I don't own RWBY.

I made a mistake last chapter, as pointed out in a review, and I fixed it right away. Steele's current title is [-Goblin Slayer-]. Not ['The First Player-].

"ASS-MAN!"

"Oo-oof!" I winced as Daryl threw himself at me. I welcomed him with open arms, giving him a big hug.

"You're alive," He laughed. "I can't believe it. You're fucking bloody and disgusting, but you're alive!"

"I can't believe it either," I laughed with him, and he stepped back.

"Do you need a hug?" He asked, "You look like you need a hug."

I grinned, "Dude, we just hugged. Do you need a hug?"

"Come here."

We hugged again once more.

"What about Maya?" He asked, breaking the hug to stare at me in the eyes. "Did you see Maya, ass-man?"

"Your sister… I didn't see her." I shook my head, "I'm sorry."

"No… It's fine." He chuckled, "I mean, it's not fine! But I already found one brother today. I'm not gonna bring down the whole mood."

"Ass-man, huh." Ebony repeated, smirking at me, "Why am I not surprised? Suddenly everything makes sense."

"It's just a nickname." I smiled, a little embarrassed.

"Dude! Who's the bombshell?" Daryl asked me, eyes wide. "You gonna introduce me or what?"

I saw Ebony grin and look at me with a saucy smile, clearly waiting to be praised.

"That's Sylvia Lavender." I said, "She's a bit of a know-it-all but she's very nice and pragmatic when you get to know her."

"B-bwah?!" Sylvia's face turned bright red when I pointed my finger at her.

"Oh." Daryl blinked, "Nice to meet you! And, um, what about the other bombshell?"

Ebony glared at me.

"Fine…" I sighed, "That's Ebony Arc. She's good with a bow, and she, uh… likes to flirt."

"Wow." Ebony deadpanned. "I'm also the lady that nursed you back to health multiple times. But let's not mention that!"

"Likes to flirt? My kind of lady," Daryl grinned widely, and turned towards her. "I'm Daryl! It's very nice to meet you!"

"Why are you topless?" Ebony asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

"Why not?" He blinked at her, surprised at the question.

"Because!" Sylvia exclaimed indignantly, "You should wear a shirt at least! It's common sense."

"Sorry." He scratched his head, giving an apologetic grin, "It's just… clothes feel so restricting to me…"

"I'm telling you right now, you're not gonna make him put on a shirt," I warned them, "This is a guy who came to school shirtless every single day, and no teacher could change that. Even in winter, the bastard stayed shirtless."

"What can I say." Daryl shrugged, "It's comfortable."

"He's an exhibitionist!"

"A what?" Daryl and I blinked at Sylvia.

"Someone who gets off running around naked." Ebony explained, grinning.

"…Ass-man. Do I look naked?" Daryl asked me.

"You are topless." I answered with honesty, smiling as I caressed my chin. "I'd say, you're half-naked."

"You guys are lucky I'm even wearing pants." Daryl pouted, turning away, "I'd feel much more comfortable without them."

"Oh god, please no," Ebony muttered under her breath.

"And... this is Steve Greenleaf." I finished the presentations.

"It's Steele!" The Faunus flushed, "Steele Yellowleaf!"

I ignored him, "Anyway, let's catch up, Daryl!"

I nudged Daryl towards our base, with the three others following us not too far behind.

"Hey, ass-man. Isn't that the guy you used to complain about all the time?" Daryl asked, raising an eyebrow at me as he pointed his thumb at Steele behind us.

"It is." I nodded, "Sadly, out of all my classmates, he's the only one that survived."

"Hmm…" His face turned serious, "So, that girl, Caitlyn…?"

"She's... dead… Got infected. I had to kill her."

"…Dark." He commented. "I'm sorry, bro." He pat my shoulder, "She was cute."

"She was," I sighed.

We reached our base, and I showed him around while the three others settled down.

"I got a gift for you," I smiled, handing him the packs of cigarettes I had found last week.

"Hah, thanks. But I already had some. I also have something for you," He grinned back, and handed me a familiar looking little box.

"Asthma medicine…" My eyes widened, "You remembered I needed that? Thanks...!"

"Yep. Found on a zed." Daryl grinned.

"A zed?" I chuckled, "Is that what you call them?"

"Yeah. We have to call them something." He nodded, and took a rolled paper out of his pocket, "Need a joint?"

