We got all the codes and passwords we need to get to the vault," she declared, to the group's notable excitement. Selina knew how she pulled that off, but kept quiet about it.
Now they needed to stake out the vault; it lay at the center of Atlas and was locked off to just about anyone. Which meant that there was more work to do.
By herself Selina rejoiced that she managed to do some good today. Just as she climbed under her covers, she received a short message thanking her for the company. Feeling a little happier, the wolf quickly fell asleep.
And back in a certain manor, Willow Schnee smiled at the recordings she perused. The evening did not turn out quite like she hoped, but she would take what she could get. All her children deserved better, she knew that better than most. It was a start.
With a sarcastic "Oops", she deleted everything the cameras recorded during the gala. Not that her husband would ever check, but still. He oftentimes forgot that he was not the only one who could play the game.
So thinking, Willow grasped for another bottle of wine.
*Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!! I appear cute!!!!!! Ahhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!*
Am I right?
Sooooooo... who will she ends up with?
And people say that RWBY doesn't have magic for anyone but the maidens and Salem. *Roll Eyes*
Fuck them.
Second verse, same as the first.
The apocalypse is coming!
I blame his father for that one, but still: FUCK. THAT. NOISE.
Boyo, you don't know the half of it, I would love to see how you would try to integrate Lumina in your world view.
Winter doesn't know why, but she is feeling quite proud all of a sudden.
...
....
.....
I so want to say: *oh god he's hot.*
But she's actually reading his thoughts, isn't she?
That's certainly one way to make him think of the vault.
Interesting, he either is a better actor than in canon, or you decided to make him a little less of a betraying snake here.
Not that I am complaining if you did, canon really missed some opportunities by making him *Jacque 2.0* IMO.
I can see some reasons:
Afraid of the pressure, admiration for his older sisters, grief at not being able to be free like he thought he could....
Really, it isn't a bog surprise when you think about it.
The moment they stop being in power will never be too soon.
Personally, if I was Lumina, I would brittle at being mentioned in the same thoughts as the brother gods, just saying.
Jacque, which means, the second one.
Poor boy has good reason to think nobody can even care in the first place.
And I have absolutely no doubt it is indeed purely platonic.
Whitley does need friends, true friends, a romance, one with a faunus at that, would be a horrible idea right now, and Selina is intelligent enough to see that even if she was interested in him romantically, which she doesn't seem to be.
You know, given the strategy Coco used and Ironwood experience, I am beginning to suspect they will find him waiting for them, not to stop them, but to ask for informations away from prying eyes.
Does she even drink them? Because you are making me think the *drunken depressed mom* act is, well, an act, one she uses to protect her children as much as she can.
- Location
- Earth
I am actually just using what canon gave me. It came up in the Atlas-centric seasons, so after the point you jumped off RWBY. Whitley was supposedly always like that, the Schnees just suck terribly at communicating their honest feelings.
Thank you, Jacques.
Good to see I got this across properly. She has Weiss as a great example of the many issues she can not even see with Whitley at the moment.
She is also two for three on Schnee children she forged a connection with
I think I should not say anything on the matter. Willow will not feature beyond this one appearance, so it will be for the best to let everyone come to their preferred conclusion about her.
If they at least made it quite clear this really was one such case, I can accept it, I guess.
As you said, it is after I jumped off, and first impressions really weren't great on that front.
No matter what, Jacque would have a lot to answer for anyway, either for creating a family where no one is able to communicate their feelings due to having to deal with him and the pressure he exerts as the patriarch, or for making a mini him out of his son, so, we can agree:
Thanks a a lot, Jacque Schnee. Now, if you could go and face consequences, that would be great.
2.9 Creation
- Location
- Earth
Another week passed for the aspiring hunters; Weiss knew that progress must be slow and steady, but she could not stop herself from worrying with each passing day. Their stay in Atlas would soon find its end, too.
Blake and Ren, being their sneakiest allies, took over scouting out the flying city's depths. They were exceedingly careful like Weiss demanded of them. Though they remained undetected however, caution was paid with time.
Between assisting the people of Atlas and Mantle below as per their assignment, they slowly got an idea of the complex. What they learned was promising: security remained tight, but the personnel was lax. Nobody had even attempted breaking into these areas in decades, which left the soldiers on duty less vigilant and diligent than they should be. Cameras were often left unsupervised, the recordings never truly studied. Supposedly mandatory ID checks at the entrance were waived to save time, any atlesean soldier simply waved through despite half their faces being covered by helmets.
That last bit gave her an idea; probably the best one she would have, considering that they were getting low on time.
"What we need," Weiss began their final meeting, "is to inject a small team to open the doors for us. We need to go in fast and leave before anyone knows we were there. Preferably while also shutting down the cameras so they can not figure out who went in."
She was not happy with her conclusion, but it was the best she had. Once they got inside, they had all the codes to get past barriers and barricades.
Her co-conspirators were mulling it over, though Weiss could tell they did not like it much more than she did.
Blake was the first to speak up, brow furrowed in thought: "That's a tall order, you know? There's alarms on every emergency exit. I don't even know if turning off the cameras will work."
"It should," she answered her friend, "at least from the command panel. We have the codes, but they will be changed soon. I am uncertain who we should send, though," Weiss admitted. She left a pause at that point, glancing from Blake to Ren. They knew better than her if it was possible. "That is, assuming you two can organise Atlesean military uniforms for this."
Blake scowled in response and shook her head, only for Penny to raise her hand with notable cheer. "I can do that," she volunteered, much to the others' surprise. "I have access to the barracks, so I can just grab two or three and pass them outside. With how tightly Atlas was built, we just need Blake on the next building to grab them."
Others quickly warmed up to this idea. With the 'how' covered however, Coco brought them back to the other pertinent question: "It can't be Velvet or Yatsu. They're too distinct. Same for you, Yang, or Pyrrha, hair's too long to fit under the helmet."
Weiss nodded along with the assessment; nobody seemed to disagree. Blake sighed a moment later, though. "I don't think my ears would do well under one of these," she said with a motion for her head, which made sense.
"Now don't be a pussy about it," Selina teased with a grin. Blake glowered and Weiss rolled her eyes, even as Yang laughed about the pun.
"Well," Weiss quipped, "thank you for volunteering, then."
The other faunus woman turned her way, raised one finger as if to argue, then lowered it. "Know what?" she said with a shrug. "Fair. My build is pretty average without the ears visible. Maybe I can pass as a guy for extra safety?"
"That won't work unless you can make a deeper voice," Fox interjected. Selina considered this and heaved a sigh; it was a decent idea, but apparently not suitable for her.
Which was when Nora chimed in: "But Ren can do high voices, so if you don't talk and he plays the woman, you can still sell it!"
Attention swerved to Ren, who was bewildered but did not contradict his partner. Coco smirked at that and clapped her hands."Guess now we have two volunteers. Think we need more?"
After some discussion, they decided this was enough and got to work.
Penny's run to the nearest barracks went off just fine; the building was secure, but nobody expected her of all people to be part of the opposition. They did not really keep up security inside, only outside; Blake was too good to be spotted that easily, though. Weiss carefully paid little thought to the reminder of her friend's actual affiliation.
Once their 'acquisition' was complete, the group met in a small apartement belonging to Weiss that lay close to the vault complex's entrance. She laid out the plan one last time while their infiltrators prepared: "Alright. Selina and Ren get in. First they use the codes to shut down the cameras from the control panel. Then they open the doors for us and we proceed to the vault."
Some nods followed; it was a basic plan with few moving pieces, which made it easier to follow but not simple to complete. Then Penny raised her hand.
"Quick question: why do we even need to go in? Selina has one of those Charms, she can just go there on her own. Nobody goes to the vault itself, that should be safe."
Weiss immediately made to argue the risks, but stopped to consider the point. Selina could open the vault on her lonesome. Obscurity certainly made for a better shield than a few more students in an actual assault. Not to mention the improved odds of maintaining anonymity.
"You make a good point," she admitted in the end. "I am mostly worried about the case something goes wrong. If it is just the two of them, there is little they can do to evade capture. All of us together could at least stage a fighting retreat or push through to the vault."
"So more points of failure but less catastrophic consequences," Yatsuhashi summarised thoughtfully, "or a greater risk to those who go with less points of failure. Damned if we do, damned if we don't."
There were several lost looks thrown around at that. Weiss could understand them; she worried for her friends' safety. If all went well, great. But if someone supported the riskier option and things went wrong....
"How about someone puts on the Crown," Nora said then. "Maybe it'll tell us something?"
Weiss felt like cursing herself for forgetting they even had that. A magical Relic that knew the future and nobody even thought of using it before.
Velvet slowly drew it from her waist, where it had sat snugly for the entirety of their stay.
"I feel weird putting it on," she admitted hesitantly, but did it anyway after some encouragement from her team. First Velvet closed her eyes to concentrate, but in the end she shook her head. "Nothing's happening."
And as if it waited for these exact words, the Crown of Choice began to gleam. Velvet flinched and sat still for a moment, blinking owlishly.
"What did you see?" Blake asked into the expectant silence.
Unfortunately, the hare faunus shrugged. "Um, something happened. But I didn't see anything useful." Velvet frowned and recounted her short vision: "It was weird. Like I stood somewhere else entirely. It was dark and there was a pale woman bleeding orange. That's all I saw."
Nora groaned in disappointment. "Aww, no special future sight to help."
"Well," Coco mused, "he did say it's random, I guess these Relic things weren't really meant to be tools. But it was a good idea."
Pyrrha nodded. "Indeed it was. Well done, Nora."
Her fellow redhead beamed over the praise.
Then someone cleared their throat behind them. The group turned almost as one to behold two soldiers, weapons ready. One stepped forward and spoke in a clear, almost melodic female voice: "You were found plotting against the state. Please surrender yourselves and the Relic."
The other one's fanged grin gave it all away. That and something else Weiss completely forgot about. She stared hard at Selina's failing disguise, wondering if that could be solved. Ren would manage with how pale he was, but the other one's olive skin really could not pass muster.
"Coco, get out the cosmetics. We need to make some adjustments."
Selina's grin vanished. She looked down at herself and seemed to reach the same conclusion. Some others were berating themselves for having missed such an important detail. Selina herself just seemed despondent, though.
