Chapter 12: Frostbite

The Schnee household was bristling with people. It's empty halls filled with faceless crowds. Weiss stood there, greeting those lifeless people. Relatives that she didn't know greeted her with an almost false sense of familiarity.

At first, Weiss was intrigued about this prospect. It was a chance to socialize- a chance to be free. And she never felt lonelier.

These crowds weren't people. She didn't know why she had that tiny hope that they were actual people. She hoped that they would see her as more than an heiress.

But alas, it was no avail.

Even worse, she thought her eyepatch would be a source of embarrassment. Instead, her reminder was nothing more than an interesting accessory.

It spat at the whole meaning of it.

She hated this. But she had to endure. It was her destiny. Ever since she was brought into this world, it was predestined. A destiny to be a strong Schnee that brought greatness to the name.

It was something that she could not fight against.

So she smiled, she shook hands with complete strangers, and she curtseyed with a false sense of grace. Weiss was taught etiquette. She didn't hate it nor did she love it.

It simply was. There was nothing more to it. This was just another thing for her to overcome. Weiss looked at the glass in her hand. It was another superficial gesture.

As far as Weiss could tell, she was the only child here. And even, she wasn't truly that either. Weiss Schnee, heiress.

Everyone here knew it too. Weiss had been given a burden at such a young age. With that burden came the pessimistic truth and the denial of her chilhood. She read in between the lines, every little compliment was not genuine.

This made everything worse. Some part of her wanted to believe those little lies. But she couldn't. Weakness would not be acceptable. She had to be leagues better than everyone else.

Excusing herself to no one in particular, she locked herself in the bathroom. At least this isolation was honest.

Weiss looked into the mirror. She took a deep breath. Gingerly removing her eyepatch, she looked at her face.

It was a reminder, she kept telling herself.

The scars were still there, it looked like an animal had done such a deed rather than a Faunus… not that there was much difference. Secretly, it was something that she wanted to display prominently. Of course, father wouldn't allow it. He offered surgery to remove it, but Weiss refused. The time frame to permanently remove it flawlessly was gone. Not that he would notice, work was taking more and more of his time.

Her dead eye bore into the mirror. Missing half of her vision was one of the pitfalls she'd rather avoid. It took some time to adjust, but Weiss thought she did rather well. Aura helped compensate for most of the functions, but her sight was something she would never truly get back.

Unless she took the deal that her father offered.

Weiss considered it, ever since she missed seeing out of both of eyes. But Weiss felt that she had to prove herself first before she could take the deal.

She didn't know why, but that's how she felt. Until then… she placed the eyepatch over her face again. Weiss gave a fake smile to the mirror and headed back out.

And she was back into the sea of bodies once more.

Navigating the sea with smiles and false words, she searched desperately for a place of peace. The bathroom was no place for that.

Weiss eventually found a nice and secluded area. While it was no paradise, it was a small spot of calm in a turbulent sea.

As she stood there, isolated and alone, Weiss muttered to herself, "For duty and all that."

Atlas was always like that, placing duty above all else. It did give Atlas the stigma of being single-minded zealots, but not everything was at seems.

Her family still loved her, despite circumstances snipping their time away. It seemed like business had consumed her father, but he still loved her.

And Winter. Duty was inevitable, but they were sisters. Nothing could ever change that fact. Weiss only wished that Winter didn't have attend Atlas Academy.

It was a silly notion- a child complaining about how the world operated. Weiss was expected to attend Atlas Academy. It was unavoidable, considering that she took the road less traveled. It was a road that she couldn't undo.

While she considered going to the primary combat academy, Weiss was already leaning toward personal training. As long as one got the proper permission, it would be perfectly acceptable. The real test of character came during the initiation.

Winter said as much.

Her older sister knew her path and it was her path. Winter's dreams and destiny aligned with each other. Still, Winter was going to be there when Weiss needed her, there was some burdens that she needed to shoulder alone.

Winter remembered how much she hated this. The false pleasantries and being alone in a crowded room.

It was one of the many reasons she wanted to escape by becoming a huntress. She heard and studied how they operated.

They were part of something greater, never alone. Atlas promoted such things, military fellowship and loyalty.

That was one of the huge reasons she wanted to become a huntress. But there was another one that took priority.

She wanted to make the kingdom a better place. She didn't want her sister dealing with hurt again. Despite her sister's stubbornness that she could deal with this herself, Winter wanted to help anyway she could. Although, she really needed to smack some sense into Weiss.

Winter fiddled with her dress. She just had to endure this one more time. After this, Winter would be off to Atlas Academy.

"Winter," her father's voice said, "I'd like you to meet someone.:

She turned around and saw her father standing with Brigadier General Ironwood, the headmaster of Atlas Academy.

"Oh! Brigadier-General! It's… it's an honor." She offered her hand and Ironwood shook it with his gloved hand. His grip was strong.

"I heard you were joining us over at Atlas Academy to become a huntress. A notable profession," Ironwood commented.

"I'll leave you two alone," her father said before walking away.

She both hated and loved her father's decision. Winter would have liked some forewarning. He just decided to drop his bomb-shell on her, but that's how he operated. He may have loved them but he merely gave them the tools to succeed. She was pretty sure that he got some sort of personal secretary to train Weiss.

"I heard father speak praises about your ability, Winter. Your semblance and swordsmanship in particular."

"I hope that I live up to your expectations," Winter replied.

Train being used very loosely, managing Weiss's activities was more accurate. Most of the time, family was expect to train aura and semblance. What little time he had, he used to help Winter with her semblance.

His notes on the family semblance was very useful. Using these notes, she gave up her last vestiges of freedom on giving Weiss some of the basics. She didn't blame father, his time was limited. Winter just hoped that Weiss didn't resent that too much, because soon there would be no family to train her.

"If I may say, there are some alternatives to the huntress role."

"Is there? Like the reserve?" Winter asked.

"There's the Special Operatives program."

"Ah, I heard much about Atlas trying out many new programs. Interesting work. But I haven't heard much about that particular program."

"Only Atlas Academy students and graduates are really told about it. It's more military-orientated if that is your thing," Ironwood said.

"It sounds intriguing to say the least, I'll have to give it some thought. Although, what's the benefits of the program?" Winter asked. She was already considering the role herself.

"A team of hunters are a cohesive unit by themselves but not all of them could work that cohesively with the military. I always pushed for this program when it was first proposed. I'd tell you more, but I can't give away too many details but you'll find out more after the initiation."

"You know how to keep a lady intrigued."

"I look forward to testing your skills and I do hope you survive the initiation. Now, I got to find your father. We need to finish discussing some business."

Ironwood joined the faceless crowd. Winter thought about the program and she was enticed to join already.

Some part of her wanted to wait and see, but Winter decided to push that back. She suddenly found this whole gala business easier to bear with.

The gala was to raise funds to help Vale, a sort of goodwill between kingdoms… and it helped the SDC's image.

Speaking of which, Winter couldn't imagine running the whole thing. She looked toward her father, at the effects of running a business.

Despite Weiss's insistence, Winter couldn't help but worry. Maybe Winter needed to be tougher on Weiss.

Then again, Winter was already tough on Weiss, she wanted her little sister to at least have one enjoyable memory before she left.

Perhaps, they could do something quiet after this.

