Blake woke up to the sound of a crash down the hall. Her eyes felt dried up, as if she'd been crying before she fell asleep. Then she remembered.
The exam. The police. The interrogation.
The tears started to well up again. Blake Belladonna was locked up in a holding cell in the Vale Police Station. She'd been caught. She thought she could escape her past and have a fresh start. How wrong she was. Now she was in a holding cell with metal bars for doors and concrete for walls. There was even a beeping tracker device on her ankle, likely due to her Semblance being deception based.
I've got to pull myself together!
She was lying on the stiff cot in the corner of the cell. Crying wasn't going to help her here. She needed to know what was going on outside the cell, and she needed a plan, fast.
Yesterday was the day of the entrance exam for Beacon Academy, a place Blake was hoping she'd be attending in a few months. Anyone was welcome to attempt the exam, which was a full day of testing and sparring to determine who possessed the necessary skills to be successful at the prestigious school. Blake knew the risks of being seen in public so shortly after escaping the White Fang, but she felt the need to make things right, to make up for all the hateful things she had done in the past.
The exam was split into a written segment and a sparring segment. The written exam was easier than Blake expected, focusing mostly on Grimm, Dust, and Aura; things she had become quite familiar with over the last few years of training, even without a formal education. It seemed that was the goal of the test; to determine how capable of survival you were. Blake didn't understand why many Hunters and Huntresses in training chose to study at feeder schools instead of practising in the real world like she did.
I guess some people don't want to have to risk their lives until their future's been secured.
Blake knew that most people that got accepted into the academies went on the graduate and become licensed Hunters or Huntresses, but until you got that acceptance letter it could be difficult to determine if you could actually fight a large group of Grimm and live to tell about it. Most of the students that got accepted into Beacon could tell you the exact number of Grimm they've slain, and of which type. For people like Blake, however, the number was simply too large to remember. Most Hunters and Huntresses in training her age haven't seen as many Grimm in their lives as Blake's killed in the past month. Blake thought she could use this talent for good, which is why she risked being recognized when she went to the Beacon entrance exam.
It was the sparring portion of the exam that had done her in. This part was split into two; first a fight against Grimm, then a sparring match with another applicant. She did well in the first portion of the sparring, in which she had to fight Beowolves, presumably to determine her fighting skill. She sliced through all eight Beowolves in just under twelve seconds, using Gamble Shroud to slice through the Grimm at their midsection, one of the weak points attacked less frequently by beginners due to many people's intuition to go for the head, but the midsection was just as effective, and more exposed. This strategy worked especially well with her Semblance, since she could bait the Grimm into attacking her clone, then attack them from behind where they can't defend themselves.
The final part of the exam involved sparring someone who had received a similar score to you on the first portion. Blake knew she would be fighting one of the best applicants after her stellar performance against the Grimm. She had to spar another Faunus girl with a large tail who gave Blake a hard time. She wore a navy-blue tunic tied at the waist with a gold coloured cloth belt. She had sky blue leggings on, which matched the colour of her shoulder length hair. The mystery girl also wore quite a lot of jewellery on her wrists, neck, and ears, all of which was gold, and even had her tail pierced! Three different golden rings about an inch apart were attached to the end of her tail.
That must've hurt to get.
The match started quite unceremoniously when Professor Goodwitch called out, "Begin!". The two Faunus girls circled each other, waiting for an opening. Blake noticed that this girl seemed like a lot more of a threat when she took a battle stance, and Blake was suddenly doubting herself. The girl's eyes seemed to drill into Blake's stare, and for a second it felt like the girl knew all of Blake's deepest, darkest secrets.
This is insane, she's just another opponent. I can't let myself freeze up!
While there was something about this girl that made Blake uneasy, she felt like she could beat this feeling if she attacked first, so she jumped at the girl with weapons at the ready.
