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CHAPTER 30

The Atlesian dustplane slowly lowered itself onto the Beacon landing pad, throwing dust and small debris into the air. The craft touched down with a solid thump. The dustplane's ramp lowered just as a trio consisting of Alex, Ruby, and Jerloh ran up to greet the transport. There were clicks of shoes against metal as a small group of familiar faces disembarked.

"Ruby!" one of the dustplane's passengers yelled.

"Weiss!" the cloaked girl sprinted to hug her teammate. "You're okay!" To Ruby's surprise, Weiss returned the embrace, holding onto her partner tightly. The younger Schnee sibling shook and dropped to her knees.

"Ruby- My home- Atlas- Charles-" Weiss kept trying to speak, but failed to find her words. Tears streamed down her normally composed face. "Are- Are the others-"

"Yang and Blake are fine," Ruby assured her, still hugging Weiss tightly. "They're a little beaten up, but they're okay." Seeing her friend and partner buckle under the stress, Ruby suddenly felt the events of the day catch up with her. Images of Carbon and Ryland's bloodied forms, Anika disappearing in an instant, and the covered bodies in the academy came flooding into her mind. Ruby felt her own tears join Weiss'. "We're okay... We're all okay..."

"Ruby, maybe you should take Weiss up to the infirmary to talk to Yang and Blake," Alex said softly, placing his palm on the cloaked girl's shoulder. Ruby only nodded with tear-soaked eyes, then began quietly coaxing Weiss onto her feet. The pair of students silently began to walk together towards the school. Alex turned to another pair of people who had come off the Atlesian ship. "Winter, if you and Anise want to go with them-"

"I- I know," a shaken-looking Winter nodded, tightly holding Anise's hand in her own. "I... just can't believe this is happening... it's like something out of a nightmare." Winter visibly shuddered. "I don't know what to do..."

"The first thing you should do is get some rest," Alex said, noticing the tired expressions on the two girls' faces. "I'll tell D to come help you both settle in..." The blond soldier noticed a missing face among the group as Ironwood departed the ship with the last of the passengers. He suddenly had a good idea why the Schnee siblings appeared so distraught.

"Thank you, Alex," Winter's disheveled hair bobbed gently. "I- I think we'll take you up on that offer..." Alex placed a reassuring hand on Winter's shoulder as she passed him. "If either of you need to talk to somebody... you know we're all here, right?"

"Right..." Winter managed a ghost of a smile. "Thank you..." Alex watched the pair depart, Anise remaining latched onto Winter's side. Alex pulled out his scroll and quickly tapped out a message to Dimitri, letting him know they had company.

"Mr. Greene," Ironwood greeted tiredly. "It's good to see you're still alive."

"Same to you, General," Alex turned his attention to the Atlesian. "Though, you're not looking so great at the moment. Do you need to-"

"Rest can wait..." Ironwood cut him off. "I need... to speak with Ozpin, as quickly as possible."

"I think he's in what's left of his office..." Alex replied. "He called Glynda and a friend of mine up there to talk a while ago."

"Very well," the Atlesian General nodded solemnly. "I will head there right away." Ironwood began to walk towards Beacon with a slight, but noticeable, limp.

"General, you might want to get that checked out!" Alex called. Ironwood only waved his hand dismissively as continued walking. The blond soldier sighed, and turned his attention to the remaining disembarked passengers. They consisted mostly of frightened and shell-shocked Atlesian soldiers, Ironwood's troops, but there was one individual that caught his eye. In the midst of the Atlesians was a woman in Guardian armor, helping injured soldiers stay off their injuries. Jerloh noticed her as well.

"Aly? Aly!" the Terror Inheritor yelled, causing the woman to look up. Alex suddenly recognized her facial features, even though the last time he had seen them, they'd been on a seventeen-year-old girl. Jerloh rushed forward to embrace his sister.

"Oh, thank God, you're alive," Alyia breathed. "Are Lex and Marcia-"

"They're both fine," Jerloh nodded, "they're just helping out inside." The Bloodline pointed his thumb towards the academy. Alyia looked down guiltily. "Hey, what's wrong?"

"Jerloh, I- I met Dad," the female Guardian murmured. "He- he was still alive... but the attack started and-" She trailed off and hugged her brother tightly. "We- We lost him all over again..."

"It's okay, Aly," Jerloh patted her back. Alex noticed the Terror Inheritor's face adopt an expression of renewed grief. Alex thought about announcing himself, but upon seeing the two siblings mourning together, he decided to just wait quietly.

Peleus looked over his shoulder at Eve. Ever since her fight with Enigma, the Bloodline had become eerily quiet. She seemed to be locked in deep thought.

"Captain," Peleus tapped Aegeus' shoulder. The Mistral Guardsman was seated in the Bullhead's co-pilot chair. "Can I ask you to take over for a while and keep our heading straight?"

