Chapter Text
Ruby Rose:
Ringing, that’s all Ruby could hear— this constant, annoying ringing. She didn’t know what was causing it or where it was coming from, but it was piercing. It got louder and louder, as if it was getting closer. Everything around her was white. She was confused, scared. The ringing got louder and louder and louder and—
“Ahh!” Ruby shot up in her bed, in a cold sweat. It was morning. She was currently in her room at Weiss’s place. The room she was staying in was massive, honestly too big for her liking, but for it being Weiss’s home, it made sense. Her rose patterned pajamas were nearly soaked in sweat.
“The hell was that dream?” Ruby said to herself, breathing heavily.
As she slowly calmed down, she jumped from the sudden ringing that began again. It was her scroll going off. She grabbed her scroll a second too late but saw on the screen that she had about eight missed calls from Yang. Then, a message appeared from her sister.
“Be there in about thirty minutes. You better not be asleep when we arrive or I’ll let the little terrors on you.”
For Ruby, she knew exactly what Yang meant. Ruby immediately jumped out of bed and headed to the bathroom in her room. She started getting ready for the crazy day ahead of her. First she took a shower, struggling with the temperature with all the weird knobs. Then after the shower she brushed her teeth, dried and brushed her hair, and finally got dressed.
Ruby ended up wearing her combat outfit for the day since they were gonna be practicing for the ceremony at the tournament before the festival started tomorrow, and subsequently, the tournament the next day. She was a little annoyed about having to go through all the setup. She just wanted to hang out with her team all day, but it was the life of a huntress, and an adult.
On her way out, Ruby grabbed Crescent Rose and attached it to the back of her waist. She rushed down stairs to try and help Weiss get ready for the chaos that was about to arrive. But before she could even get a word out, she was tackled to the ground by two of the most adorable things on Remnant.
Those two little bundles of joy happened to be Anna and Ellie, Yang and Blake’s two little girls. Anna was seven years old, recently turning the age. She had yellow eyes like Blake and bright yellow hair like Yang. The difference between her and Yang in appearance was that she had two little cat ears on top of her head. The other bundle of fun clinging to her was Ellie, she was six years old, a year younger than Anna. She was more like Blake, while also having two cat ears on her head. She had Yang's lilac eyes while having Blake’s dark black hair.
“Aunt Ruby!” they both said in unison as they tightly clung to her.
“Ack— too, tight… can't breathe…” Ruby said as she was laying on the ground, not entirely minding if this was her last view ever as she was slowly suffocated by her nieces.
Once they released her, Ruby slowly got up and looked at them.
“What are you doing here already? I thought you guys weren’t gonna get here for another half hour.”
Ruby then heard another familiar voice. “Ruby, I sent you that text like two hours ago. You on another planet or something, sis?”
Ruby turned and looked at the kitchen island. Sitting there was her older sister Yang and her now wife, and also member of team RWBY, Blake. Standing on the other side of the counter was Weiss. All three of them had cups of coffees in their hands and Weiss walked over to Ruby and handed her one also.
“If we had to wait any longer for you to get up, I was gonna come up there and pour this on you while you slept,” Weiss said in an annoyed manner.
“Sorry Weiss, I forgot to set my alarm,” Ruby said as she graciously took the hot drink and took a sip, it warmed her up.
“She actually wanted to do that right when we arrived but I talked her out of it. Figured if you slept in this late then you probably needed it,” said Blake with a smile.
Blake looked more like her usual self. She had grown her hair back out, the length fell all the way back down her back. She wore a tight black jacket with four large white stripes, two down the center of her jacket and one on each sleeve. Two more thick white stripes went around the waist of the jacket like a belt. The sleeves cuffed at the wrist, both of the cuffs white. Behind. It had two separate coat tails that both went down to the back of her knees and the undercolor with a deep purple, indicating the inside color of the jacket. Blake also wore a light gray belt with a pouch on one side to hold ammo for Gambel Shroud. A leg strap with a pouch was attached on the right with dust crystals inside for her semblance. Her pants were skin tight and bright white with her symbol on the left side of the left leg. The pants cuffed at her ankles, right above her black combat boots.