They just needed to get away from this lifestyle of never-ending business.

"Mister Schnee. You have yet to show anything to convince me that we should go with your company."

"I believe that you will be quite convinced when it shows up," Schnee said.

"I have yet to be convinced," Ironwood said. "And it's quite a shame, your company have been a reliable source of Dust."

"Thank you," Schnee said. "But, as I said, I'm sure you will be quite happy with the results. I've read up with your type of work-" Ironwood subconsciously moved that arm uncomfortably. "- and I think it might significantly help accelerate certain fields of yours. From mechs to..." Schnee trailed off.

Ironwood clenched his gloved fist. "Whatever it is, it better be worth it. Though, if it proves to be a waste of my time, perhaps the military should go with SneBier. At least she showed something to us."

"Oh, what would that be?" Schnee asked with a smirk. "I bet I could outdo her."

"And you're welcomed to do so. But keep in mind that you have a limited time frame. At least with her, it could enhance our soldiers. What could you offer?"

"Oh, you'll see. And when you are convinced, I'll even let you have the person responsible for the advancements. He's quite a capable man, spearheading everything. He's even a capable engineer too. Might even help you with your mechs."

"Whatever the case, your daughters are training to be huntresses? I know that Winter will attending Atlas, but what of the younger one- Weiss, was it?" Ironwood asked.

"They both will, but Weiss will be in reserve. I did hear about that program."

"So, you're perfectly fine with Winter being a huntress but not a specialist?" Ironwood mused.

"You do know what they call the military?" Schnee asked.

"Attack dogs that are placed needlessly in danger when a hunter could be employed. It's quite a shame that there aren't enough hunters for that. I suspect that you wouldn't want your daughter to be known as such. But nothing is as it seems. Military life is quite respectable if needlessly dangerous, but so is a hunter's lifestyle."

Schnee gave a smile. "I know I could help with that."

Ironwood contemplated that remark. His brow furrowed as he gazed off into the distance.

"I expect something after this gala. Just keep that in mind," Ironwood said before walking off.

"Expect something sooner than that," Schnee muttered before looking around. They were in a relatively isolated area, on top of one of the many balconies.

He looked over the courtyard. It was funny to him that he could throw enough money to clean the blood and repair the courtyard in record time. Lives were such a trivial thing. His entire security detail dead, but they didn't matter. Except hers. Maybe if things were different… no... it could never undo what happened.

He frowned and pushed that thought into the recesses of his mind. Everything had to go perfect today. It took a while to set everything up. Everyone had to be impressed with what he had to show. It was going to change the world. It had to be handled with care, as the backlash if things went wrong… the SDC wouldn't survive.

The courtyard had both his security detail and Ironwood's military stationed around. They were all in the usually points. Anyone with military know-how could see it. Anything less than a strategic all out attack would crumble the defenses.

Schnee leaned on the railway, preparing for the things to come. The military contract would prove favorably and he knew how much Atlas would desperately want what he had. They had tried and failed where he had succeed. He held all the cards now. Despite his confidence, he still worried that Atlas wouldn't take it. It had to be Atlas- probably out of a sense of nationalism.

He went over the prepared speech in his head. He couldn't wait to see Sturm's face when he unveils everything. He did publicly invite her and her daughter, as a way to seemly 'reconcile' the feud between the two companies. She couldn't refuse without making it seem like she was spitting in his face at his attempt at 'peace'. Funny, he would never ever try that.

Sturm was going to be paranoid coming here. After all, she was going to be alone in the lion's den. He checked over the guest list and her butler bodyguard was here but that was no problem. As her whole world crumbles before her, he would take satisfaction in her demise.

Her company was already going down the shitter and soon he will acquire that worthless company company. Soon after that, he was going to liquidate everything she owned and leave nothing for that brat of hers.

If he learned anything it was that there could only be one. There was no room for competition here. The SDC had to grow strong enough to strike down any potential competitors. He wanted to leave behind a legacy worthy enough for his heiress.

Weiss jumped in shock as someone put a hand on her shoulder. She quickly recovered and relaxed as she recognized that rare embrace.

"Hello, Winter," Weiss said formally. There was no hint of affection, it was as if she was greeting a stranger.

"You really want to go that way?" Winter muttered under her breath. "Greetings, sister. I trust the gala's atmosphere up to par?"

"Please don't patronize me."

Winter gently punched Weiss's shoulder. "I was actually serious about that question but loosen up. You don't have to worry about whatever image you're going for. There aren't that many people here anyhow."

Winter gestured around the room, displaying a distinct absence of people. By now, most of them were gathering around for a big reveal.

The Schnee sisters themselves didn't know what their father had planned but he did trust themselves to keep safe. Winter had a bad feeling about this. She tugged at her dress uncomfortably. Some hunters could wear dresses while fighting, but those dresses were designed for combat. These dresses were not. They didn't even any combat skirt technology.

Luckily, their father allowed them to wear something underneath.

Weiss glanced around the room and let her shoulders sag.

"I could see why you didn't like this," Weiss commented quietly.

Winter opened her mouth to reply but Weiss continued, "Still! I can't mope about it. Gotta be like you and dad."

"Don't worry if you're only as half as good as me. That's still pretty great."

Weiss smiled. "You know, we should… have lun-" Weiss remembered what happened the last time she had a quiet moment with a family member. She froze briefly as her eyepatch became wet.

Winter caught on to her reaction and gave her a small hug before going down to her level.

"You don't have to do anything you don't want to."

"Don't treat me like a child!" Weiss cried indignantly. "I'm fine!"

Winter wanted to give Weiss another hug but opted against it. She wanted to respect Weiss's wishes. Besides if Weiss needed time, then she wouldn't encroach on that. Being a big sister meant that she had to know when to give her space and when to give Weiss a sensible smack.

"If you ever need anything..." Winter left herself trail off.

"Fine. I get it. It's… it's just hard thinking about her. Is it bad that sometimes I wished there was someone like her to stop the hurt?" Weiss asked while looking down.

"No, but I know me and dad aren't going to be around a whole lot, but we love you. Even when I'm kicking your butt in a woefully unfair match or when father assigns you a bunch of lessons."

They both noticed that the room began to fill up and they straightened their posture and their tones become formal.

"Thank you, Winter," Weiss said quietly.

Winter nodded and asked, "Are your extracurricular activities up to your standards?"

"Quite. I started taking vocal lessons."

"Oh? I'm sure you have a lovely voice and-" Winter leaned in. "- I'm sure you will play for whole crowds. And they will be shouting your name."

Weiss gave a small blush before recovering. "Thank you for the compliment. I-"

Weiss's lone eye caught a girl of her age enter the room. Winter turned her attention to the girl also. The hollow crowd.

The girl had a walk that was loud and proud. It was as if she wanted to draw the attention to herself. Weiss almost stepped back before regaining her composure. There was a well-dressed man watching the girl from the back. The girl made a beeline toward them. Winter stepped in front of Weiss but Weiss gently pushed past Winter to meet the girl.

Cream-colored eyes met Weiss's lone icy eye. Her eyes conveyed a sense of amusement and an almost malicious sense of curiosity. At a distance, her hair appeared to be platinum blonde but it seemed to be more cream-colored on closer inspection. She flipped her twin-tails back and tilted her head. Something seemed familiar about the girl.

