Who: Qrow, Ruby, Yang, Weiss, with a guest appearance by Weiss's jerk dad. What: Rescuing Weiss from her dad When: January 12, early morning. Where: Somewhere in Boston, MA Rating/Warnings: R. Abuse, gun violence, fight scenes. It's not a party log. Status: Complete
It was getting harder to breathe, and Weiss’s eyes were so blurry from tears that she could hardly make out her father’s enraged face. One of her hands had come up to fight against her father’s grip around her throat, but her time in his house had left her body as weak as her spirit. It was no use, and she’d given up after the first try.
He was angry, shouting at her about a fire and Elsa’s escape, but the words were barely registering. Her face still stung from the slap he’d woken her up with, and she was groggy. Groggy, dazed, and far too frightened at this point to be anything but compliant.
She’d gone along with his wishes so far, and that had kept both herself and Elsa alive. All she could rely on now was that he still needed her to look somewhat healthy and well cared for.
Ruined. He was going to be ruined! A fire like that would lead to investigations, and investigations would undoubtedly turn up the sort of things that were of interest to law enforcement.
Oh, he'd been careful, but he couldn't always count on his people. Maybe he should just do everything himself. He’d picked Weiss up by the throat, slamming her against the wall. The anger had peaked into something cooled and hard. "I'll find her, you know. And she'll suffer everything I told you she would, and more. And your little friends, the ones trying to help you, I'll find them too. But I won't kill them. I'll ruin their lives. Make you watch as their loved ones disappear, as they become destitute and homeless. I'll make them hate you."
She was turning blue, so he let go of her.
And then the silent alarm went off.
If they’d had just a little more time, Qrow may have found a way around the Schnees’ security system. Damn thing was complex. Not much of a surprise considering how high of a profile the Schnee Diamond Company had. There was also the less than respectable activities Jacques Schnee had been occupying himself with lately.
The problem was that Qrow, Ruby and Yang were working on a sensitive time table. The Schnee offices in LA were burning. Elsa was (hopefully) in the safe hands of Team PODS. Now it was Weiss’s turn. There just wasn’t time to find work arounds or blind spots or attempt to take the complex system down completely. In the end it was just easier to make it work for them rather than against them. And since it was Qrow’s job to bring attention onto himself and away from his nieces he could easily take care of that.
Assuming his bird form, he took off from Ruby and Yang and circled around to the opposite end of the estate. There he found a window that was just begging to have a rock thrown through it. Qrow was only too willing to oblige. Back in his human form, he selected a rock that looked good for the job and lobbed it right through the plate glass. The shattering that followed was exceptionally satisfying. Another rock in hand, Qrow waited for the hired muscle Schnee had on staff to come running. He didn’t have to wait too terribly long. Now it was just a matter of playing cat and bird mouse, with the henchmen until he got the word from Ruby that they’d found Weiss and were ready to go.
It had been under a week since the plans started being formed once Qrow had given her verification of her suspicions for the groups to plan and figure out how to work with one another and learn the layouts of where they were to be based. But Weiss and Elsa had been gone for over a month and so a little under a week still felt like a long time. And the timing was important. They needed to be simultaneous so that there wasn’t a warning from Aspen to let Jacques know to be on guard.
Even though she was beyond worried, Ruby also had a sense of calm. There was a mission and something that needed to be done and so she was focused on that. There were always going to be contingency plans and coming up with things as they came up but a plan all the same which meant that something could and was being done. Which was far better than the current state of her work room as she’d been piecing things together.
In her hand was Myrtenaster, brought from Weiss’ home where Ruby had found it in the search the week previous. Crescent Rose was currently clipped to her side. She hoped that she wouldn’t need it but she knew to be prepared. So as Qrow went to cause a distraction for the hired men, it was sticking to the shadows until it seemed that the men were occupied. And with a nod to Yang, it was into the house so that they could find Weiss.
Yang was going to follow Ruby's lead. Even if it felt a little strange, like she was with the wrong partner. But she'd trained and worked with Ruby her whole life so it wasn't like it was all that strange.
She finished checking the weapon in her arm and her gauntlet, bouncing on her feet before following Ruby inside, looking around, hyper alert for anything to spring out at them.
Keeping her voice low, she asked, "Not sure where to start. Should we split up?"
