Chapter 14: Unfortunate Circumstances
It had been a long time since Levi had slept in a comfortable bed. He had gotten so used to sleeping on the ground that he wondered what an actual bed felt like. Sleeping on a couch in a cheap motel was not the definition of sleep he had been looking for. His muscles were still a bit stiff but that was nothing a few stretches wouldn't resolve. It had been a couple of days since arriving in Mistral, and so far nothing of interest had happened. Sienna had left the apartment at night, gathering as much information as possible, but even then that wasn't much. Nothing about the White Fang, aside from them recruiting members, was known. There was certainly no information about the attack on Haven Academy either, making things a lot harder for them.
Having gotten up early, the miqo'te faunus had decided to make use of the training field his apartment had come with. They were one section below another row of apartments, and two sections below Haven Academy. In fact, he could see the very top of Haven Tower from the furthest edge of the training field. Weiss had immediately made use of the added facilities, practicing her sword skills as well as working out whenever possible. She had to purchase some extra clothes, but that seemingly didn't bother her.
The last member of their group, Neo, had practically gotten used to acting as Blake. While Weiss still had an issue with her being in that form, she had come to accept it as the only way Neo could blend in. She had adopted most of the mannerisms the heiress had described and had even started carrying a beat-up copy of "Ninjas of Love" around to sell the persona out, just in case someone recognized her. As for her being mute, she had an idea for that already, so they weren't too worried.
Stepping out into the training field, the distant mountains barely hiding the rising sun made Levi smile. The air was so much fresher here than in Beacon Academy. The picturesque scenery around him only served to relax him. Had it not been for their impending mission, to stop Haven from being destroyed, he would seriously consider sticking around. But he hadn't come out to admire the scenery, he had come out to practice with his semblance.
"Alright, just like Weiss said, an hour of meditation and intense focus to raise my aura reserves, and then the actual training can begin." he thought, as he found a perfect spot for him to meditate.
He had started this shortly after meeting Weiss, knowing it would help him immensely. Levi had been training his aura back at Beacon, but he hadn't taken it that seriously before. Now that things were no longer in an Academy setting, he realized the potential of death and came to the realization that his aura reserves needed to increase. Trained professionals could last up to an hour in battle if they carefully avoided hits and fought well. He could only hold his aura shield up and fight for half an hour at best. He needed to get better.
That's how it had been. His morning meditation had helped him clear his mind, and forget about his worries. It had even helped him to control his visions, having stopped seeing Aria and Cadence during the times he had been practicing. The hour moved a lot faster than he remembered, having heard his scroll alarm beeping. His feline-like eyes slowly opened, being greeted by the morning sun, having cleared the distant mountains.
"Ah." he sighed, rising to his feet. He stretched his limbs, loosening his muscles a bit. He activated his semblance, the bright blue shimmer covering his entire body briefly. He felt it had grown stronger, but not by much. He shrugged it off. "Well, Atlas wasn't built in a day, as they say. Gotta keep at it."
Now was when the true training began. He moved forward, glad he hadn't donned his armor for training sessions. It felt a lot less restrictive to move around without it. He did a few cartwheels and handsprings, remembering the fundamentals that Neo had taught him. He could move around swifter, more precisely. It would be a lot easier to practice dodging attacks, but that wasn't the purpose of this morning's session after all. He tugged on his gloves, channeling aura into them.
"Okay, I wrote that new glyph and didn't even get to try it out. So now it's time to put it to the test and see how much I can do with it." he thought to himself. He took a deep breath, forming a glyph at the end of his fingers, and with a few motions, urged it to glow brown. He flicked it to the ground, focusing on making it larger.
As he did, a swirl of sand and rocks began forming in the center, growing larger and larger in size, looking almost like a dust devil. He could feel the wind pulling him toward it, but he planted his feet firmly on the ground, cloak whipping around as he moved the glyph around. With a flick, he sent it upward, the dust storm breaking apart with ease.
He followed it by drawing a row of white glyphs, channeling ice dust through them, their color changing to a light blue. He fired hundreds of ice shards into the air, swiftly forming orange glyphs above them. Medium-sized balls of fire collided with the icicles, shattering them with ease. He swept his hand, collecting all of the water with a water glyph, sending it upward, willing it to shatter, sending the cool spray in all directions.
He swept his hand around as he spun, creating several spinning glyphs, all of them crackling with lightning, and with a snap of his fingers, massive bolts of lightning arced outward, striking the ground from all directions, leaving singe marks and craters in the ground. He formed a vermillion glyph beneath his feet, launching himself into the air, willing the lightning glyphs to flip around. He detonated his combustion glyph, sending fire and lightning in all directions.