"So… you're the heiress, right?" she asked. Weiss looked over the dress that the girl was wearing. It was a relatively simple white dress but most of the attention was focused on the tiny blue diamonds lining the skirt.

Weiss nodded her head. "Weiss Schnee, heiress to the SDC. And who do I owe the pleasure to?"

"Frost SneBier, heiress to the SBI. A true pleasure," Frost said with a small sneer.

Frost gauged the reaction of Weiss. Her mother really didn't want them to be here, but Frost went anyway. It was like a high-stakes game, but Frost didn't know the stakes. Rusty allowed her to play cards during the off-time when mother wasn't there.

They didn't barter in money but rather in favors and chores. And Frost lived a care-free life because of it.

It was to teach Frost something about business but Frost saw it as a fun game. Although, she didn't want to lose but she didn't want to try either. Frost just coasted on natural ability. After all, she was the best. Still, she had yet to find a real challenge.

Weiss outstretched her hand. Frost found it funny on how everyone expected to be polite and formal even if they absolutely hated each other. Point in case, her mother didn't want to be here but she came anyway. Her mom made it seem like they were rivals, so Frost decided to act out that role. It wasn't hard to play her usual role.

Frost waved her hand, dismissing the gesture.

Trying the patience of people was a favorite past-time of her. Nobody would bother to actually try anything. Frankly, the whole prospect of a rival was intriguing but it already seemed drab.

The older looking Weiss stepped forward but Weiss gave her a look. The older one nodded and made her way to where Rusty was. Things were already even more interesting. Most people would have folded or walked away but the most arrogant were all talk.

"I don't appreciate your tone. You're in my home."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Frost said dismissively. It was funny seeing her trying to scowl with one eye. "Cool eyepatch. How did you get it?"

Weiss looked around and gave a deep breath. "One chance, SneBier."

"And I'll take it."

Weiss gave a small smile. "Then, let's have a little match. You have aura right?"

Frost idly remembered her lessons. She had only the bare basics as the more advanced books were kept away from the public eye. Still, she wouldn't stand for that insult.

"No, but I wouldn't need it."

Weiss gave a condescending smile. "Are you really sure?"

Frost leaned in close and whispered. "I'll kick your ass."

A small rotating glyph formed between the two of them. It created enough force to flick Frost back a step. The whole crowd didn't notice their altercation as the of them talked in hushed tones but Frost couldn't help but chuckle. Weiss looked confused at her chuckling.

"You've got spunk. Worthy of being my rival."

Weiss chuckled, an almost carefree laugh. "You mean you're worthy enough to being my rival."

"Yeah? Well, can you sing as well as me? I'm sure you heard all about it," Frost said before singing a quiet little note.

"No, but I will surpass you."

"Excuses, excuses."

It was a competition now. Finally, Frost had someone that actually bothered. And it seemed that it was a healthy distraction for Weiss. Competition was a core part of being human. Frost didn't understand why her mother was so hell-bent on winning. Competition was all a big game to her. It wasn't like it was a matter of life or death.

"Well, at least I can fight."

Frost paused for a moment before declaring to Weiss, "Then I'll outdo you in that too. Just watch me."

"I am watching. And I'm not impressed."

"Bah! You wouldn't know skill and charm if it bit you in the behind. Everyone knows about me and nothing about you," Frost boasted.

"Well, everyone would know about a fool."

The two kept on their bickering as their two guardians watched on.

Rusty acknowledged the older Schnee sister before him. They stood there in silence watching over the kids. A mutual understanding as guardians. He felt uneasy being around Winter, considering what happened... but they had no idea, right?

Then again, why was Sturm invited?

He speculated that Schnee just wanted to rub in some victory in Sturm's face but something just felt… off.

Sturm insisted that he kept watch over Frost. While he worried for Sturm, they both agreed that Frost was the one that needed protection. Sturm had some degree of protection with Dust, but no aura. Frost was similar in that regard. He briefly glanced over to the eldest Schnee sister.

Winter Schnee held her gaze on the two children. Frost was… a feisty little child. Others may have called her a brat but she was just a little girl that was utterly bored with her lifestyle. Still, he did his best to spice things up for her but she outgrew anything he threw at her. She tried her hand at her cards and she only stumbled a bit before finally getting the hang of it.

Of course, she cheated to win at cards. It made him proud.

The girl had a competitive streak a mile long. One could only win for so long before they finally get bored.

That was dangerous in its own right. Frost kept poking at things in order to get a reaction with Weiss Schnee now.

As the two kids kept boasting about whatever, he felt worried. It may have felt like friendly banter but it could quickly turn into something worse. Kids could be needlessly cruel, mocking each other for their differences. Frost and Weiss were two of a kind, but what did that mean?

"I wouldn't worry too much," Winter said as if she noticed his concern. "They're just having a little bit of fun."

"I wouldn't call insulting each other fun," Rusty replied.

"At least they aren't at each others throats?" Winter offered. "Still, I doubt they would be seeing each other that often. Let them have their fun."

"Hm, kinda odd that rival heiresses are getting along then."

Winter almost snorted in derision, but caught herself. "I wouldn't call it that. Let them become mortal enemies later in life. It's still too early for them to worry about business if I were to be honest."

'If SneBier Incorporated survives,' he thought. Although, Winter was suggesting that their two companies would still be around in the future put some ease to his mind.

Perhaps Schnee wouldn't try anything drastic here anyhow if Winter's comment was true.

"It's a shame though," Winter said, breaking the silence.

"What is?"

"Just the burdens they have. No normal childhoods. And it's funny… the moment some semblance of normality creeps in, it's gone."

Rusty knew what Winter was referring too. It resonated something in sympathy and stirred feelings of guilt. He told himself that he merely played a small part in it. That's how he worked. It wasn't him, he was just a mere weapon in the grander schemes.

Yet, he took away someone's mother. It was just more blood on his hands. He reminded himself that they were the enemies and they would do the same thing given the chance.

That pep-talk soured the previous minutes beforehand and he kept his eye on Frost.

Winter seemed to notice his disdain and began to emulate him. Not his attitude but rather his stance. He had served his mandatory service in the Atlas army. It was the reason why Sturm hired him. If he wagered, Winter wanted to become a huntress or similar. Military personal like Ironwood were allowed in high-ranking positions because they served their time as hunters.

Once they had experience, they could apply themselves to the military and work their way through the ranks. Rusty bet that Winter wanted to do something just like that.

He felt some pity, as the military would harden her through valor and discipline. Something caught his eyes as another kid entered what he deemed 'the kiddie zone'.

Ciel didn't like this.

It was a waste of time. She kept eyeing her wristwatch for the fifth time. She was brought up on strict discipline. The gala was about scheduled for five hours and twenty minutes… give or take. It was a media fest, as the host invited several note-worthy reporters from several kingdoms for a big reveal.

Until then, she could bear through the pleasantries. Ciel knew what her role in life was. The only thing that Ciel argued for was the use of her beret with the dress she was forced to wear. It was for diplomatic relations, given that her parents wanted the higher-ups to remember the Soleil name. A way to introduce the new generation, so to speak.

She felt comfortable in the dress, oddly enough. It was probably due to the combat skirt technology. The designs were both practical and stylish but Ciel would be fine as long as it was easy to move in.