There was no feeling of right or wrong partner for Ruby. While they had been paired off at Beacon in the Dreams, it was also important to be able to fight in different configurations, as well as alone. It depended on who was needed where based on strengths and weaknesses. And right now, she and Yang were needed here while Blake was needed in Los Angeles for her stealth and infiltration skills along with Ilia.
This was definitely one of those times where her specific weapon probably wasn’t the best suited for the situation they were in, but if she’d been able to use Crescent Rose in Russia against human enemies, she could use Crescent Rose here if it became necessary. She hoped it wouldn’t but Ruby knew that was unlikely to be the case. Then again in Russia she’d also been concerned in the back of her mind, the fact that they weren’t fighting monsters but people. But it was what it was.
The house was a bit daunting though. There were a lot of places where Jacques could be keeping Weiss and even with looking at the schematics Qrow had found, that was just the layout, there wasn’t really heat signatures or anything to give them some direction. And splitting up would allow for them to cover more ground even though it was the thing that led to death in every single horror movie ever.
But this wasn’t a horror movie.
“Yeah, okay.” They had their scrolls and phones to be able to reach out to the other depending on who found Weiss or if they needed help. It would be fine. “I’ll take the upper level and you take the lower level.”
Decision made and it was up the stairs with Ruby to check the different rooms and hope that all the hired hands were otherwise occupied outside.
Jacques had fled the room quickly after the alarm went off, leaving Weiss without an explanation and slamming the door behind him. She slid down the wall and curled into a ball for a few moments, trying very hard to control her complete and utter nervous breakdown. At first, the house was as quiet as it ever was during the day. So quiet she could hear her shuddered breaths, and the loudness of her own pulse. Then there was something else.
The house was big enough for the sound of the shattered glass to be muted, but her ears still caught it. She registered the sounds of running, other rushed footsteps, and realised that if she was ever going to try and make her own escape, it had to be now.
Weiss pushed herself up to her feet, and tried to remember how to activate some small part of her aura. Just enough to try a summon, she thought. Just enough to get at least one glyph active. She'd gone so long without it that it was a struggle to bring it back around but it flickered weakly in and out of place as she threw some clothing on that was more suitable for combat. There wasn't anything else here that she cared about, except for the diamond ring Jacques made her wear everywhere. That, she tucked into her pocket. It was worth a small fortune, and she wasn't leaving without it.
Her bedroom was on the second floor. She pulled it open, glad to see her father hadn't locked it, and chanced a glance out into the hallway. Everything was silent, and she started cautiously making her way.
Meanwhile, the few goons that hadn't run in Qrow's direction were converging on any vulnerable positions. One ran right for Ruby as she headed up the stairs, and others set themselves up around Jacques' home office to protect him.
That was definitely the issue when it came to going up stairways, there wasn’t as much room for Ruby to even use Crescent Rose. Well, it was a good thing she’d been working on her hand to hand combat because it seemed that right now, that was all she had at her disposal. But she also knew how to use her size and speed to her advantage in said training.
So she instead just ducked and then head butted the one guard before moving aside to let him fall down the stairs. At least that was the plan. Either way, if the guards were up here? Then she was definitely on the right track.
The guard tumbled down the stairs, Yang easily jumping over him as he passed. Another guard came at Ruby, swinging a club at her. Yang cocked her weapons and fired ice dust, freezing the man in place. But there was a third, lifting a pistol for her sister.
As a club was swung at her, Ruby ducked and blinked as he was suddenly frozen in place. But there was no time for her to thank Yang as there was suddenly a gun pointed on her going off. Eyes widening briefly, Ruby activated her semblance and where once Ruby Rose had stood, there was nothing more than rose petals, leaving the guard flummoxed and confused on where Ruby could possibly be.
Ruby who had burst down the hallway and showing up in front of Weiss, the rose petals falling around her. Okay, that worked. Without a word, she just held Myrtenaster to Weiss where it belonged.
A million words rushed into Weiss's mind as Ruby materialized in the hallway, a flurry of rose petals. The gunshot had frozen her in place as neatly as Yang had frozen the goon, but now her friend was there. And her weapon. Her eyes started to sparkle with emotion she didn't dare let go of yet, and she grasped Myrtenaster in her hand.
It was an awkward moment, and she wasn't sure what to say after what felt like forever. The dust cartridge spun on her weapon, though, and then she let out a breath. "Give me about twenty seconds."
