So it's been a while, and I apologise. Between trying to finish a novel before my birthday (which is in just under two months), working on my Frozen fanfiction (which is actually being more neglected than this one) trying not to blow off my homework (an endeavour at which I'm failing) and studying for the exams I have in a few weeks' time I have a lot on my plate.
But I have had time to watch RWBY volume 2. Who else is loving it so far? I mean, from the most epic food fight in the history of man (or Faunus), to the best teens-vs-giant-robot battle ever, I am honestly in love with this season.
This story is probably going to go AU a some point soon. I've tried to avoid anything that might contradict season 2 canon, and I'll try to integrate what I can when I can, but I won't be able to avoid it for long.
Anyway, more Vol 2 fangirling at the end. For now, let's get to the chapter that I've made you wait so long for. Though only two people are following this story, so I only know for sure that two people are waiting on this (by the way, I'm going ahead and saying thanks again to TheDelta724. This guy has left three of my five reviews and is the only person so far to review more than once, so I'm going to go ahead and call him my most loyal reviewer).
Oh my gods guys, I finished writing this before midnight! I still didn't proofread though. Just as an FYI, I made up Dell City.
Anyway, on to the chapter.
Disclaimer: FANfiction. Enough said.
Chapter Five: Storm in a Bottle - Part 2: Storm Warning
Dr Oobleck whizzed around at the front of the class, talking non-stop about the founding of the hunter academies. It was actually relatively interesting. But Blake's focus wasn't on the teacher. Instead, she peered out of the corner of her eye at the wolf-Faunus sitting a few seats away. Silas's eyes were on the professor, his alert focus giving no indication that he'd been out all night the night before. Or the night before that.
It had been two weeks since Blake had first discovered the grey-haired boy sneaking out. Almost every night since, she had snuck out and watched as he dropped out his bedroom window like a shadow and snuck down to the docks before heading over to the city. One night she'd stayed up to see when he came back. He hadn't returned until five o'clock the next morning.
Blake was still no closer now to discovering his secret than she had been then. The few glimpses she had managed to get of what was under the cloak revealed nothing but simple leather clothes and boots, with no particular defining features. He always had his leather satchel with him, but she had yet to receive any clue as to what was inside, aside from his jetboard.
Frustrated by her lack of progress, Blake had seriously considered sneaking into Team BSTN's room to snoop around for answers, but she had dismissed the thought almost immediately. If it had been Silas's room alone, she might have done it. But he shared his room with three others, and to sneak in would be to breach their privacy as well as his, something she wouldn't do to friends unless absolutely necessary.
She could have confronted him, but Silas didn't seem the type to give up his secrets easily. His teammates might have been easier nuts to crack, but Blake had no idea whether or not they knew anything of the wolf-Faunus's night-time wanderings. Whenever he snuck out, Silas was always alone and, as far as Blake could tell, his team was always asleep. All in all, she was running low on options.
Fortunately, today was Friday. Having failed to discern anything from the school side, Blake had made plans to spend the night in the city, hoping to catch Silas at whatever it was he was doing. She just prayed that he didn't choose tonight of all nights to stay behind.
Silas sat on the roof of one of Beacon's towers, the ends of his grey trench coat fluttering in the breeze and a frown set on his face. The final class of the day had let out an hour ago, and he'd been up here ever since. Taka and Nate were back in the dorm room and Bastion would be out on his customary afternoon walk by now (most likely on his way to see Lilac again). Normally, Silas would be taking an afternoon nap now to make up for the sleep he would miss tonight. Today, however, there was something on his mind.
Blake was onto him. Of that much he was absolutely certain. He'd sensed someone following him from the dorms to the docks for the last two weeks, and he'd managed to catch sight of Blake tailing him just over a week ago. He could hope that she didn't know that it was him sneaking out, but somehow he thought otherwise. He and Blake had developed a silent friendship in the last month or so. They hardly ever exchanged words, but they understood each other anyway. Blake was a kindred spirit, a more reserved soul. He didn't need words to understand her.
