XLIV - Ecotone

Dark themes ahead.

~~~(XLIV)~~~

For his crimes, he'd been put to trial immediately after being arrested, a way to appease the negativity of the kingdom. If it worked, he never knew, nobody ever said anything to him about anything.

The moment the trial ended, he had pled guilty to each charge, he had been thrown in a maximum security prison outside Vale proper. Apparently the facility held the type of criminals that have no release date. So if the place became under siege by an unstoppable force of Grimm, the guards would abandon the people locked up. He could understand, not many people would cry if he died after all. The kingdom might even celebrate.

"I wish I had a cellmate at least…"

Oxon felt like he knew loneliness back in the wilds of Sanus. He thought that nothing could have been worse than such days. Now though, he knew otherwise. In the wilds, there had been animal sounds all around him, reminding him that he was still present in the world.

But this cell had nothing, no sounds to listen to, no warm sun rays, not even a proper window. Just a grate in the door to let the guards check in on him.

His cell was strange, though he didn't have a lot of experience with them in the first place. He wasn't sure if most other prisons had steel bars criss crossing the ceiling. But his cell did, and they were sturdy too, he'd been able to support his weight on them.

He'd been confused at first by the strange cell design, perhaps it was used to exercise or something. But then he'd received extra sheets and a small stool from a guard. That hadn't been enough for him at first, but the strange amount of check-ins had, especially once he realized they were frustrated every time they saw him.

That was when he'd figured it out. They wanted him to commit suicide in this cell. That dark realization had put him in a bad place for a while. With his isolation, he had nothing but his mind for company, memories were all he had to keep him sane.

"I won't let you just… kill yourself in front of me!"

That one moment had kept him alive. The fact there was one person who might care… It gave him strength to fight off the choking vines in his head. He couldn't give up, not again…

Idly, he wondered how the girl was. He hoped she made it out that night. He also thought of the others, how they were dealing with the monstrous events during the fall season.

~~~(XLIV)~~~

Far away in the cold nation of Atlas, Weiss Stands in front of her younger brother. He'd grown since she's seen him last, still twiggish though. He clasped his hands behind his back and gave her a smirk that didn't fit him.

"What do you want?"

"I heard Father shouting with someone in his study earlier."

"Mother?"

Whitley scoffed at that, they both knew it wasn't likely. "No, she's already drinking in the garden. I think it was a man."

Well that was new. There weren't many in her father's circles that would argue with him, let alone yell. So she was quite curious at who it might be.

Whitley put on a fake look of concern as well. It disgusted her to see him this way. "I just wanted to warn you. I heard he had asked to speak with you."

"I'll be fine." She was a huntress after all.

"I know you will. You are strong, like Winter." That was a strange thing to say. She narrowed her eyes at the words, not sure of their meaning.

"You never liked Winter."

"True, but you can't deny her resolve."

"You... seem different."

"And you've been gone. I'll have you know I didn't stop growing while you were away at Beacon."

So you have, but I'm not sure I like how you've turned out.

"A little warning, I'm sure he told you how distasteful your choice of partner was at your school's little… shindig. He was furious that you did not choose one of the sons of Vale's elite to join you." She froze momentarily at the words. Her father had hardly talked to her since she'd been forced home. But of course he was displeased with something like that.

"Is there a point to you telling me?"

"Oh, not particularly. Just musing it over, it's fairly ironic after all." Her eyes narrowed at that, what was Whitley trying to say? "I mean, it's a shame that your first attempt at romance was with a criminal of such proportions. I daresay you would be hard pressed to find someone worse. I'm sure any suitors brought up by father will seem much more palatable now."

That got Weiss to give her brother a glare. She absolutely despised the "people" her father wished to set her up with. They were blood sucking leeches that never cared about her in the slightest. Only their company and its money.

"Anyways, good luck with Father!" With that her sibling walked off. Likely to paint or study. Those were the only things he had been doing since she'd returned, certainly never tried talking to her until now.

