"Why do they call it Forever Fall?" Cobalt asked as he led his team through the autumn colored forest, following Pyrrha out to their first field mission. "Is it for the great battle that was fought here, in memory of the countless lives that were lost, so that they will live on for all of time? Is it for the sinkhole created chasm that they say if you stumble into and fall down, you'll descend into an endless hole of darkness, inducing a life-ending madness that picks your mind apart until it completely destroys itself? Perhaps-" Tawney elbowed him in the gut.
"It because the leaves are always colored," Tawney told him. "Do you ever stop talking or creating fantasies in your mind? Just because we're not facing NITE doesn't mean you get to sluff off. Maybe you should get serious for once." He stopped for a moment as the Lykos passed him.
"I can be serious!" Cobalt exclaimed.
"I've never seen it," Lykos said. Bái patted him on the shoulder and he looked back at her as she smiled at him.
"I've seen it," Bái told him. "During initiation!" Cobalt's shoulder slumped.
"Not since then?" He asked. She skipped by to Lykos, laughing.
"Nope." She answered.
"Oh come on!" Cobalt shouted.
"Cobalt!" Pyrrha called. "Come along now!" Cobalt dragged his body towards the team, his arms limp as he followed in the back. What do they mean I'm not serious? I don't really need to be that serious! I can fool around as long as the work gets done, right?! I'll show them! He shook off the doldrums and ran back to the front of the group, Tawney watching as he passed by her with a raised eyebrow. What was he up to?
"How much longer?" Cobalt asked.
"Sometimes it's not about the destination, but the adventure of getting there," Pyrrha told him with a wink. They crossed over a small crest, revealing a set of railroad tracks that a train had derailed from, fire and smoke billowing from the cars. "What?"
"This isn't our mission?" Lykos asked. Pyrrha shook her head, removing her scroll and quickly dialing Glynda.
"Check for any survivors!" Pyrrha yelled at them. Cobalt and Lykos took to the trees, leaping down the hill as Bái slid down with Tawney behind her. Cobalt frantically checked the scene. Run a scan for any vitals in the wreckage.
*ONE CONFIRMED DEAD. THREE SURVIVORS SCATTERED AMONG THE FIVE CARS. THE DECEASED APPEARS TO BE THE DRIVER.*
"What was the train hauling?" Lykos asked as he and Cobalt landed at the base of the hill and sprinted for the caboose. Cobalt waited for his visor to finish analysis.
"Forget the caboose, move to the next car!" Cobalt yelled.
"What was the cargo?" Lykos asked again. The heat of the flames was enough to make them uncomfortable but they pushed in anyways, Cobalt leaping onto the side of the car, which now faced the sky, ripping the door off with the assistance of his armor.
"Dust!" Cobalt yelled. Bái came to a stop short of the scene and Tawney ran past her.
"Come on!" Yelled Tawney. Bái looked at her, she seemed nervous. "Bái!"
"There's no moisture in the air down there!" Bái exclaimed. Lykos looked at Cobalt.
"If we take off the bracelet, would she be able to help?" Lykos asked.
*ADVISE AGAINST*
"Yes, but with how dependent she's grown to it, it might end poorly," Cobalt suggested. "Especially in a stressful situation like this." Lykos grabbed Cobalt's arm as he leapt down from the freight car and set down the man he'd rescued on the ground.
"If something happens to her because of that bracelet," Lykos warned him. "I'll kill you."
"Not now guys!" Tawney yelled at them. She dragged the man out and scooped him up running. There was a hissing and Lykos took a few steps back.
*SEVERAL CANISTERS OF CONDENSED FIRE DUST HAVE REACHED MAXIMUM PRESSURIZATION*
Cobalt ran back towards the hill as Pyrrha sprinted past, using her semblance to grab the door off of the ground and seal the car. She struggled, containing the explosion but dropping to the ground immediately afterward.
"Mrs. Arc!" Cobalt yelled running to her. She lay on the ground, gripping her side. Lykos and Tawney joined him, Bái cautiously watching from the hill.
