GRYD Season 02 Episode 6: Family Ties
"We need to talk about this," said Yasmine, concern ripe in her voice.
In the room of GRYD at Beacon Academy, Yasmine sat on the side of her bed, looking at Reyson who was lying on his, eyes fixed on the ceiling. His face was somewhat blank, but his body language was telling Yasmine all she needed to know. His weapons weren't on him, they were nowhere in sight. Despite his best efforts, she could see his hands shake.
It had been days since the attack on the school by the Silent Step, but Reyson had not forgotten what happened to him. The feelings of the state he went into still haunted him. For Yasmine, she couldn't shake the thing he asked her, Glyph and Macro to do if he went into that state again.
"There's nothing to talk about," he replied, voice flat and low.
"I tried to give you some space Reyson so you could work out what was going on, but you're not getting better. I think you're actually getting worse! You don't touch your weapons, you don't ask to go into combat practice, and if someone bumps into you, you apologize! You never do that!"
"Sorry to disappoint you."
"This isn't about disappointing me Reyson!" shot back Yasmine, standing up to try and rile him up. "This is about you, and what you asked of us. We're not going to kill you, and I think you know that, so is that why you're acting like this? To ensure we never have the option to?"
Reyson tilted his head slightly and looked to Yasmine, "You don't understand."
"Then tell me!"
"I've told you about my bloodlust, it's something I've known about for years. But this? It took me over, I don't know how that's possible, but it did it. All my anger, all my rage, all my aggression, it consumed me. I felt...I felt I was trapped in my own body, I've never felt like that. I've always been in control of it, always. Every battle, every situation, I was in control."
"What about when it caused you pain?"
He shook his head after a moment of thought, "That's different, that was my blood telling me a lie was being told. It never did that in combat."
"You said it yourself though, this never happened before. And it's clear that the tranquilizers were the catalyst for it all," Yasmine deduced. "So isn't it fair to say that if you don't get shot with those tranquilizers again you'll be fine?"
Reyson grunted and shifted his body up to an upright position, his expression was one of not being amused, "Why are you doing this Yasmine? Trying to make me what I was? I thought you hated me like that."
Yasmine smiled, "Oh, I do. You're an idiot, through and through. However, it's who you are, and while I may ask you to actually think sometimes, I'll never be the person who forces another to change who they are. My kind has faced those people enough, and I won't be that to you. However, you're not this person I'm looking at now, and that's why I want you to go back."
"I appreciate that Yasmine, I really do. But for the first time in a long time, I'm scared. I'm scared of hurting people, worse, hurting the wrong people. I clotheslined Diana, I almost hurt you and Glyph as well. Yes, maybe it was something in those darts that triggered it, but that meant there was something to be triggered in the first place. I can't let that get out again. And yes, maybe it was wrong of me to ask you all to kill me, but it felt right. And if it does happen again, I would ask you all to consider it, at least a little.
"No," Yasmine stated firmly. She then went to grab her bag and headed for the door, "You may not want to fight, but you're still a student here, so get up and head to class, you're going to be late if you don't."
She left without another word, Reyson watched the doorway for a bit, then sighed and followed her lead.
Hours passed, and the classes of the day went on. The teams of GRYD and MEAL were all distracted in their own ways. Some were worried about Reyson, others were worried about the Heralds of Purity and what they might do next to attack them. And for one, they were thinking about more personal things. This was Diana, who was still dealing with the fallout from both Glyph and Macro's talks with her.
Though she didn't admit it out loud, she wasn't thrilled that Glyph and Leilani were together. She was originally ok with the first date, but as they continued to see one another, and she saw how happy Glyph was with her, it made her angry. Worse though, she didn't exactly know why. Then, there was Macro, who asked her why she loved Glyph, and when she hesitated, she got called out for it, and that made her even angrier. It was clear to her that she loved Glyph, but why couldn't she voiced it when asked? Was it that personal to her? Did she think Macro would laugh at her when she told the truth? She didn't know, and that made her even more angry.
Her anger led her to do many things, mainly glare at Glyph and Leilani, which led much of the rest of the members of the teams giving her similar looks, and though she worked together with them in practices and combat missions, the tension between them was only mounting.
A bell rang, and the classes dismissed for the day. Desperate for some air, Diana left quickly to get on the school grounds. Thankfully for her, the sun was still shining, and a nice breeze filled the air. For the first time in a while, she smiled purely, and even twirled in place as if the wind pushed her to dance. A brief relief came upon her, and she continued to smile, for she was grateful.
Diana walked around the grounds for a bit, not heading anywhere, but simply enjoying the serenity of the day. However, that stopped when a sonic boom emerged. She, along with all the other students in the area, looked up to see what was going on.
