Setting: Unknown
"Hello? Are you guys okay?" the owner of the feminine voice asked Team VRSZ, who were too shocked to move. "Is everything well? Ghost, please be a dear and-"
"I..." Violet interrupted, with a face that couldn't believe who she was seeing. Her mind was racing with thoughts. In order to calm herself, she put her mind to a halt and completely focused on his current situation.
"Royal? Y- you're Royal?" Violet asked, desperately seeking confirmation.
"No way." Silver was also astonished.
"I don't believe it." Even the stalwart Zelts was shaken by Royal's appearance.
"Hehehe. You all seem so stunned, well, except you," Royal said to Remus, who didn't share the same emotions as his teammates, in fact, he seemed rather neutral about the ordeal. He just titled his head in confusion.
"You're not Royal," he said with certainty, "You're Clair de Lune Vantablack." Even though they could tell by looking it was the Lady of Fortuna, Violet, Silver, and Zelts were still in shock.
"You're so sharp," Clair complimented, giggling.
"What's going on here? You said Royal was the top dog criminal of Fortuna. Are seriously saying that was you!?" Silver demanded, and Violet thanked him mentally because she was still unable to muster the words to speak. This revelation has made everything they did seem like a wild goose chase.
"Yes, I am Royal. He is an...alias. Yeah, I think that's the best way to describe what Royal is. An alias I created for a specific reason." She smiled a smile that showed zero malice or evil intent.
"And what reason is that?" Violet finally asked.
"To control the criminal activity in my home," she answered, in a way that made it seem like the obvious answer.
"How can you be a criminal? You're the Lady of Fortuna, shouldn't you be working in your office right now?" Zelts asked, but Clair smiled like his question was a joke.
"This is my office."
Her words surprised them. Violet looked out the glass wall behind Clair's chair and noticed the surroundings, they were in Concordia.
"I asked Ghost to take you around the town to confuse you then through a secret passage so you would lose track of your location. It's just an underground construct made by my family when they rebuilt Fortuna. It connects to the entire town, including Concordia, which is why you're all in my main office. I'm actually surprised you didn't notice the hole in the hallway, specifically you Violet, you made that hole the first time you were here."
"Now that I think about...yeah that was me," Violet felt some of her confusion leave her mind. "If you're really Royal, then why do all this?" Violet wanted a straight answer, they all did.
Clair looked to Ghost who nodded then looked back at VRSZ. She could tell what they really wanted was some form of satisfaction after everything they've been through for the past few months. Picking up on her confusion, Clair decided to explain her reasons.
"This may take a while, but if I may, I would be happy to clarify why I constructed this persona." The silence she received was the sign for her to begin.
"My immediate family, mainly my father, is part of the main branch of the Vantablack family and helped with the reconstruction of Fortuna, well, that is to say he was, before he decided to past the mantle to me. He named me the new monarch of this town when I turned eighteen and he left to travel Remnant with my mother. Unfortunately, they died in a crash due to airship malfunction. It was overseas so there were no survivors. I lost my parents in one day." Her words changed the atmosphere in the room quickly. The members of VRSZ were a little unnerved by the beginning of this story. Ghost didn't seem fazed like the rest of them. He has probably heard this before.
"I wept for so long, for several days. I felt so heartbroken, so alone, but I wasn't. My uncle Sterling always stayed by my side; teaching and guiding me on how to be a proper ruler to my people. Without him, Fortuna would've fallen under my unprepared supervision. Onyx, my sweet cousin, taught me how to smile during rough times. Being the son to a Vantablack and a faunus, he was rejected by many people in my family, but knowing how it felt to be alone, I took him in. We inspired one another. Ultimately, I learned from them that even though my parents were gone, there are still those who I can call family, others who need me as much as I need them. But I digress from what you all truly want to know." The story was a little more uplifting now and she was finally going to explain why she fabricated Royal.
"When I first came into power, a vast majority of Fortuna's denizens didn't believe I could fulfill such a role at a tender age. This led many to doubt my abilities and also undermine my authority which increased the amount of criminal activity. My own forces did the best they could and one of Sterling's idea gave birth to Moneta, which did help a lot, but it wasn't enough to suppress crime. To make matters worse, Terra Cotta arrived and he organized his own gang that wrecked havoc for a month until Turquoise appeared out of nowhere and started her own spree of crime just to get the things she wanted. This caused her to clash with Terra Cotta on multiple occasions and their feuds had collateral damage. My home became a battlefield with no end in sight and I was finally fed up with it."
"If I couldn't stop crime from the outside, I needed to control it from the inside. For months, I orchestrated large scale crimes to get everyone's attention, specifically Terra Cotta and Turquoise's. I made sure every transgression I committed was done under the name Royal to piqued everyone's interest. I had to make my people fear me to get to the top of the criminal underground. They feared someone who was a complete mystery but I still needed something that made Royal tangible, reachable, but away from sight. That's where Ghost comes in," she explained, flashing a smile to her employee who bowed his head in return.
"Years ago, a man named Stark came to Fortuna from Atlas. He sought an audience with me and told me about the hardships he endured, the terrible things he's done, and he wished for atonement. He planned to leave this place, but not before he begged me to fulfill a request; give his son sanctuary. That man left and with his son was in my care, and employ. I gave him a home and a job as my confidant. He became Royal's subordinate and did his legwork, meeting and coming to terms with Terra Cotta and Turquoise. I wouldn't have been able to get that far without him."
