Work Text:
Mr Schnee was stood on the landing pad, waiting. As much as he despised waiting, he knew how valuable it would be. To have the area under his control before the other party in this little negotiation arrived. In fact, he had even insisted upon it. His security chief had all but dismissed the threat of the team. Sure, they were powerful, but they were still only trainees. A short period of preparation, long enough to get the heavy equipment in place, would surely be enough. Mr Schnee had displaced him from that opinion viciously. Of course, how could the chief have know. He didn't know what Mr Schnee knew. He hadn't met the other party leader personally.
Mr Schnee sighed. As was so often the case with the Atlesian soldiers, they thought that, just because they had read a file on someone, they knew what to expect. It was sadly, a state of affairs that was becoming more and more common in recent years. Mr Schnee prided himself on knowing everything about any foe before ever meeting the, and he had taken great pains to ensure that he was kept up to date on all major players in the great game around Remnant. He had researched and learned; he could tell how Adam Taurus would react to a public threat, due to watching his interrogation tapes. He could play General Ironwood, after carefully steering and guiding their, admittedly few, conversations together, causing the good general to divulge far more than he intended. And he had gone to exceptional lengths to ensure that he knew all that he needed to about the mind blowingly lethal creatures the Organisation had been developing. It was an avenue of research that had cost him no small chunk of his personal fortune, and had generally failed to procure any absolutely successful results. Or at least, any successful results they had been willing to share. They had promised him the perfect heir, and to be honest, they had delivered. Physically at least. However, only too late had Mr Schnee realised that his mental patterns would be ill suited to the task. He remembered himself at that age. And he saw a mirror to his own soul in the form of Nathaniel.
But Nathaniel was just the result. It was his creator that would allow Mr Schnee to change the world forever. He remembered when he first met her, in the dark, cramped room they called her project lab.
The room was covered beneath a thick carpet of bits and pieces of machinery. Half completed weapons systems lay alongside discarded dust vials. Scribbled posters lined the walls. Some were anarchic structural diagrams, showing advanced designs for a myriad of weapon systems and armour technology. Some were highly extensive and detailed lines of command and prompt coding, directed to a totally unknown purpose. A table of books sat against one wall, the tomes piled high. Making out the words on the worn spines, he saw works by luminaries as great as Jordan Lernersbee and Charles Isacton. Above the cluttered table, attached to the wall via pins were line upon line of equations and formula. Mr Schnee recognised them as dust formula at a basic level, but these were several degrees more advanced, featuring such achievements as triple bonded particulates and a truly vast equation of the successful bonding of up to eleven crystalline matrices. Just the contents of the two posters could make Mr Schnee a vast fortune from patents; they were decades ahead of their time.
At the far end of the room from the entrance was a high backed chair, with what looked like half a dozen slapdash computer interface monitors standing up in a pile against the wall. Pouring down the combined super-screen was line after line of code. Mr Schnee didn't recognise the language, but then again, he didn't understand most of what was going on in this den of genius. The handicap of being the lesser of two genii, he supposed.
'What do you want?'
The voice that rose up from behind the chair took Mr Schnee by suprise. It was quiet and soft, and extremely... young?
'I am here to speak to Miss Ruby Rose. Preferably face to face'
The code on the screen stopped, and the chair swivelled around. Mr Schnee took an involuntary step backwards. The girl was... tiny. She was barely four feet tall, even as she rose to her full height. A red cloak shrouded most of her body, but the hood was lowered, and Mr Schnee saw her face. He had, of course, seen it before- one didn't get access to one of the Organisations most heavily guarded secrets without being in so deep a screw up would take you down with the lot of them. But it was disturbing to see it in real life, the shining red eyes glowing out from behind a thick bone mask.
'My name is Mr Schnee. I have come to speak to you about what you've been up to here.'
'So, the Ice Queens daddy has come to say hello'
The girl cocked her head to the side, examining him from head to toe. Then, without warning, she squealed
'YAY. I get to meet someone NEW!!'
####
Mr Schnee was broken out of his reviery by the sound of someone whispering in his ear.
'Sir, they've arrived.'
Looking up, Mr Schnee saw them. He had watched the combat tests. He knew Belladonna would be somewhere on high, looking down the sights of some stupidly dangerous rifle, waiting for someone to drop their aura. The advantage of being able to attach to literally any surface. He knew that Ruby would have Miss Xiao-Long and Weiss close to her, to provide physical backup, and that worked just fine for him. It was Ruby's other tricks that concerned him. Fortunately, that was exactly why he had his insurance policy, all nicely locked up in restraints in the rear compartment of his bullhead. Gesturing to his nearby Vacuon Guards, he descended to the pad to meet the other party, as they had agreed in their transmissions.
As it turned out, Mr Schnee was quite correct in his disposition assessment. Miss Xiao-Long and Weiss were positioned on either side of Ruby. Before them were their four prisoners, forced to their knees. Nathaniel had Weiss's sword to his throat, while Miss Xiao-Long was crouched next to Winter, her fanged mask pressed up against the side of Winter's head. Ruby's face and mask was completely obscured by her heavy cloak, but even so, Mr Schnee could feel her red eyes fixed upon him.
'I am pleased to see you managed to bring them here in one piece. While I'm sure winter wouldn't have made any trouble, I know that Nathaniel can be something of an... issue.'
Ruby snorted at that.
'Oh, I wouldn't worry. When he wouldn't shut up, Weiss got to have her fun. I do have to wonder though; we made him perfect for you. How on Remnant did you manage to screw him up this badly'
Mr Schnee could see the side of Nathaniel's nostrils flare, but by the look of it he was not able to say anything, even if he decided he wanted to. Ruby's voice took on a cold, menacing tone with the next sentence however.
'I do happen to notice, however, you haven't brought anyone to trade. While I wouldn't mind leaving the Schnee Dust Company extinct, it would make my job far harder. So, where are they?'
'I am sorry to inform you, but as assets, the personnel you requested are just far to valuable. Therefore, I am afraid, we will not be surrendering them'
Mr Schnee could all but hear the bolt being drawn back in the rifle that he had little doubt was being aimed at his head by an extremely trigger happy faunus even now.
'On the other hand, I do still have something you want.'
Ruby scoffed. To be honest, Mr Schnee would have scoffed as well, had he heard that.
'I am here to make a deal' Mr Schnee began. 'You have two to choose from. If you and Weiss agree to lower your weapons, and turn yourselves over to me in perpituity, not only will I allow the rest of your team unlimited freedom, with a nearly unlimited bank account, I will also allow you to do as you wish with the assets we discussed earlier. In all honesty, thay are all simpy trying to recreate what you already accomplished..'
'I would advise relaying the second deal request'
Now it was Mr Schnee's turn to smirk.
'I have someone very close to your heart. I will exchange my children for this person. I belive you are especially familar with her, Miss Xiao Long. Miss Neopolitan.'