Blake Belladonna
The black-haired cat faunus awoke from one of the many military cots in the barracks of Nellis Air Force Base. She felt something shift in her bed beside her as she looked down to see what it was. "This is the second time she's crawled into my bed. I beginning to think she likes more than just my bed sheets" Blake though as she gave Ilia a head scratch, the chameleon faunus humming in pleasure.
Then the sound of a large spear suddenly, a loud thunk came from outside. It sounded like something had hit the sand. Peering through a small window, Blake saw a spear jutting out of the sand. Attached to the shaft was a piece of parchment. taking the parchment off of the spear. Her eyes began to widen as she read through the message. Once she finished reading, Blake quickly scanned the area, finding no one around. Ilia walked out of the barracks rubbing her eyes in a drowsy state.
She gave off a large yawn as she approached Blake. "What's the matter?" Ilia asked.
"Adam… he's in this world too…" Blake said, tears of fear starting to well up under her eyes. "But… but…" Blake tried to finish her thought.
Ilia gave her a comforting hug, but Blake continued to shake in fear. However, Blake had not finished reading the message. She forced herself to read further as her fears were alleviated as she finished the message.
Blake stopped shaking as she dropped Adam's letter. "Blake?" Ilia asked, concerned for her friend.
"Adam. I can't believe it…" Blake said as she looked up at the mountains surrounding Nellis Air Force Base. "He's… different. The message was an… apology. And a sincere one at that. He seemed… distraught. I hope he can change for the better," Blake said as she gave off a smile.
"Do you forgive him?" Ilia asked, looking to Blake as she wiped some tears away from her face.
"I… don't know just yet. I'll have my answer the next time we meet face-to-face. Now that you're up, Ilia, it's time to practice with your semblance!" the cat faunus said with a wide smile.
"Fine," Ilia said with a stubborn huff as she followed Blake to the runway where Lily and Marcus were working on repairing the Vertibird and another larger plane on the runway. "What's with the big plane, Marcus?" Blake asked as Marcus welded some metal to the wing of the large plane.
"Apparently it was a bomber used before the Great War. Lily and I think it could be used to decimate any enemies. There are even simulation pods to help train us how to fly it! Where are you two heading off to?" Marcus inquired.
"Just out by the solar panels to train Ilia, we should be back by mid-afternoon," Blake informed them as she and Ilia walked out to the isolated section of the base. There was a pile of small to medium sized scrap metal. "Now focus on moving some of the smaller pieces of metal towards you slowly," Blake coached as Ilia moved her hands out, concentrating on a single piece of shrapnel and slowly floating it towards her. Her hands began to shake as the metal dropped in front of her.
"How can something so small be so heavy?" Ilia asked with a pant.
"It should be expected. You've just unlocked your semblance. It's just as weak as your muscles when you were first born, because of this you'll need to strengthen it like a muscle. The more you use it, the stronger it will become and the more control you'll have over it," Blake explained as she rubbed her chin in thought.
"So the more I use it the stronger my semblance will be…" Ilia mumbled to herself.
"Make sure to practice many times a day, and to rest your semblance too. If you do that, you'll be a formidable fighter in no time," Blake said with an encouraging tone and a thumbs up.
"I can't believe Adam actually apologized. The mannerisms of his writing match up with the message I received. It could be a ruse to trick me, but I doubt it," Blake thought as Ilia continued to train. As the sun set the two of them met up with Lily and Marcus.
As the cat faunus drifted off to sleep, an unfamiliar scene began to unfold before her as the image of a young Adam Taurus was being watched by a man in a sleek, white, business suit from afar. Then, just as quickly as it appeared, the image began to change into a far more disturbing one than before. It showed a woman with pale white skin and dark red veins, cloaked in a black cape. She was holding Adam off of the ground by his throat, shouting at the White Fang Lieutenant as he clawed at the woman's hand, but with no avail. Blake could hear Adam's last, desperate gasps for air before his body went limp and was dropped by the woman.
Then the woman turned to Blake, revealing her red iris' and black pupils. "Hello there my child. Now, will you resist me too, or will you join me?" the woman asked.
"I'll never join you!" Blake shouted back, eliciting a deep frown from the woman.
"So be it. Another one of your friends will die," she said with absolution as she walked past Blake and pointed at Ilia, raising her other hand as a pool of grimm arms reached out from the black puddle and began to drag Ilia down to the floor, the claws of the grimm arms digging into her skin. Ilia gave off a blood-curdling scream of pain as more and more hands reached for her, the chameleon faunus trying desperately to wriggle herself free from the grasp of darkness.
Blake reached out to Ilia, only for the length between them to expand, as though a sea was growing between them. The woman turned to face Blake with a disappointed frown. "I thought you would have learned by now… that you can't win against me," the woman said before Blake shot up from her bed with a face drenched in sweat.
"Blake?" Ilia asked as she too rose from the bed, wrapping her arms around Blake, trying to get her back in the bed. However the visions in Blake's dreams kept her up. Instead, she got up from the bed as Ilia covered her uncovered bosoms with the blankets as Blake walked up to the window, looking up at the full moon with a few tears in her eyes. "Is everything ok?" Ilia questioned as she gave Blake a hug from behind.
"I-Ilia. I s-s-saw you get…" Blake stopped, not wanting to finish the explanation.
"What happened to me, Blake?" Ilia asked, tightly clutching the blankets in suspense with a worried look on her face.
"Killed. You were killed by this woman who had control over these grimm arms," Blake finished as she broke down in fear, Ilia comforting her friend.