"You need to put the fire out," she told him. Cobalt's mind was in a flurry. They were supposed to be fighting Grimm today, he told them to conserve their ammo and leave the Dust at home, which meant Bái was the only solution now, but she couldn't use her power in the midst of the fire. "If any of the other cars erupt, the chain reaction will level this section of forest out for several square miles."
"Plus we have company!" Lykos shouted. Cobalt turned to see the Grimm preparing to charge as Lykos swept up Pyrrha and trucked out of the way with Tawney hot on his heels. Cobalt was almost frozen in place. Another Alpha Beringel, are you kidding me?! Pyrrha sat up.
"There's a river just on the other side of the tracks a few feet into the woods," Pyrrha told them. "Bái can draw the water from the river to douse the flames, I'll help Cobalt take down the Alpha." Lykos nodded, grabbing Bái and dragging her down the hill with Tawney. Cobalt snatched Lykos' arm.
"If need be, take off her bracelet to save the rail workers," Cobalt instructed him. Lykos nodded and they ran again, the Beringel following them with his gaze for a moment before pounding on his chest and roaring. Cobalt ran to Pyrrha, helping her to her feet. She placed her shield in front of her, forming her javelin into a rifle and taking aim at the beast.
"I'm going to draw its attention. You'll move in and attack," she told him.
"Is it normal for Alpha Beringels to be in this part of Vale?" He asked.
"It's not normal for any kind of Beringel to be in any part of Vale," she replied. "Oobleck looked into the incident during the initiation and the best that we can assume is that someone is moving them here for some reason."
"Why would they do that?" He pried. She smiled at him.
"Why don't we worry about that later and worry about killing that thing now?" She fired and Cobalt took off to his left towards the wreckage, hoping to use it to conceal some of his movement. He slid to a stop, crouched behind one of the cars and using his visor to watch the beast from his hiding spot. It was moving towards Pyrrha who had made it a point to hit him on the bone plates on his chest, mostly confusing it as opposed to angering it. Cobalt charged his laser, leaping onto the car and taking aim. Okay, Cobalt, deep breath. Time to be serious. He fired and it struck the beast in the back of the neck, Pyrrha moving quickly up the hill as it turned back towards Cobalt, shouting out to make its pain known.
"Cobalt!" Lykos shouted albeit a moment too late. The ice crashed into Cobalt's body and froze him in place as a winter tempest galed around Bái and swept out in all directions. Lykos watched as the Beringel ignored the ice, charging for Cobalt who was completely defenseless. This is all your fault Cobalt and you're going to owe me big time later! Lykos scattered his shurikens, they grazed the Beringel's face, pissing it off further and it turned to roar at him. "Tawney!"
"Busy!" She yelled. Tawney was fighting Bái, whose body had gone full blown auto-defense mode. Lykos sighed and sprinted from the river back to the wreckage which was no longer on fire, but was freezing and ice coated. He slipped the bracelet on himself and watched the Grimm turn back to Pyrrha as she had fired at it once again. Lykos caught his projectiles as they returned, forming his whip and rushing past Cobalt.
"Lykos, his neck!" Pyrrha shouted. He sprinted ahead, hearing her but without enough time to acknowledge. He formed an illusion to appear to the Beringel as a Beowulf and leapt into the air, using his whip to catch its arm while its guard was down, and swinging himself up, lashing its neck. It grabbed at it in pain, stumbling for a moment. The monster batted Lykos away, serendipitously into Cobalt, freeing him. They tumbled across the frozen grass, it shattered as they bound towards the tracks.
"Down!" Cobalt yelled as Lykos tried to use their momentum to find their feet. He shoved Lykos back to the ground, the locomotive crashed into Cobalt with enough force to tear a normal man in two. Meanwhile, Tawney's fists had made contact with Bái several times, freeing her from her confusion.
"Tawney? Why does my face hurt?" Bái asked.
"Not important!" She exclaimed pointing at the Beringel. "That is, however!"
