Akame climbed to the top of a tree and stared off into the distance catching sight of a massive mountain covered in buildings with a large waterfall running down the center of the city, it was a beautiful sight, pulling the map from her pocket Akame looked it over, that was in fact Mistral... her trek was finally over, leaping from the branch Akame began walking again, letting out a sigh she was happy to reach her destination, but her thoughts quickly wandered to father, Ruby, Yang, Weiss, and Blake, she hoped they were all okay after a few moments of thought on them her mind was invaded with a foreign thought one of a short woman with pink and brown hair... strangle enough she felt a small pain in her chest, she felt that when ever she thought of Neo...
(o)
Ruby lied in bed and stared out the window, it was raining rather heavily now, they got lucky when they reached town it just started raining, rolling over she stared at the wall of the room, it was barren of almost everything, this was just a transit inn so of course it wouldn't have anything to really show personality, placing her hand over her mark she felt relaxed and decided that she wanted good dreams tonight... maybe something with Akame or Esdeath... maybe Yang, Weiss, or Blake... but that might just hurt...
(o)
Qrow sighed, he liked the rain but it really didn't help with everyones' moods, especially around him, hearing a clank nearby he looked over and caught sight of a tumbler with amber liquid in it
"I didn't-" Qrow began to deny but was interrupted by the waitress
"It's from the woman upstairs; red eyes. Said you wouldn't mind bottom shelf." the waitress explained gesturing towards the stairs
Qrow sighed as he narrowed his eyes at the drink "Thanks." he said
"But I went ahead and gave you top, lucky you." she added with a wink, Qrow smirked at her as she left but as soon as she turned away Qrows' smirk dropped and he began to think of Leone, grabbing the glass Qrow walked towards the stairs. Reaching the top of the stairs Qrow looked to his right and found the whole platform empty save one person
"Raven." Qrow greeted coldly
"Hello Brother." Raven greeted staring at the drink in his hand as he walked over to her, pulling out the chair across from Raven he sat down
"So, what do you want?" Qrow asked as he took a sip from the glass
"Does she have it?" Raven asked her tone dropping to almost a whisper
"Oh... so that's what this is about. I figured you'd be more concerned with Yang. I'm assuming you know she lost her arm." Qrow snarked coldly
"T-That's not-" Raven tried to speak but was interrupted by Qrow
"Important? I'm sure it's not." Qrow kept his cold tone "You know shes with Esdeath right? You're letting that monster take your kid." Qrow added as he took larger swig from the glass "I cant stop her anymore, that's for damn sure. I don't know if Akame can but if she can't then... well then we're fucked to say the least."
"So are you saying I was right?" Raven asked carefully Qrow just scoffed at her question
"Yeah, congratulation, you failed to save the world." Qrow snarked causing Raven to stay quiet for a few moments staring at the table before asking a different question
"So do you know if she has the relic?" Raven redirected trying to get something from Qrow
"I thought you weren't interested in that." Qrow reflected
"I just want to know what were up against! After Esdeath destroyed our raiding party we've been on the back foot, so I want to know how screwed we are." Raven explained earning a laugh from Qrow
"Are you kidding me?!" Qrow got out through laughs "Y-You got your asses kicked by Esdeath? What did she do hide in a town wait for you to attack then froze the place shut?" Qrow asked through laughs, Raven on the other hand was trying to keep herself from what looked to be shouting at him
"Yes actually. We didn't see it com-" she answered her voice shaking a little
"What you didn't see the massive airships hanging over the town?" Qrow asked again still laughing at her expense
"It was a small strike force, they weren't in the village, after the attack started the walls surrounded us... I tried to get us out of there but they were already on us before I could open a portal." Raven explained her voice shook some more causing Qrow to quickly stop laughing and listen intently to her story "Nearly everyone died... those of us who escaped are working hard to train everyone else to fight but... it has been slow. It could go faster if we had another veteran." Raven finished her voice shaking the whole time and strangely enough Qrow saw a glint in her eyes
"No. I've moved on from that band of murders and thieves." Qrow denied but the glint remained, but her voice quickly became enraged
"What about Night Raid?!" Raven growled earning a raised eyebrow from her brother "How many people did you end up killing for them? How many civilians? Did you know they have wanted posters of you and Akame plastered on every street corner?!" Raven raged at him, but quickly realized her slip up and stopped shouting