But for the last two weeks he'd been sensing suspicion from the Faunus girl. She was silent, speaking to him only when necessary and not communicating at all otherwise. The others didn't notice anything off; for all they knew, Blake was behaving perfectly normally towards him. But Silas could tell she had found him out.
The wolf-Faunus sighed and ran a hand through his hair. Did she know his secret?
The more he thought about it, the more confident he was that she didn't. She may have followed him to the docks, but she had no way that he knew of to follow him to the city unnoticed. She didn't know. Not yet. But even with the little he knew about Blake, he could tell that she was not the type to give up easily. He'd have to figure something out, and soon.
For a moment, he debated the idea of staying behind tonight. Then he discarded the notion. Angelo and Roden would be waiting for him. He'd just have to risk going until he found a way to dissuade Blake. Perhaps he'd just have to tell her. She probably wouldn't let up otherwise.
He sighed. In any case, that wasn't a problem for right now. He turned away from the edge and began to make his way back along the roof. He was going to be out all night again, and that nap would be needed.
Bastion held his hands out over the wilted, drooping plant before him and closed his eyes. His aura awoke in response to his will. He breathed deeply, slowly, as if he were meditating. Slowly, sleepily, he felt his aura begin to reach out, seeking the warmth of the other life blossoming beneath his palm. Carefully, he touched the plant's aura with his own and slowly, ever so slowly, began to allow energy from his own aura to flow into the plant's. Opening his eyes, he watched as the plant seemed to straighten, the leaves deepening in colour and the flowers seeming to grow more vibrant under his hands.
After several long minutes he began to feel tired, the drain on his energy taking its toll. He slowly withdrew from the plant, returning his aura to the confines of his own body. Beside him, Lilac smiled and applauded softly. "Well done. That's an improvement on last time. You're a fast learner."
Bastion grinned at the platinum-haired girl. "I have a great teacher."
Lilac blushed and smiled shyly.
Bastion's own smile widened, despite his attempts to hold it back. He couldn't help it. Seeing her smile made him want to smile. And besides, she looked so cute when she was blushing.
For the last two weeks, Bastion's afternoons had all been spent in the maze garden with Lilac, slowly learning the art of growing plants using aura. He had not actually grown anything as of yet though. The first week had been spent getting better in touch with his aura, and learning to seek out other auras in the vicinity. He had actually only begun to work with the plants in recent days.
Once he had, he had seen immediately why Lilac had refused to let him attempt anything with her garden. On his first attempt to feed a plant energy he had instead drained it entirely, almost killing the poor thing. Luckily, Lilac had been able to coax it back from the brink of death. Since then, he had made progress in small steps, finally managing to do it somewhat successfully for the first time only yesterday.
Bastion had learned two things in the last two weeks. One; plants needed a surprising amount of energy. Two; he thought that Lilac Delphia was very, very beautiful indeed. Her smile was like an angel's, sweet and pure as the air in springtime. Her pale, white-gold hair gleamed like silk in the sunlight, and her eyes… they were indescribable. So beautifully crystalline yet so soft and gentle. Bastion had caught himself drowning in those eyes more than once in recent days.
Maybe he should just ask her out.
He shook his head vigorously. No. No, he was not going to be asking anyone out. Least of all the Delphia Oracle, eldest daughter of the noble Delphia line.
"Bastion? Are you okay?"
He blinked, her voice bringing him out of his reverie. Her soft, kind voice that lilted ever so gently with the faintest strains of music… Gah! No!
He smiled nervously, a blush staining his cheeks. "Just fine. I just spaced out for a minute, sorry."
"Are you sure?" she asked. "You look a little red."
"I'm sure," he smiled, frantically willing his blush to fade, nice and easy. If he just stopped thinking about how beautiful she was, he'd be fine. But that was easier said than done. She looked so beautiful when she was worried… Oh for heaven's sake! He would not be asking anyone out today!
She looked concernedly at him, amethyst eyes soft and inviting.
…Maybe tomorrow.
"Really, I'm fine," he grinned. "Ready to try again."
She looked at him searchingly a moment longer, and then smiled. "I think that's enough for today."
His face dropped in disappointment and she laughed. "Don't look so sad. We'll try again tomorrow."