Yang on the other hand had a biker mom look to her outfit. Yang's hair seemed to grow out even more, making Ruby wonder how it was even possible. On top of her head was a pair of biker goggles with orange lenses. Around her neck was her usual orange bandana. She had on a darker brown jacket with a pop up collar. Her sleeves cuffed at her elbows. On her left arm, a black sleeve with her symbol went all the way down to her fingertips then cut off, revealing the tips. Her right arm had her mechanical attachment, clearly tinkered with since Ruby last saw it. Her jacket at the moment was unbuttoned, underneath she was wearing a plain white crop top. She had on gray pants held up by a brown belt with a large silver belt buckle on the front. On the left side of her belt, a yellow and black pouch that held more ammo for Amber Cecilia. On her left leg, she had a purple bandana wrapped around it. And she had on brown combat boots that went up to right below her knees.
“So, what were you doing last night that caused you to sleep in so late?” asked Yang.
“Nothing really, I mean me and Weiss were out late last night but we didn’t do anything crazy enough to tire us out.”
Weiss chimed in, “She was probably up late thinking about that man we met last night.”
Blake and Yang both looked at Ruby with surprised faces. “A man? What, did he creep you guys out? Is there someone that I need to put in the ground, baby sis?” Yang said, always ready to give a beating.
“It’s probably more along the lines of she couldn’t take her eyes off him,” Weiss said.
“T—that’s not true at all! Weiss, stop making stuff up!” Ruby said with a slight blush across her face, embarrassed.
“Awww, does my baby sister have a little crush?” Yang said in a teasing voice.
“Yang! It’s not like that, I mean he was nice and he paid for our meals but we barely know him All I know is that his name is Adrian and he’s in Atlas visiting his sisters,” Ruby said, even a bit more embarrassed now.
“He was a little weird though. The convenient timing of him showing up seemed a bit too convenient,” Weiss reflected. “However, he did seem like a nice man.”
“Did he give you his last name, or maybe a place to find him?” Blake asked.
“No actually, he didn't. He seemed very private about his life,” Ruby said.
Weiss looked at the time. “Well, we can wonder about Ruby’s new crush later. We gotta get going if we are gonna get to the school in time to meet with Winter.”
“We get to go see Ms. Winter? I haven’t seen her in forever!” Allie said all excited.
Yang picked up her younger child and put her on her shoulders while Blake grabbed the hand of the older one. “Yes we are, I’m sure Winter will be just as excited to see you two as well,” said Blake.
Weiss spoke as they walked out the door of her place. “That’s an understatement. My sister has been so stressed lately that I swear her hair is gonna start falling out.”
“How come?” Ruby asked.
“Honestly, I don't know, she won’t tell me”.
Yang chimed in. “Well knowing Winter, it’s nothing she can’t handle.”
Team RWBY and the children made their way down to the street and got into a large car that comfortably fit the six of them. Weiss told the driver to head to Atlas Academy and they nodded in response. As they all made their way there, Anna and Ellie were amazed by the sheer size of the buildings they drove by. To them, it was like they were tiny people among giants. Everyone got a hoot out of their reactions. After about a 15 minute drive, they finally arrived at the front of Atlas Academy. The driver got out and opened the car doors for them, letting them all out, before closing them and wishing Weiss a good day, after which he got into the car and drove off.
They stood on the sidewalk of the main path towards the center of the academy campus. They then started walking towards the main campus building. As they walked, students and teachers alike took notice of team RWBY as they made their way across the campus grounds. They whispered and took photos of them. Anyone could easily tell just how popular team RWBY was.
“So Weiss, any idea how this is all supposed to go? I mean don’t get me wrong, I love being the center of attention but having the whole world honor us? Seems a bit much,” Yang said as she walked, holding Ellie on her shoulders.
“Your guess is as good as mine. As far as I know, this is just a plan and practice run for the real event two days from now. The only thing I know for sure is that Ruby is supposed to have a sparring match with someone of Winter's choosing,” Weiss said.
“Winter’s choosing?” asked Blake.
“Yes, although she apparently has yet to decide on who, or so she says. If I had to guess, she'll just fight Ruby herself,” Weiss said.
“Weiss, I love your sister, but I don’t wanna fight her. She still scares me sometimes.” Ruby shivered at the thought.
“You may not have a choice. My sister is stubborn.”
“That’s not a surprise, runs in the family,” Yang chuckled as she said.
Weiss gave off an annoyed look but didn’t say anything. Yang wasn’t entirely wrong.
“Mommy, what does spar mean?” asked Ellie.
“Sparring is when two or more people fight each other for practice,” said Blake.
