"It's over."

Blake looked away from the explosion, her ears twitching. It didn't sound like the train was going any slower.

"Not yet," she said. "The train's not stopping."

Pyrrha took a step back and closed her eyes, focusing on the vibrations of the metal surrounding her. "You're right. I was hoping disengaging would lose us speed, but that's clearly not the case," she grimaced. "If we don't stop the train, we'll eventually reach the last station at the capital and crash."

"I suppose that was part of Adam's plan," Blake noted bitterly. "Blown up or not, the train does some damage. How do we stop it?"

"The navigation system is fried, so that's out of the question," Pyrrha said. "Beacon might be able to help, but we can't count on them getting here in time. What else…"

"You can stop it."

Pyrrha looked down at her hands. "Something this big? I'm… not sure that's possible."

For the first time since Blake had met her, Pyrrha seemed to be completely out of her depth. Gone was the confident, resourceful agent, and in her place stood a frightened fourteen-years-old girl tasked with saving a hundred people's lives.

Blake laid a hand on Pyrrha's arm and squeezed, drawing her attention back to her. "Pyrrha, you can do it," she said. "Do it for them."

Pyrrha looked at the passengers crowding the wagon, then nodded and went down on one knee. She pressed the palms of her hands against the floor and concentrated.

Blake watched anxiously, noticing as Pyrrha's arms started to shake and drops of sweat ran down the back of her neck. After what felt like an eternity, the train shuttered, as if it had met some invisible obstacle. Pyrrha gasped loudly, hunching her back.

"Pyrrha?" Blake called worriedly. "Are you-"

"I'm fine. I'm okay," Pyrrha breathed in deeply. "I can do this."

She pressed against the floor again. A glowing black outline appeared around her fingers, contrasting strangely with the daylight coming through the windows of the wagon. She was silent, but didn't appear to be under as much physical stress as before.

The drop in speed occurred so smoothly, Blake only noticed it once Pyrrha got back up and beat her hands together to shake off the dust and dirt. After a minute or two, the wagon at last came to a halt.

"You did it." Blake said.

Someone started to clap. In a matter of seconds, every passenger in the train was doing the same. Pyrrha looked at Blake and smiled.

"We did it."

Beacon arrived half an hour later, three airships filled with personnel prepared for a fight. They were pleasantly surprised to discover the time for combat had already passed.

Two of the airships left quickly to take the stranded passengers of the train to the capital. Blake waited while Pyrrha went to talk with the woman in command of the remaining airship. She returned a few minutes later.

"Okay, we're going to our base in Shade," Pyrrha said. "Sorry, Blake, but I have to ask you to come along."

"That's not really a request, is it?" Blake shook her head in resignation. "What's in store for me?"

"Don't worry about that. I'll make sure you get recognized for what you did today," Pyrrha assured. "Our course of action might have been reckless, but I had the power to change that anytime I wanted. I should have, in fact. So I'm the one to be held accountable, not you."

Blake opened her mouth to protest, but once more she was quieted by Pyrrha's intense, commanding gaze. There was nothing she could say. From now on, her fate was on Pyrrha's and Beacon's hands.

The silence that followed the end of her account didn't surprise Blake. What did surprise her was the little smile that appeared on the Director's face once he realized she had reached the end.

"What are you smiling about?" She asked, sounding more aggressive than she had meant to. Something about that smile just unsettled her. As if he could read her perfectly… like Adam used to.

"Oh, it's nothing," Ozpin said, sitting straighter in his seat. "I noticed you glossed over Adam's death. Was that on purpose?"

"Why would I hide anything from you?" Blake glared at him. "It happened like I told you. We fought. I won and left him behind to die. End of story."

He met her glare with a mild look, the light above them reflecting off his glasses. Unquieted, Blake turned her eyes to the table between them.

"Do you think that was the right thing to do?" Ozpin asked. "Leaving him behind?"

"The right thing?" Blake frowned. "No. I don't know what the right thing to do was, or if that even existed. I did what was best for the innocent people on that train."

"And do you feel guilty about it?"

Blake opened her mouth, an immediate no on the tip of her tongue, but she couldn't bring herself to say it.

She didn't regret saving those people. She didn't regret working with Pyrrha to stop the White Fang. And, hard as it was to admit, she didn't regret fighting Adam when the situation called for it. Rationally, she knew she shouldn't feel guilty. Yet she did.