Ciel still had her aura to unlock. She already gone through training to unlock it to no avail. She still had undying confidence that it would unlock. Besides, if she couldn't unlock during training then her parents would apply for an aura unlocking.

It only happened with special cases but with her parent's service, she would be that special case. It still felt like losing. Ciel had a feeling that she should unlock it herself and not have it handed to her on a platter.

Eventually, wandering around the Schnee household became drab and boring. Adults wouldn't bother with a child of her age no matter how mature she considered herself.

Perhaps, it was time to change tactics. She should find some kids to mingle with. It would help kill the time.

Making her way around the house, she found two kids pointlessly arguing. There was a tone of playful maliciousness in their voices oddly enough.

She approached them and introduced herself. "Hello, my name is Ciel Soleil. Yours?"

Ciel outstretched her hand.

"I'm Weiss Schnee," she said as they shook hands. She briefly gazed upon the eyepatch. Some speculated it was for décor but Ciel knew better. It was not wise to look upon the scars of battles won or lost. Weiss's tone was curious and a little bit offended.

"Oh, heiress of the host. An honor," Ciel said before turning to the other girl.

The other girl looked at her with eager eyes. "A beret. How… boring."

Ciel wanted to snap back but she knew better. "How observant you are."

"Ugh… boring," the girl said.

Ciel disinterestedly looked at her watch, ignoring the girl.

"Forgive her, SneBiers don't have any manners," Weiss said.

"Hey!" Frost quietly shouted. Then drawn to the attention, two adults approached the trio of girls.

"Is everything alright?" the older girl that resembled Weiss. At first, Weiss was receptive to the older sister until she started to hang around. The butler asked the same question to SneBier.

Both of their responses were nearly identical. And their responses were one of embarrassment and telling them to go away.

When they lingered around, both of the girls began 'shooing' their respective guardians. Both of them looked unsure but eventually they receded.

"Okay, we're going to be in the courtyard if you need anything."

"So embarrassing," SneBier said.

Ciel didn't really bother to keep track of their conversation. It consisted of bickering and dry insults. They were being childish spoiled brats as of now Although, if Ciel had to choose one of the girls to deal with, it would be Weiss.

At least Weiss had some sense of dignity and respect. Hopefully, Weiss would outgrow her childish behavior because Ciel heard some adults mention that Weiss had aura. As always aura came with responsibility.

She looked toward some of the guards- a mixture of military and privately contracted guards. Her eyes drifted toward the grandfather clock.

Tick-tock.

Something was off.

Tick-tock.

Ciel knew that aura could enhanced one's senses but she had to learn to notice the signs. It was a temporary measure until she could finally unlock her aura.

Tick-tock.

Tick-tock.

Unless the grandfather clock was broken, there was another clock somewhere. Quickly surveying the room, there was only a lone clock in the room.

Then the ticking stopped and the beeping began. A chandelier dropped from the ceiling it exploded on impact and the trio of girls were thrown to the wall. The explosion would have been much worst, but Ciel felt that whoever set off the bomb didn't want to kill anyone.

The effects were similar to wind Dust. Her dad had taken her out shooting once, demonstrating the various effects of Dust.

As her vision blurred, Ciel struggled to get up. She brought her hand to her face and saw a blue light shimmer over her hands.

Aura.

Turning her head, she saw the SneBier shimmer with a light cream color. Weiss was the first to get up and hugged the wall, dazed.

Ciel got up and managed to help the SneBier girl up. If Ciel remembered correctly, there was a grace period of strength and healing when they first 'awakened' as her father put it. Of course, there were moves to change the terms but not everyone followed the breaking of tradition.

"Everybody get down!" several voices shouted. Hails of gunfire strategically took out the guards. Aura and body armor could do a lot but direct gunfire hitting people dead one typically did the deal. Everyone turned to the emerging figures as the dust cleared.

They were draped in armor with the White Fang symbol painted on the chest pieces. They wore bandannas and cavalcades and they wielded assault rifles. There were three of them and the rest of the crowd followed their instructions.

Unfortunately, Ciel didn't freeze up and her training kicked in. She had to get in quick and disable their guns. Before, she wouldn't have considered this but aura gave her the tools.

Before she could make the first move, Weiss Schnee beat her to the punch. She heard fabric tear and saw Weiss rip off the dress, revealing a more practical white outfit underneath. It was a white uniform buttoned up. A small glyph appeared underneath the girl and shot her forward. Tackling the one in the middle, several shots rang out. Ciel took advantage of the confusion and charged at the panicked gunmen.

Hoping on the second Faunus's back, she managed to get the man into a choke-hold. The grace period of her awakening was still going strong and gifted her the strength. The man finally croaked and fell while Weiss was stomping the other man's head in. Clearly, she was trained in using her aura well.

A gunshot rang in the air and a voice screamed. "Enough!"

The two girls faced the last gunman. By now, the rest of the crowd fled. "I'm going to kill you bitches-" The SneBier ripped a table leg and swung it into the man's head. A shock-wave exploded from the impact and both of them flew. The SneBier girl was untrained in channeling her aura. The table leg shattered and the SneBier got up, laughing.

"Hahaha! Fuc- Flipping awesome!" the SneBier girl shouted.

"Enough!" Ciel said. Several more explosions boomed from multiple places throughout the house. "We got a situation to deal with. From the sound of things, we got multiple hostiles."

"We can take them!" SneBier said.

"Don't be an idiot," Weiss said. "We need a plan. I suggest we formulate a plan of attac-"

"No," Ciel interrupted.

"Excuse me?" Weiss said. It seemed like Weiss wanted to lead this little rag-tag team.

"Oh, screw you," SneBier said.

"Can it, SneBier!" Ciel said.

"It's Frost!"

"Listen, we've got two awakened and one enlighten rookie. And we're kids. Ten years old with aura maybe, but the point remains."

"And?" both of them asked.

"Two shots and we're dead. We got lucky here. Everyone's lucky at one point or another but these hostiles got aura. We need to be smart. If they have even one semblance user, we're dead."

"Then we should just hide like cowards?" Frost asked.

"No, we play this smart. The more time we waste here, the more people die."

It seemed to struck a nerve with the both of them and gave them a form of resolve.

"Then, how do we play this?" Weiss asked.

Ciel picked up one of the assault rifle and cocked it. "Simple. We regroup with security, take out anyone in our way. Save anyone that needs saving. Do you know how to use a gun?"

Weiss shrugged. "The basics."

"It's not point and shoot, Weiss. You got to adjust for recoil, know where the safety is, et cetera."

"I know how," Weiss said annoyed as she picked up a rifle. Weiss uncocked and cocked it for effect. Ciel rolled her eyes, it was already cocked. It was such a pointless action.

"And you, Frost?"

Frost sauntered to the unconscious bodies and picked up one of their spare pistols.

"Rusty taught me how to shoot a pistol but that's about it."

"Good enough. Now we got to move."

"There's one thing," Weiss replied. "We gotta take care of the scum."

"Hm," Ciel said. "A strategic choice. They wake up, we could get flanked."

Frost shrugged. "Sounds rational."

"I thought you'd be more opposed to this, Frost," Weiss said. "Given your company's stance of Faunus rights."