Levi landed in a crouch a few feet away from the center of the training ground, panting a bit. He took a deep breath, exhaling slowly through his mouth. He flexed his fingers, forming a hard light glyph in front of himself, focusing on making it as hard as possible. He threw a test punch with his aura activated, focusing it all on his fist, but his hand easily bounced off. Nodding to himself, he jumped back, using several flips to gain some distance. He formed a gravity glyph beneath his feet, grounding him in place. He focused on making a path of glyphs in front of himself before sprinting forward, speeding himself up with each glyph he stepped on, using the combustion dust to propel himself forward. He pulled his fist back, a small glimmering pink glyph forming beneath his elbow.
"Haaah!" he shouted, the energy dust underneath his elbow exploded outward, sending his fist forward at twice the speed, allowing him to shatter the hard light glyph with ease, the sound of shattering glass echoing through the lot, followed by an outward wave of energy. He shook his hand, his fingers feeling numb from the attack.
His ears twitched, causing him to look back at the patio doors, where Weiss had seemingly been standing, leaning back against the edge of the door. She had an impressed look on her face, her arms crossed over her chest. She was wearing an exercise uniform, a white and blue crop-top, with the Schnee Crest on the left breast, along with a pair of matching white shorts. She wore a pair of sneakers, seemingly not caring that they didn't go well with the rest of her outfit. Her usual tiara was absent, her hair was tied back with a black ribbon. He shyly looked away, a look of embarrassment on his face.
"How long were you standing there?" he asked, scratching his cheek.
"Around the time you started, I walked to the kitchen for some water and noticed you about to start practicing. I will admit, you are making great improvements with your semblance. Your applications are intriguing."
"Are they? I sort of copied you," he admitted, rubbing his arm. "I don't really have a frame of reference for this sort of thing. The only people with glyphs are either Schnees are random people who hardly mastered them. It feels like I'm ripping you off."
"You aren't, I assure you. I learned how to use my semblance from my sister Winter, and she learned from our mother, Willow. So in a sense, our style is defined by our family. Of course, how we use our semblance is different. For example, my sister applies her lightning dust similarly to you, but I chose to use a hidden technique that is rather hard to master." she said.
As if to prove her example, she drew Myrtenaster, channeling lightning dust through it. She held it up, firing a single burst upward. It swirled around her, taking the form of a glyph with a clock face beneath her feet. She darted forward, closing the distance between herself and Levi in the blink of an eye. He felt Myrtenaster's cold blade against his throat, remaining stock still from shock. She let out a giggle, stepping back after a second.
"What the hell was that? You were there and then here in a snap!"
"That, Levi, is what the Schnee Family calls "Time Dilation". It is a glyph technique that involves rigorous training and focus. Our family has been practicing it for a long time, but not many managed to achieve its full effect. In fact, it was my grandfather who managed to successfully use it." she said, a smile on her face. "It essentially allows you to dilate time around yourself, speed it up in a sense. It makes you move faster, but it also has a negative effect."
"That being?"
"Repeated use of Time Dilation leads to expedited aging. My grandfather took part in the Great War 80 years ago and used this glyph a lot during his youth. Due to this, by the time he had established the Schnee Dust Company and found himself a wife to settle down with, he was far older than he was. He still lived a long life, don't get me wrong, but the added effects are dangerous to use. Which is why I only use it during dire circumstances."
"I see, that would be bad. You are far too pretty to look like your 78 at the age of 20," he said, earning a punch to the arm from the heiress. "Ow! It was a joke, sheesh."
"Yeah well, that joke just made me reconsider my offer. I wish to impart my knowledge to you. The Schnee Semblance and yours may be similar, but they are far more different than you think. You cannot summon the enemies you defeat, but that doesn't mean you won't be able to do some nifty things with it. I, like you, must calculate things accordingly. Though at this point, it's all second nature." she admitted.
"Can I seriously learn how to dilate time around myself?" he asked curiously. Weiss nodded firmly.
"Of course! It's all about dust and how it is applied. You've learned how to channel lightning through your glyphs, but in order to speed up your time, you have to infuse your glyph with a certain amount of dust. That of course depends on your control of aura, your application of dust, and your mental calculations."
Levi nodded, mentally jotting everything she said down. "So it's an equation. I have to figure out X, Y, and Z, where X stands for the amount of aura, Y stands for the application of dust, and Z for the calculations."
"If that's how you wish to see it, then sure. Once you figure this out and master it, I assure you, it will make you a swift fighter. But heed my warning, overuse will age your time, and you're too adorable to look like an old alley cat." she replied with a wink. His eyes widened a bit, ears sticking straight up. He narrowed his eyes, a look of annoyance on his face.
"Your attempts at humor bore me."
