CHAPTER XIV
No Roses without Thorns
Lilly sighed as she struggled with one of the questions on the exam. She knew the answer to this. She just couldn't decide whether the best answer was C or D.
It's D.
She bubbled in D.
Just kidding. It's C.
"Ugh," Lilly groaned before erasing her answer and changing it to C.
You were actually right the first time.
"I hate you."
"Please, no talking during the examination," Dr. Cherenkov said.
"S-Sorry!"
The rest of the exam was excruciating. If Lilith wasn't actively trying to distract her, she was chatting incessantly about absolute nonsense.
I mean, seriously. We should try some darker colors instead of all the whites and blues. Like, I think it would look really good to try black colors and stuff cuz it does look pretty awesome sometimes. Although I guess the usual colors do go better with our skin tone. I think we're too pale to rock the black all the time, but I gotta say, the last time I was out and about in the sun, I think I rocked the black and red really good.
"Time's up," Dr. Cherenkov said.
Lilly sprang out of her seat, running straight to the front of the room. Her hands shook as she placed her exam on the professor's table.
"Lilly, are you all right?" he said. "You seem a bit stressed."
"Just a little," Lilly said, struggling to drown out the chatter in her own head. "I mean, advanced particle physics and Th-Thaumatology is pretty tough subject matter, you know!"
Dr. Cherenkov chuckled. "It seems you're having a lot of fun with the class, though."
"I have a friend back at Beacon who I think would find it a lot more fun, to be honest. I mean, I mostly find this interesting because it has something to do with me a bit you know?"
"Sure. Enjoy the rest of your day."
"See you down at the lab later!"
I'm hungry.
"Shut up!" Lilly whispered as she grabbed her things before hurrying out of the class.
You really gotta stop talking to yourself like this. People are staring, you know.
"It's your fault!"
Huh? How's it my fault?
"Because you won't shut up!"
Psh. Look, I'm bored as fuck in here, okay? And besides, nobody's forcing you to have a conversation with me.
"You sound like you wanna have a conversation!"
I mean, I did say I was bored, so if you wanna talk, sure. I mean, if you don't mind people watching you.
"Lilith, please!"
Please what?
"Ugh!"
C'mon, dude, let's get something to eat.
"I hate you. I really hate you."
"Hey, Lilly," Ariadne said as she and Demetri caught up with her in the halls.
"Oh, hi!" Lilly said, turning around to face her friends.
"You seem a bit distracted lately," Demetri said.
"J-Just a bit, I think. You know those days when you just can't sit still cuz something's bugging you? Like a fly buzzing in your ear the whole day?"
I'm not a fly, you bitch!
"Yes, I have that from time to time myself," Ariadne said.
Hey! Don't ignore me!
"Yeah, I've kinda got that going on right now," Lilly said.
"Are you hungry?" Demetri asked.
Yes!
"Yes!" Lilly said. "Let's go eat!"
"What were you thinking?" Ariadne said.
Spaghetti!
"Kebabghetti!" Lilly said.
"I'm sorry?" Demetri said.
"K-Kebabs! I just, uh, thought about spaghetti at the same time so I kinda put the words together although I wonder if anybody makes fusion cuisine like that around here."
"Spaghetti does sound good, though," Ariadne said. "There's a very good pasta place nearby if you're interested."
Yes! Spaghetti!
"No," Lilly said sternly. "Let's go for some kebabs."
"Oh. Okay, then."
No! You asshole! I want spaghetti!
Demetri and Ariadne looked at each other as Lilly angrily led the way down the hall.
"She seems really determined to have kebabs just now," Ariadne said.
"I think it was more determination to not have pasta, to be honest," Demetri said.
"Yes, I'm getting that vibe as well."
—
"Should we follow them?" Jaune said.
"Yeah," Ruby said. "We haven't seen anything yet, but I know her Wraith is in there somewhere. I'm willing to bet that's why she's been acting weird for the past week."
"Same here, but don't you think it's kinda weird? Bedivere's relationship with his Wraith was way more, I guess disastrous than what we're seeing here. What if it's not the same thing?"
"I know. I've thought about that, too. It's just that, I mean, you saw the monitors. You saw what I saw in the Labyrinth itself. That power was way too dark to be something we can just dismiss."
"You're not wrong. Still, let's observe more instead of doing anything rash."
"Are you calling me reckless?"
"I didn't say that. And besides, nobody's as reckless as Nora."
They shared a chuckle.
