"You realize how suspicious it is that we're in your company's building, right?" Celeste asked as the elevator rose.
"He's the one that decided on the location," Nivens replied blandly while staring straight ahead at the closed doors. "Besides, he's not expecting any of us to walk out of here, so suspicious or not doesn't matter to him."
"According to the idiots downstairs you're the special exception."
"I'm not sure why though, I know he doesn't care about me."
"Who is he?" Riliane demanded, holding herself back.
"There's no point in telling you when you're about to meet him." The doors opened and Nivens walked out, "I'll give you a hint though, all three of you have already met him before." Irritated at his usual hobby of avoiding the question the girls followed him down the ornately decorated halls of the offices. He stopped at a set of double doors at the end, the metal plate next to them read 'Branch Manager'. Taking a deep breath, Nivens suddenly kicked the doors in.
"That was rather unwarranted," A uniquely refined voice called out. "I thought you were typically one to conserve energy, rather than waste it on grandiose displays."
"Yeah, you seem to have a lot of misconceptions about me," Nivens growled as he walked closer and his classmates fanned into the room.
"This is unfortunately true. You have proven to be quite the disappointment." The owner of the voice stepped back from the window and revealed his face to them all, he was easily recognizable as the only differences to his appearance from before were the dark teal framed glasses he wore and the long dark grey cloak that hid most of his body. "I had hoped you cared for Claire at least a fraction of what I do; however, if this is the choice you have made I will try my best to make sure your injuries are not too severe. I would hate to watch her cry over someone like you."
"Why? Cause she'd be thinking about someone other than you? Get over yourself, old man."
"This new attitude of yours is becoming an annoyance rather quickly."
"Then do something about it. I'm not afraid of you."
The girls could hardly track his movements as Nivens caught Orelon's slender blade mere inches from puncturing his throat. "Then it seems you have been away for too long. You have forgotten your place."
"Oh, shut up already," Celeste complained as she ran in and punched at him with her extended blades.
Orelon didn't even flinch as the attack was being blocked by a dark slate-colored light. His harsh gaze turned down to her, "Perhaps it was your brashnes that influenced him."
"She doesn't have anything to do with this," Nivens told him adamantly as he forced the sword away from himself. He set off two quick punches, followed by a kick, but never connected as Orelon swiftly moved back.
They all felt a small gust of wind as Olive moved behind him for an attack. There was a clang of metal as Orelon turned in time and blocked her slash with what three of them could recognize as his cane, though it seemed to be missing the handle and the blue netting design was a brighter blue than before. Olive retreated back and shook her hand that was holding her weapon, she thought she had felt a shock upon impact. Riliane moved to the side wall next to a coffee table and fired two shots. The first whizzed past his line of sight, getting his attention. The second was blocked by his aura as he turned to face her. She transformed her weapon just in time to block his strike against her and felt sharp twinges in her hands. Sensing him go for an attack with his dominant hand, Riliane shifted her lance to block it, but accidentally ended up giving him an opening for him to jab her shoulder with the rod in his left hand again. Instead of the pulses she felt before, this time Riliane was forced to cry out in pain as a powerful shock spread throughout her body.
"No!" Celeste ran forward to close the distance. She punched the air twice and ice copies of her blades flew out towards the cloaked man. He dodged one and blocked the other. Assuming he was distracted, Nivens dashed and grabbed his cloak, his weapon burned a hole through the material. His aura protected him from getting his cheek sliced open and he backed away so to form a triangle with Celeste and Olive around Orelon.
Not caring about the hostility around him, Orelon lifted his cloak to inspect the damage done to it. Deeming it unworthy to continue being worn he tossed it aside. "Why must children be so meddlesome?" He complained quietly.
"Because apparently wisdom doesn't come with age," Nivens answered. He flinched at the hard look he was given and Riliane took the opportunity to release the arrow she'd been holding onto. Orelon was fast enough to avoid getting hit directly, but when it landed behind him embers burst forth and set the wooden desk ablaze.