"Atlas? If he's from Atlas and he wears that jacket... Is he part of Greyhound?" Silver thought, keeping his cool. He would have to ask Ghost later.
"Thank you for your words, my lady, but could you not talk about me like I'm not here, and could you please stop that," Ghost said, a little uncomfortable with Clair petting him while she was in the middle of her story. Based on Clair's attitude, this seemed to be a common occurrence between the two, though experiences in the past has proven she does this with many people. Violet decided to speak up to fill some lingering questions.
"If Ghost was known as your subordinate, then why was he working for Turquoise? To spy on her?"
"Hehehe, very smart, my Wallflower. Turquoise has proven to be more of a hassle to keep tabs on than Terra Cotta. She rather unpredictable. So Ghost offered to observe her directly, posing as a traitor working for her. This was beneficial to monitoring her movements."
"So, that time when Ghost was scaling Concordia-"
"He was trying to meet with me to relay information, however your intervention caused some...changes, and alterations needed to take place. Only a few people knew about his true objective and I couldn't have his cover blown, so I had to subdue him when you guys had him cornered. I made it look like he was arrested, but Ghost was resting in relaxation; massages, spa baths, catering and then some." Everyone except Remus looked at Ghost with jealousy. He was being pampered for the past few weeks. Ghost looked away to avoid their resentful staring.
"If you had Ghost out of commission all this time, what was your next move?" Violet asked the older woman, who looked at her with confusion.
"Isn't it obvious? I decided to leave it to you and your team."
"Eh?" The only thing Violet could say.
"All of you have proven yourselves strong enough to carry on what I started. I told you before that I'm a fan of Team VRSZ, I just put my faith in you and it paid off. Crime is at an all time low and my people are happy." Clair was too happy to hide her glee.
"But what about the people who were affected by real crimes? The ones conducted on your orders?" Silver asked, thinking that many sacrifices and casualties were made for her facade.
"It's true, many of my citizens had to be victims of my scheme, but I made sure to reimburse them and then some. When you take someone's silver, you repay them in gold. I made sure no one suffered for my role as Royal," she answered, in a matter-of-fact tone that let them know she really thought of everything. Her plan was close to flawless, she covered her tracks and had her eyes on everyone. She could easily make adjustments to her plan if any snafus appeared. Intelligent, strong, iron-willed, and a master tactician.
"Clair de Lune Vantablack. This woman is beyond us. If we were to actually face her, I'd...think we'd lose," Violet thought, more wary of Clair than before, even if she wasn't an enemy.
"What happens now? I mean, without Terra Cotta and Turquoise, where does that leave Royal?" Zelts asked the question everyone wanted to ask.
"Hmmm." Clair placed an index finger to her lips. "I guess since VRSZ took down Royal's crime ring, then Royal should fall to VRSZ as well."
"Really?" Silver was surprised. "Just like that? It's over?"
"I see no reason for Royal to be relevant anymore. He served his purpose and now I can lay him to rest. Tomorrow I will leak information that Royal has left Fortuna and it was Team VRSZ that scared him out of town. How does that sound?" Clair asked seeking their approval.
Silver and Zelts looked to Violet for an answer and judging from their expressions, the answer was unanimous. "Yes, let's finally put an end to all this," Violet said, and Clair nodded in confirmation.
"And so, the Royal's saga comes to an end. Congratulations!" Clair clapped, but no one else was in a festive mood, except Remus who shared her enthusiasm.
"Um, can we go home now? I'm mentally exhausted," Silver complained. and Violet felt the same.
"Let's go home," Violet declared, as she led her team out of Clair's office. Everyone except Violet was out of the room. She stood at the doorway then turned to face Clair one more time. "I never underestimated you, but even still, you really are full of secrets, I really need to watch for any surprises," Violet said, more impressed with Clair than anything else. She was about to leave until Clair spoke up.
"Oh, you flatter me too much! After all, you are the one full of surprises and secrets, Alyssa." Clair's words made Violet pause in her tracks. She felt her world come to a halt and the only ones remaining were Clair and herself.
"Violet?" Remus asked, on the other side of the door, but he didn't receive a response. All Violet did was slowly close the door between them, leaving Clair, Ghost, and herself the only ones left in the room.
"How...do you know that name?" Violet said, her voice shaking and she was physically trembling. Fear was written all over her face. For once, she felt like any form of strength she had was taken away in an instant, and the one holding it was Clair.
Seeing how uncomfortable she was, Clair needed to lighten the atmosphere. "Ghost, could you please give us the room. Violet and I need some time to talk. Escort the others to Concordia's main lobby and wait for us there."
With Ghost out of her office, Clair looked at Violet and vice versa. No one was talking for a good five minutes until Violet finally tried to initiate.
"D-do you- Do you..." she stopped when she realized she was repeating herself. She couldn't think of what else to say, so Clair spoke to progress the conversation.
"I told you before that I like to keep an eye on things that interest me, including you, but if I were completely honest, I knew who you were the minute I saw you, Alyssa Underland."
Volume One's Last Chapter: Alyssa
Additional Information
The name Alyssa is derived from the flower alyssum which means 'not insane' in Greek. The flower comes in various colors such as pink, white, blond, and purple. It is also known as the Wonderland flower.
Underland is used in many novels as a world of fantasy. Most of the time, one beneath a brighter more colorful world and is usually portrayed in a darker sense than people expect.