A/N: Hey readers. Hope you are all enjoying LION, as well as the currently running RWBY Volume 5. Lots of stuff happening this chapter, so I hope you all enjoy it.
"It sure is… crowded."
"That's what happens when an entire species is shoved onto an island that's two thirds desert."
Leon and Naomi walked together through the streets of Menagerie. Leon had never seen so many faunus gathered in one place. From what he had heard in history, the island of Menagerie was given to the faunus after they had won the war several decades ago. But during his travels with Naomi, he had learned that it wasn't the prize many thought it to be.
The wildlife on the island was far more dangerous than normal. Not to mention the harsh desert that covered most of the island. In the end, the island given out to the faunus to use as their own was nothing more than a box to cramp them in to shut them up. And now that he was here, Leon couldn't help but agree with that description.
"So the ex-leader of the White Fang is related to Blake. Who'd have thought." Leon said.
Naomi nodded her head. "Yeah. I'm not positive, but I think he's her father. I saw a picture of Ghira once, and Blake bears a pretty strong resemblance to him."
"Do you know where on the island he is?"
"Yes." Naomi said as they stopped just short of slope. The fox faunus pointed out to a large house in the distance. "That one."
Leon let out a low whistle of surprise as he looked at the house. "Alright then. Let's get going."
"Yeah." Naomi nodded.
"Hey! What are you doing here?!"
Leon and Naomi turned and saw a wolf faunus walk up to them with a glare in her eyes. She seemed to be eyeing Leon more than Naomi.
"Is there something wrong miss?" Leon asked.
"You better believe there's something wrong! What's a dirty human like you doing here?!"
The woman's uproar caused several faunus to start looking their way, taking notice of the fact that Leon stood out like a sore thumb being human.
"It's alright. He's with me." Naomi assured her.
"I don't care! This island was given to us faunus to use as we see fit! A human like you has no right to be here!"
Leon held his hands up in defense. "Look, we don't want any trouble."
"Well you should have thought about that before coming here, human!" Multiple shouts of agreement were heard from the faunus in the crowd. "Get off our island this instant or else."
Naomi stepped forward, grabbing the hilt of one of her two blades. "We're not leaving."
As the staredown continued, a faunus grabbed Leon from behind holding him in a tight grip. "Hey!"
"Leon!" Naomi exclaimed. In her surprise, Naomi suddenly found herself grabbed from behind too. "Hey! Let me go!"
"We'll see what Chief Ghira has to say about this." the wolf faunus said.
Not giving Leon and Naomi any say on the matter, the faunus began dragging the two of them to the house Namoi had mentioned earlier. Leon and Naomi glanced at each other. It may not have been the way they wanted, but at least they were going to see who they came for.
"I know it's hard for you Blake, but could you go into more detail about what happened at the fall of Beacon?"
Blake let out a sigh as she remembered the night, explaining it to her father. "Right after the signal got cut, Grimm started appearing in hordes all over the city. The White Fang were there too, releasing Grimm into the school. There were hundreds… thousands of them."
Ghira listened to this and grimaced. He had known that Adam Taurus was a bit of an extremist, but he had never thought the boy would take things this far.
Sun sat at the table too, still wondering about the two White Fang members that had shown up earlier. He didn't know why, but he just didn't trust that things were as peaceful here as they seemed.
Suddenly a knock at the door interrupted the sit down. Ghira sighed as he stood up. "What could it be now?" The large faunus walked to the door and opened it up, only to be met with a surprise. A human boy and faunus girl being held by a group of Menagerie citizens.
The noise caught the attention of Blake and Sun as the two of them went over to the door, along with Blake's mother.
"What is the meaning of this?" Ghira asked.
"We caught this human walking the streets of our city. This girl here is apparently the one who brought him here." one of the faunus informed the chief.
Blake and Sun's eyes widened as they looked at the two in the grasp of the faunus group. "Leon?! Naomi?!"
Similarly, Leon and Naomi widened their eyes at seeing their two friends from Beacon. "Blake?! Sun?!"
Blake's mother Kali looked at her daughter. "You know these two?"
Sun nodded his head. "They're our friends from Beacon."
"You know this human garbage, miss Belladonna?"
"Leon's not a bad person." Blake said. She looked at her father. "I knew him at Beacon. He never once discriminated the faunus."
"Yeah. Leon's a cool dude, trust us." Sun added.
Ghira looked back at the two captives. "I'd like to hear the story from these two."
"We were on our way here, and these guys just came up to us, and grabbed us." Naomi explained. "We weren't doing anything besides minding our own bussiness."
"Is this true?"
