Chapter 35

Hmm. So... the redhead is Adam taurus? That name sounds familiar... but I can't remember where from.

"Ruby. I'd advise you keep your guard up, he's the one who assisted in the attack on beacon. He's the leader of the white fangs Vale Branch." Oh...

"I think... I might enjoy this a bit." Mr Taurus scowled, dashing straight at me, unsheathing his blade in the same motion. His sword was beaming red, oh...

"An dust infused blade? The crafter must be a skilled one. I always wanted to try that with crescent rose. But i never got around to it." I barely dodged under the blade by leaning backwards, quickly, he reached for his sheath, but I'd already grabbed him by then.

Firmly grasping his shoulder, I used a burst of my semblance to rocket my knee into his jaw. His head knocked backwards and I planted both my legs on his chest before kicking straight off of him.

"Now your head should be spinning. Just like mine is from the alcohol." I calmly said while unscrewing the flask again.

_________________________________________

Truly... she might end up a drunkard just like Qrow Branwen.

I hope it doesn't come to that.

"Can you truly afford to be distracted when fighting against me?" Our blades clashed against one another, again I blocked with one hand.

"Yes, I can." Grabbing Ravens' shoulder, I pulled my head back and...

The melodic crunch of forehead meeting forehead, greeted our ears with delight.

"Oh? So you do know how to fight. Your first strike was quite amateurish. Leaping in recklessly with that pride of yours." There were no injuries due to our aura, but regardless.

I will keep fighting.

"Why do you fight, Branwen? Your own brothers' flesh and blood is right next to you, yet you continue your fight. Why?" The grin on my face didn't move, yet she seemed to contemplate and as she was about to swallow a lump in her throat.

I punched her in the throat and she fell to her knees.

"You need only answer my question. No dancing around it, no lies. Just, answer." Raven Branwen looked up to me, flaming hatred in her eyes.

"I need to know... whether my ideal is correct." Unbelievable... she would abandon her family... for ideals? For Ideals?! I stabbed myrtenaster into the ground, gripping the womans hair.

"Lessons must be taught. You do not..." three acceleration glyphs appeared under Ravens' chin, and her panicked eyes could guess what they did. Frantically, she reached for her sword but... "FIGHT FOR IDEALS!" My knee broke both her aura and from what I could feel, lightly cracked her jawbone.

"What good will ideals do you? Tell me, how can you value your ideals over your daughter? Your niece? Your own husband?" I full well knew I wasn't getting an answer.

"The strong live... the weak... die-" I stomped my heel into her hand, piercing it, a clean hole through that elicited a tearful scream of pain.

"You... miserable bitch. You had a family, one that dearly loved and cared for you. And you go and throw it away all for your shitty ideal. I will answer the question that your ideal is. We, are not animals. We, have free will. We, make our own choices. We, are not slaves' to our baser instincts." My foot struck her chin again after being pulled from her hand.

"I despise someone like you... taking your family for granted." Raising my heel high, I struck down on the back of her head and blood began to pool.

"I may have gone slightly overboard." The giggling of a mature woman caught my attention.

"Quite the understatement. I... can probably keep her alive." Well...

That's good. Just one thing...

"Who are you?"

_________________________________________

Back to Ruby, the girl was swaying quite noticeably.

Seems the alcohol had taken effect.

"Haha! Everything's so strange... Why's ya face all swirly Mr Taurus?" Rubys' words were slurred as she swayed left to right, drunkenly stepping to prevent her fall.

The white fang branch leader was seething, his teeth grinding one another to powder.

"You... underestimate me? Human! I will take your head!" Adam swung his blade, using moonslice to launch 3 red crescents at the rose girl.

"Hey! My abilities red too!" Ruby blinked into a burst of petals, very closely weaving through the blade barrage. In a moment, Ruby had closed the distance, a noticeable cut running under her left eye.

Adam found himself facing a pair of boots, inches from his face.

His visor shattered from the dropkick of the little girl, dropping Adam to his back.

"Hey *hic* what's... what's that thing over your eye?" Adam hastily covered his eye that had been branded by the SDC.

"I see... so that's why you hate Schnee's. Seems that I need to... deal... with my father." The calm voice of weiss gave a strange sense of peace to him... but... He wouldn't allow it, they must die! They all needed to DIE!

"Rest easy now!" Weiss slammed the pommel of myrtenaster into the faunus' chin, sending him off into unconsciousness. Weiss glanced at Ruby who suddenly fell backwards onto the floor, light giggles began as she curled up into a ball.

"Seems we have three unconscious now." Merlin giggled at the predicament.

"Apologies, but I'm quite a frail lady. I don't think I can help." Before weiss could refute her statement, the woman disappeared into a flurry of pink petals. And weiss couldn't help but mutter...

"Lazy... "

Three glyphs appeared in midair. Adam was gently placed onto one, as was Ruby.

