"How many now?" Violet asked Alexander as he entered the house and rubbed his face. He stepped into Eliana's bedroom, glancing in to make sure that she was asleep, but she'd gotten better at it than she'd ever been and she listened closely despite him closing the door. He always worked late which surprised Eliana most of the time, the rest of the police force had much more regular shifts than her father. "Sit down Alex, you look like you've been through hell today."

"I feel like I've been through hell today," Alex groaned as he took a seat and exhaled. Violet brought him a wet washcloth, wiping the blood off of his brow as he seethed slightly at the pain. "One was too many, Vi."

"I know, but you can hardly blame yourself," Violet told him. "Between this, dealing with Quake, and your other activities…" He chuckled before wincing back in pain.

"You're not supposed to know about those," he laughed. She shook her head, ringing the ragout before holding it against his head. "That stings!"

"Too bad, and I'm beginning to think that you're trying to do too much," she noted. He grimaced.

"I can take it," he replied.

"I guess I can't talk you out of it anyway," Violet sighed. "You still never answered my question though."

"Five," Alexander admitted. She pulled away for a moment to look at him, a defeated look on his face.

"He doesn't waste any time, does he?" She inquired. Alexander shook his head.

"I can't begin to imagine how tortured of a soul you'd have to be to do such a thing even once," Alex muttered. Violet grabbed his chin and kissed him on the lips.

"It sounds like he'd have to be soulless," Violet corrected.

"Butchering women up and if they don't look like Salem…" He trailed off.

"Don't think about it," she instructed him putting away the cloth and pouring the water from the bowl down the sink. "What's important is that you go out there and get him."

"First things first," Alex stated. "Quake. I think I can cut him a deal once we catch him."

"And how are you planning on doing that?" Violet asked sitting on his lap.

"His whole thing is shock waves," he explained tapping his temple. "I've been working on something recently with my semblance that might be able to counteract his ability."

"Your force fields aren't shock absorbent," Violet noted.

"Maybe not, but I've got a plan," he said with a smile that reassured her. She kissed him on the lips again as he wrapped his arms around her.

"You always do," she added. His smile faded for a moment and he stared deep into her eyes.

"Keep Eliana close by until I can take care of Irving," Alex instructed. "Once I really start to go after him, there's no telling what he might try to do, especially since it seems like none of his victims really have anything in common."

"I'll watch her like a hawk," Violet informed him with a nod. Alex laughed and kissed her again.

"Sometimes I think that's what we need to keep an eye on her," he chuckled. Violet hit him. "I didn't mean that as an insult! I know how much of a handful she can be!"

"Maybe for you," Violet said nuzzling against him. "She's an angel for me." He laughed loudly.

"Now I know you're making things up!" He blurted out. She silenced him with a kiss.

"You're going to wake her," Violet scolded.

"Right, sorry," he said lowering his voice.

"Be safe tomorrow," Violet demanded.

"Whatever it takes to keep the two of you safe," he informed her. "That's what I'll do."

That's what I'll do, mom. Whatever it takes for me to keep you safe. Eliana stepped off of the airship, the warm summer air filling her lungs as she felt for both of her guns, prepared to use them if it turned into a fight for her life. The coordinates seemed familiar enough when she entered them into her scroll's GPS feature and began heading towards them. Nothing out of the ordinary that could be noted. In one of the run-down districts. She couldn't be sure if it was a warehouse or if it was an old factory of sorts. She carried on, ignoring everyone and everything else that was taking place around her. She knew that sometimes it was hard to do the right thing, her father had taught her that… but did she have enough wisdom and experience to know what the right thing when Athena gave her the terms of negotiation?

If the school found out, would she be expelled? If Neela found out, would she be disappointed? If her mother found out, would she be scolded? If her father knew what she was about to do… what would he say? She wanted to cry. She wanted to stop and find help, she wanted someone to give her the answers, and perhaps that was her greatest downfall at that moment. She had always let others think for her. Neela had always told her what to do, how to fight, instructed her on how she should and shouldn't behave in certain situations… but she didn't have her now. She had no choice but to do this alone. She'd demand proof that they had her mother, she'd start with that to make sure that they weren't toying with her. It was the only thing she could come up with.

