GOMU GOMU NO!~ Welp, you'll all be glad to hear that I haven't given up on this story, and I plan to see through it to the end. With much-needed advice from both my PM's and discord, I decided to keep my story the way it is and simply elaborate on a few topics to clear up Jaune's plot hole regarding his SMILE devil fruit.

For those wondering, I always did plan for Jaune's first fruit to be a SMILE, but due to pacing issues, I tried to force the idea when his time skip from 6 years old to ten years old occurred. I'll admit this was a grave mistake on my behalf, and I apologize for the conundrums and confusion it created. However, Jaune's true devil fruit remains to be seen, but don't worry, I still plan to have another friend trail behind him.

Also, why is it when I waver to cancel my story, I suddenly get an explosion of story followers and favorites?! XD

With that, cheers everyone, and as always, happy reading!


"Say, Doffy, you never did tell me how your SMILE fruit works. I understand the consumption of one grants you amazing power, but how does it turn one into a Grimm?" The holy mother sipped from her wine, and the warlord guzzled down another bottle.

The outcome of the dispute between Carmel and Doffy didn't last long, but the damage was apparent. The dining table was split in half, and four display pillars littered the tiled floors in broken pieces.

The warlord chuckled.

"This new version of SMILE is a manipulative sort. First, it takes the form of what its consumer desires most and gives them the illusion of protection and power. It slowly feeds off the user's happiest emotions, draining them till only the darkest and most dreaded remain. After a few tests, Merlot and I discovered an apathy Grimm could also be spawned from the excess gunk, but this only works if the person who ate the SMILE has aura. Why this is, is still a mystery, like Merlot and I need to conduct more research."

Carmel nodded, she planned to have one of her own children bolster their power with SMILE, but the drawbacks were too significant for the holy mother's liking.

"The Grimm transformation process can also be enhanced if negative emotions and crowds surround the SMILE individual. This factor is the reason why the dust factory in Mistral's western mountains blew up. Who would have thought a single Faunus would be able to produce enough negative emotions to lure an entire horde of Grimm to their location!" Doflamingo cackled.

"Please don't remind me of that incident. It was fortunate that Lucci was around to kill off the survivors because knowing you, you'd probably let them live to spread the word of their trauma." Carmel sighed but did so with a smirk.

"Hehehe, you should have seen the faces of those slaves, they were so ready to grab onto power, but when they finally got a taste of it, they wanted to back out after they took their first bite!" The blonde warlord leaned in his chair and slapped on a toothy grin.

The holy mother scoffed.

"I still don't understand why you refused my invitation to setup Merlot's lab in Mistral. I could have offered you protection and accessibility. Instead, you have that crazy scientist cooped up in an abandoned storage facility in Mantle. How long do you think it'll take before the authorities catch wind of your operations, Doffy?"

"Concerned for me, Carmel? I'm touched. However, I know better than to trust a snake hiding in the grass. If I accepted your proposal, your security would spy on my operations and report to you daily. I can't have my competition get ahead of me now. After all, leopard tail's already netted himself a fine catch. Did you hear how he killed that skilled hunter with the duel maces? Hard to believe that Lucci had to put in some effort when he killed him."

Doflamingo tried to take another swig of wine but hesitated when Carmel shot him an annoyed glare.

"Is something wrong, holy mother?" Doflamingo whistled mockingly.

"The hunter's name, it was Rhode's, wasn't it?"

The blonde man blinked and lowered his bottle.

"Yes, why does the name mean anything to you?"

Carmel clicked her tongue and sighed.

"The man Lucci killed was someone I've been trying to track down for the past five years. He had valuable information that I wished to extract before having him assassinated. Why don't you and the others communicate with me when you take up Salem's missions? It would benefit us both if we knew what our intentions were."

Doflamingo shrugged and skipped off his chair. He rolled the bottle down the broken table, and it cracked when it hit the floor.

"Really? Well, you could have mentioned it during our last meeting with the pale hag. Unless there's something, you're hiding from everyone."

