[X] ...No, she couldn't. She couldn't do this. She couldn't watch this and still be able to fight.
The bestial roars and pained screeches all seemed to dull in Ilia's mind, as she took a step back, away from the airship.
The fortress, with its chains, were still tearing through the ground and sky, while the black dragon was clearing the skies. There were gunshots and explosions as different airships echoed out, but they were minor, and before long, she couldn't even think about them.
The Faunus looked around, taking a shuddering breath as she looked at the mountain-sized fortress. That thing had torn apart one of the biggest Grimm Ilia had ever seen in a heartbeat. Right now, it was dealing with Grimm in a manner that was less of a battle against genocidal nightmare beasts, and more like...
Above the fortress, ethereal green hoops were forming, creating a circuit around the fortress. There was a symphony of screeching sounds as the Grimm within those hoops slammed into them, trapped, and tumbled down the path they created. Straight to the dragon, who tore through the enemies handed to it on a silver platter.
...More like a kid on an anthill, playing god with a magnifying glass.
Was this what Blake had gone through? Was this what she had seen at the massacre?
The dragon let out another burst of flame, and Ilia briefly realised that all the Grimm that had surrounded her a moment ago were gone. They'd rushed, to go fight the opponent presented. Grimm without number were dying on the ground, and airships were starting to move in around where they had been, looking for injured and dead.
The White Fang was relying on her. They needed her to find whoever the contact was. Blake was relying on her. Blake, who had already been hurt bad enough that refused to let anyone get close to her.
...Blake, who hadn't wanted Ilia involved in her plans at all, back at something infinitely safer, at the volcano.
How could Ilia fight against the Schnee if these were the tools they had at their disposal? A dragon and that...
Whatever that fortress thing was.
How were the White Fang meant to fight against that?
Ilia...
Every time she had changed the status quo, escalated, it had been the right move. People would only accept escalating so far. When the White Fang grew more violent, shops who had refused them started changing, laws which had discriminated against Faunus had been rewritten. Violence worked.
But it only worked so long as you were willing to commit more force.
Blake had witnessed a massacre. Every man, woman and child who had tried to escape Atlas had died. The Schnee clearly didn't have a lack of motivation regrading escalating.
There was a wailing sound that echoed through the mountains, and Ilia looked up for a moment to see Goliaths being torn to shreds. A chain burst out of the ground to decapitate one, impale a second, and slam the two corpses into a third before they could disappear.
...When someone was willing to escalate, and could whip out this on a whim...
They couldn't win.
The White Fang had already lost. None of them could kill a dragon, or whatever that thing was, and that had come out of the fourth song, what about the three before it? They weren't strong enough, they weren't numerous enough, and the Schnee had control of the media.
They couldn't fight. If they did, they would die. They would lose. And then the Schnee would turn around and spin the story to paint themselves as the good guy.
It wasn't hard. The massacre that had burnt Blake had went unreported, only that the White Fang had done something before then. If you lost, your enemy told the story and cut away every last piece of you in the process. Ilia had seen that well enough at even the lowest level. She had checked in on the area of Atlas where her old school had been. They still told stories about the crazy Faunus girl who flipped out and attacked some pure and innocent students who had done nothing wrong, for no reason.
Nobody cared that they laughed at a tragedy. Nobody cared who Ilia had been before then. All that mattered was that she was a Faunus, and that she was the 'Bad Guy.' It had never bothered her. She had done the right thing, and one day, she was going to make everything right
But how was she supposed to do that now? If she kept fighting, she would lose. She'd die. She couldn't change that, and she couldn't just let herself die for nothing.
She couldn't do this.
She couldn't...
Taking a deep breath and putting her hands on her face, Ilia blinked away tears.
She couldn't fight this. She couldn't keep working with the White Fang against a foe this powerful. She should, that was all she was good for, it was all she had, but...
She was afraid.
She looked up into the sky, where the dragon was roaring triumphantly as the last of the airborne Grimm tried to escape. It hunted them, and a Nevermore was separated from it's wings in a heartbeat. That dragon could tear her apart in seconds. She'd live just long enough to suffer, if it used its flames.
Looking down, she saw the fields in front of her empty of Grimm, as the chains of the fortress retracted. Whatever that living fortress thing was, it was the equal to an army at least. Even with the rest of the White Fang at her back, that thing would kill Ilia before she even realised there was a fight.
Dread welled up in the girl, as she tried to make sure she was still invisible.
She couldn't...
She just couldn't.
Closing her eyes to try and push out the terror she was feeling, Ilia tried to think about what to do now.
The White Fang had expected her to do one thing. She couldn't do it. She was supposed to be trustworthy, and now she was failing the people who were relying on her. And for what? Because she was afraid?
No, more than that. The White Fang weren't going to stop because Ilia had. They'd fight the Schnee. They'd fight those things. They'd die. And if Ilia was still with them when it all happened, Ilia would die too.
She didn't want to die.
"...Coward." Ilia whispered to herself, as she opened her eyes. She wasn't really looking out of them, at the moment. Whatever was going on in front of her, it didn't matter.
Turning around, Ilia started walking.
