From where he was standing, Umbra could feel the heat from the flames lick at his face. His home was now nothing but a raging inferno as flames danced higher and higher into the night sky. With his hands in his pockets, Umbra stood mesmerized by the chaotic dance of the flames. He hadn't been standing long when the shattered moon began to rise over the treetops. The sight of the moon broke him free from his daze. He was wasting time. Before morning broke, there was some business he had to take care of in Vale. Turning away from his old home, Umbra prepared himself. Taking one last look at his burning home, he steeled his resolve. From this point forward, he wouldn't be allowed to turn back. Umbra knew that what he was about to do wouldn't be considered the right thing to do, but he didn't care about what others thought. At the moment, all he cared about was revenge. Turning to face Vale, Umbra set off. On the way, he couldn't help but think about the events that had led up to now.
After learning the truth about his father and his old team, something inside Umbra had snapped. One could argue that Umbra had already been pushed over the edge a few years prior… What started as a shouting match between father and son turned into a full out brawl. Due to his fathers inebriated state, Umbra was easily able to come out as the victor. With his father passed out on the floor, Umbra considered stabbing him with his sword, Ignition, and being done with him. But instead Umbra thought it would be better to give Hector a taste of his own medicine. Taking various bottles of alcohol that his father had stored in his miniature bar, Umbra spread the alcohol all throughout the house. On his way out he took one of his fathers metal lighters. After lighting the flame, he threw the lighter towards the front door. Thanks to the alcohol, it didn't take long for the whole house to catch on fire.
At the moment, Umbra only had the slightest of plans. So when he stepped foot in Vale, he felt panic overtake him. Pausing, he stopped to give himself some time to take a few deep breaths. First on his list was a man named Danial Lattke. While he didn't know his exact location, he knew that Danial liked to hang around Vale. When he wasn't out doing commissions, he was getting drunk inside Vale. While Umbra himself wasn't able to pinpoint Danial's exact location, he knew someone that might be able to help him. Now that he had a place to start, Umbra made his way towards the docks.
Strolling through the empty streets of Vale, Umbra couldn't help but feel like something was off. Something felt… different… compared to when he was last in Vale. The last time he roamed the streets of Vale they were filled with activity. Even at night, there were always loads of people out and about. But not this time. Every now and then he'd come across a few small groups, but that was about it. Did something happen after he had left? Oh well, he thought. Whatever had happened, it was helping him. So long as it didn't stop him from finding Danial he didn't really care.
Suddenly, a loud crashing sound from behind broke Umbra from his thoughts. Turning around to see what the commotion was he nearly froze. Standing there with her cape blowing in the cool night air was… No. Upon closer inspection, Umbra confirmed that whoever that was, it wasn't Carmine. Chastising himself, he felt stupid for even entertaining the thought that that person could be Carmine. The first thing that should have tipped him off was the cape. Carmine didn't own any capes. After what happened, he knew she was gone for good… Before Umbra turned to leave, the girl and him had locked eyes. She must have noticed his staring. Scoffing, Umbra left her to her own devices. Whatever she was doing it didn't concern him. As he walked away Umbra could hear the sound of metal clashing against metal. It would seem the cards were in his favor tonight, as the commotion that girl was stirring would draw attention away from what he was about to do.
Finally arriving at the docks, Umbra walked up to the gate. Sitting alone at the gate controls was a young man with messy hair. He was every so often flipping through a magazine. Though when Umbra got close enough, he could see that the man was hiding a second magazine inside the exterior one. He might have grown up outside the walls of Vale for most of his life, but Umbra wasn't clueless as to what the man was hiding. Knocking on the glass, Umbra got the mans attention.
"Hello. I'm looking for a man named Mark. I know he works here, and I was wondering if I could come in." The man took his eyes off of his magazine for only the briefest of seconds. Keeping his eyes on his reading material, the man answered Umbra.
"Sorry kid. But unless you have business, I can't let ya in." Upset over being slowed down, Umbra tried to think of something that would change the mans mind.
