A/N: Salutations, my readers! I'm here for the next chappie!
I was about to update "Bring it on, our Destiny" when a large amount of encouraging reviews convinced me to do otherwise! If so much of you are this curious about the next chapter, I might as well answer your curiosity. (Sorry for those who followed my Adam x Weiss story, by the way, I'm supposed to post that today... but this changed my plans.)
Let's begin with the reviews...
Osheana259: No need to be sorry, Internet has the unspoken law of freedom of expression. I'm going to answer your questions~
For the first question, it will be answered in this chapter. About Blake disguising herself as the member of White Fang, yes, yes she will. She will use her alternate outfit, plus the Grimm mask. And do not worry, I do intend this to be a Tauradonna. About Leliel joining it... I will take that as +1 for both Adam and Blake, I guess.
As for who will replace B of the RWBY... it's gonna be answered in the next chapter.
VariousStories: And I'm pleasantly surprised that someone actually praises me this much. Too bad, there will be absolutely no gorey details in this chapter, since it will be far, far more plot-focused. I'll probably edit that detail in the first chapter later, though.
As for unique technique for Leliel, it's quite risky, since adding too much will give the impression of her being too OP as well as inserting one of the things I hate the most about a story: New Powers as the Plot Demands. Fuck. That.
Let's list Leliel's abilities now; Her Wings of Thorns allows Leliel to excel in both melee and long range thanks to Dust, as well as achieving flight. That alone kinda puts average weapons to shame, quality-wise.
While she is blind, she is capable of echolocation, catching her off-guard is difficult without silent attacks or sound disturbances to 'blind' her. And yet her Semblance allows her to see anything coming, and renders those weaknesses moot.
The girl can also manipulate Dust like Cinder, forming physical weapons out of Dust residue (not just limited to Volcanic!). And if that isn't enough, by playing her lyre, Nocturne, she can control the Grimm.
In short, she is powerful enough that nothing short of Ozpin and fully-powered Maidens can take her down easily. That's borderline overpowered. Still, she does have more secrets up her sleeve, although revealing those abilities wouldn't make her any stronger than she is right now. At least, not significantly so.
Btw, your words imply +1 for both Mercury and Adam. Hmm. And thank you for your generous review... again.
Telstra Roensell: You need a freakin' drink. Reading 12 volumes of light novels tire you? Then you should practice more. Btw, did you forget the setting of Cinder's attack on Amber? But that's a valid point, this is a narration story, it should have more narrations. I'll add more details next time, for the battles as well. Don't ask for the impossible though.
HAPPYHAPPY: Your review is exactly the same on another guest who reviewed chapter 1... do not worry, chapter 2 and this chapter will completely answer your question.
RY: Wondering who Leliel is, huh? This chapter will drop hints about it. By the way, your point is perfectly valid... just read this chapter. About whether or not Leliel will actually help Cinder is another matter, though.
Lonessa 8D: Qrow is well-known for his capacity to make us laugh with his one-liner snark comments. So I have to live up to the expectations. Btw, thanks for your generous comment. Hopefully we can write together again soon, and I'm completely fine with helping you!
Now that's done, I'll drop a few notice. The title of this chapter is "Reunion of Night: The Dark Embrace". Any chapters with the word 'Night' in its title will be longer than any other chapters, so I hope you don't mind chapters with 7000 words at the very least.
This is a warning, and also a sign- Night chapters will always feature far more POVs than any other; and will always, always drop clues about, and later, an insight into, Leliel's nature and origin.
Why am I doing this? This is another writing style of mine. I love to notify my readers when to be alarmed, for them to prepare themselves... only for me to still surprise them, regardless. Don't like it? Sorry... but I can't stress this enough: this story's entire purpose is to hone my skills, test Leliel's personality, and amuse readers who are willing to read. This is my way for training myself.
Btw, I'm out of my early college hell... but it's not college if it doesn't have an insane amount of assignments. And thanks to that, I think this will be the last time I update so quickly. I will probably be able to update chapters in 2-4 weeks, from now on.
Sorry for this long A/N, but the story is still in its early chapters, so long notes are the norm. Anyway, let's proceed forward with the story.
It was morning. The sun had just risen, sending its light over the horizon.