"I hate you," she told Weiss without any heat.
"Noted."
After that, she and Coco quickly applied enough powder to make what was visible of Selina's face atlesean pale. It was a rushed job, but they needed little finesse for this.
Selina herself absolutely hated it, but bore with the make-up for their mission's sake. She grumbled and resisted the urge to rub her face, at least until it was time to leave the house. After that she carefully kept her back straight and walked side by side with Ren.
Her heart beat so heavily she feared others may hear it, but the guards at the gate paid them no mind beyond a simple nod. She slowly input the code that was constantly repeated in her head; Selina memorised this one, though she also had the entire lot on paper.
Each tap felt an age long. She just waited for an alarm to sound and thousands of soldiers to attack them, but nothing happened. The panel turned green and the door opened. They were in.
Marching along, she allowed herself a quiet sigh of relief. This went better than expected, she thought, only for her eyes to fall on a sign at the wall. That was in Atlesean. Which she did not speak beyond a few words. Ren did not speak it either, she knew that.
"Well, shit," was all Selina could say to that. Ren's head twitched her way and she motioned for the sign, then the other ones around. He nodded almost imperceptibly and she heard a faint sigh, but neither of them really stopped walking. Down the corridor they knew led to the vault, side by side. They were already in, the only way out was through.
Even then, Selina was ever more sure this had been the better idea; even though it was a last-minute change, as few of them should be in here for as little time as possible. Dozens of guards milled around, half-heartedly patrolling or chatting with each other. At least the Atleseans were as taciturn inside as they were outside; no one passing them by did more than offer a nod or a word in greeting. No officers were around, either.
Selina did her best soldier impression, returning nods where they were given to her and otherwise trying not to stand out. Weiss explained some basics of social engineering, of how people rarely question something that looked like it fit into place; that confidence in whatever one said made for an easier sell. It almost sounded like magic to Selina and it was nerve-wracking, but the uniform hid her usual tells. She had no weapon on hand beyond the paltry sidearm, which did not count; its calibre was too small to hurt anything but the weakest of Grimm. This was a weapon to use on humans and she hated it.
Yet their disguises worked. Somehow. Even while completely stumped that they made it past soldier after soldier without needing to speak a single word or even stop, Selina was happy that things did not go bad. They had to run for the hills if discovered, hoping the disguises saved them from being identified.
But still, nobody questioned their legitimacy. She and Ren passed not one but two checkpoints; the guards were reading magazines, glancing up momentarily as they approached. Then they just waved the pair through.
This was almost too easy now. It put Selina on edge again; how could this be the world's most advanced military force? She understood that they would never expect to be infiltrated right now and like this, but still.
Despite her suspicions of a trap, nothing happened. They kept on walking until finally reaching a long corridor opening into a wide hall. It was only fifteen minutes or so, but it felt like hours.
No one was there beside them. Large ventilation shafts opened to the left and right, reaching into untold depths. Selina curiously peered down the nearest one, but could not see its bottom. More importantly, a giant panel of steel stood out in the back; it looked like a boarded doorway, gleaming faintly in the sterile light.
"Here we are," she quipped quietly. Ren just gave a nod and opened a nearby panel in the wall. The hidden console's screen flared active, after which he entered the access codes Velvet pulled from Ironwood's head.
Selina waited until her teammate disarmed the alarms, then approached what must be the vault. She knew from Ruby telling Yang that it would take a few minutes for the thing to open, but they were not discovered yet. Despite it all, Selina tensed up a little more with every step she took until the wall towered over her.
She reached out and touched her fingers to its surface, only to feel something warm flow from her chest. Down her arms and onto her fingers it went, where actual sunlight sprouted out of her gloves. It seeped into the door that began to shine brighter than before. Nothing else happened.
Selina sighed. She was tense like a bowstring, yet somehow they made it this far without being discovered. Ren joined her in front of the vault, expression as hidden as hers. Selina huffed at her friend.
"Feels unreal, doesn't it?"
He nodded. "Atlas grew complacent, so we are here. But yes, it is still hard to believe even after everything we saw."
"Ayup. Right there with you. Real magic, insane."
"Yes."
They fell back into a tense though companionable silence. The glow of Selina's dissolved Charm slowly trickled along, clearly intent to cover the entire structure. The pair gradually relaxed and Selina shot a text to Weiss: 'Waiting for the stupid thing to open up'.
She barely remembered to use code in time. Weiss clearly did not need to rewrite her response, seeing how fast it came: 'You better hurry, we are waiting for you'
Well, that was one way to say she was worried. Selina let out a little huff and showed Ren, whose lips twitched up ever so faintly.
After a nerve-wracking five minutes, the door finally dissolved to reveal a disc of steel in an endless expanse. In its center hovered an elaborate metal staff. Selina pumped her fist at the sight and ran inside to grab the thing.
Just as her fingers touched it, everything stopped. The air suddenly felt still and a blue cloud escaped the staff. Selina clutched it protectively, only to gasp when the cloud formed into a person. A man, easily larger than any human or faunus.
"Ah, finally!" the specter greeted her with a cocky grin. "I-"
"Sorry," Selina interrupted with a look over her shoulder, "but can it wait? We're kinda doing a heist right now." She really hoped the magic person would not be mad, but there was no time right now.
He had stopped when she cut in, clearly annoyed. After following Selina's gaze to where Ren was peering into the vault, he heaved a sigh and shook his head. "Truly? Well, not that I mind. Say when you're ready to hear my wisdom."
So saying, he returned into the staff.
Selina whispered a quick "Thank you" and darted back outside; she felt the flat stare Ren levelled at her more than she saw it, shrugging helplessly. "I guess I got used to supernatural stuff happening. Or just Lumina."
It was the best she could tell him for why she was not in awe of the blue guy.
From there they started to walk back, the staff strapped to Selina's back. Everything really worked better than expected.
They made it a few dozen metres out of the room before they heard the stomping of far too many boots coming their way. Nobody should come here, it could only mean one thing.
"Shit! Back!"
Ren wordlessly followed her order and they quickly outpaced the shouting Atleseans; upon returning to the vault room, Selina looked around wildly for a way to escape or hide. Something, anything to make use of. But there was only the open vault... and the air vents.
She did not like their chances of making it through there, but the only other way out was the one they just retreated from. Selina listened to the approaching soldiers for a moment, gritting her teeth. Nothing to it.
"Ready to do something insane?"
He did not even answer, just moved up to her side. They exchanged smiles, a little wry and equally hopeful not to get themselves killed.
When Selina jumped into the vent, Ren followed without hesitation.
The walls were smooth and gave no purchase, but the approaching soldiers quickly faded from their hearing; they were replaced by the clicks and clacks of her gloves and armour on steel. Her aura took small hits but held steady, even as gravity tugged her ever deeper into the shaft.
Several terrifying seconds were spent in utter darkness; not even faunus nightvision could aid her without any light at all. Selina had no way to stabilise beyond her own balance.
Then there was light. She had no time to even recognise it came from below before she left the vent. Mantle approached far too quickly where she fell. Selina's eyes widened and she desperately tried to animate her aura; she never figured out the teleportation trick, now it would fail anyway. The cocktail of adrenaline and abject fear kept her unable to really focus.
All she could do was pool all her aura on her front, spread her arms wide, and press her tongue to the roof of her mouth. The adrenaline made each motion feel slow, the descent an age long. She could only hope.
When Selina hit the ground, she slammed into it like a meteor. Dust and stone flew, joined by a second load when Ren came down a few metres away. Sharp pebbles scratched her armour as she lay in a crater of her own making. Painful aftershocks ran through her body and kept her on the ground, all air driven from Selina's lungs. She barely managed to take little gasps.
Her aura broke right after impact. Everything hurt. But she was not dead.
Once the dust settled, Selina flopped herself over with a pained groan. "Ugh, you still alive?"
A pained grunt was Ren's only response. Silver linings and all. Selina smiled to herself at the thought.
After wallowing in pain a little longer, she sat up gingerly and patted herself down. The front armour was a bust, but somehow she made it through without broken bones. Just a lot of bruises.
So reassured, Selina pulled off her helmet and grabbed the tissues Weiss prepared to wipe off all the powder. Girl really thought of everything.
Which was when a voice called out to them in Atlesean.
Selina's head turned slowly to not aggravate her bruises, only for her to find a small girl staring at them. She was wrapped in a heavy coat, eyes wide. Another question was asked, still in Atlesean.
She slowly shook her head and answered in Valean common: "Sorry, I don't understand you."
Now with an audience, she merely winced in the process of getting to her feet. But once she stood, Selina quickly took off the armour. Some of it had come off anyway and the entire suit was dropped into the crater she made with her face.
Her Scroll chimed, miraculously intact. Selina fished it out, well aware that they were now being watched by an entire gaggle of children; she could not quite tell if it was their entrance, the armour, or the fact she only wore a tank top and shorts now. More than that did not fit under the armour and that would normally be fine. But with her aura shattered, the cold crept in and made her shudder.
Ren somehow fit slacks and his green vest underneath. Selina would grumble, but she was too busy being miserable to complain. "C'mon," she urged her friend. "We've gotta get going."
However, the first girl who found them was with them before they made more than three steps. She urgently grabbed Selina's arm while babbling something in Atlesean. Selina shook her head, helpless to admit it: "I don't understand."
An older boy joined them, pulling at Ren in much the same way. He scrambled to explain in broken Valean at the same time: "Too cold! Go inside!" He pointed to the rows and rows of slapdash huts and houses starting nearby, finally making sense to Selina. When he looked at her, she also noticed his iridescent compound eyes.
Soon enough the entire gaggle urged the two of them to come with them. Selina stiffly held onto the Staff of Creation. Some children ran ahead, but there was little she could do beside shivering; the cold was nasty even within reach of Mantle's warming grid.
"I think I hate it here," she muttered, too quiet for even Ren to hear. At the same time, Selina promised herself to never complain about Menagerie's heat again. Too hot was far easier to bear than too cold.
The kids that ran ahead returned with a small group of adults, probably their parents. They were clearly wary but relaxed upon seeing Selina; most of them were faunus just like her. She and Ren were ushered into a nearby house and found themselves holding cups of warm water. The elderly woman living there wrapped another blanket around Selina, cooing gently.