Without waiting for a response, her aura flickered back into place, and a glyph began to form on the floor. She'd done this in her dreams enough not to have to force it or take too much effort, but here in this world it came a little less easily. Still, while another goon headed down the hallway at them, a glowing white knight started to form out of thin air.
The sound of Yang’s gauntlet announced her arrival as she launched herself up the stairs and jogged after a trail of rose petals. When she saw Weiss, relief washed over her, a tightness in her chest loosening. She’d been worried sick and it showed in the way her voice cracked. “Three muskateers back together. All we’re missing is D'artagnan.”
She gestured at the knight, “Three musketeers and friend.”
There would be hugging once they were out and away from all of this, when there was time to actually breathe for all of them. But they weren’t out of the woods yet and it was clear. So instead she just nodded as Yang said the three musketeers were back together again. D’Artagnan was just off on a coinciding mission that was necessary in regards to the analogy. But Ruby herself had been worried and it was only once a plan of action was made and steps were being put towards enacting it that the headaches had ceased and left her clear minded.
Luckily the Knight formed as another one of the guards showed up. And as Weiss had Myrtenaster, Ruby pulled Crescent Rose out and into sniper mode. She might not have full range of motion available to her but that was why she currently wasn’t in scythe mode. They had gotten Weiss, now they just needed to get out and meet up with Uncle Qrow and head back to Orange County.
Blake might have been missing, but Weiss knew she was there in spirit. And there was definitely no time for hugs. Or breakdowns, or registering much of anything else going on. The Knight's big sword swung through the air in front of them, knocking some goons aside to clear a path for them.
As he did that, Weiss pointed towards the stairs and the office below them. Her voice was hoarse as she yelled out. "We aren't getting anywhere without taking down my father. And he has my scroll."
The office was still armed by some elite troops, though not as many as there would have been if Qrow wasn't still off somewhere, running distraction. Weiss wasn't sure of the count of them, and just estimated, "There'll be some tougher troops protecting him."
They couldn’t let him take the scroll. The technology was different from the modern world and worse of all it meant he might be able to track or stalk them. Yang nodded, rolling her shoulders as she cocked Ember Celica. “I’ll take point with Monty Python here. Maybe I can keep them busy for you two.”
That was definitely one of the issues when it came to the Dreams. The things that crossed over, like technology that most people shouldn’t have access to. Things that could lead to questions from people who shouldn’t have them. So getting the scroll back was necessary. Following Weiss’ gaze to where her father’s office was, Ruby ran some quick calculations in her head and then nodded at Yang.
“Okay.” Once more looking to Weiss, it seemed that they were doing this and getting out, “Let’s end this.”
What followed were a few moments of epic combat that seemed to come directly from their own dream world. Burts of fire from Ember Celica shot past the scythe of Weiss's glowing knight, both of whom charged forward into the fray.
Weiss stood in the back, all of her focus on directing her summon, and Ruby was a flurry of sniper fire and rose petals, keeping anything that passed through the ranks off of them. The staircase was a wreck of splinters and the floors were scorched by the time they made it to the office door. Yang delivered her metal fist directly into the temple of the last remaining guard, who crumbled to the floor as the White Knight barreled into the office door directly.
Maybe they could have just opened it, but Weiss wasn't in the mood to play. It cracked in half and only then did Weiss close the distance, driven by some emotion she hadn't experienced in a month. If she'd been Yang, her eyes would have been blood red.
She and the Knight rushed through the door, catching a very stunned Jacques on the phone. He was so surprised he dropped his phone on the desk. "You're out of the will." Was all he could think to say.
But those words had lost their meaning a while ago. Weiss's sword swung through the air, the Knight's sword matching suit, until both blades were pressing against Jacques' neck. "You are nothing, and you can't control me anymore."
The swords pressed a little less gently as Jacques made to open his mouth, and a tiny trickle of blood began to roll down his neck.
This was Weiss’ fight and so Ruby was happy to do what she had to in order to help and lend support. After all, they first needed to get through the men Jacques had hired to protect him to get to him and the scroll and the movements felt so synchronized and natural that she didn’t put much thought into it. Just focus on keeping the others from getting hurt. She was fighting to protect her team, her family because that’s how she saw Weiss, as part of her family.
So when they got to the office, while Weiss confronted her father, Ruby noticed her partner’s scroll and grabbed it, slipping it into her pocket with her own scroll. That was when she noticed the blood and her eyes widened some. Saw the way Weiss was holding herself and she was worried that she might cross a line that she would regret. Maybe not in that exact moment but when emotions weren’t so high.
