She watched through the rectangular pane of glass as her leader, her friend, the one she admired was thrown away from the airship. Her orders to take off and leave her echoed in Rose's mind, and to accompany them, she conjured thoughts of a rebellious nature. She would not follow that command. She would stay and help in any way she could, but while she thought it, she could not act it out. The door, no matter how hard she tried to force it open would not budge. She had seen Petal doing something to it, and now she knew the girl was freezing the seams closed. By the time the ice thawed, they would be far away, back in the village, and Petal would be lost to them. She refused to think the girl would die, but where would she look? How would they find each other again? Rose found no answer, not in her grief and frustration, and not while she watched the landing zone growing smaller with each passing second, or as the facility vanished altogether, replaced by thousands of magnificent, amber colored trees.
For the entire trip back to the settlement, she did not move from the window, and her hand did not pull away from the door's handle. She had watched Shimmer lose control in that facility, and she blamed herself. If she had been more useful, Shimmer would not have needed to fight as hard on her own. Because of this, she had to shoot Shimmer with Mila's weapon, injuring one of her dear friends to the point of unconsciousness. After that, when she thought everything would be okay, when they were finally leaving, she watched the person she loved most sacrifice herself to make sure they all got away. Some would call it a noble act, one that Rose should be grateful for, but she felt ashamed and embarrassed. She felt wronged. She felt like a coward for running when she was needed most.
The haunting thoughts only served to bring rise to a much darker emotion in her heart, and that was anger. She was furious, with herself, with Shimmer, with Mila, and with Petal most of all. What right did she have to make that decision? She had said to question her opinions when the team felt they were stupid, and yet, this time, Rose was given no choice in the matter. No question, no confirmation, and not even a proper goodbye. She grit her teeth as she clenched her fists tight enough to cause her knuckles to turn white. She felt her eyes burn as she continued gazing out the window, hoping that Petal would be there somehow, but she knew that was impossible, and so, she grew angrier. Tears rolled down her cheek and she could stand no longer, she could do nothing any longer. She fell to her knees, but one hand still gripped the metal handle of the door, and she would not release that until it could open, and she could get to what mattered most. The airship soon landed, and Mila had put it down much closer than the one that originally dropped them off the day before.
"Only a day." she murmured. "How can so much go wrong in just a day?" she asked.
Some steps came up behind her and she knew it was Mila. When she looked, she expected to see Shimmer in his arms, but she was not. It was just him, and he took a seat beside her on the ground, crossing his legs, and putting his hands in his lap. He was a mess. His hair was disheveled, his clothing was torn in several places, and he had bruises on his face and neck, mostly likely from places Shimmer had attacked him during their fight. Rose could only imagine the wounds he carried beneath his clothing, and she then thought that she would rather not discover that hidden bit of information. Still, despite his many injuries, despite everything that happened, and despite their leader being left behind for their sake, he smiled at her.
"I know it wasn't easy," he said, softly. "But she's not dead. She's out there, I know it. We'll get her back."
Unable to hold herself back, she lunged at him and wrapped her arms around his body. She pulled him tightly to her chest and cried. All of her pain, her anger, her shame, all of it flowed out with her tears, and Mila was there to receive it all. It was surprising to her how he was acting. When she had first seen him, she thought him a troubled sort, somebody that was distant, cold, and refused to show or accept feelings of any kind. Over the months of being partners with him, however, she discovered that he was a caring, fun-loving person. Somebody that looked intimidating or hard to get along with, but was actually a sweet person underneath. Even so, this was an act that took her breath away. Out of everybody she had ever met, Mila was the last person she expected to be crying to, while she used him as a support for the overbearing weight she felt on her shoulders.
Even more to her surprise, she heard Mila sniffle a bit, and when she pulled away, she saw his dark eyes glistening in the dim light that peeked in through the windows around them. Rose realized then that it wasn't just her that was in pain, and it wasn't just because of Petal that Mila might have been hurt. He was very protective of Shimmer, and he just had to fight her because of the very thing he feared most, and that was his mutation taking hold of her.
"I'm sorry." Rose said, softly. "Here I am, crying like a baby, when you're going through just as much. It was inconsiderate of me." she added.
"No, it wasn't." he said, and he then looked fiercely into her eyes. "The crying is done, okay? We need to get it together, and we need to go save Petal, no matter the cost."
"What about Shimmer?" Rose asked, glancing over at the body that was lying on a set of hanging benches along the wall.
"Shimmer will have to sit this one out. I don't think she'll wake up anytime soon, and even if she did, she's in no condition to fight." said Mila.
"What about you? Your guns won't work now, right?"