"You poor dears. What were you thinking, going out into the cold like that?"
"They're not from here," one of the men commented from the side, nodding to Selina. "Chocolate girl over there can't be native."
His flippant comment earned some laughs while she rolled her eyes. "Just 'cause you lot are too pale for the rest of Remnant doesn't mean I've gotta be. But yeah. Unless not knowing a lick of Atlesean wasn't a dead giveaway already."
He chuckled at that. "True, true."
After taking a hearty sip of the water, Selina threw the miner a smirk. "'sides, how often do you get to see a tropic beauty around these parts? Enjoy the sight?"
The lady bustling around her tutted, but everyone else laughed.
Socialising done for the moment and bundled up, Selina pulled out her Scroll again. She had no time to answer Weiss before, but her friend's messages became more worried by the minute. Selina wiggled her fingers and typed back: 'Long story, but we're in Mantle. Can someone come pick us up?'
Then, in a stroke of inspiration, she followed up with another message: 'This was the dumbest dare I ever took. Tell Yang to go fuck herself, making us jump.'
She received no response, but somehow Weiss's judging look transcended any need for communication.
"So," one woman in the small group with them started curiously, "what's that the children say about you falling from the sky?"
Having already found her chosen story, Selina sighed theatralically. "Dumbest dare I've ever taken. I'm just glad my aura actually took it all."
She rubbed her bruised front with a wince. For some reason however, the people around turned more attentive. They whispered between themselves for a bit, then two men up and left. Selina followed them with her eyes, then turned to the rest.
"What's that about?"
The elderly lady chuckled, idly rubbing her fox tail. "Well," she answered wrily, "we don't like Atlas much in these parts. Whatever you did to stick it to them, we won't tell. The boys are just making sure your old 'clothes' aren't there when anyone checks. Especially for a pair of hunters."
Right, the uniforms. Selina huffed to play over her embarassment. "Heh, never thought being a faunus would be to my advantage for once. And don't gimme that look, you wouldn't be half as friendly if I weren't."
"Well, perhaps. We do have to look out for our own more than anyone else."
"I get it, still weird."
Weird how things could turn out. She was rubbing shoulders with the upper crust of Atlas a mere few days ago, now she sat in the slums.
While Selina shook her head over this whole mess, Ren inclined his; he quietly nursed his drink so far. "Of course we're grateful regardless. Thank you."
"Oh it is no bother. And such a polite young man you are."
They transitioned into some idle conversation from there, mostly Selina sating her curiousity about life in Mantle. After a while she was notified that Blake and Velvet were ferrying down to fetch them, so she said her goodbyes and headed out; with her aura recovered, she could take the cold now. She weathered the many curious looks over her state of dress and clearly foreign skin tone with ease of practice.
Their reunion with their friends began with a big hug that had Selina hiss.
"Careful!" she growled at Velvet, who hopped back in surprise. Even partly healed bruises still hurt. "Do you have any idea how much it sucks to hit the ground at terminal velocity?"
"I'm surprised you even know what that means," Blake quipped, which earned her a one-fingered salute.
"And fuck you, too!"
They were both smiling, though. Glad to have done the impossible and gotten away with it. The two local faunus who accompanied Selina and Ren seemed amused by the exchange and bid them goodbye.
Blake brought a suitcase containing clothes and their IDs; the wayward pair quickly changed and the Staff was deposited into the case, then they boarded the next ferry up.
Up above, Atlas was on high alert. Soldiers patrolled about half the city. Selina quickly decided not to get too close to ground zero with the Staff on her person; thankfully, only outgoing ferries were checked. They had no trouble coming back in.
That was how everyone met up at the academy instead, this time in SNNL's dorm. Much to her surprise, Weiss greeted them with a hug; she did quickly retreated and dared anyone to say anything with a glare, but her worry shone through nonetheless. Selina could not help but grin, then she had to embrace Nora for similar reasons.
"Did you seriously jump off the city?" her fellow redhead gushed, more excited than worried. "Oh, I wanna do it too! Hey Ren, can we-" "No."
"Aww, but-" "No."
Nora pouted, but Ren did not budge this time. Their byplay eased the tension some and gave Selina a chance to open the suitcase; everyone got a chance to admire the Relic so unlike the Crown they already owned. Both of them glimmered faintly.
"So that's it," Coco mused. She sat down heavily on Selina's cot and rubbed her temple. "We did it. Yay us. Now that thing has to leave Atlas and quick."
Nobody had any objections. If they were found carrying this thing around, Ironwood would come for them. Selina nodded seriously and tried to come up with a plan of getting this out. None of them had a Semblance that would help there.
Someone else did, though.
She tapped Yang's shoulder to get her attention. "Ruby is pretty fast, right? Any chance she can drop by and pick it up?"
"I can call her and ask?" the blonde answered with a shrug. A few people nodded along, so she grabbed her Scroll and placed a quick call.
Barely a minute later, a stormy, red portal opened by Yang's side and Ruby Rose plopped out of it. She wore a goofy smile and spread her arms wide. "Tada!" she chirped, waving at the surprised group. "Hey Yang! Hey Penny! Hey everyone! Now gimme!"
She held out her hands and Selina handed her the suitcase; Ruby grinned.
"Great, see you next week!"
She hopped back through the portal, which then vanished. Twelve dumbfounded students were left behind. Selina looked between where the Relic vanished alongside their co-conspirator, then to everyone else. She had enough of this for one day.
"...well, that just happened? Anyone feel like getting wasted?"
Ten others agreed, even Weiss. Only Penny stayed silent because she could not get drunk to begin with. They dragged her along anyway.
Blake and Ren, being their sneakiest allies, took over scouting out the flying city's depths. They were exceedingly careful like Weiss demanded of them. Though they remained undetected however, caution was paid with time.
Between assisting the people of Atlas and Mantle below as per their assignment, they slowly got an idea of the complex. What they learned was promising: security remained tight, but the personnel was lax. Nobody had even attempted breaking into these areas in decades, which left the soldiers on duty less vigilant and diligent than they should be. Cameras were often left unsupervised, the recordings never truly studied. Supposedly mandatory ID checks at the entrance were waived to save time, any atlesean soldier simply waved through despite half their faces being covered by helmets.
That last bit gave her an idea; probably the best one she would have, considering that they were getting low on time.
"What we need," Weiss began their final meeting, "is to inject a small team to open the doors for us. We need to go in fast and leave before anyone knows we were there. Preferably while also shutting down the cameras so they can not figure out who went in."
She was not happy with her conclusion, but it was the best she had. Once they got inside, they had all the codes to get past barriers and barricades.
Her co-conspirators were mulling it over, though Weiss could tell they did not like it much more than she did.
Blake was the first to speak up, brow furrowed in thought: "That's a tall order, you know? There's alarms on every emergency exit. I don't even know if turning off the cameras will work."
"It should," she answered her friend, "at least from the command panel. We have the codes, but they will be changed soon. I am uncertain who we should send, though," Weiss admitted. She left a pause at that point, glancing from Blake to Ren. They knew better than her if it was possible. "That is, assuming you two can organise Atlesean military uniforms for this."
Blake scowled in response and shook her head, only for Penny to raise her hand with notable cheer. "I can do that," she volunteered, much to the others' surprise. "I have access to the barracks, so I can just grab two or three and pass them outside. With how tightly Atlas was built, we just need Blake on the next building to grab them."
Others quickly warmed up to this idea. With the 'how' covered however, Coco brought them back to the other pertinent question: "It can't be Velvet or Yatsu. They're too distinct. Same for you, Yang, or Pyrrha, hair's too long to fit under the helmet."
Weiss nodded along with the assessment; nobody seemed to disagree. Blake sighed a moment later, though. "I don't think my ears would do well under one of these," she said with a motion for her head, which made sense.
"Now don't be a pussy about it," Selina teased with a grin. Blake glowered and Weiss rolled her eyes, even as Yang laughed about the pun.
"Well," Weiss quipped, "thank you for volunteering, then."
The other faunus woman turned her way, raised one finger as if to argue, then lowered it. "Know what?" she said with a shrug. "Fair. My build is pretty average without the ears visible. Maybe I can pass as a guy for extra safety?"
"That won't work unless you can make a deeper voice," Fox interjected. Selina considered this and heaved a sigh; it was a decent idea, but apparently not suitable for her.
Which was when Nora chimed in: "But Ren can do high voices, so if you don't talk and he plays the woman, you can still sell it!"
Attention swerved to Ren, who was bewildered but did not contradict his partner. Coco smirked at that and clapped her hands."Guess now we have two volunteers. Think we need more?"
After some discussion, they decided this was enough and got to work.
Penny's run to the nearest barracks went off just fine; the building was secure, but nobody expected her of all people to be part of the opposition. They did not really keep up security inside, only outside; Blake was too good to be spotted that easily, though. Weiss carefully paid little thought to the reminder of her friend's actual affiliation.
Once their 'acquisition' was complete, the group met in a small apartement belonging to Weiss that lay close to the vault complex's entrance. She laid out the plan one last time while their infiltrators prepared: "Alright. Selina and Ren get in. First they use the codes to shut down the cameras from the control panel. Then they open the doors for us and we proceed to the vault."
Some nods followed; it was a basic plan with few moving pieces, which made it easier to follow but not simple to complete. Then Penny raised her hand.
"Quick question: why do we even need to go in? Selina has one of those Charms, she can just go there on her own. Nobody goes to the vault itself, that should be safe."
Weiss immediately made to argue the risks, but stopped to consider the point. Selina could open the vault on her lonesome. Obscurity certainly made for a better shield than a few more students in an actual assault. Not to mention the improved odds of maintaining anonymity.
"You make a good point," she admitted in the end. "I am mostly worried about the case something goes wrong. If it is just the two of them, there is little they can do to evade capture. All of us together could at least stage a fighting retreat or push through to the vault."
"So more points of failure but less catastrophic consequences," Yatsuhashi summarised thoughtfully, "or a greater risk to those who go with less points of failure. Damned if we do, damned if we don't."
There were several lost looks thrown around at that. Weiss could understand them; she worried for her friends' safety. If all went well, great. But if someone supported the riskier option and things went wrong....
"How about someone puts on the Crown," Nora said then. "Maybe it'll tell us something?"
