Hey guys, here is a new update in this story.

Enjoy the read.

Chapter Cover: Noir standing alone with the city of Vale expending in front of him.

Chapter Twenty-Six

A light in the darkness

Undisclosed Location

Blake Belladonna was lying awake upon her bed.

The young woman was wearing sleep clothes upon her body as she lied there in the darkness of the room, the only source of light coming from the lamp that was upon the table at the corner of the room. The young woman had one of her arm half shadowing a side of her face as she simply lied there, her golden eyes lost in thoughts.

For the past six days, the young woman's mind was constantly hunted by the look she had seen in those blue eyes. She couldn't understand it at all as to how the girl eyes could be like this. She had been thinking about her fight with the Schnee girl and she realized something that she had previously overlooked before. In the entire time they were fighting, not once did Blake felt hatred from the girl.

Whenever Schnee had attacked her, Blake had never felt her anger nor hatred in those attacks. The girl was fighting against her, and the hatred she had expected to see in the eyes…the disgust at seeing that she was part of the White Fang, it was never there.

And there was also the lack of White Knights in the area as well.

She had never known that a Schnee would be allowed to go somewhere else without those protectors around them. It was what drew the White Fang's attention at Vale in the first place. At the time, Blake couldn't believe their luck that the girl was unprotected and Adam had jumped at the chance of them getting to Vale and attacking the city itself.

Blake let out a soft sigh as she get out of her bed, knowing that she wasn't going to get any sleep tonight. Her mind was still running a mile a minute about everything that had happened on that day and the things that just don't add up to more she thought about them.

Why was the Schnee girl without any Knights?

Why has Noir decided to ally himself with her?

Why were her robes black unlike the White and blue of the Schnee family itself?

Blake didn't like not seeing things clearer than they should be. The girl was a member of that family and she should have been just like they were. The Schnee family were cruel, arrogant in thinking that they were better than everyone else and disgusted at the mere sight of a Faunus, but they had been nothing like that in that girl's eyes.

She had seen how she interacted with Noir and the girl had trusted Noir to be able to close the Doorway they had opened above Vale…A Schnee would have never done this…one of the would have never allowed the help of a Faunus….

My name is Weiss. Schnee is the name of my family. If you are addressing me, do so as Weiss. Schnee can mean a lot of people and there are only the two of us here.

The girl's voice echoed in Blake's mind. She remembers the darkening in the girl's eyes at the name of her family and now looking back on it, she briefly wondered why it happened?

Why would the girl be against her own family's name?

Blake ran a hand through her hair.

She didn't understand it at all.

They were two many unknown variables surrounding Weiss Schnee. Too many unknowns to get a clear idea of the white haired girl's personality, and if there was one thing the Faunus hated, was too many unknowns.

The dark haired girl thought back to Noir. While the duo weren't related by blood, Noir had been a big brother to her when she was younger and the man was always filled with some form of kindness and inner strength that was something she admired in him before.

And he had decided to join forces with Weiss Schnee.

Why?

Blake grits her teeth. There was it again, the why that keep plaguing her mind for the past six days. Blake hated it. She hated how the why made her feel and the burning curiosity was growing through her form and she want her questions answered.

And I am going to get them answered, she thought.

With her mind made up, Blake made her way toward her wardrobe and dressed herself up. The young woman made her way out of her room. She walked through the long hallway and arrived in front of an Arc. It was wooden and had many designs upon it and the young woman raised her hand toward it…

"Blake?"

The girl turned toward the voice.

It was Mirkia. The other Faunus had been heavily wounded when Blake had brought her back and she looked a little confused at her. The violet eyes stared at her in confusion at seeing her up.

"Where are you going?"

"Back to Vale," Blake said.

Mirkia looked irked.

"What for?" she asked.

"There are some things I need to figure out," Blake said, giving her a glance, "Are you sure you're suppose to be walking in your condition?"

Mirkia gave her raised eyebrow.

"I may be wounded but I am not invalid," she said with a scoff in her voice, "And my wounds are mostly healed either way. I am however surprised that you want to go back there…at the place were you received your first lost in a battle."

Blake didn't answer her and simply turned toward the Arc in front of her. She raised her hand as her Aura surged in front of her. The Arc started to glow as well and then an image of the city of Vale appeared upon it. It was an overlooking view of the city.

"Has Adam made contact yet?" she asked.

"If he did, you would have been the first to know," Mirkia told her, "What should I tell him if he comes back and you're not here."