"Don't worry, you're safe. You have Lily, Marcus, and of course me!" Ilia said with reassurance. Blake gave a tight hug to thank Ilia. The two of them held the embrace for a while until the fell asleep in each other's arms.
As the sun rose from the horizon, the two girls woke up, Ilia giving Blake a kiss on the lips, one that Blake returned in kind. Once the two were done, Blake rested her head on Ilia's chest as the White Fang agent combed her fingers through Blake's hair. "You feel safe now?" Ilia asked with a warm chuckle.
"Yea…" Blake said with a comfortable mumble. Ilia smiled as her crush hugged her tighter in a very cute manner.
"While I'd love to be like this forever, I think we should get dressed," Ilia said with a laugh as she got up from the floor with Blake following suit. Once they were fully dressed, they went out to practice with their semblances, Blake using her's as targets for Ilia to practice her aim with her semblance. As morning went to mid-day, the two girls heard voices of a man and woman. Ilia and Blake got Marcus and Lily to accompany them to investigate. The group of four entered the hanger, investigating the room.
Blake activated her semblance to quickly open a cabinet, revealing Courier Six and Cinder hiding in it. With four barrels pointed at them, the pyromancer and courier slowly got out of the cabinet with their hands up.
"What are you two doing here?!" Blake shouted with anger as Six tried to explain himself.
"What are you doing here?! Why are all the Boomers all dead?" Six asked.
"We were flying over their airspace while we got shot down and were forced to fight for our lives," Marcus explained. "Now could you two tell us what you all are doing here?" Marcus asked.
"We were coming here to negotiate an alliance with the Boomers, but since they're all dead that's not an option," Six answered. "However, if you four are willing to help out, I'm sure Mr. House would reward you all handsomely."
"We're not mercenaries," Blake shot at Six as Cinder readied for a powerful retort.
"Don't you want to return to Remnant?" Cinder asked, staring down Blake. "See Yang again? Or maybe the heiress of the Schnee Dust Company? Or hell, why not the whole team and invite Ruby too!" Cinder asked with a devious smirk.
"Blake?! You fought alongside a Schnee?! How could you?!" Ilia shouted, clearly distraught by this newfound information.
"Ilia! Calm down, she saying that to get a rise out of you!" Blake shouted back, calming her down momentarily. "As for your question, Cinder, yes. I would like to return to Remnant," Blake answered, giving a vicious glare in Cinder's direction.
"Then it would be in your best interest to ally yourself with Six. He has access to a technology matched only to that of Atlas. Technology that could get us back to our world," Cinder explained.
"Is this true, Courier Six?" Marcus asked.
Six nodded as he continued to explain their situation, giving Cinder a jab to the side via his elbow. "I apologize for my… associate's rude behavior, but yes. I do have access to advanced technology, however to be able to focus all of my efforts on something that can get you all back. In the meantime, I need your superior firepower to eliminate the NCR troops at Hoover Dam and supply cover fire while we attack the Legate's Camp. Can you do that?" Six asked.
"Why should we help you, when your companion killed hundreds of people without remorse. How can we trust you'll hold up your side of the bargain?" Blake asked as she raised an eyebrow.
"You and your companions can stay in The Lucky 38's Presidential Suite," Six said without skipping a beat.
"Give us some time to think it over. In the meantime Marcus and Lily will escort you to some private barracks where you will be under 24/7 surveillance," Blake said, Six giving an accepting nod. Cinder and Six followed the two mutants out of the hanger, leaving Ilia and Blake along together.
"Blake… is it true what that woman said? About you being on a team with a Schnee?" Ilia asked with worry in her voice.
The cat faunus looked Ilia in the eyes before giving her answer. "Yes. However she isn't like her parents. Once she inherits the company, she'll change things," Blake reassured her, placing a hand on her shoulder. "What do you think about their proposition?" Blake asked.
"They could be stringing us along, or they could be telling the truth. One thing is clear; The Courier is the leader in their group. When we give our answer, it should be to him. He seems like a reasonable type of man." Blake nodded as the two of them continued their training for the rest of the day. Once the sun dipped under the horizon, their answer was clear. They walked over to where Six and Cinder were being held.
Blake took a seat facing Six. "We've decided to help you with this battle, but we'll be staying here for the time being. We'll need more manpower, which we clearly don't have."
"Alright. I appreciate your choice in this matter," Six said, extending a hand to Blake. She shook it as the pyromancer and courier walked out of the base.
"I have an idea where we could find more manpower for the base, but it's risky," Marcus said. "Once we've fixed the vertibird, we could go to Black Mountain and visit Tabitha," Marcus finished, giving a nervous gulp.
"What's so risky about going there?" Ilia asked.
"The super mutants and nightkin there will probably try and shoot us down just like the Boomers. Not to mention Tabitha's mental instability," Marcus finished, taking a seat on an unoccupied bunk bed.
"I understand," Blake said.
AN: And that's the chapter! One thing that really irked me ever since Monty passed was how the show handled Adam Taurus. He went from a cool and calculated lieutenant of the White Fang that would do what he needed to do to protect his people. Then her was turned into this cringe edge-lord ex-boyfriend. Because of my feelings towards Adam's direction is the reason why I've included Adam in this fic. I want to make him into, not a hero, but an anti-hero as that's as far as I think his character could reasonably progress. As for Ilia, it's clear that when vol 4-5 came around that she was meant to be the side of Adam that could be redeemed, hence the seemingly rushed redemption arc that seemed a bit lackluster in my eyes.
Again, thank you all for reading and see you next chapter!