[X] Sorrow's Splinter- Those cut with this curved blade hear the screams of their failures.
The sun was setting, when Mount Chantico. The long journey had been bothersome, and the horses were getting tired, but at least Blake and Kettler hadn't encountered too many Grimm on the path. Sure, she had to shoot down a few at a distance here and there, but for the most part, the Grimm had been dealt with in advance.
After all, since there were some White Fang members already going ahead to lure Grimm to the border of Vale, it was easy enough for them to also run ahead of the wagon and kill any notable Grimm on the way there. Not too many, to avoid the information from getting out of hand. Mostly just people picked by Kettler while Blake had prepared the wagon, to make sure they were people who could be trusted with the information.
Blake hadn't really paid much attention to that part of the plan. She didn't need to. The specific members of the White Fang were irrelevant, as long as the plan worked.
"Almost there." Kettler noted, as he held the reins on the horses. Blake sat behind him, on a box in the wagon, looking ahead. "Can you feel the heat picking up?"
Now that he mentioned it, it was a lot hotter, now that they were approaching the mountain.
"We'll need to leave the horses, soon." Kettler noted. "Hopefully, the men sent ahead were smart enough to set up camp before too long, and you can leave them there before getting to work with your little plan."
"Here's hoping." Blake muttered, under her breath.
"It might be an idea to start using up the Dust now." Kettler advised. "Unless you're going to want to stick around camp, for a bit."
"There'll be something I want to check first." Blake responded.
If the mysterious sponsor was serious about waiting for payment, and if the White Fang had set up a camp near the volcano, then that would be the most likely place to look around for it.
"If you insist." Kettler replied. "Make it quick, though. We don't know if we're in the clear or not, and I'd rather not try my luck."
"I'll be fast." Blake confirmed. "I can't afford to delay. Not at this stage."
Kettler nodded, before wiping his brow of sweat. "As long as you know the stakes, Belladonna."
"I know them better than you." Blake replied frostily. "The worst you've seen is what humans can do, working conditions in Schnee owned mines and factories run by greed. You haven't seen Four. You haven't seen someone who's intent was outright genocide."
Kettler snorted. "The only difference between Four and the Schnee is that Four doesn't care about a profit. If the Schnee couldn't make any money off of us, they'd be killing us just as gleefully."
"There's a difference between intent and action." Blake noted. "It doesn't matter what the Schnee would do. Jacques Schnee hasn't outright walked through the pile of his victims, justifying the slaughter of children while laughing."
"Believe it matters, if you wish." Kettler finished. "The line's not as defined as you think."
Looking ahead and quickly manipulating her Aura to cool herself down, Blake noted something aide of the road up ahead.
"I think I see the camp." She noted. "I'm going to run ahead. Save some time by finishing by business up ahead while you finish with the horses."
"Whatever you say, Belladonna." Kettler replied. "Go ahead."
Blake pushed herself off the wagon, grabbing Adam's sword in the process, and then started sprinting ahead to the camp.
All around, the vegetation had disappeared. Looking back, it was possible to see a few trees and some grass. But where she was running and where she was, plant life seemed to have died off.
The area around the volcano seemed barren, like it belonged to a dead world.
Of course, she could be wrong. Faunus could see better in the dark, but the fact of the matter was that it was easier to see in the day than near the night, and the sun was well and truly down by now. Still, the area looked dark. The fires and heat had burnt down the soil and and dirt nearby
The only sign of real colour was in the far distance, where small fires were burning on the ground up Mount Chantico.
Finally rushing ahead into the area she had seen, Blake stepped into the camp the White Fang had set up.
Or, well, 'Camp.' There was a tent near the road, then two more tents way in the back in an area not visible from the road, near a bonfire.
Walking over towards the camp fire, Blake noticed that there only appeared to be three masked people around the campfire, cooking marshmallows. Two of them, she didn't recognise, but the third-
"Ilia." Blake noted, looking down at the girl huddled by the camp fire. "What are you doing here?"