“But I don't want Aunt Ruby to fight Ms. Winter,” Ellie said with a sad tone.
Ruby looked at her. “Trust me kiddo, we won’t hurt each other. Think of it as just playing a little rough is all, just friendly roughhousing”
Anna spoke up. “Like when mommy and mommy roughhouse at night?”
All of team RWBY fell silent at the comment. There was enough heat coming off the embarrassment of Yang and Blake that it could melt all the snow on Solitas.
“N—not quite Anna,” said Weiss.
“Oh, ok!” Said Anna.
Everyone was quiet the rest of the way. They eventually made it to the main building. Once inside Weiss let them through a series of hallways until they made it to a large door. All six walked in and inside was Winter, Marrow and Robin.
“Ms. Winter!” The two little girls screamed as they went running over and gave Winter a massive hug. Winter tried her best to not really react but gave in to the children, hugging them back. Winter could tell without even looking that Marrow and Robin had shit eating grins right now.
“It’s improper to not return hugs,” Winter scoffed in a haughty tone.
“Whatever you say, Ms. Winter,” Robin said, poking fun.
“It’s good to finally see you again, Winter!” said Ruby.
“I suppose you as well, Ms. Rose,” she sighed, scooping both children up and carrying them on either side.
“So, what's the news, boss lady? What’s this ceremony you got planned for us?” Yang asked.
“Well, if you must know, it’s actually a very honorable celebration,” Marrow said, somewhat mimicking Winter, which got a chuckle out of everyone, except her.
Robin walked up to a large table in the center of the room and pressed a few buttons on the side of the table. After that a large hologram was displayed on the inside of the arena.
“As you all know, this is the first Vytal Festival since the end of the second Great War ended with the defeat of Salem. What we wanted to do was honor the victory or restore the Remnant to peace and remember those who were lost during it.”
A silence fell over the room for a few seconds.
Winter then spoke up. “First I will give a speech, then after that we would like each of you to say a few words honoring the end of the war. After that I would like Ruby to say a few extra things towards the young students partaking in the tournament, you know, to… hype them up, as you might say?” Winter said looking at the Crimson huntress.
“M—me? Specifically, me?”
“Yes you, Ruby. We feel that as the one that brought the world together with your speech in Atlas, it would only be right if you said a little extra towards the crowd and millions watching around Remnant,” Robin said.
Ruby mumbled something before Blake nudged her. “Ah, yea, of course I'll say something to them” She then said in a much quieter voice, “I definitely don’t hate being the center of attention…”
“Come on Rubes, it’ll be fun. Besides, after that, you'll be during the sparring match, right?” said Yang.
“That is right!” said Marrow, “Unfortunately we still don’t have an opponent for you, so we were thinking of maybe you could fight Winter?” Marrow said with a smile.
Ruby groaned. She was afraid they would say that, but it is what it is.
After letting go of the two restless girls, Winter and Robin explained the rest of the festival to team RWBY. Weiss, Yang and Blake all closely paid attention while Ruby's mind wandered. She went back to thinking about her weird dream this morning. What it could've been about? Maybe it meant something? Then her mind drifted towards Adrian. Like yea, he was nice and all but a little weird, definitely not Ruby's type. She also wondered why he was so secretive about his life. Well, they did just meet so it would make sense. Then her mind drifted towards food, she was hungry, she wanted cookies. After a few more minutes, Winter’s scroll buzzed and she looked at the notification.
“If you all can excuse me for a moment, I need to take a quick call. Once I return, why don’t we take a break before we finish how the rest of the festival will go. Maybe get something to eat?” She didn’t wait for an answer as she stepped out of the room for a few minutes. She had a somewhat concerned look on her face as she left.
“Is everything ok with Winter?” asked Blake.
Marrow answered, “Unfortunately no, while the revival of the festival has been a nice distraction for everyone, there’s been a growing issue lately that has been giving Winter, and frankly all of us, massive headaches.” Marrow sighed.
“You’re talking about the ARD, aren’t you?” Weiss said as she crossed her arms with an annoyed look.
“Yes, they’ve been causing a bunch of issues lately,” Robyn said.
Ruby asked. “ARD? What’s that?”
“Despite being one of the top huntresses in the world, how am I not surprised you haven’t heard of them?” Weiss rolled her eyes. “The ARD stands for the Avengers of Remnets Deceased.”