"Nothing of the sort. Rhode's was a hunter who served the Arc household and was close friends with my former husband. The chances of him knowing where Harold and his child fled is invaluable to me." Carmel grumbled.

"Hoh? This is news to me. Why didn't you get Lucci to chase after Harold in the first place? Knowing the cat's tendencies, he would have leaped at the chance to fight a world-renowned warrior like an Arc." The warlord raised his hands into the air for dramatic effect, but Carmel was not amused.

"I tried to get Lucci to do it, but he was already busy with another assignment from Salem. I even tried to get Crocodile to go after him, but he just laughed at me and ended our scroll call."

Doflamingo chuckled. "You could have asked me if I wanted to do it."

"You expect me to believe that you would have done me a favor without a catch?"

"No, but it would have been funny to reject your plea." The warlord smirked.

"Enough of this idiotic banter. Let's move on to why you actually came here, Doffy. You wanted something from me, didn't you? You don't stop by my mansion unless you have a demand."

Doflamingo cupped his chin with a malicious glint in his eyes.

"You promised me a genuine devil fruit for Merlot's next set of Grimm experiments after you came back from that 'soul world' of yours and said it would be ready for me the next time I dropped by. So why don't I see a devil fruit on a pedestal for me to take Carmel? Don't tell me you lied to me."

The sound of strings bristling around the warlord's fingers hummed in the ear of the holy mother.

"I do intend to deliver Doffy, but you must be patient. I did visit the 'soul world' to see if any devil fruits sprouted, but the withered tree didn't have any for me to pluck, and I already gave away the corrupted SMILE we created together to the blonde pirate. Not to mention we haven't seen another devil fruit since the first one grew ten years ago." Carmel frowned.

"I see," Doflamingo shook his head in irritation.

"This is a problem though, without an actual devil fruit for Merlot to extract data and perform tests on, we'll be pushed back even farther from the pale hag's deadline. I'm not going to take any blame for your procrastination, holy mother."

"You could always offer your Doffy." Carmel giggled.

"Watch it, you mountain witch, I'm well aware of your abilities, and I won't hesitate to kill you should you try anything funny." Doflamingo strutted to a tall window and kicked it's doors open.

"Say..." The blonde man hummed.

Carmel curled a brow when Doflamingo turned his neck and flashed her a curious visage.

"Is something wrong, Doffy?"

"How did you come up with that name you use to address yourself in the underworld of Mistral?" The warlord asked.

"What? If you mean holy mother, it's the same title I used in the grande-line and new world, but nowadays I use the title as my epithet for my huntress status."

Doflamingo shook his head and shrugged.

"No, I'm talking about your other alias, the one you used to fool that Vacuo spirit in your so-called soul world."

"Oh, you mean Malika? It's the nickname my dear Harold gave me when we got married." Carmel giggled in a mocking tone and peered down at the gold wedding ring she wore as a facade to give the public the idea that she still mourned the loss of her significant other.

"Huh, so what was the actual name of the Vacuo queen? Did she have any descendants?"

"Why are you so keen on this, Doffy?" Carmel huffed accusingly.

"I couldn't care less, but Croco-boy's been asking me about the royal bloodlines of the kingdoms. I don't know what he's scheming, but I figured he'd give me a few hints on his plans if I helped him out."

"Hm, well, if you must know, the Vacuo queen did have an heir, but after the great war, she stepped down from her position and allowed Vacuo to merge into the ways of democracy. I don't know where she went after she gave up her crown, but before I trapped her spirit, she did give me a name. I believe it was... Eve Taurus." The holy mother tapped a finger on her chin in deep thought.

"Well, that's all I need, for now, have fun with your special guests Carmel, I trust you'll keep our little rendezvous between us?"

"Of course, Doffy, what are friends for?" Carmel said in a sickly sweet tone.

With that, the pink-feathered tyrant took to the skies with a content chuckle.

"M-Mother Carmel!" I called a servant from the main doors.

"What is it?" She replied in a curt tone.

"Ms. Tsuru and General Ironwood have arrived!"


