Lotus slept in late.

She was having nightmares again.

'A man leaning down, hand outstretched. Her appendage, piercing through his chest. Her blurry eyes cleared to reveal his face. He ignored the hole in his chest. His hand was reaching out in sympathy. Trying to help her with that hand. An offer of kindness, not a threat on her life. The faces changed. Now it was the man she had shot. The guards she had tricked. The policemen she had killed. Over and over, each time a new face appeared, her appendage struck. No matter how badly she wanted it to stop, to leave them alive, to WAKE UP!'

Lotus sat bolt upright and blinked away the dredges of sleep as the specifics of the nightmare retreated from memory. She breathed a sigh of relief now that it was over. It had been weeks since they were able to leave the safehouse that Malachite had put them up in. Lotus let her eyes drift around the small room that she was sharing with Widow. It was a mess. The older spider faunus had gone stir crazy while being cooped up, and began to drink to pass the time. Both empty and half empty bottles lay strewn about the floor and on top of the furniture.

The death of Biscotti had the opposite effect of what they'd intended. The police presence had increased ten fold along the edges of the slums, with convoys regularly driving through to stop and search random faunus in an effort to find Lotus and Widow. They had been forced to leave in a hurry due to the explosion. The Precinct cameras that they would have normally destroyed afterwards had been left unharmed, and along with it, perfect recordings of the two spider faunus. Random street cameras along the Residential District had spotted them making their way into the slums, but couldn't track them further in.

Lotus cringed at the memory of the first news report they'd seen. The police had shared her description, along with the image off Jace's scroll that they had apparently confiscated after the raid. 'The Black Lotus' was the name they had gone with, to match the images provided by the scroll. 'Well, so much for ever having a normal life.'

Widow had assured her that the searches wouldn't last forever. The police would give up in due time, leaving them free to return to their task. With a little more caution thrown in, of course. Lotus looked at the red haired woman. She was stretched out across her bed, one arm draped over the side, still partially holding a half filled bottle of some cheap alcohol. Even after two weeks, Lotus hadn't worked up the courage to talk to her about her dreams. About her doubts. The woman was dead set on her crusade, and Lotus was afraid to share her fears. 'What if she rejects me?' Lotus shivered. She didn't want that to happen. Widow was the only family she had left.

"Are you just going to stare at me all morning, or do you want to make us breakfast?" Widow mumbled from her place on the bed. Her hand let go of the bottle she was holding as she rolled over. Widow placed a hand against her eyes and began to massage her forehead with a groan, "And close the window shades while you're at it."

Lotus looked over to the window, "They are closed." Widow moaned and flipped over, burying her face in the pillow and making a shooing motion towards the door followed by a muffled reply, "Something light. My stomach can't take much."

Lotus quietly left their small room and walked into the kitchen, 'What's good for a hangover?' She didn't have much experience cooking, and none with drinking. Her mother had taught her some of the basics when she was younger, but her mind had always been more focused on her comics. None of it had stuck. 'Eggs?' It was pretty much the only thing she could reliably make without burning it. That and toast. Lotus nodded to herself and got to work making breakfast for the two of them.

The aroma of cooked eggs and buttered toast must have wafted into the room from the nearby kitchen. Widow came out ten minutes later when the food was just about ready. Her hand was still up massaging her temple, unsuccessfully trying to nurse her pounding headache.

"Mmmhm, good choice, little spider," Widow took the plate offered to her and unceremoniously scooped the egg on top of her toast, choosing to eat both at once. Lotus poured her a glass of cold water as well and slid it across. Widow nodded her thanks and dug in. Lotus was more reserved. Her nightmares had taken away her appetite, so she rarely ate so early in the morning anymore. Still, she nibbled at it, if only to keep herself from feeling too hungry later in the day.

"Alright, spit it out. What's wrong?" Widow said between bites, letting her eyes drift up from her plate to focus on Lotus.

"Huh? N-Nothing... "

"You're a bad liar… and you thrash in your sleep, little spider. Even in the depths of inebriation, my senses will pick up that much movement," Widow gave Lotus a worried frown.

'Should I just tell her? Widow wouldn't reject me… I'm her only family left too, right…?'

"I've been… having nightmares."

When it seemed like that was all Lotus was going to say, Widow made an exasperated 'go on' gesture with her hand.

"I keep seeing the faces of the people I've killed. I'm just… having doubts about what we're doing. Did they all really deserve it? How can I be sure? It's all I've been able to think about lately, stuck in here like we are…" Lotus waited for the woman's disdain, but Widow didn't offer any.