"Please. It's an emergency. I have to talk to him about something important." Shaking his head, the man still refused to let Umbra in. Angry, he almost considered just barging in. Then, an idea came to mind. Before he had burnt down the house, Umbra had made sure to steal some lien. He knew that his journey would be long, so he figured he'd take as much as he could. Taking some lien out of his pocket, Umbra set it on the counter. He didn't bother counting it, so he wasn't sure if it would be enough. Eyeing up the bribe, the man counted how much Umbra put down. Satisfied, the man bit.
"Mark's takin' inventory tonight. You'll find him in Section E." Opening the gate, the man let Umbra in. "Just make it quick kid. I don't wanna lose my job over this." Giving the man his thanks, Umbra walked through. Since each section was marked with a giant letter, he had no problem finding his way to Section E. When he finally arrived at Section E Umbra found a man holding a clipboard going through the contents of a container. He looked to be around his fathers age, if not a little older. Not getting any closer, Umbra decided to surprise him.
"Hey Mark. It's uh… been awhile. Hasn't it?" Hearing a voice behind him, Mark turned around. When he saw who it was, he smiled.
"Umbra? Is that you?" Chuckling, he walked up to Umbra and gave him a hug. "I haven't seen you since you were only seven!" Rubbing Umbra's hair, Mark looked him over. "You got so tall! And look at you, you're all geared up! With all your weapons, I'm guessing you'll be heading off to Beacon soon then?" Starting to feel uncomfortable, Umbra wanted to speed the process along. He liked Mark, he really did, but now wasn't the time to catch up.
"No. I'm… I… won't be attention Beacon." Confused, Mark crossed his arms. "Something happened. Something… not so good. Right now I really need to talk to Danial. Do you think you could help me find him?" Worried that something had happened to his friend, Mark didn't waste anytime on agreeing to help.
"Yeah, it's funny you say that though, because Danial and I were gonna meet up at the Twin Ax's tonight." Before he continued, Mark put a hand on Umbra's shoulder. "Now Umbra, why don't you tell me what happened?" Looking away from Mark, Umbra struggled with his words.
"It's… My father…" Thinking on what to say next, Umbra was at a loss. He really didn't want to tell Mark what he had learned. Seeing as how he couldn't come up with a lie, he chose to delay. "I'll uh… I'll tell you when we've met up with Danial. That way, I only have to say it once." Nodding, Mark took a step back and smiled once again.
"Alright. If that's the case, why don't we head out? This was the last container I had to check anyway." Finished with his shift, Mark clocked out for the night. Together, him and Umbra got into his car to meet with Danial at the Twin Ax's. Along the way Mark tried to make small talk. Umbra tried to make conversation, but he was overwhelmed with too many thoughts to be able to do so. The farther they drove, the more nervous Umbra became. When they finally arrived at the bar, he thought he was going to throw up.
Exiting the car Umbra and Mark walked into the bar. The place was fairly packed. So much so that Umbra felt sick. The loud laughter, blaring music and the strong smell of smoke did little to help. He had come too far to back down now though, so Umbra chose to stand his ground. Walking through the crowded bar, Umbra and Mark eventually found Danial sitting alone. His weapon, a giant Ax, was propped up against the table.
"Hey! Danial! Guess who I've got with me!?" Mark yelled out to Danial. Upon seeing him and Umbra, Danial smiled. Umbra couldn't help but feel disgusted at the gesture. Knowing what he knew about Danial now, he couldn't view the man the same way as he once did.
"Umbra! What're you doin' here!? Is Hector with ya!?" In order to be heard, Danial had to yell over all the noise. Umbra wasn't sure as to what he should tell Danial. As much as he wanted to kill the man here and now, he knew that would be a mistake. Not only was his weapon right next to him, but there was a whole bar filled with people that might try to stop him. If he got caught now, he wouldn't be able to after Eliza as well. So, he had to try and lure Danial outside. The question was, what could he say to do so?
"Actually Danial, I wanted to talk to you about him! Something happened! Do you think we could talk somewhere more quiet!?" Worried that something bad had happened to his old teammate and best friend, Danial stood up.