"Eh. People could be assholes, Faunus or humans. And these guys are dicks," Frost said bluntly. "Oh, pardon my language."

Ciel coughed awkwardly. "So, whose doing the deed?"

All three of them took pause. Taking a life was no trivial matter but this was a matter of life and death. It was a necessity and whatever they felt, they pushed it back down to survive.

"All of us," Weiss decided. "Three of us, three of them. Together?"

All of the girls nodded.

Bang!

Bang!

Bang!

Three lives ended, so that three lives may fight. They had blood on their hands. Weiss looked firmer in her resolve, Frost looked like she finally found something she was looking for, and Ciel? Her role as a soldier solidified.

"Now, let's kick some ass!" Frost shouted. "And I bet I can kick more ass than you, Weiss!"

Something made a thud in the middle of the girls. There was dust from the seemly invisible… person. The person became visible. He was wearing the same thing as the other gunmen but he wore a unique mask. Green and green, utterly faceless. Probably one-way, but Ciel recognized him. Locus. Wanted criminals were part of her testing and training. She needed to know her foes. And thin this case, Locus whose semblance was invisibility.

"Oh shit! Move!" Ciel shouted.

Locus kicked Frost into the wall, shattering her aura and knocking her out. His aura was stronger than all of theirs put together.

"Weiss, get out of the way!" Ciel aimed her gun at Locus who kicked it out of her hands. Weiss, however, used her semblance to form a glyph at Locus's rifle. It pushed the gun out of his hands, giving Ciel an opportunity to fire.

He grabbed the barrel of the gun and jerked it upwards. All of the bullets hit the ceiling before he finally ripped the gun of Ciel's hand and spun kicked her to the floor. Her aura shattered and she could only watch helplessly as Locus break Weiss's aura with the butt of her gun.

All of three of them, taken out so quickly. Locus towered over her and knocked her out with one stomp of his boot. As blackness overtook her, she hoped that everyone was safe.

Everyone wasn't safe.

Ironwood radioed whatever men he had left to evacuate anyone they could find. Unfortunately, from the intel that he had received, the White Fang was holding captives in the courtyard. Evacuation meant sacrificing some to being captured but he needed to save those he can before saving the rest.

The rest of the house was probably swarmed with White Fang members. He needed to make his way down from the top floor. He took out his pistol and began creeping through the house. There was bouts of dead silence that was interrupted by occasional gunfire.

As he crept down the hallway and heard noise in one of the rooms. He kicked down the door and aimed his gun at… Winter Schnee. She pointed a rapier in his direction before lowering it.

"Brigadier-General, sir!"

"You're not in the military, yet. But are you ready to fight?" he asked.

"Yes, sir."

"No deviations. Understood?"

"Yes, sir."

"On my lead."

Ironwood took point as Winter followed closely behind her. "Your semblance is glyphs correct? I read up on some of your father's notes on it during his time at the academy. Any enemy soldier, you glyph their guns out of their hands."

"Okay, sir."

"Enough of the sirs just at least until you're at the academy."

They began clearing the house floor by floor. On the third floor, they encountered a group of soldiers and some dead bodies. They didn't notice the two and Ironwood held up his hand, signaling for her.

"Oh, damn. Thought boss-man wanted minimal causalities," one of them said.

"Yeah, but it ain't our fault. Lots of people fucked up. I even saw some dead chicks. Tis a shame."

"Alright," Ironwood whispered. "Two hostiles. You could manage?"

"I could do at least twelve pulling glyphs at a time. Stronger glyphs take too much energy. Could only do one or two. Keep that in mind if we encounter heavy resistance."

"Affirmative. Pull their guns on three."

"Three!" he shouted as he pulled out of cover. Two glyphs stole away the White Fang's guns and Ironwood quickly shot the two men down. Ironwood fired four shots in total, two shots to break their aura and two to end the threat.

"Nice work, Schnee."

"Thank you, Brigadier-General. Now, forgive me for rushing, but could we hurry? Weiss was down there. I have to make sure she's safe."

"I'm sure your sister is fine. Now, let's get a move on."

The rest of the floors were empty and Ironwood got the feeling that everyone was either evacuated or captured.

On the second floor, he came across two of his men. Dead… and riddled with bullets.

"Wa… watch my back for a minute," he said quietly.

He knelt down in front of his fallen comrades. He cover his mouth and took a deep breath. They were good men, with families and friends. They didn't deserve this.

With his real hand, he closed the eyes of the dead. He heard a glyph hum, flesh being pierced, and someone letting out a dying groan.

He spun around and saw Winter standing over the deceased White Fang members.

"Sorry for the interruption."

"It's time to finish this," he said with conviction.

As they descended down the stairs, they were surrounded by several White Fang members.

"Hands in the air!"

Ironwood said in a low voice, "Hit me with your strongest glyph."

Winter pointed toward his feet and a small yellow beam hit the floor beneath him. A small spinning clock glyph appeared beneath him. Everything began to slow down while he moved around at normal speed.

Slowly spinning around, he began to gun down all of the White Fang. Time resumed normally after he was finished.

Winter was taking deep breathes. "Oh man. That took a lot out of me."

"Are you okay? It's okay if you-"

Winter exhaled. "No, no, no. I'm fine. Let's go! They're holding the hostages in courtyard, yes?"

"Then let's go."

Ironwood and Winter rushed out into the courtyard. Several of the White Fang were overseeing several of the hostages. They had a good chunk of the guests, a little more than three quarters of the gala goers. It disheartened him that his men couldn't save most of them. The White Fang were clearly setting up some sort of video, a message perhaps? However, that detail didn't matter. They were outmatched and outgunned. There was little doubt in his mind that they could take them but there was the hostages to look out for.

Amidst the crying and the raised guns and threats, a single booming voice rang out. It was Locus holding a hostage and had a gun pointed to her head.

"That's far enough!"

Winter froze, her hands shaking and her face warped into one of hate and anger because in his arms was Weiss.

The house had been cleared and all the hostages had been taken. His men were watching over the crying crowd. He looked over the three kids he had taken. Locus had likened himself to a weapon once, but that was in the far past.

Felix would have just killed the three because of their abilities, but Locus wouldn't.

Besides, with more hostages it was more likely they wouldn't take any action against them. His men were well-placed to prevent any escapees.

He had his men had several prominent reporters begin to set-up filming. What better way to humiliate the company than to trash a gala and film the chaos.

There was one reporter trying to help her fellows, but he put a stop to it. He grabbed her by the arm and threatened, "Listen! Lisa, right? You want a story of a lifetime? Then shut it, and do your job."

He shoved her with the rest of the reporters. Each of them in front of their own respective cameras. Maximum coverage for humiliation.

However, this was going to be a one-trick pony hijacking the signal for the kingdoms. No doubt in doing this, they were going to up security measures after this. For all the potential would-be conquerors wanting to make a statement to a world would be in for a disappointment.

And that possibly might make some enemies. Some people could hold a grudge for a lifetime.

Now, it was time to kick-start this whole thing. Except… they were missing one vital key. The man of the hour, the CEO, and the head Schnee.

He radioed his men to continue searching but… silence. Something was off. Then the Brigadier-General and one of his troops was in front of him. Wait… no… it was Winter Schnee.

So, he did the only thing he could do. He grabbed the only hostage that mattered, Weiss Schnee. She struggled briefly before quietly whispering, "You're going to pay!"