"Latherus," someone called from the shadows before revealing themselves. Crimson, the one that did her best to convince Neela that Eliana would betray her one day. This was the one that had held her at knifepoint. Eliana's biological response had shifted quickly in a way that she couldn't have anticipated at the sight of Crimson, going from flight to fight but remaining cautious. There was no need for making rash decisions. She needed to concentrate on keeping herself in check and avoid doing anything that would get her mother killed.

"Where is she?" Eliana demanded.

"You'll meet her soon enough, but first, let's talk," Crimson instructed her as she headed down a side alley, away from Eliana's destination.

"I'm not here to play your games," Eliana called after her.

"You think this is a game?" Crimson asked her. "Then perhaps I'll tell Athena that you've decided not to come and that the monster can do what he chooses with your mother." Crimson's lips curled into a smile as she read the uncertainty on the young girl's face. "Now follow me." Eliana obliged, dragging her feet as she accompanied Athena's handmaiden. "Lovely evening isn't it?"

"I guess," Eliana replied defeated. She'd go along with it for now, but she was in no mood for small talk.

"So you think that humans and Faunus can live together," Crimson noted. "Why is that?"

"I tend to try and see the good in people," Eliana explained.

"It's too bad there is no good in people," Crimson pointed out.

"And yet, the White Fang's keeping my mother hostage," Eliana fired back. "The last time I checked, the council isn't doing that to the White Fang."

"Perhaps you're too blind to see the truth," Crimson offered.

"Shut up," Ebony insisted emerging from the shadows and joining the two of them. "What's with the detour, you know that Athena wants to see her right away."

"I was trying to instill fear in her," Crimson tried defending herself.

"You don't think Athena can do that herself?" Ebony replied smugly as she grabbed Eliana by the arm and headed for the building.

"That's not what I said!" Crimson cried out.

"But it was implied," Ebony growled.

"Enough!" Eliana shouted at them before glancing between them in fear. "Just take me to Athena." Ebony nodded at her, pulling her away from Crimson and rushing her towards the building.

"As Crimson should be well aware of, it's not wise to keep Athena waiting," Ebony explained. "She can be 'merciful' but normal she's a bag of cats if she doesn't get what she wants right away."

"Hey!" Crimson yelled. Ebony rolled her eyes.

"It's true," Ebony assured her. She opened the door, the two of them pushing her in before closing the exit behind her, slamming it hard and causing Eliana to nearly jump out of her skin. She glanced around in hopes that some kind of light source would make itself obvious or available to her, but it didn't. She reached for her scroll, but it seemed to be missing, Ebony must have lifted it off of her when they ushered her in. She was at their mercy, on their terms, in enemy territory. What was she doing? Would they keep her? Was this suicide? No, Athena had left her no option.

"You came," spoke a voice that chilled her to the core. The same from the phone. Athena Taurus. "There is no need to be so afraid child. As long as you do exactly as I ask, I will do your mother no harm and will let her go, I am a woman of my word." Eliana didn't believe her, she couldn't. They believed in the ideology that Faunus needed to fear the humans with every fiber of their being, she would have kept Neela away from her, and Oum only knows how she would have turned out without Neela.

"What do you want me to do?" Eliana asked. It was hard to concentrate, she could hear Faunus breathing, more than likely the entire building was filled with them but in the pitch black it was impossible to tell, it could have been a handful.

"You're so cooperative," Athena informed her warmly, looming close as Eliana could feel her breath on her neck. "But you are just a human, and you'll fail because that's all your kind is good at doing. It's not fair for me to think that way of you, is it? What confidence will you have in yourself if I keep reminding you of the inevitable? You creatures, you need incentive just as much as my people do."

"Just tell me what I need to do," Eliana demanded with the little confidence she had left.

"I think I need to warn you first of the consequences of erring," Athena noted as she paced slowly around her. "As I said before if you simply do what you're told, your mother is free to go without a scratch. Your family will be whole again, or as whole as it can be, and you can act like nothing ever happened. Guilt-free, the way I intend it. But if you happen to misstep in your execution, if anyone finds out about my plans, or you involve either the law or your friends in any way whatsoever…" Athena stopped and chuckled as the lights blasted on and Eliana was shoved forward towards her mother who was being watched over by a rather large man.

