A/N: I apologize for the long delay between this chapter and the last; I blame life, school finals, and the fact that I am no longer single for my absence.

That aside, MORE CONFUSION...

Chapter 31: others above all

I turned my attention back to Sarah, "You know, I never one hundred percent found out what happened while I out during that bounty mission. Would you mind filling in some blanks?"

Sarah smiled and nodded.

She took my hand and led me to the sanctuary. We reached the stage and sat down on the steps.

Once we were sitting, she gave me a kiss and then began recounting her side of the story.

"After you blacked out, the White Fang base was in complete chaos..."

~Sarah

I looked up from the dissolving corpse that was Carrie and to the chaos that had consumed the base.

Yang was successfully fending off the mercenaries surrounding her, Weiss and Blake were licking their wounds behind the stage, and Larry looked to be having fun fighting the White Fang.

I honestly wasn't sure how much I liked the last of those, but shrugged it off and focused my attention back to the situation at hand.

I proceeded to try and stand from my position, however doing so only led to more exhaustion.

I tensed as I felt a presence approach me from behind.

"I'm not sure if I would call this a winning battle." I heard Blake's voice.

I laughed at that, "Oh we're winning alright." I replied.

Blake knelt down beside me and helped me up. "You call this" she gestured with her free hand, "winning?" She asked.

"No." Just then, I caught a glimpse of an old friend sneaking her way through the shadows towards us.

I smiled when I saw her. "Now I do." I said.

"Wha-"

Just then, a screech could be heard, instantly dropping the Mercs and White Fang soldiers to the ground. Each was gripping their head in pain. "Just when I was beginning to think that the White Fang had a chance." She said disapprovingly.

"Long time no see Niri." I said, catching her attention.

"How you doing Sarah?" She asked lightheartedly, as she struck down a merc trying to approach her from behind.

"Not too bad. Just getting overwhelmed by the White Fang; nothing too unusual." I replied.

"I never thought I would see the day when you would need my help."

"Hey. I sent you that message as a precautionary measure. I honestly didn't think that you would show up before we finished."

"Well, then I don't think you'll mind me finishing the fight quickly, will you?"

"Have at it. Just let me cover my ears." I turned to Blake, "Blake, cover your ears. Now!"

She did, and just in time too.

The blast from Niri's yell killed whatever White Fang and Mercs were in it's path.

In my head I heard Blake's voice, "What the hell was that?"

"Hi Blake." I replied to the voice nonchalantly.

Blake nearly jumped out of her skin when she heard my voice in her head. "Wha-? How? When did?"

"It seems that Soap and I subconsciously aura bonded with you before the mission. If I had to guess how, it would be that the three of us having grown so close to each other over the past month allowed a subconscious bond of trust to form; effectively forming an aura bond. But more about this later, call the others via scroll and tell them that all hostiles have been eliminated and to meet at the front gates in ten minutes. Then help me with Chris."

"Ok."

"What happened to Violet and her lover?" Sebastian asked.

"They ran off when I scared them." I replied as I held Chris's legs, walking backwards towards the Bullhead. Blake was holding the other half of him as we brought up the rear of the group. "We'll get them next time."

"Bu-" I heard Sebastian start to say. "Fine."

We walked in silence for a few minutes before I heard Chris mumble, "Fuck! Here we go again."

Instantly, I dropped his legs as I called out his name, "Chris!"

Within an instant, I fell to my knees as a surge of memories enter my head. Just as I was start to make sense of what I was seeing, the images stopped as quickly as they came.

"Chris?" I heard Yang ask behind me.

"Now's not the time Yang. Ask Soap about it when wakes up; right now we need to get him back to the church." I heard Blake say as I picked up his legs and started toward the Bullhead faster than before.

Back at the church... (four hours later)

Just as I felt my mind enter Chris's, I could hear Blake yelling down the hall, saying that he was awake.

I didn't waste anytime getting to his side.

