Chapter 22

Legacy

Yang was having a shitty week. Her shittiest week at Beacon yet, in fact, despite that they were only a few days in. Why was she having a shitty week? Because everyone she cared for had decided that they were going to go wack at the same time.

Everyone besides Ruby, the little sister and not her time-travelling counterpart, that is. They all seemed to be in some collective, major-ass funk. Dad was way too quiet, acting downright mopey at times, something Yang hadn't seen since he had been recovering from Summer's death. It was worrying her. And Qrow! Qrow was a bundle of angsty rage, if Yang didn't know the man was nearing his forties she'd assume him some hormonal teenage boy. He could be seen stomping down the halls – still eerily silent in spite of his violent movement – and had developed quite the reputation with the student body. More than a few were already intimidated by soon to be teacher of the newly created 'Stealth and Intelligence' course, despite that it wouldn't be starting till next week.

Weiss was… well honestly, she was a ticking time bomb of furious racism, wilful ignorance, and growing depressive instability. Both Ruby and Yang had seen some of what Rose had intended to show Weiss, and plainly put it was horrifying. The videos, pictures, statistics; the sheer volume of incontrovertible proof arrayed against the image Weiss had built of her father was staggering. Staggering and beyond any evil Yang had seen before.

If she didn't know that the White Fang were being manipulated, Yang wasn't sure she wouldn't have dropped out of Beacon to join immediately, the fact that she was a human be damned. The faunus at the Schnee Dust mines were nothing more than legal slaves. The S.D.C records actually referred to them as livestock. They were starved, beaten, murdered, raped, and a number of other of incomprehensible crimes were inflicted upon them. Their humanity was degraded until they were either dead, hollow shells of the people they used to be, or damaged so severely they become little better than the beasts the S.D.C sees them as.

Weiss was not taking what she had seen well. All her life she'd been fed shovel after shovel of bullshit about the faunus being less than human, but after seeing the horrors her own father inflicted upon those people she saw much more humanity in them than he. And this shook her to the core. In public she was perfectly alright, composed and stoic, the very image of the dedicated, hardworking heiress she strove to be. Behind closed doors the courtesy fled like birds from a thunderstorm.

She pored over the records, doing her best to disprove the equality of the faunus, trying her utmost to justify her father's crimes. Every piece of vitriolic filth she'd ever heard was parroted and cited as she tried to excuse each charge, image, and video. And this is where her beautiful, patient, caring little sister came in. Like water off a duck's back Ruby ignored every hateful word Weiss directed at the faunus, debating every single point the shaken heiress would bring up.

The faunus were lesser beings?

'Prove it, tell me why.'

'They aren't as intelligent, mere beasts compared to us humans.'

'Your proof?'

'It's common knowledge that the faunus are little more than animals!'

'Ok, my turn. Here's a dissertation on the intelligence levels of faunus vs humans, backed by a series of studies, and numerous well renowned, neutral scientists.'

And just like that, Weiss learned. The icy girl prided herself on her knowledge, and when something was disproven so heavily and then actually informed her of the facts, backed by thousands of manhours and years of intense study? She couldn't disregard it. She couldn't ignore that truth. And it hurt, god Yang could see how much it hurt her to accept that. That every step she took on the road to seeing the faunus as equals was taking a step toward the fact that her father was a monster.

Yang couldn't express how glad she was that Ruby was doing this for Weiss. She knew she wouldn't be able to. After just half an hour of Weiss tearing into the faunus as 'disgusting half-breed wretches that should have been drowned at birth' she was ready to punch the girl's lights out. She would have if she hadn't left to visit Rose.

And it hurt to see Weiss like this, she admitted. She cared for the girl on more than a platonic level, so to see her act out in this manner was incredibly off-putting to Yang. How could she be falling for someone so awful? But no, Rose explained that it would pass, that Weiss was still the caring, shy girl she had always been on inside. She was just going through an incredibly hard time, and Yang should understand that throwing off the yoke of years of conditioning was no simple thing.

