Akame leaned on the wall staring at the patch they put to keep the Grimm out, the sun had begun to rise and she knew that she had to get moving soon, even though she hadn't gotten much sleep, but that was fine, she still had the mission at hand to think of. Pushing off of the wall Akame began towards the opposite side of town, looking at a few buildings they all held a pattern, deeply slanted roofs that had a slightly rounded shingles, some buildings had glass windows others had paper in its place, it was strange to say the least.
"Martha!" a voice came from her right looking over she saw the woman from the front desk of the inn and the defense of the town last night
"Yes?" Akame asked as she stopped, the woman let out a sigh as she walked over to Akame
"You did us a good turn last night, helping us out and all, so we thought-"
"I did my job and nothing more." Akame quickly shot down earning a sigh from the woman
"And we appreciate that, so here." The woman commented as she held the money Akame used to pay for her room last night
"No, I paid for the room and I used it for as long as I could, the money is yours." Akame denied as she continued walking
"Don't you got any provisions or something? Something I can add to? As tha-"
"If you want to thank me, forget that I exist. Destroy any mention of me." Akame answered as they reached the gate, which looked just as run down as the one on the other side of town
"Ahh... you're runnin' from something." the woman commented as she crossed her arms and nodded, finally thinking she figured it out "Look I just want to do something nice for once, cool." that made Akame sigh quietly before speaking again
"That's fine, but I don't want, need, or have to take your help." Akame shot down again
"Fine, at least let me give you this information then, it might help you; last we heard there was a bandit group taking refuge out that way, Branwen, it what we think, our town probably wont be here for much longer if so, but we got word from a few towns north of here that said they lost almost their entire raiding force to Atlas... but you can never be too careful." the woman commented as she turned and began towards the center of town. Akame took a step back and leapt over the gate and began towards Mistral once again
(o)
Akame kept checking the ground for tracks again and again, she knew if Raven was here, she would either antagonize her or try to kill her so she had to keep an eye out and prepare for anything she would send her way
(\_/)
Ruby sighed, the road looked the same... the trees looked the same... the sky was smokey... that's not good. Quickly refocusing herself she looked around at the buildings they were scorched, blood soaked the ground and people were screaming for help, turning around she was greeted by a familiar sight of Esdeath who was inches away from her, stumbling back Ruby collapsed to the ground
"Esdeath!?" Ruby gasped as she fell, hitting the ground she quickly looked back up as Esdeath grabbed her throat and pulled her up
"SURRENDER TO ME."
(o)
Ruby sat up and looked around then looked to her hands the cuts had healed but they were shaking violently, slowly catching her breath Rubys thoughts wandered back to her dream, everything felt so real... getting out of her sleeping bag Ruby began to walk in a random direction, the sun had yet to rise so she had some time before having to leave, reaching a deep part of the forest Ruby closed her eyes and waited feeling her negative emotions rise to the forefront of her mind, reopening they she looked at her hands, they had small amounts of purple smoke rising off them... her killing intent... the growls from all around her quickly drew her attention leaning out of the way of a Beowolf she swung crescent rose upward splitting the beast in two
"I'd rather not waste energy wiping out another pack of you. Of if you'll just go about your business I will go about mine." Ruby offered as she watched a few circle around her, others were just watching from the treeline, a few dived at her, easily side stepping one she swiftly ducked under the next and cut them both down while a barrier of ice formed behind her blocking a strike from a third one, spinning around Ruby shattered it and cut the beast in half slamming Crescent Rose into the ground she leapt up and balanced on the neck of the scythe as one attacked where she was just at, cocking her leg back she kicked ripping the head from the beast but she lost her balance and dropped to the ground, landing on her hand she kicked downward on the neck of Crescent Rose causing it to fly up into the air cutting down two more before dropping back onto her shoulders, the pack quickly learned that they wouldn't win this and retreated to regroup