Regardless of what he had become in the end, Adam was the person she had been closest to for most of her life. As complicated as their relationship was, she couldn't picture her life without him in it. He had saved her, helped her when she needed it most. And though she had tried to do the same for him, it hadn't been enough. She hadn't been enough. And so she had given up and killed him.

Because that's what she had done. Not with his sword. But by abandoning him. By not trying harder.

And what did that make her?

"Miss Belladonna."

Blake looked up. She had been so absorbed in her thoughts she had missed the Director get up and move to the door. He looked back at her and opened it, then gestured outside.

"You are free to go."

Blake didn't move, her eyes shifting from him to the corridor beyond the doorway. "Is this a trick?" She asked. "Why would you let me go? You just heard me confess to being part of the White Fang. I put the lives of hundreds of people just for the chance of saving a terrorist!"

"I believe you just answered your own question," Ozpin said, the corner of his mouth quivering almost imperceptibly. "You needn't worry about the consequences of your actions. Things are being taken care of. And if you believe yourself to be so dangerous that I shouldn't let you go… remember that you are in the middle of a Beacon facility bustling with trained agents. You couldn't escape if you tried to."

"Well, that's a comfort," Blake replied dryly. "I so feel like leaving as you suggested now."

"You won't be leaving just yet, of course. I'll speak to you again later today," Ozpin gestured again, more insistently. "For now, you should rest. Take a shower. Grab something to eat. I'll have an agent help you around."

After a moment of silence, Blake got up. She didn't entirely trust him, but Ozpin had a point. She was in no position to try anything. And she could spare to sleep for a couple days.

Water. Warm water. God, she… she didn't think of herself as that superficial as to cry because of a good shower, but she couldn't fool herself. Back in the White Fang, the water was always cold, but she had never complained. In time, she had grown used to it.

When the first drop hit her back, she almost collapsed to her knees. The last time she had felt anything like this…

No. She couldn't think about that. She had promised herself long ago. Crying about what could have been didn't help anyone. Now more than ever, she knew that to be true.

Something that was just as useless, but much less painful, was revisiting old memories, and smiling because she had been happy then. And maybe, just maybe, that could bring her the strength to be happy right now.

Yes. A warm shower…

When she came out of the bathroom and into the small guest room Beacon had allocated for her, Blake was surprised to find three sets of clothes laid out for her in the bed. All of them fairly casual attires, no Beacon uniforms. Good.

After a few minutes of consideration, she chose the black and white shirt and shots. She looked at herself in the mirror and nodded. She could almost pass as normal. Except for, of course, those little things in her head.

Sighing, she turned to the door and walked out of the room.

Pyrrha was waiting in the hallway, leaning back against the wall. She had changed into casual clothes too, but somehow she managed to look just as good as before.

"Hey." Blake greeted quietly.

Pyrrha looked at her and step closer and away from the wall. "Hello, Blake. Feeling rested?"

"More rested than I've felt in years, to be honest," Blake admitted. "Thanks for the shower. And the clothes. And… everything else, I suppose."

"First off, you don't need to thank me. Seriously, you don't," Pyrrha said. "Second, if you want to thank me, at least wait until after we grab something to eat."

"I don't want to impose."

Pyrrha crossed her arms sternly, then turned and started to walk away. Blake lingered where she stood for a while, then sighed in resignation and followed after her.

They walked quietly for a few minutes, until they reached what looked to Blake like a small food court. It was like one of those café places you'd find in a shopping mall. Very out of place in a Beacon facility, she thought, but then again, she was new to this strange world of crimefighting agents and seemingly pointless interrogations.

They sat down in a round table at a corner and Pyrrha called for a waitress. She ordered a sandwich for herself, and Blake followed suit.

"You have restaurants inside Beacon?" Blake asked, thinking the whole situation was rather odd.

"Well, there are many agents whose jobs don't involve going out in the field, and they can't afford the time it takes to go into the city to eat and then come back," Pyrrha said. "It's a benefit of the job, I suppose."

"Hmm. Don't try to win me over." Blake muttered.

Their lunch arrived. Blake had to stop herself from grabbing her sandwich and shoving half of it in her mouth at once. She only started to eat when Pyrrha did, and she did it very delicately – or so she hoped. She wasn't very practiced.

"Pyrrha," Blake spoke again after finishing half of the sandwich. "Did I get you into trouble with the Director? I… told him everything. He didn't show any signs of being angry, but…"

"Don't worry about it. I'm okay. I gave him my honest report before your interrogation. If I hadn't, then I would be in trouble." Pyrrha said.

"But…" Blake put her sandwich down for a moment. "Weren't you the one saying you would face the consequences? So…?"