Even though she was attacking, Blake still felt like she was on the defensive. She searched for an opening, but right when she found one, she found herself hesitating for a moment, and ended up only landing a few weak hits to the girl's torso. She felt extremely uncomfortable trying to get up close and personal with this girl, mainly because the girl fought with four weapons! On her left hand she held a small shield with a razor-sharp edge. The shield had a strange wheel pattern engraved into it, with nine spokes and nine dots in between them. When she saw Blake looking at her shield, the mystery girl jumped backwards and threw it at Blake. Dodging the throw, Blake thought that she had found another opening for attack, but when Blake lunged at the girl, her sheath was met head on with steel. This girl kept a dagger in her left hand too! Blake had rarely seen anyone wield two weapons with one arm in a fight, with the closest thing she could think of being her own Gambol Shroud, so this shield dagger combo caught her off guard. It didn't help that the girl held a short spear in her right hand, as well as another identical short spear with her tail.
Blake was in a total panic at that moment, as the girl had swung her tail around so that spears were pointing at Blake from either side, but it was the girl's shield that struck Blake from behind. It seemed that this girl's dagger and shield were infused with gravity dust, allowing her to throw her shield like a discus, then use the gravity dust imbued in the dagger to return the shield like a boomerang.
With a projectile, a dagger, and two spears circling around her from all directions, Blake simply couldn't keep up. Even when she tried to fall back after the attack, the girl was faster than her and closed the gap almost instantaneously. First it was a slash across the wrist from the dagger, then a too close for comfort miss by the spear in her right hand, followed up by a successful stab to Blake's inner thigh from the tail spear. Even though her Aura absorbed most of it, Blake still winced and fell to her knees in anguish, an even easier target for the girl standing over her. Blake tried to use a shadow clone to get behind her, but the girl's tail blocked the sneak attack, seemingly with a mind of its own, and the girl turned around and bashed Blake in the face with her shield.
After that, the girl unleashed another flurry of blows that Blake could only try to block with no hope of a parry. Blake took hit after hit, trying desperately to fall back and recompose herself, only to find three weapon equipped appendages already striking at her with perfect synchronization. By the time the match was called, Blake had used up almost all her Aura in what felt like a death by a thousand cuts style fight. It seemed the girl's strikes didn't have to a whole lot of damage when she can chain them together so easily.
"And that's the match!" Professor Goodwitch called out, signalling Blake's humiliating defeat, "Ms. Odis is the victor."
Blake wasn't much of a talker, so after the end of the match pleasantries she was off to the camp she had set up in Forever Fall, where she would await the results of the exam.
At least I have a new book waiting for me back at the camp.
The streets of Vale, usually filled with the sounds of cars and idle chit chat, were eerily quiet. Blake would have normally suspected something, especially since her cat ears allowed her to hear people whispering form quite a distance in an area like this. Unfortunately for her, Blake was lost in thought about who that Faunus girl was and how she was so good. The dexterity required to attack with all those weapons simultaneously was daunting…
POW!
Next thing Blake knew, she was on the ground with something cold and metallic pointed at the back of her head. In the midst of the throbbing headache and world spinning, she felt her Aura break completely.
Welp, I'm screwed.
Unable to use her Semblance, and still sore from the last fight she was in, Blake tilted her head up in the hopes of pleading for mercy, only for a hand to grab her head and her left temple to be met with a blunt object, her bow being ripped from her head as she fell to the ground unconscious.
When Blake awoke, she still had a splitting headache, but now she was handcuffed to a chair with a bright light in her eyes, blinding her. Trying to make out the silhouette of someone in the room by squinting, she called out.
"Who's there? W-Where am I?" She asked hesitantly.
"Well well well, look who's awake." A voice called out from behind the light.
"We got some questions for ya, missy." Another voice.
Blake couldn't tell what was going on, but from the sound of things she was being interrogated by two guys putting on terrible fake accents. The one with the deeper voice piped up.
"You wanna tell us about your little tape?"
Blake was confused. "What are you talking about?"
The one with the higher pitched voice clarified,
"I'm Axel, this is my partner Christian. We're detectives with the Vale Police. You showed up here at the station this evening incapacitated with a Scroll hanging around your neck on a necklace. The only thing on it was this video."