Yang didn't leave Rose's side feeling much better. Yes, what she had said to her had helped her come to terms with Weiss' situation, but now she was worried about Rose. Her newfound big sis looked so tired and defeated, so lost… Yang worried. She'd thought that once Rose had shown that she was actually ok, perfectly able to function despite her unbelievable trip through time she wouldn't need to watch out for her. Except Rose wasn't ok, and Yang saw it.

She suspected that the older Ruby was coming to terms with her situation, with the loss of her old life. She'd hoped that the battle-scarred woman had already accepted it in the time she'd spent by herself in the past fortnight, but it seemed that was wishful thinking. Rose was doing exactly what Ruby did when she was going through a hard time; she was bottling everything up and putting on a mask of happiness. Yang could smack herself for not seeing it earlier, but even now that she knew it was happening there was not much she could do.

Could she just say 'Sorry I was horribly murdered in front of you in the future, Rose, but it's ok cause I'm perfectly fine now!' or something? God, Yang really didn't know. She was still coming to terms with everything herself! Being a Huntress in training, she accepted that she was liable to injury and death. As a warrior it came in the job description. But actually hearing a true story of your own demise? Well shit, it wasn't exactly heartening.

Yang was confused, worried, frustrated, anxious, angry, and just so Dust damned tired of this mess of a week. One positive she could see was that Blake herself didn't seem to afflicted with the drama-bug that had been travelling around. Her ravenette partner had been disappearing frequently in the last few days, ostensibly to avoid the volatile Weiss. Yang couldn't really blame her, either. She and Weiss weren't particularly close yet, and Yang had her own suspicions about Blake.

No, Blake was probably doing the right thing by staying far, far away from the imminent eruption of Mt. Schnee.

And what was Yang doing in the middle of this huge mess? She was once again picking up the mantle of big sister, extending the encompassing of her protection to Weiss. She could see the growing exhaustion, the mounting trepidation in Weiss' dulling eyes. Every day, as time progressed, and more of what she thought she knew was proved wrong, she seemed to shrink in on herself. Ruby had the unenviable, hurtful job of tearing apart Weiss' world piece by piece, and Yang was responsible for Weiss' wellbeing. She was the pillar of support for the struggling heiress. Food, homework, and even making sure the girl stuck to her hygiene schedule, Yang made sure of all these things.

Weiss eventually wouldn't say a word about the faunus in Yang's presence, and the tall blonde would reciprocate. No talk of fathers, or slaves, Yang stuck by Weiss, a shoulder to lean on. Weiss didn't speak a word of thanks, but then again she didn't speak much at all. But seeing as she sought out the simple comforting presence Yang provided said everything she needed in volumes.

Ruby sometimes did as well, seeking reassurances that what she was doing was the right thing from Yang like she had done for as long as she could remember. Yang did her best to quell the feelings of sadness when she realised that as often as Ruby came to her for a moment of comfort, she just as often went to Rose. In fact, seeing as Yang hadn't really provided any advice for the last while, she could only assume that Ruby was seeking guidance from her older counterpart more than she was from Yang. Yes, Ruby came to her for comfort, but the guiding hand that she had so often lent in the past was now proffered by Rose.

Yang wasn't completely sure how she felt about that.

To top it all off, after nearly four days of worrying, Weiss had looked dramatically worse today, and Yang couldn't quite shake off the feeling that things were coming to a head…

Yang's feeling had been right, and she wasn't sure if she was happy about it. For that matter, neither was Ruby. Both were sitting next to Weiss, who had gone into near catatonia as soon as they had reached the dorm that night. The room was dark and quiet, lit only by the scroll in Weiss' hands. All three of the girls were sitting on Rose's old bed, still stuffed in the corner of the room on the floor. Yang sat to the right of Weiss, Ruby to the left, all leaning against the wall.

Ruby flinched at the sight of a bruised, dirty faunus woman with dark hair. Yang stiffened also; the likeliness to Summer Rose was discomfiting to the extreme, and it brought up a bubbling rush of pain, anger and horror to see the mirror image of their beloved mother so abused and defeated. Her gaunt features stared out of the slate of the scroll, every sharp line of her haunted face a damning accusation that cut to the bone.