"You've gone back? How the hell have you managed that?" Qrow questioned coldly, yet he only earned silences from her "You... what have you done?" Qrow questioned again his tone unchanged
"Nothing... I just have a link there... so... I check in every once in a while..." Raven trailed off as she stared at the table "I... I just want my brother back." She quietly said almost too quiet for him to hear "With all this... this crazy shit... Yang..." Was all he could make out from her ramblings which were accompanied by an extremely shaky voice, he quickly realized that the glint in her eyes were tears, Qrow felt that this situation wasn't one he wanted to be in now that Raven has begun to cry, he was all for japes but now that she was crying it was far less fun
"Hey... don't... worry 'bout it?" Qrow said attempting to comfort her... he wasn't the person to come to with this kind of thing "The world has always been like this, its just now that things have gotten... especially hellish, but we just need to keep pushing on. Like Summer would." Qrow quickly added using what little experience he had, Raven clenched her fists then swung at him and he let the strike land, this was how she usually dealt with crying, the only major plus to this was that she didn't hit him hard enough to cause any major damage, she continued that for a few more moments until she broke down crying on his shoulder... weirdly enough this wasn't the first time this happened but most of the time she just punched him until she felt better... the stress has to be getting to her
(o)
Yang let out a sigh as she undid her bandages and hit her ribs a few times, she was back in action. Getting out of bed she began to dress herself in her usually attire, originally she hated dressing in Atlas specialist garb but after a while it became easy, the only difference between her outfit and Winters' was that she wore boots. Exiting the room she was passed by a few solders who paused briefly to salute her, turning to her right she began in the direction of Esdeaths' office, after reaching the door Yang paused briefly before knocking
"Come in." Esdeaths' voice came from inside, walking in Yang knelt in the center of the room right next to Raven who seemed to be struggling to keep her position
"How long has she been there?" Yang asked looking up to Esdeath
"Since she made the mistake of insulting Ruby." Esdeath answered earning a grunt of surprise from Yang
"WHAT!? Shes been kneeling here for three days?! Will you stop?" Yang questioned immediately attempting to push Raven over but she held strong, Esdeath turned her back to the two and stared out the window
"I will not." Raven said her voice weak but she was trying to hold strong
"Have you slept?" Yang asked placing her hand on Ravens' back
"I have not." Raven answered her voice still weak
"You've been awake for 72 hours?!" Yang shouted "Get some sleep!"
"I will rest when master orders it." Raven answered unmoving from her position
"Will you insult me again?" Esdeath asked casually
"Never again." Raven answered relief on her tongue
"Then hold it for another hour, and I may allow you to rest." Esdeath growled as she sat down "Now then, Yang I should tell you I have been invited to the Schnee fundraiser event in a few weeks. You will be coming with." Esdeath added her voice was stale, it was strange she was like that whenever Yang wasn't around or she didn't realize she was listening in, which was rare but it happened
"Can I wear something colorful?" Yang asked raising an eyebrow as she again tried to push Raven over and failed
"Wear whatever you want." Esdeath answered as she continued to stare at the frame on her desk "It wont be the same..."
"Are you okay?" Yang asked, she wanted to know what was in the frame but Esdeath seemed to grow cold ever since they left Vale, but when it came to social events she just seemed... sad
"I'm fine." Esdeath answered clearly lying "Both of you, leave." Esdeath then ordered, they didn't, they stared at her for bit it wasn't normal for her to sound so... uncertain "NOW!" Esdeath shouted snapping at the two who quickly ran from the room
(o)
after the door shut Yang turn to Raven who was struggling to stand, both were quickly recovering from their horror
"Are you going to be okay?" Yang asked as she caught her breath
"I'm fine. But I don't know if master Esdeath will be." Raven answered in a pained voice, Yang was tired of trying to figure her out so she decided to take the direct approach
"Okay, I want a straight answer out of you this time, why are you so fanatically devoted to Esdeath!? I cant figure it out, she treats you like shit and you just sit there and take it!" Yang snapped at her, Raven sighed as she stretched then gestured for Yang to follow her
"Come on, I'll show you why." Raven added when she saw Yang still standing by the door
(o)
Weiss exited into the corridor and began to walk away from the area, placing her hand on Myrtenaster, she liked to keep it on her at all times after her training with Akame and... impaling herself with Esdeath she liked to keep the not sharp end near her the most
"Sister?" Whitleys' voice came breaking her from thought
"Yes Whitley?"