"No, I don't think so. I always have to fix the damn things after I use those blasts." he said, before looking at the bag Rose had dropped beside her. He pulled it close and dug through it, soon removing two sheaths which housed white hilted daggers. "I'll borrow these. I used to practice with daggers all the time." he said, grinning. "I didn't stand a chance against Shi with them, but I got pretty close a few times."
"Okay, then." said Rose, giving a brief nod. "Let's drop Shimmer off and head out. We should check on Flint anyway."
"Petal told you?" asked Mila.
"Yeah, she did. I thought this was supposed to be a simple, easy mission. Look at the mess it turned into. Our teacher is hurt, Shimmer's out cold, and our leader is either dead or captured somewhere." Rose sighed as she put a hand to her forehead.
"Chin up, Rose, we'll find her, and we'll get out of here." he said, rising to his feet. He walked over to Shimmer and struggled to lift her, though he tried to hide it. He fought back the grunt as he exerted himself, and he tried to not show the pain in his face, but it didn't fool Rose. To her, his injuries were quite apparent, but she played along, and watched as he walked back to the cabin door, just beside Rose. "Can you get it open?"
"The ice should be melted by now, I think." she said, wiping her eyes and taking to her feet. "She didn't have the time to put it on that thick. It probably melted while you flew."
She gave a lift of the lever that opened the door and while it took more force than she expected, what was left of the ice cracked and shattered as it split. The door slid open as she put her whole body into pushing it, and Mila was the first to hop down. Mila grunted as he landed, nearly dropping Shimmer while catching himself, but he remained steady. Rose collected the bag and her own weapon before following them, leaving the airship behind as they made for the village. Night was well on them now, and by the time they returned to the village, torches were lit up in the streets, and candles flickered in the windows of the many cabins that lined either side of them. Rose rushed ahead of Mila to open the door for him, which he thanked with a faint nod of his head. All was quiet in the village, and in the home. Rose didn't have the enhanced hearing her leader possessed, but the flickering of the fireplace seemed louder in this silence. There was no talking, no running footsteps, and this only made her pain worsen. It was this silence that made her think of her life now, the new normal she had been living in for the last several months. Ever since meeting Petal, there had rarely been a quiet day, or even a silent hour, except for at night, of course. Petal was loud most of the time, joyous and normally playful, but loud. After going without a team and living in the dormitory alone for a while, this was a large change, which only became more apparent after Shimmer and Mila moved in as well. Shimmer was fine, but Mila and Petal made for a noisy afternoon. It was something that she now knew she missed dearly.
Mila gingerly set Shimmer down on the sofa and brushed a strand of loose, gray hair out of her somber, sleeping face. Rose set the bag down at the end of the couch before resting her weapon beside it.
"So, you finally showed back up." came Flint's voice. Rose turned her head to the hallway's entrance and saw him leaning on a cane and against the wall, probably only standing because of both supports. He looked ill, tired, distraught, and the paleness in his usually dark complexion, as if he had lost a lot of blood, only caused more worry to flood into Rose. "Where's Petal?" he asked, scanning the room.
"Captured." said Mila, just before Rose could open her mouth to answer. "We're going to get her back. I have a pretty good idea of where to start looking." he added, looking from Shimmer to their teacher and guide. "Did they get in touch with Mistral, the academy, anybody?"
Flint's expression grew grim but she had to give him credit, he did not look away, nor did he try to sugarcoat anything. "They did, but nobody is coming until daybreak. They need time to gather Huntsmen and to prepare for the hunt. I think you should wait until they get here before rushing out to get Petal." he said, looking seriously into Mila's dark colored eyes.
"With all due respect, Professor," started Rose, standing straighter and giving him a ferocious, determined leer. "We don't have the ability to wait for them. She has been gone for too long as it is. If she is still alive, we can't waste a minute in getting to her. Every second that passes is another second she could be getting tortured or killed or… or…"
"Or experimented on." Mila said, filling the pause that Rose left while searching for another word. "We found evidence that pointed to scientific experimentation, things involving humans and Grimm, and the mixing of the two. Rose is right, we need to hurry or it might be too late." Rose looked to her teammate and saw a look that was just as fierce as her own, and one that showed there was another reason for his hurry.
"You can't go." said Flint, hobbling towards them. "I won't let you."
"You can't stop us." said a fiery voice, one of malice and rebellion. To the surprise of the room's inhabitants, it wasn't Mila that spoke, it was Rose. She glared at her teacher as she continued. "You're incapable of doing much at the moment, Professor. We can easily leave without you being able to do anything about it. I will go, I will find her, and I will save her."
