A/N: Hey Sarah, you ready for the next chapter?

Sarah: Yep. I'm ready.

Soap: *yells into hallway* Blake, I need you to come here for a bit.

Blake: *enters room* Yes?

Soap: Time for the next chapter. Ready?

Blake: *heavy sigh* I guess...

Soap: Then let's begin.

Chapter 21: desperation and despair

~Soap

"I would like to talk to you for a minute." I said as he made his way towards me and sat down next to me. I didn't mention it then, but when he sat down, I saw his eyes shift from their natural, royal blue color to a grey coloring; I would have to mention that later. "My name is Soap, if it's alright with you, I need to ask you a few questions."

"Yes sir." Shade replied with military like discipline.

"Before we begin, if you would please drop the formalities while we talk, I would be very appreciative."

"Yes s-. Ok."

I smiled, "That's better. Now, other than my name, do you know who I am?" I asked.

He shook his head, "No I do not."

"Would you like to?" I asked.

He turned his head to the other person in the room whom I guessed to be his sister.

She shrugged when his eyes met hers. He then turned his attention back to me and said, "Why not? I could use a distraction."

I nodded and thought for a moment, "Where do I start? I, along with the rest of my team, am an Instructor at Beacon. But before that, I am a bounty hunter..."

~Blake

"Just who are you chasing Soap?" I thought aloud as I looked at the manila folders in my hands.

There were three of them. One was labeled "Bounties: Completed", the second was named "Bounties: In-Progress", however, the third folder was different. Unlike the other two folders' labels', which were neatly typed, this one's label was sloppily written in, what I could only assume to be, Soap's hand writing. I could only make out the word "Bounties:" on the third folder. The rest of the title was illegible.

I know Soap wouldn't actually write on something unless he had a good reason to. If anything, he tends to avoid pens and pencils unless he really has to. This realization spiked my curiosity. I opened the folder.

Inside were only four files. I read each file name aloud, "Sarah 'Hearts' Kirtsov, Shade 'The Shadow' Tenebris, Tukson, and..." until I got to the last file.

I read it aloud, "Blake Belladonna."

I took out the file and placed the others back in the folder and put that back where I found it.

I opened the file that had my name written on the front and stared reading.

~Soap

"So Shade, can you tell me why one of my students found you and your sister digging through some trash cans behind a building?" I asked him.

"We were trying to find some food. Ever since we came to Vale, we have been living on the streets." Shade replied in his rather soothing monotone voice.

"Might I ask why?"

"Because, I promised Umbra that I would never take another job like the one I had before." He replied.

"What job would that be?"

"Up until two years ago, I was a mercenary. I took whatever job I could get so that I would be able to protect and provide for her."

"Like Huntsmen, Huntresses, and Bounty Hunters - Mercenaries tend to get nicknames after a while in the field that are usually based on an ability, their fighting style, their weapon, something they wear, how they dress, or a combination of two or more things that I listed. Do you mind telling me what your's was?" I asked him.

Shade stayed silent for a minute before responding, "How do I know that after I tell you, you won't just report me to the authorities?" He asked me.

I responded with a question of my own, "You know I am a Bounty Hunter, do you know what some of my nicknames were?"

He shook his head.

I gave a smile before I responded, "I've had many. Among them are Fire Walker, Ghost, The Smokey Mist; but the one that is the most well know is Demon."

I watched as Shade's eyes widened.

"That name alone makes me the most wanted person on the planet when it comes to major crime networks. I trust you with that information, so why not trust me with yours?"

He thought about this for a bit before speaking, "Fine. My name was Shade 'The Shadow' Tenebris."

"Thank you for trusting me Shade." I paused for a moment, "You said that you left your life as a mercenary two years ago; why? Who or what made you want to stop?"

"My last "job". I was forced into taking a job where I was supposed to kill someone that I had worked with countless times before. They saw her as a threat and wanted her dead because of it." He said, his head lowered in shame.

"And you couldn't just say no?" I asked.

He shook his head, "No. They said that they had people ready to kill my sister if I refused."

"Who were you were supposed to kill? From the way that you were carrying yourself when you said what the job was, I take it that you two were more than just simple colleagues." I said.

He nodded his head, "She was Remnant's most notorious mercenary, but she was also more than that...She was my best and only friend."