The beginning of morning was usually the calmest moments of a day. That stayed true even for places of wild, like the Forever Fall forest.
However, for a certain group of faunus within the forest, it was a busy morning.
"Do not waste any second, brothers!"
"Yes, sir!"
As the White Fang soldiers saluted at him and ran along, Adam glanced around. Scanning the forest around him closely.
He couldn't let his guard down. An enemy, more dangerous than anything he had ever known, could be returning anytime soon.
That woman who visited him last night -Cinder, if his memory served- had to be avoided. If the words of that little girl on the train were anything to go by, she was dangerous beyond belief.
"..."
Adam wasn't foolish enough not to believe her after he had seen what she could do. The girl was a very skilled huntress- he let his guard down for a second, and she immediately attacked him and Blake.
The redhead scoffed as he held his new mask. It was irritating. The new sensation reminded him of the fact that the girl managed to destroy his mask- and injured Blake. But all of those were nothing compared to the next things she had shown.
Defying gravity and fly. Using your very eyes as projectiles. Manipulating the Grimm.
Nothing in this world should be able to do any of those. If it wasn't a demon, then she would be a very dangerous huntress, with lots and lots of tricks up her sleeve.
Regardless- he had to act. The White Fang must not be subjugated by anyone -or anything- with that kind of power. Blake was right. They shouldn't escape from the Fang- the Fang should escape now.
I hope we are not too late... Adam turned to another group of his men.
"Are we ready to transport our forces now?" The commander asked.
"Yes, sir. What about yourself, Commander? Lieutenant and Belladonna too?" One of them asked back.
"Don't worry about us."
Adam and the White Fang soldiers turned their attentions to the feminine voice behind the bull.
It was a girl clad in black-and-white, with cat-like mannerisms. His pupil, and his partner. Blake.
"We will go after you." She continued.
"But-"
"Listen to her," Adam interjected, "we know what are we doing. Have faith in us."
The commander and the soldier stared into the the masks of the other. For a moment there was silence.
"...Yes sir."
"Good. Now leave."
As the soldiers saluted and subsequently left them, Adam turned to Blake.
His eyes were on his partner's head, now covered with bandages to cover her slashed head.
"How do you feel?" Adam asked, with much softer tone than earlier.
Blake frowned slightly as she rolled her eyes.
"That's the third time you asked this morning, Adam. I'm fine, really. Don't worry." Blake said, irritated.
Without warning, the bull moved his hand to the cat's cheek, causing her to widen her eyes in surprise.
"Adam?"
"I'm glad you are okay."
Blake's cheeks blushed faintly, causing Adam to chuckle.
If Adam had to list every good thing about Blake, he was sure the list would number in the thousands... but catching the sight of her blushing had to be one of the highest in the list.
However, his smile faded as he continued. "And I'm sorry, Blake."
The girl raised her eyebrow. "...What for?"
"For my failure." He replied.
Blake's lips instantly curved into a frown. "Adam, you didn't fail-"
"No, I did." He interjected and cut her off. "When we were confronted by that girl, I was dead-set on thinking about how to escape the Fang."
Blake was silenced. Adam continued.
"I was a failure. I was about to betray the White Fang the moment I faced terror. But instead, you decided to stay. You stood up to that girl. That meant you have what it takes to be a member of the Fang, Blake."
But honestly, Adam also felt happy from his heart. He was proud of his pupil's determination and dignity.
"You did great, my love."
Blake averted her gaze from him. He raised a brow at that.
"Adam, I..." She trailed off.
"What's wrong?" He asked.
"...Never mind." Her eyes shifted back at him. "We will talk about this later. We have to get out of here."
The bull frowned slightly, but he knew she was right.
"Then let us waste no time."
Blake felt disgusted at herself.
She didn't deserve any of her mentor's praise just now.
"You have what it takes to be a member of the Fang."
That was wrong. She knew it was. She had been planning to betray the White Fang since a few weeks ago.
But why do you stay, then? Her own mind asked.
Blake wasn't sure, herself. Was it because she didn't want the White Fang to be tainted further? That didn't make sense. What could she do, anyway? So long as the new leader was around, the Fang would be free to continue being radical- being monstrous. Adam was the ultimate proof of that. She could change nothing.