"You're being childish." stated Flint.
"Then I am a child." Rose replied, picking up her weapon and grabbing Mila's arm. "Are you sure you want to come? You're not in great shape, and your Aura is broken."
"I'll be fine. Flint, take care of Shimmer for me, please?" he asked, looking pleadingly at the injured figure, who was looking baffled at the pair of them. Mila then turned to Shimmer and kissed her forehead softly. "I'll be back, promise."
Rose smiled at the sight, briefly forgetting about the situation they were about to walk into, but that fog was rapidly cleared as Mila rose, looked to her with all seriousness, and nodded his head. Rose's grin reversed and became grim, dire, and somewhat frightened, if she had to be honest with herself. Still, this was something she had to do, something she was fully willing to do if it meant saving Petal. It didn't take them long to find the path they had followed that morning, and at Mila's suggestion, they turned right down the split, making for the cave both he and Petal had found. It wasn't a guarantee, she could have still been at the facility, but Mila seemed confident that she would be there, so that was where they would start. Soon enough, they came across the mouth of the cavern, and Mila produced a single glowstick. With a faint smile in her direction, he gave a twist of the end, igniting the dust inside to produce a faint blue light.
He volunteered to be the consistent carrier of the light, and so, she followed him into the caves. It was better that way anyhow, considering he had been through these tunnels before. He would know the way, or, he would know them better than Rose in any case. As the damp smell of musty air filled her nostrils, and the constant accompaniment of dripping water reached her ears, she found herself on edge, tense, and bristling at any new addition to the noises. Mila stepped in a puddle a minute into the cavern and she nearly jumped out of her skin. It didn't help that it was dark all around their small bubble of light, as Rose was never a fan of the dark. Since childhood it had frightened her, and it was a fear that never truly left. Even in her room she retained a nightlight from her youth, one that cast out a dim, blue light, and cast the shadowy shapes of stars within the light's area of illumination. As they stepped through into another corridor, Mila quickly held up his hand, stopping her in her tracks.
"What is it?" she asked, nervously
"Banging."
"Banging?" Rose repeated, and she noticed his eyes glowing scarlet.
"Something banging on metal. It's faint, but it's echoing a bit. I think I hear a voice too, but I can't make it out." he said, closing his eyes as he strained his ears.
"I'll take the fact that we heard anything as a good sign." said Rose.
She continued on ahead of Mila this time, growing too anxious to hold back any longer. She put her fear aside as best she could and entered into a large chamber, one that gave way to a large fall, and an enormous lake that explained away the heavy moisture in the air.
"There was a bridge here last time." he said. "We'll need to find a way past it. If the voice is Petal, she's being held in the last room we found, or somewhere close to that.
Rose tried to focus on her semblance. Since waking up in that facility, it had felt disconnected from her, or like an object that was just barely out of reach. Close enough to know that it was there, but too far to take in hand. This time, however, she felt it, or if she had to put it to words, it was similar to her fingers brushing against it, which was enough for something this short and simple. With enough of her concentration, she managed to create a window in front of them. Inside of said window, she could see the other side, and the hallway they would soon be continuing down. She gestured for Mila to step through first and she quickly followed. Just this little bit caused her head to throb and a vein to appear in her right temple. Her vision blurred slightly, her balance became disoriented to the point of needing the wall to keep herself straight, and a nausea began rising up in the pit of her stomach, causing her to double over slightly as she dry-heaved.
"You okay?" asked Mila.
"I'll be fine in a second." she said, breathing heavily.
Whatever they did to her, it was extremely effective. Normally, such a short distance would be easy, so much so that she could do it in her sleep, having done it in her sleep twice before, even. This was the usual aftermath of doing far off distances, or using it too much in a single day. She gave a rub of her temple, trying to work out the headache, and looked up through teary eyes to see Mila creeping further down the path. He had one of Shimmer's daggers drawn from its sheath and gripped tightly in his right hand, his eyes solely focused on what lay ahead. Rose pulled herself together and began moving after him, keeping her weapon close at hand as well. They continued on for a bit before Mila came to a sudden stop, gazing into the next chamber with cautious, observing eyes.
"The sounds stopped, but I can smell her. We're getting close, I'm sure of it."
"I thought your Aura was broken." she whispered, coming up beside him.
"Some of it came back." he said, letting his eyes dim again. "Not much, but enough to help us." he then added, extinguishing the glow stick in his hand, and tossing it aside.