He sighed. "You're right. If I try again now I'll probably just wilt the flowers."
At the mention of wilted flowers, Lilac's face turned pensive. "Yeah," she murmured softly.
"Lilac?" He leaned forward, concerned. "You okay?"
She nodded. "I'm fine. It's just…I had a vision last night."
Bastion sat up straighter. He didn't know much about Lilac's visions, but from what he'd heard they were never wrong. "What was it about?" he asked.
"I had the same dream again," she began.
He nodded. She'd told him about her chessboard dream before, as well as the dream of Beacon.
"it was exactly the same as every other time I've had it," she continued. "Whatever part of our fate it indicates hasn't changed. But this time I had another dream straight afterwards. It wasn't long, only a few moments at best. Just a wilted rose falling into a pit of darkness. And then I woke up."
Bastion frowned thoughtfully. "A wilted rose, huh?"
She nodded, and his frown deepened. He could think of a few things that could mean, but none of them were good.
Seeing his expression, she smiled. "Don't worry about it. I've talked to Ozpin, and he's going to think on it further. Whatever it is, we can't do anything to change it. Let's just put it out of our minds for now, okay?"
She stood and held out a hand. He smiled and allowed her to pull him to his feet, his crutches in the other hand.
He went to tuck his crutches under his arms, and then stopped. He glanced down at the implements in his hands, and then at the bench on the other side of the clearing. He hadn't practised in a while…
Making a decision, he handed both crutches to Lilac. "Hold these for me."
She frowned in confusion. "Don't you need them?"
"I'm hoping not," he replied, eyes focused on the bench.
He took a deep breath, and then took a step forward. And then another. And then a third.
Lilac watched in amazement as he walked forward, steady step after steady step, hesitantly at first and then with more confidence. He was halfway there. Then three quarters of the way there. He hadn't even trembled once. Now he was only a few steps away.
And then his legs began to quiver.
Lilac rushed forward, crutches in one hand, the other outstretched and ready to catch him if he fell. To her relief, he managed to make the last shaky steps unaided. He sagged onto the bench, stretching his legs in front of him with a grimace.
She sighed in relief, taking a seat beside him and handing him his crutches. He accepted them with a smile, wincing a little when his leg twinged with pain.
She watched anxiously in silence as he rubbed his legs, trying to massage the pain away.
After a moment, she spoke. "How much does it hurt?"
He shrugged. "Not that much. I probably make it look worse than it is. It'll go away soon."
Lilac just watched, concern pulling down the corners of her mouth. One hand began to creep forward hesitantly. Then she pulled it back. For a long moment shyness battled with the urge to help a friend, until the latter won. She reached forward slowly and tentatively laid her palm on his thigh.
Closing her eyes, she let her aura flow through her, its soothing chill, like a breeze on a hot summer day, filling her body and emanating from her skin. She breathed deeply, as her father had taught her, calming and centring herself. She felt her aura reach out, seeking the auras that emanated from all around her, from the grass beneath her feet to the flowers in the garden to the insects in the trees. Each was a light, a warmth, a source of life. And the brightest light of all emanated from Bastion.
Slowly, gently, she began to ease her aura towards him, washing lightly over the edges of his own. He accepted her immediately, his aura welcoming hers. In tune as she was with the energy of her life and soul, Lilac's breath hitched in surprise as she felt the touch of his aura, so soft and gentle that it was almost a caress. No one else's aura had ever felt like this. No one else's had ever welcomed hers so eagerly.
Now that she was touching his aura, she could feel the feel the angry heat of throbbing pain that shuddered through his legs. Gently, she focused her aura through her palm, feeding energy and strength back into the afflicted limbs, encompassing the heat of the pain and soothing it, cooling it, until it faded into nothing.
She inhaled deeply once more and removed her hand from his thigh, drawing her aura back into herself. She exhaled and opened her eyes with a smile, to see Bastion gingerly touching his legs with a look of wonder. He raised his eyes to hers and gaped in awe. And beneath the awe there was an expression of indescribable gratitude.
"You healed me," he breathed, as if scarcely able to believe it.