"Oh please, you did it to me. That's what you get for insulting my genius," she said with a smile. She took her scroll out of her pocket, sifting through her gallery until she found what she was looking for. "I want you to study this. This is a calculation I wrote when I was 11 years of age. It's also the incantation, if you will, behind my time dilation glyph. Once you think you have it memorized, we'll start applying it."
The young man gave her a nod. He sat down on the ground, scroll in hand as he started reading the massive calculation in front of him. Weiss meanwhile decided to return to her own training. Having finished her exercise routine, she moved on to Semblance training, keeping an eye on Levi, making sure he didn't slack off while her back was turned.
xxx
Neo was often jealous of tall people. She cursed herself for being born the way she was. Roman always told her she had been born as a short stack for a reason. He also started saying she was fun-sized early on into their careers. Her height gave her quite the advantage. She was able to move about without being touched. Hardly anyone landed a solid hit on her due to her easily moving around. Of course, being tall had its benefits, which was why she was enjoying 'Blake' so much now.
Since Sienna was out gathering information, Levi and Weiss was back training, and she had nothing to do, she decided to take a walk through downtown Mistral, mostly to sate her own curiosity, but also to distract herself.
After all, now that she was here in the Kingdom Capital, the time to tell Levi the truth was growing closer and closer. Her heart skipped a beat in thought. She just couldn't risk him finding out too early. But she also knew keeping it from him was going to be worse in the long run. No matter what she did, she would eventually have to tell him everything. How she was close to Roman Torchwick, how she had set him free and delivered that infected scroll to the bridge of the Prydwen, the Atlas Flagship, as well as being responsible for the Atlassian Knights attacking the citizens of Vale.
She honestly felt awful, normally she wouldn't care. She had killed so many people in the past and had felt nothing. She had even felt joy at some of the deaths, especially those that involved people who had done her best friend dirty, as he often said. Dispatching those folks was nothing but a great relief. But these days, she thought back to them. They weren't innocent, but their screams, their begging, and pleading, which had once brought a smile to her face, now made her feel terrible.
She sighed, shaking her head as she attempted to clear her errant thoughts away. "I need to focus. Right now the White Fang has a noose around our necks. Cinder is certainly going to be here and now I am feeling like a damn goodie-two-shoes. Oh, how the mighty fall."
Her personal guilt trip aside, she knew that losing focus now could cost her everything. The entirety of Mistral was abuzz with activity, the usual vendors were pushing their wares, asking passersby to invest in whatever they were selling. Dust prices were through the roof, a single vial of refined Schnee Dust had gone from 8 Lien a vial to 58, and was seemingly on the rise. Things were not looking well, and while normally she would get out of Dodge, she knew now was not the time to run.
She felt a pair of eyes on her, causing her to stop. Despite her wearing a cloak, it seemed as if someone had recognized her. She continued walking as if nothing wrong was going on, briefly peeking over her shoulder. A familiar head of blonde stuck out of the crowd, slowly, but surely approaching her. She grits her teeth, quickly darting into an alleyway. The moment she had she sprinted away, her heels clacking loudly against the concrete.
"Why the hell is she here? Of all people that needed to see me, it had to be her?" she hissed, turning into another street. Her eyes widened when she hit a dead end, causing her to quicken her pace. She jumped onto some crates, pushing herself up toward a fire escape.
She climbed onto it, quickly moving up the stairs, jumping over the edge of the building just as her pursuer arrived in the alleyway. Neo dropped her disguise, changing it in favor of Blake or her normal self. Her formally raven hair shifted color, turning a brick red color. She grit her teeth as she struggled to remember the image of this girl, one of the girls she had seen fighting in the Vytal Tournament.
"Hey Blake, if that's really you then you don't need to hide!"
"Shit!" Neo thought, feeling her semblance break. She returned to her normal self, forcing her to pull her hood over her face. She stepped away from the edge, looking for an escape. Sadly the nearest building was too far for her to jump. She would have to wait for the blonde to take her leave, or fight her way out of this situation. The latter was not an option she wanted to take, despite the last time she faced her having the upper hand. A lot of time had passed and she likely grew stronger. Neo wasn't willing to find out how much she had.
"I'm not mad at you, Blake. I get why you ran away! You ran because you were scared. Because you had spent so long trying to stop something like what happened from happening. But it wasn't your fault. What Adam did was no one's fault, not mine and not yours!"
"What is she talking about?" Neo mentally questioned, remembering something Weiss had mentioned before. She peeked over the edge, seeing the blonde standing near the middle of the alleyway.