"Do you know her?" Weiss asked unemotionally, not a trace of the exhaustion written all over her features creeping into her voice.

"No." Ruby and Yang said in unison.

"Out of every one we have seen, why did she startle you?" Weiss questioned, tracing the woman's face with an idle feature.

"She looks like Summer." Yang murmured, ignoring the look Ruby shot her. She'd never been comfortable calling her mom in front of anyone except her little sister and father. Yang didn't want to tell them that she did it because when she had been younger, she was afraid that her birth mother would somehow hear her and leave her forever. She'd outgrown that fear, of course, but the habit had never left her.

"Who was she?" Weiss asked, and both sisters look at her askance. "You've referred to her in past tense in my presence in the past, but I don't actually know who she is, beyond the fact that she is important to both of you."

"She was Ruby's mother." Yang informed her softly.

"And yours." Ruby insisted, and her older sister bowed her head in acknowledgment, accepting the subtle reprimand in her sister's tone.

"And mine."

"What was she like?"

Ruby took in a slow breath, stretching herself out on the mattress, her calves now resting on cool, smooth wooden floor instead of the soft bedding. "She was… she was amazing. And not just because she was my mom, you know? She was kind, and most of the time she was pretty soft spoken, but she could be really stern. If it had been anyone else, I would say she would sound like a fairly average woman, but she wasn't. She was the kind of person that people found themselves drawn to her because as soon as they met her, it was like she was a missing part of their lives, they just couldn't imagine living without her."

"Dad said the same thing." Yang murmured, allowing Weiss to lean into her, taking the scroll from her hands. "He always mentioned how she was 'a soft song in this noisy world, rounding the edges of the sadness, the cruelty, and making everything good she touched all the brighter'."

"Dad said that?" Ruby asked softly, staring at the ceiling. "I can't imagine…"

"You were pretty young when she passed," Yang told her gently. "And dad was… he was pretty messed up. He said a lot of things about her, told me how he really felt about her after she died."

"Yeah?"

"He really loved her." Yang said with melancholy smile, meeting Ruby's upturned gaze with her own downturned eyes. "It's sad, but it made me realise something sappy like true love really does exist."

"I've always felt like I was lucky for having such an amazing mom." Ruby admitted with a little hiccup.

"She was something else." Yang agreed. "Super-mom; slayer of monsters, baker of cookies, and hair-stylist extraordinaire."

"She sounds a lot like Rose." Weiss said to them.

'Ruby Rose, sister, Hunter, and baker extraordinaire, at your service.'

"Yeah." Yang sighed. "More than you think."

"She is, isn't she?" Ruby whispered slowly, clenching her fists in the sheets. "How? Why?"

"Maybe you should ask Rose." Yang suggested, fighting down a blush as Weiss leaned into a one armed embrace whilst worrying her bottom lip with her teeth.

"Maybe…" Ruby allowed, closing her eyes and sinking into the feeling of the soft bedding beneath her.

"Thank you." Weiss said to them both.

"No worries, Ice-Princess." Yang said cheekily, jostling the sombre looking girl slightly.

"That's okay, Weiss." Ruby told her, turning her head to give her a small smile.

"My mother and father don't love each other." Weiss said bluntly, getting twin startled looks from the sister duo. "At least, not anymore. When I was younger, I think they really loved each other. I remember them smiling a lot more, at me, at our workers, at one another… but it started changing after my little sister was born. I remember how overjoyed my parents were to have another child," Weiss said with a small smile. "A real blessing. And I too was happy; I'd always yearned for a brother or sister. The problem with growing up wealthy is that childhood friends are notoriously hard to come across, and fickle at best."

Weiss sighed, and brought her hands together, interlacing them together as she had oft practiced. "And then it came to light that my mother would be unable to have any more children." She clenched her hands together tighter. "Father was absolutely furious. And my mother… she seemed so anguished. She started spending a lot of time with Winter, looking after her by her own hand rather than leaving much of it to the serving staff."