"Cobalt's aura is out!" Lykos shouted. The two girls scrambled over as Pyrrha kept the beast busy, it desperately tried to reach another one of the cars to throw at her. Lykos checked Cobalt's pulse as Bái and Tawney slid in next to him. "He's alive, but barely."
"He'll feel it in the morning, that's for sure," Tawney said as Bái coated his body with a thick layer of ice. "What's the plan?"
"Its neck," Lykos replied. Bái formed an ice pike, tossing it to Lykos.
"I'll get the people out of here," Tawney said leaping into action. Bái made her way towards the beast, Lykos close behind watching as she tried to keep it in place with her powers, but it broke free, still unable to be bothered with it. Lykos threw the weapon, the Beringel knocking it down, his attention now divided.
"Mrs. Arc!" Lykos yelled. "I have an idea, but I need you over here." Pyrrha sprinted for them as Lykos trucked it towards the Grimm, Bái forming ice under its feet and it slipped and stumbled, staying on its feet, but unable to leap away in time. Lykos slid through its legs, whipping both of them and forcing it to its knees. Bái slid into the fight, leaping into the air and planting her ice shield against its chest, leaping and slamming her feet into the shield, launching back. With the ice beneath it, the force was enough and fell onto its back as Lykos assisted it, showing an impressive amount of strength, snaring its legs with his whip and pulling them out.
Pyrrha leapt high into the air, using her shield to vault higher and seeming to float for a moment as she cocked back her arm, ready to strike. She threw the javelin, Lykos watching amazed as it went clean through the beast's neck, using her power to levitate her shield above her before letting it fly, removing the Beringel's head as it returned to her. She stood on its chest, out of breath as it dissolved into smoke. She looked back at them.
"I think it's safe to say that you all deserve an 'A'," Pyrrha said rubbing her neck.
"Really?" Tawney said sarcastically as she flopped onto the ground. "That was intense."
"Out of everything that I have come to know and enjoy from the spoils of this 'war', the 'holy' work that we are doing here in the name of Salem, I think that I enjoy this the most. More than the fame, or the power, or the lien," Strakh said as he sat on a semicircular couch in a nightclub deep in the middle of Vacuo's capital. There were three women draped on him, a waitress who wore a bunny outfit bowed slightly as she left a drink at his table and placed the platter under her arm. "Excuse me miss, but I don't believe that I ordered another drink."
"You are correct Mr. Temnota. The drink comes from the lady sitting in the lower level behind you, the table closest to the door," she told him as she sauntered away. He stared at her hungrily, smirking as he grabbed the drink, enjoying half of it and pouring the rest on the girl lying closest to him. She squealed in shock for a moment as he grabbed her by the hair, pulling her up to him and licking the alcohol off of her neck. Yes, this was far better than anything Salem had to offer. The waitress returned to the woman who had bought the drink. "I did as you asked ma'am."
"Thank you," the woman replied. She would wait as long as she had to in order to speak with the man, and she had a feeling that he wouldn't be leaving anytime soon. She stared at her reflection in a mirror on the wall to her right, it's primary purpose to allow the hostess to see individuals entering the club from around the corner. The metal mask, black cloak, and hood the same ones she had worn the other night when dropping off the EMP to the Stardust Gang. It was a joke that Abigor had even chosen them to serve Salem's purpose. That was their man in Mistral. He was the one running the show and pulling the strings. Soon Abigor's plan would be known to the other three.
It was an odd name, and it wasn't a color, but his parents had always been followers of Salem, and she did not honor the arts or the creativity of mortals. At least that's what Jett had been told. She was at her table for hours, waiting on the man up top who was clearly too drunk to care who he kept waiting, despite the fact that he was told a week in advance to expect her. Abigor would be less than pleased and Jett hoped that it meant they'd be able to usher in a new head in Vacuo. Did the man really have nothing better to do? Was there nowhere that he needed to be? The man was not a huntsman, he possessed no aura and there were no guards here to watch him. Anyone could have easily killed him by now.