...No.
That girl on the train had shown Blake. Her partner wasn't a monster -at least, not yet- and he had shown something Blake thought he had lost.
Love for her.
In the last five years, Adam had... changed. Not just in his methods. But in his... soul.
He used to express his emotions often. He used to laugh cheerfully with her when she made a silly mistake. He used to yell in anger and frustration when a protest failed. He used to cry and break down when one of their family died.
But then the leader was replaced, and promoted him to become a commander. He went to meet the mysterious leader for a few months of training. He returned stronger... and eerily calmer.
He stopped laughing, only smirking when something went his way. He stopped yelling, only calmly spewing words of pure hatred when angered. He stopped crying, only seeking revenge on humans when a member died.
Blake used to be the only one who could read him then. She knew what he was feeling, even when all others weren't able to tell. But that changed once he adorned that mask.
It terrified her. What happened to his feelings? Where did they go when he used that Grimm mask? She could neither feel them, nor tell what happened to them- they were suddenly gone.
It began soon after. Deaths. First it was accidents. Then it was for self-defense. He would take off his mask, and told her not to worry. She believed in that. She thought he was right.
Then he started hitting her. He began to threaten his own underlings. She thought it was because of the stress caused by controlling his emotions too much, and he needed to vent it on others. That would be understandable.
But no- he continued to wear that mask. He continued his heartlessness. He said that he still cared, even if he didn't show it at times.
She trusted that. She wanted to. But after long, he stopped doing even that, and continued on. Yet still, she stayed. Maybe he had stopped loving her, because he had to concentrate on more pressing matters.
Sometimes love only caused problems, after all. Especially when you are living a life of fighting. It hurt, but that was fine. At the very least, he still had morals, and was fighting for the right thing.
If he went past that line, she would betray him. No questions asked.
"Blake?"
But he had shown it, once and for all- he still loved her. And more than that, he had no problems leaving the current, radical White Fang- meaning he was not completely swayed over by the extremities of the new leader. Yet.
"Hey, why are you... crying?"
Blake could still do something about it. Maybe she couldn't change the White Fang as a whole now... but she could still do something about her partner. Her lover.
"Blake!"
"Huh!?" Blake snapped back to reality- and quickly looked around.
Adam was beside her. They were inside their personal Bullhead, leaving their camp from their camp in the Forever Fall.
"Blake, what's wrong? Why the tears?" Adam asked, his voice dripping with concern.
"I..." Blake touched her own face. A single tear flowed down her cheek.
"If this has something to do with what you wanted to say earlier, then let's talk about it now." Adam said quickly.
"No." Blake wiped her tear clean and stood up from seat. "I said, we'll talk about this later. We have to discuss what to do next."
"She's right."
The two faunus turned to the door leading to the cockpit, from which the White Fang lieutenant entered their room.
"You have to explain why did we have to leave in such a hurry. Boss, Blake." The lieutenant said, clearly annoyed.
"Lieutenant," Adam sighed, "be patient. I have something to ask Blake."
"Your lovers' quarrel can settle for later." The two of them glared at him, but he ignored that. "Now, explain just what the hell did you both see that you actually thought that a whole battalion of our forces couldn't handle it." He growled.
"You-"
"Adam," Blake interjected. "He's right. We have to explain."
The redhead faunus only gave her a glare that screamed 'we will talk about this later'. Blake agreed mentally.
"Fine. Let's start from the least insane first."
"There is no one here, ma'am!"
"No animals on sight."
Cinder frowned at the her two subordinates' report.
How was that possible? The White Fang forces were here in the Forever Fall, last night... they couldn't just up and disappear without reason.
What caused them to leave? A Grimm attack would pose no problem to a whole battalion of them, and even if there were enough attacks to force them to retreat, surely there must be signs of it. And there was none.
The most likely possibility was something urgent came up, and they had to leave to for it. But what? What could possibly be so important that one of its commander -Adam Taurus- had to personally leave? A call from their leader? One of their bases suffered an invasion by Hunters?
Che. Whatever was it, it had ruined the plan. She needed an army, and currently the largest, illegal military force in Vale was the White Fang. If she couldn't secure them, the Vale invasion plan would suffer a huge setback.
Where and how I can get another army?