With a sigh Ruby put Crescent rose back on her belt and began back towards the campsite "The main problem with you guys is that you attack mindlessly, sure it might work ninety percent of the time but not against anyone who can deal with you." Ruby called out to them "Just try to make it fun next time!" she added
(o)
Weiss leaned against the wall of the kitchen, the lunch they were cooking was currently in the oven on a timer so they were all sitting around talking
"I heard that Maria has a crush on someone." the cook commented earning a blush from the woman
"That's not true!" she denied as she threw a spoon at him which he caught
"It's good to enjoy yourself while you work, I suppose if you have eyes for someone it just makes your day better." Weiss commented after a quick laugh, she then looked at each member of the room, the was Maria, James, Hermann, both Alex's, Irene, and Ann, they were all faunus but they all seemed happy with their jobs, Weiss asked them about it and most of their answers were 'at least its better than a dust mine.' she hated that her father let the mines get so dangerous
"Yeah what she said, as long as you don't end up like Lucius that is." one of the Alex's said
"What happened to Lucius?" Weiss asked earning awkward looks from everyone in the room
"Rumor has it-" Alex began but was cut off by Allex
"Don't tell her that dude. It's bad enough for her as is." Allex interrupted
"Does it have something to do with my father?" Weiss asked
"No, but it has something to do with your mother-" Alex again tried only to get a fork to the hand causing him to yelp in pain and growl at Allex who took the fork from her tail and rapped it back around her waist
"what did mother do?" Weiss questioned again, she was starting to get tired with them avoiding the topic, and now she was curious, James sighed and slouched
"Its only a rumor, there's no reason to get all uppity." James said then glared at Alex "The rumor is... that your mom... had... an affair and Lucius saw... so she dismissed him." James awkwardly explained earning a nod from Weiss
"I've had my suspicions of that too. So that makes sense." Weiss commented after she let out a hum
"You're not upset?" Alex asked
"Not really, I worked with Esdeath for a while... so you know... my morals are about as fucked as they are going to get." Weiss commented as she began to walk towards the doorway into the house "I gotta go practice a bit, I'll be back to help with dinner."
(o)
Yang countered the strike and kicked Ravens legs out from under her, Raven vanished and rapped her arms around Yangs' waist and leaned backwards slamming her head first into the ground, holding her head Yang rolled around a bit
"Ow... dammit." Yang groaned "How are you so strong?" Yang asked as she massaged her head and glared at the woman, she was short and muscular with pitch black hair, and sharp blue eyes
"I was on a team with Master Esdeath. She taught me and trained with me." Raven answered as she sat next to Yang who was slowly recovering from the blow
"How was that? I could barely deal with her the few times we interacted alone." Yang questioned as she readjusted her new arm
"That's probably because you denied her will." Raven commented as she stretched a bit "Master Esdeath will grant you anything you ask as long as you know that she is makes all the choices from then on."
"Okay, but I'm not a big fan of slavery... I don't think anyone is." Yang snarked as she slowly stood
"It's not slavery, Master Esdeath frees you from any weakness, all she asks in return is obedience."
"That just seems like slavery with extra steps." Yang commented earning a sigh from Raven
"I lost everything when I was a kid. My mom, my dad, my home... all of it was taken by the Grimm, I was sent to an orphanage then left to fend for myself, I had no friends, and I had no one who cared for me... until Esdeath, I was placed on her team by chance and I make no illusion of that... and I made her life hell... I would rob and scam, everyone hated me except Master Esdeath, she always protected me... until it started to effect Anna... after that she gave me a choice, either I kill myself or she would abandon me... so I died. After that the world made more sense, the strong control everything, and I wasn't strong. I wasn't strong for a long time, after a while I stopped caring and Master Esdeath made sure that I understood that her word is my law." Raven explained after she stood
"Where is Anna anyways? You and Esdeath mentioned her a few times but I haven't met her." Yang asked changing the subject
"Anna is currently in Mistral. Master Esdeath ordered her to stay there while the rest of the fleet moved on." Raven answered
"Why is she in Mistral?" Yang pressed as she crossed her arms
"We don't question Master Esdeaths' orders, we obey." Raven answered with a smile, Yang sighed that had been the answer for a lot of questions by her it was getting sickening, hell she stopped asking questioned after a while, that line just played in her head and she dropped it.