"Dad, above you!" Jaune shouted.

Hawkins' gaze snapped toward the sky. Above him, the stranger was leaping too and from and left puffs of white air behind him. He came crashing down on Hawkins' skull with a black fist, and the blonde magician ate dirt as a result.

"Funkfreed, time for another combo attack!" Jaune yelled.

"Pao!"

The blonde boy widened his stance and aimed for his trench-coated enemy.

"Ivory dart!"

Funkfreed shot out again, but this time the stranger was prepared. He dipped to the side and pounded the side of the elephant's skull with a black elbow. Funkfreed was sent spiraling toward the garden's bushes and dragged Jaune along with him as a result.

"Jaune!" Emerald panted. She locked her sights on her target and pulled the triggers of Thief's Respite. She didn't want to kill a man, but if she had to choose between her father and older sibling or some stranger, well, you can guess who Emerald would vouch for.

Unfortunately for the green-haired girl, the stranger's reactions were on point. He twirled his bamboo stick and parried her bullets, then blitzed towards her. Before Emerald could scream, the stranger clocked her right in the stomach and sent her flying to the same patch of shrubbery as her brother. His crimson pupils ablaze, Hawkins staggered to his feet and charged towards his opponent.

"Hmph!" Hawkins' longsword clashed against Vergo's bamboo stick once more. With a knocked out Jaune and Emerald behind him, the former pirate thrust forward in hopes of distancing the stranger from them.

"This isn't the cruel and sadistic magician Monet told me about. Are you really Basil Hawkins of the worst generation? I thought you'd have more in your arsenal than a few petty straw techniques." The stranger dislodged his weapon from Hawkins' and delivered a haki imbued kick to the side of the magician's head.

Hawkins snarled as he was forced to a knee. He'd faced Custard, who also possessed haki, but this man before him brought about a whole new list of advanced techniques. How did he vanish in an instant and appear in another spot in the blink of an eye? How did he jump in the air with nothing solid beneath him?

Biting back his pain, Hawkins used the momentum of the stranger's kick to spin around twice as fast. He managed to return a blow of his own, but Hawkins' efforts were in vain when he hit the stranger's haki coated cheek.

"That's your first point, Hawkins. I'm disappointed." The stranger sighed.

"Urk!" Another fierce blow to Hawkins' stomach, he bent over only for a knee to smack him upright. Latching a hand on the blonde's throat, Hawkins' gasping body fell limp as the stranger lifted him into the air.

With a fierce consecutive onslaught of haki coated punches, Hawkins' person was used as nothing more than a punching bag and brought near the brink of unconsiousness. His face swollen, it took all his strength to keep his blackened eyes open. Though the magician's sights were not on the stranger, they were on his fallen children who remained still and lifeless.

"Jaune... Emerald..." He coughed.

"Hm? Do you still care about those brats despite your inevitable death? Your soft personality is the reason why you're in this mess, to begin with, Hawkins. When I think about it, if you allowed me to kill the cat-eared girl instead of defending her, you could have landed at least one more attack on me." The stranger sighed.

"Blake! Where are you?!" Screamed a frantic chieftain. A mob of Faunus behind him, Ghira led the charge toward his home with narrowed eyes that burned with rage. His wife and Sienna close on his heels. They, too, had their claws out, expecting a fight.

"It seems this encounter between us has come to an end, Hawkins. I guess I should wrap things up now, so Monet doesn't get too angry with me. Now, where was that Belladonna girl?" The stranger scratched his cheek and peered up to the torn and burning balconies of the mansion.

Hawkins' mind was blurred, but he managed to catch the gist of the brutal man's intentions. Hawkins didn't care about being a hero, but an innocent fan of Sora, the warrior of the sea, was worth saving! That, and once the stranger completed his assassination, he'd come back to finish off Hawkins and his children, no doubt about it.