Roman did have a few grunts, but that could hardly be called an army. She could command the Grimm, but they were only useful for destroying and killing, not to help Roman with the Dust thefts.
"What should we do now, ma'am?" Emerald asked with a concerned tone.
That's a good question, Cinder thought.
"Well... I suppose it can't be helped. We are properly equipped to subjugate them, not to search for them." The lady said in annoyance.
"Does that mean the plan will be delayed?" Mercury frowned slightly.
"Hardly." Cinder smiled. "We aren't out of options just yet."
"Huh? Do we?"
"We do. I don't like calling her for help, but I suppose we don't have a choice."
Leliel Blith...
A living weapon of her master, known as the 'Nightmare Angel'. Not counting Ozpin, Leliel was one of the strongest huntress Cinder ever knew, and also one with the most connections in the underground.
Cinder scoffed at the thought of having to ask a favor from her, though. Serving under the same master didn't mean she had to like the enigmatic Angel.
Or rather, it was the opposite, if she was being honest. Cinder wanted to respect her. The Angel was interesting, and she must be truly incredulous to be able to gain affections from Salem herself.
But for some reason, Leliel seemed to hate her... with passion. The Angel didn't let it show, and it didn't hamper their effectiveness when they had to work together. But the fact remained that the Angel disliked her for some reason.
Why though? It's irrational. Even Cinder knew how ruthlessly efficient the Angel was. For Leliel to hate her without any apparent reason was... weird.
Whatever the reason, there was some chance that it was actually her who caused the White Fang to leave this place. That would be one way for the Angel to spite her.
If that was true, then there would be two possibilities. Either Leliel had taken control of the White Fang first, or she just forced them to leave this place.
It was disadvantageous for her either way. If it was the former, then Cinder would have to politely ask for her men. If it was the latter, then Cinder would still have to ask her to search for a new source of army.
I suppose I will meet her soon...
"Now that's just plain insane." The lieutenant remarked.
He was conflicted. In one hand, he had faith in his boss. And anyway, Adam Taurus and his lover were the ultimate no-nonsense pair of all of White Fang. They couldn't be lying.
On the other hand, what they had said sounded like a really, really bad nightmare rather than reality. A hooded little girl capable of firing her eyes as projectiles and controlling the Grimm?
Sounds a twisted version of the Red Riding Hood... no, Black Riding Hood perhaps? He chuckled.
"I told you," Adam scowled, "you won't believe it unless you saw it yourself."
"Lieutenant," Blake said with a pleading tone, "we are not crazy. It's the truth."
"And how am I supposed to believe that? What you said just now sounded like a fairy tale gone horribly wrong." The full-masked faunus commented.
Adam only glared at him through his mask, while Blake looked defeated. The lieutenant simply shrugged. If they expected him to believe all of those then they were wrong. His loyalty was not to be taken lightly.
"Enough about that nonsense. Now we have to discuss our next course of action. Since we failed to secure Dust from the SDC, we will be running out of Dust in about two months."
"...I don't think we will be stealing Dust any time soon." Blake frowned.
"And would you care to explain why?" The lieutenant growled. "If this is related to-"
"She is right." Adam interjected. "We have to keep a low profile. We can't afford to be approached by that Cinder Fall again, or the other girl."
"Seriously?" The lieutenant said in disbelief. "We have to halt our operation just because of three people and a hallucination of yours?"
"She is not a hallucination, lieutenant." Adam argued, irritation clear in his tone. "What we saw were definitely real."
"Well," He could feel his annoyance leaking out, "why don't you try telling that to all of our troops? I'm sure they will believe you!" He continued sarcastically.
"What if we could prove it?"
The two masked men stared at the sole unmasked female in the room.
"Wait, what?" Adam asked in disbelief.
"And how do you expect to do that, Blake?" The lieutenant asked in a challenging tone.
"We will find that girl. And we will bring her here as proof." She answered.
"What?" Adam became alarmed. "Blake, that's impossible. How do we even find her? She can fly and control the Grimm! If she decides to enter the Grimmlands then we will never be able to find her!"
"But she said she will help us. That means she must be here, in this kingdom." Blake argued.