I sighed. "You know I can't... It's not good for me, I'm asthmatic."

"Screw that," Daryl frowned, "You're looking so stressed. Chill with me for a bit. Come on."

"...All right," I nodded, and inhaled some of my medicine. "Fuck it."

Daryl nodded approvingly, and nudged me towards the open window, before placing a joint in my lips and lighting it.

I inhaled and exhaled the smoke, sighing. "I'm so glad you found us." I spoke up.

"Me too." He nodded.

I saw the three others sending us a glare.

What, because we were smoking?

Come on, did I not deserve a break? Did they hate the smoke that much?

"Let's do this outside," I said. We stepped on the window and sat on its ledge, facing the courtyard, our legs dangling down.

We had a good view of the school. On the other side of the courtyard was the cafeteria, and right beside it, the building of the guys that regularly exploded the zombies. In the courtyard were various piles of dead bodies. All burnt, some leaving only black skeletons behind.

It almost had an eerie atmosphere, like a cemetery.

"...You're holding it wrong," Daryl chuckled.

"What?" I blinked, looking at the joint that I held between my index and middle finger. "There's a special way to hold it?"

"Yeah. You stick it up your ass." He laughed. "I smoke all the time, did you not watch me, ass-man?"

"Fuck off." I scoffed.

"For starters, learn how to hold it properly." He grinned, "Right now you look like a fucking teenage girl smoking a cigarette."

"Hah!" I laughed. "What?" I changed the way I held it, trying to match his. "Is that how you do it?"

"Nope. Put it between your index finger and thumb. Like this."

I adjusted my hold on the joint, just like he said. "Like this?"

"Yeah, you got it."

"Why do I have to hold it like this?" I chuckled, "Because it looks cool?"

"Nah, you fuckface. That weed is precious, and holding it like that lets you smoke it all." Daryl explained, "Cupping your hand over the joint prevents it from dying out; it doesn't burn as good as a cigarette."

"That so..."

"Now, get those lips around it and inhale deep, ass-man." I snorted as I did as he described. "That's it. Hold your breath for as long as you can. You'll feel a stinging sensation in your chest as your lungs fill with smoke." I frowned when he said that. 'Don't be scared of it." Daryl grinned at me, "It won't harm you. When it gets too much, just exhale!"

I exhaled.

Cough! cough!

I made sure to cough the smoke right into his face.

"Hahaha!" Daryl leaned back and breathed the smoke, grinning. "This reminds me of my first time."

"Kah... Kah." I grunted like a fucking goblin, clearing my throat. "Yeah... But you were what? Twelve?"

"Yeah. But this is so much funnier." He gave me a shit-eating grin.

"My chest hurts," I complained.

"You'll get used to it, ass-man." He chuckled, nudging my shoulder.

"No, I will not..." I grimaced, "When do I feel something from it? I hope it's worth it."

"Eh... Give it a few minutes. You'll know for sure when it kicks in. Though, this is some light stuff, you won't get very high from this. It'll just help us relax."

"Hmph." I inhaled again. "So..." I held it in for a bit, before exhaling, releasing the smoke in the air. "What kind of shit did you see out there?"

"Not much." He shrugged, "I was holed up in a safe place for a while, until that guy's speech. All I did was killing slimes. The slimes protected me from the zombies, because they were immune to their bites and scratches and such. But with my base-ball bat, if I hit hard enough, I could really splash them, and it killed them. Even got a shiny title for it."

"Oh yeah? You are the type to enjoy getting into slimy fights, aren't you?"

"Fuck off," He laughed. "So, after I cleared the spawn-point, I went to the broadcasting station, but there were too many zombies surrounding the building. I saw that someone noticed me from a window, though. They're on the first floor. I saw some orcs on the second floor, and a shit ton of zombies of various kinds roaming in front of the building. Smashed a few of them."

"Hmm…"

"Then I managed to make it here and saw you guys climbing on the building. So I checked it out, and… here I am."

"Crazy. How many zombies were around the broadcasting station exactly?" I asked.

"I didn't count, but… Like, thirty? There were humans and Faunus ones, but also centaurs and orcs."

"Shit, that is a lot." I sighed. I started feeling the effects of the joint.

I felt my mind relaxing. There was a 'calming' effect surging in the back of my brain, spreading slowly. It was almost warm.