In the sky was a ship. A small one, but a big enough one to carry a few people. What made this ship so special though was its shape and design. It looked like it was meant to slice through the air with ease. Diana and the others watched eagerly as the ship descended. Diana tried to make out details on the plane, but couldn't from where she was, so as the ship came closer to the grounds, she moved around to get a better angle.
As she did, her eyes went wide, for on it was the symbol for the kingdom of Atlas, as well as another symbol she recognized all too well. She quickly ran toward the ship, and got near it right as it landed and turned off its engines.
A rear panel on the ship began to lower, and from the ramp that was now formed to the ground, a woman with purple hair and military garb walked down it and slowly observed the area, including the students that were looking at her with curiosity.
"Mother!" called out Diana.
Orchid turned, and her tense face melted into one of joy of seeing her daughter. The two embraced in a warm hug, and after a few seconds they broke it up to look at one another. Orchid looked at her daughter happily, "Hello Diana. Are you well?"
"I've...been better," she replied honestly, "I'm surprised you're here though. You got my message that I was fine, right?"
"Yes, but I wanted to see you myself, I also wanted to talk to Headmaster Night about the situation. I've had dealings with the Silent Step before, and they're still keeping the prisoners here for me to pick up and take back to Atlas for interrogation."
"Wait, Vale didn't want to talk with them?"
Orchid laughed wryly, "That's why I'm here now and not the morning after the attack. Bureaucracy...takes time. That's why I hate it so much."
The two shared a laugh. Orchid observed her daughter once more and shook her head, "While I don't approve of you not wearing the school uniform...you always did look beautiful in that dress."
Diana was taken aback by this, "Are you alright, mom? You're rarely this kind when we talk."
"Perspective, Diana. This is the second time I could've lost you to outside forces. Though this wouldn't have happened if you went to Atlas like I asked you to..."
"Yep, there it is. Welcome back, mother."
The two again laughed, but this time, Orchid motioned to the school, "Do you mind taking me to Headmaster Night? It's been a while since I've traveled here. And along the way, you can tell me about this team of yours. Especially this Glyph character you keep mentioning. I can only imagine the boy my Diana wants to date."
Diana hid her face as they started to walk towards the entrance, "I didn't say I wanted to date him."
Orchid smirked at her reaction, "You didn't have to, what mother doesn't know what their daughter feels in certain cases? And this is definitely one of them. Is he cute at least?"
"Stop it, mom, please!"
"Well, that's a yes."
"Mom!"
The two continued on, talking about light things, Orchid shared about her recent military dealings, while Diana gave vague updates about her school life, not mentioning the strife between the teams. As they reached the front door, Orchid made to open it, but the door opened instead very quickly, almost knocking the two over.
On the other side of the door was Glyph and Macro, who acted politely when they saw they almost hit Diana.
"Oh, sorry Diana, me and Glyph were in a hurry. Didn't mean to hit you and..." he started, but then paused as he looked up and saw Orchid, and his expression became a bit more fearful.
"It's ok," she replied briskly and honestly. She noticed how Macro was looking at her mother though, and a memory shot forth, "Oh, this is my mother, Orchid. You said you knew her, didn't you Macro?"
At the hearing of Macro's name, Orchid's expression changed. It went from one of curiosity over why he was looking at her like that, to one of piercing and deadly intent.
"Macro? Your last name wouldn't be Camof, would it?" she asked, venom seeping into her voice.
"Yeah, that's right. Do you know him, mom?"
"Glyph..." Macro said, fear now ripe in his voice. Glyph looked at him concerned.
Orchid didn't take her eyes off of Macro, "No, I've never had the...pleasure. But, I do know his father. Which reminds me, maybe you can give him something for me..."
She started to reach for something behind her, Macro saw this and turned to Glyph, "Code Danger!"
Out of instinct, Glyph touched Macro's shoulder and they vanished instantly. No sooner had they done so than Orchid pulled out a very elegant gun and fired it at where Macro was. A fraction of a second sooner and it would've hit him.
She grimaced when she realized she missed, "Ugh, right, Glyph's a teleporter. Very clever, Mr. Camof."
Diana was beside herself at what her mother just tried to do, "Mother! What the heck? Why did you just try and kill Macro?"
"Please, Diana, it wouldn't have killed him."
"Not the point! What did you do?"
"What did I do? This is about his father, and what he did to your uncle."
"What are you talking about?!"
"Macro's father killed your uncle!" she shouted at Diana, which instantly made her freeze in disbelief.
In the room of Team MEAL, Macro and Glyph appeared. Macro instantly looked around to make sure Orchid wasn't somehow still around. When it was clear she wasn't, he took a deep breath, and then several light ones after that.