Weiss felt like cursing herself for forgetting they even had that. A magical Relic that knew the future and nobody even thought of using it before.
Velvet slowly drew it from her waist, where it had sat snugly for the entirety of their stay.
"I feel weird putting it on," she admitted hesitantly, but did it anyway after some encouragement from her team. First Velvet closed her eyes to concentrate, but in the end she shook her head. "Nothing's happening."
And as if it waited for these exact words, the Crown of Choice began to gleam. Velvet flinched and sat still for a moment, blinking owlishly.
"What did you see?" Blake asked into the expectant silence.
Unfortunately, the hare faunus shrugged. "Um, something happened. But I didn't see anything useful." Velvet frowned and recounted her short vision: "It was weird. Like I stood somewhere else entirely. It was dark and there was a pale woman bleeding orange. That's all I saw."
Nora groaned in disappointment. "Aww, no special future sight to help."
"Well," Coco mused, "he did say it's random, I guess these Relic things weren't really meant to be tools. But it was a good idea."
Pyrrha nodded. "Indeed it was. Well done, Nora."
Her fellow redhead beamed over the praise.
Then someone cleared their throat behind them. The group turned almost as one to behold two soldiers, weapons ready. One stepped forward and spoke in a clear, almost melodic female voice: "You were found plotting against the state. Please surrender yourselves and the Relic."
The other one's fanged grin gave it all away. That and something else Weiss completely forgot about. She stared hard at Selina's failing disguise, wondering if that could be solved. Ren would manage with how pale he was, but the other one's olive skin really could not pass muster.
"Coco, get out the cosmetics. We need to make some adjustments."
Selina's grin vanished. She looked down at herself and seemed to reach the same conclusion. Some others were berating themselves for having missed such an important detail. Selina herself just seemed despondent, though.
"I hate you," she told Weiss without any heat.
"Noted."
After that, she and Coco quickly applied enough powder to make what was visible of Selina's face atlesean pale. It was a rushed job, but they needed little finesse for this.
Selina herself absolutely hated it, but bore with the make-up for their mission's sake. She grumbled and resisted the urge to rub her face, at least until it was time to leave the house. After that she carefully kept her back straight and walked side by side with Ren.
Her heart beat so heavily she feared others may hear it, but the guards at the gate paid them no mind beyond a simple nod. She slowly input the code that was constantly repeated in her head; Selina memorised this one, though she also had the entire lot on paper.
Each tap felt an age long. She just waited for an alarm to sound and thousands of soldiers to attack them, but nothing happened. The panel turned green and the door opened. They were in.
Marching along, she allowed herself a quiet sigh of relief. This went better than expected, she thought, only for her eyes to fall on a sign at the wall. That was in Atlesean. Which she did not speak beyond a few words. Ren did not speak it either, she knew that.
"Well, shit," was all Selina could say to that. Ren's head twitched her way and she motioned for the sign, then the other ones around. He nodded almost imperceptibly and she heard a faint sigh, but neither of them really stopped walking. Down the corridor they knew led to the vault, side by side. They were already in, the only way out was through.
Even then, Selina was ever more sure this had been the better idea; even though it was a last-minute change, as few of them should be in here for as little time as possible. Dozens of guards milled around, half-heartedly patrolling or chatting with each other. At least the Atleseans were as taciturn inside as they were outside; no one passing them by did more than offer a nod or a word in greeting. No officers were around, either.
Selina did her best soldier impression, returning nods where they were given to her and otherwise trying not to stand out. Weiss explained some basics of social engineering, of how people rarely question something that looked like it fit into place; that confidence in whatever one said made for an easier sell. It almost sounded like magic to Selina and it was nerve-wracking, but the uniform hid her usual tells. She had no weapon on hand beyond the paltry sidearm, which did not count; its calibre was too small to hurt anything but the weakest of Grimm. This was a weapon to use on humans and she hated it.
Yet their disguises worked. Somehow. Even while completely stumped that they made it past soldier after soldier without needing to speak a single word or even stop, Selina was happy that things did not go bad. They had to run for the hills if discovered, hoping the disguises saved them from being identified.
But still, nobody questioned their legitimacy. She and Ren passed not one but two checkpoints; the guards were reading magazines, glancing up momentarily as they approached. Then they just waved the pair through.
This was almost too easy now. It put Selina on edge again; how could this be the world's most advanced military force? She understood that they would never expect to be infiltrated right now and like this, but still.
Despite her suspicions of a trap, nothing happened. They kept on walking until finally reaching a long corridor opening into a wide hall. It was only fifteen minutes or so, but it felt like hours.
No one was there beside them. Large ventilation shafts opened to the left and right, reaching into untold depths. Selina curiously peered down the nearest one, but could not see its bottom. More importantly, a giant panel of steel stood out in the back; it looked like a boarded doorway, gleaming faintly in the sterile light.
"Here we are," she quipped quietly. Ren just gave a nod and opened a nearby panel in the wall. The hidden console's screen flared active, after which he entered the access codes Velvet pulled from Ironwood's head.
Selina waited until her teammate disarmed the alarms, then approached what must be the vault. She knew from Ruby telling Yang that it would take a few minutes for the thing to open, but they were not discovered yet. Despite it all, Selina tensed up a little more with every step she took until the wall towered over her.
She reached out and touched her fingers to its surface, only to feel something warm flow from her chest. Down her arms and onto her fingers it went, where actual sunlight sprouted out of her gloves. It seeped into the door that began to shine brighter than before. Nothing else happened.
Selina sighed. She was tense like a bowstring, yet somehow they made it this far without being discovered. Ren joined her in front of the vault, expression as hidden as hers. Selina huffed at her friend.
"Feels unreal, doesn't it?"
He nodded. "Atlas grew complacent, so we are here. But yes, it is still hard to believe even after everything we saw."
"Ayup. Right there with you. Real magic, insane."
"Yes."
They fell back into a tense though companionable silence. The glow of Selina's dissolved Charm slowly trickled along, clearly intent to cover the entire structure. The pair gradually relaxed and Selina shot a text to Weiss: 'Waiting for the stupid thing to open up'.
She barely remembered to use code in time. Weiss clearly did not need to rewrite her response, seeing how fast it came: 'You better hurry, we are waiting for you'
Well, that was one way to say she was worried. Selina let out a little huff and showed Ren, whose lips twitched up ever so faintly.
After a nerve-wracking five minutes, the door finally dissolved to reveal a disc of steel in an endless expanse. In its center hovered an elaborate metal staff. Selina pumped her fist at the sight and ran inside to grab the thing.
Just as her fingers touched it, everything stopped. The air suddenly felt still and a blue cloud escaped the staff. Selina clutched it protectively, only to gasp when the cloud formed into a person. A man, easily larger than any human or faunus.
"Ah, finally!" the specter greeted her with a cocky grin. "I-"
"Sorry," Selina interrupted with a look over her shoulder, "but can it wait? We're kinda doing a heist right now." She really hoped the magic person would not be mad, but there was no time right now.
He had stopped when she cut in, clearly annoyed. After following Selina's gaze to where Ren was peering into the vault, he heaved a sigh and shook his head. "Truly? Well, not that I mind. Say when you're ready to hear my wisdom."
So saying, he returned into the staff.
Selina whispered a quick "Thank you" and darted back outside; she felt the flat stare Ren levelled at her more than she saw it, shrugging helplessly. "I guess I got used to supernatural stuff happening. Or just Lumina."
It was the best she could tell him for why she was not in awe of the blue guy.
From there they started to walk back, the staff strapped to Selina's back. Everything really worked better than expected.
They made it a few dozen metres out of the room before they heard the stomping of far too many boots coming their way. Nobody should come here, it could only mean one thing.
"Shit! Back!"
Ren wordlessly followed her order and they quickly outpaced the shouting Atleseans; upon returning to the vault room, Selina looked around wildly for a way to escape or hide. Something, anything to make use of. But there was only the open vault... and the air vents.
She did not like their chances of making it through there, but the only other way out was the one they just retreated from. Selina listened to the approaching soldiers for a moment, gritting her teeth. Nothing to it.
"Ready to do something insane?"
He did not even answer, just moved up to her side. They exchanged smiles, a little wry and equally hopeful not to get themselves killed.
When Selina jumped into the vent, Ren followed without hesitation.
The walls were smooth and gave no purchase, but the approaching soldiers quickly faded from their hearing; they were replaced by the clicks and clacks of her gloves and armour on steel. Her aura took small hits but held steady, even as gravity tugged her ever deeper into the shaft.
Several terrifying seconds were spent in utter darkness; not even faunus nightvision could aid her without any light at all. Selina had no way to stabilise beyond her own balance.
Then there was light. She had no time to even recognise it came from below before she left the vent. Mantle approached far too quickly where she fell. Selina's eyes widened and she desperately tried to animate her aura; she never figured out the teleportation trick, now it would fail anyway. The cocktail of adrenaline and abject fear kept her unable to really focus.
All she could do was pool all her aura on her front, spread her arms wide, and press her tongue to the roof of her mouth. The adrenaline made each motion feel slow, the descent an age long. She could only hope.
When Selina hit the ground, she slammed into it like a meteor. Dust and stone flew, joined by a second load when Ren came down a few metres away. Sharp pebbles scratched her armour as she lay in a crater of her own making. Painful aftershocks ran through her body and kept her on the ground, all air driven from Selina's lungs. She barely managed to take little gasps.
Her aura broke right after impact. Everything hurt. But she was not dead.
Once the dust settled, Selina flopped herself over with a pained groan. "Ugh, you still alive?"
A pained grunt was Ren's only response. Silver linings and all. Selina smiled to herself at the thought.
After wallowing in pain a little longer, she sat up gingerly and patted herself down. The front armour was a bust, but somehow she made it through without broken bones. Just a lot of bruises.
So reassured, Selina pulled off her helmet and grabbed the tissues Weiss prepared to wipe off all the powder. Girl really thought of everything.
Which was when a voice called out to them in Atlesean.
Selina's head turned slowly to not aggravate her bruises, only for her to find a small girl staring at them. She was wrapped in a heavy coat, eyes wide. Another question was asked, still in Atlesean.
She slowly shook her head and answered in Valean common: "Sorry, I don't understand you."