She shrugged modestly. "I didn't actually do much. I just helped your legs recover faster and eased the pain."
He looked her in the eye seriously. "Lilac, when I try walking more than a few feet without my crutches, my legs go weak and spasm with pain. It hurts to walk, even with my crutches. When most people's legs get tired and give out on them, they get a dull ache. When that happens to me, I get aches and cramps that feel like someone is cutting up my legs and burning them from the inside. Sometimes, after I've pushed myself too hard or after a bad fall, they hurt so badly that I can't walk at all. Sometimes I can't even move. And nothing helps. Normal pain medication doesn't work. Anaesthetics only put me to sleep. The pain is still there when I wake up. Nothing, nothing at all, has ever been able to make it just go away."
He leaned forward and clasped her hands in his, needing to make her understand. "Lilac, what you just did is more than anyone else has ever been able to do for me in my life. Thank you."
The full import of his words and the true depth of his gratitude hit her like a freight train. Overwhelmed, she blushed shyly. "You're welcome."
Bastion smiled softly. This girl, this wonderful girl in front of him, had just given him one of the most precious gifts that he had ever received, and she had done it without even realising it.
Almost without realising what he was doing, he raised her hands, still clasped in his own, to his lips and kissed them.
Lilac's blush deepened and she ducked her head timidly, a smile playing on her lips. Bastion's own cheeks were dusted with pink as he returned her hands. She took one back, resting it on the bench beside her. The other she left in his hands.
Midnight shadows cloaked the alleys of the city of Vale, shrouding the narrow corners of the city in darkness. In the western sector of the city, the industrial district, a dark figure flitted from rooftop to rooftop like a ghost, unseen and unheard by any below.
Sentinel shot across the rooftops, heading deeper into the industrial district. He could see his destination in the distance, marked by a slender structure that rose above the surrounding buildings. He still had plenty of time to get there, but there was no harm in showing up early.
But first…
He turned sharply and dashed off to his right, making the five-metre jump between one rooftop and the next like it was nothing, turning a front-flip as he did so. Landing with the softest of thuds, he took off northwards, leaping from building to building and running across narrow ledges like a cat. Entering a sector of neglected, run-down warehouses, he spotted his objective; an abandoned building that rose barely a single storey above its surroundings. Sentinel scaled the side of the building with a single leap, fingers catching the corner of the roof and hoisting himself up in a second.
He walked slowly out onto the roof, past a large brick chimney that was taller than he was. He stopped in the middle and tilted his head up to stare at the shattered moon. His black, feature-less mask covered all but his eyes, concealing all emotion and thought.
Without moving he called out softly, his voice disguised by the distortion device in his mask. "I know you're there."
There was a whispered curse, and then Blake Belladonna stepped out from behind the chimney.
"When you know I was following you?"
Sentinel smiled under the mask. "Not long after you started. We were still back in the residential district."
She raised an eyebrow, though he couldn't see it with his back still turned. "You're good."
"I have to be. I can't survive as a vigilante if I let people tail me without my knowing. But you're not bad yourself. If I hadn't been," expecting you, he thought, but out loud he continued, "on alert, I never would have detected your presence." After a pause, he said, "May I ask why you're following me?"
She shifted her weight onto one leg and crossed her arms. "Because I want to know what exactly you're up to, Sentinel. Or should I say Silas?"
Sentinel sighed. So she had figured it out after all.
He turned to face her and removed his mask, tugging down his hood as well. "When did you figure it out?"
"Just tonight," she admitted. "I knew you were Sentinel when I saw you sneak in near the eastern dock with the mask and sash on."
Silas fingered the forest green material tied around his waist; the signature accessory of his alter ego, along with the mask in his hand.
"But," Blake continued, "I knew you were sneaking out of school two weeks ago."
"I know. I noticed you following me." He ran a hand through his hair ruefully. "Honestly, I've been waiting for you to show up down here for the last week or so. Guess tonight was the night."
She frowned. "If you knew I was following you from the beginning, why didn't you confront me then?"
Silas shrugged. "Because I was almost positive that you didn't know that I was Sentinel then. And it wasn't like you could follow me very far anyway."