She couldn't stop the White Fang from fighting the Schnee and Atlas. She couldn't stop feeling afraid. She couldn't just go back to the White Fang and stay with them. She...
She had to leave.
The idea left a bitter taste in Ilia's mouth, but there was too much happening. She couldn't participate in this conflict anymore. She wouldn't get anything from it. She'd be dead, and all anyone would ever remember of her was that she was an ant that tried to defy a god.
How pathetic.
...She didn't have anything outside of the White Fang. She'd thrown away the life she had prior to joining it when she'd assaulted her so-called friends all those years ago. She didn't have any family. Nobody willing to help her out here.
But she'd have her life, at least. As worthless as it felt right now.
She didn't know where she'd go from here. She had to get back to civilisation first, but after that, she needed to get the hell out of Atlas. Somewhere where the Schnee Dust Corporation wouldn't get to her, somewhere where she could just be forgotten on her own terms and live.
Step one, get to somewhere with airships. Somewhere in Atlas, unfortunately, but not for long. Get an airship, take the first airship to another Kingdom. Wherever it was.
Maybe she'd be able to forget any of this happened eventually.
Turning her back on the battlefield and her mission, Ilia walked away.
The pen stopped in the girls hand, as Ilia's path concluded.
"...First ship out." She mused. "That'd be one to Vale then, wouldn't it?"
"I suppose I should organise someone to be there." The old man replied. "Too many good people are going to die soon. At the very least, those who we can save should be protected."
The girl was silent, for a long time.
"...It's time, then." The girl sighed.
"You knew this was coming." The old man replied.
"I didn't want it to." The young woman explained. "It's... They're not bad people. Any of them. Why does this have to happen?"
"The world isn't a fair place." The old man replied, sadly. "All we can do is our best. And sometimes, that means bad things happen to good people. Sometimes trying to protect all of the good people has consequences you can't afford."
He spoke in a grim tone, heavy with regret, and for a moment, the young woman wondered if she'd end up like him if she failed.
"But still..." She tried to explain. "...In a better world, they all would have been friends. I remember you predictions. If it hadn't been for the Intoners, Blake would have gone to Beacon, met Ruby, Weiss and Yang, and they'd have all made friends. They'd have been close."
"Sometimes, we can't afford to think about the 'What Ifs'." The old man replied.
"I don't want to." The girl continued. "But they keep coming to me. What if the Intoners weren't a threat to the world? In a better world, they would have been good people. One genuinely wants to help the world. Two is the nicest person I've ever seen. Three just needed someone to teach her how to be ethical. Four wants to believe there is justice in this world. Even Five wants to be better than she is."
"I don't know if it's more encouraging or saddening." The old man mused. "They were brought into this world with one purpose, and yet despite it, they all want to protect, create or enjoy."
"I know." The young woman nodded. "It's likely that they'd be as opposed to their existence as we are, if it wasn't for the fabricated memories."
"But do they have the fabricated memories to prevent them from trying to follow in their creators footsteps in regards to their nature?" The old man asked. "Or do they have the nature to try and prevent the fate they will bring forth because of the fabricated memories?"
"Why would they have been given false memories if they lead them away from their reason?" The young woman asked.
"Why do beings such as they exist as they do at all?" The old man replied. "We both know the existence of the Intoners is a cruel gods whim. Their human-like appearance, having actual personalities, the fact that their lust grows to freakish heights once they hit that exact age, on the off chance that Zero might notice and care enough to figure out why..."
"It really isn't fair." The young woman replied softly. "They deserved better. They all do. Everyone does. And yet..."
"This world is a cruel joke." The old man replied. "It's up to us to try and make sure the people suffering for it are as small a group as can be."
"I know." The young woman whispered. "I just... I wanted to hope things would change."
"...For what it's worth, I'm sorry." The old man noted.
The girl pushed some hair out of her face as she stood from her chair, putting her pen down in the process.
"Then it's time." She decided, reluctantly. "Let's do this. The battle has been won, and Three and Two will be back in Atlas in hours, with all the other student guests. Even if Ya- Miss Xiao Long won't see them until the morning of the next day, there's not enough time. Especially not since Ilia chose to leave."
"Go." The old man assured her. "Take active action, with your full knowledge and personal ability. I'll take over your recording until you are able to return."
The young woman's back was stretched straight, as she reached for a suitcase and a book.
"I'll see you later then." The young woman whispered to herself. "Or, if the worst comes to pass, the next 'I' will. It's basically the same thing in the end anyway."
"I have faith that you will return safely." The old man noted.
"Faith." The girl parroted. "Such an interesting concept. But to have faith, there has to be doubt, doesn't there?"
Taking a step forward, the young girl disappeared from sight. Sitting down in her chair, the old man pulled an old feather pen out of his coat, and started writing.
Before she can meet with any of the returning group, Miss Xiao Long has time for one relevant activity.
[X] Meditating in a forest grove maintained by the Schnee Family, attempting to discover the secrets of being a bird.
[X] Reading the book which was given to her by Mr Torchwick, with her uncles name on the cover.
[X] Sneaking around in One's quarters, with the aid of Miss Rose and Miss Neopolitan, for hints towards the secrets of silver eyes.