Now with an audience, she merely winced in the process of getting to her feet. But once she stood, Selina quickly took off the armour. Some of it had come off anyway and the entire suit was dropped into the crater she made with her face.
Her Scroll chimed, miraculously intact. Selina fished it out, well aware that they were now being watched by an entire gaggle of children; she could not quite tell if it was their entrance, the armour, or the fact she only wore a tank top and shorts now. More than that did not fit under the armour and that would normally be fine. But with her aura shattered, the cold crept in and made her shudder.
Ren somehow fit slacks and his green vest underneath. Selina would grumble, but she was too busy being miserable to complain. "C'mon," she urged her friend. "We've gotta get going."
However, the first girl who found them was with them before they made more than three steps. She urgently grabbed Selina's arm while babbling something in Atlesean. Selina shook her head, helpless to admit it: "I don't understand."
An older boy joined them, pulling at Ren in much the same way. He scrambled to explain in broken Valean at the same time: "Too cold! Go inside!" He pointed to the rows and rows of slapdash huts and houses starting nearby, finally making sense to Selina. When he looked at her, she also noticed his iridescent compound eyes.
Soon enough the entire gaggle urged the two of them to come with them. Selina stiffly held onto the Staff of Creation. Some children ran ahead, but there was little she could do beside shivering; the cold was nasty even within reach of Mantle's warming grid.
"I think I hate it here," she muttered, too quiet for even Ren to hear. At the same time, Selina promised herself to never complain about Menagerie's heat again. Too hot was far easier to bear than too cold.
The kids that ran ahead returned with a small group of adults, probably their parents. They were clearly wary but relaxed upon seeing Selina; most of them were faunus just like her. She and Ren were ushered into a nearby house and found themselves holding cups of warm water. The elderly woman living there wrapped another blanket around Selina, cooing gently.
"You poor dears. What were you thinking, going out into the cold like that?"
"They're not from here," one of the men commented from the side, nodding to Selina. "Chocolate girl over there can't be native."
His flippant comment earned some laughs while she rolled her eyes. "Just 'cause you lot are too pale for the rest of Remnant doesn't mean I've gotta be. But yeah. Unless not knowing a lick of Atlesean wasn't a dead giveaway already."
He chuckled at that. "True, true."
After taking a hearty sip of the water, Selina threw the miner a smirk. "'sides, how often do you get to see a tropic beauty around these parts? Enjoy the sight?"
The lady bustling around her tutted, but everyone else laughed.
Socialising done for the moment and bundled up, Selina pulled out her Scroll again. She had no time to answer Weiss before, but her friend's messages became more worried by the minute. Selina wiggled her fingers and typed back: 'Long story, but we're in Mantle. Can someone come pick us up?'
Then, in a stroke of inspiration, she followed up with another message: 'This was the dumbest dare I ever took. Tell Yang to go fuck herself, making us jump.'
She received no response, but somehow Weiss's judging look transcended any need for communication.
"So," one woman in the small group with them started curiously, "what's that the children say about you falling from the sky?"
Having already found her chosen story, Selina sighed theatralically. "Dumbest dare I've ever taken. I'm just glad my aura actually took it all."
She rubbed her bruised front with a wince. For some reason however, the people around turned more attentive. They whispered between themselves for a bit, then two men up and left. Selina followed them with her eyes, then turned to the rest.
"What's that about?"
The elderly lady chuckled, idly rubbing her fox tail. "Well," she answered wrily, "we don't like Atlas much in these parts. Whatever you did to stick it to them, we won't tell. The boys are just making sure your old 'clothes' aren't there when anyone checks. Especially for a pair of hunters."
Right, the uniforms. Selina huffed to play over her embarassment. "Heh, never thought being a faunus would be to my advantage for once. And don't gimme that look, you wouldn't be half as friendly if I weren't."
"Well, perhaps. We do have to look out for our own more than anyone else."
"I get it, still weird."
Weird how things could turn out. She was rubbing shoulders with the upper crust of Atlas a mere few days ago, now she sat in the slums.
While Selina shook her head over this whole mess, Ren inclined his; he quietly nursed his drink so far. "Of course we're grateful regardless. Thank you."
"Oh it is no bother. And such a polite young man you are."
They transitioned into some idle conversation from there, mostly Selina sating her curiousity about life in Mantle. After a while she was notified that Blake and Velvet were ferrying down to fetch them, so she said her goodbyes and headed out; with her aura recovered, she could take the cold now. She weathered the many curious looks over her state of dress and clearly foreign skin tone with ease of practice.
Their reunion with their friends began with a big hug that had Selina hiss.
"Careful!" she growled at Velvet, who hopped back in surprise. Even partly healed bruises still hurt. "Do you have any idea how much it sucks to hit the ground at terminal velocity?"
"I'm surprised you even know what that means," Blake quipped, which earned her a one-fingered salute.
"And fuck you, too!"
They were both smiling, though. Glad to have done the impossible and gotten away with it. The two local faunus who accompanied Selina and Ren seemed amused by the exchange and bid them goodbye.
Blake brought a suitcase containing clothes and their IDs; the wayward pair quickly changed and the Staff was deposited into the case, then they boarded the next ferry up.
Up above, Atlas was on high alert. Soldiers patrolled about half the city. Selina quickly decided not to get too close to ground zero with the Staff on her person; thankfully, only outgoing ferries were checked. They had no trouble coming back in.
That was how everyone met up at the academy instead, this time in SNNL's dorm. Much to her surprise, Weiss greeted them with a hug; she did quickly retreated and dared anyone to say anything with a glare, but her worry shone through nonetheless. Selina could not help but grin, then she had to embrace Nora for similar reasons.
"Did you seriously jump off the city?" her fellow redhead gushed, more excited than worried. "Oh, I wanna do it too! Hey Ren, can we-" "No."
"Aww, but-" "No."
Nora pouted, but Ren did not budge this time. Their byplay eased the tension some and gave Selina a chance to open the suitcase; everyone got a chance to admire the Relic so unlike the Crown they already owned. Both of them glimmered faintly.
"So that's it," Coco mused. She sat down heavily on Selina's cot and rubbed her temple. "We did it. Yay us. Now that thing has to leave Atlas and quick."
Nobody had any objections. If they were found carrying this thing around, Ironwood would come for them. Selina nodded seriously and tried to come up with a plan of getting this out. None of them had a Semblance that would help there.
Someone else did, though.
She tapped Yang's shoulder to get her attention. "Ruby is pretty fast, right? Any chance she can drop by and pick it up?"
"I can call her and ask?" the blonde answered with a shrug. A few people nodded along, so she grabbed her Scroll and placed a quick call.
Barely a minute later, a stormy, red portal opened by Yang's side and Ruby Rose plopped out of it. She wore a goofy smile and spread her arms wide. "Tada!" she chirped, waving at the surprised group. "Hey Yang! Hey Penny! Hey everyone! Now gimme!"
She held out her hands and Selina handed her the suitcase; Ruby grinned.
"Great, see you next week!"
She hopped back through the portal, which then vanished. Twelve dumbfounded students were left behind. Selina looked between where the Relic vanished alongside their co-conspirator, then to everyone else. She had enough of this for one day.
"...well, that just happened? Anyone feel like getting wasted?"
Ten others agreed, even Weiss. Only Penny stayed silent because she could not get drunk to begin with. They dragged her along anyway.
Evil overlord list, very first entry:
"My Legions of Terror will have helmets with clear plexiglass visors, not face-concealing ones."
Man, who would've thought than Mulan would be able to pass for the opposite gender.
Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Ok, candidates: Cinder, Hornet coming by somehow, Cinder... main problem is that Velvet has already seen Cinder.
Don't know who it will be.
Just walk as if you know where you are and where you're going, seriously, that does so much of the work.
I am hesitating between *they got that far, surely they belong here* and *Ironwood's waiting for you, move along*.
Probably the first, but the second would be funnier.
Was he about to berate someone on how stupid the idea of putting Atlas in the air on top of Mantle was?
I so hope it's something like that.
Not completely false, not in a world like Remnant, where the kingdoms are more insular than our world.
Pfffff.
That's one way to pass the checks: come from the opposite side to the expected one.
Question: Is Raven having fun with this one?
Important little detail here:
They fell at terminal velocity, that means that going higher will change absolutely nothing about the landing, they will be at the same speed at most.
Which basically means that they just proved that they could jump from the stratosphere or higher and still survive.
The only thing that could kill them now from falling is if they had to bleed orbital velocity, as it would mean surviving the onslaught of (superheated by their speed) air, then hoping they decelerated enough to be at only terminal velocity when they touch the ground.
- Location
- Earth
If she is, nobody can tell
Aura do be stronk
Krazyfan1
Worrying for the future.
- Location
- Australia
their Aura did break though.
Aura do be stronk
thats an important thing.
what if they need to do some fighting afterwards?
I would be surprised, even expanding past the ones actually used in canon. It is at least strongly implied that Ghost being totally immune to falling damage is not a notable trait amongst Hollownest citizens.
Krazyfan1
Worrying for the future.
- Location
- Australia
i mean, Sly can fly with his wings, so that could be how?
He is a bug though, thinks that explains the wings more than a charm.
could be Salem, and it IS a prophecy so maybe (hopefully) not literal
It is a vision of the future, not a prophecy, so probably literal.
Guess we just found out how Salem's going to die.
Lumina infecting her and using it to destroy her body, or something in that direction, at the very least, seems like Salem will get infected.
- Location
- Earth
I mean, Salem is technically already infected. Lumina lives rent-free in her head after all
now that I think of it: is the infection itself problematic or were the infected in hollow nest only aggressive because of her wrath? If it were the latter, then the infection itself is not (much of) a problem, seeing that multiple people are already infected.
- Location
- Earth
As I understand it, the infection at its core is The Radiance assuming direct control of anyone and anything She can reach. The various infected enemies in Hallownest are aggressive because The Radiance makes them attack Ghost.
Effectively, I see the 'infection' itself as less an actual infection beyond being affected by The Radiance's will. If she were not in a constant state of incoherent rage, then one may not even notice they are 'infected' for a long time.
Case in point:
She gets infected far before she begins to attack, and at first, it only manifest via thoughts.