"So this is Alex's child," he asked taking a step towards her. Violet screamed through her gag, shaking her head as she rattled her chair, Irving turning back to grip the back of the seat and holding it still. "She's got his smile…" Athena glanced at Eliana in confusion, the girl looked terrified, frozen in place as she contemplated rushing him and leaving as quickly as she could. "We should just keep her here and forget the plan…" Athena stepped between her and Irving, drawing her sword quickly and swapped places with Violet, holding the blade to his neck.

"Only if you wish to die," Athena told him. "And if that happens, there will be no chance of you seeing your 'goddess' ever again!" He nodded slowly, allowing Athena to teleport back just before Eliana could remove the gag from her mother's mouth. "It would seem that I have your attention now."

"What do you want, you monster!" Eliana blurted on finally losing her nerve and composure. This wasn't a game. It was real. Irving had her mother, and Neela's worst nightmare stared her in the face.

"Equivalent exchange," Athena told her. "Are you familiar with the term?"

"I don't…" Eliana stammered.

"For something to be created, something of equal value must be destroyed," Athena explained. "The Xiao Longs took something of mine a long time ago. I want something in return." Eliana knew that she was referring to Adam and opened her mouth in protest.

"Neela already told you that she wouldn't join," Eliana reminded her.

"I wasn't referring to Neela," Athena replied. Eliana didn't want to understand at first, her mind racing before realizing the request. She took a step away, backing into Crimson who kept her from racing out of the building, shaking her head wildly.

"Anything but that," Eliana protested.

"Are you saying that you won't do it?" Athena asked her as she looked back at Irving. "Because that's exactly what our friend The Chameleon here is waiting to hear."

"Just give me the word," Irving pleaded as he strong-armed Violet.

"What's it going to be, Elli?" Athena asked, hearing her name coming out of her mouth like that made Eliana's hairs stand on end.

"There's nothing else that I can do?" Eliana requested. Athena grabbed her by the jaw and shoved her towards the door.

"You have two options!" Athena thundered. "Bring me Shadow by Wednesday morning, or your mother dies!" With that, she tossed Eliana out of the building and pulled the door shut with a mighty crash, Eliana landing on her chest and quickly spinning back to the warehouse. She ran to the entrance, trying to open it before throwing her body against it, realizing it was no use. She could have used her semblance to force it, but would they kill her mother? And did Athena realize that Wednesday was Neela's birthday? Eliana's legs began carrying her quickly to the police station before she could stop them. There was no way that Athena could actually know that she'd go to them, right?

"Not a smart idea," Ebony informed her, shaking her head as she rose up from the shadow in front of Eliana and handed her scroll back over. "Consider this a warning." Ebony was gone as quickly as she had shown up and Eliana's heart slammed against her ribs as she felt nausea and anxiety mixing within her. She couldn't be trapped like this, how could this have happened to her?! She wanted to ask Neela what to do, but she knew that it was out of the question. She wandered aimlessly for a bit in the pale light of the moon, heading back towards downtown in hopes that an idea, something, anything would come to her, but nothing did. She had no option but to grab Shadow and figure out a way to get her mom back and keep the youngest Xiao Long. But how!?

What if she told Neo? She could use her semblance to help Eliana out! But what if… somehow… Athena still knew? She'd have to take Shadow. And then… Eliana doubled over in the middle of the sidewalk, pulling at her hair. This can't be the only way! What would her dad do in this situation?! She couldn't put Shadow in harm's way… there had to be a way that she could make it publicly visible that she kidnapped Shadow before switching her out with a fake! It wasn't a great plan, but it was the best that Eliana could put together at the moment and she headed towards the docks to take a ship back over to the school.

She talked herself up, rehearsing over and over how she planned on pulling it all off before Wednesday, with enough time to be back for Neela's celebration. Maybe they were tracking her scroll, or maybe they had eyes on her, whatever the case, it didn't matter. She could leave scroll somewhere and ask Cobalt about tracking devices, just to make sure that she was clean before she went through with everything, and none of it broke the rules of engagement. She needed only to keep a level head. As long as she could do that, she could save her mother. Then there was no risk in telling the cops. The airship took what seemed like an entire lifetime to reach the school, the man offering her a smile and nod as she gave him a few extra lien for a tip and she stepped off and stared up at the tower.