"Ha ha ha." The lieutenant couldn't help but restrain his laughter, interrupting the lovers. "So you really believe that what you saw were real. Did the idea of illusory Semblance cross your mind at all?"
"It's not, an illusion." The cat faunus stared daggers at him.
"Illusions couldn't destroy a train, anyway." The bull faunus frowned.
Hearing the logical argument, the lieutenant reconsidered the matter a bit. "Hmm... but it doesn't necessarily mean that the girl actually controlled the Grimm."
"Well, that's what we are about to prove." Blake stood up from her seat.
"All three of us will move by ourselves. We will investigate Vale, and look for her." She said with a firm tone.
"Wait, you are bringing me along?" The lieutenant asked.
The lieutenant was ignored as his boss voiced his opinion.
"Blake, I have to ask you this." Adam face-palmed. "You believe her when she said she will help us?"
"Why shouldn't we, Adam?" Blake asked back. "There is no reason for someone who has the power to simply subjugate the White Fang to lie to us."
"That doesn't mean-" Adam was cut off.
"I think I'll pass," The lieutenant interjected. "and please spare me from your lovely fight."
The two of them glared at him again. He shrugged and continued.
"How about this? We will lay low like you two wanted, but only for a month. If you manage to find this so-called Grimm tamer, we will listen to you. But if you can't prove this girl's existence, we will continue our operation. With, or without your agreement." The lieutenant proposed.
"What is this, lieutenant?" Adam said venomously. "You are going against my orders?"
"We will throw ourselves to a lake of fire if we have to," The lieutenant countered, "but not everyone here wanted to obey you without a good reason, boss. One month is just my estimation. In reality, you might have less than a week to prove it."
There was silence for a moment.
"Can you keep the others from acting on their own during that one month?" Blake asked.
"If we are deal, I swear on my life that none of them will." The lieutenant saluted.
"...Deal, then." She accepted.
The redhead faunus turned to his lover.
"My goodness. You are serious about looking for her." Adam sighed.
"Well," Blake turned her gaze at him, "demon or not, I will make her keep her word."
The night had fallen upon Vale.
Despite its name, Beacon was very ominous looking during the night.
Even from the headmaster's office, situated at the top of the Beacon tower, which exhibited an impressive view of the whole academy, the school appeared little more than an abandoned ghost school at night.
Which made sense, since the curriculum hadn't started yet during this time of the year. The dormitories were more or less empty, only filled with second-years, third-years, and fourth-year students who didn't use their holiday to leave the academy.
For Ozpin the headmaster and Glynda Goodwitch the deputy headmistress though, leaving Beacon for holiday was unthinkable. They needed to stay in their circle's headquarters, after all.
That being said, relaxing was not out of question. Even now, the white-haired headmaster was enjoying the view of his own academy while drinking a mug full of coffee. All while waiting for reports from his intel- Qrow Branwen.
"..."
To be honest, Ozpin didn't like it when Qrow sent messages. That meant he had obtained an important information- and that usually meant bad news.
He closed his eyes. Every time he looked at his scroll, it always reminded him of Qrow's worst message in the recent years.
'Summer died.'
Even now, Ozpin still felt the misery that he had caused.
Although he was quite sure he deserved it, Ozpin didn't quite feel the same for his underlings. The headmaster could only imagine what did Qrow feel when he had to notify him about her demise.
Especially when both men knew that he was the one who sent her, knowing that the huntress would die.
"...Hmm?"
He noticed a beep on his scroll. A message. From the dusty old crow.
...What a coincidence. Ozpin mentally prepared himself as he clicked his scroll, displaying the message.
'Autumn is held hostage. My hands are tied. The danger wants to speak to you now, in the courtyard.'
Ozpin widened his eyes.
It seemed the news of Summer's death would no longer be Qrow's worst message, beginning tonight.
Ozpin quickly turned on the video feeds on his table. As it displayed Beacon's main avenue from a surveillance camera, the headmaster could see Qrow, facing off against a black-hooded girl, who was holding a black katana on a comatose woman lying on the ground.
Wait... is that...?
The situation was clear. The girl in black hood was the one who wanted to talk to him, and she held the Fall Maiden hostage to prevent Qrow from doing anything about it.
The problem was- the girl wasn't a stranger to him.
Leliel?!