Glyph meanwhile had his eyes locked on his friend, very confused as to what just happened, "Macro?"
"I know, I know, I'll explain, just give me a second."
Macro took a few more seconds to compose himself, "Ok, where to start? Well, that's Orchid, Diana's mother, as you heard. Another reason why you shouldn't be with her."
"Ha, ha," Glyph mocked bluntly.
"Right, sorry."
"What's going on Macro?"
"Her brother, Diana's uncle, worked with my father. He was part of the special force that looks over Remnant. one day, they got a dangerous mission. My father and him, along a group of others, went on it. Some bad things happened, and Orchid's brother didn't make it."
"There better be a twist coming."
"Orchid loved her brother, and when she found out he was dead because of the mission, she blamed my father."
"Why? Was it his fault?" asked Glyph.
"No!" fired back Macro, face full of fury, but it soon melted into an uncertain one. "I don't think so. My father told me what he could, and he said he didn't cause his death, and I believe him. Orchid doesn't. And she basically swore that if she could cause him to lose someone he cared about, she would. Guess who's target No.1?"
"Your mother?"
The two looked at one another blankly, but then broke out into laughter. Macro patted Glyph on the shoulder before heading to his bed to sit down, "Thanks, I needed that."
"No problem. What do we do though? She knows you're here, and I can't take you off grounds. Do we wait for her to leave?"
"I don't know if we'll get that lucky. Orchid is military, she'll find an excuse to stay here and wait for me to poke my head out."
"She's that determined to do this?"
Macro gave a knowing smile, "As much as Primrose is about getting back at us."
"Crap," Glyph replied, rubbing his forehead in frustration, "another elitist woman trying to screw with us."
"I'm not sure Orchid is elitist, but she can't stand to be slighted, ironically, that's how she got so high in rank within the Atlas military, she doesn't let anyone get in her way, no matter what they say or do."
"That sounds familiar."
Glyph looked to the door, gazing through it to the room of GRYD, Macro noticed this and nodded, "Yeah, Diana does take a bit after her, doesn't she? Thankfully for you and Leilani though, she didn't try and forcibly break you up when you got together."
"Small miracles."
Silence enveloped the two, each thinking about a different member of the Artemisia family. Eventually, Glyph sat down next to Macro on his bed.
"Do you just want to stay here for a while? The day is almost over."
Macro thought about it and nodded, "Yeah, it's our best bet. We can wait for someone else to come and then you can fetch me dinner."
"Woof," joked Glyph.
"This is not how I expected today to go."
"Ditto."
Silence again filled the room. But soon, and odd expression came across Glyph's face, and he muttered to himself some things.
Macro noticed this and turned, "What's wrong?"
"Just had a weird question go through my head," Glyph replied with a shrug.
"What?"
"Well, if Orchid is an uptight "take no prisoners" military woman...what's Diana's dad like?"
He looked at Macro with a curious expression, Macro matched it, and then the broke into laughter once again. Macro then reached for his phone and began to dial a number.
Meanwhile, Diana escorted her mother to Night's office. They hadn't talked since Orchid's bombshell about what happened to her uncle. Despite this, she couldn't help but look fearfully at her mother, a person she never thought capable of doing what she almost did to Macro.
As they reached the door to Night's office, Diana knocked on it, and from within a voice came, "Come Diana, bring your mother too."
Orchid was surprised by the invitation, but she her face went alight with revelation, "Ah, yes, Night's cameras. I heard he had them all over the school. I approve."
Without a word or look to Diana, she entered the office, Diana followed suit. Night watched them from his desk as they entered, his face expressionless as he eyed them both.
Orchid looked around the office, and nodded at what she saw, "Nice office, Night. How long has it been? That conference before the school year started?"
"That sounds about right, good to see you again, Orchid," he replied politely, but face still without emotion. "Though I wish it was under better circumstances."
"I'm sure you'll be saying that to many more people before the year is over."
"More than likely. Diana?"
Startled that her name was spoken, Diana quickly composed herself to face Night, "Yes, Headmaster?"
"Please return to your team room, or you may roam the school or grounds. I'm going to be talking with your mother for a while."
"Yes, Headmaster."
With a bow to Night, she began to leave, but stopped and gave her mother a look. Orchid nodded and motioned for her to do as he said. Diana left, and closed the door behind her.
"Despite everything that's happened, I'm grateful that you have kept my daughter safe. Well, mostly safe," Orchid noted.
"She's one of my students, I endeavor to take care of them all. It's too bad you don't value all of their lives like your daughters," Night replied, before turning his laptop around to show repeating footage of Orchid trying to shoot Macro.
She laughed at this, "That's a personal matter."