Shit... It had been a while since I felt like this. Years. I could see people get addicted to this.

"You wanna help them?" Daryl asked.

"I don't know." I shrugged, "The more people we save, the faster we'll be able to beat the boss, and leave the dungeon."

"All right. If you're in, I'm in. You got a plan?"

"Nope." I shook my head. "It's pretty risky. I need to consider things properly."

"Well, we'll leave the thinking for later." Daryl shrugged, "For now, let's relax."

"Hm."

"…"

"…"

We continued smoking, a comfortable silence between us. The sun was slowly descending, tainting the sky with an orange color. I could hear Ebony, Steele and Sylvia chatting in the back.

"So…" Daryl spoke up, exhaling softly, "Did you smash that ass?"

"No!" I snorted loudly, laughing. "No, Daryl, I didn't smash any ass."

"Not yet." Daryl grinned knowingly. "But I saw how you look at that blondie."

"Hey... She's got someone already, dude."

"For now. He could be dead for all we know." Daryl smirked. "It's about the long game, ass-man. The long game."

"Well..." I sighed, lowering my voice make sure I wasn't heard, "She is pretty confusing, not gonna lie. It's like, she keeps flirting with me, but she won't make a move."

"Maybe you should make a move, ass-man."

"I don't know. She's the one in a couple. Feels like if anyone should make the first move, it's her. It's on her... Her responsibility. She has to own it. You know what I mean?"

"Eeeeeh. You wanna know what I think?" Daryl asked, and I nodded to him. He leaned towards me, "I think she's keeping you around as a backup. As assurance. So if she finds her boyfriend, she can dump you and go back with her darling. But if she finds him zombified or dead? She can snatch you for herself."

"..." I paused, reflecting on his take. "Nah..." I shook my head, "I know Ebony. She's not like that."

"Hmm. Or she might be doing that other thing... I think there's a specific name for it..." Daryl mused, "Monkey-branching. You know. Getting her next relationship set up before dumping her current boyfriend. Like a monkey, she waits to have a tight grip on a new branch, before leaving the old one."

My heart sank, imagining myself as a defenseless branch, being squeezed more and more until it cracked.

Thank god I was high, or I would have punched something.

"What do you know about her..." I breathed tiredly, "How many chicks have rejected your sorry ass again?"

"Bah." He waved the question away, "Their loss."

"Twenty… Twenty-something. Right?"

"Forty-three."

"..." I paused, and looked at him.

He looked back at me, his lips twitching.

We burst out laughing.

"Forty-three? Holy fucking shit." I laughed, "You keep count? You poor bastard."

"At least I'm trying to get some pussy." He chuckled, "You're too much of a moody dick to even consider asking a girl out."

"Meh. I don't want to do the whole dating thing." I shrugged, uninterested, "It sounds boring."

"Some girls might agree with you, you know. Many girls might want to skip straight to the sex part. But you'll never know cause you don't try. You got no balls, ass-man. No balls."

"I'm using my balls for other things. For when I wake up sometimes, and choose violence. You know that."

"Hah... You mean when your Step-Fuhrer wakes up and chooses violence." He sighed, shaking his head. "And then you pass that shit like a hot potato to the ones around you."

"Oof..." I winced, "That rung a little too true to my taste."

Daryl knew about my step-father, of course.

Just like I knew about his father, who had given hell to his big sister Maya for being lesbian. And who had given hell to and him for being... well, himself.

We both had daddy issues...

"You are such a rageful butthole sometimes." Daryl continued, "Be like me. Be a lover."

"Hey, I'll have you know, I've been working on myself."

"Oh yeah?"

"I've doubled that Wisdom stat. Tripled if you count my OP title."

"Ohoooh."

"And I've even nursed that little girl, you know? Well, I've nursed all three of them actually. But I started with her."

"What, the one cosplaying as a witch? What's her name. Sylvia?" Daryl asked, "I mean, she doesn't have the milk machines that Ebony does, but she's pretty cute."

I sighed, shaking my head at his antics.

There he went again, Daryl, talking about girls like they were pieces of meat.

"Yeah, no, I got no chance with her. Shitty first impression." I played along with him, grinning, "I forced her to fight a monster while she was still injured, and then I gave her a black eye when she protested."