"Listen, we're staying in a rented apartment one level below Haven Academy. I'll send the information to your scroll. The rest of our friends are there. Jaune, Nora, Ren and my sister Ruby-"
"Ruby?" the young woman mentally croaked. Just hearing the name made her angry, she could feel it flowing through her body. Her fists shook, fingernails digging into the soft flesh of her palms. "Ruby… Little Red, I'm so close to Little Red, maybe I should-"
"No!"
She clutched her head tightly, clenching her eyes tightly. "Little Red didn't kill Roman, it was Cinder's fault. She's the one that planned it all."
"If you change your mind, come see us, alright Blake? We really could use another friend. We're in a bad way right now, and we could use all the help we could get."
"Help? They want Blake's help, but for what? No… focus, Little Red is here. Let her lead you to her. Gain her trust, stab her in the chest. This is what you want, you want her dead!"
"No… no I don't. Ruby is innocent!"
"Not as innocent as Cinder. She fought us, she wanted to stop us, she separated me from Roman! Roman died and I wasn't there for him. She needs to die!"
Without a second thought, Neo jumped from the rooftop, transforming as she did so. She landed in a crouch behind Yang Xiao Long, causing her to turn around. The air around her billowed her cloak, as she slowly rose to her full height, lowering her hood. Yang only stared at her, a small smile flashing onto her face as she stared at her partner.
"It's… nice to see you, Blake."
Neo gave her a curt nod, plastering a smile onto her face. It was a genuine one. A smile of glee, she almost skipped as Yang went into a tirade, explaining several things that didn't matter to her. All she needed to do was find Little Red and stab her. It would be quick and painless, the first stage of her revenge would finally be fulfilled.
Nothing else mattered to her. What mattered was her own gratification, everyone be damned. Neopolitan was going to avenge Roman Torchwick or die trying.
xxx
"Again!" Weiss cried, urging Levi on. He formed a glyph underfoot, focusing his lightning dust at the center just like she had told him to. The glyph, normally yellow, began flickering between colors, two small lines beginning to form near the middle. He imagined the face of a clock overtaking the glyph, a light ticking filling the air.
"That's it, Levi. Keep it up!" she continued, a smile gracing her lips as the miqo'te faunus continued channeling aura into his semblance.
"Weiss, I'm starting to lose it!"
"Just a little more aura, you've got this!" the former heiress said, continuing to encourage him. The young man growled as he channeled just a bit more aura into the glyph, only for it to shatter, sending him flying back. He cried in pain as he struck the ground, panting for breath. Weiss sighed, placing a hand on her hip. "That was a little too much aura."
Levi sat up on his elbows, chest rising and falling as he struggled to get air into his lungs. His lengthy silvery-blue hair stuck to his forehead, sweat rolling down the sides of his head. "That fucking sucked, Weiss."
"Believe me, your glyph shattering is the least of your worries. It could have been a lot worse, you could have uncontrollably sped up your own time and died instantly."
"What?"
She started laughing, a genuine laugh, unlike anything he had heard. She wiped the tear from her eye, brushing her hair over her shoulder. "I'm kidding, that wouldn't happen. Your entire aura would be consumed faster than you would age. At worst, you'll have a beard."
He forced himself to stand up, though his aura had definitely tanked in the last couple hours he had been practicing with Weiss, he still had more than enough to continue. Thankfully, casting glyphs didn't take much aura, but repeated use would definitely leave him fatigued.
"I think I'm done with Time Dilation for today, if I keep straining myself I'll either die, shoot myself off that cliff, or crap myself. Maybe all three," he said, earning an eye roll from the white-haired woman. "Are there any other tricks you can show me?"
"Hmm." she hummed, glancing up at the sky. It was around 11 am now, the sun near its zenith. "Have you used your glyphs as platforms before?"
"Not really, my glyphs seem to shatter if I add too much weight to them. The only time they don't is if I use gravity dust, hard-light dust, or combustion dust," he admitted, crossing his arms. "Why do you ask?"
"Glyphs aren't just useful trinkets to fling fire or ice at your opponents, nor are they just for blasting water or controlling a funnel of wind whenever you desire. Glyphs are a utilitarian tool, meant to be applied to a great many things. You already learned how to propel yourself with them, now it's time for you to use them as mid-air platforms."
Drawing her rapier, Weiss knelt down slightly, twisting herself around, her feet landing on a glyph. She leaped forward, casting another glyph in front of her. She cast several more, climbing higher and higher as she did. With one final glyph, she flipped herself around, aiming a downward stab at the ground. The ground erupted with ice, creating a chandelier of sorts where her sword had met the ground. She flipped back to her feet, using a few glyphs as a slide.
"See? Not so hard, just apply the same amount of hard light dust as you did with your shield, make it solid enough for you to put all your weight onto. Once you master this, you'll have more options. You can attack from any angle and truly become unpredictable."