"I always thought they were upset because they wanted more children." She finished with a low, bitter chuckle. "And it was true, but it was not because they wanted to raise another child, it was because they wanted a son. A strong, male heir to carry on the 'noble' Schnee legacy." Weiss spat the word noble out acidly, viciously gesturing toward the now abandoned scroll.

"Father was furious." Weiss said again. "Winter was too young to remember, but I do. I know how much he changed, much as my mother did. Father wished for a male heir, but he was not so dishonourable that he would abandon the woman he barrened, he would not lay with another out of wedlock."

"He wished for a son but all he had was me." She uttered scornfully. "No longer was I Weiss Schnee, beloved daughter of mom and dad. No, I was now the Schnee heir, noble offspring of my mother and father. 'Yes, lord-father. No, lord-father. No, lady-mother. Yes, lady-mother.' And so on, every day, from then on."

"I was no longer their child, I was their heir." Weiss emphasised the word hatefully. "They raised me to be the perfect legacy. Studious, polite, commanding, cunning, perceptive, and shrewd but never happy, or loved. I was not their daughter anymore. And it became quite clear that whereas my father was invested in my wellbeing, he could care less about Winter, my own little sister."

"She was - and truthfully still is - the brightest part of my youth. I love her dearly." Weiss told them, her voice turning warm, before it lost all tone once more. "And so did our mother. I don't know if it was in response to all the attention my father paid to me and not to Winter, but my mother doted on her. She spent more time with her in those first few years than I have ever experienced, even now, after all these years. Whereas I was raised without the love of either of my parents, she at least was brought up with the love of our mother."

"Father was… father is cruel and demanding. He accepted nothing less than the best, in everything. And mother did nothing to stop it, to my knowledge she did not once protest at my handling. She simply gave up." Weiss told them matter-of-factly, her even tone belying the deep pain she held at saying those few simple words. "I think Winter was jealous, at one stage. Jealous when she realised that the reason father never paid her any mind was because of me. One day, when my mother was busy organising some function or another, she escaped to follow me in a day of instruction."

"I noticed, of course. I do not think my father did, nor my other teachers, but I did. How could I not? She was my little sister, and you two of all people should realise that there is a certain sense you develop with your sister, some level of bond beyond the norm." She said, getting two soft acknowledgments of her statement. "She came into my room crying that night. She wanted to know why 'dad hated big-sister Weiss so much'. Imagine that. After a single day of watching my lessons, she was convinced our father hated me. And I had lessons all day, every day, all week, every week."

"And in a way it was true, he was not gentle in his teaching, or his reprimands. His displeasure was never a subtle thing." Weiss murmured, lifting a hand to stare at lightly scarred knuckles. "She wanted to know why he was punishing me so much, every day. I told her it was because I wasn't perfect. She told me that even she knew that no one was perfect. And I told her that our sire would expect nothing less of me, that it hurt too much to be anything but perfect."

"It was around then that she told my mother, I suspect." Weiss sighed. "But it was too late, my mother had already distanced herself, had already abandoned me to my fate, as it were. Winter saw how my parents treated me, my mother especially because she knew just how loving the woman could be, and she hated her for it. I wish it could have been otherwise, for Winter's sake and nothing else, because I did not want to damage what she had with our mother. I didn't want to hurt her."

"But… it didn't work out that way." Weiss said slightly mournfully. "I was thirteen, and Winter ten when we realised we both, on some level, despised our parents. I despised my father for tearing my childhood and my mother away, whom I also disdained for her abandonment of me. Winter became vicious when it came to supporting me; to the point where she made it quite clear to my mother that she would not abide being treated like an only child. Our mother never recovered from that blow, I think, and she became even meeker, more reserved as the days went by, obsessed with her self-loathing. And Winter barely knew my father, outside the fact that he was a violent, totalitarian bigot."