Ozpin emptied his mug in one gulp, grabbed his cane, and descended down the elevator.
How could this be?
Throughout his years -and he had been through a lot more than any other men- Ozpin was sure this was one of the few times when he was genuinely shocked.
She is dead. Ozpin was sure she was. She and her sister both had perished nearly seventy years ago- another of his responsibility.
But the similarities between the girl he saw just now and Leliel Blith was too much to be a coincidence.
The same clothes, the same stance, the same katana design, and if his observations were correct, the katana was made of Dust residue -her specialty- and most of all, the Wings of Thorns.
...Salem must be behind this. Yes, she was the only one who could replicate her weapons, formed a copy, and essentially created a perfect fake.
Or, that was his hope at least. Honestly, if it was a copy it would make things easier for him. If it was actually Leliel- then this was going to be a long night.
I...
Arriving in the courtyard, Ozpin watched as the two hunters waiting there immediately took notice of his presence.
"Oz!" Qrow glanced at him, without diverting his attention from the Leliel lookalike.
"Stand back, Qrow." Ozpin said with an authoritative tone.
The scarecrow nodded and took a few steps back, while the headmaster stepped ahead. As they passed by each other, the scythe-wielder mouthed a few words- one that Ozpin picked quickly.
"She is blind, but she has ears. Be careful, Oz."
Blind? Ozpin frowned. Another indication that the girl was real. The Leliel he knew wasn't blind, but it was possible for her to lose her sight throughout the years. But Salem wouldn't make a defective copy.
As he walked toward her, Ozpin kept a good distance apart between them, and readied his cane- she was holding Amber hostage, after all. Too close, and she would take it as a threat.
Finally getting a good look on the girl in black hood, Ozpin inhaled deeply. He could practically feel her presence- the girl reminded him too much of Leliel.
...It's not confirmed yet. He had to be careful. Fake or not, she seemed to be Salem's servant. And he couldn't allow her to do as she pleased if that was the case.
"Who are you?" Ozpin asked.
Much to his surprise, the girl's body shook violently.
"...?" Ozpin raised a brow.
Is she... trembling?
That moment.
He heard a blade was dropped to the ground. The next instant, a black blur approached him.
Logic dictated him to react. He was supposed to attack her with his cane.
But he didn't. She dropped her sword, and didn't hold her cloak's handle- indicating her lack of aggressive intent. She simply ran toward him.
What is she planning to-
His thoughts were interrupted as he felt something small pressed against his chest.
As the girl quickly wrapped her arms around his midsection, and leaned her head against his chest, Ozpin only managed to widen his eyes in surprise.
"Ozpin!" She said affectionately. "Oh how long has it been- I missed you!"
The headmaster didn't acknowledge Qrow's gasp of surprise behind him. In fact, by the time he recovered from the sudden embrace, he just noticed that the girl was already looking up to him- with radiating, purple eyes.
Ozpin was quite thankful that she did that. She would be too similar with Summer, otherwise.
"You... what are you doing?" Ozpin asked in a low voice.
She smiled warmly at him.
"Erasing any doubt in your heart about who am I."
By embracing me? The headmaster thought in confusion.
Ozpin was torn. His rational thought couldn't help but think that this was some form of trap. His right hand, the one holding his weapon, was itching to move to strike the now vulnerable girl. Lest, she would strike him first with her cloak's blade.
Yet, another side of him was at ease. As embarrassing as it was, hugging was Leliel's standard form of greeting for him.
Real? Or fake? Regardless, there was enough indication for both. He needed a way to confirm.
"You... were sure that I was going to be convinced? I could have attacked you instead."
"I was sure. Even if you weren't, at worst you would only impale me with your cane. Like that's going to stop me."
Ozpin was alarmed. Indeed, if it was Leliel's kind- a simple impalement wouldn't work.
Okay. A fake couldn't possibly be this bold.
For now at least, Ozpin was almost sure that this girl was Leliel Blith. But that only brought forth more questions.
How did she survive that suicidal mission? Did her sister survive as well? The most important of all, was she still loyal to him? Or, had Salem swayed her loyalty?
Ozpin was anxious, he had to admit. So he decided to be blunt.
"Leliel."
"Yes, Ozpin?"