"Oh shit!" He burst out laughing. "Fuck, ass-man! You slapped a cute little girl like that? Oh... Only you, Shean. Only you."

"And I was fucking proud of it for a good while." I smirked. "I was like, 'yeah, this bitch deserved it.'"

"Hah." He chuckled softly.

"But then I had to kill Caitlyn, and it was my turn to get slapped in the face. By reality."

"..."

"Turns out, Caitlyn, she wanted to kill herself this entire time... I was borderline abusing her, yet she kept supporting me, having my back. And I never noticed how she really felt... And her body... It's still out there, on the second floor's bathroom..."

I sniffed, feeling something wet gather in my eyes.

Daryl went quiet at that. I felt his hand squeeze my shoulder.

"..."

"..."

"You okay, ass-man?"

"...Yeah... it's just..." I shook my head, "We got issues, Daryl... We got issues."

"I know, ass-man." he sighed, "I know."

"..."

"..."

"Let's bury her sometime." Daryl suggested. "Okay?"

"Yeah..."

We continued smoking, staring at the horizon silently.

Daryl didn't mind my violent tendencies.

I didn't mind his perverted, crack-headed ones.

One could say we both influenced each other in a bad way; but the reverse was also true.

We had our differences, but we were still friends.

That was the essence of our relationship.

Ebony Arc's PoV.

Ebony narrowed her eyes at the two boys sat on the window.

Smoking weed. She had not been ready for that.

"What is he doing?!" Sylvia hissed furiously under her breath. She was almost hysterical, Ebony had never seen her like this. "He's asthmatic! He CANNOT smoke!"

"I know," Ebony nodded to her.

"We should stop him!" Sylvia whispered indignantly. "We should walk up there, and snatch that roll of paper off his lips! And then tell him like it is: you. Should. Not. Smoke. Right now!"

"I'm not doing that," Steele spoke up. "You're on your own."

"You should do the one to do it, Ebony," Sylvia suggested, looking at her.

"Eh? Why me?"

"Oh, don't play dumb, you know why." Sylvia scoffed, "Steele and I, he doesn't take us seriously. But you? He respects you. He likes you. He may even have a crush on you, you know that, right?"

"W-well…" Ebony hesitated, "I don't think so. Look at him," Ebony nodded at the two boys.

They burst out laughing again. The way they looked at each other, had that natural smile on their faces.

"I've never seen him this relaxed." Ebony said, "He's going to listen to Daryl first, above all else… Not us. Not me."

"But that guy is so weird." Sylvia insisted, "I mean, have you seen how he looked at your…"

"At my boobs." Ebony shrugged, "Yes, well, that's the standard response from a guy that age."

"You don't know him," Steele pointed out, "He might not be that bad. Give him the benefit of the doubt."

"…" Sylvia paused for a moment, "…You're right… It's just… This is our lives we're betting."

Ebony stayed silent, watching the Daryl and Shean chat, still sat on the window.

She couldn't tell if Daryl was a good or a bad thing for the group.

Later, back with Shean.

"So… What the hell are we doing with this?"

I said, dropping my huge chunk of meat on the table.

"Wow," Daryl whistled, "It's so huge! Nice cock."

"What?" I blinked at him.

"What?" He blinked at me.

"…" The three others stared at us in silence.

I coughed. "Uh… Don't mind him. Any ideas? Recipes?"

"Stew." Ebony spoke up, "It's gotta be stew."

"Why?" Daryl asked her.

"Uh, because." Ebony frowned at him. She seemed annoyed with him for some reason. "With stew, there's more to eat per person."

"So this is the mentality of people that come from huge families, huh?" I commented, making her blush. "But we don't have a pot, and the saucepan is not big enough. It's not practical. Next suggestion."

"M-me!" Sylvia raised her hand, and I nodded to her, "We make a fire and cook it on the frying pan!"

"Not a bad idea," I mused, scratching my chin. "We even have some goblin oil to start the fire."

"We can slice the meat bit by bit," Steele spoke up, "And cook them in the frying pan."

"Yeah, it looks like we'll have to do that." I nodded, "But the fire…?"

"We make it on the roof."

I didn't like the sound of that, but if we wanted to eat something tonight, we had no choice.

"OK. Anyone has the [Cooking] skill?" I asked.

"…"

"…"

"…Goddammit."

"U-um… I'm at intermediate level." Sylvia raised her hand.