"Time came and went, and I was still under the tutelage of my lord-father. Until I told him I planned to become a Huntress, that is." Weiss smiled dryly at the memory. "He was not much pleased, I remember. Of course there wasn't much he could say to protest, seeing as he'd always espoused the strength and honour of the history of warriors in our family. He was convinced it was too dangerous for his heir to become a Hunter. And I realised something; if I wasn't available, if I was to pursue my career as a Hunter he would name Winter the heir."

Weiss clenched her fists in her lap, blinking away furious tears. "I would not – could not abandon her to endure what I had all those years. I wouldn't let that man so much as touch her." She spat out the words, but then, unexpectedly, a broad smile crept onto her face and she laughed in delight at the memories. "But it seems Winter was too smart by half. She, like I, wishes to be a hunter. Do you know what she did?" Weiss asked rhetorically.

"No." Ruby replied dutifully, fully absorbed in Weiss' emotional tale.

"She managed to sneak her way into a spot at the Atlas Youth Hunting Academy." Weiss laughed lightly, wiping away tears from her eyes. "Father hardly paid mind to her requests, and mother was half drunk most days, so it was both surprising and unsurprising that my sister had managed to get them to sign the permissions without them realising. The cheeky brat tricked them both!" She giggled, getting a chuckle from Yang and a similar giggle from Ruby, both of them glad that there was happiness in this so far sombre story. "Oh, how absolutely livid father was when he found out. This was last year, some time. I was sixteen, Winter thirteen, and the both of us now inducted into the world of Hunters."

"As you should know, it is impossible to rescind permission for your child to become a Hunter once you give it. Too many parents getting cold feet. Even if our sire brought down the collective might of the Schnee Dust Company's legal teams, they wouldn't be able to crack a case to get us removed against our wishes. Despite his protests, we were, and are now possibly forever out of his reach."

Weiss' smile at this looked completely shattered, a bittersweet pain washing over her features. "I got into Beacon immediately. With my combat ability, scholastic records, and my family name I was what they called a 'shoe in'. I was sad to leave Winter, and she I, but I know that she's happy at her new school. She has friends, real friends, and she loves learning to fight." Weiss snorted at this, looking up at Yang, ice blues meeting her lilac eyes. "In this, she reminds of you. Battle nuts, the both you two." She said with an eye roll and a fond grin.

Yang's cheeks pinked, and she scratched her cheek sheepishly. It was true, and usually she would not be so bashful about her fondness for violence, but the way in Weiss had said it… well, if she was to indulge her inner romantic, she'd say it made her heart flutter. If she was not so inclined, she'd just say that having a cute girl pressed up to your side, teasing and grinning at you with her perfect teeth and crystalline blue eyes was a turn on.

"So we escaped, in our own way. And here I am, training to be what I want to be, a Huntress." Weiss said happily, but the way her body shook against Yang's told her of repressed emotion. "But you want to know something?"

"A part of me was doing this for my father." Weiss admitted, tears burning in her eyes. "I thought that if he knew I was strong, maybe things could change. It would never be as it was when I was a child, but I thought that maybe, just maybe, I could get my dad back." She hiccupped, wrapping her arms around her chest. "I knew he wasn't a great person, but I didn't think he was bad, either. I knew he was worth my respect, and that if he could come to respect me in kind, it must surely mean something? It must mean I have some worth, being respected by the most powerful man on the planet. It must mean that he, on some level, cares for me."

Weiss bit back a sob, even as Yang rubbed her arms reassuringly and Ruby lay a comforting hand on her knee. "But that's a lie. Everything, absolutely everything he taught me is a lie! Our family legacy isn't proud, noble, or great! It's vicious, disgusting, inhumane, and capable of pure evil, wrought from the suffering of others. Everything I thought I would one day inherit, that I would one day proudly bare the burden of responsibility for under the mantle of Lady Schnee is fucking abominable. And my father! My father is not a great man, or a good man, he is not even a bad man, he is the worst man. The most abhorrent, cruel, malicious, contemptible, materialistic, savage human being on the planet." She choked, sobbing softly.