"But sir, he's a hu-"
"Enough. We faunus may have suffered because of humans in the past, but doing the same to them is not the way towards equality." Ghira said. "Let them go."
"But-"
"Now."
The wolf faunus grumbled before nodding at the two holding Leon and Naomi. The two rubbed their sore wrists as they walked away from the group.
"Now then, I believe you said you were coming to my house specifically?" Ghira said. Naomi and Leon responded with a nod of their heads. "Very well. Let us talk inside. I'm sure my daughter and her… friend, would like to catch up with you too."
The crowd dispersed as Leon and Naomi walked inside of the Belladonna home. They had a lot to discuss with the ex-leader of the White Fang. And seeing Blake and Sun here would only add more to that discussion.
"Hiyah!" Terra yelled out as she swung her leg around for a kick. Leonidas brought his arm up to block the hit.
"That all you got kid? You won't even take out a baby Beowulf with that amount of power." Leonidas said.
"I'm not done!" Terra said as she aimed for a kick at Leonidas's lower leg. The old hunter smirked. She was starting to pick up what he was saying.
"Knocking a heavier opponent off balance, good to see your listening kid." Leonidas told her. Despite Terra's kick though, he still didn't budge. "But a move like that is wasted if there's not enough power behind it."
Terra quickly jumped back to put some distance between them. She tried to catch her breath, exhausted from trying to knock the old man down. "How do you keep taking all those hits, Mr. Stryker?"
Leonidas let out a hearty laugh. "Terra, I've had fights against things that would make Ovan seem like a flower in comparison. A few light kicks from a little girl ain't gonna do much to me." He brought his arms up again. "You're getting your technique and form down pat but your hits lack power. And even though your actual legs won't move much, those enhancers you've got allow for some serious damage if you can swing them hard enough."
"But how am I supposed to do that? I can only move as fast as they'll allow my legs to."
Leonidas shook his head. "You haven't noticed it yet but your kicking speed is steadily increasing. You just gotta keep at it."
"Really?" Terra asked.
"Sure, as long as you don't pass out on me." Leonidas grinned. "Think you can keep it up?"
A smirk came to Terra's face. "Just watch me. I'm gonna knock you down for sure, Mr. Stryker!"
Terra sped at Leonidas once again. If there was one thing her training so far had definitely done, it was improve her speed. Her mind was becoming more in-tune with her leg enhancers and she was able to move them much more freely now. Terra leaped into the air and swung her leg down at Leonidas from above. Leonidas blocked it, but Terra used the force of the impact to go over him and get behind.
'Now's my chance!' Terra thought as she swung her leg, aiming at the back Leonidas's knee. The hit bent his knee forward a little but he quickly turned around and recovered in time to avoid falling down.
"There you go. Very nice pinpoint hit there, Terra." Leonidas said. "You're getting better and better."
Terra smiled brightly at the praise from her teacher. "Really? You think I'll be as strong as Leon eventually?"
"Woah, easy there kiddo." Leonidas laughed. "Your brother's still in a whole other league compared to you. He's faced real combat, both against people and Grimm. You haven't even had a training session against me where I fight back."
"Oh…"
"That said…" Leonidas spoke. "I think you've gotten enough down where your body has built up enough physical and spiritual energy for you to go to the next level."
"And that is?"
"Tell me Terra, what do you know about Aura?"
Terra thought to herself. "I remember Leon talking about it. It's like some kind of energy inside you that can make you stronger, right?"
"If you want to put it in the absolute basics, then yes." Leonidas told her. "Aura is an energy inside every living thing, with the exception of Grimm. In a sense, you could call it your soul."
"My soul…"
"With your aura unlocked, you can shield yourself from hits and heal minor wounds you occur during battle." Leonidas explained. "It also is the first step to unlocking your semblance."
"You mean like Leon's arrows and Naomi's shadows, right?"
"Precisely. You're picking things up quickly." Leonidas nodded. "A semblance is like a sort of power that's unique to each person. In your brother's case, it's being able to form bolts of aura in his hands. For Naomi, she can manipulate her own shadow."
"So how do I unlock my aura?" Terra asked.
"Well there's two ways. One is through extreme stress. Your body unlocks it naturally. But we'll be going with the second option." Leonidas kneeled down in front of Terra. "I'll unlock your aura using my own."
"Really?!" Terra exclaimed with a bright smile.
"Sure. Now stay still." Leonidas said. He put a hand on the young girl's forehead. He took a deep breath as he began to channel his own aur to unlock Terra's. However, he sensed something that caused him to stop. 'What… this doesn't make sense…'
Terra looked up at Leonidas. "Mr. Stryker? Is something wrong?"