Celeste dashed in first, with her arm blades matching the desk, she missed her first strike at his side and he parried her second attempt. Flicking her wrist, she trapped his sword in the gap of her weapon and smirked, "You're not that tough." She pulled him down and readied another punch, but he acted first. As she pulled, Orelon crushed his heel into her toes, causing her to hesitate from the pain, and then jabbed his sheath to her bare stomach. "AAGH!" Her limbs were spasming.
"Celeste!" Riliane charged while her weapon transformed. She swung for his head, but came into contact with only his aura. He hit the lance away with his electrified rod then spun swiftly to stab at her with his blade. Her reaction was just fast enough to mostly block the attack.
"Olive!" Celeste commanded while regaining control of her limbs. Both girls covered their weapons with electricity and slashed at him. Orelon was able to block Celeste's attack, but couldn't match Olive who hit his shoulder-blade. They backed off quickly, expecting a retaliation and fearful of his minimal reaction. Other then his natural reflex, he didn't seem to notice that they were using dust at all.
"Idiots," Nivens tsked as he dashed in for another attack. "He can manipulate voltage." He jumped over the blade swung towards him and contorted his body in the air to kick at the back of Orelon's head, but he was able to pivot and hit Nivens' leg with the electrified rod. Landing with a grunt he lunged out, grabbed his father's leg and released a burst of plasma. "That's public information."
Orelon kicked himself free just in time to block Olive again, but Rilianes arrow was able to pierce his arm. He retreated a few feet with a tsk as he ripped the arrow out and let his aura heal the wound. "I must dispose of this suit now."
"Don't worry," Celeste took a deep breath before going in for another attack, "You won't need it in prison."
"I will not submit myself to the confines of a cell," He replied while blocking her strikes and kicking out.
Their battle continued for what felt like an eternity as Orelon had the distinct advantage of speed, skill, and experience. He parried and countered near every attack the students made, the few that did get through were absorbed by his aura. The four were all feeling the weight of exhaustion and the girls had backed off for a moment to try and catch their breaths, but Nivens stubbornly remained. Now with the opportunity to observe the Pictos fighting each other it became obvious to Olive that Orelon was a major influence on Nivens' fighting style. Both of them had almost mirrored stances and footwork, but she noticed Nivens was being overly aggressive and sloppy where Orelon was still perfectly composed. Or so it seemed. She caught a glimpse of Nivens' face and was confused, he had a smirk; that overconfident grin they had all seen so many times. Was she missing something?
Nivens made another attempt at a punch only to have be, as expected, blocked by the thin blade. A bright burst of energy released from his gauntlets and he was able to grab the sword. He pulled his father down and with his other hand dug his claws into Orelon's shoulder and released another burst of plasma. Nivens could see a slate colored shockwave cover Orelon's body as he winced and retaliated by jabbing his sheath into Nivens' gut with a surge of electricity. He was forced to stumble back and yelled out in pain as Orelon slashed through his chest, just deep enough to make him bleed.
That's what it was. Olive could see now why Nivens had been smiling. Orelon had shifted his grip on the sheath and winced as he placed his hand on his shoulder. His composure was an act. His stamina was wearing thin. As Orelon made another attack against Nivens, slicing through the top of his shoulder as the boy partially dodged, Olive rejoined the fight and slashed his lower back. He moved to attack her, but held his swing until he felt the wind to his side and smacked Olive across the face. Nivens blocked a stabbing strike at his ribs with the back of his hand, causing the dust containment to shatter under the pressure and release a large burst forcing all of them back.
Riliane tried to focus her aim, but her hands were shaking as she fired multiple arrows at Orelon. Several of them stuck into the right side of his body as he was recovering from the shockwave and made him drop his weapon. From her place across the room, Celeste stabbed her blades into the ground and flames erupted at his feet, causing him to stagger and fall to one knee. His eyes moved towards Olive as she approached, but he remained still. She calmly flipped her wakizashi and thrust it forward.