"You are?! Oh, thank fuck." I sighed, relieved that I wouldn't be the one cooking. "You don't mind cooking for us, do you?" I asked her.

"No… I'm a bit worried I'm gonna mess it up, though. We don't have cooking oil for the pan." She mused.

"Maybe we can use the ketchup like an oil?" I suggested.

The girl stared at me like I was a Grimm in disguise. "Do me a favor, Shean. Stay away from the cooking tonight."

Later, on the roof.

Once on the roof, we made a small campfire with pieces of wooden chairs. After lighting it up with goblin oil, we started cooking.

I cut the meat into thin slices, and Sylvia cooked them in the frying pan.

We used a tiny bit of water as oil. According to Sylvia, the meat should release its own fat liquid in the pan.

We cooked twelve slices in total. I ate three. And there was still half of the tiger meat left in the lunchbox.

All in all, a decent, filling meal.

"So… how is it?" I asked, "Thunder Tiger meat."

"The texture is kinda like pork," Ebony said.

"I'd say it's more like chicken," Daryl said, "But stringier."

"It's not bad, just… meat, you know." Sylvia nodded, "Needs some spices."

Then we ate a yogurt each, mixed with some sugar. And after that, we even had one cookie each.

It was a feast.

"Oh man." Ebony sighed, "I haven't ate this much for a while."

"That is sad, cause it's not like we just ate a very big meal." Daryl said.

"True."

"All right, everyone… plans for tomorrow." I spoke up, raising my voice, and everyone focused their attention on me. "Thanks to my best buddy Daryl over there," Daryl gave me a thumbs up and a dumb grin, "We have information on the broadcasting station, where a number of people are trapped, including some of Ebony's siblings."

I paused. Ebony gulped.

"Daryl has given me an approximation of the number of zombies we're going to face on the ground floor and around the building. Thirty. But, there's probably more."

A tense silence welcomed that number.

"As for the inside of the building, we only know that they have secured the first floor, so we won't have to worry about the second and third floor anyway. Daryl was able to confirm that someone saw him. So they know that there are some people out there at least."

Silence again.

"So… This is a big decision, so I wanted to ask you all first... Should we go help them?"

"…"

The silence turned uncomfortable, each of them glancing at each other.

"I trust you to lead us." Steele was the first to speak up. "I'll go along with whatever you choose."

"I... I want to go save them, of course," Ebony chuckled nervously. "Wh-what… what about you, Sylvia?"

"Pia and Lia are my friends. I want to go save them." Sylvia said, and looked at Ebony apologetically, "But I don't want to put my own interests above this group. I'm sorry, Ebony." She turned to me. "That being said, I trust you with that decision, Shean."

I nodded at her, and turned to Daryl.

"…Aaah, it's tough. I don't think we should do it, ass-man." Daryl sighed reluctantly, "We have it good here. We can hunt tigers and goblins and grow stronger, slow and steady. Then, we can go help them, when we're ready."

"But they might not have food!" Ebony protested, "They might not survive that long! They're trapped!"

"Uh, all right!" Daryl raised his hands in the air, "I'm just giving my opinion…"

"You just came here!" Ebony continued, "What, you want us to just wait here doing nothing, smoking and getting high, have it good? While others are still trapped out there, needing our help? Your opinion isn't worth shit-"

"HEY!" I cut her, raising my voice as I felt anger rise inside me.

Daryl and Ebony tensed up.

I pointed my finger at Ebony. "Daryl is my best friend. He had it tough surviving out there on his own, too. He wasn't fucking stuck in an empty classroom getting his ass carried by a random guy two years younger. So his opinion fucking matters."

"..." Ebony gritted her teeth and looked away at the fire, frustrated.

"Don't fucking look away!" I snapped at her, "What are you, a child?! Apologize to him! Like a responsible person!"

She looked up at me for a moment, before glancing at Daryl. "I get it... I'm sorry, dude. You've obviously been through some nasty things."

"It's all good... And, well…" Daryl hesitated, glancing between me and Ebony. "I know I said all that. But in the end, you know I'm gonna support whatever decision you take, ass-man. I'll be on your side."

"Thanks, Daryl." I nodded at him, giving him a grateful smile.

Still, though.

The decision was my responsibility now.

Daryl was right, it was risky. We just found a renewable source of food, too... Was it worth it to risk the group?