'I don't believe it…' Leonidas thought. He removed his hand from Terra. "Terra, your aura's already been unlocked."
"So you say the White Fang attacked your village in search of an herb?" Ghira asked.
"That's correct." Leon nodded. "They tore up the place, all in order to get their hands on it. I don't even want to think about what they're planning to use it for."
"Yes, that is a disturbing thought." the faunus chief nodded in agreement.
"We were hoping you might have some information on the White Fang's whereabouts, being the former leader and all." Naomi said. "After everything they've done, I can't just sit back anymore. I'm tired of seeing them destroy everything I love."
"I hear you." Sun said with an eager nod. "I say we find those jerks and pound their heads in. Right Blake?"
Blake said nothing. Instead, the cat faunus got up and walked out of the room. Naomi and Leon looked over at Sun. "What's with her?" Leon asked.
Sun let out a sigh as he shrugged his shoulders. "She's been really distant ever since I met up with her on the way here. It's like… she's lost the will to fight."
Ghira sighed at his daughter's actions. "I apologize for Blake. She hasn't been the same ever since coming back after the fall of Beacon. I hope that you all understand she is still processing what happened, don't take it personally." His gaze fell towards the new arrivals of Leon and Naomi. "Now as for you two. You've come quite the way to be here. And since the populace isn't as tolerant of humans as I'd like them to be, you both can stay here for the time being."
"I'll prepare the guest room to accommodate space." Kail said while looking at Sun. "You don't mind roommates do you?"
"Not at all Mrs. B." Sun coughed into his hand at seeing Ghira's glare at how he casually addressed his wife. "I-I mean Mrs. Belladonna!"
Night came upon the island much quicker than Naomi or Leon was expecting it to. The difference in timezones finally caught up with Leon as he crashed into his bed as soon as it was made by Blake's mother. Naomi couldn't help but find this both amusing and ironic since he just spent a good amount of time in a coma. But his content sleeping face allowed her to smile and quickly pat her boyfriend on the head as he slept. Sun came in quietly and saw the young couple as they were. He smiled that they seemed to be doing well ever since the fall of Beacon.
He opted to keep his mouth shut of any smart comments and simply laid down on his own bed for the night. No need to disturb their moment.
The lights outside turned on once peak dusk hit to town. Normally, most faunus didn't have a problem with night vision considering their enhanced sense. But plain visibility without having to strain the eyes certainly did help the people. Leaving her boyfriend to his rest, Naomi came out to the backyard veranda and sighed at the peaceful chirping of crickets outside. This place was a far cry from the hustle and bustle of Vale, from the daily goings of city life. Menagerie felt much more homey and charming than anything she had known after her parents died.
'I wonder… Did they ever live here? Did they meet here? Mom, Dad, wherever you ended up I hope you're both happy.'
"Hey, are you alright?"
The concerned voice made the fox faunus yelp in surprise and quickly turn around. Blake raised her hands up in peace at her friend's turnaround. Naomi sighed while placing a hand over her hand. "Geez, you scared me nearly dead Blake. Don't just sneak up on me like that!"
"I'm sorry. Didn't think you were so deep in thought." She leaned on the fencing frame of the veranda and looked to her faunus friend, Naomi doing the same. "Why did you and Leon come here of all places?"
"We wanted to get some answers about the White Fang." Naomi admitted. "After the Fang attacked Leon's village we decided to talk to your dad since he was the leader for a long while. Plus considering I'm a traitor to the cause, I doubt leader Kahn would be willing to hear me out."
"I see…"
The navy blue haired girl turned to her friend with a curious gaze. "Blake. Why did you run?"
Blake's breath caught in her throat at the question. She knew that she couldn't avoid it for long. With Sun and now Naomi, there was no way of hiding from it. "Because… I'm tired and scared." The look Naomi gave to her told the faunus that the answer was going to need some explaining. "Naomi, you and I were a part of the White Fang. We both saw how it changed and the people inside it became more hateful to the humans. Our goals changed from seeking of equality to the oppressing back of humans. And Adam, a man I thought I could trust turned into a monster right in front of my eyes. And I couldn't do a thing about it! So why are you and Leon trying to fight a losing battle, what good will come from it if someone you love gets hurt!?"
There were many valid points to her explanation that almost made Naomi doubt herself. The Fang did change, change for the worse in every way. Her family had been torn apart and she still had no idea what was going on with her little sister. Cyrus had become a hateful human murderer while she ran from the people she should've protected. And yet… "You wanna know the reason why I still fight? It's exactly the points you brought up which are the reasons I still hold onto my blade. The White Fang tore my family apart the moment Adam sunk his claws into Cyrus. And who knows what my little sister is even doing now..."