(o)
After training Yang went to meet with Esdeath, she was hoping to not hear from her for a while but... luxuries are rare for a reason.
Entering the office Yang walked to the center of the room and kneeled, Esdeath walked around to the front of her desk and stared at her
"Have I ever told you about my team?" Esdeath asked as she stared at something in her hands, her tone was empty
"No, but I've only heard about you, Anna, and Raven, what about your forth member?" Yang asked happy to finally get answers Esdeath was about the only reliable source for her anymore
"We were known as team EARH(Earth), myself as leader, Anna Gebrochen, Raven Feigling, Hermann Izmennik. We were one of the most successful teams in Atlas." Esdeath said causing Yang to look up at her, she was looking at a frame in her hands "Anna found my way of thinking to be quite appealing, so she started to think the same way, Raven needed a bit of convincing to do the same. Hermann didn't quite fit the mold." Esdeath explained
"What happened to him? I haven't seen him around here and Raven doesn't talk about him either." Yang asked earning a dangerous smile from Esdeath one that she recognized from when Esdeath had her 'clean' her boots
"He died." Esdeath answered in a tone that froze Yang to the core
"You-" Yang began to ask but was cut off by Esdeath confirming her question
"Yes." Yang quickly stood and ran out of the room, Esdeath walked back around her desk and stared out the window for a few moments, she knew that she was running to tell Raven
(o)
Akame stopped and turned around, Raven was standing about seven feet away from her
"Raven." Akame greeted coldly
"Akame." Raven greeted matching her cold tone
"Why are you here?" Akame asked as she rested her hand on Murasame
"I wanted to ask you a few questions." Raven answered as she pulled the mask off her face and hung it on her belt
"Ask." Akame ordered as she turned and continued walking, Raven quickly caught up and spoke
"Where are you going?"
"Classified."
"Why are you alone?"
"Classified"
"Is that going to be your answer for everything?"
"No."
"What will you answer?"
"Questions about your child."
"I don't need to ask anything abo-"
"She is with Esdeath right now." Akame said causing Raven to close her eyes "She is alone with Esdeath, you left her and she lost one of her arms, now she thinks that Esdeath will make her strong, and shes not wrong. She will make her strong, and once that's done Yang will probably hate everyone she once loved." Akame continued earning a glare from Raven
"I-"
"If you want to actually make a difference to her, go to her now."
"I can't, Esdeath is watching out for me, and her goons are too... I ca-"
"Then we have nothing left to talk about. You can say 'you cant' all you want, but we both know you are just too scared of Esdeath to go." Akame interrupted coldly, Raven let out a growl then turned and walked away from Akame leaving her to continue on her trek
(o)
Weiss exited the room she used to practice music and let out a sigh, the effort she had to put into something so stupid was... irritating.
