Reunions

A/N: Willow's POV of Jaune and Pietro's first meeting~

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You know, for a little bit Willow Schnee had been worried. She'd wondered if killing her husband might change her for the worse. What if murdering Jacques awakened something inside of her… something bloodthirsty? What if she found herself wanting to kill again, dealing with dark urges that left her on the edge of going postal?

Or perhaps things could have gone the other way. Perhaps she could have realized what a mistake it was to kill him only after the deed was done. Murdering him and then belatedly realizing that she loved him could have sent Willow into a downward spiral of depression, from which there would have been no escape.

Obviously, neither of those things happened. And maybe that was a lesson in and of itself. Maybe… maybe some people simply needed killing. Willow didn't suddenly feel like a serial killer looking for her next victim, but she also didn't feel any guilt or shame over ending Jacques' life. Removing Jacques from this world was… it was akin to taking out the trash in the end. Of course, given her incredibly privileged and spoiled lifestyle, it was fair to say that Willow had never killed OR taken out the trash before her and Jacques' fateful garden rendezvous.

But then, she also hadn't ever been fucked on her back on a conference table in the depths of the SDC Headquarters either, and now that had happened as well. Needless to say, there'd been a lot of firsts ever since Jaune came barreling into her life. And Willow can't bring herself to mind all that much.

Still, she had to admit to some curiosity. She didn't actually know WHY Jaune wanted Doctor Pietro Polendina so badly. Sure, he was a brilliant scientist… but Atlas was full of brilliant scientists. In fact, the SDC's very own R&D department had the cream of the crop, from what she understood. Jacques was many things, most of them despicable, but he was also a fairly capable headhunter when it came to increasing the SDC's power… and thus HIS power.

And yet, it was Dr. Polendina that Jaune had her push for. It was Dr. Polendina that he'd had her use the SDC's contracts with the Atlesian Military to snag. And it was Dr. Polendina who stood before Jaune now, with the blue-eyed blonde smiling at him quite mysteriously. A shiver runs down Willow's spine at that smile and she almost begins to daydream right there on the spot. But unfortunately, she's taken out of the fantasy before it can really get going as Pietro looks between her and Jaune with a furrowed brow.

"… Yes? Do I know you, young man? Err… is this supposed to be my assistant or something, Mrs. Schnee? I must admit, I would prefer to be able to choose my own assistant or not have one at all, if possible…"

Willow smiles at that and then gives Jaune a curious look. When he nods to her, she giggles and shakes her head.

"No, Dr. Polendina. This is not your new assistant. This is my new bodyguard, Jaune. He's also the one who pushed for me to recruit you from the Atlesian Military at all costs."

That causes the good doctor to go wide-eyed as he looks at Jaune in a new light. However, before Pietro can muster a response, Jaune speaks up first.

"Tell me, Dr. Polendina… if you COULD choose your own assistant, who would you want it to be? Your daughter, perhaps?"

His daughter? Willow finds herself more and more curious by the second. Meanwhile, Pietro looks positively alarmed now, as well as floored by Jaune's words. He also takes way too long to respond, long enough that even Willow could have guessed something was up.

"I don't… I don't know what you're talking about, young man. I am notoriously childless."

Jaune just tilts his head to the side, his blue eyes flashing as he chuckles darkly.

"Are you, doctor? I certainly hope not. If you didn't consider Penny to be your daughter, I think I would be quite… disappointed in you."

This renders Pietro speechless for a moment, while Willow is left continuing to slowly put together a puzzle. Whoever Penny was, she was both Pietro's daughter and maybe not? Had the man disowned her or something? But then, how did Jaune know about her?

"Then again, you clearly knew who I meant the moment I spoke of you having a daughter. It would seem you're simply doing your best to put on a brave face… when we both know that Penny was always more than a project to you."

That finally garners another reaction from Pietro, as he slams a fist into one of the arms of his chair and growls angrily, his aura blazing to life around him.

"What do you know about Penny? Where is she?"

But Jaune isn't intimidated. And he doesn't back down, either.

"Where is your daughter, you mean?"