"I wanted to know why you're scowling so much, that causes wrinkles I believe." Whitley commented earning a sigh from Weiss
"To be honest, I've been extremely bored for the past few weeks, I haven't had much to smile about, and now that there's a concert coming up I have been having an even harder time to contain my 'excitement'." Weiss snarked earning a sigh from her brother
"It was general concern for you sister." Whitley commented coldly before regaining his professional tone "Anyways father wanted to see you in his study." Weiss sighed and again began in the direction of her fathers office
(o)
Qrow let out a sigh, Raven had left after she finished her... episode, no one in the tribe were allowed to really show any weakness, much less the leader so she was probably bottling that up for a while now, flipping his glass over Qrow stood from the bar and tossed some cash on it, it really didn't matter how much and right now he really didn't care, Raven wasn't the best at dealing with pressure and Esdeath was certainly not trying to make it light on her.
Exiting the bar Qrow walked down the cramped road making sure to avoid patrolling guards and the windows of the inn, both to stay out of sight of Ruby and to stay out of the suspicion of the guards, finding himself an abandoned building Qrow took refuge within with the rats and spiders
(o)
Blake sighed as she stared off into the darkness trying to get her thoughts together, the White Fang are here they were trying to convince her father that their not connected with the attack on Beacon but they had to be... they have to be... now she was starting to sound like Akame
"Blake? What are you still doing up?" her mothers voice came from behind her, quickly turning around she tried to make something up elected to go back to her room
"You know, he is usually up this late." her mother said just as she was about to leave "If you wanted to talk with him I'm sure he would be overjoyed, that paperwork of his keeps him so busy." she added as she knocked on his door and quickly exited the balcony leaving Blake standing in front of the door
"W- Wait-" Blake began but was cut off by Kali
"Some times you have to be a little forceful to get what you want." she said as she vanished just as the door to her fathers office opened
"Blake?" Ghira said earning her attention, it was clear that he was just as surprised as her
"Hi... dad." Blake awkwardly greeted not knowing how to pick up where they left off 'hi dad, turns out you're not a coward, I am.' really didn't seem like the way to go about this
"Come in, it must be... hot out there." Ghira struggled and gestured for her to come in, clearly he didn't know either
sitting down on the couch in the center of his office the two sat awkwardly trying to find something to talk about
"So... How was Vale?" Ghira asked after a while
"It was... cold... but I made good friends that... that I miss." Blake answered slowly losing her composure as she thought about Ruby Weiss and Yang, Akame was easier to think about but she still missed how considerate she was about her actions around her, Akame was always careful to stay as quiet as possible around her, it was one of the littler things but it was always appreciated
"I'm sorry, I-I didn't mean to make things worse-" Ghira quickly began to apologize
"NO! No it's... it's fine I just... I just needed to come here for a while before facing them again..." Blake quickly apologized over him, again leaving them to sit awkwardly
"Are you KIDDING ME! HOW CAN YOU TWO SCREW THIS UP THIS BAD!?" Leones' voice came from behind the door
"Wha- LEONE!" Suns voice came from the same place just as the panel fell forward leaving the two standing their listening through nothing
"WHAT ARE YOU TWO DOING?!" Blake screeched causing them both to jump a bit
"OW! First of all. Second of all, Pinhead here had something important to tell you, I'm here 'cause I thought this'll be fun." Leone answered covering her ears "I was kinda right, and kinda wrong." Leone added
(o)
With a disgusted look around Yang saw the dark city, they were in Mantel right now, it was constantly humid not hot, it was harder to breath up in Atlas but it was so dry here it made breathing hurt, looking around she saw some people shivering and others drinking their problems away, it was horrible to say the least everyone was downtrodden. She had never been here before, everyone was either drunk or depressed, she was pretty sure most were both