Blake chimed in. “They are a protest group that believe that the second great war with Salem was all the Huntsmen and Huntresses' faults, blaming us for the many deaths caused in the war with her, even though it couldn’t be farther from the truth.”
“They have been advocating for stricter rules for all Hunters, some even going as far as saying Hunters should be outlawed as they are given too long of a leash.” Marrow said with disgust.
Yang spoke. “It’s just a bunch of people that don’t want to deal with the fact they lost loved ones in the war. While it’s a terrible thing, it’s not fair for them to direct the blame on us. If it wasn’t for Hunters, Salem would be ruling over all of us right now.”
“Then how come we just don’t just talk to their leaders about that?” Ruby asked.
“We’ve tried already. Let’s just say it didn’t go so well.
Right now, the group has done nothing more than peaceful protest, but recently things took a turn for the worse.” Robyn sighed as she spoke. “The last protest that the ARD had ended up turning violent. It happened in Mistral, turned out peaceful but then it somehow grew too large and got violent, injuring multiple people. We are lucky no one was killed.”
“I mean, as a huntress, I don’t agree with them, but don’t they have a right to speak their own thoughts?” Ruby asked.
Marrow and Robyn looked at each other. “Maybe it would be best if the kids stepped outside for a moment.”
Yang nodded, giving a quick look at Blake who nodded back. She ushered her children outside the room for a moment, joining Winter out in the hall.
After Yang and the kids left, Robyn continued. “While you are right, Ruby, they do have a right to speak, we believe there’s more to it. We’ve got some information recently about the ARD that has us concerned they may be planning bigger things than just protest.” Robyn explained. “We don’t know entirely who is in charge of them, but we believe they are planning something big, like a show of force— a way to prove Hunters are the bad guys in the world.”
“It feels like the White Fang all over again,” Blake said with a worried look.
“It does, which is why we had someone looking into them over the last few months with hopes of figuring out their plans, but so far they’ve come up with nothing. The only thing they have been able to find is that they believe the ARD are planning some sort of showing during the festival,” Marrow said.
“So that’s why the city has had so much military presence. I thought it was just because it was the first festival since Beacon’s fall,” said Ruby.
“Exactly,” exclaimed Robyn. “That’s partially why we also wanted you all here. The ARD has basically used team RWBY as the poster girls for why Hunters are to blame for everything. After all, it was you four who stopped Salem.”
“So what exactly do you want us to do?” asked Weiss.
“For right now, just act like your usual selves. Enjoy the festival and the tournament, but just stay vigilant and be ready for anything,” Marrow said.
“So relax, but don’t relax. Got it.”
All this worried Ruby— the ARD, being blamed for the war, the deaths. She hoped nothing bad would happen but she couldn’t help but somehow see where the ARD got their idea. She still blamed herself to this day for everything that happened in the past, despite trying to move beyond it.
After another minute of discussion, Winter and Yang along with the girls walked back into the room. To no one’s surprise, Winter was carrying both little ones in her arms again.
“Sorry about the long call. Things have been hectic lately, but everythings taken care of now,” said Winter. “And with that, who’s hungry?”
As she said that, you could practically hear everyone's stomach growl, which then got a laugh from Anna.
The group decided that a nice lunch would be a good idea. They soon left the academy campus and made their way through Atlas.
“I still can’t believe that Atlas was able to be rebuilt so beautifully after everything that happened,” Blake said.
“Well, it wasn’t easy,” said Weiss, “The city is still not completely rebuilt, and the amount of work it took over the years to get this far was strenuous to say the least.”
“Well, I think it was worth it in the end. Atlas is like a giant beacon of hope now,” said Yang.
After a few more minutes of walking they stopped in front of a little pub. They all walked in together and took seats at one large table.
“So Winter, is everything ok? That was a long call earlier,” asked Weiss.
“Yes, everything is fine, just had to take care of some business. It’s nothing to worry about.”
“So, what other festivities will the festival have? It’s going to be a city wide event after all,” Ruby asked.
“Well, besides the tournament, there’s a ton going on. There’s going to be events like plays, games, shows, tons of food. If you can think of it, it’s gonna be going on,” said Marrow.
“I'm just excited for the tournament. I wish I was young again so I could take part,” Yang excitedly said.
Blake chuckled. “ We’re not that old, grandma. But, I feel like watching their mother going all out in a fight isn’t the best idea for the kids, honey.”
“Why not? They know what we do for a living. Besides, it’s not like they haven't seen me fighting before,” said Yang.