Suddenly the bright light was turned off, reveling the two men standing in front of Blake. The one called Axel had messy black hair, and Christian had short brown hair with a full beard and mustache combo. Other than that, both were dressed pretty much the same; white dress shirt with suspenders and black khakis, with both men wearing sunglasses.
Beside them was a TV on a rolling cart with a scroll hooked up to the video input. What Blake saw made her face go pale. Displaying on the screen was pretty much a "Greatest Hits" of her work with the White Fang over the last four years; footage of her stealing from dust shops, robbing trains, destroying hundreds of thousands of lien worth of SDC property. In those moments she had felt justified in her actions but looking back on them now only filled Blake with shame. She was a criminal, and there was nothing she could do to finesse her way out of the situation.
I haven't been doing myself any favours by wearing the exact same outfit all this time. Wearing a bow can only deceive people that don't already know what I've done.
"Did you really think you could hide from us?" Axel asked.
"I thought I was doing a pretty good job until someone else caught me for you." Blake loved giving snappy answers to stupid questions.
"Don't get smarmy with me young lady! I have half a mind to throw you in the-"
"Calm down Axel" Christian said, cutting Axel off, "Sorry about my partner, Ms. Belladonna. He can be a bit hot headed so it's best if you just answer our questions and save the commentary."
Are they seriously trying to good cop, bad cop me right now?
"Whatever" Blake replied, knowing there wasn't much she could say to defend herself.
"Just based on what we have here" Christian explained with a hint of pity in his voice, "You're looking at a minimum of eight years, and that's if the SDC doesn't press charges…"
"Really? I'm not even an adult you know." Blake was trying to keep it together, but inside she was reeling at the thought of spending the rest of her days locked up, just when she thought she was turning over a new leaf.
"Well there's only so many B&E's, destruction of property, and acts of terrorism we can overlook just because you're a 'kid', kid." Axel retorted with a slick grin. "I'll tell you what, you tell me where Adam Taurus is hiding right now, and I'll make sure to knock three years off your sentence. How does that sound?"
"I'd need to get that one in writing." Blake wasn't going to play games with her life. She needed to think her next moves over carefully if she was going to find away out of this. Or at least to mitigate this…
"Well even if you've got a lot of info for us, you're still probably gonna get two years minimum from your criminal case, and the SDC has a reputation of…making an example out of people like you in civil cases. I'll tell you now the sooner you talk, the better deal you'll get." Christian crossed his arms and gave Blake a shrug, as if to say, 'what are you gonna do about it?'
What Blake needed was time. "I need to soak this all in. Can we continue this tomorrow?"
Axel scoffed "We don't normally let the criminals dictate the terms. But if you can tell us a bit more about your time with the White Fang, I'm sure you'll find that we can be quite understanding."
Fair enough. I didn't expect to be let off the hook that easily.
"So, you want to know more about me?"
Christian and Axel both leaned in.
Blake told them her story, making sure to leave out anything that might incriminated her, other than the fact that she was a member of the White Fang; they already knew that. The peaceful protests turned violent. The discrimination. The friends lost to the fight. Both detectives took vigorous notes; leads this good would have to be followed up on.
"And what roll did you play in all these events?" Cross asked.
"What you saw in that video was all of the involvement I had with the White Fang. All the crimes and mistakes I've made were captured on this Scroll." Blake had no idea how all this footage even got filmed, let alone compiled, and while she was technically lying about this being all of her involvement, she wasn't going to voluntarily admit to any additional crimes that weren't on this tape.
This is the worst stuff I've done anyways, Blake noted as the video replayed a section where she used Gambol Shroud to systematically dismantle five Atleasian Knights that were supposed to be guarding a small shipment of dust at the Vale Shipyard.
Who even filmed this?
The footage was filmed from on top of one of the warehouses nearby, so someone had to have known she was going to be there and staked her out.
But why? What would they get out of it?
The pieces were starting to come together in Blake's mind, and she started theorizing.