5 days. There were only five days left between the last Sunday that the team would be together as first-years, Neela's birthday, and the graduation ceremony that they needed to finish setting up. It wasn't a lot of time. She needed to save her mother. She needed to kidnap Shadow. She needed to keep Neela safe. She needed Neela… the more she thought about it, the more this strange feeling pulled at her, tinged her heart. Neela meant everything to her, didn't she? She wanted to tell Neela worse than she wanted to tell anyone else, but she couldn't risk it. Don't go after these people!

120 hours, from the time that she stood there wondering if she was making the right decisions, to her and Neela still being up late on Thursday night, talking about how crazy their week was, but mostly Eliana's snap decision heroism. They'd laugh, and Eliana would get Neela all flustered before finally asking her what it was that she wanted to talk about. Her heart sank as her mind shifted completely from distracting herself to remembering that she'd blown Neela off before. Neela seemed like she had something really important for Eliana to hear and she ran off in such a rush that Neela was probably worried sick about what had happened. She'd probably ask her about it in the morning.

4,320 minutes, before Eliana would have her mother back to safety and she'd explain why she'd done everything the way that she had. There was no doubt that the Xiao Longs would forgive her once they heard the predicament that she was in, and Neela would probably console her. Then she'd be able to give Neela's birthday gift to her. A voucher to have her weapon's name that Eliana had chosen engraved in the grip of the bow or the hilt of the sword… wait, were they the same thing? It didn't really matter, it was Neela's choice for whichever she chose and she'd support it fully. It was Neela's weapon after all.

504,000 minutes until summer break. Bikinis! Training for Vytal Fest! Cookouts! Hanging out with friends! The chance for missions from the school! The idea of all the fun that awaited her drifted away as she remembered her mother's face, horrified as she stared into Eliana's eyes, pleading her to stay away. Eliana knew the look. Yes, she'd have fun later, but for now, her sole focus needed to remain on doing what Athena asked. Playing her game. Saving her mom. She made her way towards the school.

"Out a bit late, don't you think?" Jaune asked her as he accompanied her at the fountain.

"I'm breaking curfew, aren't I?" She replied with a chuckle under her breath.

"You okay?" He inquired, noting the defeat in her voice. Her eyes danced as they met his before glancing away.

"Yeah, I just don't want to get in trouble," Eliana explained and he laughed.

"You won't get in trouble for this," he assured her, amused at the idea. "The curfew was put in place to keep you kids safe since we've had issues with White Fang and the like recently. I'm guessing you just didn't notice the time." He winked at her. She smirked and nodded.

"Didn't realize it was so late," she agreed. "When are they thinking of putting an end to the curfew?"

"The curfew for coming to the school and leaving will be a bit more strict, I think Coco wants to implement photo ID badges or something like that, probably something you can just show or have scanned on your scroll. As for on the school grounds, once she gets a security guard or night crew to make sure the campus is secure, that one should disappear for lack of a better word," he informed her.

"I'm sure she'll have things under control in no time," Eliana noted with a smile. He smiled back and nodded.

"Oh, she will," Jaune stated. He told her good night as he headed back towards the school for another round, Eliana making her way slowly back to the dorms. Would it be better to wake Neela right away and apologize to her for leaving? No, that would just make Neela even more suspicious of what had happened if she conveyed a sense of urgency. It was just some Grimm like she'd told Neela the night before, there was no need to panic. And if there was anyone who could make up an epic story on the spot, it was Eliana.

Will Eliana go through with it, or will she think of an alternative? Next week, Chapter 126 - Bugged?!

AN: Sorry about the late upload, got engaged over the weekend lol

A big thank you to Helihi, Cadhla182, Carlomontie, Nliast, Y8ay8a, Sa-Dui, Diyaru4500, Demize00Zero, TheCipherNine, SketchHungry, Ookaminoki, Lightning-in-my-Hand, and Dishwasher1910. All of their artwork can be found at Deviantart, you can search Silent-Celica and under my favorites tab, I have a collection for NITE.

Until next week, stay classy, and make sure to wash those hands!