"Naomi I-" Blake was cut off by a raising of the hand from Naomi.
"I wasn't done. I nearly lost everything when the White Fang attacked Vale during our freshman year at Beacon. I was outed as a traitor, my brother turned his back on me and I am someone they want dead. Cinder's influence be damned because Adam is the one calling the shots when it comes to the Fang. And my brother walks his shadow. But that's why I fight." She looked on to the massive brush of greenery ahead of her and gave a confident smirk. One that showed Blake the will to fight. "I want to right the wrongs committed by Adam and my brother. To show the world that the misguided do not reflect the rest of the faunus race. I know that Ovan and Iris are probably out somewhere searching for his mother since she had ties to the White Fang. Them coming to attack Leon's village was just the kick in the pants that I needed to make the leap. I'll fight along with my friends until we reach that goal I set out to do."
Blake stiffened when Naomi patted her softly on the back. "I know you're scared Blake. To be honest I am too. But fear can't take hold of you or else you forget why you started to fight in the first place. If there's anything I can be grateful to Ovan for, it's for teaching me that sometimes you have to push back when life holds you down. I only hope you find that drive to fight again soon enough. Goodnight Blake."
The cat faunus was left to herself and her wallowing thoughts as her fox friend retreated back to her room for the night. The fresh buzz of Naomi's words resonating within her skull.
'But how can I fight? How can I fight when all I do is bring pain to my friends?'
The dawn of the next morning came much faster than Naomi would've liked it to. It was a newfound weakness that she indulged in whenever she and Leon were together. To sleep well into the day not doing anything. But with the sense of urgency of the White Fang being here along with the bad human and faunus relationis, she had to do some digging. But digging along with Leon would be next to impossible considering how badly he was treated upon their arrival. So she took the next best option for a travel partner since Blake was still moping around.
"Thanks for accompanying me Sun. It's nice to have a friend to walk with around town."
"Hey, if it's anything to note this is my first time here. You know what this place is like?"
Naomi shook her head. "Nope. Not a clue. But that just means we can go wandering together for clues."
"Alright! Junior Detective Sun is back in business with his new partner!"
"Don't drag me into your weird hobby you do with Neptune."
The light banter was something nice to keep them distracted from the heavy stuff going on. Throughout the whole town it was easy to see that certain citizens were just avoiding them both but Naomi in particular. She could make out the words 'human lover' and 'human defender' under their breaths. Truly she didn't even know why they even bothered to mutter these words. A fox's ears were one of their best features after all.
But there was no need to cause drama as far as she was concerned. The mission at hand being the more important of the going ons. So she made no sign of anything bothering her to tip off Sun. Wandering around for a while was soon proving to be fruitless in their searches. Citizen after citizen either didn't know anything, refused to talk to Naomi or just ignored them to stay out of trouble. The sun truly began to beat down on the island as noon reared its unwanted head which made the two faunus retreat into a nearby hut to get some drinks.
"Ugh, this is getting us nowhere!" Sun groaned while slumping forward into the table he was sharing with Naomi. "No one wants to answer anything and it's getting too dang hot to continue."
Naomi simply rolled her eyes while taking a sip of her coconut drink. Seeing the little umbrella in it made her mind wander to Yang for a quick moment before fluffing up Sun's hair. Much to his dismay. "Stop being so melodramatic. We're winding down on the area we can check. Even if we find nothing then that just means the White Fang isn't on the island yet."
"I guess…" The monkey faunus perked up a bit once the waitress brought his banana smoothie. A beloved drink that he wasted no time downing to fight to heat.
"For a guy with an open shirt you would think the heat wouldn't bother you as much." The violet fox mused. The two of them got up from their seat after leaving a nice tip for the waitress and began their searching again. With two sections of the town left to search they were at least grateful that they were by the ocean and one where many tall trees cast shadows over the buildings. Sun although had twofold complaints when not only sand got into his shoes but the scorching sand nearly gave him blisters.
Once again the deadlock of no information fought against the faunus duo in their search. The townspeople merely just shaking their heads and returning to their business. By the time they talked to the last person they could, both of them were utterly exhausted from running around all day. It seemed like nothing was going to come of the search so Naomi decided to cut her losses and return to the Belladonna household.
Sun felt his feet drag along the wooden floor of the boardwalk as they made their way back to the main street. "Today was an utter bust."
