Weiss Schnee: Airship to Vale

Chapter XIII

Whitley's head spun back to look at Jacques.

His eyes were white, his skin was turning pale, and his veins were becoming visible.

He was infected!

Jacques quickly shut the door, and backed away as he saw Whitley peer through at them. He reached for the door handle, and pushed the door open, slowly approaching the trio.

"F-F-Father?" he said. "P-P-Please... t-t-take me home... I-I-I'm scared... P-P-Please help me..."

Jacques felt guilt. This was his son. He didn't care that just a few hours ago, he had exiled them into another room. This was still his son. And he was infected.

"Son," he said. "I'm... I'm so sorry. You... You're infected."

Whitley's eyes widened as he heard that, and he looked down to his hands, his terror increasing with every second.

"No... No... No! I can't be! No..."

Then, in the blink of an eye, his head shot up. A now infected Whitley charged at Jacques, snapping its jaws.

Weiss quickly reached for Myrtenaster.

"STAY BACK!!!" Jacques shouted as he held Whitley back.

Weiss didn't want to listen, but if she, or the struggling attackers in front of her made one wrong move, she could kill Jacques on accident.

Jacques pushed the infected back. It attempted to snap at his hand, but he held it back. But, with one less hand, Whitley was given free reign to charge.

Jacques was pushed against the balcony rail as the infected snarled, biting and snapping.

Jacques grabbed the infected by the hair, and slammed its head against the rail, causing it to stagger backwards.

It charged at Jacques again, and he collapsed to the ground.

"DAD!!!" Weiss screamed.

Her scream caught Whitley's attention, and he spun back to her and Momo. He charged to them before either could react. But Jacques caught his thought process a mile away, and grabbed his legs to knock him down.

The infected turned back to him, and crawled towards him, pushing him to the edge of the platform. Jacques held it back as it snapped at him, his head dangling over the rapidly moving ground.

Momo and Weiss grabbed the infected by the hair, pulling it back. It quickly stood back up, arms flailing at them.

It moved towards Weiss, its teeth about to sink into her arm.

No! Not his daughter!

Jacques leapt up, placing his hand over the infected's mouth to protect Weiss. Then, he felt the sharp teeth sink into his hand, and he cried out in agony from the unbelievable pain.

"DAD!!!" Weiss cried out.

Jacques held out his hand.

"STAND BACK!!!"

He backed up, grabbing a chain attached to one of the ladders' rails, and wrapping it around his waist.

He looked to the infected, still chewing on his hand.

This was once Whitley. His son. Somebody he had raised poorly. He wished he could take back everything. Be there for his children. Show his past self how delusional he truly was.

But it was too late for that. He couldn't run away from his past, and now it was time to face it.

"I'm sorry, son," he whispered.

He flung himself off the platform, the chain keeping him from hitting the ground, while Whitley hit the ground.

Jacques pulled himself back up onto the train, a dizziness beginning to wash over him. He panted, looking at the bloody bite mark on his hand.

He had been infected.

Jacques turned to see Momo holding a sobbing Weiss back, as she tried desperately to reach her father.

This was it. He was going to die. But he couldn't leave yet. He needed to figure out how the train worked.

He pulled the chain off his waist, and ran in to see the controls. Momo finally let go of Weiss, allowing her to run to her father.

Jacques peered inside. He saw two levers; one marked red, the other marked green.

He turned around, pulling Weiss into the room.

"Weiss, come here," he said.

Momo followed shortly after, and Jacques pulled her into the room along with Weiss.

"Sit down. Over there."

He sat Momo down at the conductor seat.

"Momo," he said. "Listen to me... Pay attention, now..." He pointed to the controls. "This must be the brake... When it's safe, pull this... Got it?"

She nodded, and Jacques quickly turned his attention to Weiss.

"Sweetie," he said, wiping the tears from her eyes. "Look at me, Weiss... It's okay... Look at me, sweetie... Weiss, listen to me... Stay with her, no matter what... Okay? Find your friends... Find a safe place to live..."

"DON'T GO!!!" Weiss cried. "DON'T GO, IT'S MY FAULT!!! Daddy, don't go... Don't go... Please... Stay with me, please don't go..."

Jacques looked down, seeing Weiss grasp his sleeve tight, unwilling to let go. He came to the heartbreaking realization that this was the last time he'd see his daughter, sobbing over his inevitable death. This was not what he wanted to see, and he lowered his head to keep from looking at her.

But as he heard the sounds of her crying, begging him not to go, his already broken heart shattered into a million pieces, and he began crying as well.

He reached for Weiss' hand, taking it, and tugging it off, before running as fast as he could to the exit before she could catch up.

"DADDY!!!" she screamed. "DADDY NO!!!"

But Momo grabbed her, holding her back, as Jacques shut the door, his tears flowing like a waterfall as he moved to the back of the train.

This was it. He was going to die here. The last thing he'd here was his daughter sobbing inside the train. There was so much he had wanted to do. He'd wanted to make up for everything he had done. He wanted to free the faunus in the mines. He'd wanted to grow a genuine relationship with Willow. He'd wanted to make everything better.

But, most of all, he'd wanted to be there for Weiss. He'd wanted to meet her friends. He'd wanted to see her dance. He'd wanted to listen to her sing. He'd wanted to see her become a true Huntress. He'd wanted to watch her grow. He'd wanted to meet the family he knew she'd eventually have. He'd wanted to be there for his daughter when she needed him the most.

He'd wanted to have a real family.

But now the tears were flowing free, and he sobbed loudly as he knew that everything he had wanted would never come true. He would die a guilty, broken man, with nothing left but his daughter.

Then, his crying began to subside, as memories began coming back to him.

He remembered when Weiss was born. The first time he had ever seen that little snowflake. He'd had a child before, but there was just something special about her. He had taken one look at her, and he'd known she was different.

He remembered pulling that infant to his chest, a smile on his face as he knew, that was his child. He remembered feeling those small feet for the first time.

He remembered knowing his daughter was destined for great things. And though she wasn't what he had expected, he knew he was right.

His daughter was special.

As he let his body drop from the train, the last expression he had was a big, goofy smile.

Because he knew, he'd done the best he could...