Rose looked into the chamber then to get a look of her own, but no sooner than her eyes found the large room, did something make a disastrous noise behind her. She turned just in time to see a large stalagmite flying towards her, which she instinctively blocked with a twirl of her staff, breaking it to pieces. The thrower of said earthen spire was a large black mass, a tendril, one that resembled Petal's attacker back at the facility in the canyon. Mila turned to meet their attacker as well, but the tentacle hurriedly retracted back into something that had been previously hidden behind the oily mass of what looked like tar. Once the black goo was gone, she saw a man standing in its place, one with short white hair, a violet eye, and a stark white lab coat that draped down to his knees. He smiled at the sight of them while stuffing his hands into his coat pockets.
"Pleasure to meet you. My name is Doctor Shiro, and I will be your enemy today." he said, showing no signs of fear whatsoever, and Rose could easily see why. They were children, and they were both tired and injured from an entire day of running and fighting. Then there was that tendril, which had retracted back into this man. If he was that beast from the landing zone, if he was the monster that Mila described to her on the way here, she doubted they stood any chance in this fight. "What is wrong, children, afraid?" he asked, tilting his head slightly.
Mila clenched his hands into fists as he bared his teeth. She saw his eyes start turning red and heard the leather of the dagger's hilt whining as his grip tightened around it. She saw recognition in his eyes, and a ferocity that she had never seen there before. Rose looked from Mila to the man and then back again, realizing that he must have known this man from Atlas. A low, guttural growl emanated from Mila's throat as the man continued his incessant smiling.
"Matias." Mila hissed, baring his beast-like fangs.
"Mila, my boy, it's good to see you. I feared I would never get the chance to talk to you again after your uncle was taken into custody and you ran off to join the academy. A small world we must live in for us to have this wonderful opportunity once more. However, I am afraid that you are no longer needed. That friend of yours, the noble one that will surely be infuriated by her vainful sacrifice, is a much larger success than even my most recent ones, it would seem. A pity, really, I did always like you. You were a good little dog, rolling over when we needed it, and being the ever-loyal lackey." said Shiro, taking two steps closer to the pair of them.
Rose raised her weapon in preparation for a fight, but Mila was the first to make a move. He stepped forward in her place, not taking his eyes off of the scientist.
"Petal is in the next room. Get her out so we can leave. I'll buy you some time." he said.
Rose was about to argue but something suddenly interrupted both of them. She didn't see the tendril coming, didn't know where it had even came from. All she knew was that she was sent flying towards a nearby stony wall, striking it hard, and then meeting the ground. Her pink Aura crackled around her but did not break… yet. She still had some time, a few more hits she could withstand, so she rose to her feet and saw Mila lying still on the ground several feet away. He did not move, and she knew that his Aura was gone for a certainty now. Any reserves he had left had been emptied with that last hit, meaning that she was on her own. The man swung his arm towards Mila, and a black, oily whip lashed out with it, but Rose quickly stepped in the way of the hit. She spun her bladed staff, slashing the whip into a dozen pieces with her flurry. She then started towards the man, who sent a handful more tendrils at her, but she was quick enough to avoid them. She jumped aside, leapt over, or simply cut them to ribbons as she made her way to the man, if he could even be called that anymore. Once within reach, she saw a look of panic flash on his face as her incoming blade reflected in his eyes. With all of the power and momentum she could put into the swing, she planted her blade deep into his side, only stopping once it had gotten lodged into some tissue or had hit a bone. The feeling of it almost made Rose throw up instantly, and she felt her entire body trembled from the realization of what she had just done.
She even nearly released her grip on her weapon, afraid of what removing it would feel like. But, instead of blood, as she expected, the tarry ooze seeped past her blade, and began dripping to the ground. The black substance also started creeping up the shaft of her weapon, causing her to let go and stumble away from the now laughing man. It was eerie, blood-curdling, and the echo of it reverberated within the cavernous hollow, only making the terrifying sensation worse. Coming back to her senses, she hastily reached for her staff. Her fingers clasped around the warm, damp metal, just as another powerful whip struck her in the stomach. She kept firm on her grip, and pulled it out as she was once again launched back towards the chamber they were previously going to enter. Rose flipped and landed, spinning the weapon around as she rose to her feet, stopping it firmly at her side as she glared wickedly at the man in front of her.
"You are a tough one." he said, grinning still.
"Don't you know that roses have thorns, Doctor? I don't show them often, but I promise you, I do have them." she stated, angrily.