"I don't care, you're on my grounds, in my kingdom, and you just tried to kill one of my students."
"Ugh, as I told Diana, the shot wouldn't have killed him...just wounded him severely."
"This isn't a joke."
"Who's joking? I made a promise to Gunner, and I will keep it."
Night rose up from desk, glaring a hole into Orchid, who fired back with a glare of her own, "Let me be very clear, if you so much as lay a finger on Mr. Camof, you won't have to worry about Gunner, you'll have to worry about me. Or worse, you'll have to deal with Glyph. And you'll find we're both in top form and able to take you down."
The room went quiet, Orchid and Night maintained their glaring contest at one another. Orchid was especially incensed at the idea that Night would get in her way, but she eventually cracked an evil smile, "We'll just have to see what happens then, won't we?"
"Don't push it, Orchid."
"I won't, Night. Now, onto the business I actually came here to discuss. The Silent Step?"
"All captured and guarded. There have been some...casualties."
"Poison pills?"
"Yes. I should've saw it coming, but they're not known for being caught. We made sure the rest couldn't take them. I'll have Squire take you to them now if you wish."
"I do. I have a prison transport landing tonight to take them to Atlas, but I want to get a heads start on things."
Night moved slightly and pushed a button on his desk, "Squire, please come to my office. Orchid Artemisia is here to talk to the prisoners."
"Understood Knight," replied Kendall through the speaker.
"He'll be here shortly. You'll keep me informed of anything they say?"
"Of course," she replied with a more sincere smile, "while we may not agree on the Camof family, we do agree on the Heralds. I will not have them keep coming after my daughter."
Night couldn't help but laugh at this, and even shook his head in disbelief.
Orchid was confused by this, "What's that for?"
"You talk about people coming after your daughter, which shows you care, and yet you're willing to cast a shadow over her here at her school."
"Excuse me?"
"If you hurt Macro here, that'll send a message throughout the school that her mom is a psycho. It won't matter what your reason is. Diana will likely be left alone, because of you, especially by her team, and her partner, who is Macro's best friend. So tell me, what promise is more important? Your promise to Gunner about "revenge"? Or your promise to your daughter to keep her safe and happy?"
"I never made that promise to her."
"All mothers make that promise," corrected Night with a smile. "You proved that by saying you want to take down the Heralds for her."
Orchid made to bite back, but the door opened, and Squire walked in, "I'll take you to the prisoners, ma'am."
Night and Orchid again stared the other down, but this time she broke eye contact with him and went to Squire, "Show me the way."
The two left, leaving Night alone in his office. He sat back down and stared at the doorway, before pressing another button on his desk, "Macro Camof."
A dial tone sounded, and eventually the line picked up, "Headmaster?"
"Yes Mr. Camof, we need to discuss the situation with Orchid. I assume you have a plan?"
A little bit later. Diana made her way down the hallway to her teams room. As she approached the door, she couldn't help but look at Team MEAL's door. She made to knock on it, but couldn't muster the courage. She slowly opened the door to GRYD's room instead, and poked her head in to see if anyone was there. It was empty.
"Small mercies," she said relieved as she went in.
Diana went to her bed and lied down on it, then stared at the ceiling trying to make sense of all that just happened. She pulled out her phone and scrolled through some pictures, she eventually made it to the end of her library, where a picture of a much younger Diana taking a pic with a man with hair like Orchids'. He had casual clothes on, but you could tell he was military by his body shape and hair style. The two smiled at the camera, and Diana found herself smiling too.
"Oh Uncle Mul, is mom telling the truth?"
The door to the room suddenly opened, and to her shock and dismay, Glyph stood in the doorway. The two locked eyes, but Glyph quickly broke it and made his way to his bed.
Diana let him walk away, but something inside her compelled to speak, "How's Macro?"
"Fine. Safe," Glyph replied simply.
"Good. Good."
Silence enveloped the room again. Glyph rummaged through a drawer looking for something. Diana waited for him to speak again, but he didn't, this made her very agitated.
"Look, I didn't know, ok? I didn't know my mother would do that. I swear it."
"I know."
"What?"
He still didn't make eye contact with her, "You introduced them. You wouldn't have done so if you thought something bad would happen. Especially that."
Diana was unsettled by his simple yet cold logic, "I'm...I'm glad you say that."
"It's the truth, nothing but."
Finding what he was looking for, he stashed it in his pocket and made to leave. Diana's blood boiled as he didn't even gaze in her direction.
"Dang it, Glyph, look at me!"
Glyph stopped, and for what felt like an eternity didn't look at her, but eventually, he did. He gave her a look that showed he wasn't interested in what she had to say.