As he lay in the dirt, the magician's blood boiled, and steam surged from his pores. Demon's face wasn't enough to defeat his trench-coated enemy, and Straw Man Branwen took too long to manifest in Hawkins' weakened state. His heart throbbed, and his muscles wrenched as the devil fruit within him awakened a new form to meet its master's needs.

Straw poured through his veins like a torrent, and his face morphed to one of a frowning Japanese devil. Two curled horns protruded from the sides of his skull, and large fangs sprouted downward from the corners of his upper lip. A necklace of blue pearls hung loosely from his neck, and several white and red loincloths draped over his pants, just past his knees. His eyes enlarged in this form, Hawkins' crimson eyes flared to life with passion and determination.

The handle of a dull-spiked black club peeked through the straw on the magician's chest, and it matched the same metal of his iron nails. Hawkins withdrew the long weapon without question and narrowed his eyes on the stranger who now held Blake by the throat. His arm raised with a haki imbued fist aimed for the girl's head.

Twice the size of demon face, the voice, and name of Hawkins' newest creation roared through the gardens and bellowed over the roof of the Belladonna household.

"ONI GUARDIAN!"

"Hm, what was that-"

A fierce club to the jaw shut the stranger right up. In his rage, Hawkins failed to fully consider Blake in the equation of his attack, and both she and the black-haired man were sent through the roof.


Ghira and his fellow Faunus witnessed an explosion on the rooftops with the echoes of combat erupting before them. Shingles and splinters danced as they pittered against the ground, but all eyes focused when a voice called out from the crowds.

"Look! It's Vergo, and Blake too!" Shouted a Faunus with green feathers and amber eyes. This wasn't what Monet expected, but she had a role to play and decided it was best to go with the flow and remain in the shadows until a better opportunity presented itself.

The chieftain's head snapped to where Monet was pointing, and his expression turned fierce when he saw Vergo and a bloody Blake roll near the edges of the roof.

"My baby!" Kali screamed and charged forward with tears streaming down her cheeks.

"No, stop, Ms. Belladonna, it's too dangerous! Please let the guard handle this!" Saber pleaded and ordered his men to restrain the thrashing mother and her husband.

"The rest of you with me! We must protect Vergo and the chief's daughter no matter the cost!" The captain drew his sword, and with Sienna close behind him with her weapon drawn, the two led the charge towards the burning estate.

"I'LL TEAR YOU APART!" Yelled a menacing voice.

The blood of the crowds froze when an enormous hand of straw with iron nails for fingers flew over the other side of the mansion's roofs and hoisted up a monstrous being of incomprehensible malice. Standing before a dazed Vergo and unconscious Blake, a towering manifestation of straw loomed over them with an iron club in hand. Its sights shifting between the two bodies which lay upon the oak-colored shingles, the straw entity leaned down and reached out a hesitant hand for the Faunus child with cat ears.

Kali screeched in peril as the intimidating figure approached her helpless daughter, and Ghira's body finally burst into action.

"Raaaah!" The chief broke past Saber and Sienna and cast his purple coat aside. He dug his claws into the wooden pillars of his home and climbed at paces that no other Faunus could hope to match. When his feet planted against the roof, Ghira positioned himself behind the straw monster and tackled it from behind.

Big mistake, its lust for battle ablaze, the club-wielding entity solidified its stance and lashed out at its sudden attacker. It nailed Ghira in the skull, and the sound of crunched bones echoed as the chief's body rolled down the shingles then fell off to the ground below.

"CHIEFTAIN!" Cried the citizens of Menagerie.

"GHIRA!" Kali screeched.


Hawkins balked at the shrill screams that reached his ears. His bloodlust fading, the magician tilted his crimson gaze to see an ensemble of Faunus, along with his friends who wore faces of muddled horror. Hawkins peeked at his bloody club, then at the motionless body sprawled on the dirt beneath him.

"It looks like you did me a favor. In thanks for your cooperation, I'll make your death quick magician." The stranger congratulated a confused Hawkins with a dark tone.

The sun nipping over the horizon, a breathtaking sunset glazed over the assassin's sunglasses as he twirled a plank of coated haki with both hands.