His laughter reached her on occasion, pissing her off even more since she had waited so long, she had far better things to do with her time, and despite the fact that their next move was several months out, there was much to finish before then. Her patience finally ran out and she flagged down another waitress, whispering in her ear and she nodded. The waitress brought her two drinks and Jett stood up, offering to help the woman. She protested, insisting it was fine, but after a few bumps into each other and Jett taking the wrong one by accident at first, they apologized to each other and the server brought the drink up to Strakh. He was busy trying to undo the next button on one of his call girls blouses, his newest.
"Sir, another drink from the woman sitting below. I think she's quite taken with you," she told him.
"What woman- What woman wouldn't be?" He slurred. He chuckled and glanced back, not even seeing her, but too drunk to care. "Send her up here and she can join us. Wouldn't that be fun ladies?" Two of the girls laughed sultrily as they traced their fingers over his torso, his hand gripping the new girl's shirt, grabbing his drink with the other. He drank half once again and poured the rest down the front of her body. "I'm so sorry. I guess this is all wet now, isn't it? Let me help you out of it." He gripped the shirt with both hands, pulling like a wild animal, buttons scattering everywhere.
"Please Mr. Temnota, I've never done this before," she pleaded shaking.
"Even better," He mumbled. "Inexperi-" He blacked out, his head crashing into the table as he fell to the floor. The new girl screamed as the other two scattered, glancing at Jett as she reached the top of the stairs. Didn't think I had drugged him that hard…
"What's going on here?" asked a bigger man as he reached the top of the steps, the girls cowered, slowly backing away as he glanced at Strakh and then Jett. "What's the meaning of this?"
"I'm Mr. Temnota's chauffeur and it would seem that he's passed out again. I got a message on my scroll warning me that he'd passed out. I can take him from here, it's no trouble, and I'd hate to disturb your business in any way," Jett told the man. He stared hard at Strakh for a moment.
"Fine, whatever," the manager dismissed her, heading back down to the dancefloor. She looked at the women and reached into her cloak, they reeled, tripping over each other. She watched them in stunned silence, they cringed. How brutal was this man, and why did these women stay? She tossed each other them a hefty amount of lien, their eyes grew wide and they looked them over in disbelief. The two vets took off running, shoving anyone in their way as they headed for the exit, the new girl looking hard at the lien, and then back at Jett.
"Thank you," she said quietly holding her shirt together in the front with one of her hands. She left silently and Jett sighed. Now to drag him out.
"Well, if it isn't Strakh Temnota in the flesh," Jett said as he came to, his eyes adjusting to the large empty stretch of desert she had brought him to, struggling to move.
"What's the meaning of this?!" He demanded. He was chained to a large metal pole, large enough in diameter to fit him inside if it had been hollow. He had been stripped of his pants, wearing nothing but boxers and he thrashed relentlessly, knowing that it was of no use.
"You were supposed to meet with me today Strakh, or had you forgotten?" Jett reminded him as she stood with her back to him. "Oh, and I'd get comfortable if I were you. I thought maybe it'd be fun if we switched the roles up for once, have you tied up while I take advantage of you. If you'd struggle a bit I'd appreciate it, it's kind of a kink of mine."
"You think you're funny?" He asked. She turned around, looking over the two kukris in her hands. She tossed the one in her right hand up, flipping it and catching it repeatedly.
"Do you think it's funny to rape young prostitutes?" She asked. He scowled and she came closer, holding one of her blades near his crotch. "No? I mean, if you do, we can still have our fun." She lightly tapped his scrotum with her weapon. "Just a warning, I'm a biter."
"Knock it off, what do you want?!" He shouted. She smirked.
"Not so tough now," she told him taking a step back.
"You think you can get away with this? Someone will come looking for me!" He yelled. His words didn't seem to affect her one way or another and she stood there stoically, staring at him.
"You're right, but since I can't kill you because it would make Abigor upset, and you can't tell anyone what really happened here because you'd like to leave with your pride intact, I think that we can come to an agreement that you won't ignore me the next time I come to discuss business with you," she informed him. She sat cross-legged in the sand, watching him for a few silent moments. Unlike before, she felt no need to rush now.