This made Diana even angrier, "You just said I didn't mean to get Macro attacked, and yet you look at me such contempt?"
"I don't blame you for Macro, that's true. I blame you for what you're doing to Leilani."
Diana laughed and shook her head, and this time Glyph got angry, and he stomped right up to her.
"It's funny really, Macro tried to play peacekeeper, told me to make up with you, even if only a little. You know what I said? You're throwing a temper tantrum because you didn't get what you wanted. And this proves it. You're so desperate for my attention that you ignore what's right in front of you."
"Oh really? I'm the only one ignoring things? You think I'm angry right now because of you dating Leilani? I'm mad because I just found out that Macro's father may have killed my uncle!"
"He didn't," Glyph said bluntly.
Her eyes bulged out at this, "You know then? You know what happened? Cause I don't! I never knew, and now I have more questions than answers, and you might know some of them! And instead of being a good partner and asking me if I'm ok after what happened right in front of me, you're judging me for an entirely different matter! So tell me Glyph, who's really ignoring things?"
Both Glyph and Diana fumed at each other, Glyph broke the silence first and pointed a very angry finger at her, "You don't get to play that card. "A good partner" doesn't pick and choose when to be good when it suits them. You made your bed, Diana. Now lie in it."
Before she could reply, Glyph teleported away. She roared in anger and threw her phone at the wall. Anger filled her, but it soon melted away to sadness and she fell to the ground beside her bed and cried.
The night was filled with tension for both teams. On GRYD's side, Yasmine was still concerned for Reyson, who still wasn't acting like himself. And Glyph was concerned for what Diana might be up to, for when the team returned to their room, she wasn't there, nor did she return by the time they went to sleep.
As for MEAL, they were concerned for Macro's safety, especially after he told them what happened with Orchid. Glyph told Macro he would keep on guard in case something happened, and Leilani promised to use her ears to detect anyone coming close to the room. He was relieved at these promises from his friends, but he couldn't help but wonder if it would be enough, or if his backup plan would come into effect in time.
Morning came, and everyone was on edge. Diana was still nowhere to be found. And when the teams got a view on the grounds, Orchid's ship was gone. Yet, something still felt off.
Classes weren't until afternoon on this day, so most of GRYD and MEAL went outside, with the exception of Yasmine and Reyson.
As they entered the grounds, a sense of relief came over Macro. He laughed at the feeling, "I never thought I'd be so happy to be outside."
"After almost getting killed yesterday, I would be surprised if you weren't happy to be out in the open," joked Leilani.
"Oh yes," boasted Aaron, "being dead would've ruined your week!"
"And your month," added Erin with a laugh.
Macro rolled his eyes, "Ha, ha you three."
"It doesn't matter what happened yesterday", noted Glyph with a pat on Macro's shoulder, "Today is better, and Orchid is gone."
"Yep, her and that ugly Atlas...ship..."
Macro pointed to where the ship was, and the moment he did something struck him as odd. The others noticed this, but weren't sure what was going on.
Glyph grew worried, "Macro?"
Macro waved him down, then quickly searched the ground for something. He found a decent sized rock, and hurled it at where the ship was yesterday. As it neared the spot, it clunked off of something, and a ripple effect showed the ship was still there.
"It's cloaked," Macro said fearfully. "She's still here!"
Before any of them could react, a high-pitched scream consumed the area they were in. The decibels forced them to their knees in pain. But both Glyph and Macro were able to turn just enough to see Orchid stalking towards them.
She kept the scream up, then reached for some special spheres on her belt and threw them at The Lovers, Leilani, and Glyph. The first three reached their targets and an energy net pinned them to the ground, but Glyph teleported away just in time. Clear of the area, he rushed Orchid and tackled her to the ground, forcing her to stop the attack.
Free of the pain of the sound, Macro rose up and joined Glyph, who was still recovering from the attack himself. Orchid rose quickly, and smiled evilly at the two, "Very clever, Glyph, you're very capable. No wonder Diana is smitten with you. As for you Mr. Camof, I have unfinished business with you."
"I know what you think my father did, you're wrong," he shouted defiantly.
"Of course you would take your fathers' side, it's only natural. As is my vengeance on him for taking my brother away."
"You're not hurting Macro," said Glyph confidently, reading his escrima.
"Oh really? You could've teleported him away and kept him safe. Yet, you're choosing to fight me. Very irresponsible for a best friend."
Macro scoffed, "He knows we can take you. Especially now that you don't have the ability to land a cheap shot on an unarmed teen."
These words stung orchid, and she pulled out her elegant gun and pointed it at them, "That would've been a mercy compared to what I'm going to do to you."