He glanced at his glove for a moment, channeling some aura into it, forming a white glyph in front of him. He stepped onto it, only for it to shatter beneath his weight. He created another one, gaining the same result. He sighed, shaking his head. "All outta dust. With the rates here being so high, I doubt we'd get a decent price."
Levi almost screamed when Weiss tossed Myrtenaster at him. He barely caught it, almost dropping it to the ground. "I have plenty of dust left, and while I may not be the Schnee Dust Company Heiress anymore, I can at least procure dust at cheaper prices. Besides, my father never got the chance to announce my leaving the company, so I doubt his little threat actually made it out of Atlas."
"Hey, the CCT is down. The fact that Mistral News Network actually gets up-to-date news from Atlas is impressive. If anyone can haggle and get us cheap dust, it's the Schneeist of the Schnees."
"Don't use my name like that," she deadpanned, not at all amused by what he had said.
The young man took a step back, pressing Myrtenaster's trigger, letting the cylinder spin. Once the hard-light dust had been selected, he pressed his fingers against the base of the blade, channeling aura through it, watching as the swirling designs began glowing white. Creating several hard-light platforms, he stepped up, using them as steps as he continued rising higher and higher. He reached the edge, jumping into a bicycle kick, launching a bit of dust at the ground, a glyph taking shape beneath his feet. He let out the breath he had been holding, stepping onto the ground.
"Not bad, that's likely one of the simplest of techniques. I'm surprised you haven't applied it more."
"Well, Shiva wasn't exactly built with my semblance in mind. These are things I likely would have learned when I was younger if I had built a good weapon," he replied with a sigh. "Still, it's never too late to learn, and I've improved a lot. Once I realized how much I had improved in such little time, I realized I shouldn't be too hard on myself. I gotta take it one step at a time."
"Well said! I'm proud of you, Levi. You've learned a valuable lesson much faster than I learned it. But I believe it's time to call it quits. We've expanded too much aura, and if I care to admit, am sweatier than a boxer after 12 rounds in the ring." she said, fanning herself. Levi chuckled, ears twitching a bit in amusement.
"A lot of men would kill to see Weiss Schnee soaked in sweat, wearing nothing but a sports bra and shorts, and I get to see it for free."
"Don't make me slap you, you pervy cat!"
"Not a cat." he corrected, brushing past her into the air-conditioned house. "Besides, it's early September, which is the hottest part of the year. Of course, we're gonna sweat like pigs, it's why we have training outfits. You go ahead and shower, I'll take this time to clean Myrtenaster and give her a good sharpening."
Weiss nodded, trying her face off with the towel she had brought along. "Thanks, Levi. You're the only one aside from Ruby who I trust with my weapon. I virtually had to teach her how it worked just so she could clean it for me. I miss those days."
"So do I." he said in a sad tone. Weiss remained silent as she made her way toward her bedroom. Levi, meanwhile, remained in the living room, reaching for his holster, pulling out his cleaning kit.
He flicked Myertenaster open, pulling all of the dust shells from within, eight in total, all corresponding to the types of dust Weiss used. Once he had done that, he removed the cylinder, grabbing his cleaning brush and a rag, pouring a bit of cleaning solution into it. He heard the shower start, signaling him that his friend had started bathing. When he was sure he was alone, he let out a sigh, relaxing a bit as he continued cleaning Myrtenaster's cylinder.
Levi closed his eyes for a moment as he kept cleaning, he started humming a melody, a song that he had never performed while he was back in Beacon. He remembered Sonata and Cadence's expressions when he had sung it for them, even Aria had been impressed, it was one of the few times he had actually seen her smile. The words started flashing into his mind, and without even realizing it, he had started to sing, for the first time in a long time.
"Well when you go
Don't ever think I'll try to make you stay
And maybe when you get back
I'll be off to find another way
And after all this time that you still owe
You're still the good-for-nothing, I don't know
So take your gloves and get out
Better get out
While you can~
When you go,
And would you even turn to say
I don't love you,
Like I did
Yesterday~"
He set the cylinder down, moving onto the rapier's main assembly, carefully disassembling the dust infusion system. It was all so methodical, he had done this before with Weiss's careful instruction, by now it was second nature to him. He slipped the brush into the port, cleaning out all of the dust residue that had been left behind from their training.
