"Schnee?"
The voice was distant, and at first? She hardly noticed it. Everything felt off to her- her surroundings, the sounds about, hell, even herself. Her own thoughts and lack thereof. She couldn't quite put a finger on just what, but she knew something just wasn't right. The vaguely familiar voice was ignored, and she continued to analyze just what the issue was. And as she did? Only silence emanated from her being.
"..."
"Schnee!"
Instantly, Winter stiffened, snapping back to reality at the urgency in the voice. Like a trained pet, she straightened in an instant, her hand raising in a point to her eyebrow in salute.
"General Ironwood, sir!" was the automatic reply, slipping into the air with practiced ease. It was as though the figure saying her name was a command to sit, and she was forced to oblige. Not out of a desire to do so, but rather, out of something much more complicated than that. After all, she'd never say it, but oftentimes she found herself sorely tempted to give her boss a right and proper bitch slap across the face. A shame that working under him was necessary to keep herself from home. If it could even be called that.
Admittedly oblivious to these feelings, the general merely maintained his case of RBF(resting bitch face, of course), regarding the specialist with mild wariness. Clearly, she was out of her game in his opinion, but nonetheless.
"We're here. I suggest you start paying more attention," he chided.
"This meeting will be important and I don't need any further complications forming." Wait. Had she missed something? As far as she knew, there had been no upcoming meetings. And even if there had been...
"Of course, sir." And so that was that. She knew better than to argue, and had no desire to waste any time. Besides, there would be time to think everything over and sort it all out in her mind as they walked to... Wherever it was they were going. There was no room to ask, really, lest she would seem a fool. For now, she just followed after the general, hands clasped neatly behind her back as they strode on. It was easy to tell they were in Beacon from just the feel of the air as they disembarked from the airship, not to mention the view. But had she not been here mere days ago? Perhaps it had all been but a dream, but it certainly didn't seem that way.
Of course, it would be difficult to say that what came next was a dream, either. A familiar voice called out mere moments after her heeled shoes touched on the ground, causing her to look it's direction with a visible lack of amusement or excitement.
"Winter! Oh, I'm so glad you're here!" Unmistakable. She didn't have to be looking at the speaker to know just who it was.
"Oh, uh, I mean... It's a pleasure to see you again." At least she knew to correct herself. Pausing only briefly in her march to give her younger sister a once over, the military specialist's gaze hardened slightly.
"...Sister," she greeted in return, curtly. She noticed Ironwood was giving her a look, but she gestured for him to continue. She would catch up momentarily, now that she had a very good idea of where they were going and what they were doing here.
Whether she said it aloud or not, family- or, well, her sister -was still above her work. If only in some ways. For now, she would give her the time of day, but she didn't have long to do so. Now that she had realized what they were here for, she knew how important it was she not be late.
"What brings you here? How long are you staying?" The answer was, of course,
"Classified". At Weiss's side were a clearly less excited pair of teens, one obviously younger than the other. There was a small bout of silence before it was finally broken by a rather ample-chested blonde.
"Soooo... You're Weiss's big Schneester, huh?" came her inquiry. Winter merely gave a deadpan, cold eyes looking as unamused as ever. Her little sibling's features dropped as well, likely disappointed in her... acquaintance. But that didn't discourage the blonde.
"I'm Yang, and this is Ruby. Nice to meet you!" And thus a hand was extended, to which it was regarded with a lack of interest. After a few moments, this 'Yang' seemed to take the hint, her hand slowly moving to instead rub her neck in a rather awkward manner.
"So. these are the teammates you wrote of," Winter finally spoke, seeming to scrutinize the pair with her gaze. But there wasn't time to make any further inquiries. So it was without allowing time for a reply that she spoke again.
"Hmph. I will reconvene with you later, sister... Miss Rose, Miss Xiao Long," she stated with a respectful nod to each of them.
"Oh, of course! I look forward to it! I hope you have fun with... whatever you must do-- er, I mean, good luck with your business here!"
"...Is she always like that?"
"Yeah, she seems kinda.. weird."
"Oh, as though either of you have room to talk," Weiss snapped with a huff, turning to storm off with her head held high. In her wake, Yang and Ruby exchanged a look before the former shrugged.
...
It didn't take long to arrive at the 'secret meeting room' designated for the little secret circle of Ozpin's. And when she did, she entered with her typical confidence and perfect posture. A respectful nod of greeting was given to Glynda and her superior, gloved hands neatly at her sides.
"Miss Goodwitch. General." It was a phlegmatic greeting, sure, but a greeting nonetheless. But something was off... Ozpin wasn't anywhere in sight.
"Ah, so she finally decides to join the party. And here I thought it'd kill ya if you were even a second late." That voice... Oh, come on. It'd been bad enough that he'd been in what she still was pondering was a dream or not, she had no desire to deal with him here.
"What are you doing here?" Winter demanded, whirling to face the drunk who she now realized was awfully close as he rounded her, leading to a harsh glare being sent up towards him.