The grounds went quiet, no one sure what was happening or why. Then, the three of them clashed. Macro and Glyph had the numbers advantage, but Orchid was arguably just as skilled as the two of them combined, if not better.
She used her gun to both block and attack, sending multiple kinds of Dust bullets at them, including some they had never seen before. Glyph resorted to his teleportation skills, but this only made Orchid smile, she dodge rolled every time he teleported, making it so he was never in position to attack her.
Macro helped even things up, but Orchid refused to give an inch, and blocked just about every attack they gave her. Her speed and agility were quite impressive, as were her combat skills. Even when she took a hit, she didn't let it show.
Glyph and Macro tried to use a combo maneuver on her, but it didn't work, and she began to mutter. Not understanding what she was saying, they rushed in, and once they were in range, she let loose her Semblance once again. Her scream made them drop to their knees in pain once again.
Behind them, on the ship, the rear panel opened once again, but this time, Diana came in off of it. She saw her mother attacking Glyph and Macro and became very fearful, "Oh no."
Back at the battle, Orchid continued to unleash her sound scream, and it was getting to the two of them until they basically collapsed on the ground. Only then did she stop.
"See? A shot to the stomach would've been much more merciful," teased Orchid. "But, I guess you're just like you're father, unable to admit when you made a mistake."
"You...know nothing...about my father!" shouted Macro through the pain.
"I know he's a coward, and he couldn't face what he did on that mission, so he said my brother, my Mul, got himself killed. A bigger lie could not be told."
"I know he's not a coward."
"Oh really?" Orchid said with a smile, kneeling down to taunt him more, "How's that?"
"Because he's here."
With a smile and laugh he pointed up to the sky. Orchid turned and looked and sure enough, a ship was entering Beacon's airspace. It was a very small ship, much smaller than Orchid's, but it was coming in fast. It hovered above Beacon above a mile up, then something was fired from it. A few seconds later, a pod impacted on the ground next to Orchid, who was looking livid.
The pod opened, and out of it walked Gunner Camof, weapon loaded and looking ticked, "Get away from my son."
Orchid rose up from her kneeling position, expression still livid. Yet, it soon warped into the smile from before, "Gunner. How nice to see you."
"Can it. You need to leave."
"I'm not done here, unfinished business and all that."
Gunner raised his gun at Orchid's head, it was a very big, yet very detailed assault rifle. Beams of light went from the back of the gun to the barrel, "Leave."
"Make me."
A brief pause came, then Gunner pulled the trigger and launched a massive beam of energy at Orchid, who sidestepped it quite easily. The beam hit the ground in an empty area and exploded.
Orchid showed mock appreciation at the result, "I'm glad you're taking me seriously."
"You hurt my son, I take no one more seriously," Gunner replied, raising his gun to her again.
"If only you felt that kind of loyalty to the families of the soldiers under your watch then Mul would still be alive!"
"Believe what you want, Orchid, that's all you're capable of doing."
Infuriated by his words, she rushed in and attacked. She transformed her gun in a sword of sorts, but one that was clearly segmented. Once in mid-range, she slashed with the sword, and it broke apart and became a whip of sorts, it wrapped around Gunner's arm, and she tugged him in for some close combat strikes.
The two dueled one another mercilessly. Both were highly capable, and clearly very skilled. Orchid was faster, but Gunner was more durable.
As the battle continued, the students around the grounds watched with both awe and fear. They still had no clue as to what was going on. Even some of the faculty were on the grounds, and Night was watching from within his office, eyes focused on the conflict with great intensity.
Macro and Glyph watched the fight with equal intensity, so much so that they didn't notice Diana, who kneeled down next to Glyph, "She has to whisper."
Now noticing she was there, his eyes went from flared up to confused, "What?"
"Her Semblance, she has to charge it up. She has to whisper, or mutter, to build up the sound waves in her. It's a quirk she doesn't like, but she has to do it. Wait for her to whisper or mutter, then hit her in the back of the head or neck. That'll stop her."
"You want me to stop your mother?"
"This isn't right!" she pleaded. "It doesn't matter what their beef is, it shouldn't be happening here, and it shouldn't have come to my mother taking down everyone and trying to hurt Macro! Don't do it for me, do it for them!"
She pointed to The Lovers, and Leilani, who were trapped in their energy nets. Glyph wasn't sure if she was telling the truth, but he nodded to show he would wait and do it. Even pulling out his escrima to get ready for it.
The battle continued on, and both sides were getting more and more infuriated as their opponent refused to fall.
"Admit what you did!" roared Orchid, "Admit it and accept your fate."
Gunner scoffed, "We all signed up for the job knowing that every day could be our last. Your brother volunteered for that mission, and he died. I'm sorry, I am, but I am not his killer."