He ignored her and shouted to the two, "That's far enough!"

Winter stepped forward before Ironwood held her back. There was a brief stand-off before… someone walked in-between them. It was the head Schnee himself.

"I really appreciated it if you let my daughter go," he said in a calm voice. There was a slight hint of anger- no, frustration behind it. But, it was the voice of someone who held all the cards.

Locus ignored him and said to the reporters and camera crew, "Start rolling."

Schnee followed in his footsteps and said to Ironwood, "Sorry for taking so long. It took a while to set them up in position." Something was off when he said that.

Ironwood cocked his head while Winter looked absolutely frustrated with him.

"Last chance, Locus!" Schnee said to him.

"I don't think so!" Locus replied.

Schnee took out a scroll and pressed it.

Locus then looked up to the sky and saw… figures leaping from the rooftop and began to land on his men.

"What the fuck?!" several of his men shouted, himself included.

On closer inspection, they were metal men glowing white. They looked like metal skeletons wearing small pieces of metal armor. Most of them looked… inhuman as they rained down from the sky. They were big and bulky… clanking as they bashed through his men's auras and their faces.

Locus threw down Weiss and began to activate his semblance to escape. However, Weiss held out her hand and a glyph tripped him.

Winter let out a yell and charged at him with blinding speed. He had little time to throw down his gun and take out his sword to match Winter's rapier.

Watching a person fight could tell a lot about them. Even in her rage, there was control and a sense of elegance to her fighting. For even swing he dealt, she was always moving so delicately away but when she struck, she struck hard.

He raised his sword to strike but another glyph formed on his wrist, preventing him to strike. She smacked him with the handle of her blade shattering his aura. He then felt a kick to the balls from the behind, probably the younger Schnee.

Locus crumpled and Winter in a fit of anger, shoved the blade into his chest.

"Schnee!" Ironwood called out as he fell, his chest bleeding and life ebbing away from him. "I would have wanted him a life for interrogation."

As his vision faded, he saw Winter snap out of that anger.

"Sorry, sir," she muttered before rushing over to Weiss. She didn't seem very sorry to him.

But that wasn't the important part, all the cameras were on Schnee as they broadcasted to the kingdoms. People clamoring for their savior. He was already using some of that charisma to reassure people's worries and fears.

One of the metal men stomped up next to them, and Schnee showcased it for the world to see.

"This is the first model of Atlesian Knight. The world's first robotic guard with limited artificialintelligence.Fully functional and responsive to any command. And-" Schnee started, but his voice started to fade.

As he breathed his last breath, he realized that it was all a setup.

Schnee walked to the relative isolated Sturm, who was panicking and desperately rushing toward any out. Her face darkened as he approached. She opened her hand to let out a blast of whatever Dust she infused herself with but he flicked his fingers. The glyphs formed around her wrists and broke them. She cried out in pain but no would hear her cries amongst the chaos.

Sturm tried rushing away but he had the Gale summon tackle her. Sturm's grey little dress with black lining became dirty and ruined as it tackled her.

She tried struggling but the Gale summon was strong, even more than the other summons. It even had more sentience than the rest.

"You know, I'd say I'm sorry but I really hate the both of you. Especially you, Schnee," Gale said as she got Sturm into a choke-hold.

"Shut it, Soot. Otherwise, you know the consequences."

His summon shut it's mouth. It would have probably done it anyways. While summons would have answered any of his questions, he made sure to force it out of the Gale summon anyway. The secrets that came from the mirror opened up a whole set of doors that he never knew were there.

"You're a monster!" Sturm said as she struggled.

"And you're a hypocrite," he said simply. "Trying to hurt my family? Everything that I have built? The life I made?"

"And the lives you crushed."

Schnee shrugged. "Don't play the moral high ground."

"And what are you going to do then?" Sturm spat.

"Some blood will be shed tonight, unfortunate as it is. And nobody would bat an eye at a dead SneBier."

Sturm took a shaky breath. "If you're going to do it, then do it! But… don't hurt Frost… please."

Schnee paused, briefly reconsidering his plan.

"She's my everything," Sturm pleaded. "Do what you want with me! But I swear-"

"Swear nothing. I will spare your daughter but she will be nothing. Her inheritance gone. Her destiny in the company extinguished."

"And how will you do such a thing?" Strum said almost mockingly.

Schnee's eyes met the summon's cold blue eyes. The Gale summon stuck out her tongue. Sturm caught on pretty quickly.

Sturm wanted to protest but succumbed to the promise that her daughter would live on.

"I… just wished I could have spent more time with her."

"Don't we all?" Schnee said in a low voice. Then Gale snapped SneBier's neck as a glyph formed beneath her dead body.

"Are you listening, Schnee?" Ironwood's voice asked.

"I am," he replied. "I have thoroughly impressed you with the knights and the contract is all but signed."

"That's beside the point. I wished you would have shown this to us in private and-"

"How many people would approve of such a thing?" Schnee asked. "It's a new field for all of us. Hence, I wanted to do it publicly."

"And it could have backfired."

Schnee's plan sacrificed a lot, but it was worth it. His enemy was dead and the future secured. Even if Locus threatened his daughters, he had little doubt that they could handle themselves. Besides, they would grow stronger from this, failure or victory.

"But it didn't. And aren't you excited about the possibilities? I'm sure this would speed up progress on more advanced mechanical appendages would it not?"

Ironwood grunted. "That's less important. More lives would be saved and pointless sacrifices wouldn't happen. Although, let's talk more about the artificial intelligence you mentioned."

"Ah, the brainchild of our chief engineer, Mr. Polendina."

"If I may-"

"You can have him. A gesture of goodwill. And I'm sure the military would feel safer if the AI development was in their hands."

Both of them started walking down from the balcony and toward the entrance of the house. As they walked by, a little girl was mourning over the loss of her mother.

"Frost! Frost!" a familiar voice shouted.

"Five more minutes!" Frost yelled before snuggling back into… she jumped up, remembering what just transpired.

"Rusty, what happened?" she asked.

"A lot. I was blindsided while I was in the courtyard. I helped Winter escape to get help, but that doesn't matter. Are you okay?"

"Just everything's spinning. Although, isn't aura suppose to help with this?" Frost asked.

"You unlocked your aura?" he asked suddenly. "No, no. We will deal with that issue later, did you see your mother anywhere?"

"I thought she was with you!"

"She told me to stick by you and I am so sorry that I wasn't-"

"Whatever, we have to find mom!"

By now, most of the crowd had left the house and the military secured the house. Some of them were already carting out the dead.

They kept asking anyone and everyone if they had seen her mother. No one had seen anything. Frost couldn't give up.

"Mom!" she shouted. In passing, she found Ciel being led by her parents.

"Ciel! Have you seen my mom anywhere?" Frost begged.

Ciel had to pull away from her parents to talk to Frost. "I haven't seen your mom anywhere, but I really have to go. I hope you find your mom!" Ciel called out as her parents took her away from the remnants of destruction.

Then Frost was alone with Rusty.

"Rusty..." her voice cracked. "What if she's hurt… or worse?"

"It won't come to that. Come on, we can find her."

Rust took her hand and they began to look around together. Eventually, they came across a single body covered in a white sheet. Frost's heart began to beat faster and faster.