"Archers, aim, fire!" Saber shouted, and his guards released a barrage of dust infused projectiles. Sienna also spun her whip over her head and fired three explosive disks of her own.

Hawkins howled in agony as his straw exploded and burned. His stance staggered. The former pirate failed to react to his initial opponent's advance. Their distance closed in the span of a second, the stranger dashed forward and crashed his black weapon against Hawkins' mid-section.

"Demon Bamboo!"

Ribs cracked, and muscles shredded. Hawkins hacked out a bucket's worth of blood, and his new transformation waned. The iron club in his hands shattered, and the horns on his head snapped. Straw shredded flippantly from the magician's body and exposed his pale skin under the sunset for all to see.

Monet smirked from the frantic groups below. Now was the time to turn the tides of the emotion of Menagerie's citizens in her favor.

"Look! The monstrosity was that blonde HUMAN all along!" She announced at the top of her lungs.

Hawkins' eyes shot wide, and he broke into a sweat when he realized his unfortunate predicament. The one time he wanted to do save someone with no ties to himself or his family, and it had to end up like this...

"Hm, I'm impressed your still alive, Hawkins. No matter, the mobs will take care of the rest." With that, the stranger patted the dust and dried blood off his trench coat. He walked over to Blake, who somehow managed to stay on the rooftop, and swung her unconscious body over his shoulder.

"Farewell magician." The stranger saluted and hopped down to join the Faunus mobs below.

Too hurt to move, Hawkins forced his head toward the gardens where his wounded children lay and squinted through swollen eyes when a familiar sight of bluish hair rushed over to them.


"Jaune, Emerald, are you alright?!" The angry crowds drowned Trifa's shouts. The girl broke away from the mobs of Faunus when the magician kneeled on the mansion's rooftops and dashed into the backyard where most of the destruction lay, and thanked Oum she found the Hawkins siblings huddled in the nearby bushes.

Their faces covered in bluish bruises, Trifa frantically shook her best friend awake. However, she yelped and jumped back when a few black and hazy sparks sputtered from Jaune's wounds.

"Oof, uncle Vito?" Jaune mumbled.

"It's Trifa, you idiot! But thank goodness you're alright!" The spider Faunus sighed in relief and waved to Kuma and Fiona. However, her brows curled, and her eyes widened when she saw the gathered mob swarm them.

"What the hell are you lot doing?!" Sam hollered as Saber's guards apprehended both him and his wife.

"Ow! let me go, damn it!" Annabel shrieked, as a muscular man, yanked her by her hair.

"I'm a professional huntress. I'm on your side, for Oum's sake!" Fiona yelled as Saber personally subdued her and pushed her face-first against the ground.

"All those with ties to Hawkins are hereby under arrest for trial and persecution!" The captain announced and had the wrists of each individual clasped with a pair of thick steel handcuffs.

"Keep them incarcerated until we've cleaned up the place!" Sienna roared.

"Hey, get those Faunus traitors! They're associated with Hawkins too!" Shouted a horse Faunus.

"Me-rero?!" Before Vito had a chance to speak a defense, a swift kick to the gut blew the air out of his lungs. When his eyes refocused, Vito found himself on the dirt with a sneaker pressing against his chest. He followed the orange pant leg up to the face of its owner, and his eyes met with a pair of glowing amber.

Kuma reached over the mob to help his friends and family, but thick blocks of snow halted his legs. He broke through them easily but found the temperature around him dropping at an alarming rate. The Faunus around the warlord shivered, and their breaths turned into white clouds.

"Fifty Layers Snow Hut!" Monet yelled and forced the crowd around the giant bear Faunus to spread away from him. Snowflakes turned into thick waves that swirled around Kuma's heels and engulfed him in an endless wave of frosted blankets that could withstand blunt attacks with ease. Punches echoed within the icy dome, but not a single crack managed to break through its exterior.

"You're lucky I have a snow semblance Captain Saber. If I didn't, we'd have no way of keeping Kuma at bay." Monet giggled.