After we managed to get rid of the others that had come to check on him, we talked for half an hour about what he had seen while he was out before Blake joined us.

"Should we tell him now?" I heard Blake's voice ask inside my head.

"Not yet, let's let him rest for a little before we shock him with that little piece of information."

"OK."

Just then, Niri entered the room with a neutral look plastered on her face. "Soap?" She asked politely.

"Yes? Who are you?" He asked.

"My name is Niri Nightingale and I was wondering if there was somewhere I could ask you a few questions?"

"Well, I'm right here. Ask away." Chris responded.

"Alone I might add."

He looked at me before looking back to Niri and shrugging, "I don't see why not." He said standing up, moving towards the door. "Here, follow me. We can talk in the sanctuary."

~Blake

Sarah and I looked at each other after witnessing the conversation that had just unfolded.

Silently we reached out to each other "We should follow them and make sure that they don't kill each other." She said, moving towards the door.

I followed close behind.

"Why would they want to kill each other?" I thought back, slightly surprised at the suggestion of hostility between Soap and Niri.

"Remember how Chris said that he wiped out an entire city, except for five?"

"Yeah. But what does tha...Ohhh." I responded; connecting the dots.

I stopped walking; Sarah stopped as well and turned to face me.

"Yeah. Of the five that he missed, Niri is one of them. When I told her about Chris and my engagement, she asked if she could come and stay with us while she looked for the person responsible for the destruction of her home. At the time, I didn't realize that she was talking about Chris." She explained quickly.

"When did you realize it?" I asked.

"Less than a minute ago."

"So you're concerned about Soap getting hurt?" I asked. I still wasn't comfortable addressing him by his actual name yet.

"I'm more concerned about Niri getting hurt than Chris, but what I'm really concerned about is him losing control." She said.

"Ok." I responded without question. After a second, it finally it clicked, "Wait! What do you mean?" I questioned, giving her a look.

"Chris and I both have a red and black stripe in our hair; do you know why?" She asked.

"Since you asked the question, I take it that it's more than just a simple fashion statement." I responded.

She shook her head. "When Chris and I first met each other, I only had a solitary red streak in my otherwise blond hair and he only had a single black streak in his pure white hair. The day after I unlocked his aura and bonded with him, we woke up with a second streak in our hair. We came to learn later that our respective 'dyed' hair are actually remnants of the overflow of emotion or influence that we experienced when we were younger. Chris's is black from the influence of Darkness that he experienced, and mine is red from the overflow of hate and anger from mine. If, or in my case 'when', either of us start to experience or feel that way again, the respective streak will begin to dissipate in the other. It's like an early warning system. That's why Chris started to worry when Weiss told him that the red streak in his hair began to dissipate on the bounty mission."

"When was the last time Soap lost control?" I asked, not exactly sure I wanted to know the answer.

"The last time he used his weapons, when we rescued Drake from the White Fang in Vacuo." She responded.

I was about to question what she meant when she cut me off, "Ask Drake about it later; we need to get moving."

She started in the direction of the sanctuary.

I followed close behind her, saying nothing more along the way.

We managed to slip into the sanctuary and get behind one of the pews near Soap and Niri without them noticing.

"Alright Niri, you managed to get me alone. What did you want to ask me?" Soap asked politely.

Niri was sitting down in a pew a small distance away from Soap, staring at the ground.

When she spoke, she spoke quietly, but her voice shook from the amount of shear intensity it possessed, "Have you ever heard of a city named 'Cado Angelus'?" She asked.

Soap's face looked worried for a split-second, but quickly replaced it with a neutral expression, "I have; though if I remember correctly, some sort of tragedy hit it 12 years ago and effectively wiped it off the map."

I reached out to Sarah beside me, "What does Cado Angelus mean?" I asked.

"It means Fallen Angel. In that book that Soap gave you, do you remember the story about the angel Lucifer and his betrayal to Yahweh?"

"Yeah. What about it?"