He stared defiantly at Orchid who looked right back at him with contempt, then started to laugh. First lightly, then loudly, until she was laughing like a maniac.
""I am not his killer"? Another mindless soldier. But...as they say..."
She casually walked towards him, saying something below her breath. Gunner wasn't sure what she was doing, but Diana grabbed Glyph's shoulder and nodded. In a blink he was gone.
Orchid opened her mouth and started to unleash her sonic scream, but just as soon as it started, Glyph appeared behind her, and clocked Orchid hard on the back of the neck. She fell to the ground, and when she tried to rise up, both Glyph and Gunner had their guns trained on her face.
"Leave," Gunner warned.
"Now," Glyph added.
Looking at the two of them fiercely, Orchid wanted nothing more than to strike them down. But instead, she smiled, raised her hands to show she wouldn't do anything, reformed her sword into her gun and put it behind her.
She chuckled as she started to walk away from them, "To be continued, Mr. Camof."
"Atlas will hear what you did, Orchid," stated Gunner.
"Oh, I'm sure, but much like your last attempt to get me fired, it won't work. Not even with Night's influence. Like I said, to be continued."
Without another word, Orchid went onto her ship, and a minute later it rose into the air and flew away.
Content nothing else would happen, Gunner turned to Glyph and smiled, "Thanks for the assist, Glyph."
"Happy to help, but I'm not the only one you should thank," he replied, and gave a motion to Diana, who was uncomfortable at the situation she now found herself in.
"I see."
Gunner went over to Macro, who was still trying to find his legs after Orchid's sonic scream. He eventually made it to his feet and saluted his father, "Dad. Thanks for coming."
"Thanks for calling, son."
"Just keeping you in the loop, you needed to know."
"Yes I did. Oh, here, this will free your friends, go take care of them."
"Yes sir."
Gunner handed him an object, and Macro went to go help the others. As he went to do so, Gunner diverted his eyes to Diana, who was barely able to look at him, "You're Orchid's daughter?"
"Yes," she replied simply.
"Glyph said you helped end the fight."
"I did."
"Why?"
"I love my mother, but it wasn't right what she did. She shouldn't have attacked Macro and the others like she did."
Gunner looked at her with uncertainty, unsure if she was telling the truth. Eventually, he got down on one knee and cupped her shoulders with his hands, looking upon her with honest eyes "I don't know what she told you about your uncle. But I did not kill him. Directly, indirectly, or any other form. He was a brave man, and he is missed."
Diana teared up slightly, "Thank you."
With a nod he rose back up and went over to ensure that Macro got the others free. Diana watched for a bit, then turned to see Glyph looking at her. Though he didn't speak, he did bow his head in appreciation for what she did. She smiled and did the same and mouth, "Making my bed."
Glyph laughed at this and shook his head before joining Maro and the others. Diana wanted to go over and join them, but knew it was best if she left.
The day went by in a blur. The school was abuzz over the fight between Orchid and Gunner. To Diana's surprise, no one looked at her funny, or seemed to mention that Orchid was her mother. Whether by luck or intent, she was grateful, she had enough on mind without the looks of others.
"Ms. Artemisia?" came a voice.
Diana turned and saw an attendant next to her, "Yes?"
"You have a call. I'll take you to it."
"Of course."
She followed the attendant to a room and went to where the call was, as she accepted it her mother appeared, "Hello Diana."
Diana was surprised, but did her best to look pleased, "Hello mother."
Orchid laughed, "It's ok to not be happy with me, Diana. I...overreacted a little today."
"A little?! You trapped some of my friends in an energy net, fought Macro, Glyph and Gunner all for revenge! That's more than a little mom!"
"Yeah, you're right, but family means a lot to me. And when it comes to Mul well...he's...yeah. Anyway, I wanted to call to apologize to you. I shouldn't have done any of this while at your school, and for that I am sorry."
"I take it you won't come back for a visit then?" asked Diana sarcastically.
"Highly doubtful, but you never know, I might make it to Vale one day. I'll let you know," Orchid said with a shrug and a laugh.
Diana couldn't help but roll her eyes at her mother, it's like none of what happened truly bothered her.
"Before I go Diana, I do want to talk about one more thing...Glyph."
"Oh dear gosh."
"I just want to give some motherly advice, that's all."
"Given all you've done today, this might be the most constructive thing you've done."
"Probably. My advice is...if you truly like him, don't give up on trying to get him."
Though simple, Diana appreciated the advice and smiled, "Thanks."
"You're welcome. Where you are in life right now is so confusing Diana. Even I was confused at that age, so I when I met your father and thought we were to be together...well...you can imagine how that went," Orchid recalled slightly embarrassed.
"Oh yeah, I can bet."