"We are in your debt Monet, now; please allow me to tie up the hoodlum beneath you." Saber scowled.

"You're wrong! Hawkins and the others are innocent-rero!" Vito pushed Monet's foot off his chest and rolled to his feet. He knew the chances of him escaping were slim, but Hawkins, Jaune, Emerald, and Trifa still had a chance!

"Bang!" "Bang!" Bang!"

Bullets infused with extra explosive properties exploded around the magician. Hawkins had enough strength to see who was responsible and was shocked to see Vito calling him.

"Hawkins, take your kids and Trifa and run-reroooooo!" The gunslinger ran and rolled to avoid the icy clutches of Monet. None of the surrounding Faunus dared to interfere with their fight in fear of getting shot or chilled to the bone. Vito fired another round of bullets at the ice woman, and she winced as the hot explosions made contact with her body.

"You might be a special power user, but even with your amazing element, you're still weak to simple things like heat-rero!"

"Bang!" "Bang!"

"Hold still, you damn chameleon!" Monet hissed and launched a barrage of rabbit themed snow at Vito.

Hawkins coughed and waved away the smoke. His bones were broken, but he could still use them. At least his haki had served some benefit in his fight against the trench-coated stranger. There was no other option now other than to run. He couldn't afford to confront an angry mob in his condition, and the chances of them listening to reason were null.

"Come on, you damn body..." Hawkins gritted his teeth and clawed his way to the roof's edge. He could see Jaune and Emerald, along with Trifa, huddled behind a set of bushes. He could tell they were frightened, he knew they were lost and hurt, and he knew he didn't want to lose any of them.

When the smoke cleared, Kali, Sienna, and Saber, along with the rest of the Menagerie populace, were infuriated to see that the blonde human had slipped away.

"Secure the perimeter and see if there are any others who are wounded!" Saber hollered.

"Augh!" Vito thudded against the dirt a second time. His clothes were torn and his hair disheveled, his shade lenses were cracked, and they dangled on the nibs of his ears.

"Give it up, 'Phantom Gun' you're not strong enough to beat me." Monet lashed out another volley of snow rabbits, and Vito retaliated with another round of ammunition. Her attack outnumbering that of Vito's, the gunslinger was bombarded and brought to his knees.

Vito's revolvers fell to the ground, and Monet made sure to bind the gunslinger with strips of hardened snow, and Saber's guards took care of the rest. With the entire Hawkins troupe in chains or snow shackles, the mob of Faunus cheered for their victory.

"Thank you for your service, Monet. We are in your debt." Saber let out a long sigh and veered his scowl to the defeated chameleon Faunus.

"Th-This is wrong, and you know it-rero..." Vito wheezed.

"That's enough, guards, take him away." The captain frowned when he glanced at his friends' damaged home.


"Huff... Huff..." His breaths ragged, Hawkins trudged through the trees and thick bushes of the forest with both his children under his arms in his Demon Face form. Despite her protests, Hawkins also gave Trifa a piggy-back ride because he knew the young Faunus wouldn't keep up with him and that she'd get caught with the others if left behind.

Hawkins didn't know where he was running. The only thing he cared about was getting away from the angry mob who begged for blood. Faint screams and footsteps close approaching, Hawkins turned to the left, but a whisper begged him otherwise.

"No... Not that way, Captain... To the shore... Go to the shore..."

The magician broke into a sweat. This voice, it was the same one that spoke to him in his dreams and hazed thoughts.

"Please... Hurry... They'll catch up to you if you don't hurry..."

Hawkins didn't understand where this voice was coming from or who it belonged to. His judgment blurred by fear and anxiety, the magician's heartbeat spiked then skipped a beat.

"Thump!~"

What... What was this sensation that struck his heartstrings? His sight blurred by pained tears, Hawkins slowed his pace and faltered on a tree stump. His face smothered in mud, his grasp on his children never waned. He gasped and tried to stand, and a frantic Trifa pleaded him not to.

"H-Hawkins, please don't push yourself too hard! You'll kill yourself!" Trifa wailed.