She nodded, acknowledging his point. After a moment, she spoke again. "You looked like you were going somewhere before. Or was that just for my benefit?"
He chuckled. "No, I actually do have to go somewhere, but I have time." So saying, he made his way to the edge of the roof and sat down, patting the spot beside him in invitation. A second later, she joined him, sitting cross-legged at his side.
After a minute or two of companionable silence, she asked, "Why did you become Sentinel?"
He tilted his head, pondering the question. "Well, I've moonlighted as a vigilante for several years now. As a Faunus, I knew what discrimination was like and I always used to think how wrong it was, and I guess that led to me developing a strong sense of justice in general. I didn't really make a name for myself until I came here, when I started calling myself Sentinel and wearing this." He tugged at the hanging ends of his sash to complete his statement.
Blake looked at him quizzically. "Do your parents know?"
At her question, Silas's face hardened. "My mother… She's dead. I don't know who my father is."
Blake's mouth turned down in surprise and sadness. "Oh." Silently, she cursed herself for asking that question.
Sensing her discomfort, Silas laid a hand on her shoulder. "You didn't know. Now you do."
She shot him a grateful smile. He smiled slightly in return before removing his hand and leaning back. He tilted his head up to stare pensively at the moon, thinking back to the years when his mother was still alive. It seemed so long ago now. He hadn't thought about it much in years. He hadn't tried to bury the memories; he didn't want to lose one of the few things that he had left of his mother, but it still hurt to think about so he didn't do it often. He spoke about it even less often. But suddenly he had the urge to tell Blake everything. After a moment of internal struggle, he gave in.
"I used to live on the streets with my mother," he began abruptly. "We lived in Dell City, a smaller city to the north of here. Actually," he paused to think before continuing, "I remember us living here in Vale City for a few years when I was younger. We left for Dell when I was six. My mother used to tell me that we came over from Mistral when I was even younger, but I don't have any memory of that."
Blake turned to face him fully. Though he was hiding it well, she could tell that it was hard for him to talk about his mother. So she made sure to give him her undivided attention.
"Mom told me that my father used to be around when I was younger, but he had to stay behind when we came to Vale. I never found out why. I've tried to find him once or twice in more recent years, with help from Taka's connections, but Mom never…" He took a shuddering breath. "She never even told me his name."
Blake spoke softly. This was clearly a sensitive subject, and she was grateful and honoured that he was even sharing it with her at all. "What about your family name?"
Silas shook his head. "Fenrir is… was my mother's maiden name. She never told me what my birth surname was." He sighed. "Anyway, we've been on our own for as long as I can remember. We've lived on the streets, barely getting by. And then, five years ago, when I was twelve…" He clenched his teeth and buried his face in his hands.
Blake understood. Hesitantly, she sidled closer and laid a comforting hand on his back, rubbing gently between his shoulder blades. He gave a shuddering sigh and then, after a long moment, sat up again. As Blake retracted her hand, he reached out and trapped it with his own, keeping it pinned between them, cradled under his palm. He didn't look at her, but his gentle touch spoke volumes of his gratitude.
Finally, he cleared his throat and continued. "Anyway, I turned to vigilante-ism after that. I met Bastion, Nate and Taka two years later, and Nate's family adopted me officially a few months later. I didn't stop moonlighting though. Nate's parents knew, and they understood. And then three years later we got accepted into Beacon, and here we are."
Blake nodded slowly, giving him a small smile. He smiled back and they sat like that for a while, undisturbed in the moonlight.
Their peace was interrupted by a voice in Silas's ear.
"Silas, you there?"
Silas stiffened and frowned in annoyance. Sometimes Angelo had terrible timing.
Blake turned her head at his movement. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing," he replied. "Just a friend checking in."
He placed a finger to the communications device in his right ear. "Here."
On the other end of the line, Angelo spoke. "You in position?"
"No, but I'm not far away."
"Better hurry up. We have ten minutes until go time."
Silas got to his feet. "I'll be there, don't worry."
He removed his fingers from the com-link and turned to Blake. Before he could say a word, she was on her feet. "I'm coming with you."
