"Amethyst are you okay ? You're strangely quiet..." Simba asked his human best friend as the two of them laid in their dorm. The brown haired girl sighed deeply as she pressed the right side of her head against the soft russet mane of her friend. Her mind was replaying her discussion with Ozpin and the revelations Simba's father, Mufasa, had told both her and his son not long ago. The Headmaster had been shocked that they knew about this Salem, the supposed 'Queen of Grimm' but had listened with interest when Amethyst retailed him what Mufasa told them.
Even Glynda was shocked by the fact people were working WILLINGLY for someone who want the death of Humanity. Ozpin had thanked both her and Simba for those informations especially the ones concerning the group of people (the three who worked with Salem) coming to Beacon and said he would do the necessary.
The next day, a lot of airships arrived on Beacon and among the Atlesian People inside them, was General Ironwood the Headmaster of Atlas Academy and a good friend of Professor Ozpin. Speaking of the Headmaster of Beacon, he had inquired both Amethyst and Simba to not say anything to anyone about Salem and they had no choice but to promise under the condition that they would be called if Salem's 'pawns' were arrested.
It was hard for the two of them to hide such important details to their friends from Team RWBY and JNPR but they had no choice. Even now days later, it was still hard. However, the three spies in question had been caught red handed by Atlesian Policemen and they tried to resist but thankfully were unable to escape. Among the three was the woman Amethyst had injured on the face but the others were unknown… at least for her.
The first one of the two was a young woman with medium-brown skin and dark-red eyes. Her hair was a light, mint-green with a straight fringe and had two long locks on each side in the back. The second was a pale young man with gray eyes and gray hair who looked a bit 'skinny' but had an athletic physique. Amethyst had recognized the first one of the two with pure shock written on her face : it was Emerald Sustrai and the two of them used to be best friends during their childhood until they were separated.
Emerald had been shocked to see Amethyst again after so long but she had cried in happiness until she was restrained by the Policemen. Her masculine comrade, whose name was apparently Mercury Black, had tried to fight his way away before being restrained by the authorities. It was the last one who made things difficult : the ashen-black haired woman with red and yellow dress had managed to jump to a nearby roof and when Emerald had called her for her help, 'Cinder' (the woman's name) had shouted 'Save yourself'.
Emerald had frozen in stupor at those words and had shouted that they were partners but the older woman replied back coldly that she was nothing more than a pawn for her plans, nothing else. Amethyst had been furious at Cinder for tricking Emerald and had attacked her in a fit of rage, which led into a fight between the two. As they circled each other, the older woman told Amethyst that she would finally get her revenge for the scar she received that night and the brown haired girl retorted that instead she should thank her because now she looked much better.
Those words had enraged Salem's pawn and the two clashed , beginning the fight and Cinder proved to be a formidable opponent as the brown haired girl had difficulties to fight this much more experienced woman in 1v1 combat.
However, Cinder had admitted that Amethyst was a worthy opponent when the two of them faced each other, catching their breathes as the duo of fighters were covered in bruises and cuts. The brown haired girl complimented her back before charging her enemy again… only to receive a strong kick in the stomach, knocking her down. Cinder had putted her left foot on her exhausted opponent and aimed an arrow at her, while saying to everyone present that if they took one more step, Amethyst would die. Emerald had begged her former partner to let the brown haired girl go but Cinder ignored her as she seemed ready to shot.
However, before she could, a thunderous roar caused everyone to froze in fear until an enraged Simba entered the scene, swapping Cinder away from Amethyst with a powerful blow that sent the dangerous woman crashing hard against a wall. While the Lion had tended on his friend, a medic had examined Cinder's ins-conscious body and told everyone that she was dead !
Apparently, the blow she received had broken several bones and they shattered when they met the hard surface of the rocked wall. Simba had been shocked by this as it was the first time he killed a Human but didn't regretted his move as if he hadn't, his best friend would have been killed without remorse by the treacherous woman.
Ironwood had sent the two remaining spies to high guarded cells but as two Policemen approached Emerald, Amethyst, despise being exhausted and injured from her fight with Cinder, stepped in front of her childhood friend in a protective manner. The Headmaster of Atlas Academy menaced Amethyst to have her arrested if she didn't moved but quickly changed his mind when Simba growled at him furiously.