"Have you betrayed us?" Ozpin asked stoically.
"Not yet." Leliel replied cheekily.
Noticing the 'yet', he narrowed his eyes at her.
"So you are planning to."
"Not quite. She spared me... and she gave me a choice."
Ozpin raised a brow.
"A choice?"
"She gave me a chance to prove my loyalty to one of you."
What? Ozpin was surprised. How? Then that meant...
He gazed intently at the girl's eyes.
Even from sight alone, Ozpin knew that the eyes themselves were fake. But the light -the determination- on it was real.
She is not lying...
"She... actually gave you that freedom?"
"She did. Surprising, right? You taught me that she was not to be trusted."
Ozpin tensed.
Salem... actually gave a chance for betrayal?
That was not like her. She was the type to achieve a total, absolute victory. Despite her overwhelming power, she was not arrogant. Her moves were planned cautiously, and any threats were to be neutralized. Lethally or otherwise.
How could she...
He decided to brush the question aside for now. His conversation was not yet finished.
"...Then, what are you planning to do?"
Leliel closed her eyes and rested her head against his chest again.
"I want to see whether humanity deserved their continued existence."
"What?"
"Both of you possess the same knowledge. You two understood humanity, all their flaws, all their strengths. Yet, the conclusion each of you came to were the complete opposite. Have you ever wondered why?"
Ozpin was sure his heart skipped a beat at the question. That... he knew the answer. But Leliel wouldn't understand.
No one would.
She continued. "You taught me everything to love about mankind. She taught me everything to hate about mankind. For a while I wondered... which one of you to follow? Which one of you should I devote my endless life to?"
"..."
"Then I decided. I want to learn about mankind, one last time... and I will choose my path then."
She held him tighter. "The question, is... would you give me the chance to?"
"...You want to return to Beacon." Ozpin immediately understood what she meant.
"Indeed."
Leliel lifted her head off of him, and returned his gaze.
"Your academy will become the battlefield between you and her. What better place than it to learn about humanity?"
"...If I grant you permission, would you betray us, even then?"
"Probably. If she turns out to be right in the end."
The little girl frowned. That made him relax a little.
This is Leliel, all right.
Ozpin knew she didn't like the idea of betraying him. Yet, she would do it regardless, if she had to.
It was that contradictory nature of hers that sometimes set people off. Ozpin knew that very well.
Qrow, who had been listening the entire time, decided to jump in at that.
"You want Oz to accept you, but you want us to pardon you if you decided to betray us. That's asking too much." He spat.
"Hmm..." She smiled in response.
Leliel let go of Ozpin, and took a few steps away from the headmaster.
"I never asked you to pardon me. If I became your enemy, do not hesitate to destroy me." Leliel smirked at Qrow.
"I don't know whether you are wise," Qrow sighed, "or crazy. Just how your brain works? Honestly, you are creeping me out."
"Hihihi..." She giggled.
"I wonder which? That isn't important, now. By the way, how is it, Ozpin? In the end, you'll decide my enrollment here."
Ozpin was deep in thought. This was quite the situation he was in.
Leliel had always been an anomaly. Since Ozpin met her, something about her had always been different from others. She was not human, that's for sure, but even compared to others of her kind, like her sister for example, she was just abnormal.
It was only after he had personally recruited her into his inner circle 75 years ago, that he understood why.
Now... he felt like that was repeated.
"Now... what will it be, Ozpin?"
Tonight was one of the best moments in her life.
As Leliel sat happily on the edge of Beacon Academy's rooftop, the girl was unable to contain her excitement as she sung and played her Nocturne at the same time.
Despite being just a string-type musical instrument, Nocturne was designed to be a weapon. It was made by the same custom-made metal as her cloak, allowing it to be extremely durable and very flexible at the same time.
More than that, Nocturne could be used to channel Dust, which could help her when she was singing.
By using Wind Dust, Nocturne would be able to control the air pressure and vibration around it- meaning, with enough skill, Leliel could produce whatever sound she wanted, ranging from people's voices, to the sounds of other musical instruments.
In short, Leliel was literally capable of becoming a one-man band.
As I take your hand,
I'm escaping it all; the memories lying within my heart are fading
I know that this is what I want, this is what I need
Tomorrow as well, your afterimage will come to mind, like an infinite loop.