Her eyes flicked to where Mila was, before returning her attention back to the doctor. She readied herself to attack as the man prepared his own, but the second he started to move, Mila came from behind him, stabbing his back with both daggers. Him and Rose shared a look and she knew what she had to do. Quickly, Rose turned and made for the room where they thought Petal to be held captive. She gave a final look back to see Mila launch himself backwards from the man, causing him to stumble forwards from the propelling kick. Once in the massive room, she looked around and saw a stone cage further in, just in front of a few desks with strange equipment atop it. Rose hurried to the cage where she then saw Petal sitting inside. The girl's yellow eyes lit up at the sight of her, but the shock only lasted a second before being replaced with fury and a different sort of disbelief.
"I thought I heard you, but I didn't want to believe it. What are you doing here?" Petal snapped, glowering at Rose.
"Saving you."
"Just you?" Petal questioned.
"Mila as well. He's fighting that guy in the next room. We don't have a lot of time. I…" Rose stopped quickly as she heard a scream of anger.
Her head turned in its direction, and a body came jetting into the room. Mila struck the metal bars of the cage, gasped painfully, and fell to the floor. After him, Rose saw a large blob of the same slimy, oily substance Grimm were made of. It had a seam that opened horizontally in the middle, revealing countless amounts of white, serrated teeth. Two long arms extended from the sides, ending in enormous claws which were digging into the ground to pull the creature along behind it. It growled so deeply, so loudly, that the whole cavern felt like it was vibrating from the noise. Mila rose and rushed ahead again. He leapt into the air and landed atop the beast, stabbing down with both daggers. He gave a horrifying scream as he ripped the daggers in different directions, and a massive wave of fiery energy cut the monster in two, all the way around. Mila jumped back and glared up at the beast to examine the damage he had done, but only the walls, ceiling, and floor were scarred from his attack. The beast had reformed, and hastily swatted at Mila once more. He dodged, slashed, and attacked again, but he was no match for this monstrosity, not alone at any rate.
Rose looked to Petal and then glanced back at her struggling friend.
"Help him. I'll be fine. Get Mila and get out of here." ordered Petal, gripping the bars tightly with her clawed hands.
Rose looked back at Petal then, and a soft, loving gleam appeared in her pink eyes. Rose turned, and took a step while doing so, but that was the last thing she was able to do. In that instance, something hit her. She was not knocked airborne, nor was she even swept from her feet. In fact, she didn't even feel much of an impact, but something definitely happened in that second, and time seemed to slow down afterwards. Her Aura crackled and exploded into particles, and her staff fell from her hand as she looked down. She saw that it was a black tendril that had hit her, though she couldn't see the end of it. She felt warm there all of a sudden, and she felt the urge to cough. She did so, and blood flecked the ground at her feet. Crimson began seeping from the place the tendril was, but she still couldn't see where the end was. It was as if it had gone through her.
"Huh?" Rose gasped, raising a shaking hand to the tendril, but before she reached it, the long, slick appendage slithered out of her, causing more blood to hit the ground as she dropped to her knees.
Rose glanced around, her vision growing hazy. She turned to see Petal, who looked as if she was screaming as she hit the bars with her fists, hammering against them as tears rolled down her cheeks. She then saw Mila, who was lying on the ground, and this time, she didn't think he would be getting up again. Shimmer's blades were lying beside him, and he made no signs of reaching for them. She then felt cold, horribly so, and her body shivered from it. Her eyes closed, and when she blinked, she saw Petal's face again, though it was different somehow.
"Her eyes." she thought, seeing that the whites in Petal's eyes had turned deep, glossy black, and the gold of them began to glow.
Her black markings were much darker than they had ever been before, and there were more of them. More stripes had appeared, and veins bulged in her neck and arms as she strained herself to bend the bars. Rose blinked again, and now, Petal was no longer there. In her place was a large opening in the cage. Rose struggled to turn her head and she saw Petal fighting off the tendrils with her bare hands and feet. She clawed at them, dodged them, and lunged at the black mass whenever possible. Rose closed her eyes again, and this time, it felt like they had been shut longer than previously. When they did reopen, she saw Petal sitting against the cage, her head slumped, her arm bent in an odd direction, and blood dripping from her mouth. On a whim, Rose held up her hand, as if reaching for the girl she loved, the person she had finally found to be hers. Her eyes closed again, and she was weightless for a moment. During that time, during that floaty feeling that had come over her, she fell asleep, or it felt like sleep. Rose saw Petal's face one more time, and it was from a night they had spent together in the dorm room. Petal was on her table, sitting with her legs crossed, and she was looking out at the moon, as she always did. Rose was sitting beside her in a chair she had pulled up, and when they locked eyes, the stars glistened in Petal's, and that was when she knew for certain, knew what her feelings truly were for Petal.
"I love her." she muttered, and that was the last thing she could recall doing before darkness took her.