Were they going to blackmail me? Did I upset them by leaving the White Fang?
Then she heard something. Most of the audio from the footage was various loud crashes and bangs from her fighting, but for a brief moment Blake could hear something from behind the camera. A soft jingling sound, as if the person filming was holding their car keys. It was very faint; Blake could only hear the sound through her cat ears.
Who could this be? Everyone I know is associated with the White Fang in some way, but I see everyone that was assigned to this mission in the footage. Also, I remember checking the parking lot to make sure it was empty, so there's no way that that's the sound of car keys!
Blake was so caught up in thought that she didn't notice the two officers giving her an inquisitive look.
"All right, are you gonna answer my partner's question or not?" Axel said.
"I'm sorry, what was the question?" Blake assumed she had zoned out and didn't hear them talking to her.
"Don't think you can play stupid with me!" Axel face was getting red. "You wanna play the waiting game that's fine by me." He motioned to Christian, who got up and headed for the door. "We'll continue this conversation tomorrow."
Axel got up, removed her handcuffs, and led Blake to a holding cell, throwing her in with enough force to make her stumble and fall. She was alone and encaged, with the loud CLUNK of the metal door slamming shut emphasizing the point.
Sitting in the middle of the cell, mind racing, Blake had no idea how she was going to get out of this one. Even if she could escape, there's no way she could get the tracker off without Gambol Shroud, which was undoubtedly stored somewhere she wouldn't have access to. Blake sat there contemplating her next move for what felt like hours before she passed out on the cot, tears running down her face.
The loud crash that had awoken Blake didn't seem to be an isolated incident, as many voices and noises could be heard coming from somewhere within the depths of the police station. Having never been arrested before, Blake wasn't familiar with the layout of the building, and as such had no idea what this commotion was about, or if it could be used to her advantage.
About a minute passed before the place fell silent, and Blake feel someone's presence down the hall. Her cat ears twitched as she listened to the soft sound of rubber on concrete; someone was walking her way.
Suddenly there was a terrible smell of smoke in the air. Blake took a step back to avoid the stench, when a man appeared before the door.
The man standing in front of her was wearing a white blazer with black and gold buttons, a grey scarf, and a black bowler hat with a red stripe that partially covered his orange hair. He slowly removed the cigar from his mouth and blew a puff of smoke into the cell while leaning on his cane.
"Hey kitty cat. I've got a proposition for you."
Who's this creep?
"I'm in need of some new recruits," The man said in a sultry voice, "and I heard you're the new hot shot on the block."
"Uh… What?" Blake had no idea what this guy was talking about.
"I run a little production across Vale's underground, and I'm trying to make a play. I need someone to help me with some heavy lifting until I can get some backup, capiche?"
"I don't know what you're insinuating, but I'm not in the business of committing crime." Blake was getting frustrated with this guy, who seemed to think she was going to help someone like him.
"Ooh, the kitty's got claws! But it seems that we're on the wrong sides of these bars if what you're saying is true."
"I gave up my life of crime! I want to live a good life and make up for my mistakes. Undo all the evil I've done, not add to it!" It was as if Blake was repeating a conversation that she had had with herself a few months ago when she was thinking about leaving the White Fang.
"Well it doesn't look like the law is going to give you that second chance to redeem yourself" The man leaned in, sticking his face right up to the bars, "But I can."
Why is this man so interested in me? Can't he see that I don't want to help him?
"The name's Roman Torchwick, and making miracles happen is a little hobby of mine. Tell you what, if you're so eager to prove yourself as a hero, I'll help you. I just need someone to watch my back for a bit. There's a new crook in town and if I don't watch my step, I could end up dead, or even worse, working for her! She's already approached me with an offer I can't refuse. You'll only be fighting off wanted criminals, and you can bring any of the guys you beat up to the police, much like someone seems to have done to you-"
"How do you know about that?!" Blake was furious.
I've heard of this Roman guy before, but how does he know so much? Did he have something to do with my arrest? With the video?