“Yea mom. We’ve seen mommy fight before, like that time protected me and Ellie from that Ersa on our picnic!” said Anna.
You could feel the tension in the air as Blake gave Yang the deadest of all stares. If it wasn’t for them being in a public place, Blake might've strangled Yang on the spot.
“Ok, Blake, baby, it was one time and I promise they weren’t in any danger, I swear,” Yang said worryingly, trying to save her skin. “It was self defense! You made the kids too cute and sweet. You know Ersa’s like honey. Baby, please.”
Everyone else chuckled a bit. After that they talked and talked about many different things. Catching up on the past, talking about their current lives, telling stories, and having a good time.
Then Winter got a chime on her scroll and smiled.
“Well, well, I got some good news for you, Ruby.” Winter said.
Ruby looked up with a mouth full of cookie dough ice cream. She took a few chews and then swallowed and asked, “What’s that, Winter?”
“Well, you know we’ve been struggling to find you a partner to spar against for the showcase at the tournament, but it seems like I just found your opponent.”
Ruby’s eyes lit up. “Really! Who is it? What’s their name? What’s their semblance? Do I know them? What's their fighting style? Long or close range? What—” Winter raised her hand before Ruby talked everyone's ears off.
“Well, as much as I would like to answer all of those questions, your opponent wants to stay anonymous for reasons I don't entirely understand either,” Winter said.
“Well, that’s a little weird. maybe they want to not take away the spotlight from Ruby?” said Blake.
“Sounds more like they are cocky, hoping to show off in front of the world and then reveal themself,” said Yang. “At least that’s what I would do.”
“Whatever the reason may be, I know this person well and they will surely give you a good fight, Ruby,” said Winter.
“I'm so excited. I can't wait!” exclaimed Ruby.
“I feel like that's just the sugar talking,” said Weiss.
Everyone laughed at the comment.
After a while everyone finished eating and the group split up. Winter, Robyn and Marrow went back to the Academy to attend some more festival business while team Rwby went back to Weiss’s massive penthouse and spent the day there. They did nothing except catching up, playing games, and just having fun together. For them, it felt like an eternity since they all got to spend time together, but it was oh-so-needed.
Once it got later in the night, everyone started to get tired and Yang and Blake decided to go to sleep first, taking the kids with them. Weiss and Ruby then stayed up for a bit to talk.
“So Ruby, excited for the showcase?” asked Weiss.
“More nervous honestly, you know I'm not good in front of big crowds.”
“What about that one time in—”
Ruby stopped her. “We promised to never speak of that again.”
Both were silent for a second and then both chuckled. After a few seconds Ruby then fell quiet.
“Are you ok, Ruby? You’ve seemed a bit off ever since you arrived in Atlas?” asked Weiss.
“To be honest, no, I've been having these dreams? Maybe more like nightmares. I keep remembering the past lately and I don’t know why. It’s been almost every night too, and I don’t understand why it’s happening now,” Ruby said with a sad tone.
Weiss put her hand on Ruby's shoulder as she stood up. “You shouldn’t worry about the past Ruby. What happened happened and nothing is your fault.”
“But what about the ARD, and the people that they lost in the war? It’s stuff like that that makes me wonder—”
“You did nothing wrong Ruby, you shouldn’t worry about them. It’s just their way of trying to find an excuse to not have to deal with loss.”
“But—”
Weiss shushed her. “No buts! you are a good person Ruby. You shouldn’t let a few people get under your skin like that. As with the dreams, that’s just you being hard on yourself, which you have no reason to do so. Always remember this, Ruby. You did the right thing, and don’t ever forget it,” Weiss said as she gave Ruby a hug before heading up to sleep.
Ruby smiled and stayed down stairs for a few more minutes before heading to sleep herself. Weiss was right. She did everything she could back then, yet she still felt this heavy feeling on her shoulders that just wouldn’t go away. Ruby sighed as she got into bed and slowly fell asleep, with the hope that the nightmares wouldn’t come again.
Back at Atlas Academy, it was late at night. Winter was in her office working on some papers when she heard a knock on her door.
“You may enter.” She said, not looking up from her work as she continued to write on the papers.
The doors opened and Adrian Cleve walked. The huntsman's bright color attire danced with the moonlight shining in through the large windows behind Winter.
“You know, when I asked you to show up for this impromptu meeting today with Team RWBY, it wasn’t entirely an ask, but more of a command,” Winter started with an annoyed tone.