With this twisted world I jumped into, still on-going,
Such barren, never-changing days,
Are coming to an end.
So now, this is my Nevereverland I've longed for.
Yes! Leliel cheered as she reached the end of the song.
Indeed, her frozen days had come to an end. Her time was beginning to move.
The reunion with her teacher had been thoroughly enjoyable- she even got to embrace Ozpin, like she used to. Not only that, but her plan was moving smoothly- she managed to earn a place in Beacon.
That part of the plan didn't work quite well, though. Leliel would enroll in Beacon as a student, in a few weeks. It was not annoying, but she would have preferred to be one of the more important positions, befitting her capacity- like professors or something.
Perhaps she should blame her body for that. Why must her aging stop when she was 14?
Oh well. This is the best development possible. She shouldn't complain.
Leliel hoped her presence wouldn't cause too much problem for Ozpin's inner circle later, though. She wouldn't be able to learn about mankind from the conflict if one side was losing to infighting because of her.
Surely, people Ozpin recruited couldn't be that stupid, right? They could learn to at least trust the fact that she was not going to betray them any time soon.
If they couldn't, well... then she probably had to whack their heads herself.
"...Hmm?"
She noticed that her scroll was beeping, in her hip-pocket.
Not knowing whether it was a call or a message, Leliel just clicked the screen.
"Hello?" A feminine voice called.
And there went her good mood. Leliel knew this voice.
Cinder.
"Yeah?" Leliel replied with a neutral tone.
"It's been a while, Angel." Cinder greeted.
"Hmm... half a year, was it?" Leliel replied politely.
Although I'd rather not talk to you forever.
As if she sensed her annoyance, Cinder replied quickly.
"I suppose I'll skip to my point. Do you happen to know any source of army I can secure in Vale?"
Eh? That got her attention.
"What? Army? Didn't you say the White Fang will suffice for your plan?"
"Unfortunately," She clicked her tongue, "I lost them. And I do not have the means to search for them."
Leliel brightened.
Cinder failed to secure the White Fang. That meant Adam had taken her warning seriously and mobilized his forces in Vale away from her.
Leliel laughed internally. Her plan was saved! Now all she had to do were to find the White Fang, and establish relations.
Not wanting to share her joy with Cinder, Leliel replied with an emotionless tone.
"Understood. I will look it up for you. I'll make sure you'll have an army before Beacon began their academic year."
"Good. Now if you'll excuse me..."
Leliel immediately hanged up the call before Cinder could finish.
Ha! Take that, pyromaniac!
Now she was even happier than before. Her plan was not just moving smoothly- it managed to went even better than expected!
I suppose I didn't need to be so angry, this morning. She recalled her rage when she was about to face Qrow. It was unnecessary, as all turned out well in the end.
"Ugh..." She couldn't resist the urge to continue her celebration.
The first step of her plan was more than done, and she was all ready for the next step.
Finally... I'll be able to find my answer...
As she gazed up to the broken moon, she closed her eyes.
"Next year... what kind of me will be here?"
And there you go! The first Night chapter! Whaddya think, huh? Put it in the reviews!
Sorry if the chapter quality seemed mediocre (I felt it, at least) and a bit childish. Seriously, I'll edit it if anyone complained.
Do not worry about those who are interested in Liel's character, if you think that you have learned everything about her motives in this chapter then you are wrong. At this point, I've only displayed 30% of her character. Yes, just one-third.
Btw, I'll remind you once more: This will probably be the last time in a while for me to update this quickly. I hope no one minded it... and the next story I will probably update next time is gonna be "Bring it on, our Destiny" my Frostbite (Adam x Weiss) story.
Btw, this is the result of the poll for Leliel's love interest now. From now on, I'm encouraging you to vote for the poll. I'm gonna be away for weeks, after all.
Adam (?): 2
Mercury: 2
Neptune: 1
Blake (?): 1
OC (?): 1
The question mark represented pairings I do not exactly want to happen, but a poll is a poll.
Thank you for following the development of Nightmare Angel so far!
Note: The song used for this chapter is 'Nevereverland' by Nano; and 'When the First Love Ends' by Hatsune Miku.