"Why did you bring me here?" Yang asked as they walked
"We're not there yet." Raven answered earning a raised eyebrow, again they travel farther into the city the buildings growing taller and seeming to become far less maintained, covered in graffiti and dirt
(o)
Ruby let out a sigh as she stared at the ceiling, she couldn't sleep, placing her hand over the mark on her chest she focused as much as she could trying to remember Esdeath as vividly as possible, she hated being under her control... that was a lie, it was liberating, admittedly she missed how forceful Esdeath was with her, closing her eyes she focused on Esdeath even farther
(\_/)
Ruby walked down the hallway looking around at the walls ever once in a while, they were stone gray but the sea of differently colored people helped contrast that, reaching Esdeaths class she entered and looked around the room was empty except Esdeath who was sitting at her desk reading what she could only assume was a report off her scroll
"Welcome Ruby." Esdeath greeted with her beautiful smile, pulling her hat off Ruby could do very little other than focus on the shade of blue that her hair was "Ruby?" Esdeaths' voice came from directly behind her, jumping a bit Ruby quickly looked around, the room was still empty which was strange she was sure Yang, Blake, and Weiss were with her
"Esdeath... where is everyo-" Ruby asked began before being forced onto the desk, Esdeath was smiling at her as she pushed Rubys legs apart and lied on top of the girl pinning her arms near her head
"Why worry about them when you can just focus on me?" Esdeath asked, it was like when she was under the effects of Esdeaths' semblance, she could barely think everything just told her to agree, so she did. Leaning upward she locked lips with Esdeath, after a few moments she was pushed back down
"I'm new to this." Ruby admitted causing Esdeath to grin sadistically at her
"I know, now stop wasting breath." Esdeath ordered as she grabbed Rubys throat tight enough to stop her from breathing but not enough to hurt causing Ruby to-
(o)
A loud knock broke Ruby from her dream sitting up Ruby looked around the sun was up and she missed out on a good dream... again...
"Ruby? Are you still asleep? Ren and Nora got breakfast." Jaune called as he knocked, Ruby let out a groan as she got up and began to dress, looking in the mirror that hung on the wall she saw her hair was spiked upwards and wild, with a sigh she looked around for her hair brush, her hair always stood like this but she preferred to wear her hair down, it made her less noticeable
"I guess I really do need to get a hair cut." Ruby admitted seeing how long her hair was "What do you think?" Ruby asked looking over her shoulder at no one... but it felt like Esdeath was there
"Ruby? Are you awake or what?" Jaunes voice called again
"Yeah I'm up, I'll be down soon." Ruby finally answered as she turned back to the mirror and began to brush her hair
(o)
Ruby walked downstairs and looked around, Jaune was leaning by the door he waved to her and she walked over to him
"They got some things that are easy to carry, so take your pick; we got beef cutlets, pork cutlets, chicken cutlets, and pancakes." Jaune explained as they walked out the door and into the street
"are they salted? And are they only cutlets?" Ruby asked more worried about they distance until the next town
"Yeah, I still don't know how you stomached that so easily, and yeah, we didn't take payment from the last mission we took so we had to take the cheaper stuff that we could afford." Jaune commented as he gagged remembering the first time he ate salted meats
"Its not that bad, a lot of meat that you eat is salted first, it just has more stuff added to it to make it more bearable." Ruby waved off as they reached the exit gate
"You guys ready to move?" Nora asked from atop the wall
"Yeah, I'm assuming you're eating the pancakes again?" Ruby asked as they leapt over the wall into the wilderness
"Yeah, I cant scarf down so much meat without getting sick." Nora answered earning a raised eyebrow from Ruby
"Are you sure that's true? 'Cause I can distinctly remember many different times where you ate just about everything we had." Ruby countered as they found their rhythm making the walk more bearable.