2.10 Goodbye Atlas
- Location
- Earth
The remainder of the three teams' missions went off without a hitch; SPBY had been reinforcing security for a larger atlesean shipping company and CFVY finished supporting a construction team in Mantle. Meanwhile, SNNL completed their Search And Destroy assignment outside by bringing down an alpha Goliath. The elephantine monster was finally tracked and went down as the students supported a pair of licensed Huntsmen.
Selina was still a little tense even a week after the heist, but that big fight helped take the edge off. Then again, she could still see how desperately Ironwood combed the city, though she probably would not have realised without being in the know. She also learned from Whitley that the general covertly suggested to the major players that they may want to relocate; big daddy Schnee was angry about that, especially Ironwood's refusal to give actual reasons.
The moment she carried that little tidbit to Weiss, her friend buried herself in work. She had her faunus friends, mainly Velvet and Blake, drip-feed that Atlas may drop to the people in Mantle. Even with just rumours, quite a few people up and left at the prospect of a city falling on their heads. Many of the faunus made for Menagerie and some more for Vacuo. Schnee workforces swiftly plummeted in the home mines.
More damning was that the rumour spread upward, though. Ironwood's attempts to suppress the information only reinforced that what slipped through the cracks must be true. Selina stayed out of it and watched from the sidelines how her friend worked; she would hardly have noticed the quiet panic that followed without Pyrrha to point things out.
Then again, nobody could have missed the large number of fancy-pants at the airports on the day of their teams' departure from Atlas.
"Wow," Selina quipped with a glance around. "That's a lot more orderly than you'd expect."
"Atleseans," Pyrrha murmured to her team, earning chuckles from them.
Whether Weiss heard it was unclear, but she still preened either way. When Penny asked her about the uncharacteristic joy, the erstwhile heiress' grin grew a fraction.
"Quite a few stocks plummeted hard with the recent upheaval and uncertainty, despite attempts to keep them up," she lectured them quietly. "I now own a quarter of Schnee Dust. Winter will transfer the third she obtained over the next few weeks. With that I will hold majority of company shares. Father is yet unaware."
Several people stared at her in awe and surprise both. Selina already respected the girl, but she could be outright scary if she wanted to be. Then Yang started laughing almost hysterically and Selina joined in; it was just too funny that big daddy went down like this.
"Ohhh!" Nora beamed at Weiss, both ignoring the laughter. "So that's what this was all about! You own the show now!"
"To an extent, yes. But... would you two shut up already?" she interrupted herself, glowering at Yang and Selina. The pair threw her thumbs ups and slowly quieted down. Weiss shook her head and returned attention to Nora: "But I need to force Father out before he takes countermeasures. Which means a replacement is needed."
Pyrrha nodded her understanding. "Which means either someone outside of the family or your brother?"
"Unfortunately," Weiss agreed with a soft sigh. "Whitley is far too young to be CEO, even though he was raised for the position. I am too, even ignoring that I plan to become a Huntress. Winter will refuse no matter what I say. Mother is... no. Just no."
She did not elaborate on that and no one quite felt like asking. Weiss carried on uninterrupted: "I may have to neglect my studies and duties for a time to figure out who to call on. It has to be someone trustworthy and experienced."
And once again she had it all figured out already, at least beside the actual solution.
Selina tapped Weiss's shoulder to offer a suggestion: "Look through the company records, I'd say. From what I heard you can find a lot of gold there. Maybe one of the faunus that made it into management and didn't turn into an asshole along the way?" she suggested, laughing over her own joke. "That'd be a nice slap in the face, too."
Weiss peered at her from up close, not quite annoyed with how near Selina stood. Her good mood was definitely strong today. "If I did not know you as well as I do, this would very much sound like pushing an agenda," she said slowly. "Do be careful when saying things like these. Especially with so many potentially prying ears nearby."
Selina nodded quickly, she did not even think about that. Before she could actually get worried however, Coco slid an arm over each of their shoulders with a winning grin. "Not to worry. If anyone eavesdrops on us, I have my little bunny to dig up allll of their dirty laundry. Isn't that right?"
She definitely wanted Velvet to play along, but the other brunette merely grimaced and rubbed the base of her ears. "There is a reason I hate crowds," she murmured. "Please let the Bullhead come quick."
Her prayers were heard and their machine landed in less than five minutes. Atlesean students disembarked first, offering curt nods in greeting. A few stopped to chat for a minute before hurrying to catch up with the rest. The Beacon students entered the Bullhead afterward and sat down in an orderly row.
Selina pulled out her phone to check for messages; she did not get to physically see Whitley again, but they regularly wrote each other.
After a quiet discussion with Weiss, she sent him a quick warning that his sister was preparing something big for the SDC; the moment he read it, Selina deleted the message and replaced it with a 'shhh' emote. Then she threw a bunch of cat pictures at him. Actual cats, not Blake. Selina took to sending the boy a bit of everything nice and fluffy she could think of; considering the days he probably had, she felt he needed that.
Then a contingent of atlesean soldiers entered before takeoff to check everyone over. Winter Schnee was leading, which said something alright. Only the twelve who actually did the deed knew what was searched for, but they knew the Staff was long gone.
Winter also took a minute to exchange words with her sister, whose good mood almost infected her. She left without finding what she came for, yet bore a subtle upward tilt to her lips that Selina noticed only after Pyrrha pointed it out.
She prepared herself for a boring flight home and they soon took off.
In the meantime, James Ironwood prepared himself for the call he dreaded having to make for a full week now.
He had to face the facts: someone stole the Staff of Creation from right under his nose. No amount of blaming his subordinates would change that. In the end, responsibility for such a catastrophic blunder lay with him. It was time to face the music.
The call connected just then and Ozpin appeared on screen. It was a direct and encrypted line between them, so they could speak candidly.
"Ah, James," the older man greeted with a benign smile. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"
He paused at the sight of his counterpart's stormy expression. "I take it you have bad news?"
"Unfortunately," James answered mirthlessly.
"Well, when are they not?"
Though appreciated, Ozpin's attempt at levity fell flat. There was really nothing to be happy about. James heaved a sigh and pinched the bridge of his nose. Nothing to it, he should just say it.
"Somehow, the Staff of Creation was stolen."
Ozpin leaned forward before the sentence was finished, immediately becoming dead serious. "Go on. What exactly happened?"
James scowled at that. "That is the most damned part of it: I don't know. By all accounts they stole several uniforms and just... walked in. The only reason we even noticed was that I am notified if anyone lowers security around the vault. The culprits were long gone by the time the response team arrived."
He knew how ridiculous it sounded, but that was the truth they could piece together. He ruffled his black hair in frustration. "This is a catastrophe, Oz! And I don't even know how they did it! The Winter Maiden is in good health and safe!"
A soft hum escaped the older man, who studied James thoughtfully. "There is more to this, no?" he prompted, far too calm as always. James' frown grew more pronounced as he had to confront the other issue with this entire disaster.
"Yes. Somehow, my access codes were used to enter the facility and circumvent every electronic safety measure."
He really should not have put off the retina scanners for budget reasons. But that was hindsight.
"That is concerning," Ozpin agreed thoughtfully. "It should not be possible to circumvent the vault locks, either. Alas, it could have been worse."
James stared at his old friend, utterly flabbergasted about his flippant response.
"...how, in Saint Andersen's name, could it haven been worse?"
The other headmaster's serene expression broke then; he grimaced and James already dreaded what bad news would follow. Few things could truly unsettle Ozpin.
He did not disappoint: "Well. As you may recall, Leonardo is missing."
That was all James needed to click the pieces into place. His stomach dropped and he urgently leaned forward. "You mean Haven's Relic is gone, too?"
"I do not rightly know," Ozpin deflected carefully. "Seeing how someone opened your vault without the Maiden's aid and his disappearance a few weeks past, I believe it is possible. So far it did not occur to me the vault may be at risk. I will send someone trustworthy to verify."
Meaning that they had to expect two out of four Relics gone. This got worse and worse. But James had not gotten where he was by doomsaying, his job was to provide solutions. "In the meantime, we need to shore up defenses at Shade and Beacon. If they're after the Relics, we need to stop them. Figure out who they are."
There he paused as something occurred to him.
"If it is Salem...."
"Then she would have no need to attack the Fall Maiden. Except to humiliate us, but she is not that petty."
Ozpin was clearly certain of his answer and James deferred to him on that one; the older man fought Salem in the shadows for far longer than any other human alive.
"Who else then?" he asked instead. "An unknown third party?"
"Potentially. I am not going to disregard Salem as an option just yet, but we may be dealing with a complete unknown. For now however, we do not know if they target Relics, headmasters, or both. Do be careful going forward, James."
He could see his friend's train of thought: one occurence was coincidence, but two formed a pattern. James being alive may be a miracle, considering the means the thieves must possess to somehow crack atlesean security codes. At the same time he could not help but wonder why there was not even a word about his failure. Ozpin was not the kind for harsh punishments, but he rarely let things slide either.
Sighing, James lowered his head. "I'm sorry, Oz. I failed to protect the Relic."
"Do not be," the older man comforted him kindly. "It seems we are dealing with someone well-prepared and motivated."
"And now all of Atlas and Mantle are at risk," James retorted. There was nothing positive about this. "They could wipe out the kingdom if they wanted to!"
Ozpin broke into his morose thoughts with a wry smile. "And yet they haven't," he reminded James. "Which means either they do not condone genocide, or they may attempt to ransom the Staff. They gave you time to put emergency measures in place. Use it."
James nodded; he saw the logic well enough once it was pointed out to him. The best time to hit Atlas would have been right after stealing the Staff. He had at least some time and needed to use it. But a second opinion never hurt.
"What do you suggest?"
"I imagine you are already taking steps?" Ozpin received a nod in response and smiled. "Then keep doing that. We will investigate who may be conspiring for the Relics in the meantime. Amber is in reasonably good health and kept hidden for the moment."
Right. James could not help but grimace at the reminder. "About that," he interjected. "Word got out that the city's engines are faulty. It is just rumours at this point, but any attempt to move the population will corroborate them."
"That... is a problem. I will mull it over. Be careful in the meantime."
"I always am."
The older man arched a brow; no more and no less, yet clearly communicating his skepticism. James almost averted his gaze, embarassed like the time his momma caught him sneaking sweets as a boy. Sometimes he envied Ozpin's skill in making people feel so chastised with just a look; it worked even on men like him, who spent over a decade in the army's upper echelons.