"Bust it may have been but at least we can sleep soundly knowing that Adam has nothing to do with the White Fang here."
Naomi really had to appreciate the lifestyle choices of the faunus here. Many seemed to value camaraderie and working as a community rather than self interests. A concept that she remembered her father imparted to them long before the tragedy. So many children were out at play, elderly faunus were reading books on their porch and young adults were busy with their work efforts.
She turned to the right, and that's where she saw it.
Through the crowd of people, there stood a male faunus with a large and bushy squirrel tail who was wearing the White Fang uniform. The Grimm mask on his face being a solid indicator that he might be part of the extremists under Adam. She quietly tugged at Sun's sleeve to grab his attention and pointed to the direction she was looking at. Her expectations were to quietly sneak around and catch the guy by surprise. But expectations and Sun Wukong were not something that went well together.
"Hey you, stop right there!"
"Son of a-"
The masked faunus turned around to see a monkey and fox faunus charging right at him. Seeing the weapons they had holstered at their sides told him that it was time to run. He shoved past many faunus to begin his escape from the pursuers once they gave chase to him. The faunus ducked and weaved into the corners and alleyways of the streets but Naomi and Sun were still hot on his trail. Once he hit a dead end the White Fang member cursed loudly once the two of them rounded the corner and found him.
"Drop the mask buddy. You're coming with us."
The faunus scoffed at the monkey's claim. "Says who?"
"Says me and this ninja samurai hybrid girl." Sun patted Naomi on the back which was not welcome considering the situation. Naomi only pulled out her blade and glowered at the member.
"Either you come with us willingly or we do this the hard way."
"I prefer the escape way honestly!"
Surprising both of them, the faunus channeled his inner squirrel and climbed up the wall of the building to escape. Naomi put away her blade and cupped her hands together for Sun who got the idea real quick. He jumped into her open palms and launched forward with her toss to cut the faunus off just as he reached the top. Naomi backed out from the alleyway, heading back into the main streets when the member slip past Sun's grab and ran for his life along the rooftops. Sun was in hot pursuit of him. After a day with zero leads and frustrating people, it was nice to get some energy pumping in his veins. The monkey faunus jumped at the White Fang agent just as they reached the end of the building strip they were running across but he avoided capture once more by jumping into the streets.
Sun was thankful to have his tail around as it grabbed a nearby sturdy branch to prevent him from face planting into the pavement. He used his weight to fling himself into the side of another tree where he slid down to the ground.
Just as the member thought he was home free, a hard yank on his leg made him fall down. He looked behind him to see the fox faunus holding her hands to the ground while a shadow grabbed at his leg. The squirrel faunus had little choice in the matter in order to escape. He reached into his pocket and threw a flash grenade right at Naomi's feet who could hardly get her hands up in time to block the flash that blinded her. With his movement back, he began running once more but had to duck under the swing of a staff. Sun clicked his tongue with annoyance but continued his assault to get some answers. But any answers he sought were lost when the agent threw smoke bombs on the ground making Sun hack and wheeze as it entered his lungs. He heard the telltale clacking sounds of footsteps on stone but by the time he was clear of the smoke the faunus already had a head start. So Sun opted for another option to get some proof at the very least. He brought out his scroll while pole vaulting himself up into the air with his staff and quickly snapped a picture of the suspect. After landing, he kicked the dirt of the road seeing the guy get away but with this they at least had proof that something fishy was going down.
"Ugh…" Naomi said groggily as she caught up with Sun. "Did you get him?"
"No, he got away." Sun said with a disappointed sigh. "But hey, I was able to at least snap a pic of the guy."
"That's good I guess." Naomi said.
"Your sight ok, Naomi? That was a close range flashbang you took."
"I think so, though I'm gonna be dizzy for a bit." Naomi told him. "Let's hurry and head back. This should give us the proof we need."
Sun nodded in agreement and the two faunus made their way back to the Belladonna household. Needless to say, there was going to be a lot to discuss with this picture alone.
Once they got back, Naomi and Sun split up. Sun went to go see Blake, who according to Kali was with her father. Naomi went to go tell Leon about their findings.
"So does this mean the White Fang's influence has reached Menagerie too?" Leon asked.
"I don't want to jump to conclusions, but it seems very likely." Naomi said. "If Adam's influence has reached even here, then we have a serious problem."
The couple was on their way to where Blake was to go see how she was processing the sudden news of Naomi and Sun's discovery. But as they stepped outside by the balcony, they heard what sounded like Blake yelling.
"No concept of privacy! No respect for personal space!" The sound of a slap came after each shout.