"YES! Yes, Penny is my daughter! There, are you happy?! Now tell me what you know!"

Here, Jaune's smile drops and his face becomes almost… shrouded in a way.

"I know that she's dead, Doctor. Because Ironwood sent her on a suicide mission."

Willow freezes in place. The General? Again. But… but her daughters were both fine despite Ironwood playing with their lives. Why had Pietro's daughter not survived? She didn't understand.

Pietro, meanwhile, tenses for a moment as well… before slumping back into his chair, suddenly looking exhausted beyond belief. Jaune peers at him closely for a moment before humming and nodding.

"… But then you already knew that didn't you? You already knew she was lost even if I doubt Ironwood has given you a straight answer to her fate."

"Yes… yes, I knew. Her sensors, even the ones tied to my personal systems that General Ironwood didn't know about… they went dark. So yes, I assumed… I suspected… but at the same time I didn't want to believe it. That she was dead."

Now Willow feels a little tinge of confusion. Sensors? What does that even mean? Was his daughter hooked up to some sort of tracking system? Hah, Willow almost wished she could have done the same to her daughters. That would have been nice…

"Not just dead, Pietro. Sent to die."

Jaune's grave voice leaves both Willow and Pietro looking at him. Of course, it's Dr. Polendina who actually asks for clarification.

"… What do you mean by that, young man?"

Spreading his hands apart, Jaune speaks matter-of-factly to the good doctor.

"It's just as I said. From the very beginning, Penny Polendina's last mission was a suicide mission. General Ironwood KNEW that he was sending her to her death and that even in the best case scenario, there was no chance of her survival. He did it anyways, perhaps because he thought that her support would make the mission slightly more likely to succeed. Your daughter, Pietro, was used up like a resource by our dear General. She was spent on a task he considered more important than her continued existence, regardless of how unique that existence was."

Willow's heart breaks at the expression on Pietro Polendina's face. The closest she's come to what he's currently feeling were the moments between Jaune having her try to contact her daughters and then him telling her they were both alright. She'd legitimately felt like her whole world was coming down around her, but in the end he'd saved her. He'd saved her in so many ways.

It made the Schnee Matriarch wonder exactly what Jaune was trying to accomplish here. Why had he had her bring him Dr. Polendina? If it was just to throw the death of the man's daughter in his face, Willow might need to have words with the blond young man. Pietro apparently has similar thoughts, because his voice sounds broken and defeated as he sits in his chair, looking so much smaller than before.

"Why… why are you telling me this?"

There's a pause, before the smile returns to Jaune's face. And… it's a surprisingly kind smile too. Pitying in a way.

"I wished to get your measure; I suppose. Before I decided my next steps. I wanted to find out what sort of man you were, Pietro Polendina. And I needed to know just how you saw your creation. After all… Winter Schnee is quite certain that you can repair Penny, if I give you the chance. But I needed to know whether to give you the hard sell or the soft sell."

Wait, what? Willow is thoroughly confused now. Pietro, meanwhile, looks floored. So she takes the moment of silence to step forward and finally speak up.

"… Just who is this Penny, exactly? One moment you talk about her like she's a real person, the next it sounds like she's some sort of project or piece of technology!"

Jaune glances her way but doesn't seem too perturbed by her question. He inclines his head towards Pietro Polendina, shrugging his shoulders.

"A while back, Dr. Polendina here managed to infuse a gynoid with part of his aura… effectively granting her a soul and thus life. Her name was Penny and while she was fully robotic with no flesh or blood, she was still very much a person from what your eldest daughter tells me, Willow. But the project that gave Penny 'life' was military in nature. Meaning that when all was said and done, General Ironwood kept 'custody' while Pietro retired to run his clinic."

That… Willow turns a disapproving frown in Pietro's direction, suddenly seeing him in a new light. Then again, even if part of her wants to lay into him… how can she? Especially when she entrusted BOTH of her daughters to General Ironwood as well. In that light, Willow finds herself feeling an odd sort of kinship with Pietro Polendina, leading to her stepping over to him and placing a hand on his shoulder to give it a comforting squeeze.

"It seems we both trusted the wrong man with our children, Doctor."