"Well, I am kinda hungry myself," Ruby said. "We can eat while following them."
—
You're a dick, Lilly.
"Hmph," she replied.
I hate kebabs. You suck ass.
"Takes one to know one, I guess."
"Hmm?" Demetri said. "Did you say something?"
"Just talking to myself."
Hah.
"Ah, here we are," Ariadne said. "The lines are not very long, fortunately for us."
"What are we all getting?" Demetri said.
Lilly examined the menu before deciding on the chicken and beef combo with rice and pita bread. It was a bigger plate than she normally ordered, but for some strange reason she was much hungrier than usual. Perhaps it was the presence of Lilith in her mind that drove her energy consumption through the roof. Or maybe it was the energy drain of having to deal with her incessant chatter.
I don't understand how you can eat this.
Lilly ignored her other half as she squeezed limes over her food.
"I'm glad Vacuo has such a large and diverse selection of cuisines," Demetri said. "I'd say it's even more diverse than the selections back in Vale."
"Was it not as varied in Atlas?" Ariadne asked.
He shook his head. "Atlas cuisine is one of two things, very high class or very cheap. Don't get me wrong. The expensive stuff is quite delicious, but after years of eating high quality steaks and the like, it starts to feel somewhat hollow. For example, we have no such thing as ramen or pho back in Atlas. And kebab places are quite rare. Cured meats are common, however."
"Burger joints are the best," Lilly said, biting into a pita bread sandwich she had made.
Oh, something we can agree on.
"The first time I had burgers with my team back at Beacon Academy was quite the experience," Demetri said. "Paolo knew of a place at the edge of Vale, not that far from the school. I must say that I did not know until that time what it meant to bite into a juicy beef patty like that, overflowing with grilled onions and cheese and mushrooms."
"That sounds delish!"
"It sounds incredibly high-calorie," Ariadne said.
"I believe it was Theo who called it 'heart attack on a plate'," Demetri said. "Oh, the onion rings were quite delectable as well. I didn't know until that day that something as simple as onions dipped in batter and deep fried would taste so amazing."
Oh, my god, he's making me hungry.
"So," Lilly began, "we doing Lab work today?"
"Lab?" Demetri said.
"She means Labyrinth," Ariadne said.
"Oh. Right. If you feel rested, you can count me in."
"I will send text messages to Dr. Cherenkov and Mr. and Mrs. Arc-Rose."
Home, sweet home.
—
Orion carefully studied the charts and diagrams Ariadne and Dr. Cherenkov had put together over the last months. There was still no word on why a Nexus suddenly appeared in the middle of their manor last year. They were lucky to have barely rescued his parents from the Labyrinth, although that was more due to Lilly's intervention than anything else.
"Hey, bro," Dionysus said, walking up to him.
"What are you doing down here?" Orion said. "It's unusual of you to involve yourself in academic pursuits."
"Uh, Labyrinth work isn't exactly totally academic, you know. I mean, we went in as muscle that one time."
"Yes, which was incredibly foolish on our parts, considering we don't have the necessary magic to keep from being disintegrated by the forces in that other world."
"Anyway, no idea yet on what the hell happened to our house?"
He shook his head. "Our staff were never found either."
"So, the usual Labyrinth crap."
"Yes."
"What are you two doing here?" Ariadne said as she led the way into the Rift Complex control room. Behind her were Lilly's whole team.
"Just wanted to say hi," Dionysus said.
"Dr. Cherenkov will be here shortly," Orion said. "You still haven't figured out the reason for the Nexus appearance at our home, have you?"
"Unfortunately not," Ariadne said. "And I think it's a good thing we've kept the place cordoned off, even if a 'gas leak' isn't really all that convincing an excuse, to be honest."
"I guess we can't just go around saying that a chaotic magical phenomenon has taken over the place, huh?" Jaune chuckled.
"Dionysus, come and help me get the gear for Lilly and her team," Orion said.
"Fine, fine," Dionysus said, following his older brother out of the room.
"You've had a whole week off," Ariadne began, "so it's given me plenty of time to locate targets for you. Three new heavy distortions have appeared on the LabNav, all of them in quite close proximity to one another. One of the distortions may be a combined Labyrinth, since it covers one of the city's psychiatric hospitals to the north. I sent a drone in and it sent back evidence of a severe time distortion along with massive gravitational anomalies. Your magic and the reality anchors we've given everyone in the team should help to stave off the distortion, however."
"Reality anchors?" Ruby said. "Is that what you're calling those rubies with runes inscribed?"