"Not enjoying yourself?" Marias' voice came earning her attention
"No... not really. Father wants me to preform, but I don't want to." Weiss explained earning a hum from Maria as she walked up next to Weiss and the two began to walk down the hall
"I mean, your problems are probably far more serious than mine and far more plentiful so I suppose I should count myself lucky." Weiss added after a few more moments of complaining
"That's not entirely true, we have an area meant for us and its far nicer than most housing that we would usually get so I got nothing to worry about." Maria waved off
"I've... never seen that area of the house." Weiss commented earning a hum from Maria
"Its not apart of the house, it is just down the road though." Maria answered as she placed her hand on Weiss' shoulder
"Huh, so you got a crush on me." Weiss commented causing Maria to turn extremely red
"I-I-I yo- you I- well you- w-" Maria began to fumble as she grew more red by the second
"Well I guess I was right." Weiss added with a laugh "Is it my stunning good looks? Or is it my not prick-ish attitude that my father and brother hold?" Weiss questioned the fumbling girl
"Well- I- you-"
"Or is it the money? The one thing that everyone seems to be after." Weiss questioned after a few more stumbles
"I... okay... you are the most normal person I've met since I got to Atlas. You aren't prissy like the rest of them and you talk about actual problems." Maria answered quickly seemingly practiced
"Am I not? Oh well, I guess I gotta try a lot harder then." Weiss snarked as they continued walking and talking
(o)
Yang slowed to a stop panting heavily looking up at Raven who was reading a report off a clipboard
"Raven... I... learned what Esdeath... did." Yang panted out earning a confused look from the older woman
"I'm assuming you have something important from Master Esdeath." Raven said filling in the blanks
"She killed Hermann your forth teammate." Yang answered as she caught her breath
"Ah... so you didn't let her finish." Raven said after a quick hum
"You... knew?" Yang asked as she took a small step back
"Of course I knew, she didn't do it." Raven laughed out earning a shocked look from Yang "Me, Master, and Anna, we all agreed that he was a liability. So on a particularly difficult mission during our forth year she had us killed him and blamed it on William and the slaves that she owned."
"But why?! Esdeath has never been one for sneaking around." Yang commented trying to rap her head around the action
"That's simple. He didn't believe a single thing she told him, he was suspicious of her and both had the aspiration to become generals, if he remained it would only cause tension in the ranks, so she did the only logical thing to do and got rid of her rival allowing her to rise through the ranks much quicker than if he was alive."
"But... that's-"
"Evil?" Esdeaths' voice came from behind her, Yang jumped and spun around "As I have told you before, good and evil are nothing more that social norms and challenging such weak minded ideals." Esdeath said as she walked towards Yang who took a small step back but was held in place by Raven
"Tell me Yang, do you know the difference between the two?" Esdeath questioned as she smiled at Raven
"Social norms are things like not killing people!" Yang answered as she tried to shake off Raven but failed
"No, the difference between the two is will. You are teetering on the edge of understanding that, with most people I would force them to see, but I feel that showing you would make you far stronger than if I do so." Esdeath explained as she gestured for Raven to release her, Yang looked deep in thought for a few moments, she then walked away, probably heading towards the closest bar, Yang had picked up such a habit after her first few weeks here, now it became normal for her
"You want to use her to hurt Raven, right?" Raven asked as she crossed her arms
"Of course, forcing her to think like us would hurt Raven, but if I get her to come to that conclusion on her own... it will control her, much like you. Destroy the girl she once was, but most importantly it would break Raven, after destroying her raiding force a few months back she's probably falling apart at the seams right now."
(o)
Walking up to the front door of the house Blake looked down at her hands for a few seconds then, Sun placed his hand on her shoulder
"Come on, you've already traveled this far, it'd be kind of a waste if we don't knock." Sun commented earning a sigh from Blake
"Yeah, but its been almost ten years since I saw my parents... I don't even know if they want to see me." Blake explained shakily, she looked at the stones beneath her feet probably finding them to be more interesting than the front door
"You never know if you don't try." Sun shrugged as he grabbed the knocker and knocked, causing Blake to jump
"SUN!" Blake hissed, a few moments later the door opened and a woman who looked very similar to Blake opened it she was clearly older, had bags under her eyes and large cat ears on her head with three piercings in them, she looked at Sun then she looked at Blake she had a blank expression for a few moments
"H-hi... mom." Blake greeted her ears drooping as she looked down at the ground, the woman quickly crossed the distance between the two of them and pulled her into a hug
"My precious little girl." she whispered as she ran her hand through Blakes' hair, her voice sounded fragile, like it was a thin layer of glass that could shatter at any second
"Kali? Who is it?" a much stronger voice came from the doorway, everyone standing outside turned to see a huge man with dark hair walking from deeper inside the house
"Blake?" he asked looking the girl up and down "What are you wearing?" he added sounding very suspicious as he shot glances at Sun who suddenly found it to be very uncomfortable being there
"It's cold in Vale, plus I needed to get clean clothes after..." Blake began letting her explanation fade as she thought about her team and the fall of Beacon
"Aw come on Ghir, you have to accept the fact that your kid is hot." a new voice came from behind them, all turned to see the blond woman from a few days ago
"HEY, you're those boobs from earlier!" Sun shouted in rage
"That I am." she laughed she sounded nostalgic "Thanks for the money by the way you really helped me with funding." she added causing him to growl at her
"Leone. I'd appreciated it if you didn't call me daughter 'hot'." Ghira requested as he pinched the bridge of his nose
"What!? It's true though. She has really come into her own." Leone explained looking her up and down
"Why are you here?" Ghira questioned coldly, he clearly didn't like the subject they were on so he changed it.