Instead, Widow turned her head away in thought, eyes going distant. She finally turned back and set her food down onto the plate. Widow dusted the crumbs off her hands and gave Lotus a warm, but hesitant smile when she turned back. There was a tremble on her lips as Widow stood from where she had been sitting and moved to the same side of the table as Lotus. Her hands fell down to her sides, gripping the lower hem of her shirt tightly.

Widow started hesitantly, slowly. There was shame in her eyes, a look of memories that she couldn't bare to share with the young faunus, "I… I didn't want you to see this. I had doubts, once upon a time, too. I thought the humans could be forgiven..." Widow raised her shirt, inch by inch, while she faced Lotus. "You hear stories... about what happens in the Schnee Mines," Lotus's eyes widened as the first scars were revealed. Long, jagged patches crossed Widow's otherwise perfect skin in every direction. Four, five… dozens were fully on display once Widow finally pulled her shirt off completely.

"It isn't just the faunus that hear those stories, little spider. The humans do, too. They just choose to ignore it. 'It'll never happen to me, right?' It's… dangerous to share that attitude as a faunus. I paid for my mistakes. Paid more than most…" Widow quietly turned around, and Lotus gasped in horror at the large angry red welt that was burned into her flesh. 'SDC' in prominent, bold letters was branded on her upper back, just beneath her left shoulder. Along with it, another dozen scars crossed her back in every direction.

The young faunus let her hand glide forward, and very gently felt along the scars on Widow's skin. The older woman flinched at her touch, shoulders tensing. Lotus stopped, but after a few seconds Widow relaxed to let Lotus trace her hand along them. Widow spoke into the silence, a quiver in her voice.

"Could you do it? Could you ignore the pleas of someone that was being tortured? Humans don't feel empathy, little spider. They only understand fear. Fear of the strong, the fear of death. Given the chance, they will take advantage of their power over you. They'll abuse it. Treat you like a play thing that can be replaced when it breaks…"

Lotus wiped the tears from her eyes as Widow turned back around, now pulling her shirt back on. That look of shame was still in her eyes. 'How… how dare… who could do this!?' Widow was right. Lotus had heard the stories, but up until now, that was all they had been. Stories. The proof right before her eyes… 'Widow…'

"I'm… I'm so sorry you had to go through that," Lotus crashed into the older woman and wrapped her in a tight hug. Her appendages appeared as well, doing the same. Two arms weren't enough. Lotus needed her to feel the emotions, the love, that she felt for Widow. She wanted her to feel safe. Widow returned the hug. It was gentle, tired. Lotus hugged her even tighter. Lotus didn't keep track of how long they stood in their embrace. She would stay there until Widow pulled away.

Eventually, Widow pressed her head down against the top of Lotus's and began to mumble, "You've had your own hardships too, little spider. As awful as it may sound, I'm… glad... that you're still here with me."

Lotus felt shame of her own struggling to the forefront of her mind, "That's not.. the only thing that's been on my mind."

Widow seemed to notice the hesitance in Lotus's voice and clutched her tighter, "Tell me, little spider. I promise not to judge you." Widow let out a slight sobbing laugh.

The guard's words came back to her from that terrible night, 'Some faunus told us where they were!'. Lotus had been racking her brain over the past couple weeks, trying to figure out who could have betrayed their hideout. Her mind had settled on one possibility, one recurring thought that drove her to despair. She hadn't dared to share it with Widow, but as they were now… Lotus was feeling her resolve break under the weight of the remorse they both shared.

"When I was at the warehouse that night… I overheard the guards talking about the raid. I panicked. I wanted to know what was happening. The one I left alive told me that a faunus sold out our base… I've been thinking about it, and… It might have been my fault."

Widow pulled away slightly to look Lotus in the eyes, "What do you mean, little spider?"

"There was someone that I injured, twice. The first time he was trying to barge into the house I was hiding away in… the second time he was lying in wait for me to get there… Jace convinced me to let him live, but we let slip that we were with the White Fang… I… He might have been the one that betrayed us…"

Widow pulled Lotus back into their embrace, shoving the girl's face against her chest, "Don't even think that! It wasn't your fault, little spider. There were any number of faunus that could have been persuaded to turn against us."