"Th-they're my family, Shean," Ebony spoke up. "What if it was Carl, stuck out there?" She turned to Daryl, "Or Maya?"

"Ebony, stop-" Sylvia spoke up, but the blonde girl kept talking.

"Please…! Please, we have to go save them…" She begged, tears in her eyes. "Shean…" She stared at me right in the eyes. My heart squeezed painfully in my chest. "I beg you. We can go save them, we have the ability, I swear. Please, let's go save them… They're all I have left…!"

"…I…" I hesitated, unsure. I gulped, unable to look away from her. "I… need to think about it…"

"O-ok…" She nodded, sniffing. "I… I understand…"

"…"

"..."

A tense silence followed.

"In the mean time…" I spoke up again, exhaling heavily, "Let's say, hypothetically, we go help them. Any suggestions on how to handle this?" I asked, glancing at Sylvia.

The little girl stayed quiet.

But I knew. She was thinking hard.

I was expecting something from her.

Name: Sylvia Lavender
Age: 15
Title: [-Prodigy-]
Status Effects: None

The [-Prodigy-] title. This must mean that this unassuming little girl was actually a genius. She had to have higher intelligence than all of us. To have it equipped instead of [-Goblin Slayer-], it must have a very good effect.

It made me wonder, if her using the shaman staff and the mage hat would end up being useful after all. A prodigy couldn't be so wrong so badly, right? It really changed my view of her quite a bit.

"We could use some Dust," Steele suggested, stirring me from my thoughts. "To wipe them out. Like the others do in the courtyard."

"Too loud." I replied, shaking my head. "It will only attract more."

"What if..." Sylvia spoke up, "What if we use the Dust, but somewhere else?"

"To lure them away," Ebony realized, eyes wide, "I see."

"It should work, as long as the group in the broadcasting station aren't screaming their lungs out." Daryl nodded. "They are easily attracted to noise."

"I don't like using our Dust like that." I grunted, unsure.

"But the idea of using noise to lure them away is good," Daryl replied, "Ass-man, you're good with cars. Think we could honk one of their horns?"

"Of course. But I'd need to get it working, and move it somewhere else first."

"And.. Can you do that?" Sylvia asked, staring at me.

"I can." I nodded.

"This dude put an entire car from a junkyard back together and made it work." Daryl grinned, "Of course he can."

"I was lucky." I replied, "That truck was in near perfect condition. It was just rusty, and missing a battery, a wheel, some brakes, a few windows, a door, a suspension..." I paused, "Well, OK, it might not have been in perfect condition."

"You weren't only able to repair it. You also maintained it, too. It still works, even today." Daryl explained, and turned to the others, "I know, cause he lets me drive it whenever I want. So, him getting a teacher's car to work? Should be child's play."

Daryl winked at me as he finished his sentence. This guy... Was he hyping me up?

"Depends on the model… The Atlesian ones are tricky. But yeah, I probably can." I nodded, "Moving on. I know the basics of how to drive… But where should I park the car before honking?"

"It has to be close enough for them to hear it." Sylvia said. "Some of them are still inside a building after all. But not too close."

"All right. And how do I escape when they all come at me?"

"…"

"Curtain rope," Ebony suggested. "Zombies can't climb ropes."

"Nor ladders," Steele added.

"So, elevation." I summarized. "Get the high ground."

"I got a map," Daryl said, pulling a paper out of his bag.

He laid it down. "This is where we are. Down there, is the LRC. And further down, in the corner of the school, is the building with the broadcasting station. It's quite a large one." He then pointed to another building west of the broadcasting station. "This building right there? It is identical. And I saw an emergency ladder on both. So you go all the way south west, honk the horn, climb the ladder of this building. Then, on the roof, you'll be able to sneak all the way back here, since it's quite large."

"And then?" I asked Daryl, "How do I get on the other side, on the roof of the broadcasting station? These two buildings aren't connected to each other. They're separated by the school's southern exit."

"Uh… No idea," Daryl admitted.

"It should be enough," Sylvia said, "From there, you'll be far enough from the horde. Just climb down and quickly get into the building."

"There is no ladder on that side," Daryl said. "You'd have to take the stairs… from inside the building."

"There's probably a spawn-point inside that building." I pointed out, "If I make too much noise, it will attract the zombies, and I'd be stuck inside another building once again. Alone. I am not doing that shit."