"You should know how fast word travels beneath the streets" Torchwick smirked, "And before you ask: No, I don't know who turned you in, but I'm sure you'll find out faster working with me than by yourself. Also, in case you aren't on board with my idea just yet, there's another man looking for you. I'm sure you know him well. If you don't come with me, there's little doubt that he'll be here sooner rather than later."
Oh no. Adam.
"Judging by the look on your face, you didn't see that one coming. Don't worry, if you come with me, I'll keep you far away from that crazy stalker boy of yours. Aren't I generous?" Roman chuckled at his own cunningness like anyone with even a small bit of egomania would.
"You've really backed me into a corner, haven't you?" Blake really didn't want to go with Roman, but right now it seemed like the only option.
"You backed yourself into this one all by yourself, little lady."
And with that Torchwick pointed his cane at the lock and blasted a three-inch-wide hole straight through the metal. The door slid open and Blake knew there was no turning back.
It's not like I had a better plan anyways. Besides, I can just ditch this scumbag as soon as I'm somewhere safe.
Torchwick started walking down the corridor unceremoniously, with Blake having to jog out of the cell to catch up. The two walked through the twists and turns of the police station in silence, eventually arriving at the evidence locker.
"It's been a while since I've raided police storage." Torchwick smiled, "See anything you like?"
Blake ignored the question and searched for Gambol Shroud. It was easily found, along with her scroll, in a locker labelled 'Belladonna'. A look of worry suddenly came across her face.
I hope my parents don't get dragged into this. I should have left the White Fang with them…
But now wasn't the time for regrets. She had to get out of here, and fast. She approached Torchwick, who was filling a duffel bag with various dust crystals and weapons lying around. Strangely, there was a locker labelled 'Torchwick', but the man hadn't even glanced at it.
"Uh… don't you want your stuff back?" Blake asked, confused.
"I've been stealing from the cops for years, honey. There's so many hidden trackers in there that they've probably got a guy working full time just to maintain them."
"Speaking of trackers," Blake responded, remembering something very important, "can you get this thing off me?"
Lifting her leg at Torchwick, Blake hoped he'd pull a lockpick out and get it off right then and there, but Roman just looked at her ankle with disinterest.
"Unless you want me to knock your socks off with your feet still in them, I can't help you. The device is made with a strong metal that's resistant to most cutting tools, but I know a guy who can get that off. For a price, of course."
"Then how do you expect me to get out of here without leading them right to us?" Blake was angry and confused, but mostly angry.
"With this!" Torchwick pulled a device out of an unlabelled locker. The thing looked like a makeshift signal router that was built by hand from scraps. "This is a wireless signal jammer. If you're close to this, that tracker is as good as useless." He flicked the switch on the back and a LED symbol on the front lit up; a wifi signal with a red 'X' through it.
So, I have to follow this guy around until I can find his friend…
"Ok. Let's move." Blake said, wanting nothing more than to get of there.
"Hmph. I've never seen a woman more eager to get back to my place!" Torchwick remarked with a sly grin, making sure to give Blake a promiscuous look that she hoped she'd never have to see again in her life.
The two swiftly made their way to the back exit, with Blake growing more and more suspicious as to why they hadn't met any resistance yet. Once they got out of the station, Torchwick signaled Blake towards a side alleyway where they hopped down a manhole and into the sewers beneath the streets. Despite the horrid stench, Blake felt a lot better now that she was out of sight of any potential authorities. Following Torchwick, she made her way through a series of secret tunnels that led to a metal door. Torchwick grabbed a set of keys from his pocket to open the door, and suddenly Blake had a realization.
"Were you the one who was filming me?!" She questioned but was almost certain in her accusation.
"What are you talking about?" Said Torchwick, confused.
"The police only knew I was a criminal because someone's been following me around and spying on me."
"Look, sweetheart. I don't have the time or the concern to set someone like you up. Someone obviously wanted to get you out of the way and I just took advantage of an easy opportunity. There's plenty of people I could get to do my dirty work, but you're the most talented and easiest to convince."