Lotus nodded numbly, she really wasn't so certain. 'Maybe I'll have Malachite look into it…'

Lotus was itching for a fight. Nearly a month had gone by while she was cooped up in that safehouse. Her eyes glared with murder from beneath her hood at every person unfortunate enough to fall under its gaze. Her semblance was activated, on high alert. Lotus stretched them out. While they didn't really get sore from disuse, she still missed being able to flex them freely. The small interconnected rooms of the safehouse had offered little in the way of space. With them outstretched to their fullest, Lotus noticed with a small smile that they were getting bigger as she aged. When they had first manifested at eleven, she would have guessed they'd been just under ten feet long. Now at thirteen years old they easily spanned twelve and a half feet each.

Her limbs retracted as they arrived at Malachite's hideout. The same guard stood outside. His eyes fell on them and he quickly opened the door, not stopping to do the normal charade and asking what they wanted. The room was crowded, twice as many thugs and vagrants in purple attire lined the walls or sat at the tables. 'Afraid of the cops, or of us?' Either way, Malachite was right to be. 'Hopefully this isn't a sign of bad news. If you don't have any information…' Lotus was understandably not feeling very patient at the moment.

"Welcome back, my little daredevils. That was quite the stunt you pulled, killing Miscotti in the station along with all those other officers. I must say you have truly outdone yourselves on your end of the bargain," Malachite laid it on thick, "I'm happy to say that I found one of the names you seek, amidst the chaos of trying to outwit the police. It wasn't easy, but I'm hoping now that they've relaxed, we'll be able to find your huntsmen more easily. Until then, we have the first of the four."

"Just one of them? You've had three weeks, Malachite," Lotus snapped it out, clearly frustrated.

Widow put a hand to her shoulder, "Patience, little spider. All in good time. I'm sure Miss Malachite wouldn't want you… upset, with her, now would she?" Widow spared Malachite a glance long enough to see the woman firmly shake her head 'no'. "You see? We'll take our time on this one, and by the time we're ready for another, they'll have a new name to give us."

Lotus huffed and ground her teeth together, "I just want this over with... " but at a reproachful look from Widow, let herself calm down a little, "Alright… Who have you got for us?"

Malachite waved Maca over, carrying the familiar manilla folder that was then plopped down on the table between them. She opened up the front and spun it around to face the other two across the table, "He's a brown haired huntsman by the name of Mars Vasilias, currently living in the Mistral Residential District. The address is at the bottom there."

Widow read over the file, committing all the details to memory. Lotus double checked the image that had been provided. 'That's one of them all right.' She could still see the man in her mind, see him at the scene where her life had been ruined a second time. 'You'll pay, Vasilias.'

"Now, I hate to break it to the both of you, but I did not simply shelter either of you out of the goodness of my heart," Malachite raised a glass and took a sip, now speaking from behind it to hide the quirk to her lips, "If you wish to continue using my safehouse, then I'll need something in return."

Lotus's anger threatened to flare back up, but Widow's hand squeezed her shoulder tightly, "We have been most appreciative of your accommodations the past few weeks. However, I believe we could both due with somewhere a bit more… spacious. In return for our continued service, I'd ask that we instead be paid. We can find our own living quarters from there."

Malachite seemed to take it into consideration. She likely wanted to be able to keep easier tabs on the two, and keeping them staying at her safehouse would certainly do that. She eventually just smiled, though. Malachite shrugged her shoulders in defeat, "That's fine with me, ladies. I'll let you choose your next target off the list," she tapped the folder in front of her, "After you've finished with your current mark, of course. Feel free to continue using the safehouse until then."

"How very kind of you," Widow smirked and pulled the file for their intended target out of the folder, "Wish us luck?"

"Oh, I doubt very much that you'll need that. Happy hunting, ladies."

It was a nice house. Large, two story, with a balcony protruding out of the front of it that overlooked a large pool. Their target was on the balcony, looking out over the yard with a frown on his face and a bottle in his hand. Widow gestured for Lotus to follow her, and together they moved from bush to bush whenever Vasilias' gaze was elsewhere. Soon enough they were pressed up against the side of the building, beneath the balcony he was standing on.

Lotus wasn't feeling very nice. She didn't feel like giving the man a chance. With one quirk of an eyebrow to Widow, who nodded back in approval of what Lotus was about to do, she thrust all four of her appendages up into the balcony above them. With a loud crack, the stone of the balcony shattered. The corner sheared off where Vasilias had been standing, dropping him in a heap of glass and rubble as he landed on the ground in front of the spider faunus.