"…"

"I'll do it," Steele spoke up.

"You?" I laughed at him. "What the fuck can you do that I can't? Do you even know how to drive?"

"It can't be that hard. And once I'm on the roof, I can easily get down."

"How?"

"With my skill, [Aerial Take Down]." Steele declared, "If it's only three floors, I can do it."

"…" The three others looked between the two of us, uncertain. Ebony fidgeted anxiously.

I narrowed my eyes at him. "Can you do it?"

"I can... and I will do it."

"…" I maintained my gaze on him.

He didn't look away. He glared at me, challenging me.

I smiled. "All right. That skill needs a target, yeah?"

"Yes."

"I'll be your target then."

"You might get knocked out…" Steele warned.

"I can handle it. I'll just catch you."

"…All right," He accepted. "I'll trust you on that, Shean."

I grinned. "Good! Great!" I smacked his shoulder.

I suddenly felt a weird, warm feeling in my chest.

Pride? For someone else than Carl?

I grinned. "Well, shit! Now that we've set up a plan, it's much easier to decide."

"…" Everyone looked at me.

Ebony bit her lip anxiously, her eyes filled with hope.

"Tomorrow, we're saving the ass of the school's new idol Jaune Arc!" I announced.

"Th-thank you!" Ebony gasped, releasing her breath. "All of you, thank you so much!"

"Woohooo!" Daryl cheered, "Let's celebrate with… uh… biscuits!"

"With a ton of biscuits!" Steele added.

The five of us cheered, and we spent a good moment around the campfire.

Later, Ebony Arc's PoV

"They're smoking again." Sylvia groaned, annoyed.

"I know," Ebony said quietly.

Daryl and Shean were back to smoking, away from them and the campfire, sitting on the ledge of the rooftop.

"I hate this," Sylvia hissed, "He should be spending time with us around the fire. Daryl is a bad influence on him."

"He doesn't seem that bad," Steele shrugged.

"He's always shirtless, so he built quite the reputation in the school. I heard of him." Sylvia scoffed, "He's older than us, sixteen, since he repeated his first year. He's nasty... Shean needs someone better to look up to. Not some stupid, exhibitionist crack-head!"

"Are you still on about that?" Steele chuckled. "But… I kinda have to agree."

"Right?!" She exclaimed. "Ebony, you agree too, right?"

"Yeah." Ebony answered, her eyes fixed on the two guys. "I mean, they're smoking weed. Shean would have never done that on his own. So yeah, it's pretty clear that Daryl is a bad influence on Shean."

"I'll tell him." Sylvia decided. She stood up, all excited, "I'll tell him, right now!"

The little witch stomped her way towards them. Ebony had a bad feeling about this.

"Uhoh," Steele snorted, looking worried.

"Hey…!" Sylvia exclaimed at them.

The rest of their conversation, Steele and Ebony didn't hear.

"Doesn't look like it's going well," Steele commented, as they saw Shean's expression go from relaxed to annoyed.

"No…" Ebony bit her lower lip anxiously again. "She can't be confronting him like that. That's not a good way to handle Shean. Hasn't she learned from last time?"

"At least he's not slapping her," Steele snorted as they continued arguing.

Then, it seemed like Daryl cracked a joke, and he and Shean burst out laughing again.

Sylvia went bright red, and stomped her way back to the campfire, looking defeated.

"What did they say?" Steele asked her with sympathy.

"They mocked me! And my outfit!" She exclaimed, frustrated, "It's like Shean doesn't listen anymore, now that his friend is here! And… He's treating me like a kid!"

"Well, that's not exactly new. He's always treated you like a kid. And I know what that's like," Steele sighed, patting her shoulder in support. "But if we keep it up, Shean will recognize our efforts eventually. I guarantee it. He's not gonna let us down."

"You… You really think so?" Sylvia asked, looking at Steele anxiously.

"Of course. Trust me." Steele stated with absolute certainty in his voice. "This is Shean we're talking about. And he just reunited with his friend. Shean doesn't have many friends, you know? Just give them some time together to catch up."

"I… guess…" Sylvia sighed, glancing at them worriedly. "I hope you're right, Steele..."

Ebony grimaced, still watching them chat away from the group.

Why not talk here, by the campfire? Did they really need the privacy? Did they have anything to hide? Or was it just because they didn't want to bother them with the smoke?