"Was?"

"Yes, was."

"You went through with the job?" I asked.

"No, but I almost did."

"What happened?"

"She was in her apartment in Mistral about to go to sleep when I slipped into her room unnoticed. As I waited in the shadows for her to finally fall asleep, I kept trying to think of other options. I finally thought of one, convince her to leave the mercenary lifestyle and disappear; I would do the same with Umbra. So I warned her and gave her enough money, out of my own pocket, for a one-way ticket to Vale. We were going to effectively disappear. After she took the ticket, we said our goodbyes and went our separate ways. Two weeks later, I tried to contact her by scroll but I never got through. I ended up finding out that someone that matched her description was found dead a half hour outside of Vale. Cause of death, multiple bullet wounds to the head and heart." He said, his monotone voice dipping slightly at the end.

"What was your friend's name?" I asked, already knowing the answer.

"Sarah 'Hearts' Kirtsov." Shade said rather grimly.

~Blake

The contents of the file that bore my name contained everything; A general description of what I wear, my physical appearance, my weapon and fighting style, my semblance, everything.

As I read further, I found a picture of me as we, myself and other White Fang members, peacefully boycotted and protested for equal rights. I looked at the date the picture was taken. 10 years ago. That was five years before our leaders changed.

I kept reading.

Past the picture from when I was seven was a very detailed description of my past with the White Fang. As I continued reading, I came across another photo. This one was taken the day after the White Fang's change of power took place in Atlas, five years ago.

In the photo, I was standing next to my partner, Adam. Both of us were 12 at the time. In the picture, we were both holding our newly acquired weapons and our blank White Fang masks.

I continued past the second photo and found a detailed summary of every mission I had ever gone on for the White Fang. I cringed as I continued to read through the mission summaries. I came across one last photo. This one was from the day before I left. In it, I was seen smiling, holding my very decorated White Fang mask in one hand and Gambol Shroud, my weapon, on my back. To my side stood Adam Taurus, the only person that I have ever considered family. He was standing to my right with his mask on holding his weapon, Wilt and Blush.

Just below the picture was a printed caption. It read: "Adam Taurus (right) is expected to become the White Fang's #1 within the next few years, Blake Belladonna, (left) is expected to become second-in-command."

A chill went down my back as I read it. I was supposed to be second-in-command?

Sloppily handwritten, by I assume Soap, in red ink below the printed caption was another; however, this one made my stomach churn. "These two have caused enough damage already. They are now the two most wanted people in the White Fang and must be eliminated, not captured, at all costs."

I gasped as I read the caption. Eliminated? I was so distracted by the thoughts that were going through my head, that I failed to notice Sarah getting up from her bed and approach me from behind.

~Soap

"What did you do after Sarah left?" I asked.

"I quickly returned home, grabbed Umbra and any loose money I could find, and headed to the first flight out of Mistral which happened to be to Vacuo."

"You went to Vacuo?"

"Yes." He said, nodding his head. "We stayed there for a year and a half. We earned a paycheck by taking whatever odd jobs we could find. We did this for a while until I recognized one of my old employers while out doing a job. I Analyzed his motives and found that he was after me. He caught wind of my disappearance from Mistral and wanted to tie up a loose end personally. I waited for an opportunity to escape. Once I finally found one, I took it and returned to our temporary home. I told Umbra that she had 5 minutes to pack. After that, we left on a flight for Vale."

"What do you mean when you say that you 'Analyzed' his motives?" I asked him.

"My semblance is Analysis. Activated, I am able to predict someone's fighting style and find weakness in said fighting style. After extended observation, I am also able to predict their behavior and guess their habits and full personality. At this point, I would also be able to accurately guess a person's true ulterior motives." Shade replied.

"Is that why your eyes turned grey as soon as you sat down?" I asked him.

"How were you able to see that?" He asked.

"That explanation is for another time. However I do want to know, what has your analysis of me revealed to you?" I asked.

"It revealed that you are a rather mysterious man. But from what I can tell, you are a kind, understanding, caring, and compassionate person that will go to no ends to make sure that those you care for are safe and happy."

I smiled, "That's right." I thought for a moment, "You know, I have to thank you." I said with a slight laugh.

"For what?" Shade replied.

"For telling your friend, Sarah Kirtsov, to run to Vale when you did." I replied.