All four appendages then wrapped around the huntsman, coiling in a vicious embrace that sparked against his aura. Lotus could feel it, 'He's really strong!' All the more reason to deny him any chances to break free. He thrashed in the hold, trying to wiggle out of it, but soon realized that whatever it was that held him was not letting go, and that with each move, the barbs wrapped around his body bit more and more into his aura reserves. His eyes frantically settled on Lotus, widening at the sight of the small child with murder etched across her face.

"L-look, I don't know who you are," Vasilias started groggily. Lotus could see the lump forming on his head where he had hit it, likely unprepared for the sudden fall and proceeding rubble that collapsed on him, "If you're here for lien, it's in a safe inside. Take it. It's yours."

"I didn't come here for your lien," Lotus hissed, eyes narrowing dangerously. Her appendages responded by sawing back and forth a few more times, dropping the man's aura even further, "You took away my family! Slaughtered them, with no regrets!"

Vasilias paled, eyes widening. Strangely, there was a deep sadness behind them, "You're part of the White Fang!? I'm sorry! We were just meant to detain them, but then when their auras were down, and they just kept fighting… We didn't have a choice!"

Lotus was taken aback, but her anger seethed anew the next moment, "And that's your excuse for killing Jace!? He was about to start going to Haven! He was going to make something of himself!" Lotus choked up slightly at the realization she made, "I-I was going to make something of myself!" She glared down at the man fiercely, "You ruined everything!"

"I'm sorry!" the man yelled, tears in his eyes.

"You will be," Lotus replied simply. She didn't smile. There was no humor in what she was about to do.

The man's aura still remained despite the pressure that Lotus had been applying. At a guess, he still had three quarters of it left. 'Huntsman are a different breed…' Lotus's eyes took in the pool behind him. Her smirk didn't reach her eyes. "All that power you hold over other people, yet you can die just like any other." She kept him coiled up as she dragged him across the ground to the pool. Vasilias seemed to recognize what she was about to do, and doubled his attempts to escape. Arms bulged against immovable appendages as Lotus lowered him down into the water.

He tried to hold his breath, to wait out his time beneath the lapping waves of the pool, but Lotus did not bring him up for air. Vasilias' eyes begged from underwater, a silent plea to let him go, to let him live. She ignored it. Her family had not been left alive. Neither had the White Fang. This was personal. He was one of at least four still breathing that should not be. It would be a travesty, a blemish on the world if he still lived.

A few minutes later, the final bubbles of air that had been trapped in Vasilias' lungs escaped. With her senses, Lotus could feel the water rushing into his lungs to replace it. It was… unpleasant, but she stood steadfast through it. The beating of his heart finally stopped, aura vanishing all at once, and Lotus retracted her appendages as he floated back to the surface. All things considered, it could have appeared like the man had just fallen down from the balcony as it cracked beneath him, been struck unconscious by the rubble, and then drowned in the pool.

"One down, three to go," Widow said quietly, stepping back into the light from where she'd been hiding the entire time.

"Where'd you go?" Lotus frowned. 'Surely she would have wanted to see his death just as much as I would?'

"Oh, you had it under control, and I did actually want the lien from that safe," Widow flashed a fistful of lien before repocketing it, "Well done, little spider. We're one step closer to our goal."

Both of the spiders glanced up towards the front gate, a presence suddenly approaching it that was unseen due to the wall between them. They both dipped into nearby bushes and waited to see who this would be.

The gate swung open on well oiled hinges, admitting a tall boy about Lotus's age with a shock of blue hair, spiked up. A pair of goggles rested against his forehead, as he froze mid-swagger, eyes going wide at the rubble beneath the balcony. The boy's eyes whipped around, finally settling on the body floating in the pool.

"Dad!" the boy screamed and dove into the pool, wrapping an arm around the torso of Vasilias and paddling out. With extreme effort, the boy managed to lift his death father onto the patio. Eyes wide and in a frantic state, he slammed his hands down on to the man's chest over and over, desperately attempting CPR that he clearly didn't know how to do.

"C'mon, please!" the boy continued his efforts, as Widow tugged on Lotus's sleeve and nodded her head away from the sight. She had to drag the young faunus away, eyes set in horror at what she had done.

'I'm just as bad as the huntsman…"

In soaking clothes and with arms far too tired to continue, Neptune shivered from the cold against his skin, and the bottomless pit that had opened up in his heart. From that day forward...

He would have an incurable fear of the water.