"Yes. I believe that is the most appropriate name for them."
"It makes sense," Jaune said. "They literally do anchor us in our own stable reality, right?"
"Precisely. The mechanism is very close to how Lilly asserts her own reality around her body. For some reason, this power also manifested itself in the form of a rune, whose characteristics are amplified by gemstones in different ways, depending on the gem itself. Rubies seem to amplify the effect of runes."
"Okay, here's your guys' backpacks," Dionysus said, setting two heavy packs on a table.
"There are enough supplies in here for an extended incursion," Orion began, "but there's no need to get reckless. If you need to return to the real world to re-supply or just rest, do so without hesitation."
"All right," Jaune said, strapping himself in. He and Ruby glanced over at Lilly. She hadn't spoken since they set foot in the underground Rift Complex.
"Lead the way," Demetri said to his team leader.
Lilly sighed heavily before she marched out of the control room straight into the middle of the Rift Chamber.
I haven't missed the smell of this place, Lilith mused as the world shifted around them. They had descended straight into the Second Layer of the Labyrinth.
"Ariadne, do you copy?" Demetri said into his microphone.
"Yes," she said. "I have you in the Second Layer."
"Okay, good. I don't know why we dropped straight into this layer from the outset, but there are no monsters here at the moment, so we'll be heading out to the city."
"Keep me updated."
Lilly led the way out of Shade Academy, walking through the foggy streets of Vacuo with Myrtenaster in hand. Lilith was much less talkative since they arrived in this world and she took notice of it.
"Corrupted," Demetri said, pointing to a shadow not too far away from them.
"Should we engage or evade?" Jaune said.
Lilly thought about engaging when she remembered what Lilith had revealed to her during their confrontation. She had no desire to kill any of the souls lost to the Labyrinth.
"Evade," Lilly said. "There's no need to waste energy unnecessarily."
"Agreed," Demetri said, following her lead.
Lilly wondered how long she could keep hidden the truth about those monsters. It wouldn't be long before the team noticed her refusal to kill any of the Corrupted they encountered along the way. And although she did not stop her teammates from killing them, merely watching their weapons tear through their flesh similarly tore away at her own heart.
Lilly. Why the hell do you keep beating yourself up about this?
She didn't answer.
I told you already that there's really nothing you can do about them. They're Corrupted for a reason. This is the form they take in this world when their innermost guilt, pain, desires—everything—overtakes them and they fall prey to their own despair.
"I won't murder them," she said quietly.
Don't think of it as murder, dude. Call it...putting them out of their misery. Like, literally.
"No! You're wrong! I can still save them!"
Jaune and Ruby looked over at her.
You're getting people's attention, you know.
"Mom said that everyone is worthy of salvation. And I believe that. I'll find a way to save them. Somehow."
"Lilly, are you okay?" Ruby said.
"I'm fine—"
"Lilly!" Demetri yelled, running to her.
She turned to face a Corrupted, which was stomping in her direction. She held up Myrtenaster to fight against it, but her reservations toward killing them were too strong and the monster tackled her to the ground, scratching away at her. She screamed through the pain as her aura shattered. Demetri only barely managed to intervene, kicking the monster off before pummeling it to death.
"Lilly!" he yelled, running to her side.
"I-I'm okay," she grunted, accepting his hand and standing back up. Her clothes were torn in multiple locations, blood dripping to the concrete.
"Guys!" Jaune yelled, leading Ruby back to the group. "We got company! Lots of company!"
Lilly pulled herself together, facing the incoming horde of Corrupted as they descended to the Third Layer of the Labyrinth, the fog and daytime giving way to pure darkness. Each team member activated chemical lights to illuminate their surroundings, but given the nature of light in this world, sound was a much better indicator of danger.
"Lilly," Demetri said as Ruby and Jaune engaged the surrounding Corrupted. "You're not yourself. Let's return to base."
"No," she insisted. "I'm fine."
Demetri knew that to be a lie. After all, she had yet to heal her wounds. The gashes on her flesh were deep and so he figured her Water Rune might not be able to fix things right away, but it seemed she didn't even put any effort into healing herself.
"I'm going to bandage you up," Demetri said, digging through his pack. "I don't know what's going on with your magic right now, but—"
"No, I'm..."
"Lilly?"
Another Corrupted leaped toward them and Demetri fought it off, but there were more. This layer had a greater density of these things. It was likely that they were completely surrounded right now.