"Sometimes I cry so hard from pleading
So sick and tired of all the needless beating
But baby when they knock you
Down and out
It's where you oughta stay
And after all the blood that you still owe
Another dollar's just another blow
So fix your eyes ad get up
Better get up
While you can…
Whoa, Whoa~
When you go,
Would you even turn to say
I don't love you,
Like I did,
Yesterday~~"
His humming once again filled the room as he continued cleaning Myrtenaster, imagining himself on a stage, strumming a guitar. He set the main assembly aside, grabbing his whetstone and placing it on the table, beginning the main sharpening process, all the while, he hadn't noticed Weiss had been standing behind him, listening to his singing. She had stepped out for a moment, letting the water heat up a bit, and had caught his singing. She had a sad smile on her face as she listened in, the lyrics making her feel rather disappointed.
"When you go,
Would you have the guts to say,
I don't love you,
Like I loved you, yesterday
Oh I don't love you
Like I loved you, yesterday
I don't love you, like I loved you
Yesterday~~"
Levi let out a sigh as he let the final note hang, his lungs filling with precious oxygen. He frowned as he pulled Myrtenaster away from the whetstone, glancing at the beautiful blade for a mere moment before returning to what he was doing. Just as quietly as she had arrived, Weiss turned to leave, though he could tell she had been listening in.
He turned to look only after she had left. Shaking his head, he returned his gaze to what he was doing. Twenty solid minutes of sharpening should be enough. After all, it hadn't been that long since the last time he had sharpened their blades. He briefly wondered where Neo was but realized she would be back sooner or later. He just hoped she wasn't getting herself into trouble.
xxx
Neo had been silent since running into Yang. Well, she couldn't really speak, so aside from following the blonde and nodding whenever something was asked, she hadn't done much. So far, Yang hadn't suspected anything, and if she had, then she wasn't showing it. Perhaps her feelings toward seeing Blake had blinded her at that moment. She had noticed they were heading the same way she, Levi, Weiss, and Sienna had taken, though they had gone up an extra level.
Hush hung from her back at the ready, though at the moment, it looked like Gambol Shroud, Blake's personal weapon. She had studied Team RWBY a lot under Cinder's orders, to figure out how they worked, and how they could be disrupted. Everywhere they went though, Yang kept getting dirty looks, no matter what she did. She had given a few kids a smile and their parents had urged them along, genuinely confusing Neo. Had the blonde brawler done something she wasn't aware of. Once they had left the main part of the city, Yang let her tough-girl persona down, sighing rather audibly.
"I've gotten those looks since stepping outside of Patch," she explained, glancing back at the cat faunus. "The whole world saw me shatter Mercury's leg. So whenever I walk by someone, they think I'll do the same to them. They don't even care about that weasel being a criminal. All they remember is seeing that on live television."
Neo shrugged it off, giving Yang an eye roll, earning a giggle from her. "You're right, I shouldn't let it bother me. But I gotta ask, did you take a vow of silence or something? You haven't spoken a single word since we met. Or are you just not going to speak to anyone?"
She looked away, adopting a look of disinterest as she picked her raven black nails. Yang crossed her arms as she walked, stopping in front of Blake, a firm look on her face. "Look, whatever happened at Beacon is behind us. We let the old dogs lie, we get why you ran off, but not speaking is kind of low, don't you think? Ruby has missed you for months. The least you can do is act like you give a shit."
Unable to get out of that one, Neo resorted to her trusty scroll. She typed something out, taking Yang by complete surprise. She held the device out, a simple message having been typed out. "I'm sorry, Yang. I left for Menagerie after Beacon Fell and spent some time with family. Just before leaving, I sustained a heavy injury to my throat. I didn't turn my aura on in time so… yeah. The doctor said it'll take me a few weeks to speak again."
Yang cringed, the corners of her mouth curving downward. "Ah… jeez, I can only imagine. Shit… I'm sorry, here I thought you were being abnormally Blakey. I'll let the others know."
Thus, their walk resumed. Neo mentally sighed, wiping the metaphorical sweat from her brow. It didn't take them long to reach their apartment, which looked rather similar to the one Levi had rented. She stood outside, right in front of the wooden doors, hearing voices just beyond it. There were voices she didn't recognize, but Ruby's had been the most noticeable. She felt that familiar anger coursing through her, her eyes flickering a bit before settling on amber. Thankfully, Yang hadn't noticed.
The blonde gleefully opened the door, stepping into the house, a look of happiness and pride flashing onto her face. "Hope you guys don't mind, but I brought a cat home with me. She was walking around aimlessly and looked so lost, so I decided it would be bad if I just left her out in the cold."
"You brought a cat home?" the blond boy, Jaune, she assumed, said. Yang grabbed a hold of her wrist, pulling her from behind the unopened door. The group all gasped in surprise.
"BLAKE!" they shouted, clearly ecstatic to see her. A flash of red caught her eye, almost throwing her to the ground. She felt something squeezing her tightly and looked down, only to meet the silver-eyed gaze of Little Red.