"Of course, Senator," Aegeus nodded emphatically. "I'll call if anything comes up."

"Thank you, Captain," Peleus rose from his chair and walked softly towards the back of the dropship. He could feel the light swaying of the aircraft as it hit a small patch of turbulence. The Senator sat down across from the red-haired woman. "Eve, is something wrong? You've been exceptionally silent ever since we left Mistral."

"Don't concern yourself with it," Eve replied quietly, lifting her head to look at the Senator. "It's... a personal matter..."

"I see..." Peleus said. "Well, I can't force you to tell me what's bothering you, but if you want to talk, I can listen."

"Thank you," Eve answered after a short pause. "I will consider your offer..."

"That's all I ask," the Senator nodded kindly. Silence hung in the air between the two of them for several moments, with only small beeps bouncing off the bullhead's interior from the cockpit.

"So, where exactly are we headed?" Eve asked, breaking the tension.

"Ah, that," Peleus nodded and grabbed a rolled paper map from a pack that had been unceremoniously shoved into a corner of the dropship. "May I?" he gestured to the seat next to Eve. She slowly bobbed her head twice. The Senator sat beside the Bloodline and unrolled the map. "We are headed to the neighboring Kingdom of Vale via a route to the East. Normally, we would have taken a Westerly flight, but the Order's ships had that side of the city locked down, so we had to take the long way."

"So, we're taking a path past the Kingdom of Vacuo?" Eve pointed to the map.

"Yes, that is the intention anyway."

"You expect someone in Vale will be able to help you?"

"Ozpin," Peleus nodded. "If anyone will be capable of helping Mistral, it will be him." Eve nodded her understanding. "Eve, I... know that you probably don't wish to speak about your time in the Order, but do you recall a... 'person'... named 'Carnage'?" Eve flinched at the name.

"Yes... I remember him..." she answered. "Why do you ask?"

"He... He killed Thetis. That... monster... murdered my wife," Peleus put the map down on the floor and grasped his hands together tightly. "When the time comes, I want to be able to avenge her... and I was wondering if you had any knowledge of that thing..."

"Carnage is more machine than man," Eve answered. "His line is powered by blood-lust. With that metal shell around whatever's left of his body, you likely will not do much harm to him alone..."

"It doesn't matter," Peleus replied. "I will fight him and the rest of the Order to my last breath. For my people, and for Thetis. Does he have any sort of weakness?"

"Agony is the one who crafted his body... and he is not one to accept flaws lightly..." Eve answered. "As far as I know, only brute strength will damage that shell."

"I see..." Peleus said with disappointment. "There has to be a way... something nobody has thought of..." The Senator saw a small saddened smile pass over Eve's face. "Did I say something wrong?"

"No... you just sounded a lot like a pair of people I know..." Eve said.

"Your family?" Peleus inquired.

"Not... in the traditional sense..." Eve answered, shaking her blood-red hair back and forth. "In a way... they are my siblings... but at the same time, they really aren't... It's complicated..."

"I don't see why you'd think that," Peleus stated. "You may have people that you share blood with, but family are the people who truly care about you. They're the people that you love. It sounds like your siblings are just that." Eve looked down in thought, quietly processing the Senator's words. For the first time, Peleus saw an earnest smile cross Eve's face, if only for a moment.

"Thank you, Senator..." Eve said softly. "That... helps. More than you know."

Elise looked around at the expanse of gray ash-covered land around her. The smell of fresh decay assaulted her nose.

"Where am I?" she said aloud. Somehow, the voice that had greeted her could hear her when she spoke. A mountainous pile of rubble lay around her, consisting of polished black stone and clear crystals. "What happened here?"

Long ago, this land was my home. It was once lush and plentiful... but, it was not meant to last... The creatures of Grimm invaded this land countless cycles ago, laying waste to our civilization... My people constructed a great temple, home to a device that would allow us to save ourselves from the endless horde... but we were never able to use it properly. Only recently was someone able to use my peoples' greatest creation, and in the aftermath, the temple was deemed too dangerous and destroyed. Now the last mark of my people has faded from this world.

"I'm sorry to hear that," Elise said sadly. She could only imagine how beautiful the land had looked once. She caught sight of old stone foundations of what might have been homes surrounding the temple. "You said 'your people'. Were you their King?"

In a matter of speaking, yes... I was selected to lead in the waning days of the Kingdom... The High Priests of the time believed I was the only one capable of properly utilizing the temple's power to save us... As it turned out, all of us were wrong... I became one with the temple, but I saved no one... Now I can only hope to be free from this eternal life without rest...

"Can I help?" Elise asked. A feeling drifted through the air, as if the land itself was surprised at her question. Suddenly, a gentle breeze flowed across the stagnant gray land, and Elise heard the voice laugh.