The room was filled with a screech of metal and a scream of pain, but Olive remained completely unfazed. "What are you doing Xanthic?"
"Stop… Pl-please…" Xanthic weakly grabbed his arm at the end of the large gash.
"Why are you protecting him?"
"I…" Tears rolled down his cheeks, "I c-can't lose ano-nother family…"
"What are you saying?" Riliane demanded, her breath shaking from exhaustion.
"J-just please, don't… don't hurt hi-"
Orelon grabbed Xanthic's rabbit ear and forced him to the ground, "I do not need to be protected by something as pathetic as you." He whimpered in pain and curled into himself. Without a care for the wellbeing of the faunus, Orelon stood up on shaking legs. Adjusting his glasses and surveying the room he sheathed his sword and used its primary purpose as a cane. "If I am to fail here, then I will gladly accept my death."
Olive moved herself into a stance and quickly glanced around the room. Riliane was using her lance for support and was clearly anxious to check on her partner. Celeste was still on the other side of the room, now with ice shards covering her blades. Olive closed her eyes and Orelon turned towards the direction the wind was coming from, but Olive hadn't moved. She was still in the same place next to Xanthic. By the time he had realised what happened, it was too late. He felt a searing pain, like that of frostbite, as Celeste jumped up slicing his back and then punched down forcing him into the floor. Ice crystals formed around him to keep him in place as she ran over to join Riliane and Olive by Xanthic.
"Call the police," Olive instructed her leader as she took her face mask off and wrapped it tightly near Xanthic's shoulder. "Make sure to get Jared and tell him it's a brass level case."
"Is he going to be alright?" Celeste asked.
"Normally it shouldn't be lethal, but his aura was completely depleted and he has other injuries too, so the danger is if he bleeds out." Her gaze shifted momentarily to the large burn over his ribs, "I'm surprised he got up after that one."
It was quiet in the room, save the crackling fire from the desk, which Celeste put out after they had all calmed down for a moment. Xanthic had lost consciousness, but his breathing was steady. "I think they're here," Riliane said.
Olive got up and went out to greet the officers as they approached. "That's a surprise," The officer said calmly. "The girl outside had more blood on her than you do."
"I haven't killed anyone, Jared," Olive responded blandly. "But my teammate needs to get to a hospital soon." She lead them into the room where Celeste was carefully holding Riliane's hand as they sat next to Xanthic.
"Right," Jared pointed over at Orelon's body and spoke to the two officers that were behind him. "Take him down to the station and keep him away from any of the wiring." He then walked over and kneeled down opposite of the two girls and blinked at the boy in front of him, "Thats…" He shook his head and took out a first aid kit and began working. "You're lucky we have a system for dealing with the Braz Clan's messes. And that I was the one that I was around when you called…" Jared sighed as he finished tightening the bandages and moved to apply a disinfectant to the burn and smaller cuts. "I'm sorry… It shouldn't have come to this…" He gave a sad laugh, "Guess I still need to be more skeptical, especially about people I trust."
"What do you mean?" Celeste asked.
"Well, I um… the reason we didn't get here sooner was because the chief was trying to stop us. I ended up having to… I shot my dad in the hand and managed to get everyone to listen to me."
"So we were right not to trust them."
Olive couldn't help her smile from returning, "I can't believe you actually shot him."
"It was just his hand so he'd drop his weapon," Jared defended himself adamantly.
"So what happens now?" Riliane asked quietly.
"Well, I'm going to have to take all of you in for questioning again. I especially have a few questions for the young Mr. Picto." He looked around the room again, "So how about we all head back to the station? Your other friends should already be on their way." They all agreed and Jared carefully picked up Xanthic and lead the way. Olive seemed to have a renewed spring in her step, while Riliane and Celeste seemed to be struggling to walk even with each other's support.