"Demetri! Lilly!" Ruby yelled.
Lilly put her hands to her head, dropping Myrtenaster to the ground. "I...can't..." she groaned. "These...people...they..."
"Lilly!" Demetri yelled. His hands were full with a monster and he had no way of reaching his comrade.
Just as the Corrupted came upon Lilly, her mind seemed to straighten away. She let out a heavy sigh, looking directly at the monster, her light-brown hazel eyes transforming, as though a golden halo of fire emerged from her pupils outward, a power born from another world making itself manifest before everyone.
A massive barrier born from a Shield Rune erected between her and the attacking Corrupted, completely blocking its path like a translucent plate of unbreakable glass. Simultaneously, a Water Rune appeared on the ground below, glowing with its signature blue light as all of her wounds closed up. Her snow-white hair billowed with power that radiated from within as her whole body was blanketed with a black mist that emerged from beneath her feet.
More Corrupted attacked from the darkness, intent on rending the flesh from her bones, but today was the wrong day for their attack. Lilly began to float, suspended by pure magic that originated from her soul. She held both hands out to her sides, runes appearing on either, before hurling a single fireball and a single frost attack at both attacking Corrupted, incinerating one to ash and freezing the other mid-run so as to send it shattering on the ground.
"What the hell is happening?" Jaune said as a whirlwind began to build.
Lilly was no longer in control of her body, her despair allowing Lilith the avenue she needed to wrest command over their destiny. The Wraith floated higher in the air, summoning a powerful Cyclone Rune, through which she channeled a lightning storm.
"Finaler Sturm," she mumbled as the weather shifted instantaneously, generating several tornadoes in the area, which sucked up every single Corrupted in their paths. Lightning intermittently flashed, zapping Lilith's enemies one by one, reducing them to little more than cinders. The rain summoned up by her powerful magic washed away all evidence that there were ever any enemies in the area.
Once the battle was over, the storm vanished as instantly as it had manifested and Lilith floated back down to the earth to survey her work. She picked up Myrtenaster, eyeing the craftsmanship for a moment before tucking it back under her belt where it belonged. She turned to Demetri, who was gawking.
"Lilly?" he mumbled.
"Hmm?" Lilith said. "Oh, uh, hey, Demetri."
"You're not Lilly, are you?"
She didn't answer.
"What is your name?"
"In a way, I am actually Lilly, though I guess I'm not the Lilly you've been hanging out with. She kinda...I guess passed out just now cuz of...conflicting emotions."
"Hey!" Ruby yelled as she faced off with her alongside Jaune.
Lilith looked over to her teammates, who were poised to attack her.
"Let Lilly go!"
"Let her go?" Lilith repeated.
"You heard her," Jaune said, gripping his sword and shield tightly. "We know what you are. We know what your kind does."
"Our world was nearly destroyed because of you!" Ruby said.
"Because of me?" Lilith said. "Oh, you're probably talking about my dear ol' dad."
Ruby and Jaune gave each other glances.
"You know about him?" Jaune said.
"Sure I do," she answered. "I know how he got my mother pregnant and then abandoned her, leaving her to raise me completely alone. When she needed him most, my father forsook her, in spite of all his promises never to leave her."
"You have no idea what Bedivere sacrificed his life for!" Ruby said. "His Wraith was taking him over! He was going to plunge the entire planet into a never-ending Labyrinth!"
"Is that the story?"
"It's not just a story," Jaune said. "We were face to face with his Wraith. He made it clear that he wanted to end everything."
"Doesn't sound much like hell to me. Sounds peaceful."
The duo grunted, sweat dripping from their foreheads.
"Either way, I don't intend on ending the world or anything so stupid. My father was a fool. An idealistic fool, clinging to his ideals until they ended up killing him and leaving his family without a husband and father. That's not what I want. I just wanna leave this place and walk among the light for once."
"We won't let you," Ruby said, determination and venom dripping from every word.
"Oh? You could barely stand against my father twenty years ago. What makes you think you have any chance at taking me on?"
"Doesn't matter," Jaune said. "We made a vow to protect Remnant. And you're the biggest threat to it right now."
"Wait," Demetri began, "can we at least talk this through? She literally just saved our lives!"
"Yeah, I wouldn't bother," Lilith said. "To them, it was just a convenient side effect of me defending myself. Isn't that right? They're both so hell-bent on what my father did that I'm no different from him." She squared off with the duo. "Isn't that right?"
"No! Stop this!"
