Swords of Intent (sequel to Rose of Titanium)

Chapter 5: Strength of A Pack

POV: 3rd

A man was dueling Qrow, slashing with his wrist blades at the bird man. He went to stab Qrow with his tail he kept hidden most of the fight as Qrow went to stab him in return, only for the two to stop at the sound of rushing wind. The two looked behind the faunus and saw a red blur speeding towards them. Qrow dove out the way as the scorpion man tried to block. Instead of feeling metal clash on metal like he thought would happen, the blur spun behind him at the last second and slashed his back, cutting off most of the tail. The blur stopped in time to reveal Ruby, glaring at the faunus with hatred. The man screamed in pain and held the stub that used to be his tail before glaring back at Ruby. "YOU LITTLE BITCH!!!" He growled through gritted teeth as tears of pain started to form in his eyes.

"You're an idiot" Ruby spoke before rushing the man again. The faunus swung at Ruby with hus right arm, only to dodge Rubys slash that nearly amputated it. The man did a few handsprings backward and began to fire at Ruby with his wrist weapons. The girl twirled Crimson Light in circles, deflecting the bullets. Qrow took the distraction to kick the man away and land a slash on his chest.

The man staggered back and glared at them. "I'll bring her to my goddess if it's the last thing I do!"

"You'll die trying" a voice said from behind him. The faunus turned around, only to see Rtas come out of active camo as the alien cut him in half from the waist.

The three watched as the person fell to the ground. "What should we do with him?" Ruby asked

Rtas simply began walking away. "Leave him for the grimm, we have somewhere to be." Qrow wordlessly followed, letting Ruby take the back. Rtas stopped took a sniff in the air before turning to Qrow. "Where are you hit?"

Qrow chuckled and showed them a scrape on his side. "Don't worry about me, just a flesh wound."

"No, sit down" Ruby demanded as the others finally showed up. "Jaune, got the first aid?"

"Yeah, here" Jaune replied as he went over and gave it to Ruby. Ruby started to treat her fathers wound as the rest took the time to catch their breath.

"How much farther IS Mistral?" Nora complained.

"Jaune should know, he's got the map." Pyrrha said with a smile.

Jaune let out nervous chuckle as he looked away and rubbed the back of his neck. "Uh, about that... I uh... I might've dro-"

"I have it" Rtas spoke up and helf it out, Jaune let out a sigh of relief.

"We should go while we can" Qrow said, the others agreed and continued on their journey.

Eventually they stopped to camp for the night. Ruby glared into the fire as memories from the past crept up to the surface. Rtas looked over. "What troubles you?"

It was a few seconds before Ruby answered. "The person he called his goddess, it HAS to be Cinder."

"Wrong, it's Salem" Qrow said, getting everyones attention. "You all need to to know some things, some things that the rest of the world doesn't know."

(In Atls)

Weiss sat on her bed as she listened to her father yell at her. "Do you have ANY idea what your little stunt cost us?!"

Weiss looked at him and tried to speak. "I-"

"AND DON'T YOU DARE THINK I'M ONLY TALKING ABOUT LIEN HERE!!!" Jacque interrupted, not letting Weiss say what was on her mind. "Our reputation, our... Our..." Jacque scratched the back of his head as he took a breath to calm down.

Weiss looked toward the ground as she held her hands in her lap. "I want to leave."

"I beg your pardon?" Jacque let his arm fall back down to his side.

Weiss looked him in the eyes with determination. "I said I want to leave. I don't want to stay here anymore, I don't want to stay in Atlas anymore!"

"Young lady, I don't give a DAMN about what you want!"

Weiss stood up. "Of COURSE you don't! All you care about is your money, your reputation, the company that YOU stole from my mo-" Weiss received a backhanded slap. She glared at him as she held her cheeck.

Jacque tried to regain his composure. "This behavior of yours is incredibly disappointing. You couldn't possibly imagine the lengths I've gone too to keep this family where it is. If you think running off like your sister is going to make the Schnee name stronger, you're wrong. Siding with her only divides us."

Weiss stood her ground, refusing to back down. "I'm not siding with anyone. I'm doing what I feel is right, and that does NOT include wasting my time with these clueless people in Atlas." Weiss watched as her father started to walk out the door. "The Schnee family name isn't yours to uphold. It's mine, and I'll do it as a huntress."

Jacque stopped about halfway to turn to Weiss. "No, you won't. You're not leaving Atlas, you're not to leave the manor grounds unless I specifically allow it. You ARE going to remain here, out of sight and out of trouble. Until you and I can come to an agreement on your future."

"What?! Weiss took a step forward as her eyes widened and her glare became more intense.

Jacque rolled his eyes. "You're preumpusation to simply have whatever you want is a clear sign of our failure as parents-"

"YOUR failure!" Weiss pointed at him. "Mother did nothing wrong, just you! You can't just-"

Jacque slapped her again. "You better stop this barbaric behavior NOW! That supposed NBLE team James told me of were CLEARLY a terrible influence!"

"YOU'RE WRONG!!! THEY WERE MORE OF A FAMILY TO ME THAN YOU EVER WERE, THAN YOU'LL EVER BE!!!"

Jacque turned and stormed out the room. "AND WHILE YOU'RE THINKING OF YOUR ACTIONS YOU CAN KISS YOUR TITLE AS HEIR GOODBYE!!!" Weiss watched as her father flung the door open. She saw Whitley on the other side; she couldn't tell what his expression was at first because he changed it the second the door opened, regaining the smug look he almost always had.

Weiss turned and layed down, burying her face in her pillows as she cried for the spartans that gave their lives to save hers time and time again. Once she was done she decided to move her furniture around to practice her semblance. After much trial and error she was finally able to summon an Arma Gigas.

POV: Whitley

I calmly walked to my room and shut the door. I took a few seconds to let myself go before rushing to look for my radio. Come on, come on! Where is it?! I opened my sock drawer and found it buried in the back. Once I layed eyes on I felt as if the weight of the world was lifted off my shoulders. I held the button on the side to send my voice to the recipient. "Hey, are you there?"

"I'm here, what do you need?" A distorted voice asked, even though I've been talking to them for over a month it still felt a little odd that the person would hide their identity.

I shook those thoughts out of my head. "It's Weiss, I think she's going to sneak off and find her team. Can you keep her safe?"

"I will, thanks cor the heads up" the voice replied

"No problem" I said as I laid down to relax.

"There's one thing I need you to do though."

"What's that?" I asked

"Let me know EXACTLY when she leaves, it'll give me time to find her."

I gulped "Will do" I responded before getting up to put the radio back, thinking of the consequences if I were ever to be caught. Dad would kill me... Though, Weiss' safety is what I care about more.