"I'm sorry okay?! Ow, I'm sorry!" Sun yelled back, clearly not enjoying being on the receiving end of Blake's slaps. "Look, I promise it was important. I needed to find you to talk to you."
"What Sun? What could be so important?"
"He's right actually." Naomi said, stepping into view with Leon. "It really is important."
"You too Naomi?" Blake asked.
Sun went on to explain. "I was talking with your mom, and she said something weird about the White Fang-"
"I'm stopping you right there." Blake interrupted.
"But-"
"I told you. I told both of you." Blake said, looking at both Sun and Naomi. "I didn't come here to fight the White Fang. I'm not here to fight anyone. I'm here to rest, to figure things out, and to be with my family."
"Your mom said White Fang members don't wear masks in Menagerie." Sun said. "But we saw one in the market earlier today."
"He got away from us, but it was definitely the White Fang mask." Naomi added.
"Ugh, will you two just listen already?!" Blake groaned.
"We even got a picture!" Sun said, bringing out his scroll.
"I don't care!" Blake yelled, slapping the scroll away into the trees next to the house.
Sun and Blake glared at each other, but a sudden sound caused the four teens to fall silent. They each turned towards the trees, eyeing the source of the sound they had all heard. Hidden in the shadows of the trees was a figure. It was hard to make out any details, but the White Fang mask they had on was clear enough.
Leon quickly brought out his Lightning Talon in its bow form, taking aim at the intruder. They leaped out, just managing to dodge a shot from his arrow. They went into the trees in an attempt to flee.
"A freaking ninja?!" Sun exclaimed.
"A spy." Blake corrected. Not saying another word, she leaped off the balcony and went into the woods to give chase.
"Blake!" Naomi called out, quickly following after her.
The commotion caused Kali to come out as well. "What's happened?"
"The White Fang is evil! I totally called it! And we're bringing your daughter back!" Sun said, giving his quick explanation before chasing after the girls, along with Leon.
Kali stood on the balcony, watching them go after whatever had been the cause of the noise just now. All she could do was pray for their safety. 'Please… Be careful.'
The night shadowed over Menagerie as the four teens chased after the spy that had been watching them. Blake kept her sights on the faunus, having a sinking feeling she knew who was behind the mask.
'Don't let it be her. Please let me be wrong.'
"Gotcha!" Sun yelled as he came down from above, but the White Fang member leaped out of the way and made their escape onto the rooftops of the village.
"Don't let her out of your sights!" Blake called out as she continued to give chase.
"On it!" Leon called out as he swung forward, using his green line arrow to gain some momentum and land on the roof. He ran after the spy, but a quick turn from them came as their weapon stretched forward like a whip. Leon barely managed to tilt his body away in time, but it caused him to lose his balance and fall over the edge of the roof. He grabbed onto the edge, barely saving himself from a painful crash into the streets below. Blake, seeing that her friend wasn't hurt, ran past him and after their target.
"Leon!" Naomi called out.
"I'll be fine, go!" Leon told his girlfriend. "We can't let her get away!"
Naomi nodded her head and ran ahead with Sun while Leon pulled himself back up. Blake slid under some pipes, finally coming face to face with the White Fang member. Seeing her up close made her even more convinced it was who she thought it was.
"Why were you watching me?" Blake asked.
Silence was the only answer that came from the mystery faunus. She soon found herself surrounded from the rear by Sun and Naomi.
"Give it up." Sun said. "I'm not above hitting a girl you- Woah!" Sun was caught off guard as another whip came from her, aimed at him this time. The monkey faunus fell over, barely dodging it.
Caught in her distraction, the girl didn't notice Blake in time to avoid the spin kick that came from her, knocking away the scroll in her hands. She was about to lunge for the device, until Sun lunged at her and pinned her down.
"Grab the scroll!" Sun told Blake. "Seems someone thinks it's important."
"Get off!" the girl shouted, knocking Sun off her with a vicious headbutt that caused a crack in her mask. She went for her scroll again, but she didn't notice Naomi from behind, quickly binding her with her shadow.
"Hurry up and grab it Blake!" Naomi shouted.
The struggling from the White Fang member made it hard to hold her. She managed to maneuver her weapon enough to extend it towards Naomi, who was forced to cancel her semblance in order to evade it.
"Blake, watch out!" Sun yelled.
Blake grabbed the scroll and turned to face the mystery spy, just in time to see their mask crumble away. Now there was no denying who the identity of the faunus was. "Illya…"
Naomi gasped, recognizing the name herself. She hadn't personally known Illya much, but she had heard about her.