Ebony actually had no problem with Daryl himself, really… He seemed like an OK guy, if you ignored his antics.

The issue was how easily he was able to influence Shean. Just earlier, Shean had almost decided to not go to save the group at the broadcasting station, just because Daryl said so. If he hadn't been there, Shean would have easily agreed to go save them, Ebony was sure of it.

And the fact that he was making him smoke even though he had clear health issues with his lungs...? Ebony gritted her teeth, feeling anger burning in her chest. She had seen how Shean had changed so much, for the better, in the past two weeks...And how much he had struggled to change.

But now it felt like Daryl was undoing all of it!

It was frustrating...! And Ebony was powerless to help stir Shean back on the right path, because it felt like he would always listen to Daryl first. Not her. Not anyone else.

The fact of the matter was: she had just been downgraded from the group's second-in-command to third-in-command. She could tell.

But, well… In the end, it was just like Steele said. They had to trust Shean to see things the right way. There was a reason he was their leader: because they all trusted him to make the right decisions. They all believed in Shean Mauve.

So... There was nothing they could do...

Nothing she could do.

Or…

Was there? Something she could do?

Ebony gulped, a devious idea entering her mind.

Something she had been thinking about, for quite some time now.

Later, that night, back with Shean.

I walked silently in the corridor, my [Sneak] skill activated.

Now that we had secured the entire fifth floor, the guard duty consisted of regularly checking the two barricades of the two staircases on each side of the building.

I sat back on the chair in the middle of the corridor, the perfect spot to watch the two sides.

I exhaled softly, watching the darkness, my senses alert. This was the last watch; I would not get anymore sleep tonight. It was quiet, even the goblins seem to need sleep.

"Hey… Shean."

I heard a soft voice behind me. I didn't look back.

"You should go back to sleep, Ebony." I whispered, "Tomorrow is a big day."

"…It's almost tomorrow already. I won't be able to sleep."

She sat on a chair right next to me. I let her.

"…"

It was quiet for a while.

And then, I felt something touching my shoulder.

My heart skipped a beat.

"What are you doing?" I asked her. She was resting her head on my shoulder.

"I wanted to thank you, Shean. For everything you've done." She whispered, "And… for deciding to go save my family… That means so much to me."

"There's no need to thank me." I replied nervously. "I wasn't going to let your family die… And besides, your brother represents something to the school now, after his speech. He has the ability to lead a very large group, I think. So it's something I would have done anyway."

"Hmmm… Are you sure?"

"…Ah… Yes." I grunted.

I frowned at my own voice. It sounded so uncertain.

Ebony hummed sensually, nuzzling against my neck.

My heart hammered in my chest.

What the hell was she doing? What should I do?

I suddenly felt her soft lips on my cheek. She snuck a hand in my hair, and the other under my shirt, touching my chest and feeling my heartbeat.

"Hey…" She whispered in my ear, her voice filled with desire. "Wanna…?"

"…"

I stayed frozen like a statue.

Wanna?

Wanna what?

Wanna wanna what?

Wanna what exactly? Wanna what?

My brain farted at the word. Did I get a debuff in Intelligence or what?

I didn't have enough Willpower for this shit.

"Your heart is beating so fast…" She muttered, amused.

"…You got someone else…" I groaned.

"…He's not here…" Ebony breathed in my ear. "Might even be dead and I'll never know." She sobbed, her voice cracking for a second when she said that, but she quickly hid it away, "I can't keep living in doubt like this… And besides, I'm not perfect… Truth is… I've always been a bad girl, Shean."

"…" I gulped, and turned my head to look at her, to check if she was really serious, or if she would just burst out laughing at her prank.

Big mistake. Big, huge mistake.

Before I knew it, our lips met.

"Let me thank you properly, Shean…" She breathed against my lips. I felt her hand slowly sliding down my chest, lower and lower. She was not wearing much, I finally noticed. Only underwear. "Let me show you, how much I appreciate your efforts. Everything you've done for us."

I felt my Willpower melting away, like an ice block exposed to a blazing hot sun.

I was not perfect, either. In fact, I had always been a bad guy, too.

I didn't care anymore. Screw it. Right now, I wanted to do this.

"…Ebony…" I breathed hungrily.

And so, I finally gave in to my urges.