"What!? Yeah! Let's head outside!" Hook line and sinker. Letting Danial lead, Umbra and Mark followed. Together the three of them left the bar. Due to how noisy the bar was, they had to go a little ways away before it was quiet enough to talk. Danial didn't waste anytime asking Umbra what had happened. "Alright Umbra, what happened? Is Hector okay? Are you okay?" Standing close by, Mark stroked his beard. It would seem as all eyes were on Umbra now. Feeling adrenaline course through his body, Umbra felt his legs go numb. Almost collapsing, he struggled to keep himself steady. Killing his father had been a spur of the moment thing. Something he didn't really have time to think through. With Danial however, he had plenty of time to realize what he was about to do.
"Hector… My dad… He…" Trying to compose himself, Umbra knew he wouldn't be able to kill Danial as he was. Reigning himself in, he prepared himself for what he was about to do. "He's dead." Both Danial and Mark seemed shocked at this revelation. "But… before he died, he told me something. He told me… That…" Reaching over his back Umbra unsheathed his Broadsword, Ignition. Slashing at Danial, he cut his Aura. "That you're nothing but a fucking dirty traitor!" Being flung backwards Danial crashed to the ground. Rushing over to Umbra, Mark attempted to hold him back.
"Umbra!? What's gotten into you! Calm down!" Umbra had let his feelings get the better of him. He knew that Mark would try to stop him, but in the moment, he didn't care. Filled with anger, he tried to push Mark off of him.
"Get off of me! I'm going to kill him! Just like I killed Hector!" Even though Umbra may have only been a child compared to Mark, that hardly mattered. Umbra had been training all his teenage life to fight monsters much larger than he or Mark was. So pushing Mark off of him hardly posed a challenge. The problem was, since he was so filled with rage, he may have used too much strength when pushing Mark off. Slamming his head into the nearby brick wall, Mark slumped to the ground. After that, everything went quiet. "Mark?" Rushing over, Danial checked Mark's pulse. When he couldn't find a pulse, he tried listening for his breathing. "Mark… I… I didn't…" Not able to find a pulse or hear him breathe, Danial knew that Mark was gone.
"Umbra! What's wrong with you!? Look at what you've done!" Shaking, Umbra felt himself start to tear up. It was an accident. Umbra would never harm someone that didn't deserve it! He wasn't his father! Gripping his sword tighter, he thought he was going to break it.
"This is your fault… Everything is all your fault!" Grabbing Danial by his collar, he threw the Huntsman away from Mark's corpse. Letting everything out, Umbra screamed as he tore into Danial with Ignition. Slash after slash he whittled Danial's Aura down. Having left his weapon behind at the bar, Danial could do nothing but take each hit as they came. His Semblance was a passive one, so it wouldn't do him any good in the situation either. Once his Aura was shattered, he fell to the pavement. Standing over Danial, Umbra struggled to catch his breath. Having exerted so much energy, he was panting heavily. Looking up at his best friends son, he could help but feel scared.
"Umbra… What… What happened to you?" Wiping the tears from his face, Umbra finally started to catch his breath. Crouching down, he looked Danial in the eyes.
"I learned the truth. Not just about you, but everyone in Team Shade. Other than my mom, you were all frauds. Now, I'm going to bring justice to the world and kill those responsible for the incident at Mt. Glenn. Once I'm done here with you, I'm going after Eliza next." Standing up, he didn't give Danial a chance to respond. Thrusting his sword down, he killed Danial. It was a quick death. Better than he deserved, Umbra thought…
Looking over at Mark, Umbra felt sick. Heating up, he took a few steps back before vomiting. What has he done? With Mark laying dead, his victory over Danial had been a hollow one. Mark was a family friend. Someone who had been there for him in his younger years. So seeing him with such lifeless eyes, due to something he had done, hurt Umbra. Wiping his face, he gathered himself. There wasn't time to mourn. Soon enough, someone would stumble across the bodies of Danial and Mark. When that happened, he couldn't be anywhere near the scene of the crime. Sheathing his sword Umbra walked away. Not having the strength to look back, he made his way towards his next destination. He had only one more thing left to do in Vale before setting out for Atlas.
Standing outside his mothers room, Umbra went to knock. Pausing, he slowly lowered his hand. Could he really face her? After what he had done? Breathing in, he counted to five. Once those five seconds were up, he breathed out. Repeating this action a few times, Umbra calmed his nerves as best he could. Having built his courage up, Umbra knocked twice before entering the room.