"Y-Yeah, dad, we can run on our own!" Jaune and Emerald cried.

"I don't want any of you to die, so shut up!" Hawkins' outburst put a lid on their voices. Those pained eyes of the stoic man they'd come to respect as a father figure, they were a sight they'd never seen before.

A storm of regret and melancholy thundered in those crimson pupils, and his trembling frown screamed that he was afraid. Trifa felt a new ember of passion burn in the pit of her stomach and did her best to be brave. She assisted Hawkins to his feet, and the two ran side by side with Jaune and Emerald still under the blonde's arms.

"Thump!~"

Again that same sensation. It didn't hurt, but Hawkins' other senses alienated the feeling.

"Thump!~" "Thump!~."

Drenched in sweat, the colors around Hawkins blurred into nothingness. Yet, a single sprite remained. A soft blue orb that slowly sparked into something else. Was that a small person? For some reason, it was as if Hawkins knew this entity, but nothing in the blonde man's memory could make sense of what he was seeing.

"THUMP!~"

The magician's heart twitched again. This time his attention turned to the way he came: more lights, these ones a dark red which burned in fury and hatred. Hawkins could hear... no feel their presence! His past traumas whirring in his mind, the blonde father broke into an all-out sprint, and his legs of elongated straw carried him further through the forest. Darkness taking hold of the sky, Hawkins prayed to Oum this entity was one he could trust.

"You're almost there, Captain... Just a little farther..."

The sounds of a hammer striking wood echoed in his ears, but Hawkins ignored it until he reached the outlying shores of Menagerie.


Night had fallen, and the moon shined brightly over the broken Belladonna household.

"That's it, Kali? You're already putting off the search for Hawkins?" Monet frowned, a tinge of annoyance apparent in her voice. Stuck in the Belladonna mansion, the bird Faunus found herself in the sleeping chambers of Kali.

Ghira's wife remained still. Her hands clasped over those of his sleeping daughter and husband. Kali shook her head.

"Hawkins is a criminal, and he will be put to justice, but as a loving mother, my family is my priority." She said sternly but did so with a lamentable expression.

"You need to go back and set the citizens straight, Kali. They're on the verge of committing a crime of their own. If you hadn't incarcerated Hawkins' colleagues, Oum knows what the people might have done." Saber spoke softly and placed a hand over that of the doting mother.

"I... I can't leave Blake and Ghira on their own like this." Tears rolled down Kali's cheeks as she leaned her head on her child's forehead.

"Ms. Belladonna?" The bedroom door clicked open, and a man adorned in a white trench coat walked in with a tray in his hands. On the tray were four steaming cups of green tea.

"Ah, Vergo, what is it?" Kali rubbed the tears off her visage and greeted her ally with a soft smile.

"I've brought you tea from the doctor. She said it would help you all recuperate your senses." Vergo smiled.

"You're too kind, Vergo." Kali sighed and accepted her cup, and thanked him.

She drank the liquid in three gulps flat. Seconds passed, and the woman's head felt light. She staggered and rested a hand on the headrest of her husband's bed for support but fell back first onto the floor.

"I didn't expect the sleeping agent to be that effective." Monet curled a brow at the snoozing Belladonna.

"I slipped in an extra three doses to keep her out of our way," Vergo explained and passed a cup of laced tea to Monet. They tilted the heads of Ghira and Blake and poured the tea through their lips with careful hands.

"So why are we keeping the Belladonna's alive again?" Vergo asked.

"It's better this way. They'll serve as a living reminder to Menagerie's citizens that Ghira's soft and weak leadership led to his family's crippled state. Thus, allowing me to coerce even more Faunus under Doffy's banner when he comes by to take over the island." Monet smirked.

"I see, well then, without their leader to guide them, I think it's time for us to make our move." Vergo positioned Kali in a way, so she appeared to be mourning for her loved ones. Then grinned and followed the sway in Monet's hips as they left the mansion to meet with the angry mob of Faunus gathered in the city square.