"What does Abigor want?" Strakh asked frustrated, finally giving in. Jett nodded.
"He wants a full summary of what happened with Tyrian, to the best of your knowledge. It caused Olesia to take action, and now we have to try and manipulate Sterling's hand and get one of ours in a position of power so that we can control the military force that Mistral sends to Vacuo. He'd also like to know why you haven't subdued Ilia yet. She knows too much considering the fact that she used to be your best thief. Things are going to get difficult for you soon Strakh," she told him as she stood and brushed off her cloak.
"Tyrian was instructed to wait, and Ilia will be taken care of in due time!" Strakh yelled. In a blur, she had moved to his neck, one of her blade's tips held firmly against his jugular. "And you can't threaten me like this! I'm the only one that She will talk to."
"I'm pretty sure She'd rather talk to anyone else," Jett reminded him. He wrenched his head away, causing her to chuckle as she began to walk away. "Oh, and if you mess up again, Abigor will be looking for someone to replace you." She kept walking away, removing her scroll to make a call as Strakh called after her. He did say that someone would come for him after a while. "I'm on my way back now sir, you can expect to see me two days from now. It went off without a hitch. I was also wondering why we didn't just call him. Too late now I suppose."
"Neela!" Blake shouted as she ran through the heavily wooded area. The air smelt familiar. The scene felt familiar. What was happening? Blake watched as a group of Atlas Military members thundered through, opening fire at nearly anything that moved, a Paladin tearing up the landscape, stopping to turn and fire at a group of Faunus that were trying to defend themselves. I know what this is…
"Blake!" Yang shouted. She was standing a few feet from her wife, Yang waving her to keep moving. "Ironwood and his spec ops team have Adam cornered, we need to get him now or he's going to get away again!" Blake looked at Yang in confusion, turning back to the Paladin that was setting fire to the campsite before moving along.
"Why are Admon's men killing everything in sight?" Blake asked joining Yang. They ran towards the rendezvous point, Blake's mind swimming with the hate and fear she had once felt. "These Faunus, some of them don't realize what's going on and they're only here for protection, they aren't supposed to be killing them, they're supposed to be taking them into custody."
"As soon as Adam is dealt with, we can address the issue with Admon," Yang told her. "I wish we could do something now, but you know what will happen if we let him get away again. This will never end." Yang sprinted out in front of Blake, leaving her behind as Blake tried to catch up but she disappeared in the even denser forest ahead. As Blake broke through the foliage, she found herself leaping out into a trench, sliding down into it, rain pouring as she stumbled and face planted in the mud, forcing herself to her feet.
"Adam used to speak so highly of you," a voice said that she couldn't place. She looked around, unable to find the source, but finding herself face to face with Adam. She turned to grab Gambol Shroud, but her weapon was missing. The rain had stopped. It was night, summer. She could see all of the stars in the sky above the forest canopy and he smiled at her.
"Someday Blake, when the world has finally found the peace that it is longing desperately for, you will be my queen and we will represent Faunus everywhere," he told her."I can't think of anything that I would want more."
"What about Athena?" Blake asked. Adam chuckled.
"What about her?" He asked. "Father keeps her caged to keep us safe, but he loves her far too much to kill her, he's told her so several times." Adam grabbed Blake's hands and looked into her eyes. "As long as she's in that cage she can't hurt either of us."
"But what if she gets out?" Blake asked. Adam's face slowly transformed into Athena's and she sneered, pushing Blake away.
"Then you'd better beg for mercy!" Athena yelled. Blake lifted her arm to block Athena's blow, she closed her eyes anticipating pain but instead opened them to find Yang touching her arm gently, Gambol Shroud in her hands.
"You okay?" Yang asked.
"Of course," Blake replied. Was this a dream? What was happening?
"Yang. Blake," Ironwood said. "Something for you to see." They followed him another half mile into the trees, finding a large open cage, Athena still inside, grabbing the bars and peering through them at Blake.
"It's empty," Yang said. "What do you think they kept in here? A Grimm?" Athena laughed.