"The best thing he ever did when we were in Atlas was that he shut me down repeatedly and often. I had to learn to be patient, and see if we were truly meant to be together."
Diana became slightly queezy, "That sounds like Glyph, gosh, do I like him because he reminds me of dad?"
Orchid laughed loudly at this, "I highly doubt that Diana. If for no other reason that Glyph apparently doesn't talk much unless needed. Your father won't shut up no matter the circumstance. It makes him annoying as a father and husband, but good as an ambassador."
They both shared a laugh. And Orchid looked at Diana with motherly eyes and kindness, "The point is Diana, if you and Glyph are meant to be together, you will be. Just be patient, and don't lash out. I almost lost your father because I did. And I almost cost you a lot today because I lashed out again. Don't be like me on this, ok?"
"Ok," Diana said with a smile and a nod, "thank you mother."
"Of course. And, if you choose to transfer to Atlas..."
"Mother!"
"Kidding...kind of. Anyway, I look forward to your next message Diana, goodbye."
The call ended, and Diana was again alone, but this time, she had a smile on her face. A little later, she made her way to the room of GRYD, as she did, Macro was approaching MEAL from the opposite side.
Feeling compelled, Diana rushed to him, "Hey!"
Surprised, but being polite, Macro stopped to address her, "Hey."
"I felt it was best if I kept distance given everything that happened today but, is everyone ok?"
"Yeah, the nets were meant to pin, not hurt. And don't worry, between me and Glyph, they know you didn't know anything about your mothers attack. They don't blame you at all."
"That's a relief, thank you."
"I should be thanking you," corrected Macro with a smile, "You told Glyph how to beat your mother, you didn't have to do that."
"Yes I did," noted Diana.
"Good to know."
With a nod, Macro made to enter his room, but a compulsion again came over Diana, "He keeps me in check."
"I'm sorry?"
"You asked me why I love Glyph. He keeps me in check. He cuts through my "elegance", my ego, my flirtations, and he tries to make me better. Even when I screw up, he wants to make me better. That's...special."
Silence filled the hallway, Macro looked at Diana with great curiosity before smiling widely, "There's hope for you yet, Diana. As far as I'm concerned, you and me are cool. What happened with our parents, that's on them. Glyph? Well, you took a big step with him today. But what you need to do is return to the Diana that everyone liked. Be a part of the teams again. Whether you believe it or not, we do need you. We want our friend back."
"I...I want to be back."
"Like I said, hope for you yet."
With a smile, Macro turned and entered his room. After he was gone, a smile came upon Diana's face and she went into her room too.
Outside, Reyson sat in his hidden section of Beacon, looking out among the now night sky for some sort of meaning.
As he continued to think, a noise caught his ears, and he turned to see Yasmine being raised by her drones.
He was not amused by her presence, "Yasmine, please, I just-"
"Shut up, Reyson, I'm tired of your moping. I'm here to help you whether you want it or not," she replied with fiery intent.
"Oh, how are you going to help me?"
"I'm going to help find your father."
This response jarred him from his state, he felt his heart rush for the first time in awhile, "What?"
"You said yourself, your eyes come from your father, who is not the man your family claims he is. And since no Heron has ever had bloodlust like you, it goes to reason that your father has the bloodlust too. And though I can't say this with any certainty, if he has it, he might know how to get rid of it."
"I...I never thought of it like that. I just wanted to know who he was."
"I can help with that."
"How?"
"Well, since your mother and he...well...you know..." Yasmine with an awkward wave of the hand, "that meant they had to have met somewhere. I would venture a guess that he's not in Vale."
"Because if he was he would've come for me?"
"More than likely. You have been in the news since you've been here. So if he saw you and your red eyes, he would've come for you...if he could," she hypothesized.
"The Herons do have a lot of control in Vale, it would potentially be easy to keep him away. Ugh, this is a lot of guessing, we don't even know if he's alive!" shouted Reyson angrily.
Yasmine reached out and put a hand on his shoulder, and looked him with very kind eyes, "If he was dead, your family wouldn't have hesitated to tell you about it. Instead, they tried to say that your step-father is your father. He's alive, and we'll find him."
Reyson looked at the kindness of her action and couldn't help but smile, "What do you need from me?"
"I need you to tell me everything you can about your mother. What she's like, what her role in the Heron Clan is, everything. We can help narrow down suspects."
Yasmine's drones whirled around, and brought forth a holographic computer screen. Yasmine typed on it and started to document things she already knew, "Whenever you're ready, Reyson."
He again smiled, but this time relaxed against the pillar and looked up at the stars again, "My mom's name is Poppy. She was an ambassador to the Heron Clan for a long time..."
*credits*