"Supposedly, when Yahweh cast him out of the heavens; he passed through the very place where that city sat on his way to the depths of Hell. Thus the name 'Fallen Angel' or Cado Angelus. The city was headed and led by people who worshiped the very things that were natural, sworn enemies to Iustorum, the name of the way of life that Soap left behind. Things that followed Lucifer's every command." Sarah explained. "Now be quiet and watch and listen, you just might get some answers to your questions."

I nodded and turned my attention back to the center of the room.

"Why? What about it?" Soap asked Niri.

"They say that the person that killed the city had the appearance of a demon; something I can attest to personally. Among the criminal underworld, you're known as a 'demon'; but what I want to know is this: 12 years ago, did you kill my family along with the rest of Cado Angelus?"

"No." Soap stated simply, looking away.

"LIAR!" She yelled at him; her semblance amplifying the percussive force tenfold.

This was very painful to me and Sarah, both of us being faunas.

We clutched at the sides of our heads, trying to get the pain to stop.

When we both finally recovered, it was rather apparent that we missed some dialog.

"...me." Soap said, sounding a little annoyed.

Niri reached behind her and pulled out her lute turned sword and pointed it him.

Soap still just stood there calmly, waiting for her to move.

"I will fucking kill you!" She said as she approached him menacingly.

"Why?" Soap asked simply.

Niri stopped dead in her tracks and stared angrily at him.

"I would suggest covering your ears. Niri is about to flare her semblance again." Sarah said to me as she covered her ears.

I quickly followed suit.

"WHY!? ARE YOU FUCKING SERIOUS!?" She screamed at him, amplifying the force of her yell with her semblance. A visible shock wave could be seen moving across the ground from the shear force of her yell.

Soap was still standing calmly across from her, unmoved by the blast.

"Why?" Soap asked again.

He received no answer. Instead, she pointed her sword at him and began to charge.

"AHH!" She yelled as she rushed him, sword ready to strike him.

When she reached him, she swung.

The blade connected and sent Soap staggering backwards.

When I saw this, I tensed and started to reach for my own weapon but was stopped short by Sarah. "Wait and watch." She commanded in my mind.

Begrudgingly, I withdrew my hand from my weapon and turned my attention back to the events that were currently unfolding.

The hit hardly did any damage; if you could call making Soap lose his balance, damage.

After he regained his balance, he faced her and stared at her, emotionless.

"Why?! Because you slaughtered my family and friends!" She yelled at him.

She rushed him, appearing on top of him in an instant.

She knocked him to the ground and stood over him menacingly with her sword against his neck, ready to kill him.

I yelled at Sarah in my mind, "Shouldn't we do something?!"

"No. This is their fight, not ours." She replied.

"Aren't you afraid that she's going to kill him?"

"Chris wouldn't let himself be killed like this. Just watch, you'll understand."

I turned back to the fight and watched.

"Well Soap, or should I say Chris Gunnel? Just how do you think that you'll manage to convince me that you didn't want to kill them?" She said expectantly.

"do you honestly think that I wanted to kill them?" Soap said softly, as he closed his eyes to try and push away the tears.

"What?" Niri asked him, legitimately not hearing him.

"I said, Do you REALLY think that I wanted to kill them?" He said much louder and rather angrily; his semblance flaring.

He moved and managed to push her off of him.

He stood back up and faced her.

She backed up, unsure about his question or what was happening, "…uhh..."

Just then, he threw something at her.

The object in question moved too fast for me to see, but somehow Niri was able to see it; or at least well enough to be able to dodge it in time.

With a resounding thunk, the object lodged itself in the wall behind her.

Niri turned around to see what he had thrown at her.

In the wall behind her, about five feet above where her head was, lodged six inches deep, blade first, was a knife.

The knife itself was very decorated and ornate. With the light on it, it glistened and shimmered a very dark blue and black color.

For whatever reason, it reminded me of the beast that I saw in General Gunnel's final moments.

I pondered the cause of this for a moment before something clicked.