"Tell them, Blake, tell them what was kept in here! Tell them how you never helped me. Never offered to let me out. You tried to forget about me after you left, didn't you?" Athena asked.
"It wasn't an animal," Blake told them. They looked at her. "It was Adam's sister."
"What the hell," Yang stated blankly. She touched the bars and Athena brushed her fingers.
"She's cute," Athena said.
"What kind of monster does that?" Ironwood asked.
"Adam thought that it was for the best. She was even more dangerous than he was," Blake told them.
"I bet she's great in bed," Athena told Blake. "Look at those breasts."
"Where could she have gone?" Yang asked. Athena stepped out of the open cage and watched them.
"No one in their right mind would have let her out," Blake told them.
"Do you regret not letting me out sooner?" Athena asked standing behind her. "Is that why we're going on this trip, hm? This is obviously a nightmare, what are you waiting for to wake up? Maybe it'll get better? Maybe you might remember something?"
"Should we try and find her?" Yang asked.
"With Admon's men killing everyone she's probably dead by now," Blake suggested. Ironwood glanced at the two of them.
"We'll double check the area. As soon as I find Admon and stop his men he'll be taken in for questioning," Ironwood informed them.
"I guess you should've gone looking for me yourself," Athena said laughing. "You're filled with regret, aren't you? You think that if you had let me out, maybe I wouldn't have turned out like this? Interesting. I'm excited to see how this dream ends!" Blake's body became taught for a moment, the scenery spinning about her, different yet the same.
"Help me…" Came a faint cry. Neela! Blake took off running, the small shack only moments from crashing in. Neela, I'm coming! Mommy's coming, I'll keep you safe! As Blake reached her daughter and grabbed her from the building, she swung out with the girl, Neela disappearing from her arms and standing before her as she appeared now. Blake's breathing eased as she reached for her daughter's hand, but stopped in an instant as Wilt impaled Neela. Blake trembled as the sword was removed and Neela dissipated, leaving Blake in an empty black void.
"Can you protect her?" Athena's voice asked. "Have you truly done enough to prepare her for a monster that had no soul. There is only hate that resonates within me, Blake. You will pay for what you did to my brother and you will pay for what you did to me. And once you're out of the way, Remnant will cry out my name. They will beg for mercy. I will give them a reason to hate me, I will justify their fears, it is what they yearn for! But first, I will kill Neela."
"No!" Blake screamed as she sat up and leapt out of the bed, crashing into the bookshelf beside the door with enough force to clean off the top shelf. The books crashed about her and Yang sat up, quickly turning on her lamp and sliding out of bed, fumbling around for Ember Celica. She shook off the sleep and squinted at Blake whose chest rose and fell at an abnormal rate.
"Blake. Kitty Cat, what is going on?" Yang asked.
I will kill Neela.
"It was just a nightmare," she sighed. Tears filled her eyes and she wiped them with her palms looking away from Yang.
"Are you okay?" Yang asked as she walked around the bed to her wife. Blake threw herself into Yang's arms and sobbed.
"I'm so afraid Yang. I don't know if Neela is ready to face someone like Athena. You remember the stories I told you that Adam had passed on to me. She'll stop at nothing to get her revenge if what your mother said is true," Blake cried. "I can't take the pain and fear of all of this!"
"We did it once Blake, we can do it again," Yang reassured her. "And Neela doesn't need to be strong enough on her own. She has her team to fight beside her." Yang laughed silently. "Hell, if Eliana is there I'm sure that Neela would be more than proficient enough to beat anyone." Blake groaned and nuzzled Yang's cleavage harder. "Getting frisky there babe?" Blake chuckled.
"No," she said coyly. "They just make me feel at peace." Yang embraced her tightly and Blake hit her side.
"You're so cute I could just smother you!" Yang exclaimed.
"You kind of are!" Blake choked out.
CBLT kicked some ass, Salem's people are on the move, and Blake can't sleep at night. Next week, Raven is reminded of something she'd forgotten in Chapter 42 - War and Love!