Blake wasn't entirely convinced, but the man seemed too obsessed with himself to actually go out and frame someone else. If anything, it was one of his henchmen, but she'd have to figure that one out for herself. She walked through the door into a large room.
Now safely inside one of Torchwick's hideouts, Blake was straight to business.
"So, where's this friend of yours that can get this tracker off?"
"Easy there. You know what they say curiosity did to the cat" Torchwick replied dismissively. "You just broke out of prison; you have to lay low for a bit while the cops are looking for you."
"Then bring him to me!" Blake was getting fed up with this.
"Ok look. Here's how it's going to go." Roman seemed equally as fed up with her, "I want you to do some jobs for me. I'll pay you to work for me. I can give you the guy's address, and when you have enough money to pay him to get that thing off of you, you're free to go. Until then you'll have a pretty hard time avoiding the police, and I doubt you can find another way to get lien. It's an equivalent exchange; your freedom for some grunt work. I'll even let you have the signal jammer, so you can do errands or whatever. I promise you it's better than any deal you could have made with the police and you can go right back to your life when it's over."
Blake was balling her hands into fists with rage.
I'm never going to get rid of this guy!
"Ugh. Just tell me what I have to do." Blake said quietly, finally admitting defeat, "And only work that'll help get criminals off the streets!"
"See! I get rid of some competition and you get to be the hero. It's a win-win!" Torchwick was excited, Blake could tell he was picturing all of the power plays he could make with someone as skilled as her by his side.
It's settled; I'll help him out until this tracker's off of me, then I'll take him down.
The two climbed a set of stairs that took them back above ground, into what looked like an abandoned warehouse. There were rows of shelves as far as the eye could see, filled with various goods that were likely not obtained through any legal means. Boxes of dust and weapons, as well as paintings and jewellery were scattered about in a somewhat organized fashion. Torchwick took his duffel bag of police station loot and plopped it onto an empty table next to a wall. This spot seemed like a makeshift office, with a desk and chair nearby, along with some maps and booklets.
Seeing all the paper lying around made Blake miss her books. All of her books were back at her makeshift camp out in Forever Fall. In fact, all of her belongings that weren't on her person were stored in that camp. The only thing she had other than that was the mailbox that she was renting out at the Vale Post Office. Ideally, she was going to live at her camp until she got an acceptance letter into Beacon.
Hopefully no one's found the camp yet.
Blake saw a book on the desk titled 'Remarkable Grimm and Where to Find Them', picked it up, and started skimming through the pages.
"Wow Roman." She remarked, "I didn't take you for an avid reader."
"Oh that? That's a gift for a friend. I ain't much of a bookworm, so if you see anything around here you wanna read, feel free to amuse yourself."
"Who's this friend of yours?" Blake found herself genuinely interested.
I can't believe he cares about someone enough to get them a gift. He doesn't seem all that charitable…
"If you wanna know more about her, you can ask her yourself. She's coming back soon, and I wanted to get her something. There's a box in the back that has a bunch of her books if you're bored." Roman motioned off in a particular direction and Blake went searching.
Sure enough, on one of the bottom shelves at the back wall there was a box of books with a small layer of dust on it. Blake reached down and went to pull the box out and noticed on the side someone had written in marker, 'Neo's Book Collection'. Opening the box, Blake found a ton of books about dust, aura, and fighting styles.
Seems like this Neo girl wants to be a Huntress too.
Underneath this layer of books there was a bunch of fiction titles, most of which Blake had already read. She picked out one book in particular, 'The Man with Two Souls'. This was a book that Blake had been planning on reading. The author, Ursula Berpdioloo, was one of Blake's favourites, but she hadn't found the time to start reading the book. Picking it up, she found a couch to sit on and read comfortably.
After reading a few chapters, Blake started to get tired. Torchwick had come busted her out of jail at around 3 am, and it was now 6 am. Figuring a quick nap wouldn't hurt, she lied down on the couch and started to drift off to sleep.
I wonder, what's Torchwick going to have me do?