In the end he gave with a sigh. "Alright, I will."
"Good."
Ozpin smiled once again, folding his hands. He glanced at something out of frame, then turned back to James. "But while I have you here, is there anything else you want to talk about?"
They shifted to less depressing topics from there. It was a nice gesture of Ozpin to spend some time getting James into a better mood.
Some time later, the Beacon students disembarked their ride and tried to sleep off the jetlag. Weekend was near and classes would not start up until afterward. Yang called Ruby to let her sister know they made it back safe, too.
They then tried to figure out where to meet up. Ozpin's office sounded like a good plan for some until Weiss pointed out that he wanted to maintain plausible deniability. She had a point with her argument and they went back to the drawing board; the idea was now to go somewhere away from him.
After some conferring, Qrow suggested Mt. Glenn; a fallen city at the mountainside, overrun by Grimm a decade ago. The area was desolate and uninhabited, perfect to hunker down by his reasoning. The students agreed.
Thus all twelve of them had a big breakfast the next day and headed out. Selina was not happy with it and groaned loudly about being herded around, but nobody even entertained her. The urge to pout was strong, especially with how harrowing the heist was on her in particular. But she still got why this was so important and kept going, even while complaining.
At least they could get around a week-long walk thanks to Ruby and Raven; the bandit queen's portals were so incredibly nifty that Selina was half-tempted to see about some way to switch Semblances with someone else. She would not quite give an arm or a leg for a power like that, but if someone actually offered it to her Selina would be tempted.
They came out on a ruined street clear of Grimm. Ruby waved cheerfully, Lamp at her hip and Staff slung over her back.
"Hey guys!"
Selina waved back, as did most of the others. Yang hugged her little sister tightly and the group shared a laugh over her embarassment; then Selina and Nora went to bump fists with Ruby, who awkwardly offered the same to Weiss and Penny afterward. Even the heiress indulged her after her partner, more amused than anything. Selina trained that girl so well, soon she may even go for a high-five!
After greetings were out of the way and they each gave cliff notes versions of their adventures, everyone sat down to plan in one of the more intact buildings. A pinch of Wind Dust cleaned away most of the common dust, some rubble made for decent enough benches.
The basic idea they came up with was simple, too: fortify and wait for Salem to come to them.
"I do not see how she will even learn of this," Weiss said once they got that figured out. She frowned at a short list of notes she was writing. "We made certain not to leave any tracks that can be traced back to us. I assume you did the same?" she asked Ruby, who smiled mischievously.
"I did, but that's where Lumina comes in."
And suddenly everything made sense. Ruby's grin widened over the sounds of understanding from the group, fully ignoring questions about the details. "The best part is that we can get you back to Beacon for classes if it takes too long. Teleportation is so practical!"
Yang groaned at that and threw a bunched up plastic wrapper at Ruby. "Way to rub it in, sis!"
Ruby dodged easily and stuck out her tongue; Qrow shook his head over their antics, much like Selina and Coco did. Raven's expression was as stony as ever; Selina still felt intimidated by her, but she had to admit she would like to have a poker face half as good.
"Whatever," Qrow interrupted the banter. "If Lumina's right, Salem will come herself to take the Relics. Whatever plan she has better work."
His gruff voice was calm, but they all heard the 'or else we're all dead'; he did not even need to say it.
From there they split up and began pacifying the area. Lots of Grimm milled around, yet there was nothing they could not handle. No ancient specimen, nothing larger than Ursas. It was nice enough for Selina to have her old job again, even just for a little while. They all kept their eyes open for potential shelter, too.
Ruby and Weiss put their heads together to build some volatile Dust mines. Raven led a hunting party out of city limits, taking Velvet and Selina along. Qrow went off alone to kill more Grimm and level the playing field. Ren, Blake, and Fox focussed on scouting, with Nora for heavy support. Meanwhile, Coco, Yatsuhashi, Penny, Yang, and Pyrrha formed a core combat team that waltzed over the weaker Grimm in town. They were slower than the rest, but hit harder than every other student and even Ruby.
It was odd to not work within her own team, Selina had to admit that. She got used to her friends being around. But at the same time it was interesting to follow Raven's lead; as weird as it still was to have her around, her skills were the real deal. Selina learned a lot.
Like this they prepared for the final confrontation. And a half-step away from their reality, Lumina's grin grew malicious. It was a perfect mirror to Summer's, who stood opposite to her.
"Soon," the moth promised with vindictive glee.
Summer nodded.
"Soon," she agreed, much more severe than her co-conspirator.
Selina was still a little tense even a week after the heist, but that big fight helped take the edge off. Then again, she could still see how desperately Ironwood combed the city, though she probably would not have realised without being in the know. She also learned from Whitley that the general covertly suggested to the major players that they may want to relocate; big daddy Schnee was angry about that, especially Ironwood's refusal to give actual reasons.
The moment she carried that little tidbit to Weiss, her friend buried herself in work. She had her faunus friends, mainly Velvet and Blake, drip-feed that Atlas may drop to the people in Mantle. Even with just rumours, quite a few people up and left at the prospect of a city falling on their heads. Many of the faunus made for Menagerie and some more for Vacuo. Schnee workforces swiftly plummeted in the home mines.
More damning was that the rumour spread upward, though. Ironwood's attempts to suppress the information only reinforced that what slipped through the cracks must be true. Selina stayed out of it and watched from the sidelines how her friend worked; she would hardly have noticed the quiet panic that followed without Pyrrha to point things out.
Then again, nobody could have missed the large number of fancy-pants at the airports on the day of their teams' departure from Atlas.
"Wow," Selina quipped with a glance around. "That's a lot more orderly than you'd expect."
"Atleseans," Pyrrha murmured to her team, earning chuckles from them.
Whether Weiss heard it was unclear, but she still preened either way. When Penny asked her about the uncharacteristic joy, the erstwhile heiress' grin grew a fraction.
"Quite a few stocks plummeted hard with the recent upheaval and uncertainty, despite attempts to keep them up," she lectured them quietly. "I now own a quarter of Schnee Dust. Winter will transfer the third she obtained over the next few weeks. With that I will hold majority of company shares. Father is yet unaware."
Several people stared at her in awe and surprise both. Selina already respected the girl, but she could be outright scary if she wanted to be. Then Yang started laughing almost hysterically and Selina joined in; it was just too funny that big daddy went down like this.
"Ohhh!" Nora beamed at Weiss, both ignoring the laughter. "So that's what this was all about! You own the show now!"
"To an extent, yes. But... would you two shut up already?" she interrupted herself, glowering at Yang and Selina. The pair threw her thumbs ups and slowly quieted down. Weiss shook her head and returned attention to Nora: "But I need to force Father out before he takes countermeasures. Which means a replacement is needed."
Pyrrha nodded her understanding. "Which means either someone outside of the family or your brother?"
"Unfortunately," Weiss agreed with a soft sigh. "Whitley is far too young to be CEO, even though he was raised for the position. I am too, even ignoring that I plan to become a Huntress. Winter will refuse no matter what I say. Mother is... no. Just no."
She did not elaborate on that and no one quite felt like asking. Weiss carried on uninterrupted: "I may have to neglect my studies and duties for a time to figure out who to call on. It has to be someone trustworthy and experienced."
And once again she had it all figured out already, at least beside the actual solution.
Selina tapped Weiss's shoulder to offer a suggestion: "Look through the company records, I'd say. From what I heard you can find a lot of gold there. Maybe one of the faunus that made it into management and didn't turn into an asshole along the way?" she suggested, laughing over her own joke. "That'd be a nice slap in the face, too."
Weiss peered at her from up close, not quite annoyed with how near Selina stood. Her good mood was definitely strong today. "If I did not know you as well as I do, this would very much sound like pushing an agenda," she said slowly. "Do be careful when saying things like these. Especially with so many potentially prying ears nearby."
Selina nodded quickly, she did not even think about that. Before she could actually get worried however, Coco slid an arm over each of their shoulders with a winning grin. "Not to worry. If anyone eavesdrops on us, I have my little bunny to dig up allll of their dirty laundry. Isn't that right?"
She definitely wanted Velvet to play along, but the other brunette merely grimaced and rubbed the base of her ears. "There is a reason I hate crowds," she murmured. "Please let the Bullhead come quick."
Her prayers were heard and their machine landed in less than five minutes. Atlesean students disembarked first, offering curt nods in greeting. A few stopped to chat for a minute before hurrying to catch up with the rest. The Beacon students entered the Bullhead afterward and sat down in an orderly row.
Selina pulled out her phone to check for messages; she did not get to physically see Whitley again, but they regularly wrote each other.
After a quiet discussion with Weiss, she sent him a quick warning that his sister was preparing something big for the SDC; the moment he read it, Selina deleted the message and replaced it with a 'shhh' emote. Then she threw a bunch of cat pictures at him. Actual cats, not Blake. Selina took to sending the boy a bit of everything nice and fluffy she could think of; considering the days he probably had, she felt he needed that.
Then a contingent of atlesean soldiers entered before takeoff to check everyone over. Winter Schnee was leading, which said something alright. Only the twelve who actually did the deed knew what was searched for, but they knew the Staff was long gone.
Winter also took a minute to exchange words with her sister, whose good mood almost infected her. She left without finding what she came for, yet bore a subtle upward tilt to her lips that Selina noticed only after Pyrrha pointed it out.
She prepared herself for a boring flight home and they soon took off.
In the meantime, James Ironwood prepared himself for the call he dreaded having to make for a full week now.
He had to face the facts: someone stole the Staff of Creation from right under his nose. No amount of blaming his subordinates would change that. In the end, responsibility for such a catastrophic blunder lay with him. It was time to face the music.
The call connected just then and Ozpin appeared on screen. It was a direct and encrypted line between them, so they could speak candidly.
"Ah, James," the older man greeted with a benign smile. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"
He paused at the sight of his counterpart's stormy expression. "I take it you have bad news?"
"Unfortunately," James answered mirthlessly.
"Well, when are they not?"
Though appreciated, Ozpin's attempt at levity fell flat. There was really nothing to be happy about. James heaved a sigh and pinched the bridge of his nose. Nothing to it, he should just say it.
