Chapter Text
Vale, Remnant
The sky was clear over the city of Vale. The Vytal Festival had concluded a month prior and things were beginning to settle down. Across the city, there were still banners hung up on strings across buildings. People continued on with their daily lives.
Outside of a local café sat a man. He was 6 feet tall and quite fit. Not body builder or buff fit, rather lean fit. His snow white hair was short and his light blue eyes, though vibrant, were laden with pain and sadness. His skin was pale white. Dressed in the military uniform of an Atlesian Special Operatives Unit Operative, the man sat hunched, nursing a glass of Sprite. Wyn Schnee sighed heavily as he took a long slug of the Sprite.
“Doing ok, Wyn?”
Wyn looked up to see his partner and friend Kausi Fall looking down at him, holding a Pepsi in his hand. Kausi was 6 feet 2 inches tall and had a fit muscular build. Kausi had fair skin, short black hair, and amber eyes, much like his twin sister Cinder. Kausi, too, sported the uniform of an Ace Operative. Wyn took another swig of his Sprite and let out a small burp.
“Bless you,” Kausi snickered.
Wyn wiped his hand over his face in embarrassment.
“To be honest, quite honest? Not good. I’m not ok, man,” Wyn said, his sadness apparent.
Kausi hummed. Sitting down, he set his Pepsi on the table.
“That bad?”
Wyn nodded.
“What’s even the point? Winter won’t listen. She’s hated me for a long time. She hates me, Kausi. Her own twin. I know twins in Remnant have a unique special bond that transcends that of other bonds, even those of spouses, but every time I’ve tried to reach out, she pushes me away. I haven’t felt our bond since we were children. She loves Weiss, that much is clear. Whitley, maybe. She stood up for him when we were still in the manor, but it was mostly standing up for Weiss. Mother, Winter still grieves our mother. The mother we knew before Weiss turned 10. Father, she out right hates him. I’m right there along with him. Winter hating him and me, I mean. So, why should I continue to try to reach out to Winter?” Wyn explained, his voice filled with despair, his head hanging low.
Kausi looked at his friend with concern and thoughtfulness. Kausi thought for a moment. After taking a sip of his Pepsi, he opened his mouth.
“Do you hate her?” Kausi asked bluntly.
Wyn’s head shot up in shock. It took a moment to register. Then Wyn quickly shook his head.
“No,no,no,no,no,no. I mean… I… Ye…N…Of cour…I mean… ‘Sigh’ A part of me says yes. The other part no. I choose the latter, but I can’t force myself to not hate her. I love her. I want to love her. I miss the bond we had growing up, before Father’s argument with Mother,” Wyn said, his eyes starting to sting, reaching up a hand and rubbing his eyes.
Kausi listened closely and waited for Wyn to finish. When Wyn didn’t continue, he opened his mouth only then for Wyn to speak up again.
“Does she love me? Please, Kausi, please be brutally honest with me. Does Winter love me? Did she ever love me? Will she ever love me?” Wyn pleaded.
Kausi immediately spoke up after Wyn’s last word.
“Winter loves you.”
Wyn froze and looked Kausi in the eyes, though his body was shaking and his eyes hurt by maintaining eye contact, but he held his position.
“Winter LOVES you, Wyn. You are the one person besides me she loves the most. Has she done a good job at showing it? No. We all have our flaws. However, I have seen it, Wyn. In the little things. The gazes she casts at you, the slight shake of her body, the slight body motions. Even at night, when I walk Atlas Academy or on missions, sometimes she stays up and looks at the carved wooden toy you made for her on her 9th birthday. She loves you, Wyn. Very, very, very, deep down, she cares more about you than you’ll ever know,” Kausi explained with confidence.
Wyn blinked and attempted to digest everything Kausi just said. His face scrunched up in thought, his thoughts racing a million miles an hour. Then, Wyn seemed to cheer up and smiled a little and his face brightened a bit.
“T…Thank you, Kausi. It…it means alot,” Wyn said.
Kausi smiled gently and nodded and then took a sip of his Pepsi. The two of them sat in silence, although for Wyn he shifted in his seat a little at the silence permeating between them.
“Soooo…How are you and Winter doing?” Wyn asked.
Kausi smiled.
“We are doing well,” Kausi said.
Wyn gave Kausi a deadpan look.
“That’s it? Just ‘well’? Come on man! Details! Details!” Wyn said in an excited chirp.
Kausi rolled his eyes and laughed.
“We haven’t kissed each on the mouth or had sex or cuddled alone, if that’s what you mean. We have kissed each other on the cheek though,” Kausi said.
Wyn opened his mouth to speak, only for a humongous explosion to go off. At the docks in Vale, several Schnee Dust Company Freighters exploded in humongous fireballs. The fires engulfed the docks, spreading uncontrollably. Soon, the entirety of the docks were decorated with violent tapestries of red, orange, and yellow that could not be stopped.
Across Vale, more explosions began to go off. White Fang Soldiers and Criminals began to pour in with trucks and stolen Atlesian Manta Dropships with the White Fang symbol painted onto each one. The White Fang and Criminals began to fire indiscriminately. One truck approached the café Kausi and Wyn were at. On instinct they immediately jumped onto their feet, turned the table over into a makeshift shield, and ducked behind it just as the truck stopped and White Fang jumped out and opened fire. Civilians screamed as bullets tore through them, their blood soaked bodies collapsing to the floor.
“What the heck is going on!?!?” Wyn yelled, reaching for his sabre, Narzisse.
Kausi let loose his semblance as flames came out of his hands and turned the White Fang and Criminals into burnt corpses. Taking out his weapon, Liekki, a mix of a sword and a pistol, he turned to Wyn.
“Mass terrorist attack. White Fang and Torchwick’s syndicate working together again. This will attract Grimm,” Kausi said gravely.
Kausi’s ear communication device pinged. Kausi reached up a hand to his ear.
“Operative Fall here.”
“Kausi, are you there with Operative Schnee?” General James Ironwood’s voice came on the ear communication device.
“Affirmative, sir. What’s the situation?”
“The White Fang and Criminals have set off bombs all over Vale and have opened fire on civilians en masse. Huntsmen, Huntresses, and local Atlesian Troops are aiding in evacuation efforts towards Beacon Academy and its evacuation center. They will be evacuated to Atlas. You and Schnee will aid in the evacuations at Beacon. Winter is already there along with Operative Fall. A Manta is en route to your position. Understood?” Ironwood ordered.
“Understood, sir.”
“Good. Ironwood out.”
Kausi sighed and turned to Wyn.
“Come on, Wyn. We’re heading to Beacon.”