The girl didn't know what was happening. Not the full scale of it, at least. She'd seen a lot, but apparently, there was so much more happening beyond her sight.
It was just another day, for the girl. She had been away from the rest of the children in Two's care. It was just her and the Undine bound to her soul, the creature that had taken her Aura to save her life and it's own. The one that felt nothing for her, truly, but protected her with everything it had, to protect its own life.
Then the building had caught fire, the girl had heard the sound of conflict from above, and she had fled. With the Undine with her, the fire hadn't been an issue, even if it had been oddly resilient to being put out. Undine had theorised that there had been another beast of her calibur on site, and if that was the case, then Nightingale would have been dead had she remained.
She didn't know what had happened, after that. She had run, and been lost for a while. She had never been on the streets of Atlas without Two guiding her before, and had never paid attention. She had seen fires in the distance, more than just back at the manor, and a great roar had terrified the Undine so much that she had dragged Nightingale to hide in a random store.
The girl's arm was still sore from where the spirit of water had dragged her aside so suddenly, without warning. It hurt. But then, if the Undine had been panicked that bad, chances were something was off.
She'd been there for hours, before someone found her. An Atlesian soldier. Not a robot, not a Specialist, just a man with a gun, sweeping the streets for people who hadn't evacuated yet and needed rescue.
One man. One who had been on edge enough that, when the Undine had tried to get close to see who he was, he had almost opened fire on it.
He hadn't explained much at all, either. The moment he saw Nightingale, he called in a car of some sort, and the girl had been escorted to a hospital.
She said she was fine, she made it very apparent, but these people didn't know about her Pact, apparently. Didn't know that having no Aura was normal for her, that even after trying to awaken it, nothing came for her. That was her price.
But apparently it didn't matter. The hospital was where everything was being taken. Apparently, with what had happened, Atlas wanted to be absolutely sure that important people were safe, and weren't able to spare many soldiers. And Nightingale was important, apparently, for knowing Two.
And that was how she got to where she was now. In a room by the hospital, sitting near the door, all the other kids around. Once someone with clearance to look at her files actually had a look and confirmed that this was normal for her, she'd been allowed to rejoin the other kids, the ones who'd gotten out at a different time.
Nightingale had never bonded much with all the other orphans Two had taken in. Most of them had been orphaned in the incident that Nightingale's father had caused, in fairness, and even if Two hadn't told any of them that, Nightingale knew.
It made things awkward. And Nightingale didn't want to get attached to them anyway. She had a goal in mind, something she needed to do, and she didn't have much hope in being allowed to live long after that, let alone hope that she'd be able to live any sort of normal life.
She did have to wonder what happened with their escape plan. Apparently, they all got rescued by a group that included that woman, but the girl with the fox ears who's name Nightingale forgets was apparently injured enough that she was still being tended to, though apparently she was awake enough to talk with people.
Sitting where she was, by the door, Nightingale was able to listen in on conversations that briefly passed it.
From what she could gather? This place didn't have that many guards inside of it. With whatever was happening, there wasn't enough people. The place was monitored and guards posted to keep people out, but that was it.
Which was weird, because Atlas didn't usually hamper security that much. What was happening outside of this building?
Every once in a while, Nightingale heard something roll past the door, alongside shouting. Take so-and-so to the such-and-such unit. Apparently, a lot of people had been injured, too.
Undine wasn't allowed in the room, she was elsewhere, but she was also keeping an eye on people passing by. Apparently, she was also unguarded, and only her whim was keeping her from wandering around. In the state security was in right now, nobody would stop her.
From the corridor outside the door, Nightingale suddenly heard loud shouting indeed.
"-et her to the priority ward, now!" Called a familiar voice. Was that the Intoner? The… One, that was it. It was Two's older sister, so it had to have been One. That's how their names worked, right?
Correct.
This might be important, then.
"Rearrange security. She's the one that needs to be protected." One declared.
"But ma'am, the only robot we have spare is watching Winter-"
"She's more important." One interrupted. "We cannot take any chances with Miss Rose. I won't allow anything to happen to her."
"...As you command." The soldier obeyed, after a moment. "And what of her sister?"
"Keep her in a nearby room. They may want to see each other, when the-"
One stepped out of earshot, and Nightingale took a moment to make sure she fully understood what she had just heard.
Someone very important to One needed medical attention, it seemed. That was nice. More importantly, though, that woman.
She was here. She needed protecting. She was protected until now, but wouldn't be soon.
...Honestly, Nightingale didn't know what would put a Specialist in such a condition that they needed protecting. But-
Kill her now?
Yeah. Now seemed like a good time.
Nightingale didn't know if she'd ever get such a convenient chance at killing the woman who killed her father.
Standing up from her resting place against the wall, Nightingale took a moment to listen in, make sure nobody else was around the door, before opening it.
"Where are you going?" One of the other orphans asked.