The students all met together briefly at the police station before being separated into interrogation rooms, again. The only exception was Xanthic, who was sent to a small clinic, and Eve who they were told was already in processing. The night carried on quietly with high tensions until the front door opened and Ozpin entered the police station. Having been called with the news of his students, he had stopped to visit Xanthic before arriving just in time to meet the rest of the students in the lobby. He talked with them and after a lengthy conversation with a concerned Eve and an officer who seemed to be incharge he continued to the back of the station with a pair of different officers. As they entered the viewing area for the interrogation room, He looked at the girl sitting on the other side of the one way mirror. The girl was waiting patiently in a prisoner's jumpsuit and a blindfold. Turning to the officers Ozpin questioned "Why the blindfold?".
The officers nervously looked at each other before one answered, "She uh… requested it."
Giving only the slightest reaction Ozpin continued, "And her clothes?"
One officer was quicker to answer this time, "We had to confiscate them for evidence. It will take a while to test them, but between that and her weapons we are confident that we can connect her to several unsolved cases."
Ozpin nodded in response, "I assume you looked into Miss Glamis' claims?"
The officers talked quietly to each other for a second before responding, "We are currently in the process… but the data from Orelon Picto so far connects many of those victims to Humanity… but that doesn't change the facts." The officer stated adamantly pointing at the girl in the other room, "She is a cold blooded killer."
Seemingly disinterested Ozpin moved to enter the interrogation room idly replying to the officer on his way out, "We will see about that." As he entered the interrogation room the girl turned to face him in response to the sound. Sitting down across from her he sat in silence for a few seconds before greeting her with a simple "Hello." The girl nodded in response but remained silent, prompting Ozpin to continue, "My name is Professor Ozpin, I am the headmaster of Beacon Academy. Miss Glamis tells me your name is Yukina."
Yukina gave another nod, this time along with a quiet "hello."
Echoing his question to the Officers Ozpin asked, "What is with the blindfold?"
Hesitant, Yukina responded after shifting nervously for a few seconds, "I don't want to hurt anyone."
"And I don't think you will," Ozpin replied before leaning forward and removing the blindfold. "It is nice to meet you Miss Freesis." Avoiding his gaze Yukina only nodded in reply. "Eve has told me alot about you, as have the other students… and the police." Noting her only reaction being to the mention of Eve, he continued, "You have been very busy… not only with Humanity, as I am aware of your encounters with my students have been less than desirable." Still trying to avoid his gaze Yukina squirmed in her chair. "But I also have been told you tried to protect my students." Yukina look up in surprise meeting his gaze for the first time "I'm told you even gave up your vendetta in the end for their sake… so I have one question about all of this," Ozpin leaned forward, "Why?"
Holding his gaze Yukina responded confidently, "I did what I had to do. Even though I knew it wasn't right. I thought it was what had to be done."
"And what do you plan to do now?"
Sitting silently for a bit again, Yukina replied quietly, "It doesn't matter… as long as I don't lose Eve again…"
With a nod Ozpin stood up and turned to leave before saying one last thing, "There is darkness coming Miss Freesis… and people who are willing to do anything for the ones they love are exactly what is needed to stop it." Entering the other room Ozpin spoke to the now single officer who was disinterestedly playing on his scroll, "Miss Freesis has been working in tandem with us to investigate those with ties to Humanity and uncover their leader. We will send over the paperwork detailing her defection from Humanity and subsequent activities promptly. We apologize for not informing the police, but we had no way of knowing that Humanity did not have an agent inside. Thank you very much for your cooperation." The dumbfounded officer attempted to respond, but was unable as Ozpin exited the room. Returning to the front of the station, Ozpin spoke briefly to the waiting Eve who quickly left to find her friend in the back of the station. After watching her leave Ozpin walked out of the station and into the night without another word.