"Tell him the truth," Blake said as she walked toward the Arc in front of her, "It's not like I am hiding anything from him…"

The said you man had left for a meeting and hadn't returned yet. Blake knew that it wasn't like Adam to stay away for long unless that meeting with Torchwick has actually being about something else. Blake knew that Adam kept things from her as he had done, many times before but nothing had ever happened that caused her to lose her trust in the man.

"If he does return," she said, "tell him to contact me via Dust magic, understood."

"Yeah, yeah," Mirkia told her with a small smirk, "I hope whatever you're looking for you'll find it."

Blake didn't say anything and simply walked into the Arc.

The city of Vale expended beneath her as she stood in midair above it. A look appeared upon the Faunus's features as she stared at the city. The destruction that had happened during the invasion was mostly taken care of from what she could see at the moment. Blake lowered herself down toward the city until she had landed down upon a lamppost. As she had been lowering herself down, the girl had transformed herself into her Animal Soul form meaning that she had transformed herself into her cat form.

The feline creature stood there for a few moment sensing the Aura around herself as she seeks for the Aura she was looking for, and her senses were instantly drawn toward another fast approaching Aura that drew her attention and soon enough, a young woman had appeared there.

She had a long red cloak dancing behind her as she stood there. Blake instantly knew who she was, as Mirkia description of the one who defeated her. From her position, Blake stared down at the young girl, her golden eyes fixing the girl down.

The said girl glanced around herself.

"I could have sworn I felt a strong Aura there…," she murmured softly to herself but thanks to Blake Faunus hearing, she heard every word of it.

She had managed to sense my Aura when I arrived from the Doorway, Blake thought, and had been able to get to the exact location…not bad.

The young girl glanced around herself every few moments before she stopped reacting as if she was listening to something. Blake stared at her, mystified by her movements until the girl spoke again.

"No," she said, "I thought had sensed something coming from here but there is nothing there…I might have imagined it."

She paused again, and Blake couldn't hear anything. Was the girl speaking to herself?

"Okay fine," the girl said again, "I'll get back home considering how late it is. I was just finishing my patrol anyway….sure no problem…I just wish Weiss will get better soon though."

Blake stared down at the girl, realizing now what was going on. The girl was speaking to someone, and it was by a Dust magic technique too, one she recognized quite well. It was something that she had once used when she was training with Noir…

That's his technique, Blake thought, He is the one speaking to that girl right now.

The small girl nodded to herself or most likely, to what Noir had told her from the other in before she disappeared in a burst of speed. Blake herself stayed there for a few moments before making her way toward where she sensed Noir's Aura.

If there was one person in Vale that can answer her questions…it would be him.

Noir was standing alone in front of the Schnee Estate. The young man was thinking about what Ruby told him. The young man knew that someone had come to Vale. That Aura Ruby had told him that disappeared as soon as it appeared was something that drew his attention. It was just as the White Fang had done when they first came to Vale.

Weiss was inside the Manor sleeping. The girl was still recovering from her injuries from the battle and with Ruby and Yang also off to their beds to sleep, Noir knew that he was the only one that will stand against this new threat. The young man's hat was falling over his eyes as he moved through the area until he came to a stop.

He let out a soft sigh.

"Why don't you come out?" he said turning his gaze toward the place where he had tracked down the Aura, "I'm not in the mood for hide and seek."

From the darkness, a black cat approached toward him and Noir could feel his eyes widening as he met the golden eyes of the feline across him. He was surprised for he hadn't been expecting to see her of all people.

"Blake?" he said.

In front of his very eyes, the black cat's body started to change until it was completely gone and Blake Belladonna stood in its place. The girl was masking her Aura quite well, meaning that she won't be detected. The Faunus girl wasn't dressed for combat either, wearing only some light clothing upon her body.

"Noir," the dark haired girl answered.

The two stared at each other for a few moments and Noir raised his hand toward his hat, pushing it backward.

"Are you here for the White Fang?" he asked.

"If I was…don't you think you'll be feeling quite a lot more Aura around the city?" Blake answered him.

Noir chuckled.

"No need to be sassy," he told her, "Thought I am surprised to see you here Blake."

The golden eyes looked away from him for a few moments. The girl was doing some heavy thinking that much he could see from the expression upon her face. That would mean that the girl had come here to talk. That caused him to lower his guard lightly…only just lightly after all, Blake was a member of a criminal Organization after all.