The reason why it looked so familiar was because the blade looked as if it was forged from pure darkness.

"What the?" I thought to myself.

"And so the infamous blade finally makes a reappearance." I heard Sarah's voice say in my head.

My head snapped in her direction. "You know what that is?"

"Yes, and now's not the time to explain."

"Why was he tr-" I started to ask when her voice cut me off.

"He wasn't trying to hit her if that's what you're going to ask." I heard Sarah's voice say in my head.

"Wha-? Then what the hell was he doing?" I responded back.

"You'll see."

"You know, I'm kinda getting tired of the bullsh-"

"I said you'll see." She responded in a commanding tone. "In our lives - especially the hectic ones of Hunters; Bounty or not - the answers to our questions can sometimes be found in the stillness of the moment and the stillness of our hearts. If you be quiet and watch, you might answer some questions you've already asked and maybe even some that you don't know to, or haven't thought to, ask yet."

Once again, I turned and watched.

When Niri's eyes met the blade, they widened in fear.

"That blade is the same one that I used to kill your family and friends." Soap said, anger thick in his voice.

Niri slowly turned around, ready to fight the man that destroyed her home to the death.

In a way, I could related to Niri.

Once upon a time, I too felt the need for revenge against those who had wronged me; something that I later found to be not worth the cost in blood, effort, time, and friendships. I personally knew the mental and emotional state that she was in. It was a dark and lonely place to which I never wanted to return. I hoped that she would realize this before she did something that she would regret.

Weapons at the ready, she faced Soap.

Had I been in her shoes, right then and there with the same mental and emotional state; I think I also would have been a little surprised at what I would have found.

Soap was sitting down, his silver-brown eyes slowly becoming sprinklers and chuckling softly, "You know, it's funny. People that learn of our pasts, Sarah and I; they think that Sarah's the monster with all that she's done."

"…" Niri didn't move.

"But in reality, I'm the real monster. I've killed hundreds of people and I've watched more than that die; hell, I wiped an entire city off the map except for you and four others." He said remorsefully; his voice dipping slightly.

He slowly raised his glove covered hands in the air. Once they were raised, he activated his semblance and burnt off his gloves.

Niri still didn't move, her eyes were fixed on Soap.

I was ready to jump in if I need be; but at this point, I didn't think I would have to.

Sarah's voice cut into the quiet of my mind, "Blake, watch the blade."

I quickly located the blade and watched.

The knife started to change; but not back to the darkness from whence it was forged.

At the end of the handle of the black blade, was a small orange flame; a fire that I recognized almost immediately as one of Soap's. The flame slowly started to engulf the handle but looked like it was have a little trouble; almost as if Soap was fighting with the darkness of the blade.

As I continued to watch it, the flame grew in size and intensity. The flame, now a raging fire, quickly engulfed the rest of the blade. The knife disappeared quickly after.

Watching Soap's semblance demolish the blade reminded me of something that I learned a long time ago, but had forgotten about it. "The strength, ferocity, and intensity of your semblance and what it's based on, are determined by several things: the strength of your heart; the determination of your mind; and the essence and power of your soul."

In other words, even though Soap had left his past behind; the darkness that had controlled him, stayed with him and had been battling with him since Summer rescued him. If it was anybody else, their hearts and souls would have been consumed by it a long time ago. That in and of itself spoke volumes about who he was and what made up his heart.

This thought in mind, I turned my attention back to Soap.

He turned his hands over in the air, as if he was looking over his own hands for the first time.

Even from here, I could see the mangled flesh of his hands as they turned and met the artificial light of the bulbs in the ceiling.

Niri observed them with caution and wonder.

"Why do you think that I avoid using my weapon when I can, huh? That thing that controlled me, that demon; it left me with immense power. Even after Summer rescued me from it's clutches, I could still feel it's power inside me and I feel it every time I reach for my weapons. Each time I draw them, I'm afraid that I'll lose control and I'll hurt the ones I care about. Sarah; Blake; Sam; Ruby; Drake; Weiss; Bucky; Yang; hell, even my own traitorous twin sister; all of them; they are the only people I have left in this world." Soap said, tears slowly starting to run down his cheeks.