"Hey mom. It's me." Shutting the door behind him, Umbra slowly made his way over to his mother. There was so much he wanted to tell her, but he had no idea where he should start. Sighing, Umbra figured he should let her know about his schooling status first. "The first thing I wanted to tell you is uh… I've kinda… given up on the whole… Huntsman… thing." Fidgeting with his hands, Umbra began to pace the room. "I'm sorry. It's just that… I couldn't do it. I just don't see Hunters the same way I once did. It's not like you need a license to kill Grimm anyway, so in the end, it doesn't matter that much. I just won't be getting paid for it, is all." In the dark of the room, his mother just listened. Before continuing, Umbra turned to face her.
"Instead, I've decided to do something else. Something that… I'm not sure is right…." Struggling to find the words, Umbra walked over to the window. Opening it, he let in a cool breeze. Gazing up at the night sky, he mentally took note of how many stars were out. "I… I'm going to…" Umbra held tight to the window sill. "I'm going to avenge you." Looking back at his bedridden mother, Umbra walked over to her. "Father… Hector… Told me what really happened." Taking one of her hands in his, Umbra sat down next to her. "I've already killed two of them. I only have to take care of one more. And in order to do that, I have to go to Atlas. All the way to Solitas." Now that he was no longer outside, where someone might see him, Umbra felt free to show his true emotions. Letting himself freely cry now, he bowed his head.
"Can you please just… tell me that everything will be alright? That I'm doing the right thing?" As always, there was no response. His mother simply laid motionless in her hospital bed. "If you can't do that, then squeeze my hand. I just need to know… I just… You're the only one left in my life. Please…" Every time Umbra visited her, it never got easier. Just once, he wished a miracle would happen and she'd wake up. Not getting any response, Umbra gently put her hand back down on her bed. Standing up, he wiped his tears away.
"I have to go now mom. I won't be back. There's nothing for me here anyways…" Reaching into his jacket, Umbra pulled out a small container. "But… before I go… I'm going to free you. I won't leave you to rot here all alone." On his way to the hospital, Umbra had made a quick pit stop. He knew that pulling the cord to her life support would alert that staff. So he had to improvise. Taking a few shaky steps over to her IV bag, he stopped after opening it. "If you can hear me, mom, I promise that this won't hurt." After pouring the contents of the container into the IV bag, he set the bottle down on the table next to her bed. Before leaving, he gave his mother a kiss on the forehead. "I love you. And I promise that I'll make those responsible for doing this to you pay." Wiping his face of tears once more, Umbra left. It would only be a matter of time before they started hunting him.
Outside, it had started to rain. In the short time it had taken Umbra to leave the hospital, a storm had moved in. If there was one thing Umbra hated more than Hunters, it was the damn rain. With a scowl, he trudged on. The longer he walked though, the worse the storm got. What was once a simple rainstorm turned into a downpour. Lightning flashed and thunder boomed. By the time Umbra reached his exit, a small now forgotten gate near Beacon, he was soaked to the bone. Thankfully his Aura would prevent him from getting seriously ill.
Instead of heading towards the cliff that had a view of Beacon, he made his way south. Towards Mt. Glenn. Before he went after Eliza, he wanted to see if he could find hard evidence against her, Danial and Hector. In the event that he failed to kill her, maybe he could at least officially oust her for her wrong doings. It was a long shot that he'd find anything, especially after all these years, but he had to at least try.
Walking through the Emerald Forest, Umbra felt uneasy. The entire time, he couldn't help but feel as though he was being watched. Due to his current mental state, he was willing to bet it was the Grimm. They were attracted to negative emotions after all. Right now, Umbra must have seemed irresistible to them. Hopefully that didn't mean he attracted anything too dangerous. While he received ample training from Hector, enough to be stronger than your average 1st Year at Beacon, that didn't mean he could take on anything that was thrown at him. So far, he was lucky to even still be alive after taking on two Huntsman. If they weren't drunk, and had their weapons, things would most certainly have gone a different way.