Rusty put his hand on her shoulder, a small attempt to stop Frost. Frost violently shrugged his hand off and rushed over to the body.

Her hands were trembling as she slowly unveiled the sheet. A dead, cold face greeted her. It wasn't the warm, loving face that had graced whenever she saw her mom.

"No! No! No! Mom!" she shook the dead body in a futile attempt to deny reality. "You can't! Please!"

The realization that her mom was gone forever had struck her hard. "Mom!"

Her tears began to fall on the lifeless body of her mom. Though her times with her mom were brief, the ones that she spent with her mom were the best memories she had.

Frost always preoccupied herself with whatever activities she could excel at. Her mom started her off slow with the activities, but Frost just kept going. It was an attempt to impress her mom, but her mom always assured that she would forever be proud of her. She always won, but it didn't feel real. And if it didn't feel real, then Frost didn't feel like she impressed her mom.

So, she kept looking for a worthy challenge. Now, she just wanted to hug her mom. Beating the best didn't even matter. Frost hugged the body. It wasn't like before. She cherished all the small hugs that Sturm gave her.

They were always so busy, but Frost? She chose to be busy. Now, Frost would never spend any time with her again.

No extravagant breakfasts, no yacht riding, nothing.That didn't matter. Her mom wanted to impress her too, but the quiet rides home? Her gently sleeping on her mother's shoulder. Frost just cried her fears into her mom's ruined dress.

Rusty just looked away, giving Frost the moment of peace. It seemed if Rusty understood her plight. She glanced up from the body and saw Weiss Schnee covering her mouth. A cold rage washed over her. Deep down, Frost knew it was an irrational but she didn't care.

She couldn't let the competition see her as weak. Something inside her blamed Weiss. They were supposed to be rivals after all.And it was her home where her mom died. The gala was suppose to be safe and her mom was gone forever. Fuck her!

Frost mouthed the words, 'I don't need your sympathy!'

Whatever concern and empathy that was on Weiss's face disappeared. It was replaced with a cold demeanor. Weiss took off her eyepatch and they met eyes. Frost ignored the scars and focused on both of her eyes, dead and alive. It was a mutual understanding about their roles- their destiny. It was inescapable and binding. Frost and Weiss were never meant to be friends, only enemies.

Weiss put the eyepatch back on and walked away.

The rest of the day was a blur, as Frost tried to cling onto her mom's lifeless body as long as she could. But there came a time when she had to be alone.

Frost hid herself away from the world in her room. She just needed some time before she could face the world again. This wouldn't beat her but right now Frost wanted to be alone.

She just laid there on the floor and cried. She didn't know how long she cried, but she knew when it ended.

There was a knock on her door.

"Go away, Rusty!"

Everything was going down the shitter. There was only one person who could be at the door. All the servants were gone save for one. All the money was slowly siphoning away. Who would care for a poor brat now?

Still, she held onto the notion that this was a minor hiccup in destiny. Everything began spiraling down further and further because of them. The Schnees. Ruining people's lives- her life.

No matter how irrational that thought was, it was her only thought. That and the last time she hugged her mom, telling that she would make her proud.

"Frost, will you please let me in?" Rusty asked quietly.

Frost let out a silent sob before recomposing herself. She opened the door with a blank look on her face.

"What?"

"Can I come in?" he asked.

Frost shrugged and sat on her bed. Rusty hung around the door frame.

"I know this is hard for you but-"

"Do you? I mean, mom's gone forever," Frost choked out. "And, everything that is left of her is slowly going away. How? Nobody knows. I inherit nothing while they get everything. At least Weiss has a parent."

"Oh, Frost… there's something I have to tell you."

"What? Is this the twist where you're my dad or something?" Frost spat.

Rusty let out a sad chuckle. "Your mom was a hell of a woman but things between us were strictly professional. Besides, I don't swing that way."

"Then what?"

"Did your mom ever tell you her rags-to-riches story?" Rusty asked.

"Yeah. Typical stuff," Frost said.

"Everything she did was for you. Your father..." he started. Frost leaned in with anticipation and curiosity.

"Your father was a huntsman. It's why you awakened so easily. You got the genes for it. But it was just a brief affair. Then he ran off. Sturm was a poor woman, but… she didn't want you to live like that. So she worked like hell to give you a good life."

"And now, it's gone."

"No. As per your mom's wishes, I'm to become your legal guardian."

"And I'm just suppose to call you dad?" Frost said angrily before muttering a brief apology.

"No. Some kids might, and others don't. But I will keep to your mother's wishes."

"Thank you," Frost muttered quietly.

"It may not be extravagant as the life here, but it will be a good life. But-"

"But what?" Frost asked.

"With aura, you will have to attend combat academies and then if you don't unlock your semblance, you'll have to spend your mandatory service in the military… provided you attend Atlas's combat academies."

"And if I unlock my semblance?" Frost asked.

"Secondary academies. You could become a reserve huntress-"

"No. I won't. I'll… I'll join the military or be a huntress, whatever. I need to be strong. Then… I'll beat Weiss. I'll be better than her. Take away everything from her."

Why did it feel like everything was being taken away from her?

Mother… it still brought old pains that should be long forgotten, but Weiss couldn't bring herself to forget about her. Every time she looked in the mirror, Weiss would never forget.

Winter was off to Atlas Academy. Apparently, she managed to impress the headmaster. Duty above all else. Weiss was proud of her sister regardless. Winter was already so skilled, with her swordsmanship and semblance. Weiss could only hope to reach Winter's level of skill.

Then there was father to consider. He was already swamped with work but since the unveiling of the knights, he was even more busier than usual. Which was even more surprising since apparently not everyone heard of it. News apparently spread slowly than anticipated but enough people had heard.

Now, Weiss was stuck with some secretary that arrived from Vale. She didn't feel anything for the woman. It was strictly business.

But perhaps, one of the more damning things was the loss of a possible friendship. Or friendships. Weiss never interacted with many kids.

Ciel's absence was understandable. From what Weiss gathered, Ciel's parents were strict and a friendship would never be possible. Perhaps, they could meet again at the academies if destiny allowed for it. Weiss knew the endpoint before her but not the entire path. Even then, they didn't have that much of a basis for friendship.

The one that hurt the most was Frost SneBier, despite their little spat. What they had was one of the few interactions with kids her age.

As much as it pained Weiss to admit, it devastated Weiss when she saw Frost crying over the loss of her mother. It resonated with Weiss's own loss. She was going comfort her, until… Frost practically told her to… fuck off.

It was a betrayal of a different sort. Weiss wanted to comfort her, as kindred spirits of the same coin. But instead, Frost just threw that back into her face. It was insulting and degrading! Weiss understood her, then Frost…

She was alone.

Weiss thought they could be something together. Two souls who understood each other, but life didn't want that for them. Until, Weiss had an epiphany. Mother's lessons rang true. Frost was merely being fake. They were heiresses of rival companies, it was something that could never be. Although, Frost was no longer an heiress. The company was slowly going under.

But, Weiss could never forget the look Frost gave her. A face of hate and loathing. And yet, Weiss understood that too.

So, Weiss did the only she could do. She matched the look Frost gave, so that they understood each other. Their paths they were laid before them. Weiss hadn't shown her scars nor her eye to anyone else, but to family and her.