"And where is the professor?" There was no doubt in her that she'd get some snarky reply to her first question, if not both of her questions, from Qrow, but there was now dead silence. She felt the eyes of all present staring at her after they'd exchanged looks with each other. Even
Qrow was quiet, and that never happened. For once, she felt self-conscious, looking between the others with confusion. Just what had she said that had caused this?
"...Care to explain, Jimbo? Thought ya said nothin' happened to her."
Okay, now that definitely wasn't right. A scowl lit Winter's feats, and she didn't hesitate to speak up.
"Excuse me?" The only response she got was a less than pleasing one.
"Shshshhh, I wasn't talking to ya, Ice Queen." Also apparently ignoring her, the general gave a rather annoyed reply of his own.
"Of course nothing happened to her. She held her own fine through the attack. You can tell even now that she's lacking in any injury," said general retaliated. Despite her desire and imminent attempts, Winter couldn't get a word in.
"And did you think to run a mental examination? I don't suppose you've considered that she may have been injured without your notice?" Glynda added in. Alright, she hadn't been given any commands to keep her from doing so, and she was tired of being talked about like she wasn't there. This wasn't going to fly even a moment longer.
"I'm fine. What are all of you on about?" Winter finally snapped, looking between her company with growing aggravation. Another pause came, albeit shorter than the last, before the general spoke up.
"...You really don't remember." It was an observation, but it only served to add frustration.
"Ozpin is gone. The enemy has him." For the longest time, the words didn't truly sink in. After all, he had been perfectly safe the last time she'd been in Beacon, even if she wasn't quite sure just when that was with this whole Coalition nonsense. It was impossible. There had been no attack, Ozpin was fine... And so she spoke out, whirling on Qrow.
"If this is your idea of a joke, Qrow-..." The words almost seemed to come out in something comparable to a growl, but there was a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. Glynda was the first to reply.
"Did you really not notice as you came in? The city is in shambles. The Grimm? The lack of Hunters and Huntresses-in-training?"
No... That wasn't right.
"My sister and her peers greeted me as we disembarked. There were no Grimm about, and certainly no wreckage." Well. The looks she received upon making that statement were less than appeasing.
"Your sister returned home, as did the rest of her teammates, much like the majority of those who attended our school." That couldn't be right. What the hell had gotten into these three?
"Schnee, perhaps it would be better if you wait outside."
"No."
Her first act of defiance against the general's wishes, it was. And, in edition? It was drowned out by another's voice. Something that astounded her- Qrow. And for the first time, they appeared to share an opinion. Only one of them continued, though.
"We all signed up for this, Ice Queen included. Maybe she doesn't remember, but we all took a vow. I'm pickin' up where he left off. If any of ya do decide ya wanna leave, well, the time's now."
And there it was again, a silence filling the space between them all. Somehow, with the way he spoke, it all seemed more...
real. When the childish drunks sobered up and actually acted thoughtful and serious, it was difficult to deny the reality of the situation.
"No takers? Good," Qrow continued after a moment, the faintest trace of a smirk lighting his face.
"Jimmy," It was a sad moment, when Winter didn't even correct him,
"how're the repairs comin'?"
At first, the general seemed very uncomfortable answering to the drunk, but he managed to reply.
"Just fine. But would you care to tell me just who elected that you be in charge?"
"Oh, I'm sorry. I must've forgotten who's been workin' with Oz longer. I hope you don't mind me asking, but who invited your fleets here, again?"
sick burn cause big man shut up
"Good. Glynd--"
A thunderous, ground-shaking explosion happened to be lacking in manners, it seemed, because it interrupted Qrow mid-sentence. The entirety of their little group was sent flying in separate directions, each thrown into a wall. For a few sparse moments, Winter's vision swam in black, her ears ringing as distant shouts and screams hit them, almost feeling as though they were from a different world entirely. She knew better, luckily, and her teeth merely gritted as she forced herself to concentrate. Her world slowly came into focus again, and she found herself thankful that her aura took most of the hit for her. Granted, it still hurt like the dickens, but to her feet she went without a true injury. Her eyes went wide at the sight before her- the building seeming to collapse, her comrades on the verge of falling.
Acting as quickly as possible, she had glyphs forming in carefully calculated locations.
"Let go!" she barked out, initiating an attempt to get them out of there quickly and efficiently, doing the same for herself. In no time at all, they were all (arguably) safe on the ground. What had caused the explosion was lost to her, but she was ready for whatever it was, and so were the others.
"Sir?" she spoke, looking around with narrowed eyes.
"Permission to attack granted."
There was one half of it. Now she just needed to find what needed to be attacked. Luckily, it didn't take long- a horde of Grimm was already coming. Easy to tell, with the way the ground was obviously being pounded, judging by the pebbles steadily sent up and down off the ground. But Grimm couldn't have caused that explosion, and she made sure to keep a trained eye out for what
did. In the meantime, well...
...It was refreshing, almost, getting to fight as a team for once.
Naturally, the Grimm didn't exactly last long. A renowned Huntsman, a military specialist and general, and a hell of a headmistress. Who did you think was going to win that one out? ...Don't answer that. With nothing but wreckage left behind from the brief fight, a small conversation was allowed for.