Pyrrha kept eating her sandwich, but Blake could tell she was troubled. Was she just as confused about the matter as Blake was?

"Director Ozpin told me that, although he will always encourage me to take the safest path, he is glad I chose to take a risk with you. I think he was proud I tried to defuse the situation without resorting to violence in the first place," Pyrrha said. "If things had gone wrong…" She paused. "But everything worked out. So I'm good."

"Is he that lenient with everyone?" Blake asked.

Pyrrha ate the last of her sandwich. "Have I told you you are the first person with a Semblance I've actually encountered?"

Blake paused, not missing the change in subject. It had been so sudden, it would be impossible not to notice. It was rather telling that Pyrrha, well trained in the art of interrogation and persuasion, would do something like that. Considering everything Pyrrha had done for her, Blake had to respect her wishes and forget about the question.

"I know now," Blake said. "I'm surprised. In your line of work, I would think we're kind of… common, I suppose."

"Not at all. Beacon has had agents with Semblance in the past, but today, there are only two, including me. And the other guy's Semblance is… not very noticeable at first contact, from what I'm told," Pyrrha said. "I know of a handful more people around the world, but you're the first I've interacted with."

"You know who else has a Semblance?" Blake raised an eyebrow at her. "Winter Schnee. Yes. Of all people…"

"Really? That makes me wonder if the whole family shares that," Pyrrha smirked. "Huh. Makes it feel much less lonely, doesn't it?"

Blake looked at Pyrrha. An agent of Beacon. Her, an ex-terrorist faunus. And somewhere far away, the heiress of a multibillionaire company.

"Yes, it does."

"Please, do sit down, Miss Belladonna."

Blake did as Ozpin asked. His office was much more comfortable than the interrogation room from before, with its cushioned chairs, the glass windows behind him that let the sunlight in, and the elegant desk between them. She didn't let her guard down completely, but the new setting and her earlier interactions with the Director did help her be more at ease now.

"I wanted to talk to you once more, for what I hope won't be the last time," Ozpin said. "To clear the air, make sure everything's understood between the two of us. You can leave if you want to, but I'd appreciate it if you stay."

"I'm already here, aren't it?" Blake shrugged. "Let's talk, Director."

"Yes, let's talk," Ozpin nodded. "First off, Blake, about your involvement with the White Fang. I understand that you joined not for what it is today, but for what it used to be. It was a home for you, a place of safety you and many faunus in Vacuo regrettably cannot find anywhere else. And, as a bonus, you got to stand up for the rest of your people," he paused. "Any acts of terrorism you may have carried out in their name are forgiven and archived with access available only to the highest clearance levels in Beacon."

"Well, that's…" Blake didn't know quite what to say. While a small part of her felt that wasn't unfair at all and that she should receive some form of punishment, she was mostly relieved. Running had been a part of her life for far too long. She didn't need Beacon chasing after her.

Relieved as she was, however, she couldn't ignore the feeling that something felt off about her being pardoned so easily. Yes, no civilians had died in the Railway incident, but that didn't mean it would have no impact. If the White Fang had been causing outrage against the faunus before, things would only get worse from here on out.

"What's the catch?" She asked, crossing her arms.

"Pardon me the cliché, but… there's no catch," Ozpin said. "As I said, you are free to go, and if you choose to, your pardon will not be revoked. But I have a proposal for you."

"You want me to be one of your agents." Blake stated confidently. She didn't do it to brag or anything like that, but it was painfully obvious to her that was his end goal.

"As always, you are very perceptive. Yes, you could be an agent of Beacon, but that's all I have in mind."

Ozpin leaned on the desk. A shade of green glimmered in his brown eyes, but it was for such a brief moment, Blake was convinced she had imagined it.

"You see, Blake, the world is a far more dangerous place than you – yes, even with everything you've been through – can imagine. There are hidden forces out there that would destroy everything we hold dear to us, faunus and humans alike," Ozpin got up and turned around to face the windows. Blake could see his reflections, and through it, how serious he was. "We will need extraordinary people to defend Remnant. People like agent Nikos… people like you."

"People like me?" Blake drew her chair back, tensing up. "People with Semblances, you mean."

"Yes. But more importantly, people willing to fight for the good of everyone, no matter the cost."

Ozpin turned back around, put a phone down on the desk, and pushed it towards her. It was unlike any device she had ever seen, so thin it looked like it would break at the slightest force, but with a platinum sheeting, it seemed.