"Oh, well I was following this pinhead, to see if I could milk anymore cash from him-"
"YOU TOOK ALL MY MONEY!"
"-then I decided to see where they were heading, outta curiosity, low and behold they show up to my best clients' house, so I figured I'd say hi." Leone explained with a large grin on her face, after she finished there was a very long silence between everyone "Hello." Leone finally finished earning a chuckle from Kali
"Well you can go back to your parlor now." Ghira said with a sigh clearly not wanting to deal with her right now
"Me and Kali have a home session in... fifteen minutes it'd be a waste of time." Leone denied causing the man to sigh and gesture for them to enter
(o)
"So... your name is Leone... right?" Blake asked cautiously as they entered the building
"Yep, why?" Leone answered, as she raised her arms and held them behind her head
"N-no reason... it's just... rare to find a human all the way out here." Blake waved off, asking her if she was a dead person from another world was stupid, and would probably make her seem crazy
"Yeah it is. You would be surprised how the boys used to get." Leone commented causing Blakes' heart to stop for an instant, she thought Leones' first statement was an answer to her thoughts
"It's probably because you wear basically nothing." Ghira grunted seemingly stressed out by Leones' presence
"I'm... sorry." Blake apologized, she didn't want to know what happened to her
"Why I was talking about violence? They would throw rocks at me, take swings at me in school and on the playground, try to rob me. You know things like that." Leone explained causing Blake to turn red from her perverted thoughts
"Oh... I thought you meant-"
"There was also the attempted rape but... well they don't have dicks anymore and are dead." Leone added casually earning a shocked look from Blake and Sun, she so casually brought up murder
"Yes... those cases were... they weren't quite as popular as the assault charges." Ghira commented sounding a bit guilty, they all then turned a corner and continued down the hall
"No need to worry Ghir. It's not the worst thing I've experienced." Leone waved off as she rapped her arm around Blakes' shoulder and pulled her head into the side of her boob "'Sides, I told them fair and square what would happen if they tried. But it was funny watching them try to put it back on though."
"Leone!" Kali hissed earning a laugh from the woman, Blake felt sick from the mental image, and Sun covered his crotch
"So... can I have my money back?" Sun asked carefully newfound fear of the woman next to him, Leone shrugged
"Meh, I spent it on booze. But I still have the wallet if you want it." she answered with a laugh at his expression
"No... it's fine." Sun sighed as they entered a room with a sizable table in the center of it
"I'll make some tea." Kali said as she left the room leaving everyone to take their seats, Leone elected to sit between Sun and Blake happily resting her head on the side of the table, Ghira glared at Sun a few times but for the most part kept his eyes on Blake who was watching Leone nap, it was strange to see her go from having so much energy to sleeping
A/N Leone sleep.
In all seriousness, these first few chapters are going to be a little slow, at they do. But I promise it'll get much quicker later on. I have plot lines moving. With this chapter, I have now created a link between Frostfall and Assassin of Beacon, Anna and Raven will be involved with the plot and will have a place in this series so if you enjoyed reading about them they will be growing and evolving over this series.