“Well, I had other things to do, and besides, you can’t just ‘command’ me around,” Adrian said, using his fingers to make air quotes with his fingers. “I don’t work for you, I’m working with you.”
Winter sighed as she stood up, walking around to the front of her desk and leaned against it with her arms crossed. “I know that, and that’s why I wanted you here to help more clearly explain the situation. But instead, Robyn and Marrow explain it to them and they don’t even know the whole thing— hell, neither do I!” Winter said in a raised tone. “When you came to me asking for help, I said that this wasn’t something us two could do alone, that we would need others, the best even. That's why I brought up team RWBY. “
Adrian cut Winter off. “And I told you, I completely agree. We need them, the ace ops, the whole Atlas military, all the schools, everyone. This is something that could completely change the remnant forever.” “But I also said now wasn’t the best time and the festival needed to happen. We can’t have the world on edge during the most important event to happen since the ending of the war,” Adrian exclaimed to Winter.
She responded, “The term ‘the biggest event since the end of the war’ is already something that has lots of us, me included, on edge making sure nothing bad happens during it.”
Adrian was silent for a second. “Well…. Ok that's fair, but we need everyone to be focused on this task with their full, undivided attention, that's why I said let's tell them after the festivities. But now you went ahead and leaked info and got them anxious. That’s not gonna help anyone.”
“How is that not going to help?”
“Because they are unfortunately a key part in all of this. Besides myself and you, they are also considered key targets by the ARD in making sure their plan is successful,” Adrian said in a more serious tone.
“I know this, which is why the sooner Team RWBY and others know about their true intentions, the sooner we can deal with them.”
“And as I’ve told you, we can’t make a move until we have more information.”
Winter snapped, walking up to Adrian angrily. “We! The key word is we! You keep saying until we have the information we need, until we feel like it’s the right time. Yet it still feels like you haven’t even given me the whole story as to why you see the ARD as this immense threat to the world! There is no ’i’ in Team Adrian. I feel like that's something you’ve forgotten in the past, even until now.”
Adrian didn’t move a muscle as Winter yelled in his face, but once she made that comment about his past, he snapped.
“You know exactly why I work alone, and why I have for the past several years. You are one of the very, very few people to know why I do. Trust me, if I could have, I would have dealt with this issue on my own instead of apparently hindering you with it.”
Winter heard that and sighed, taking a step back. “It’s not hindering, Adrian, and neither are you, but what's lacking here is trust. You come to me for help but wont tell me everything. You only tell me parts of plans, bits of information. I can’t work on half truths, no one can.”
Adrian walked by Winter and up to the giant glass pane windows overlooking the city.
“I promise, soon I'll tell you, I’ll tell you everything, I… I just need a bit more time, I need to gather a bit more information. I recently got a lead that if it leads to what I believe it will, then we can finish this quietly after the end of the winter season. I can hopefully end this before anything drastic happens. I just need until then.”
Winter turned around and looked at Adrian. “Unfortunately, I can only give you until the end of the festival in a few weeks. If you don’t come to me with anything new by the end of the Closing Ceremony, then I'll have no choice but to act on the information I have, with or without you.”
Adrian shot around. “Winter, you can’t. If you do that the ARD could easily manipulate what you do in their favor, using it to grow themselves. I mean it when I say you can trust me, just give me more time to follow this lead and find out who is running everything behind the scenes, I have a hunch that–”
Winter cut him off.
“I’m sorry Adrian, but it’s already been decided. If you don't have more evidence to back your claims by the end of the festival, we move on with what we have.”
Adrian sighed. “This is a mistake, Winter, a massive one. If you do this, it could be the end of the current world as we know it.”
That made Winter freeze for half a second before hardening her stance. “The world has almost already ended. We will continue to save it, even through this.”
At that, Adrian started to storm out. But before he got to the door, Winter spoke up.
“Adrian! Don’t you forget what you promised over the phone today, you better be there like you promised.”
Adrian stopped at the door and spoke, but didn’t turn around. “Don’t worry, General Schnee, I wouldn’t dare ignore another order from you.” And with that, Adrian grabbed the door, opened it, and slammed it behind him. He slammed it with such force that Winter recoiled from the sheer sound, wondering how the door stayed on its hinges.
Winter sighed and went over to the windows. “I really hope you're right, Adrian. I hope you can prove my doubts wrong.”