"Demetri, get away from her!" Ruby yelled before activating her Semblance and dashing in as quickly as she could, engaging Lilith in a high-speed clash of blades. Jaune was not far behind, delivering strikes powerful enough to unbalance Lilith, though she quickly countered by surrounding herself with Shield Runes and several mobile runes, which assisted her like gun turrets as she fought with Myrtenaster at close range.
"This is like fighting Weiss on overdrive," Jaune said.
"I won't let you consume my best friend's daughter!" Ruby cried, increasing the ferocity of her attack, catching Lilith off-guard, though the latter rapidly regained her bearing.
The two-front war was starting to take its toll and Lilith summoned her knight, the blackened version of Lilly's own knight. "Ritter von Remnant, beantworte meinen anruf! Leih mir dein schwert!"
"What in the world?" Jaune said, blocking the knight's enormous sword, dodging a second strike before countering.
"I said," Ruby began, "let Lilly go!"
She activated her Semblance, attacking from awkward angles and redirecting once more, striking Lilith from behind and causing her to lurch forward.
"Damn it," Lilith mumbled before activating more runes, using three of them to amplify her own physical power, including speed and striking force.
Regardless, Ruby's attacks were at an all-time high intensity, her years of experience and training backing every single movement, even surpassing the versatility that Lilith's runic magic afforded. Ruby managed to get in close, tackling Lilith to the ground, her scythe just inches from her neck.
"You really gonna try to kill me?" Lilith grunted.
"I'm trying to get you out of my friend's daughter!" Ruby yelled. "Lilly! If you can hear me, fight back—"
Lilith's knight projected a rune, which launched a powerful explosive fireball, knocking Ruby right off of her.
"Ruby!" Jaune yelled before re-engaging with the black knight.
Lilith was back up on her feet, taking the offensive to Ruby, but the latter would not be taken down so easily. Many of Lilith's moves were direct emulations of Weiss's fighting style and Ruby knew her old friend's techniques quite well, giving her a major advantage since Lilith telegraphed her attacks in a near-identical manner to her old combat partner.
Meanwhile, Demetri watched helplessly as his team tore itself apart. He wanted to see Lilith as an enemy as well, but that wasn't possible considering he knew her quite well despite the little time he had spent with her. It was her that he, Perseus, and Ariadne had hung out with last year at the end of summer. Though somewhat mischievous and cynical, that Lilith, whom they had incorrectly assumed was Lilly the whole time, did not radiate any malice. Bitterness was probably closer to her true feelings than anything else.
And even now, he could not sense true evil from her heart. As he continued to watch, the one emotion he could put his finger on was ache, a deep ache that no one in the world could even come close to understanding.
Except maybe her mother. After all, his daughter was not the only one Bedivere had left behind with his death.
"Ruby!" Jaune yelled, trying to get to his wife as Lilith pinned her to the ground. Lilith's black knight would not let him pass, however. "Dammit, get out of my way!"
"You really won't just leave me alone, will you?" Lilith said.
"No," Ruby said. "Not until you release Lilly."
"You know that's not possible. After everything you've learned about my father, you should know that a Wraith cannot be separated from her true self, since we are the other half which dwells in the darkness while the ego marches in the sunlight. You demanding that I leave Lilly forever is no different from asking us to die."
"I don't know how we'll do it, but we'll seal you up for good. Just like Weiss sealed Salem away."
"Big talk for someone pinned to the ground."
Ruby's face twisted into anger before she activated her Semblance, dragging both in a random direction, giving her the opportunity to turn the tables. But Lilith saw the move coming and she managed to keep Ruby pinned, first striking a wall and then a tree as Ruby made another attempt with her Semblance. Her aura broke at the final attempt, ending in the same position as before, with Lilith pinning her to the ground.
"If you won't leave me be," Lilith began, lifting Myrtenaster into the air, "then I have no choice. I will do whatever I need to do to ensure our survival. You will not hurt Lilly Schnee."
"No! Ruby!" Jaune yelled as Lilith brought Myrtenaster down, but she stopped as the tip of her weapon was right at Ruby's throat.
"Lilith...please...you have to...stop this..."
Ruby looked up at her assailant's eyes. The golden ring was gone, giving way to the old hazels. Just then, the haloes returned.
"You idiot. They're just gonna hunt us down. We'll never be able to rest. As soon as the entire Coalition knows of my existence, our peaceful life is over."
"It doesn't have to be that way!"
"Lilly, quit being so goddamn naïve!"