Raven was carelessly thrown onto the last one.

"I need to calm down. Maybe read a book after I... deal... with Jacques."

Well... today... May be the greatest day of my life.

_________________________________________

My head is ringing... uh... what... no, I remember now.

This Brace isn't great, both my hands are unusable right now. My left arm is in a Brace, my right hand a bullet hole.

When was the last time I was injured this badly?

I don't know.

The hospital ward I was in was quite standard, nothing particularly out of the ordinary. The other patients were out of sight, excluding one.

Hans...

Oh my dear hans...

He was asleep in the bed next to mine.

I shifted my way out of the hospital bed-

That's... Dad's cane and... hat.

Dad... why... why'd you have to go and die?

_________________________________________

Slowly, I opened my eyes from the fresh hell of nightmares I had awoke from.

Nothing new there.

A hospital bed... I need out of here-

Neo's crying... I... I want to leave this room... but...

There are more important things than my trauma...

Slowly, I got out of bed, making sure my legs hadn't sustained any damage. All I had on now was a hospital gown, just like Neo.

And then, I hugged the woman who had been my light.

I... am not a mushy person.

But Neo easily softened into my hug. And I... had no problem with that.

Judging by the hat and cane... it seems Roman is dead. Seeing your father die right in front of you...

'Let it all out. Don't hold anything back.' And so, Neo wailed. And wailed... and wailed.

All the way into the night, until her eyes were heavy and she fell asleep in my arms.

Sleep well now, Neo.

_________________________________________

My old home. The schnee mansion.

This cold place was where I was raised. The place where I was scarred and isolated by those I trusted most.

Truly, this place isn't a home.

It's hard to believe that only months prior I was foolishly trying to prove myself as a capable huntress to my father. The only way he would ever recognise me is if he could marry me off to get more money.

And today, is the last day I will ever visit my father.

These cold halls that I walk through, are not my home.

"Hello sister." Whitley... I forgot about him... maybe that's why he's so bitter. Come to think of it, I... cannot recall a single moment that he and I share that was even... slightly good.

"I see. Yes, you've been alone all this time now. Haven't you, whitley? I've... been a shitty sister haven't I?" My brother reeled back in shock before he turned a bright red.

"You only realised this now?! After all the garbage I put up with from father! Always being beaten for not being as good as you or Winter!? YOU NOW REALISE YOU'VE BEEN A SHIT SISTER?!" Heiress I may be, but I was not deserving of that title.

I was just the only other choice.

"Yes. I won't make excuses, nor will I justify my poor actions. I will just say, you won't have to deal with father any more." That had left my brother speechless.

"What... what are you going to do? As hard as i tried, I could never find solid evidence of father's wrongdoing." I didn't turn back to him.

"Just... send all the servants home. I'll sort mother out afterwards." Whitley ran, I think he knows what I'm going to do. Well... I made it a bit obvious didn't I?

Now, here I stood, at the door to my Father's study.

Well, no time like-

BANG

A... bullet? Straight through my kidney I think... I had to lean against the wall while i fished for the bullet.

"Weiss, you can't possibly be attempting what you were implying? Why stop good business? After all, who will lead the SDC if I don't?" That grating voice, that smug and self-righteous tone.

"Ah, dear old sperm donor-" He fired another shot into my thigh. That... really isn't good, the kidney shot was bad, but there's a chance he hit the femoral artery.

"That's no way to refer to your father." Ah, well... here we are? Fuck... I may have made things significantly worse. I got the bullet, but the bleeding increased.

"Well... what's another child? At the end of the day, whitley can still turn around. And willow still loves me. It seems your foolish plot ends here weiss." Now, the cold steel of his pistol was pointed to my head.

"These aura piercing bullets are certainly useful. I didn't have great hope for black market goods, but they were worth the hefty sum. Goodbye-" just before he could pull the trigger.

I threw the bullet through an acceleration glyph, cleaning piercing through the sperms donors skull. I watched with joy as his corpse dropped to the ground.

Ah, now... they're all free.

"There's a point where it tips..." My voice echoed through the halls. "There's a point where it breaks..." I felt my blood dripping from my wounds, yet I had no strength to conjure any glyphs.

"Theres a point where it bends... and a... point... we just can't... take... anymore..." how I loved singing. My one... saving grace, in this frozen hell.

"There's a line that we'll cross... and there's no... return..." I heard shoes hitting the hard floor of the halls. "There's a time and a place..." that man... is that... uncle klein?

"No bridges left to burn... anymore..." will I die here? I... would hope not... I still... would like to confess... my feelings... and... I... said... I'd sort... mother... out...

"Lady weiss! Please, don't sing any further save your strength! ■■■■■■■■■" my ears were ringing... what was klein saying...

Oh... cold... so very... cold...

_________________________________________

Another chapter out. Worked hard on this one. Think I did well.

Tell me what you think.