"Oh god, those poor people. How could he do those things? How could someone I used to love so much be so utterly vile. I thought he was worth respect, but he's a sick, depraved, unrepentant monster. I didn't believe the faunus were equal with humans, I didn't really care that they suffered, because they were lesser beings." Weiss cried, chest heaving as she poured her heart out. "But I was wrong! Everything he said was lies! The faunus are just people… just people, and my father tortures them for profit!"

"How could he? Why? He was my father, my dad. I can't… I – ju- I can't-" Weiss sobbed harshly, and Yang ignored the sting of tears in her own eyes, tugging the distraught girl to her bit harder. She wrapped her arms tighter around Weiss, using her semblance to provide that extra bit of warmth, of comfort. Ruby herself had sat up, hugging Weiss from the front. Weiss was leaning on Ruby's shoulder, her body shaking as she wept in the embrace of her teammates. "Daddy." She cried softly, heartbroken.

The three of them were unsure how much time passed in their collective embrace. But eventually, Weiss quieted, her shivering stopped. Ruby moved back, and Yang eased up on her hug. The only sound in the room was of Weiss uneven breathing, and the the soft sniffles of Ruby, whom - from the redness of her eyes - Yang could see had also been crying.

"Hey Weissy," Yang called out softly, jostling Weiss lightly to get her attention. Weiss turned up to look at her, face red, tear tracks running down her face. "You feeling better?" She asked, because what idiot would ask 'are you okay?' in the sort of situation.

"Don't call me Weissy." The white haired girl bit out, wiping her face on the long sleeve of her coat.

Ruby huffed out a small laugh. "Seems like it." She answered for her, giving them both a small, cheeky, very Rose-like grin.

"Is this a bad time?" Blake's voice cut into the room suddenly. The three sitting occupants started lightly, looking at the now open door. They'd apparently been preoccupied enough not to notice the slice of light that had poured in from the hallway outside. Blake stood in the doorway, supporting a crutch-wielding Rose.

"What's up? Did something happen?" Rose asked worriedly, scanning each of the three sitting girls for injuries. Weiss, noticing Rose's sudden inspection, understood that the older woman might be panicking as the result of some long engrained habit, like she half expected to come back to maimed friends.

"We're..." Weiss floundered for a second, before settling for, "fine." Rose didn't look convinced. "I was just coming to terms with who my father really is." She explained, voice slightly pained.

Realisation flitted across Rose's features, and Weiss was comforted to see sorrowful regret as well. Apparently, her time travelling confidante hadn't relished the thought of doing this to her, but seen that it was necessary. "You guys hungry?" Rose asked suddenly.

"Uh yeah, I am, kinda." Yang said, then she looked down at the other two on the bed. "You two?"

"Starving." Ruby moaned dramatically.

"I could eat." Weiss said levelly.

"Perfect, Blake and I will go fetch dinner." Rose said enthusiastically.

"How will you carry the food, exactly?" Blake questioned, pointing out that Rose was on crutches.

"Moral support." Rose supplied happily. "Let's go, woman, we've got people to feed!" She exclaimed, already hobbling away.

"So impatient." Blake muttered, walking out and closing the door behind her.

FAVOURITE~REVIEW~FOLLOW!

Feelsy. And wow, Weiss says a lot. I don't know if it's a good or a bad thing, but it's I felt it was necessary for nothing less than an extensive understanding of Weiss family, and her own personal history.

Next chapter, even more feels, and Yang beats the shit out of some mooks.

On a different, altogether more sad note, Monty Oum has passed away. I can't say I knew him, having only talked to the man very briefly but a few times. I can't even say that I'll miss him as a friend, having not known him on a personal level.

What I can say is that I, and everyone who appreciated his work, will miss his mind, and his talent. I'll miss the worlds he created, and his driven visions that have supplied me with so many hours of enjoyment, and moments of inspiration. And the world will miss him, because everyone should mourn the loss of a good man, no matter who they are.

My heart goes out to his family, and his friends.

Rest in peace, Monty.