Reaper's War

Chapter 22: Distrustful

A/N: Errrrrm...hi? Please don't kill me for only just posting. I've had a hell of a few weeks with doing college assignments, actually going back to college campus and doing practical sessions and so on. Plus family. Plus everything else in between. Soooo, I apologise it's so damned late for this chapter. You never know though, I might post the chapter after this one later on too. I'll think about it xD

Anyways, I hope you all enjoy the new chapter- it is kind of a slow chapter buuuuut it's at least leading up to something. Still. Thanks for reading and I'll see you all at the end! :D

Two days later

Winter sat back in what was once her father's office chair, her index finger idly tapping against the oaken desk. Several articles of the recent happenings around the world were displayed on different screens and on one of them, a newsreader reported the news the Specialist had already heard.

Over the last few days, the corruption of humans and faunus alike had hit its peak to only a small number around Remnant and then suddenly, it fell to nothing. It was like whoever this Salem person was, had run out of whatever malicious power she had. For now anyway.

Now that the corruption of people had dwindled, deaths were coming in hard and fast. Many of the corrupted from the first incidents were perishing in their jail cells and restricted hospital rooms. Every single one of them had been exhibiting the exact same symptoms as Weiss but on a much faster scale.

All of that was just the tip of the iceberg of Winter's heightened stressed levels as one of the most annoying people she knew of had turned up at the Manor a day ago, requesting to see Ruby and Yang. But it wasn't just Qrow that had her flustered, the young Reaper and her cousin had somehow brought an incredibly strange Grimm into the Manor's mini forest, claiming it to be a former Reaper known as Raven Branwen.

Qrow had immediately gone to see for himself and then promptly left after his meeting with the former Reaper didn't go as he wanted. He was most likely going to a local public house in Atlas to drown his sorrows again. It wouldn't surprise the Schnee if he did.

The Specialist sighed and rubbed at her temples as a headache began to throb through her head. Damned migraines were always getting in the way of her work.

Especially now with all of the extra work Ironwood had thrown on her as well as trying to figure things out with Weiss and the other teenagers in the Manor.

Winter shut off the enlarged screens in front of her before opening the desk drawer to her right to pick the newest journal out of it.

Blake had brought it to her after she, herself had read through it, explaining that she'd found it in Ruby's bedroom. The cat faunus didn't say where the younger girl had gotten it from however, immediately leaving it with her after she'd begun to ask questions.

The Specialist had read through half of it before tiring of it and putting it down. She often wondered that if Alexander Schnee was indeed still alive, then where the hell was he? Was he in hiding somewhere or was he in actual fact, dead?

As Winter became lost in her thoughts, she didn't notice or hear a part of the wall to her left opening up.

Alexander Schnee stepped out of the dark tunnel and smiled softly at the sight of the eldest Schnee daughter.

He heard her whisper to herself, evidently in deep thought. "Where would you be if you're still alive?"

The much older Schnee chuckled lightly before replying even if the question wasn't directly for him.

"Here. Right next to you." He said as clearly as his heavily accented voice would let him.

The Specialist comically jumped out of her seat like a cat being scared by a cucumber and turned to face the man in the office.