At least they understood each other. At least the cruelty was real.

Weiss started to wander around the empty household. It seemed like yesterday when the attack happened. One of the happier moments was when the three of them decided to band together.

Of course, the beating they received was a harsh reminder.

So, they shall continue to train- to become the warriors that they were meant to be.

But first things first.

Weiss went to her mother's grave. She never visited it often as it brought painful memories. Even Winter visited it more than here. She knew Winter made a visit before she left for the academy.

Weiss placed a hand on her grave.

"Hey, mom… been awhile, hasn't it?"

Nothing but silence. That didn't matter though.

"It's just… it's hard. I feel so alone. And… I wish you were here. You'd be proud of us. Winter's off to become a huntress. Oh, how she has come far. I wish I was half as good as her. I have a lot to learn. Father's even more busier than usual and I am alone. There is no denying that. I wish I could but I can't."

Weiss paused and gave a sad smile. "I have no reason to complain, do I?"

The grave said nothing, solidifying the emptiness.

"I mean… Frost is losing everyone and everything, and who am I to fuss? But I can't! I don't want to be alone! I have everything, so why do I feel so empty? Because I am alone. But I have to endure… don't I?"

Weiss gulped. "This is probably the only time I could talk about this. I can't afford to do this anywhere else."

Weiss sat down in front of the grave. "Still, it's inescapable. Can't complain about that. I've come far. Father is continuing with the training and lessons. He's not there, of course. But he helped Winter with her semblance so that she may help me. And now, she's gone. I cherished our little lessons together. I even did time dilation! But… I did pass out afterwords."

She paused and looked up to the dark sky. The shattered moon was rising. It was so bright and so fractured.

"I know what you would say if you were here, but as of late… I don't even know what he would say. Would he be proud of my progress? Does he care?"

Another pause.

"I know he does. He has to. But I wished he showed it. Heh. I beginning to sound like a spoiled brat."

"Ms. Schnee!" an emotionless voice called out. "Your lessons start in five!"

"Okay!" she hollered back. She heard the person walk away. Weiss focused back onto the tombstone. "That was the secretary father assigned me. If he isn't here, she's the next best thing, right? Heh. That isn't even close. She's nothing more than an emotionless vessel to bark out father's orders. Hopefully, this is temporary."

Weiss got up and dusted the dirt off.

"I miss you mom. And I'll make you proud."

Schnee looked out the window as the snow began to fall. Everything was going his way. SneBier Incorporated was finally in its death throes.

It was no longer a viable threat to everything he had built. He left the former heiress alone, part of the agreement anyhow. He had made enough deals to know that he should honor them. He checked his scroll.

By now, everyone had heard the heroics of his knights. The SDC was already on top but now it filled every headline.

That wasn't important, what was important was went behind the headlines. The White Fang were expanding. It was probably his fault. An oversight that he failed to considered. Despite the utter failure the 'White Fang' suffered at the gala, it still inspired them to 'fight back'.

The slaughter in Vale didn't matter but the sneak attacks on the mines. Nobody would cover that, and the fighting was left to the background.

It forced his hand to make 'shady' deals with the underground. After all, who would fight back if their homes were forced to pay rent?

Schnee put the scroll down on his desk. There was two of the knights standing on each side of the desk. It was more for show than for protection.

They reminded him of Ironwood and his military. Ironwood got a little promotion and now was a general. It was good to have friends in high places. Though, Ironwood wasn't in Atlas right now. Apparently, an 'old' friend called him away to Vale. Which was a shame, as Schnee wanted to talk to Ironwood and Polendina.

Schnee looked at the paperwork on his desk and at the door. Then his scroll chimed. Reading the message, he got frustrated. Quickly exchanging messages between the secretary and him, he nearly threw the scroll at the wall.

His little off-shoot division was attacked and he was being blackmailed in order to get the information back. Besides some of the most important inventions was housed there. There was important prototype blueprints for the knights, mechs, and Dust.

After an agonizing couple minutes, she messaged him back to confirm that she had the information. He replied that she should get a hunter, a mercenary, or anyone to kill the person who tried stealing from him.

He locked the door to his office and blackened out the windows. The lights in the room began to dim. Plopping down into the chair, he exhaled and considered his next action.

Should he wait for confirmation that the interloper was dead? Or perhaps, he should find out who would dare attacking that secret complex.

Nobody had known about it. It was almost obvious that whoever robbed him had a buyer of some sorts but something went south. Who else would have the desperation to try and blackmail him?

He opened up his palm and a glyph began spinning before it expanded out of his hand.

The Gale summoned appeared in the middle of the room. It gave a mocking bow to him. While it could never truly disobey him, its surviving personality was infuriating.

"So, what's the situation? Want more info on the hidden goodies in Remnant? If I recall, after our last torture session, I was telling you about golems and the like."

"No. This is a more personal matter. A facility of mine has been broken into. While there is nothing left of it and the secrets are safely secure, someone knew about it."

"And you came to me?" The Gale summon laughed. "I am many things but all-knowing I am not. Although, I appreciate the compliment."

"I want you to reach down to the mirror's knowledge and find me a spell or something."

The Gale summon shrugged before twitching violently. The summon briefly turned into a miniature tornado of shards.

The Gale summon reformed and had a condescending smile. Well, it always had a condescending smile but this one was more smug.

"Hate to disappoint… wait… I love to disappoint but there isn't a tracking spell or whatever. Besides, some of the actual spells here are fucking costly for the most minor of things. Like you need the blood of a phoenix warrior to do… huh. That's where my knowledge ends. Neato."

"Fuck," he swore under his breath. "Who could have done it?"

His scroll chimed and his secretary was coming back to Vale, but the thief managed to slay a huntress and get away scot-free.

"Oh, oh! It could have been the Knights of Grimm. Ooooo, so spooooky," it mocked.

"Silence!"

And the summon was silenced. Although, the Knights of Grimm could actually be a thing now. Fairy tales were no longer fairy tales. His summon was the embodiment of one. Could something unnatural be responsible for this?

"Do you think something supernatural could have a part in this?" he asked.

The Gale summon again shrugged. "Maybe. There's many groups with knowledge of this. But, most of them are stringently old school. And those are more of the peace-keeping type. Keepers of secrets and bullshit. They might not even be around. You're asking a lady with incompetence knowledge that isn't her own's."

The Gale summon paused before chuckling. "You're probably over-thinking this. Although, it's fun seeing you get mad. Makes this living hell almost worth it."

Schnee waved his hand to dismiss the summon. It flipped him off as it vanished. He still held some malice toward the murderer piece of shit, but he already worked out his anger on it.

The summon was probably right. Maybe he was over-thinking this. It wasn't like there was any conspiracy that he was getting involved in.

It was probably SneBier screwing him over in death. To that end, another glyph formed in his hand and Sturm SneBier was a ghastly apparition in the room.

"My daughter," was the first thing she said. It was touching, but Schnee remembered who it was. He gave a small nod before accusing her of the crime.

"No knowledge," she wailed.

"It wasn't you?"

The summon nodded. Then who could have done it? He began to ponder that question.

Unbeknownst to Schnee, two souls of the same coin began plotting around the failure to bring about something Grimm.

Next Chapter: Blackout