Hearing a sound off to his left, Umbra stopped. Reaching over his shoulder he grabbed onto Ignition's handle. Listening for the noise again, Umbra didn't dare move. When nothing happened, he assumed it was just his imagination getting the better of him. Slowly, he began to back off. That's when from behind, a Beowolf lunged for his neck. Spinning around, Umbra unsheathed Ignition and slashed at his attacker. The slash ended the Beowolf and it turned to dust, signaling that it was truly dead. More Beowolves came charging however, so Umbra wasn't done just yet. It was a whole pack of them. Readying himself for a fight, Umbra got into his combat stance.
Slowly, the pack began to circle and surround Umbra. Keeping his blade forward, he got ready for one to lunge towards him. When one made the mistake of leaping towards him, he thrust Ignition forward and pierced it's black heart. Slicing through it he cut into the Beowolf that followed it's friend. Dogging a claw swipe from another Beowolf Umbra hopped backwards. When he gained his footing, he shot forward and stabbed the Beowolf that nearly struck him. Only two remained now, and Umbra had lost sight of one of them. He didn't need to see it to know where it was though. Running towards the one he could see, Umbra slid underneath it. The final two Beowolves crashed into each other and Umbra took advantage of the situation. With one final stab, he finished off the last of the pack. Hardly breaking a sweat, Umbra went to sheathe Ignition.
Before he could, one final Beowolf tried it's luck. Having hid in the shadows, it was biding it's time, waiting for an opening. No doubt this one was an Alpha. Dogging backwards, Umbra slashed downwards and cut off one of it's arms. Stabbing it in the chest, he turned around to put his back towards the Alpha and sliced upwards. With the Alpha dead and the pack truly finished this time, Umbra sheathed his sword. Brushing himself off, Umbra continued towards his destination. Mt. Glenn…
It took Umbra a few days to reach Mt. Glenn since he was traveling on foot. He hardly got any sleep, choosing to push onward rather than waste time. But when he finally saw the tall buildings bathed in sunlight looming over him, he felt recharged. Upon entering the abandoned city, Umbra pulled out an old photo that he had swiped. It was a picture of the members of Team Shade all together. They all stood smiling outside of a building with the word "Merlot" on it. That was his target. Whatever it was he was looking for, he'd find there. At least, that's what he hopped anyway. Ripping the picture, he tore the image of his mother free from her traitorous team. Keeping the picture of his mother, Umbra let the other half go. Umbra watched as the torn photo was carried off by the wind. Pocketing the picture of his mother, Umbra began his search.
While he was wandering around Mt. Glenn, Umbra couldn't help but feel surprised. He had been expecting Mt. Glenn to be a hot zone swarming with Grimm. But that wasn't the case. Instead, it was nothing but an empty and decaying city. Other than the sound of the wind, all was silent. Not liking the situation, Umbra felt a chill go down his spine. Something had felt… off.
Finally finding his target, Umbra looked over the building. It was the taller than all the rest, and had to have been at least 50 stories. Umbra doubted the city still had power, so he already knew that climbing to the top would be an absolute pain. Cautiously, he went inside.
As he climbed his way to the top, Umbra started to get nervous. What if he couldn't find anything? Or, what if what he found was worse than he knew? Question's kept popping into his mind, and the only thing that could answer them waited for him at the top.
Reaching the top floor, Umbra began his search. Again, he didn't have much hope in finding anything too damming. After all, any evidence of wrong doing was probably destroyed like the rest of the city. Hour after hour, doubt that he would find anything began to creep into his mind. He was about ready to call it a complete waste of time when he had finally found something. A single piece of paper. At first, he almost set it aside. But then he noticed something. The letters S, H, D and E were being used repeatedly.
Reading the paper over and over, Umbra failed to understand what the meaning behind the paper was. Everything was in code, and didn't really make a whole lot of sense. This was enough for Umbra though. Seeing as how it was in code, maybe he could find someone that could decode the message? Folding the paper as carefully as he could, Umbra treated it as if it was the most fragile thing in the world. Gently placing it into his pocket Umbra got ready to leave. He got what he came for, so now, it was time to find Eliza. On his way out the door, he felt something strike him on the head. Before he could retaliate, he was struck again. Slowly loosing conscious, his vision went blurry. Someone said something, but he could quite make it out. Before long, everything went black.