Ozpin, to appease the tension, had decided to made a compromise : Emerald would be released if she agreed to cooperate with them. Not once he made mention of Salem in front of the crowd of people gathered around at this moment. Emerald, at been hesitant, but soon accepted as she wanted nothing more than to have some times with Amethyst. Mercury, her second 'partner', had angrily called her a traitor and a pathetic whore which he soon regretted when a certain Golden Lion attacked him in a fit of anger.
Amethyst had a hard time pulling her large friend away from the frightened young man and had a harder trying to CALM him down as Simba had glared at Mercury who cowered under the glare he was receiving from the Golden Lion. The gray haired young man BEGGED the Policemen to pull him as far away from the 'Beast' as possible to which they did.
Ozpin had then congratulated Amethyst and Simba for their works even if he stated that he would have preferred that Cinder was still alive so she could have been interrogated. The Headmaster of Beacon then sent them, especially Amethyst, to the infirmary just as the Policemen took Emerald and Mercury away with the green haired girl sending Amethyst a concerned look as the two of them extended an arm toward each other.
When Simba and Amethyst arrived at the infirmary, the nurse was not happy of the brunette's state and so had ordered her to stay until the next day, much to Amethyst's annoyance. However, Simba had insisted to stay with her and knowing that the two of them were close, the nurse accepted. The Golden Lion had asked her about how she knew Emerald and Amethyst painfully explained that they were good friends when the two of them were children but then their parents left to another village and she never got the chance to see her again… until now.
The brown haired girl had cried a lot that night and Simba comforted her as best as she could as he himself could understand the feeling of now loosing someone you used to cherish the friendship. Sometimes, his mind went to Nala and was wondering how she was doing in the Pridelands under Scar's reign. He hoped that she was alright as well as his Mother Sarabi. He missed them dearly but knew that one day, when his time would come, he would be reunited with them for eternity.
Back to present, Amethyst broke out of her trans to look at the Golden Lion with a sad expression on her face "Sorry Simba… Its just… I am worried for Emerald…" the brown haired girl whispered softy but loud enough for Simba to hear. The Golden Lion looked down at her with pity before gently nuzzling her "I know Ame… I know..." "I still wonder why she chose to work with..those people ?" the way Amethyst said people sounded bitter and filled with hatred.
Simba knew that his friend was thinking of Cinder who used Emerald for her own gain and replied in a kind tone "I don't know what happened between Cinder and your friend but… I can tell that now Emerald would do anything to help us against Salem and the Grimm… The betrayal of Cinder had hurt her hard..." the last part was said in a whisper as he remembered the expression the green haired girl had the moment the red dressed woman turned her back on her.
" I hope they'll release her soon..." Amethyst whispered softy to her Golden Friend who gently pulled her against his mane in a comforting hug to which she responded by hugging it tearfully. Even worse, even since they learned about Salem, they had no choice but to stay away from both Team RWBY and JNPR. At first the teams were kinda surprised by their behaviors but then Simba lied to them saying that Amethyst was facing difficult times and asked to be alone.
Thankfully for him, they fell for his lie even if deep down he felt bad for doing this. He wanted to tell them about the Salem and the danger she represented but Ozpin had been clear. However, his sharp ears had caught up a discussion Team RWBY had with two students of Haven, Sun Wukong and Neptune Vasilias and had heard about their little plan and had stopped himself from scowling them for doing something so reckless. He listened silently when they made their 'teams' : Ruby and Weiss planned to head to CCT Tower to obtain records of some company while Yang would see someone called 'Junior' Xiong to get information of her own.
However what had shocked him to no end was Blake's part in this : she was supposed to attend a White Fang meeting to learn of their plans ! He had taken all his will-power to not step in the conversation to yell at Team RWBY but had decided instead to warn Amethyst of what she learned. To say that the brown haired girl was shocked was saying the least and she had started to head toward the dorm of Ruby and Team but was stopped by Simba.
The two then decided to stay away and only step in if their friends needed help. They had watched when Team RWBy fought against Roman Torchwick who used an Atlesian Paladin and were kinda furious when the criminal managed to escape with the help of some girl with half brown and pink hair who distracted their friends with an illusion. Just after the fight, the entire Team received a good reprimand from an angry Simba but Ruby and the girls didn't backed down despise the furious glare they were receiving from the Lion.
Amethyst herself had gave them a good reprimand and even accused them of saying both her and Simba as weak before storming away under the pained eyes of Team RWBY. Of course they tried to apologize but the brown haired girl didn't wanted to hear anything from them. Simba, of course, staid with Amethyst as himself was disappointed by the four girls.