“Weiss...c’mon,” Holding her hand out to Weiss, she bit her lower lip as she looked between the two Schnees. It wasn’t as if she even liked Jacques. No, he had fast gotten onto her list of people that she actively disliked along with Cinder in the Dreams, those who ran the Red Room from Russia, but that didn’t mean that killing was the answer. That wasn’t something one could just...walk off and Weiss was going to have a lot to deal with even without that.
“Let’s go home, like you said, he’s not worth it. Let the cops deal with him and give him the punishment he deserves for all the pain and suffering he’s caused you and so many others.” It was something that had come up in the initial planning post. That a man like Jacques Schnee would be facing actual punishment instead of finding a way to subvert it would be the greatest insult and injury he could face at the end of the day.
“Please…”
Jacques looked between Ruby and Weiss, likely trying to discern how he could get the upper hand in this situation. He looked like he was about to grovel enough to make his own daughter pity him, but not even facing his own death could someone like Jacques Schnee lower himself.
And Weiss? Weiss was mentally picturing herself sinking that sword through his neck until it got stuck on something or she ran out of room. Her mind reeled with everything he'd put her through the past few months. The way he'd nearly strangled her to death that morning. But Ruby's words cut through her, and her hand started to shake in place.
"No..." She whispered, and at first it was unclear who she was arguing with. But her sword dropped out of her hand, and another tear rolled out of her eye. "You're... you're right, I'm not a murderer. This pitiful excuse for a human being deserves everything that's coming to him."
That's when Jacques saw his moment. His hand reached out and grabbed onto Weiss's wrist, holding her in place with a grip so strong she couldn't remove it. His voice lowered to a growl, "You should have killed me, girl. Whitley would have had the stomach for it."
Then he let go, and backhanded her so hard that her aura flickered out. She was too stunned to do anything but sway in place. Her Knight faded away into glittering dust.
While there really wasn’t much of a part of Ruby that actively hated anyone, she could understand why Weiss wavered and she honestly didn’t know if her words would even make an impact. But she still had needed to try because that was who Ruby was. The dropping of the sword at least let her know that it seemed that she did have an impact and she took a step towards her friend…
Only for Jacques to grab Weiss’ wrist and stop her. There was no real time to get to the two from where she’d been when she grabbed the scroll and she had used her semblance a lot already so when he backhanded her, Ruby had been nearly there when it happened and she saw the flickering out of Weiss’ aura.
“Weiss!”
And with that, she closed the distance between the three and put herself between Weiss and Jacques, eyes narrowed up at the man.
“Weiss is an amazing and wonderful person and it’s really sad for you that you don’t care about her or her happiness and only yourself. But she doesn’t need you because she has a family that loves and supports and only wants what’s best for her while you’re going to be left sad and alone because you’re too consumed by yourself.”
For a rich man, one would think his office would feel less confined. There was no real way for Yang to get a shot in, not without risking hitting either Weiss or Ruby. Maybe if she launched up and then bounced off the ceiling.
Ruby might not have it in her to hate someone, but Yang did, and in that moment Jacques Schnee moved firmly into that place where Adam Taurus resided. What was it with men hurting her friends? Her family? The people she cared about and loved?
Only three things kept Jacques alive just then; Ruby in the way, Weiss falling, and the fact that Yang was able to control her temper.
She hit the ground hard enough for her knees to protest, but she caught Weiss before her head hit the desk. Yang cradled her, brushing some hair away from her face before she pulled her close and stood with Weiss in her arms. Her voice was low, soft compared to the hardness in her eyes as they remained locked on her sister and that bastard. “Don’t worry, I’ve got you.”
"My sword..." Was all that Weiss felt like mumbling against Yang's shoulder. The 'tank' of their team was a legitimate rock that she could cling to, and in that moment that was all the strength she had left to do.
“Got it,” Yang said, shifting most of Weiss’s weight to her left arm, before she used her foot to kick the sword into the air. Her right hand snapped out to catch it, and she pointed it threateningly at Jacques as she started to back out.
Remaining where she was, Ruby kept her gaze on Jacques so that he didn’t make a move towards Weiss or Yang, Crescent Rose ready just in case. Only once it sounded like they had gotten enough of a distance did she start to back up herself, though like Yang she never took her eyes off him. The police could deal with Jacques Schnee, all she cared about in that moment was getting Weiss home.