Oh right. There was people in this room, still. Nightingale looked back as she answered.
"Bathroom." She lied.
The other orphan- Was that a boy or a girl? Nightingale couldn't tell- Nodded, and turned away from her. "Third left'll take you there."
Nightingale nodded, and left the room.
Undine, do you know where to look?
Go right. Find me.
She did suppose Undine would be a better guide than just wandering blindly.
Making her way through the corridor deeper into the building, Nightingale kept an ear out for any other noises. It wouldn't do to get caught.
It had been several months since that woman killed her father. The pain had dimmed since then, a bit. It still hurt, but less so.
That didn't mean she was going to stop. She needed to get her revenge. In those days after she had found out her dad had died, that thought was what had kept her going. Stopping wasn't an option for her, anymore.
Undine had left the room it was in while Nightingale had made her way towards her, and the creature spun into a water-like stream around the young girl.
Did you see One and the others passing by? They might have gone the direction that Nightingale needed to look.
Upstairs, to the left.
They were easy enough instructions to follow, and as she did so, Nightingale found a sign pointing towards the emergency ward. The area with all the technology meant to stimulate your Aura, with rumours having it they could basically keep your brain alive in a jar here if need be.
Nightingale hoped that that woman wasn't in that bad a condition. She wanted to choke the life out of her. A brain in a jar didn't have that enjoyment.
Following the path some more, Nightingale heard more talking, and made sure she crept as she approached the corner. Peeking around it, she saw One again, as she peeked around the corner. She had her scroll out, and was speaking into it.
"-et Gabriella to take you back. The airships need to take it slow to preserve their fuel, but I need you back now, Four. Tell Gabriella I'll find her a treat for pushing herself if you have to, but I need you back before the day ends."
She went quiet as the person on the other side of the call, presumably Four, spoke back.
"I'm still getting the story now." One replied. "But Two's catatonic and Three's still missing. I'll tell you what I know when you get back. Leave your Disciple with Five's if you have to, if Gabriella's exhausted, I-"
Nightingale took a step back to try to find a way around One, and One's head instantly whipped around. The girl was fairly sure she was out of sight before One's eyes became visible, but she still held her breath in the deafening silence to follow.
A moment passed, and then the sound of distant talking through a scroll could be heard.
"...It's nothing. Call me when you're near Atlas, I should know what happened by then."
Again, the voice that Nightingale couldn't hear well enough to understand spoke.
"Love you too." One replied. "Stay safe." She hung up, and began walking. Nightingale tensed for a moment, but the footsteps got more distant instead of closer, so she relaxed.
Okay, good. She could make progress.
The Undine looked ahead to confirm the path was clear, and Nightingale continued down it. She needed to follow One's path briefly, which kept bringing back the fear of capture, but eventually she took a different turn than what Undine said One took.
It should be nearby, then. The room with that woman, and-
"Nightingale?"
The girl jumped at her name, and turned around.
Fortunately, it wasn't any security guards. It was another one of the children. It was…
The one with fox ears. Orphan, like her. There was a bandage around her ear and hand, but Nightingale couldn't remember her name off the top of her head.
"What are you doing? The Fox Faunus asked.
"...Nothing." Nightingale replied guiltily. "Just looking around."
"...Yeah." The Fox replied. "It sucks sitting still. Nothing but your thoughts."
She looked down, and just stared at the ground for a moment.
"...Are you looking for them too?" The Fox asked. "Yang and them? The ones who saved us?"
"Is she hurt?" Nightingale asked.
"Apparently." The Fox girl replied. "I wanted to see if she was okay. Yang disappeared while the rest of us were being saved, and then I heard them when they passed my room. It sucks she got hurt. She already had to see her dad di-"
The fox Faunus interrupted herself by slapping a hand over her mouth.
...Someone else who know her pain, huh?
It took Nightingale a moment to remember which one Yang was. She was the blonde one, wasn't she? The one who got hurt really bad protecting Undine from the guy in black all those months ago. Nightingale thought it was Yang who killed the girl's dad and nearly killed her, until Winter confessed to doing the deed.
So she knew what it felt like to be Nightingale now too, did she?
"...I should go." The Faunus decided. "I'm good now. The machine made the beeping noise and all. I'll see you later."
Nightingale waved to the girl who's name she didn't remember, before making her way off.
Carmine.
Nightingale hadn't asked, Undine. She didn't care that much.
After passing a few more sections where she could have made turns, Nightingale reached a series of rooms with people in it. Avoiding the room with a robot out the front by a wide margin, she started looking through the glass windows on the doors.
Room number one had a guy in green clothes. Room number two had a girl who was missing a leg. Room number three had a girl with green hair who didn't seem too badly hurt, in all honesty. And room number four-
There she was.
Winter Schnee.