After Whitley left, Weiss pulled out a silver pendant that was hidden down the front of her dress. She had replaced the leather with a thin silver chain to make it blend in. Looking at the engraved metal gave her some slight comfort. To nobody in particular, Weiss speaks softly to the empty hallway. "I think your nickname was spot on..."

~~~(XLIV)~~~

"One ticket to Mistral please." Sun wasn't a ninja like Blake or stealthy like Ren, but he could sneak close enough to Blake to overhear her destination.

He wasn't sure why she ran or where she was going, but he would not let her go alone. She couldn't know he was here, either, or she'd just run somewhere else. He regretted not trying to find her in The Fall, and she'd almost died.

Never again… I can't believe we got fooled so well.

Once she was far enough away, he walked to the counter and bought a ticket for himself. He couldn't stow away this time, security was at an all time high. If he wanted to watch over the girl, then he'd have to put his lien where his mouth was.

Once on the ship, he pulled up his dark hood to better conceal himself. He didn't know where she was going, but he'd follow her until the end.

That, Sun swore.

~~~(XLIV)~~~

"New information has been coming out in regards to the sentencing of the terrorists who took part in the attack on Vale and Beacon academy. Many members of the White Fang were apprehended by heroic huntsmen and huntresses. And while tension with the kingdom of Atlas is high, many more high ranking members were arrested by the soldiers of the northern kingdom. In an act of goodwill, they were handed over to Vale to face justice."

On screen, a collection of different faunus mugshots were displayed on the screen. Men and women with different animal traits, all scowling at the camera. They each had a wide list of crimes put below their faces. The White Fang were nice and all, but Yang was waiting for a specific face to show up.

Eventually she got what she wanted. The face of that lying snake in an orange jumpsuit appeared on the TV. Her fist clenched when she saw him, a small reminder at what he'd help do. His face showed regret, yeah right, she'd been fooled once already. She wouldn't fall for those crocodile tears now.

"And news of the trial of Oxon Adhmad has just been released to the public. And while many of us surely expected a lengthy trial of the century. The former huntsman trainee had pleaded guilty to each of his charges. For those at home wondering what those were, we have the list here. Terrorism, three counts of theft, countless accessory to murder charges, destruction of kingdom and private property, endangerment, and breaking of the Vytal Accords. With a guilty plea to every one of them, Oxon Adhmad has been sent to Maximin Prison, where he will serve nine consecutive life sentences."

Yang let out a low whistle at that. He'd certainly gotten just deserts for what he did. She only wished she could have gotten one last hit on him before he was locked up. Taking a drink of soda, the girl had a slight grin when his face left the screen.

"Get fucked, Ox."

~~~(XLIV)~~~

Back on the mainland, a large group of armed men and women were gathered together in the woods outside the city. One would think the gathering was strange, the wilds outside the kingdom were hardly safe. That is until they saw the masks they wore. Beacon had been a wild success for the Vale White Fang, they had been emboldened and now wanted more.

A man in black stepped up onto a makeshift stage that overlooked the large crowd. "Brothers and sisters of the White Fang! Our victory on Vale was just the start! Our friends who facilitated this win are planning to aid our cause to strike Haven in Mistral! We all know how rotten that kingdom is, only second to the brutal land of Atlas!" Many boos and insults rose out among the faunus, none aimed at the man in charge, but at the eastern kingdom. They too were happy to strike against the former slavers of Anima.

"But before we can do that, there are a great many comrades that we must aid! Many of our brothers and sisters have been locked away, and we. Shall. Free. Them!" Adam Taurus drew his sword high to emphasize his declaration, letting the soldiers before him cheer wildly. He smirked at the way things were going, Cinder and her group had more than delivered in her promise. He looked forward to more of the same.

He might not have found his traitorous old flame, but he would eventually. I'll make sure you can't run away. Not this time…

~~~(XLIV)~~~

Short & not all that exciting a chapter, but it puts a few plot points in motion, think of this as an intermission of sorts. Most, we already know. But a few new ones as well.

Hopefully y'all approve of the direction taken post Fall. I had a few different ideas floating around that all eventually lead to the same outcome, but this is what I went with.

Don't forget to review! :)