While Ruby and Yang were contending with Schnee’s thugs inside the mansion, Qrow had been systematically putting down the ones that had come running in response to the silent alarm. The mansion grounds were littered with men in various states of injury, some conscious and groaning, but most out for the count.
At one point, Qrow had heard the unmistakable sounds of Ember Celica coming from inside the house followed quickly by normal gunfire. It wasn’t long after that he heard the sniper report of Crescent Rose from inside as well. Though Qrow was confident that both Ruby and Yang were capable of holding their own in a fight (especially together), the sounds of intense combat he’d heard made his heart beat a little faster. But he had to focus on his own job. The girls would call him in if they truly needed him.
By the time Yang was carrying Weiss out of her father’s office, Qrow had knocked out the final henchman that had been dogging him outside. Everything was eerily quiet now and Qrow liked that even less than the sounds of combat he’d heard earlier. He raced around to the front of the mansion, ears straining to hear anything that may be coming from within to indicate where his nieces and their teammate may have been. Nothing. No more gunshots. No blasts from Ember Celica, no reports from Crescent Rose.
Qrow narrowed his eyes. Using Harbinger had seemed like overkill when dealing with Schnee’s “hired help” earlier. However, now that the welfare of Yang, Ruby and Weiss was in question, using his weapon didn’t seem as though it would be too much. When it came to those girls (never mind, the entirety of Team RWBY, JNPR and the others from Remnant that had appeared over the last year) there wasn’t much Qrow wouldn’t do for them. Family was a hell of a thing.
He’d just approached the entrance, Harbinger engaged in shotgun mode when a faint noise of sirens caught his attention. He looked back over his shoulder to the road, looking first up it then down. Was that a flicker of red and blue in the distance?
“Crap…” he muttered under his breath. He shouldered the door open and stumbled into the front foyer. The house was still quiet, but Qrow could see the signs of the fight from earlier. Fallen guards on the floor among puddles left behind by dripping ice. Qrow carefully, but quickly, picked his way through the mess towards the stairs, where the battle seemed to have moved upwards towards the second floor. “Yang!” He called out. “Ruby!”
Yang came rushing down the stairs, narrowly avoiding hitting Weiss's head on the edge of the wall as she did so. She adjusted her grip better, wanting to get out of there before Weiss's father tried to regroup or recover. "We're coming, don't get your feathers ruffled!"
From Yang’s arms, Weiss managed about half of a wave in Qrow’s direction. “He’s in his office,” she said, trying to flap her hand in the direction of it, where Ruby was still headed towards them. “They froze him.” She sounded as exhausted as she looked, but was glad to see that Qrow was there to help. Despite whatever was going on with his semblance, it was comforting to have an adult on board with this who was on her side.
Hearing Qrow's voice, Ruby blinked as she made her way downstairs. Luckily it seemed that Jacques was still too stunned to make sense of what had just happened. Which was good for them. So with Yang getting Weiss out, Ruby skidded to a halt in front of her uncle.
“Uncle Qrow? Is everything okay?”
Seeing Yang coming down the stairs with Weiss gave Qrow a sense of relief. A frown did touch the corners of his mouth when he saw the way Weiss was more or less draped over Yang’s arm, never mind the welt that was already starting to bruise on her face. At least she was talking…though not making a whole lot of sense. Qrow could only assume the “he” she was referring to was her father.
“It’s ok,” he told her. “We’re gonna take you home now, Weiss.” Qrow then turned his attention to Yang, giving her a small, but proud smile. “You guys did good, Firecracker,” he said. Then his eyes flickered up towards the stairs. “Where’s your sis-”
But before he could even finish the thought, Ruby appeared, coming to a quick stop in front of him. Qrow snorted a small laugh. “Yeah, everything’s fine, kiddo…” the sounds of sirens getting closer drew Qrow’s attention back towards the front door, which he had carelessly left open. “...but, uh, it’s time we left.” He started steering the small group towards another exit. “Weiss’s dad is about to get some company, and we don’t need to be here when they arrive.”
“I could pull off Orange,” Yang said, keeping her voice light for the benefit of everyone else. “But it would be very unfashionable on the rest of you.”
She glanced at her sister, then Qrow as they made for the exit. “You know, I never asked about the escape plan.”