"I'm in on your mission now." She replied. "Apparently, I'm one of the most trustworthy people around. Plus I was seen at the fight club, so I needed to get away from an organised search anyway."
"You shouldn't be here." Blake repeated.
The two other White Fang members around the fire looked at each other, then picked up the packet of marshmallows and retreated into one of the nearby tents, leaving Blake and Ilia alone.
"Why shouldn't I be here?" Ilia asked. "Is there a reason why I shouldn't be?"
"There's no point in you being here." Blake noted.
"I've already explained why I'm here." Ilia pointed out. "And all I know about the plan is that you're going into the volcano for something. I'm not going in as well. So why don't you want me around?"
...She didn't want to get attached to anyone again. She didn't want to see a familiar face over and over, and get used to seeing it. She didn't want to suffer the pain of loss again.
"..Never mind, then." Blake decided, turning away.
"Stop that." Ilia replied, standing up. "You made an issue of it, then gave up as soon as I asked for an explanation. Talk to m-"
Blake turned her head back, glaring at Ilia over her shoulder, her mask falling off as she turned to reveal her burned face. Ilia recoiled from the sight.
"Mind your own business." Blake hissed, before catching her mask and putting it back on.
Ilia didn't talk again, as Blake walked back towards the road.
Stopping for a moment by the first tent, Blake poked her head inside, and saw a box in the middle of it. On top of the box was a small bit of writing, obviously from Blake's saleswoman.
There was a scanner on the side, and Blake quickly put her scroll over it. The scroll beeped, and the box opened, revealing a small sickle-like blade within. Pulling out the weapon which she could identify as Sorrow's Splinter, Blake took a moment to measure the weight. She held it still, waved it up and down, and took a few test swings.
Hm. Well balanced. It'd be easy enough to learn how to use it in a proper fight. The design was odd, in that the outward edge of the sickle had spikes on it, and Blake wasn't entirely sure if they had a practical use or if they were just cosmetic. But more importantly, Blake wanted to make sure the magic worked.
Baring her left palm, Blake brought the blade down and stabbed down through Adam's face, shattering his mask while she screamed. The rage and hate in Four's voice as she ran him through echoed through her soul, and Adam stopped twitching as the heat and smoke rose around her and choked her and he died for her and she watched and-
Taking a sudden breath as she recoiled, Blake looked down at her palm, staring for a moment.
...Well, it worked.
Looking down at Sorrow's Splinter, Blake considered just putting it back in the box and getting it when she returned. All of a sudden, she wasn't too fond of keeping hold of it.
Looking down, she noticed that the box was gone.
...Well, that's annoying.
Attaching Sorrow's Splinter to her belt, Blake took a moment to consider what to do with it in the future. Maybe she should invest in getting a cloak so she could hide it until she pulled it out.
Still, that was something for later. For now, it didn't matter.
Exiting the tent, Blake saw Kettler steer the wagon up ahead further. The horses were panting, the heat and exhaustion getting to them, and eventually, the tall man allowed them to stop.
"Here's where we stop, Belladonna." He noted. "Have you tied up all your loose ends?"
"I'm ready." Blake replied.
"Sure?" He clarified. "Remember, if you make a mistake here, the volcano over there is too hot for you to walk away. You've been burnt once, but you survived that."
"I don't care." Blake replied. "I need to do this."
Kettler thought on that for a moment, as he got off the seat on the wagon.
"You have resolve, at least." He noted. "Don't let it go to waste, Belladonna."
Walking around to the back of the wagon, Blake started pulling all the boxes out. Kettler called out towards the camp, and the rest of the White Fang started repeating the process.
Once the boxes were unloaded, Ilia led the horses away to some water, and the other four Faunus started carrying the boxes towards the volcano.
"That's all of them." Kettler noted, as he pried open the last box.
Standing by an open cave that led down into a pit of lava, Blake looked down, preparing herself.
"You've only got so much time, you know." One of the White Fang members that Blake didn't know pointed out. "If you're in there too long, the Dust's effect will fade-"
"I know." Blake said. "I've been preparing for this for a long time."