"OMG, Blake! I missed you so much! You have no idea!" she exclaimed, burying her face into her shirt. "Everything happened so fast that I just couldn't say anything. When I woke up, you were gone. I tried asking my dad and Uncle Qrow about you, but you just disappeared. I'm so sorry! You must have been so scared, about Adam, the White Fang, the Fall. I wasn't a good leader, I basically abandoned you to die!"
Her lips remained pressed into a thin line, her right-hand wrapping around Gambol Shroud's handle. Though stoic on the outside, on the inside she was shaking with fury. How dare she hug her like that? How dare she apologize? Everything she was saying was meant for Blake, but their impact wasn't lost on her. Before she could even draw her weapon, Ruby grabbed a hold of her wrist, pulling her forcefully into the house.
"Come on, there's someone you have to meet!" she said.
"Hiya Blake, it's been a while. I hope you've been well." Jaune said, holding his hand out. Neo looked at it for a moment, before giving it a shake. The orange-haired girl, Nora, she recalled, held her fist out. She looked around for a moment, trying to remember what to do. Nora sighed, grabbing a hold of her hand, forcing it into a fist before bumping hers with Neo's.
"I can't believe you forgot how to fist bump. Where the heck were you? Some deserted island?"
Neo looked away, a bashful look on her face. Yang clapped her shoulder, giving their friends a smile. "She went back home to Menagerie. But she got a nasty injury to her throat, so she can't talk for a while."
"What a shame. Sorry to hear about your injury, Blake. May you make a full recovery soon." Ren said, giving her a polite bow. Neo looked taken aback by this act but gave him a slight nod.
"Here he is!" Ruby suddenly said, causing Neo to whirl around. She tilted her head a bit as she glanced down at the olive-skinned boy, who looked back at her with a look of curiosity.
"Uh… Ruby, she's giving me an odd look."
"Just introduce yourself, Oscar," she said, urging him on. He cleared his throat, nervously holding his hand out.
"Hello, my name is Oscar Pine, it's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Belladonna," he said softly. Neo gave him a smile and a nod.
"I can't believe it! We're almost together! We're still missing Weiss though, so for now I guess we'll just call ourselves Team RNJRYBO!"
"Ranger Rib O?" Ren asked, glancing at Nora, who just shrugged.
"I'unno, it sounds cool right?"
"It isn't really a word, Nora. Remember, Juniper is a type of tree and a color and Ruby is both a name and a color. That's why those names were given to us at Beacon." Jaune said, pointing that detail off. Nora brushed it off.
"Whatever, RNJRYBO sounds cool. It's like one of those Orc names you give to your character in Kingdoms and Dragons!"
"You've been reading too many comics lately, Nora. Perhaps it's time we began actual studies again, to keep your mind sharp."
"Bah, why? When are we going to put history into practice, or even mathematics?" the orange-haired girl asked. Oscar's eyes flashed brightly for a moment, causing Neo to jump back, a hand on her weapon.
"Not everything is useless, Miss Valkyrie. Even Mathematics has its uses in battle, for instance, knowing how to calculate altitude and distance, or longitude and latitude." Oscar said, his tone changing slightly. He glanced over his shoulder right at Blake, giving her a smile. "Don't be startled, Miss Belladonna. I know this may sound odd, but I'm certain you'll remember me once everything is explained."
"I forgot, we gotta fill ya in. Nora, take a deep breath," Yang said. Nora did as she was told, her lungs expanding a bit as her cheeks grew red.
"So when Cinder Fall attacked Beacon, she ended up killing Professor Ozpin, but as it turns out, he wasn't really dead dead, he was just floating around until bam! He met Oscar and ended up bonding with his soul. It turns out Professor Ozpin is actually a really dusty old wizard, who has been alive for a really long time! When he was killed his soul went like zip! And merged with Oscar's, so now Oscar will be Ozpin, but Ozpin is also Ozpin and like a bunch of other Ozpins from a long time ago. There's also this evil nasty bitch called Salem who controls the creatures of Grimm and planned the attack on Beacon! She sent Cinder there to retrieve the Relic of Choice. It turns out the Gods made Ozpin immortal and his task is to protect four relics. The Relic of Knowledge is here in Haven Academy, the Relic of Choice in Beacon, the Relic of Creation is in Atlas Academy and the Relic of Destruction is in Shade Academy. Not only that but there are four girls named Maidens with the power to control the seasons! Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall, and each can open a vault. Spring for Knowledge, Summer for Destruction, Fall for Choice, Winter for Creation, but we don't know where Spring is so it's alright. Oh oh, and Professor Lionheart is acting strange and not following rules that Ozpin set up so he can't be trusted, we're trying to find some huntsman to go break his legs and make sure the Relic of Knowledge is safe and out of Salem's hands."