"Wait, you know her?" Sun asked. "But she doesn't even look like a fau-"
The rest of the statement died on Sun's tongue and was replaced by a cry of pain as Illya extended her weapon once again, striking Sun near the shoulder and hitting him with electricity.
"Sun!" Blake exclaimed.
"Give it to me." Illya said, glaring at Blake.
Blake glared right back at her old friend. "No."
"Sun!" Naomi yelled, running over to him. "Hey, are you alright?!"
Illya lowered her weapon and changed skin colors. "You shouldn't have come back." With that said, she swung her weapon down and created a quick smokescreen to escape into the night.
With Illya gone, Blake quickly ran over to her wounded friend. "Sun!" she kneeled next to him, seeing him unconscious and bleeding from the wound. "No… No, no, no, not again, please!"
Leon finally managed to catch up to the girls and widened his eyes when he saw Sun. "This is bad. We need to get him to a doctor."
"Let's get him back to Blake's house. Her parents will know what to do." Naomi suggested.
Quickly getting the monkey faunus on Leon's back, the threesome hurried their way back to the Belladonna home, praying that they could get Sun help in time.
It was a long wait throughout the night as Blake and the others waited to hear about Sun's condition. Kali had enough medical knowledge, as well as an ample supply of medical herbs, to treat Sun's wound luckily. The monkey faunus was currently resting in Ghira's study as everyone waited for him to wake up.
Leon and Naomi walked into the room to check up on Sun. Blake was sitting on the couch, just as she had been all night, waiting for Sun to wake up.
"He's still asleep, huh?" Leon asked. Looking at Sun now, he realized what he must have made Naomi and his family go through while he was in his coma.
"... This is why." Blake suddenly said.
"Blake?" Leon questioned.
"This is why I left them all behind." Blake explained. "I am done seeing my friends hurt because of me."
"But Blake-"
"Shut up!" she suddenly snapped. "Do you think I like being alone?! Everyday I think about them. Ruby. Weiss. Yang. They were my friends. I loved them like I never thought I could love anybody." She looked sternly at the couple. "And I hope they hate me for leaving."
"Blake, you don't mean that." Naomi said.
"Yes I do!" Blake yelled. "Everyone thinks they can help me, but they can't! You two saw Illya last night and she's not even the worst!" The cat faunus shook her head. "No… No more… They're better off without me. I made my choices and I'll deal with the consequences because they belong to me."
A sudden groan came from the other couch. "You think you're being selfless, but you're not."
"Sun!" Blake exclaimed, as she and her friends rushed to his side. "Are you alright."
"Yeah, just fine." Sun said. "But you sure aren't Blake."
"What are you-"
"Yeah, that chameleon friend of yours got me pretty good last night. But I'd do it all over again if it meant protecting you. We all would." Sun said, glancing at Leon and Naomi. "And I can promise Yang would say the same." He grunted as he sat back up. "You can make your own choices sure. But you don't get to make ours. When your friends fight for you, it's because we want to." He looked sternly at Blake. "So stop pushing us out. That hurts more than anything the bad guys could ever do to us."
"Sun…"
"But hey, if it makes you feel any better, the next time I go up against lizard girl, it won't be for you. It'll be to get even." A sudden pain from his wound caused him to cringe in pain.
Blake giggled. "My hero."
As touching as the moment was, it had to be cut short as the door to the room suddenly fell with Blake's mother Kali lying against it.
"Mom?!" Blake gasped.
"O-Oh dear! Would you look at that?! He's awake! Thank goodness!" Kali said nervously.
Ghira sighed as he looked at his wife. "Kali, please."
"What are you doing?!" Blake asked.
"Well, sweetheart, your father needed to speak with all of you." Kali explained.
A collection of narrowed eyes came from the four teens. "Huh?"
Ghira walked inside and placed the scroll they had confiscated from Illya last night on the table. "I'm afraid you were right to be suspicious." he said.
"What do you mean?" Naomi asked.
"Adam Taurus is planning to overthrow the leader of the White Fang, and stage a full scale attack on Haven Academy." he explained grimly. "It will be the fall of Beacon all over again."
"Then we have to do something!" Naomi said. "We can't let what happened at Beacon happen at Haven too!"
"There is something we can do." Sun said. "We can destroy the White Fang, once and for all."
Leon and Naomi nodded their heads in agreement. But Blake spoke up instead. "No. We're not going to destroy the White Fang." she said as she stood up. "We're going to take it back."
Everyone looked at Blake, seeing the determination in her eyes. All of them could get behind her idea as they nodded their heads, steeling their resolve.
"I'll send my swiftest messenger to Haven Academy as soon as possible." Ghira said. "They need to know about the impending attack."