The White Fang member sighed. "...Alright then. Stay safe."
Blake stood behind the three other Faunus, as they stood behind the boxes full of Ice and Water Dust. There was one exception, a box full of Ice Dust, which Blake was running her hands through. Quickly, faster and faster, the Dust started melding with her Aura, cooling her soul.
"Go." Blake ordered.
The boxes were tipped over, and the Dust thrown down the cave. The Dust hit the lava, which rapidly began cooling. Steam bellowed out of it, blinding everything from view for a moment, before the last of the Dust started flowing down the cave.
"Be quick, Belladonna." Kettler shouted.
Blake didn't respond, and starting bolting down the cave.
It only took a few seconds, before the heat hit her like a truck. With a crate full of Ice Dust in her, Blake was saved from her shoes melting at the heat, but even despite the precautions taken, the Aura manipulation trick to cool herself down, the heat was immense.
But of course. She was running on lava that had been frozen by Dust, so she only had so much to work off.
After a moment of running, the cavern opened up, and the heat intensified, enough that Blake actually felt her Aura dropping just by being near it. Looking around, Blake leaped up, and stabbed Adam's sword into the wall to hold her in place.
Looking around, she noted that the inside of the volcanic system was ridiculously large, and not even that far away, Blake could see some boiling magma.
And then something emerged from it.
Perfect.
Pulling Adam's sword out of the wall, Blake let herself fall, using her shadow replicas to get to the ground before she could build up too much momentum.
Hitting the cooled rock above the lava, Blake rolled to bleed off any momentum she'd built up, and started walking ahead. She continued on, until she reached about a metre from the flowing magma, at which point she stopped.
Clearing her throat, Blake held her head high, removed her mask, and spoke loudly.
"I seek a Pact." She called.
There was silence for a moment, before the molten rock before her burst outwards in front of her. And then to the right of that, and then to the left. A total of sixteen bursts shot upwards, and sixteen snake-like beings made of flame stood over the magma when it was done.
The outer fourteen began circling around, dancing in patterns, while the two immediately in front of Blake slowly shifted, and took upon a human-ish form.
Two red bodies, devoid of features but with their arms flaking off skin revealing pink and white appearances underneath. Flame flowed like hair from the top of their heads, which were unmoving stone masks.
Salamanders.
"A Pact?" Asked the Salamander on the right.
"The cat seeks a Pact." Repeated the one on the left.
Blake ignored the insult, as she looked up at them. "I've come to find the strongest of you." She stated.
"She's been burned once." The Salamander on the right mused, causing Blake to wince before she could stop herself.
"She looks beautiful in burns." The one on the left concurred. "Perhaps we should burn her more?"
"Those are old burns, though." The one on the right noticed. "And look, she reacts when we mention the burns."
"Trauma?" Left asked.
"A dragon, actually." Blake replied.
There was silence, as all the Salamanders hovering through the air held still.
"A dragon?" Asked the right Salamander.
"She seeks us to fight a dragon." Left noted. "Foolish, or perhaps suicidal."
"Her Soul has been quartered already." Right mused. "Merely from the heat."
"Dragons don't care for the Soul." Left pointed out.
"Give her the flickering spark?" Right Salamander considered.
"Listen to me." Blake demanded.
Suddenly, a Salamander was in her face, and she recoiled from the flame.
"You are filled with fear, human." The Salamander hissed. "Fearful children need to learn."
Clenching a fist around Adam's sword, Blake stepped forward, and stabbed.
Before the blade could hit the Salamander's face, it was back in it's original position, and Blake couldn't tell if it was the one on the right or the left which moved.
"Brave." They mused, in unison.
"Stupid-"
"-Possibly inbred-"
"-But brave." They finished in unison.
Blake decided that she was done dealing with these two.
"I'm here to negotiate." She demanded. "Stop wasting my time. You're as fast as the flickering flame, but you're not immortal."
Sixteen flaring flames flashed around the Faunus, and sixteen Salamander's stared in their humanoid form.