"I may be naïve, but I would never kill my friends! And besides! That's mom's friend! Haven't you thought of that? How would mom feel if we killed her best friend?"
Lilith's control wavered somewhat.
"Please, Lilith. Just...just let it go. They won't hurt us."
"You don't know that."
"No, I don't. That's what it means to have faith in others."
"Faith. Stupid."
"Maybe, but it hurts a little less to go through life if you can have faith."
Lilith was deep in thought. She looked Ruby in the eye, staring at her for a moment before finally relinquishing control back to Lilly, who began panting heavily as soon as she was back in her own body.
"Lilith," she mumbled.
Don't think I have any faith in any of them. It's you that I'm betting my life on.
"That's a start. If you can't trust in anyone else just yet, that's fine. But I promise I won't let you down. I'll never let you down, Lilith."
Psh. Fine. Whatever.
"Lilly?" Demetri said.
"I'm okay," she said in a hurry before standing up and extending a hand to Ruby, who hesitated for a moment before accepting. Lilly turned to her knight, who had reverted to its true color in the meantime. "Ich danke dir für deine hilfe. Bitte kehren sie dorthin zurück, wo sie hergekommen sind."
Her knight bowed before fading away into twinkles of light. There were a few moments of awkward silence among the group.
"I'm sorry I never told anyone," Lilly said. "I should've told you when it happened last week that Lilith and I bonded and she's been with me in the real world ever since."
"Is that what happened when you were pulled into the mirror?" Demetri said.
She nodded. "It was...I guess my own Labyrinth I fell into. Although, I don't know if that's true. But yeah, she and I sorta fought and I sorta won—"
You did not.
"—And then we sorta reconciled and she sorta followed me out into the real world."
"How?" Demetri said.
She shrugged. "Look, I only just found out I had magical powers last year. And I only just learned a week ago what a Wraith even is, so, like, if Ruby or Jaune wanna tell me what they know about my father, since they clearly do, it would be cool so I won't be in the dark about everything anymore."
"Lilly," Ruby began.
"I know." She began to tear up. "I know you guys don't wanna talk about him because apparently he hurt my mom so much that she doesn't even keep pictures of him in the house. I mean, Lilith hasn't stopped trash talking him for 'abandoning' us, or whatever he did."
"Lilly," Jaune began, standing in front of her. "Your father did not abandon you. He sacrificed his life for the whole world. For all of us here. And especially for you."
"Jaune's right," Ruby said. "If it weren't for what he had done, none of us would be here today. We'd all probably be wandering in our own Labyrinths right now. Forever."
"So yeah, if you can hear me, Lilith, know that your dad didn't just abandon you. He did what he did because he had no choice and because he loved you and Weiss so much."
Psh.
"She says she understands," Lilly said.
Oh, fuck you, too, Lilly.
Demetri walked over to her without a word before saluting.
"Uhh, isn't that against protocol?" she said.
"I doubt my father has any drones watching us here in this world," he said. "The only other person I have ever saluted this personally is Ivory. Lilly, I apologize for not intervening just now while Lilith ran amok."
She shook her head with a smile. "It's not on you to control my inner demon, you know."
Who are you calling a demon!
"You, okay? Cuz you are a little demon!"
I'm not a demon! I am a fucking Wraith! And I am goddamn proud of that!
Lilly couldn't help but giggle.
"It's really awkward when we can't hear the other person speaking," Jaune said.
"Yeah, it really is," Ruby said.
Demetri pressed a button on his radio. "Ariadne, can you hear me?"
"Barely," her voice sounded, accompanied by heavy static. "What's wrong?"
"We have a lot of updates to share with you. We won't be proceeding on those Labyrinth missions today. I think we have more important matters to take care of."
"Very well. I will be awaiting your return. Stay safe."
"Hey!" Lilly said, throwing her fists on her hips. "I'm team leader! You can't just hijack us like that!"
Ruby and Jaune chuckled.
"I've made a command decision, ma'am," Demetri said. "I don't believe you're in any condition to continue fighting."
"Who says?"
He pointed to her tattered clothing.
"Th-That's purely cosmetic!"
You're tired as shit and you know it.
"Shut up, Lilith! Nobody asked you!"
The others chuckled.
"I have a feeling Lilith just agreed with me," Demetri said.
Oh, oh, tell Demetri I think he's hot.
Lilly reddened.
"Is something the matter?" Demetri asked.
"Nothing's the matter!" Lilly yelled.