But then something else went to add more problems in their equations : the Beacon Dance. Jaune had tried a LOT to invite Weiss but each time, she turned him down coldly or simply by ignoring him. Blake had been asked by Sun but harshly refused before storming away. Amethyst, despise her anger at Team RWBY for having included her in their little plan, was still concerned for them and had talked to the Cat Faunus who stubbornly refused to listen. Her state had became worse when she stopped sleeping, too obsessed with Roman and the White Fang and her team-mates were concerned for her.
Amethyst, seeing that Blake so stubborn, decided to step back and let Ruby, Yang and Weiss take care of this. "Anyway… What will you wear for the dance ? Its today you know..." Simba asked her as he broke the embrace. Amethyst gave him a mischievous look as she replied with a coo "You'll see~" but then she added something that surprised him "For the dance, I asked Professor Ozpin if I could use the stage..."
"What for ?" he asked her with a frown of confusion to which she responded by "Its a surprise~" "Fine then… Leave me in the dark of that what you want… Pipsqueak~" this comment, especially the nickname, earned him a punch on the shoulder and an indignant squawk from the brown haired girl who pouted at him "HOW MANY DID I TOLD YOU TO NOT CALL ME PIPSQUEAK ?!"
Simba grinned, not looking guilty one bit, as he replied innocently "I lost count after 95~"
Amethyst pouted at him but he only laughed in answer which caused her cheeks to redden even more "Shut up ! You big fur-ball !" she snarled at him angrily but if wasn't really effective as she was covering her face with her hands. However, a cough caught their attention and they looked at the entrance of their 'dorm' to see Emerald and Professor Ozpin ! "Emerald !" Amethyst greeted her childhood friend as she went back on her feet just as the green haired girl approached him with open arms "Amethyst !"
As the two girls were hugging each other, Simba approached Ozpin "You took your time to release her ! Amethyst was losing patience..." the Golden Lion remarked to the old man who nodded his head with an apologetic look on his face "Sorry about this but the information she gave her were… eventful..." at the word 'eventful', a tone of sadness could be detected in Ozpin's voice.
"What did you learned ?" Simba asked him while glancing at Amethyst who was in a full conversation with Emerald as the two of them were sitting on some chairs.
"Well… First of all, Miss Sustrai here gave us a list of Salem's inner circle : Cinder Fall, yes the woman you accidentally killed ; Tyrian Callows ,a serial killer ; Arthur Watts, a former scientist of Atlas and finally Hazel Rainart… She even told us where we might find them and thanks to her precious information, Arthur and Hazel were arrested and sentenced to death..." Ozpin said the last part with a tone of sadness as if he wasn't agreeing with the deaths.
"What else ?" Simba asked him hurriedly but also with curiosity and Ozpin sighed deeply before resuming his explanation "From what Miss Sustrai told us… The White Fang are lead by someone called Adam Taurus… and they apparently don't act under Sienna's rules…" "Did you sent her a message ?" The Golden Lion asked the old man in a serious tone and Ozpin's face showed a soft smile "I did ! As you know, Atlas doesn't have a good reputation in Menagerie so I volunteered… Sienna Khan was furious about Adam's actions and gave us 'white card' if we saw him… She also asked me to tell you that she would love to meet both you and Miss Aster in the future..."
"What ? Why ?" Simba asked the Headmaster of Beacon with pure shock written on her face "You remember the fire in Vale ?" Ozpin asked him back and the Golden Lion nodded despise not seeing the connexion "Among the people you saved was one of Sienna's best friends and she want to thank you for that… But your reputation as well as Miss Aster's may have played a role in this I'm afraid..." The old man explained before taking a sip of his mug. The Golden Lion sighed as he shook his head, his mind processing what he just learned : Sienna Khan, the Leader of the White Fang, wanted to meet both him and Amethyst. He knew the Faunus of Vale appreciated the two as both of them never showed any disgust or hatred toward Faunus but he didn't know they would be reported to Sienna herself !
But then, Simba looked back at Ozpin before asking seriously "What else did you found out ?" The soft smile on the old man's face disappeared as a look of sadness and shame appeared instead "We discovered that the Headmaster of Haven Academy, Leonardo Lionheart, a friend of mine, worked for Salem… He gave her the locations of many Huntsmen so she could sent Callow and Rainart to kill them..."