Niri still just stood there.

"Life is precious. You know that right? You've only got one shot, one opportunity to make sure that the legacy you leave behind is the one that you want people to know you for." He took a deep breath, "I didn't want this. I didn't want an entire organization hunting me. I didn't want to murder an entire city. I didn't want any of this; but it wanted me." His voice cracked.

He chuckled softly again and turned his attention to the cross that hung above the stage, "You know, the way of life I behind had a saying. It went something like this: I lower myself to lowest that I can go, so that I might ensure that none have to experience what I have. But when you're stranded in the deepest valley, the only direction you can go is up; all you have to do is keep moving forward. If I somehow manage to get ahead of you along the way, you keep moving too; I'll meet you there."

"Even after that speech, do you really think that I'm just going to let you go? I've been hunting you for the past 12 years."

"So have many others." He replied; a little more together. "A few still do."

"You've committed hundreds, if not thousands, more crimes and you still slept soundly all the while; I'm not just going to let you walk. You have to pay for you're sins you know." Niri asked him.

Soap's face hardened as he looked her straight in the eyes.

She looked away uncomfortably and backed up further; her face still showing anger.

"What makes you think I've slept soundly, huh? Every single night when I lay my head down to rest beside Sarah's, I see the face of every person that I've killed, innocent or no."

Niri's face changed from one of anger to one of confusion. "I...uhh..."

I could hear Soap's voice waver as he started to tear up, "If you think for even a moment that I've slept soundly over the past 12 years; you'd be wrong. I've paid for my sins, a hundredfold; every single day I get up and shoulder the burden and guilt of the countless kills in my name." Soap said, outright crying now. "I remember every single one of their names, their families, their jobs, everything. Every single time I told myself that it was their time and just another paycheck. People say it gets easier as time goes on; well it doesn't." He took a deep breath. "And you know what? I regret almost every single one of them."

"Almost?" Niri said, tensing up at the word. "Which don't you regret?"

"My very first. The ones that I made in the name of survival after witnessing my family get executed before my very eyes."

"..."

"Look, I'm sorry. I know that you came here for Sarah. If you can't forgive me, then at least remember why you showed up." He stood and turned toward the pew that Sarah and I were hiding behind. "Blake, Sarah. I know you're there; come on out and go. Goodnight." He said.

"Where are you going?" I asked quickly.

He said nothing.

Still in tears, Soap teleported himself away to an unknown location.

We all stood there for a second, unsure what to do.

Niri finally turned and looked at us. "Sarah I-I..."

"No. You've done enough tonight. Go. We'll talk about this later; right now I've got a fiancée to calm down." She turned to me. "Blake. Let me talk to him before you join us. I'll let you know where he is; when I do, use my semblance to get there."

"You know where he is?" I asked.

"No, but I've got a pretty good idea." She said as she activated her semblance and disappeared from the room.

'Well this ought to be interesting.' I thought to myself once I was alone in the sanctuary.

A/N: Long wait = longer chapter. I have to apologize for the last three (as of currently) O.C. submissions on the forum. I have not yet had the time to take a look at them and post what needs to be changed, if anything.

Because I feel bad for how long I have made y'all wait for an update, from today (6-5-2015) through Sunday(6-7-2015) midnight EST, I am going to be giving all O.C.s submitted during that time-slot a (somewhat) major part of the plot. If your OC is to be included in this, please put a * at the end of their name.

Keep in mind that while I say this, I must request that their backstories have enough room for them all to meet and that they do not end up in Vale. I would prefer that they end up in Mistral or Vacuo.

Only one spot remains for the people that will ultimately survive at the end of the story. One of the OC's that get submitted during this time might take up that slot.

We'll see.

Until next time,

Soap out