Nightingale tried to open the door, but it was locked. The robot guard was around a corner and down a path a bit, so it was easy enough getting in. Undine shattered the glass, and then caught it all in her watery form before it could hit the ground, and Nightingale climbed through.
Winter Schnee looked in a real bad condition. Most of her body was covered in machinery that blocked it from view, but Nightingale was fairly sure that she could see something that looked like a cut-open torso, like it was ready for surgery. A lot of it looked charred and black, though. It was hard to see, though, a lot of the machinery was still moving about.
Stepping close, Nightingale started figuring out what to break first.
"Isn't Atlesian technology amazing?"
Nightingale froze. She knew that voice.
"Winter should be dead right now. She was, technically, for a time. Initial readings show she may suffer severe memory loss from the time she was clinically dead. Her brain wasn't getting any oxygen for so long, people are asking if she'll even be able to act like a living person once the rest of her is restored. Even with the greatest technology Atlas has, even simulating her Aura to replicate the healing process, the doctors were calling her survival a miracle."
Turning to the source of the voice, Nightingale came face to face with the Intoner, One.
"Her death at this point would still be expected." One noted. "It's already miraculous that she's held on this long. A faint part of her soul remained, and the possibility of igniting it back to its full strength is there, but according to the doctor's I've talked to, it's far more likely to be snuffed out at random."
Turning to face Nightingale, One smiled softly. "It wouldn't have even warranted an investigation. Someone could have just turned off a machine for a few seconds, turned it back on, and gotten away with murder."
"...You got me." Nightingale muttered. "This is the part where you punish me, right?"
"That's up to you." One replied in turn.
"...What does that mean?" Nightingale asked.
"Well, the way I see it, you have two choices." One noted. "You could leave, and pretend this never happened. Or you could kill Winter, and I would be forced to take action."
"...What's the point of trying" Nightingale asked. "You're fast. I wouldn't be able to do anything before you stopped me."
"Ah, but Nightingale." One smiled. "That would require I try to stop you."
Nightingale blinked.
What?
"Of course, it would be tragic." One continued. "And you wouldn't be allowed to survive it, of course. It wouldn't do to let you contradict the story I give to General Ironwood about how i was just too late to save her. But if all you want is to kill Winter Schnee, that is entirely possible, right now."
Nightingale tried to figure out where One was going, with this. Did she not care if that woman died? Wasn't she an ally to the Intoners?
But…
Did it matter? Nightingale was prepared to die for her revenge. Some part of her could tell One wasn't lying. It was something about the way she spoke that made it impossible for the girl to doubt the woman.
Turning back towards Winter, Nightingale reached for a machine to break.
Wait.
The Undine's hand caught hers, and pulled her away.
...What?
No! What were you doing? This was Nightingale's chance to-
"Explain." The Undine declared, looking at One.
"Ah, spirit of the ocean, I need more clarification than that." One replied. "What is it, exactly, that you want?"
"Interrupted us." The Undine muttered. "Let us know. You want her dead. Why?"
"Perceptive, I see." One smiled. "Well, if you must know, then I will confess that Winter Schnee will have to die eventually. I wasn't able to spy on the entire conversation, so I didn't get the context, but she had a meeting with General Ironwood a few months ago. She had been serving me so loyally until then, and had continued to do so afterwards. But by the time I had begun to listen in on that conversation, they had been plotting when they will want to kill me."
Nightingale frowned. "But… Why?"
"I don't know, child." One clarified. "But I do know that the time will come soon enough, where she turns on me. And when that time comes, I will need her to die."
"...But you'll kill us if we kill her now?" Nightingale asked.
"I won't have any other choice." One said. "By this point, I've officially been out of sight of the Atlesian force on site for too long. If something happened to you now, General Ironwood would be suspicious."
"Why are you telling me all this?" Nightingale asked. "What's stopping me from going to the General about it?"
One looked the girl in the eye, and Nightingale almost shrunk back to avoid her gaze.
"Simple, child." One continued. "You would be passing up the chance to kill her later, and be praised for it."
The Undine let go off Nightingale's hand, and both girl and monster looked at the Intoner.
"There is information I'll want from you, while I'm at it." One said to the Undine. "I believe you may know certain things about a 'Seal of the Ocean' that ancient texts have made reference to. And you, child, will need to come with me until I'm sure you can be trusted to be quiet. But simply put…"
One extended a hand towards Nightingale.
"I would prefer to see you survive." One declared. "And I'm sure it would feel all the sweeter for you, if your revenge included Winter being remembered as a traitor."
Nightingale bit her lip, and looked at the Undine for a moment.
...As long as she got her revenge, she didn't care much if she lived or died. That's what she had said to herself so much, in those days after her father's death. She needed to live for now, until she could kill that woman.
But now, to be told death wasn't necessary for it? To be given the choice between dying now, or living by delaying her revenge?
Nightingale was only human. She was as scared of death as anyone else.
And that meant there was only one thing she could do, here.