Nina was back in the cell...curled up in the corner and trying to rest. Blood dripped from her hollow eye socket, and everything felt cold. The door opened, and Carl stepped in, chuckling.
"Let me tell you, clawing that eye out was even more fun the second time." He taunted. "You should have seen your face when I crushed it. It was like I had your soul in my hands."
She looked up at him weakly, the air around her turning to frost. "St-stay back."
He only grinned wider. "That's right, you have a semblance now. You know, aura and semblance are really just parts of your soul...I could have your actual soul in my hands."
She gasped, as he lunged forward, grabbing her by the throat. His aura flared up, and she screamed, waking up. Nina panted for breath, looking around. She was in the dorms. She was safe. Her teammates jumped awake at the shriek, and Reed was the first one to her.
"What's wrong?" He asked. "Another nightmare?"
She nodded. "It was worse...he...he was there...it wasn't just memories, or seeing things, I felt it...I felt him-" She didn't even notice that she was crying until the tears fell on her blanket. "I...I can't...I can't keep reliving it..."
Reed pulled her into a hug, looking over at Crimson as he did. "We have to do something."
Crimson sighed. "Yeah...yeah, I know...Ozpin said Carl being brought down might give us closure, but that was last semester...we're already a quarter of the way through this one...what are they waiting on?"
"They're scared." Nina muttered. "He's too powerful...he has your company, he has Alabaster, his semblance, he...how do you fight that?"
"Take down what he has." Melanie said. "Hit him where it hurts. If he's planning something, disrupt the plan. If he needs something, keep it from him. As good of a fighter as he is or may be, when you take away his resources, he's just one guy."
"We need more intel." Crimson muttered. "We have pieces, but not enough to put the puzzle together."
Nina looked up. "Kane...if anyone knows it's him."
Crimson folded his arms. "That...might work. Nina, can you go to him? Ask for his help?"
She nodded. "Yeah, probably. He wants Carl taken down as much as any of us."
"Good...then let's get ready...we're not waiting any longer." He stated. "This time, he's the one that gets to hurt."
Nina entered the White Fang camp, heading straight for the main tent. Several members looked up at her, but none intercepted. Lizzie appeared right in front of Nina just before she reached the tent.
"You have to stop coming here." She said.
Nina shook her head. "Strikz...we need information on him, information that you and Kane have."
Lizzie scoffed. "What, so you can arrest him?"
"So we can hurt him." Nina said. "He's too powerful...we need to take down his resources, his projects, whatever is important to him right now."
Lizzie paused. "You want to back him into a corner..."
Nina nodded. "Whatever happens after that, happens. If the teachers arrest him, or you kill him, or he runs away, I don't care, but I want him gone."
Lizzie grinned. "Does this mean you're joining us."
"No." Nina stated. "I still want to be a Huntress...but that doesn't make us enemies. If we both care about making things better, we should work together."
"I couldn't agree more." Kane said, stepping out of the tent. "But that doesn't change the fact that what you're doing is against the law. Are you sure you wanna go through with that?"
"Yes." Nina affirmed. "Crimson's coming up with a plan...we just need to know what to target."
Kane grinned. "Alright...saturday, meet here."
Nina smiled. "Thanks."
"We're helping each other." He said. "That's what matters."
Saturday came, and the team arrived at the camp. Lizzie led them to the main tent, where Kane had plans laid out.
"First thing's first." He stated. "I have to know what this means to each of you. You may have your moral reasons for this, but you have personal ones too. All cards need to be on the table."
Crimson nodded. "He was behind my father's death."
"So you want revenge?" Kane asked.
Crimson paused. "Yes."
"Good." Kane said. "Revenge is a powerful motivator. Use it, but don't let it control you."
"He separated me from my sister." Reed said, looking over to Lily. "I don't want anyone else to go through the pain we did."
"Guardianship." Kane observed. "You want to protect people. Focus that on your team, cover their backs, and trust them to cover yours."
Melanie folded her arms. "He's a piece of shit that does nothing but hurt people, and yeah, that includes me, so I want him brought down."
Kane grinned. "Justice? Less personal, but still good. You're gonna stay on task."
Nina took a deep breath. "I'm tired of being scared...I'm tired of waiting for things to get better or worse...I want to do something about it."
Kane eyed her. "Conviction...hold to that, Nina. If you can hold on, you won't be scared anymore." He looked around at the four of them. "Alright. Let's talk strategy."