You are truly a selfless being to offer a dead man assistance. Perhaps it was the Gods' will that you appeared here... Maybe this is a sign... First, a man from your world was the first to use the temple... then another of your world destroyed the temple's device, inadvertently preventing it from being misused... perhaps you, Elise, will be the one to free me...

"Wait, there were others from Earth here?" Elise asked. "Who were they?"

The first was Lem Cadellin, a father desperate to see his daughter once more... The next was a man born with no name, who held great confusion and pain in his heart... Like you, they both wielded great power. I believe you would know them as "Bloodlines". These men controlled wind and pandemonium... what is your power?

"I'm the first member of the Archangel Bloodline. Light is my element," Elise answered truthfully. "I guess the two before me were Vortex and Chaos?"

Indeed they were, but you need not worry about them. Lem Cadellin died on this very land, finding his peace before the end. The Nameless departed injured and angry, but also with a last gift from the temple. He too, will find his peace someday...

"If you did all that, then I really do have to help you," Elsie smiled into the air. "Someone who would give such tortured people chances at happiness deserves to find their own rest."

You truly are a unique being... To be happy for your enemies... Do you not hate them?

"That wouldn't be right," Elise shook her head. "Everyone has a reason they fight or kill... I- I honestly pity them more than I hate them... even if I can't agree with what they do..."

Hm. I see. Very well, Elise, I will accept your offer of help. But first, there is something I must show you.

A bright golden glow flowed across the towering pile of rubble, gathering into a single spot on a particularly large slab of smooth black stone. The light formed itself into a shining map.

This is Remnant. As of this moment, you are standing here. A point on the map began to glow brightly. To find what you seek, I suggest searching the Kingdom of Vale, to the Southeast. This path will take you to the South, and then East to your destination.

"Thank you," Elise smiled softly. "And in exchange for this, you want me to free you?"

Yes. My life is still bound to one last fragment of the crystal that powered the temple... I would like for you to destroy it. That should release me from this existence...

Elise looked down as a nearly blinding shine released rays of light from somewhere within the stony rubble. She reached her hand into the rubble, retrieving a palm-sized shard of perfectly clear crystal. She would not have even known she was holding something, if not for the weight and slight distortion of light through the item.

"'Should'? You aren't sure?" Elise said worriedly. "What if it doesn't work?"

Then I will assume the Gods have something else in mind for me... I can only ask you to try and thank you for your kindness...

"Okay, then..." Elise clasped the crystal between her hands and gathered energy in her palms. "I hope this works..." She released a blast of light upon the crystal, causing the material to disintegrate into a fine dust. Silence hung in the air around her. "Did it work?"

Yes... I believe it did... Elise turned to find a golden ghost of a young boy. He didn't look a day past his fifteenth birthday. His form began to waver and fade, but Elise could clearly make out a smile on his face. Thank you, Elise...

In a flash of light, the King vanished, leaving a patch of the gray land cleared of ash. Elise stood in the center of the cleared circle for several moments. She smiled up at the sky and flared her ability, taking one last look at the fading map.

"You're welcome," she whispered. A pair of glowing dove wings appeared at Elise's back, and with a single flap, she soared into the air. With her long blood-red hair flowing behind her, Elise flew off into the horizon.

"Ozpin, what exactly are you trying to say?" Ironwood asked as the Beacon headmaster paced around his ruined office.

"During the attack on Vale, Mr. Greene reported a woman wielding immense power that attacked both him and the Order," Ozpin explained. "She appeared fixated on acquiring a specific young woman who the report says also possessed powerful and unusual abilities."

"Do you think-"

"Yes," the headmaster cut off the General with a sharp nod. "I am fairly certain that this 'Shiro' is the one responsible for attacking three of our protected assets. She accidentally killed her first target, successfully drained her second, and then only partially absorbed the third..."

"That would make the girl she was after..."

"Correct..." Ozpin rubbed his temples. "I believe that our ability to be selective in our allies has been brought to an end... Call Mr. Greene and his friends... We have much to tell them."

Shiro kicked a glob of sand into the air as she trekked through the desert around her. Her expression rapidly shifted between snarling and smiling. Her anger at being so exceedingly close to claiming her target had only grown, but when she thought about her ultimate victory, she couldn't help but smile.

Shiro stopped and flicked her tongue into the air, as if tasting it. A wide grin spread over her face as she detected an energy signature. It was different than the target she had almost gotten, but it was most certainly one of the people she was after.

"Well, I guess fate is still on my side after all," the pale woman laughed. "Here, I lost one Maiden, only to be placed right next to another. And this time, there won't be anything to stop me."

A/N: Well, today I finished the outline for Bloody Evolution. Barring having to split any chapters, we're looking at 47 chapters plus an epilogue.

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