He grinned, placing his fingers by his ear again. "I'm bringing a friend."
After a pause, Angelo responded with curiosity. "Who?"
"Remember the girl I mentioned, the one who I thought might be onto me?"
"Oh." The other voice chuckled. "She found you out, huh?"
"Yeah." He grinned at Blake, who smirked back.
"Alright," Angelo replied. "I'll tell Roden."
"Roger. We'll be there right away."
"Roger that." There was a click, and then the line went silent again. Turning on his heel, Silas slid his mask back on, drew his hood and gestured for Blake to follow before taking off across the rooftops again.
She was by his side in an instant. "So where are we going?"
He spared a second to point. His voice was distorted by his mask once more when he spoke. "See the crane over there? I've heard on the street that something strange has been happening there. I'll explain more when we get there."
She nodded and they ran the rest of the way in silence. As they neared their destination, Blake saw that the majority of the buildings surrounding the crane were even more derelict than those behind her. One looked half demolished, which explained the wrecking ball hanging from the crane.
She followed as Silas headed for a building directly beside the crane, scaling the wall via drainpipe in no time flat. Silas immediately crossed to the other side of the roof and lay down near the edge. Silently, he drew a small handgun from inside his jacket, holding it ready at his side.
Blake followed his lead, laying down beside him and readying Gambol Shroud. As she did, he glanced at the slim watch on his left wrist.
"We should have roughly three minutes or so," he informed her. He raised his fingers to his ear again. "Angelo, we're in position."
A moment later Angelo's voice crackled to life in his ear. "Copy that. We're ready on this end."
"So why are we here?" Blake asked.
Silas removed his fingers from the earpiece. "A couple of friends of mine received intel that something fishy was going on down here. A bunch of people have been seen meeting someone here. Sometimes it's just one person making some kind of trade-off. Sometimes it's a lot of people, and some don't come back. We heard word that there was going to be a one-on-one at midnight tonight, so we decided to check it out."
Blake opened her mouth to ask another question, but before she could someone stepped out of the shadows of a building to their left.
He was tall and well built, wearing a neatly pressed long black coat and a black scarf folded like a cravat, along with dress pants and loafers. He was pale-skinned, looking to be in his early twenties, his dark brown hair slicked back above poison-green eyes. All in all he was quite handsome, but there was something about the curve of his smile that raised Blake's hackles.
The man glanced at his silver wristwatch briefly before tucking both hands into his coat pockets. Four minutes passed in dead silence, and Blake hardly dared to breathe.
Then another man came hurrying down the street. This one was a lot less slick and put-together, his creased shirt untucked over rumpled pants, a stained cotton hoodie hanging unzipped from his shoulders, his shoes bearing large scuff marks that were easily visible from Blake and Silas's position. His blond hair was sticking up in every direction above uneasy hazel irises.
"You're late," the first man remarked coolly as the second stumbled to a stop in front of him. "We agreed to meet here at midnight."
"I'm barely two minutes late," the second man scowled.
"Four, actually," the former corrected.
"Whatever," the latter scoffed uncaringly.
The man in black shrugged. "I do prefer to be punctual, though I suppose it's of little consequence this time. Did you think over our proposition?"
The blond man nodded hesitantly. "I did. And I decided that I don't want to risk it."
The other man sighed. "Well, that's unfortunate. We could have used someone with as much aura as you have."
The blond man scoffed. "What good is aura when you don't know how to use it?"
"Ah, but that's exactly the point," the brown-haired man crooned, laying a hand on the other's shoulder. "We do know how to use it, and we can teach you. You could be a valuable asset to my…employer."
The blond man brushed the hand away. "No thanks. My answer is no, and that's final."
The man in black sighed. "Regrettable. I would have preferred that you come of your own free will. But…"
Before the blond man could react, the man in black placed his palm against the other's neck and met his eyes. When he spoke, his voice was a dark command. "You will join us."
When the blond responded, his voice was robotic and monotone. "I will join you."