"Why?" He asked.

"Because, in doing so, you caused me to meet my girlfriend of more than two years." I said.

"I did?" Shade asked, confused.

"Yes." I replied.

"Who is your girlfriend?"

"Sarah 'Hearts' Kirtsov." I said.

~Blake

"Remember that offer that Drake mentioned?" I heard a voice behind me say.

I spun around on the ball of my feet, with my hands up, ready to fight. It was Sarah. She has her hood down, that's a first.

"Easy. Before you attack, please realize that my name was in that folder along with two others."

I realized that she was right and put my hands down.

"Well. Do you?" Sarah asked me.

"Yeah?" I said when I realized something, "Shouldn't you be resting, after what happened in the lobby? I mean are you alright?" I asked her, suddenly concerned.

Sarah responded in such a way that I could tell that she had thought about it for a long time beforehand, "The people I care about come first, everybody else is second, but I am last. Soap and I both share this philosophy. With that said, don't worry about me. The offer that Drake was referring to was the same that Soap made to Bucky and Sam, and it was the same offer that was made to me. It went something like this: If given a chance to start your life over - with a clean slate; every piece of your past, good and bad, would be gone - would you take it?" Sarah said.

~Soap

Shade immediately sat up straight, "She's alive?"

"Yes."

"But how? That report said that she died five days after she arrived here in Vale."

"I am the source of that report. Along with all of the things that I said earlier, I am a hacker. Which, by the way, is how I became Remnant's youngest millionaire. The reason why she was declared 'dead' is because Sarah Kirtsov technically does not exist anymore."

"I'm not sure I follow." Shade said.

"I'm pretty good when it comes to grasping concepts and ideas, but you lost me as well." I heard a female voice say behind us.

Turning around, I saw that the voice came from Shade's sister, Umbra. "Hello, I take it you're Umbra?" I said sticking out my hand towards her.

"Yes that's me." She said, firmly grasping my hand and shaking it.

"Nice to meet you. But what I meant was, after I, literally, first ran into her and she agreed to stay with me, I 'Legally' changed her last name to Hearts to stop her pursuers." I explained.

~Blake

I looked back to the folder that originally held my file and saw Sarah's file sticking out. "What was your choice?"

"You know my story." Sarah replied.

"You said yes?" I asked.

She nodded her head.

"Then why is there still a file here with your name on it?"

"Grab my file." She said.

"Ok~." I said, not sure where she was going with this.

"Open it and turn to the last page."

I did as I was told.

"Read what it says aloud."

"Five days after arriving in Vale, Sarah Kirtsov was found dead half an hour outside of the city limits. Cause of death: multiple bullet wounds to the head and heart." I turned to her, "You faked your own death."

"No. My last name changed, rendering that file useless. I am not Sarah Kirtsov, my name is Sarah Hearts." She said.

"Then why keep the file if it no longer has any use?" I asked her.

"Even in starting over, it's still good to remember the past, for those who do not learn from it are destined to repeat go get some rest. I'm sure that all of this has been a bit of a shocker for you, so get some sleep. Goodnight." She said as she laid back down in her bed.

"Good night." I said, leaving her room.

As I was about to cross through the room's threshold, I stopped and turned around, "Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why go through all this effort just to see people change?" I asked.

"You'll have to ask him yourself. Goodnight Blake."

~Soap

"You know, I managed to convince Sarah to stay with me by asking her to answer a question." I told Shade and Umbra.

"How so?" Umbra asked, speaking for the both of them.

"By asking her the same question and making the same offer that I am about to make to you." I paused for a breath. "If you were given the chance to start your life over from where you are now, all of your past -good and bad - gone, would you take it?"

Shade and Umbra looked at each other before answering, "Yes."

A/N: I made it to 21 chapters!

Akumas Kawashima: Thnkx for the compliment. I would like to think that my writing has gotten better over the course of 66K+ words, not counting this chapter. The reason for the cramped writing style during the first few chapters is mainly the fact that it was mostly backstory and world/lore building for my characters. I tried to make Soap as real as possible so that people would be able to connect with him and be able to understand why he acts and thinks the way he does; in me trying to do so, I ended up making myself into a character.

Thnkx for reading, see you all next chapter. SoapiestAuto780 out.

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