Simba looked horrified by this but then quickly regained his composure to ask the saddened old man before him "And what did you do with him ?" Ozpin's shoulders slumped even more as he looked older than ever as he said those words "He had been arrested for treason… Someone else took his place as Headmaster… Apparently he didn't stopped saying about how Salem was impossible to beat but no one listened or cared about it…"
"Is there only bad news ?" Simba muttered to himself but sadly Ozpin heard him as a smile, a happy one, grew on his aged face "Oh there is ! But first I want to ask you something… Have you heard of the Maidens ?" The Golden Lion blinked at the unexpected question but nodded. Amethyst, days before joining Beacon, had told him the story of the Four Maidens whose powers were given to them by an old man. Each Maidens had a power based on a season : Spring, Autumn(Fall), Winter and Summer.
"The Fall Maiden had been attacked by Miss Sustrai, Mister Black and Cinder and the latter stole half of Amber's power… When you killed Cinder, the power she stole returned to its rightful owner waking from her coma !" Ozpin said in a happy tone before turning his head to look outside before saying in a louder tone "Come on Amber you can enter !" At those words, someone else entered the dorm (or should I say the large barn like building ?).
It was a young human woman with a light brown complexion, with shoulder-length, straight brown hair and a beauty mark below her left eye. She was wearing a long, green hooded cloak on top of an off-white blouse with frill detailing on the shoulders, pleated lower half with a central split, alongside a brown vest that had three straps and golden lining around the collar. In addition, the newcomer had a dark brown corset with matching pants, along with a pair of brown thigh-high boots with large cuffs and golden armour plating covering the boots up to her knees.
She also had an amber pendant on her vest, a gold bracer on her left arm, and two gold bracelets on her right wrist. To finish, she had a golden spaulder on her right shoulder as well as a brown shoulder strap with some pouches slanging diagonally across her body. Simba watched her with interest as the young woman carefully approached him with a wary expression on his face. It wasn't the first time the Golden Lion saw this reaction as it was usually like this when someone met him for the first time.
"Simba ! I have the pleasure to introduce you to Amber the Fall Maiden !" Ozpin replied in an almost cheerful tone as he presented Amber to him. The Golden Lion glanced away from Ozpin to look at her before smiling "Its a pleasure to meet you Amber..." The young woman, to his surprise, didn't showed any shock about him being able to talk and instead greeted him back in a friendly manner " The pleasure is mine Simba… Thank you again for killing this woman… If you hadn't I would still be ins-conscious..."
The Golden Lion bowed his head at her before asking in a gentle tone "So… What will you do now ?" "Well...Ozpin want me to stay here at Beacon… apparently he is still wary of the outside world and afraid that you-know-who will sent more assassin after me~" Amber had responded with a tone full of humor as she glanced at a certain Headmaster who looked away in embarrassment. "Welcome in Beacon then !" Simba said to the young woman who smiled as she nodded in thanks.
"Oh before I forgot ! Amber and Miss Sustrai will sleep here with you from now on… I trust you and Miss Aster to take good care of them..." Ozpin remarked to the Red Maned Lion with a stern tone in his voice "Of course ! You should worry more about the dance Professor !" Simba replied back half-joking and Ozpin chuckled as he left them alone. The Golden Lion watched him go before turning his head toward Amethyst who was still talking with Emerald "Ame it seems we have room-mates..."
"I know ! Its WONDERFUL !" Amethyst squealed childishly and Simba chuckled in amusement at his friend's antics before looking at a certain green haired girl in a friendly manner "Its a pleasure to meet you Miss Emerald ! Ame over there couldn't stop talking about you~" The Golden Lion had said the last part with a teasing tone and Amethyst shot him a glare which promised pain later. "Good things I hope !" Emerald replied to the Lion with an amused glance at her childhood friend who pouted when she saw it was a two against one.
"Stop teasing her you two ! You will make her cry !" Amber stepped in with a playful grin as she eyed everyone with amusement "I WILL NOT !" a red-faced Amethyst cried out in indignation while Simba and Emerald were laughing to their hearts content. "Oh come on Ame, you wouldn't be lying to a Lion now would you ?" Simba asked her teasingly and the joke he made caused both Amber and Emerald to laugh loudly while Amethyst hided her head in her hands with a groan grumbling "I hate you Simba..." which caused the Golden Lion to join Amber and Emerald in their laughs.
The worry of the Beacon Dance were forgotten for a moment as Simba was having fun with his new room-mates even if deep down he was wondering what Amethyst planned tonight at the dance.
(To be continue…)