"This makes no sense. They've got Ozpin. What could they possibly want, now?" Jim asked, probably more to himself than the rest of them.
"Jee, I dunno. Maybe to take the city before it gets the chance to bounce back?" Of course.
"And maybe the two of you should stop acting so childishly! If we're going to do anything about this, it will take all of us to do so. Now if you'd cease your bickering for two seconds, perhaps you'll consider that it may be in our best interest to split up. We'll cover more ground and should we find the source of this... 'accident', we can reach the others."
What was this? Scooby Doo? If so, she felt like Velma, stuck with Shaggy, because she was left to search with Qrow. Jinkies. And as they ran, scouring the city for their new adversaries, Winter spoke the moment that she noticed Qrow starting to open his mouth.
"Not. A. Word." Now was definitely not the time for his ridiculous antics or attempts to tick her off, and she didn't want to hear any of it.
"How about three?" Okay, so that was a bit intriguing. Normally if he wanted to talk, he'd just say it, even if told not to. So she paused in her sprint, slowing to look at him warily.
"Fine. But it had better be important."
"Get outta here."
Okay. Definitely not what she had expected.
"What?" she demanded, obviously caught off guard by his words.
"You have no right to give me such an order. Did you already forget? You were just speaking about--"
"-Forget what I was speakin' about and let me finish. Get outta here. Find the kids and make sure they're safe. Glynda, Jim-Jam and I can handle this just fine," he concluded. For some odd reason , the words infuriated her, almost more than anything else he'd said to her before. Which, quite frankly, said a lot. It was as though he'd done her a personal wrong, and she was eager to slap him across the face for it. Which, she did, but her wrist was caught just before impact.
"Ah, ah, ah- hands off the merchandise, Ice Queen." Like pulling his typical prickhood out again was going to help him.
"Look around you, Qrow. No three people can defeat monsters that can do this in... However long that 'attack' was," she snapped, her snatched wrist's hand clenching into a fist.
"Don't be a fool. If we are to have any chance of success, we need to retreat. All of us. There aren't enough of us to fight like this," she insisted. Much to her aggravation, her words drew that annoying smirk back out.
"Guess you're right. But that doesn't mean we can't try, does it?" he fired back. And thus, her scowl deepened.
"Trying would be suicide. And not just ours. What would happen if the few figures of authority left who knew about Ozpin were to fall? Who would search for him, then? Who w--"
A familiar pounding, followed by another explosion. A scream carried on the wind... A scream that she had heard plenty of times, growing up in her father's household. Blue eyes widened, meeting Qrow's only briefly before she whirled around and took off in the direction that the sound had come from with the male close on her heel. Glyphs formed beneath her feet, accelerating her movement even further. But no matter what magic she used, there was no getting there in time. By the time she arrived? There was nothing to do but feel her heart drop and shatter like ice. Because there in the rubble was the limp body of none other than Weiss Schnee, blood coating the entirety of her pale body.
With a horrified look on her face, Winter had a summon at her side, helping her be rid of the rubble with Qrow's assistance as well. Crouched to the ground, shaking hands pulled her sister into her arms. Weiss squinted at her sibling, barely managing to rasp out a word.
"Winter...?" No response. Silence. Silence. Crushing, painful, traitorous silence.
"W-Winter..."
"...They said you were with father."
"I-it's okay, Winter-"
"If I hard realized you were here..."
"Winter--"
"I never meant to be so harsh with you."
Weiss's fingers twitched, an effort to raise a hand to her sibling's mouth to quiet her, or perhaps to attempt to grab her hand. It was enough to finally snap Winter out of it, tears in her eyes for the first time in much longer than she could remember. Her shaky gloved hand carefully took Weiss's, her mind taking in every detail as she watched the pain in her younger sister's eyes as the life slowly faded from them. Never would she not be haunted by the sight, and her little 'dream' was forgotten. All she felt was pain, remorse, despair. And over Weiss's bloodied corpse, her tears fell in silence.
I've failed you. I...-
"You can still help her, y'know." The words ripped her from her trance, and Winter tensed, glancing over her shoulder at the speaker.
"And how, pray tell, am I to do that?" she inquired through her teeth and the cracking of her own voice. She sounded so... pathetic, and she couldn't bring herself to care. But no response came, save for the sounds of repeated gunfire before that of a body dropping. And it was all right in front of her eyes.
"Qrow--!"
And then it hit her. And 'it' wasn't the bullets that followed. No, it was a realization. One that carried the exact same amount of force, if not more, than said rounds. She remembered it all before, sure, but it was as though the pain that shot through her- physically and mentally -of both the sights and the impact of the bullets. The rest of the memory. The final moments as a big group, the horde of enemies... The floor falling out from under them, everything turning to nothing. Darkness, fighting the mist that grew stronger and stronger throughout the fall. This wasn't real. She still could help Weiss, the comment was true. She could help if she just snapped out of it. And horrified,
demoralized, or not, she wasn't giving in. Not until she bear her illusion.
Realityisanillusiontheuniverseisahologrambuygoldbye