"Why?" Blake spoke out.

Noir blinked in confusion.

"I'm sorry?"

"Why are you serving her?" Blake asked him, the golden eyes fixing him with a stare, "Why did you ally yourself with Weiss Schnee?"

Noir stared at her for a few moments before he felt a smile coming on. He hadn't expected this to happen so quickly. Ever since he knew her, Blake was someone that was very intrusive and could peal away at someone and saw what kind of person you where by just crossing blade with you once. If she was asking him about that, then she must have felt it.

"You noticed it then," he said.

The look in Blake's eyes tells him everything he wanted to know.

"I knew you would have noticed it when you crossed sword with her," Noir continued glancing at the moon above them.

The cracked moon of Remnant was shining quite brightly tonight upon them and a soft wind blew through the air.

"Is that why you let me fight her?" Blake asked him.

Noir thought about it for a few moments.

"It's not like I couldn't even if I wanted to," he answered her, "When she put her mind to something, nothing can dissuade her from actually doing it. So I had no choice but to do as she says."

"Why would you do that?" Blake asked, "Why would you obey her?"

Noir gave her a glance.

"Because she the change," he told her, "The change that I was hoping you'd be."

Blake's eyes widened.

What?

"The…change…?" she repeated.

Noir smiled.

"Born into that family," he said, "You would expect her to feel the same as they do. To have the same disgust in their eyes when they looked at us, but when I look into those eyes, I don't see them at all. You noticed it as well didn't you, when you fought against her?"

Blake looked downward, a conflicted look appearing in the depths of her golden eyes.

"Her eyes…," she said, "They were sad…"

Noir glanced at her, not saying anything. He wanted Blake to see what he was able to see when she fought against Weiss. He wanted her to know that the world isn't going to stay the same for long…

"They reminded me of how my eyes were," Blake continued, "Of the eyes of the girl who wanted to believe that they were more to this world than suffering."

The golden eyes were upon his again.

"How can she have eyes like that Noir?" she asked, "Her eyes were supposed to be filled with hatred at Faunus. They were supposed to be the same as the rest of her family."

Noir approached her.

"Even I don't know this answer," he told her, "All that I know is that Weiss Schnee is different than her family, and I want to see how far that difference is going to carry her."

Blake turned away from him and approached the edge of the roof. The city of Vale was asleep now and the soft wind breathed around them. Noir stared at Blake's profile, the girl's back toward him. He could see her long dark hair flowing behind her and he was once again reminded of the younger girl that he had first met so long ago.

"There were no White Knights during our Invasion," Blake told him, "Nor were they other member of the White Clan."

"I know," Noir told her.

Blake let out a soft sigh.

"Why?" she said.

Noir let out a small chuckle.

"If I didn't know any better," he said, "I'd say you were worried about the girl that, just six days ago, you tried to kill."

Blake glances back at him for a few moments before she disappeared from sight leaving him alone. Noir shook his head a little making his way toward the edge of the roof.

I guess I did make the right choice letting you fight Weiss, he thought, Without you even knowing it, she had managed to reach that part of you that still have hope Blake. She reached that girl within you…and if your heart was troubled enough you'd come here…to me for answers, then I know that you are not lost in darkness…

Noir stared up toward the sky and noticed a shooting star flew across the sea of stars above him.

Blake, don't let Adam take away your soft heart, he thought, that part deep within you that I know exist. You first told me you wanted to be strong so that you could protect your people. Deep within you, you must have realized it. The White Fang isn't going to help protect them…they are just dooming the Faunus to the fate that Illus Schnee had tried to accomplish…

Blake was flying through the air, leaving Noir behind. She had wanted to get answers, but all she had gotten was more questions. The dark haired girl could feel something inside her change at what Noir had told her. During her battle against Schnee, there was no hate within the white haired girl during their battle against each other.

While Blake had been completely consumed by her hatred, Weiss Schnee wasn't. The sadness in those blue eyes appeared within her mind again. She didn't understand it at all. She had thought Noir would be able to give her a straight answer but the man hadn't given her any answer….

Damn it, now I am feeling even more confused than before, she thought, Just who the hell are you Weiss Schnee? Why do your eyes show sadness within them? What does the person who could have everything they want have to be sad about?

Blake tightened her hands into fist.

Weiss Schnee…just who are you?

Blake is starting to feel conflicted emotions within herself...

Next Time: Unannounced

Jacques0 out.

R&R