"You think you could kill us?" One Salamander asked, from somewhere in the circle.
"Foolish human." Another Salamander noted.
"Sixteen of us. One of her."
"Already third dead."
"We can talk and let the heat kill her."
"Or kill her now."
"Or let her live."
"Cover her in burns?"
"Shut up." Blake said, hissing at a pitch that distracted everyone from the other Salamanders.
"Are you done?" She asked, remembering the advice given to her by her sponsor. "Because you're giving up a chance to negotiate here."
"Oh?" Sixteen voices asked in unison.
"I've heard the legends." Blake lied. Rather, she was told something to start with. "Once upon a time, you had power. You'd wander from volcano to volcano, finding one about to erupt, hold back the eruption, and then hold any nearby villagers at ransom. And then the Grimm came, and you were trapped. No more ransom. No more wandering."
"Don't assume to know us, human." One of the Salamander's hissed.
"You know a lot less if you think that's what I am." Blake responded. "The point remains, however. If I cut you, you will bleed. You'll kill me for sure, but how many of you will get hurt in the process? And why do that, when one of you could step forth with a Pact? No bloodshed needed. We negotiate. I want one of you to help me kill someone. One of you must want something. There's no need to make this harder."
There was silence, from the sixteen Salamander's. Blake vaguely noticed, ahead of her, how the cooled rock was receding, and took a few steps back.
Then, from deep under the magma, something roared.
The volcanic rock shot up from all around, shaking the entire mountain, yet somehow not effecting Blake or her platform. The Salamander's all retreated under the magma, except for the two who had spoken from the start.
"How lucky of you, human." The one on the right noted. "You've drawn its attention."
Blake frowned. "It? What do you-"
"You'll see." The one on the right replied. "But first, answer me. Why do you want to kill?"
Blake looked over at the Salamander, wondering what answer it would want most.
They clearly didn't care about Four being a monster, so it was plan b, then. It wasn't even a lie, not really.
"She killed people I care about." Blake admitted.
The two Salamanders made an amused sound.
"Then how strong is your resolve?" Left asked.
"Are you willing to risk your life?" Right mused.
"Destroy something you care about?"
"Sacrifice something you value?"
The two looked at Blake, who nodded.
"Very well, then." Right declared, before seeping under the waves. Left turned into the flame snake form Blake had seen earlier, and flowed around her.
"Then let us test that." Left decided, taking a humanoid form. "I am here. If you are fast enough, you can wound me. If I am dying, forging a Pact is possible. Or-"
Another roar shot through the cave.
"-You can prove your resolve." The Salamander concluded. "You seem rather possessive of that red sword of yours."
Blake held it closer, and the Salamander smiled.
"The beast that lies below is the strongest being here." The Salamander continued. "It is no dragon, but it is powerful. And vengeance is a game it knows well. If you wish to tempt it into a Pact, then prove yourself to it. Sacrifice the blade, and you may go and meet it."
What?"
Blake looked down at Adam's sword, in momentary shock.
...She had another weapon, but...
This was Adam's sword. The last thing she had of him. The mask was a mere replica, but this was actually his. By throwing it aside, she was making a decision. She was throwing away the last physical sign that he existed to avenge his memory.
"By this time tomorrow I won't even remember you fucking existed!"
Blake remembered Four's fury at that line, as she dismissed Adam's existence. The mask was one thing, but the sword was easily identifiable. She'd be able to make a point of it, then. Prove Four wrong. Make her remember Adam existed as Blake killed her.
...All that was left of him was Blake and the sword. That's all there was. And once Blake sacrificed the sword, there'd only be here. And people would never remember her as being something Adam left behind, not like the sword.
She needed to take her revenge on Four. But the Salamander was right there. Even if it tried being tricky with her, if she cut it with Sorrow's Splinter first, it might be too stunned to defend itself until it was maimed enough for Blake to force it to forge a Pact. Then she'd keep Adam's sword.
Or she could just let it go.
[X] Sacrifice the Blade.
[X] Attack the Salamander.