"You may stay and become an agent of Beacon, or you may go and do whatever you wish with your life," he said. "But I ask that you always keep this with you, for when the time comes that you will be needed."

Blake looked at the device for a long time. Hidden forces, the fate of the world, and extraordinary people willing to defend it…

She picked it up and left.

There was little she could do to stop from being recognized, she realized. The White Fang would know who she was regardless of any disguise she wore. A change of name would not help either, and she didn't want to abandon the last gift her parents had given her that still remained.

But the other people, the ones she would pass on the street, the men and women that worked day after day and didn't have the luxury to know how her world worked… From them, she could hide. It was a little humiliating, and maybe she was doing faunuskind an injustice, but maybe it would be good for her in the end.

"You two have defined me for too long."

She cut a black strip of cotton from the clothes Beacon had given her and carefully, slowly, forcing herself to carry through it, wrapped it around her ears. Blake looked at herself in the mirror. It was… her, but not her. It was just as much of a distraction as if they were exposed, but a better - safer - kind of distraction.

Early in the morning after her talk with Director Ozpin, Blake stood in front of the Beacon headquarters in Shade. People walked by her without giving her a second glance. It was strange. A relief, but also sad. She knew if she unwrapped the bow, things would change immediately.

"So you're leaving, after all," Pyrrha said, appearing beside her. "I wish I could say I didn't see this coming, but…"

"It's alright," Blake smiled. "Everyone reads me like an open book, apparently."

"Sorry. You are easy to read," Pyrrha agreed. "I like the bow. It's cute."

"Thanks," Blake looked the other way, hiding her blush. "So, after this, you're back to your regular job stopping terrorists?"

Pyrrha tilted her head. "Something like that," she said. "What about you? Do you have any plans?"

Did she? There were so many paths she could take, just thinking about it was scary. The White Fang would be going all out after the incident, and in response, the government of Vacuo and its more militant citizens would rise against them. Innocent faunus and humans would be caught in the crossfire.

On a more personal note, she had a lot in her plate. The thought of finding a nice, secluded place to live for a while was tempting, but she didn't treat that thought very seriously.

There were people for her to find. Her parents, but she wasn't ready to face them yet. She wouldn't be able to until she was happy enough with who she was. And Ilia… She needed to rescue Ilia!

But… maybe Ilia was in the best place she could be. Blake knew she was smart enough not to get involved with whatever Sienna Khan had planned next. As much as she wanted to have her best friend back, it was for the best that Ilia stayed far away from her, for now at least.

"Blake?" Pyrrha called. "You could always work with us. We would make great partners."

Beacon did good work. They helped a lot of people, which, in the end, was what Blake wanted. But while Ozpin seemed like a good leader, she was hesitant to put her trust in him. She had had enough disappointment from people in positions of power like his.

"Thank you for the offer, Pyrrha, but that's not for me," Blake said, coming to a decision. "I don't know what comes next. I only know that there's too much injustice in the world for me not to do anything about it. Wherever I end up, you can be sure I'll be fighting for what's right. That's a promise, and when we meet again, you can hold me to that."

Pyrrha nodded and gave her a hug. Blake let it go on for a while, then slipped out of the embrace, leaving a clone of herself behind. She managed to make it across the street before Pyrrha noticed her trickery and shouted at her in mock anger. Blake looked over her shoulder and winked.

"Until next time."

BLAKE BELLADONNA WILL RETURN IN

THE HUNT

Obviously.

Ah, writing this story was quite the experience. It had darker tones, but I think I was able to contrast that with the lighter spots scattered across. As I said in the very first chapter, I think that a story about Blake needs to be approached differently than the way I've done and will do other characters. By her very nature, she brings a lot of heavy (I suppose that would be a good word) topics to the surface. I hope I was able to do her justice!

This was also interesting because it was the first "crossover" of characters I've had in the RSU. Yeah, Pyrrha was introduced here, but this wasn't her story. It's given me a feel for how later stories will work out. Oh, and I guess the Schnees were here too. I'm sure we'll never see them again.

I hope you guys enjoyed the story! I'm sorry some chapters were delayed, some a little longer than I find acceptable, but hopefully their quality earned me some slack. And thank you, of course, for the enthusiasm you reviewers showed chapter after chapter! You're the best.

Oh, and I guess we have some of those post-credits scenes. Or post-story scenes? Except they're part of the story. Eeeh, I'll find a name for them in a year or two.

By the way, it's two scenes. LOOK HOW MUCH I GIVE YOU! HAHA!

-Zeroan