The look Pietro gives her is one of surprise and appreciation, even as he lets out a shuddering breath.

"… Yes, we did. But now… now it sounds like we have a chance to rectify that error. Young man. You spoke of an opportunity to repair Penny?"

Jaune just nods.

"Indeed. I wanted to make sure you weren't going to spill the beans to Ironwood the first chance you got… as of right now, the General believes Penny's mission was a success. That she died, but she died accomplishing HIS goals. She did not. She died in vain, accomplishing nothing… but so long as he continues to believe what he believes, we are all safer for it… Penny included."

Pietro's jaw clenches in determination and he nods sharply at that.

"Agreed. If Penny can be repaired… she can also be modified. I can remove the Atlesian Military's additions to her chassis and software. I can remove all traces of their control over her. That way, when we bring her back online, she will never be beholden to the General or his military apparatus, ever again."

Pietro looks down in his hands after that declaration, grimacing in deep emotional pain.

"… I thought we were doing what was right. I thought that supporting Atlas was for the best. I was a patriot. But… somehow, I can't even begin to doubt your words. That General Ironwood spent my daughter's life for nothing on some failed suicide mission and then tried to keep it from me… it's all too easy for me to believe. And so… I can no longer abide by his decisions. I can no longer be the patriot I thought I was. My daughter MUST come first… and if you can help me bring her back, you have my loyalty, young man."

Willow feels something like pride for the good doctor swell in her chest. He's right. All that matters now is her children. Her daughters specifically. Whitley… he'd be okay. He was still at home, still pampered and altogether spoiled. Something to worry about later, since she knew Jacques had been raising the boy in his image all his life. But Winter and Weiss… they needed Willow. They needed her to be better, to DO better. And so… she would.

Of course, just as she feels a sense of resolve to do what needs to be done, Jaune just nods and then pulls out a scroll and places a call. Both Willow and Pietro can only watch as he looks at whoever answers the call and gives them a nod.

"Go ahead and try to open the portal. I'm curious to see how far Raven and I have come."

Before Willow can even begin parsing that statement, there's a sudden burst in the air behind Jaune. He turns to regard it as the burst slowly swirls open into a proper tear in the middle of the air, growing and growing. A portal, he'd called it. And indeed, that's precisely what it is. By the time the portal is done growing, it's big enough that even Pietro in his spider-limbed chair could go through it.

On the other side, Willow sees a red-eyed, raven-haired woman with sweat on her brow. She blushes when she makes eye contact with Jaune and the blond young man grins at her.

"Heh. Guess we've come pretty far, haven't we Raven?"

Her blush intensifying, the red eyed woman averts her gaze. Meanwhile… the three of them step through. Jaune leads the way, Pietro follows… and seeing as the portal doesn't close behind him, Willow does as well. Only then does Raven pull her sword back, letting the portal collapse.

They're in another lab, one that's outfitted almost identically to the one they've just left behind. Jaune HAD had Willow send a bunch of equipment via automated drone to some random location in the middle of a wasteland, but she hadn't known where any of it was going. Now though… well, it seems she's found out what he did with it all.

Indeed, this lab is identical to the other one in every way except for one… laid out on a table nearby is a broken robot girl, her body half-dismantled but her humanoid features still quite visible.

"Penny!"

As Dr. Polendina rushes to his daughter's side, Willow watches on, hoping against hope that he can fix her… repair her. However, she doesn't get to watch for long because… well, a familiar voice calls out from the side, pulling her attention away.

"Mother."

Willow Schnee turns with a sinking feeling in her gut and regards her eldest daughter. Winter Schnee looks back at her, her expression unreadable, her face somewhat stony. She stares at Willow with neither condemnation nor judgment in her eyes, but what is there… Willow can't say. Her own daughter almost feels like a stranger as they stand across from one another. And yet… was Willow not the reason for that? Had she not been a terrible mother, vanishing into a wine bottle and doing very little to raise Winter or Weiss properly?

Her youngest is nowhere to be seen… and Willow is almost grateful for that, even as Winter stares her down. Doesn't mean she knows what the fuck to do, however.