The brown-haired man smiled and clapped his shoulder. "I knew you'd see it our way. Now come. My employer would like to meet you." He turned on his heel and beckoned
The other man nodded mutely. As he turned to follow the first, Silas caught a glimpse of his eyes. They were black as midnight, sclera and all.
Silas's eyes widened in shock. He was on his feet in an instant, leaping off the roof and landing behind the two men, gun aimed at the former's back.
"Stop right there," he commanded, his garbled voice steely.
The man in black turned slowly, a smirk on his face. "Well, well. If it isn't the famous Sentinel. You're younger than I expected."
Behind the mask, Silas started in surprise. How could this man tell how old he was?
The man in question smirked. "To someone who has been trained well enough, many things are visible in an individual's aura. Yours marks you as a teenager. Seventeen or eighteen perhaps." He tilted his head. "I expect that you're a student at Beacon, aren't you?" When Silas didn't reply, he chuckled. "No matter. In any case, you'll likely be seeing me again soon enough."
He raised a hand and a strange black mist gushed from it.
As soon as he moved, two figures erupted from a nearby building, charging forward with swords in their hands. Angelo and Roden. Silas fired rapidly at the figure that was quickly being swallowed by black. From the roof behind him, he heard Blake doing the same.
The mist billowed out in waves, shrouding the black-clothed man and his blond accomplice from sight. There was a soft, chilling chuckle and the black-clothed man's voice echoed ominously as he spoke one last time.
"Until next time, Sentinel."
The cloud of blackness curled inwards and then rolled apart, dissipating to reveal nothing at all. Both men were gone.
Dun dun dun!
So, how was it?
Anyway, so Volume 2.
I am just going to start off by saying that I love Neptune. I know there's been a lot of hate thrown his way in recent weeks, especially by the White Rose fans, but I love this guy. I don't like him paired with Weiss (not just because I'm a White Roser myself, but because I honestly cannot see any potential chemistry). Fortunately for me, I would say that Episode 4 has knocked down that possibility. What is still standing is the possibility of him and Yang ending up together. I actually like that ship, and I can see potential chemistry there; he's flirted with Weiss and the Malachites to their faces, but he has yet to flirt with Yang to her face (that we've seen), even though he is clearly attracted to her. He acts all suave with the other girls, but he admires her when she's not looking. Also, I think their personalities match quite well. Plus, he reminds me of Angelo (and you have no idea why yet, but you'll see soon enough).
The Ep4 battle. Oh my freaking gods, it was amazing. Neptune's weapon (which we now know is not, in fact, the gun-gun) and Sun's semblance are freaking awesome (though we don't know exactly what Sun's semblance is). Ruyi-Bang and Jingu-Bang, Sun's weapons, are still my favourites though; you can't beat gun-chucks (except with...actually, just wait and see). And then it gets better. The ship names for the combos, Yang being a mother-freaking badass (as if I didn't love her enough already. She has now cemented her position as my favourite for all time) and just general awesomeness.
I'm loving all the new characters, really. I love what I've seen of Emerald and Mercury, I've already mentioned Neptune, seeing more of Cinder has been great, it's all just awesome. I especially love Neo's design. I mean, brown, pink and white hair?! Come on, that's cool. I can't wait to meet Scarlet and Sage, the last two members of Sun's team. And Team CFVY, Velvet Scarlatina's team. I can't wait for them to show up.
Speaking of characters that I can't wait to see, there is one in particular that I want to see more than anything. Winter Schnee. Weiss has a sister! I freaked out (in a good way) when I heard that line. I am a total sucker for familial relationships, particularly those between sisters. Honestly, I'm pretty freaking in love with them. Yang became my favourite in the very first episode because she was Ruby's big sister, and because she obviously cared about her little sister a lot (I have a little sister of my own. In my book, stuff like that means instant fave). Frozen is my favourite Disney movie of all time because SISTERS. So yeah, I'm pretty freaking excited to meet Winter and see what kind of relationship she has with Weiss. I actually wrote a little fic on Weiss and Winter if anyone cares to check it out.
Why do we have to wait a whole week?! Gods dammit!
Anyway, reviews are love, see you next time (hopefully).
Until the next chapter.
-Forever a Cookie