"Somehow, the Staff of Creation was stolen."
Ozpin leaned forward before the sentence was finished, immediately becoming dead serious. "Go on. What exactly happened?"
James scowled at that. "That is the most damned part of it: I don't know. By all accounts they stole several uniforms and just... walked in. The only reason we even noticed was that I am notified if anyone lowers security around the vault. The culprits were long gone by the time the response team arrived."
He knew how ridiculous it sounded, but that was the truth they could piece together. He ruffled his black hair in frustration. "This is a catastrophe, Oz! And I don't even know how they did it! The Winter Maiden is in good health and safe!"
A soft hum escaped the older man, who studied James thoughtfully. "There is more to this, no?" he prompted, far too calm as always. James' frown grew more pronounced as he had to confront the other issue with this entire disaster.
"Yes. Somehow, my access codes were used to enter the facility and circumvent every electronic safety measure."
He really should not have put off the retina scanners for budget reasons. But that was hindsight.
"That is concerning," Ozpin agreed thoughtfully. "It should not be possible to circumvent the vault locks, either. Alas, it could have been worse."
James stared at his old friend, utterly flabbergasted about his flippant response.
"...how, in Saint Andersen's name, could it haven been worse?"
The other headmaster's serene expression broke then; he grimaced and James already dreaded what bad news would follow. Few things could truly unsettle Ozpin.
He did not disappoint: "Well. As you may recall, Leonardo is missing."
That was all James needed to click the pieces into place. His stomach dropped and he urgently leaned forward. "You mean Haven's Relic is gone, too?"
"I do not rightly know," Ozpin deflected carefully. "Seeing how someone opened your vault without the Maiden's aid and his disappearance a few weeks past, I believe it is possible. So far it did not occur to me the vault may be at risk. I will send someone trustworthy to verify."
Meaning that they had to expect two out of four Relics gone. This got worse and worse. But James had not gotten where he was by doomsaying, his job was to provide solutions. "In the meantime, we need to shore up defenses at Shade and Beacon. If they're after the Relics, we need to stop them. Figure out who they are."
There he paused as something occurred to him.
"If it is Salem...."
"Then she would have no need to attack the Fall Maiden. Except to humiliate us, but she is not that petty."
Ozpin was clearly certain of his answer and James deferred to him on that one; the older man fought Salem in the shadows for far longer than any other human alive.
"Who else then?" he asked instead. "An unknown third party?"
"Potentially. I am not going to disregard Salem as an option just yet, but we may be dealing with a complete unknown. For now however, we do not know if they target Relics, headmasters, or both. Do be careful going forward, James."
He could see his friend's train of thought: one occurence was coincidence, but two formed a pattern. James being alive may be a miracle, considering the means the thieves must possess to somehow crack atlesean security codes. At the same time he could not help but wonder why there was not even a word about his failure. Ozpin was not the kind for harsh punishments, but he rarely let things slide either.
Sighing, James lowered his head. "I'm sorry, Oz. I failed to protect the Relic."
"Do not be," the older man comforted him kindly. "It seems we are dealing with someone well-prepared and motivated."
"And now all of Atlas and Mantle are at risk," James retorted. There was nothing positive about this. "They could wipe out the kingdom if they wanted to!"
Ozpin broke into his morose thoughts with a wry smile. "And yet they haven't," he reminded James. "Which means either they do not condone genocide, or they may attempt to ransom the Staff. They gave you time to put emergency measures in place. Use it."
James nodded; he saw the logic well enough once it was pointed out to him. The best time to hit Atlas would have been right after stealing the Staff. He had at least some time and needed to use it. But a second opinion never hurt.
"What do you suggest?"
"I imagine you are already taking steps?" Ozpin received a nod in response and smiled. "Then keep doing that. We will investigate who may be conspiring for the Relics in the meantime. Amber is in reasonably good health and kept hidden for the moment."
Right. James could not help but grimace at the reminder. "About that," he interjected. "Word got out that the city's engines are faulty. It is just rumours at this point, but any attempt to move the population will corroborate them."
"That... is a problem. I will mull it over. Be careful in the meantime."
"I always am."
The older man arched a brow; no more and no less, yet clearly communicating his skepticism. James almost averted his gaze, embarassed like the time his momma caught him sneaking sweets as a boy. Sometimes he envied Ozpin's skill in making people feel so chastised with just a look; it worked even on men like him, who spent over a decade in the army's upper echelons.
In the end he gave with a sigh. "Alright, I will."
"Good."
Ozpin smiled once again, folding his hands. He glanced at something out of frame, then turned back to James. "But while I have you here, is there anything else you want to talk about?"
They shifted to less depressing topics from there. It was a nice gesture of Ozpin to spend some time getting James into a better mood.
Some time later, the Beacon students disembarked their ride and tried to sleep off the jetlag. Weekend was near and classes would not start up until afterward. Yang called Ruby to let her sister know they made it back safe, too.
They then tried to figure out where to meet up. Ozpin's office sounded like a good plan for some until Weiss pointed out that he wanted to maintain plausible deniability. She had a point with her argument and they went back to the drawing board; the idea was now to go somewhere away from him.
After some conferring, Qrow suggested Mt. Glenn; a fallen city at the mountainside, overrun by Grimm a decade ago. The area was desolate and uninhabited, perfect to hunker down by his reasoning. The students agreed.
Thus all twelve of them had a big breakfast the next day and headed out. Selina was not happy with it and groaned loudly about being herded around, but nobody even entertained her. The urge to pout was strong, especially with how harrowing the heist was on her in particular. But she still got why this was so important and kept going, even while complaining.
At least they could get around a week-long walk thanks to Ruby and Raven; the bandit queen's portals were so incredibly nifty that Selina was half-tempted to see about some way to switch Semblances with someone else. She would not quite give an arm or a leg for a power like that, but if someone actually offered it to her Selina would be tempted.
They came out on a ruined street clear of Grimm. Ruby waved cheerfully, Lamp at her hip and Staff slung over her back.
"Hey guys!"
Selina waved back, as did most of the others. Yang hugged her little sister tightly and the group shared a laugh over her embarassment; then Selina and Nora went to bump fists with Ruby, who awkwardly offered the same to Weiss and Penny afterward. Even the heiress indulged her after her partner, more amused than anything. Selina trained that girl so well, soon she may even go for a high-five!
After greetings were out of the way and they each gave cliff notes versions of their adventures, everyone sat down to plan in one of the more intact buildings. A pinch of Wind Dust cleaned away most of the common dust, some rubble made for decent enough benches.
The basic idea they came up with was simple, too: fortify and wait for Salem to come to them.
"I do not see how she will even learn of this," Weiss said once they got that figured out. She frowned at a short list of notes she was writing. "We made certain not to leave any tracks that can be traced back to us. I assume you did the same?" she asked Ruby, who smiled mischievously.
"I did, but that's where Lumina comes in."
And suddenly everything made sense. Ruby's grin widened over the sounds of understanding from the group, fully ignoring questions about the details. "The best part is that we can get you back to Beacon for classes if it takes too long. Teleportation is so practical!"
Yang groaned at that and threw a bunched up plastic wrapper at Ruby. "Way to rub it in, sis!"
Ruby dodged easily and stuck out her tongue; Qrow shook his head over their antics, much like Selina and Coco did. Raven's expression was as stony as ever; Selina still felt intimidated by her, but she had to admit she would like to have a poker face half as good.
"Whatever," Qrow interrupted the banter. "If Lumina's right, Salem will come herself to take the Relics. Whatever plan she has better work."
His gruff voice was calm, but they all heard the 'or else we're all dead'; he did not even need to say it.
From there they split up and began pacifying the area. Lots of Grimm milled around, yet there was nothing they could not handle. No ancient specimen, nothing larger than Ursas. It was nice enough for Selina to have her old job again, even just for a little while. They all kept their eyes open for potential shelter, too.
Ruby and Weiss put their heads together to build some volatile Dust mines. Raven led a hunting party out of city limits, taking Velvet and Selina along. Qrow went off alone to kill more Grimm and level the playing field. Ren, Blake, and Fox focussed on scouting, with Nora for heavy support. Meanwhile, Coco, Yatsuhashi, Penny, Yang, and Pyrrha formed a core combat team that waltzed over the weaker Grimm in town. They were slower than the rest, but hit harder than every other student and even Ruby.
It was odd to not work within her own team, Selina had to admit that. She got used to her friends being around. But at the same time it was interesting to follow Raven's lead; as weird as it still was to have her around, her skills were the real deal. Selina learned a lot.
Like this they prepared for the final confrontation. And a half-step away from their reality, Lumina's grin grew malicious. It was a perfect mirror to Summer's, who stood opposite to her.
"Soon," the moth promised with vindictive glee.
Summer nodded.
"Soon," she agreed, much more severe than her co-conspirator.
I mean, what do you want him to say there?
"Atlas may well spontaneously go down at any time, killing all on it and below"?
Yeah, no, that would basically be asking for a giant horde of Grimm to converge on your location to make things worse.
An oh so unfortunate side effect, I am sure.
Oh so unfortunate.
That's the problem with shareholders, one day you are in command, the next your company crashes and burn because the market decided it would be so.
I am pretty sure she would raise a drink at that statement....
Cats are love, cats are life.
I am not going to put any pics of my own cat in the internet ever, but I am giving him a rub for the occasion, he loves that.
Man, Oz is putting on his best bluff right now.
Yes, technically Oz would know if it was Salem due to the fact he knows her best, but at this point he knows way more than that.
Lumina, who just so happens to be pretending she is Cinder right now, who has a direct line to the big bad that no one can see coming.
Yeah, she can have *Cinder* work hard and *find* some hints at who is responsible, give them to Salem as if she was searching for approval, then discreetly tell the news to her collaborators in a dream.
End game, here we go!
Arcane Howitzer
Serial Arcanist
- Location
- United States
If you can't dismiss the rumors, use them. Release a statement that the systems keeping Atlas afloat have started showing a few worrying signs, and that while there is no current risk of complete failure, it has nevertheless been decided, in the interests of public safety, to remove Atlas from its current position and bring it down in a controlled landing until such a time as the necessary maintenance can be carried out (i.e. however long it takes to get the staff back).
...
They do know how to land the island, right?