"We'll go too." Naomi suggested. "The White Fang are going to be there. Maybe we'll be able to get some answers ourselves."
"Ruby and Jaune's team are heading there too. They're going to need all the backup they can get." Leon added.
"Ruby's in Haven?!" Blake asked.
Leon nodded his head. "Yeah, she went with Jaune's team to try and get some answers about what's going on. We don't know if they've arrived yet though."
"We have to go help them then!" Blake told them. "If Adam goes there, there's no telling what he'll do to them!"
"First thing's first, we're going to need backup." Naomi said. "Even if we go, I don't think we'll be able to provide much more help."
"You thinking what I'm thinking?" Leon asked with a smirk.
Naomi sighed and shook her head, but couldn't hide the small smile on her face. "I never thought I'd be happy to see Ovan again."
"We should head back to Rosemary. Ovan's grandfather should still be there. He can get us to Ovan."
"The next boat for that area won't be here for a few days I'm afraid." Ghira said. "But for now, we'll do what we can to gain support here."
"Sounds like a plan." Sun said with a grin and a thumbs up.
Adam paced back and forth in the base he was currently at. It was getting close to the day where he would be overthrowing Sienna and taking his position as high leader. All of the planning he had taken this far would be worth it. But there was still one nuisance that was nagging at him ever since he had received the latest report from his followers in Menagerie.
Blake was there.
"Of course it would be now of all times." Adam groaned, shaking his head. He wanted nothing more than to go to the island of Menagerie and make Blake suffer, watching it with his own two eyes. But he couldn't leave at such a crucial moment in his rise to power.
"You seem stressed, soon to be high leader."
The sudden voice caused Adam to quickly turn to the new arrival, reaching for the hilt of his weapon. He relaxed when he saw the person was only Cyrus.
"What do you want?" Adam asked. "I'm busy right now."
"Trying to figure out what to do about the runaway that showed up in Menagerie?"
Adam's eyes narrowed at the fox faunus. "You were eavesdropping on my conversation?"
"Apologies. I didn't mean to, but I happened to overhear the mention of my sister." Cyrus said, taking a knee before his superior. "Dealing with Blake, as well as Naomi might be difficult for our followers in Menagerie."
"You lack faith in their power?"
"I lack faith in their numbers." Cyrus explained. "With your permission, I'd like to deal with the problem of my sister and her human friend being there… personally."
"So you're asking me to let you go to Menagerie?" Adam asked. He thought about Cyrus's proposal. It was true that with their forces there, they might not be able to deal with four experienced fighters. But if Cyrus went there, perhaps things could proceed even more smoothly.
"Very well. Grab a ship and set out immediately. Time is of the essence."
"Thank you. I'll be sure my traitorous sister pays for her betrayal to our righteous cause, high leader."
"I'm not high leader. Not yet." Adam said.
"What can I say? You're one of the few I do have faith in." Cyrus said as he walked out and prepared to go to Menagerie.
Little did he or Adam know, someone else had been listening in on their conversation. Alana peaked her head out from where she was hiding.
'They said Naomi is alive?' Alana thought to herself. 'But… but Cyrus said she was dead. And why does he suddenly want to kill her?' The more she thought about it, the more scared she became. If she went to her brother now, he wouldn't give her the truth. So there was only one option left for her.
Alana quickly made her way to the docks. She hid in the cargo area, waiting for Cyrus to show up. Finally she saw her cerulean haired brother walk out and head towards a ship. She waited for him to climb up from the cargo area to the cockpit. Alana hurried inside as the back door of the ship began to close. Now she was all alone in the cargo hold of the ship as it took off. It would be a long trip, but she'd know what was going on once they arrived.
'I'm going to figure out what's going on.' Alana said. 'And if Cyrus won't tell me the truth, then I'm going to ask Naomi myself and get some answers.'
A/N: Oh boy, lots of stuff coming up for this fic. Next chapter will be the finale of Volume 4 for LION, though it will be incorporating some events that we have seen in Volume 5.
Also, with this upcoming chapter being the finale of the Volume for LION, Deviljho's Hatred and I have decided to do something he has recently done. As some of you that read Deviljho's Hatred's work may know, he recently finished Volume 3 for his RWBY fic Life of a Grimmborn, which was a grand whopping total of 20k words for the latest chapter. Taking that into account, we plan to make the final chapter of LION's Volume 4 an extended one as well (aiming for roughly 15k words). As a result, the next chapter might take awhile to write out, but I'm sure you will all appreciate the wait for what will be LION's longest chapter yet.