(o)
"Now we're here." Raven finally said staring down at what looked to be a trash heap
"Why are we here?" Yang asked as she stared down into the trash and filth
"This is what is called ,unofficially, the dirt district, a part of Mantle that all those who cant afford housing live and a part of Atlas where most faunus are sent." Raven answered "This is where I would have ended up if master Esdeath didn't save me. This is where you'll end up if you don't let her save you."
"Why isn't anyone doing anything about this?" Yang asked finally recognizing the movement down there as people
"Master Esdeath is, there are no qualification requirements to join her army, only a waver that says that she isn't responsible if you die under her command." Raven answered "I brought you along so you can help me with my mission here."
"Whats that?" Yang asked finally feeling that Esdeath might have a few good ideas
"Moving the families of our solders." Raven answered earning a double take from Yang "Master Esdeath watches over her solders, if they cant function a their best because of family trouble then we eliminate that."
"What about the people who don't make it?" Yang asked feeling a little suspicious
"It depends on their rank, but all get a years worth of compensation. Once you start hitting Fähnrich and other commissioned ranks like Offiziere then the payments are monthly. But master Esdeath pays them all out of pocket." Raven explained earning a slow nod from Yang as they began to make their way down, and Yang was left wondering how loaded Esdeath was
Yang was unsure how they would be received down there but they were greeted with smiles and calls of 'hello', looking around at a few of them Yang smiled and waved some of them looked frightened by their presences
"Come on, the drop is over here." Raven said earning Yangs' attention
"Why do some of them look..." Yang began to ask but her question fell short
"Look scared? Its because communication between our new recruits and their families is rare, most of the time we're the ones who deliver the good news... or the bad." Raven explained earning a nod from Yang as they reached what looked to be a large crate with Esdeath insignia painted on the side, Raven knelt down and typed something on the panel causing it to open
"Oh..." Yang let out as she helped pull the door open, there were tons of letters sitting inside the boxes within, Raven reached in and grabbed a letter
"Sara Markow!" Raven called out, a tall woman with pink hair and amber eyes walked up she looked slightly frightened as she took the letter and looked at Raven "Go to the northern side of the dirt, there is a bus waiting to take you to your new home." Raven added causing the woman to brighten up and quickly pull her into a hug
"Thank you."
"Don't thank me, your child went through hell for you, thank her." Raven denied as she pulled the woman off her "Now go, we have a lot more people to get through." Raven added causing the woman to quickly run off to gather her things
"William Volkov!" Raven called and a man and woman walked up to her both looked frightened as they walked up
"The payment will come soon. I'm sorry." Raven said as she held the envelope out to them, the woman covered her eyes as her husband took the envelope as he guided his wife away back to their home
"How did he die?" Yang asked
"I don't know, master Esdeath is in charge of troop deployment and who gets sent where, I'm not in charge of training them either so I got no idea, the seals that hold the envelops closed are blue if they survived and red if they didn't. Sadly this is part of our job." Raven explained then held out a blue envelope to Yang "Your turn." Yang took it then called out the name causing a man to cautiously walk up to her
"There's a bus waiting on the northern side of this place, go there to get to your new home." Yang said holding the envelope out to him taking it from her he looked like he was on the verge of tears as he walked off happily, Raven handed her another letter and her heart sunk when she saw the red seal on it, gulping Yang called out the name, and a woman walked up to her, she looked down at the letter then she looked Yang dead in the eyes
"I'm sorry." was all Yang could manage to say without her voice cracking, the woman took the letter from her hands reached into her pocket produced a flask from it and took as swig as she walked away.
Yang had no idea how to feel about this. Everything she knew told her to help these people but... Esdeath was already helping she gave these people more hope then she ever could by punching their problems, staring at her hand Yang felt that Esdeath was right again... maybe she always was...
A/N Conflict and emotion. Two things that I don't have a ton of, the school year has ended and I'm finally free from the confines of high school... now I am struck with the crippling thought process of 'where to now' I've been in school my whole life and now its gone... whelp... now I gotta deal with this mess... I'll figure something out. I always do.