Nora took a few gulps of air, her face having turned blue from how fast she had been speaking. Neo looked around for a moment, confusion clear on her face. She looked at Ruby, then at Yang, and finally at Oscar. She ran her fingers through her raven locks, her confusion turning into exasperation. She spotted a flask on the coffee table, and moved toward it, quickly uncapping it. She pressed it to her lips, downing its contents in a single go.
"That's a surprisingly tame reaction," Jaune said, causing everyone to look at him. He looked back, brow quirked. "What? Remember how we all reacted when we were told this? Though isn't drinking with a throat injury a bad idea?"
"I know this is a lot to take in, Miss Belladonna. But we require all the help we can get. Ruby and Yang are your close friends and teammates, and they trust me. Will you do the same? I won't blame you if you decide to walk away. We wouldn't want anything bad to happen to you, alright?"
"I wanna get the fuck out of here so I can process what the fuck I just heard." Neo thought as the burn of the alcohol she had drunk had started moving around her body. She tossed the flask to Yang, swiveling on her foot.
"You aren't going to join us?" the blonde asked. She reached for her scroll, typing a message on it, showing it to her.
"Yeah, I'm gonna go process what I just heard. I'll come back later and give you a proper answer." it read.
"You should stick around, Miss Belladonna. It has been a while since your friends and comrades have seen you. Would it not be wise to catch up and shoot the breeze, as the kids say?" Ozpin asked, taking a step forward. He held his cane tightly in his grasp, causing Neo to look down at him. "Or are you perhaps in a hurry because you aren't who you claim to be, and came here on a whim to do something that you now regret?"
Neo's eyes widened in shock. She took a step back, looking around the room for a moment seeing the mood had drastically changed. Yang adopted a more defensive stance, having activated Ember Celica. The raven-haired girl clenched her jaw as she looked around the room, focusing on Ruby, who just looked confused and hurt. She closed her eyes for a moment, time moving rather slowly. She could hear her heart beating in her ears.
"This is it, I've yearned for this. She's right in front of me, kill her! Kill her, why are you hesitating?!"
"Is this truly what you want Neo?"
"Shut up Roman! Now is not the time!"
"You have to look hard within yourself Neo, and ask yourself if this is what you want. Will killing Red satisfy your bloodlust, or will it just end in misery? We both know who truly deserves your ire. Direct it toward her, and forget Red. She was never our true target!"
"No… she separated me from you. She kept me from you, she got you killed! And I will never forget that!" She screamed, drawing her weapon. In a flash of pink, she darted forward, throwing a jab at Ruby, who stood stock-still for a moment, only to use her semblance to avoid the attack.
A sudden bang echoed through the room, Neo felt herself being launched to the other side of the room, slamming into the wall. She grit her teeth, darting forward as fast as she could, throwing several more jabs at Yang, who blocked them all with her mechanical arm. Ozpin suddenly stepped in, swinging his cane with strength and precision, causing Neo to use a flip to dodge it. He shortened the distance, throwing hundreds of speedy jabs at her chest, all of which she struggled to parry. She flicked her parasol open just as he unleashed a small pulse of kinetic energy, pushing her back.
"Who the hell is she?!" Jaune cried, having deployed his shield. Crocea Mors was in his grasp, Ren and Nora having left to retrieve their own weapons. Yang focused on the parasol, her eyes widening a bit in surprise. She tightened her fists, planting her feet firmly on the ground.
"Someone I've faced before. The last time we fought, she almost killed me, if it wasn't for my mom I would have died." Yang said, glaring at the woman. "Why don't you show us who you really are? Or are you too much of a coward to show your face?"
Neo spun her parasol around, pushing herself off the wall. She deflected Yang's gunshots, flipping over her head. She threw several speedy jabs at her back only for Ozpin to deflect them. She stumbled back, only to avoid Jaune's sword nearly slicing her arm open. He took several slashes at her, all of which were easily deflected. She spun her parasol around, catching his sword with the hook, wrenching it from his grasp. She turned around, driving the hook into his chin, quickly using it to sweep him off his feet.
She flicked Hush open, using its canopy to deflect Yang's shots. Using the nearby table as a platform, she darted forward, closing her canopy, throwing an aura-infused slash at the brawler, sending her back but not knocking her down. She walked forward, dragging her blade on the wooden floor, about to take a swing when she heard a rifle bolt nearby. She jumped back, avoiding the lightning shot aimed at her.
"I don't know who you are, but we don't want to fight you!" Ruby said, aiming Crescent Rose at her. Neo glared at her, finally dropping her disguise, a shower of pink swirling around her. Ruby gasped in shock, stumbling a bit. "You?"
She angled her parasol behind her, dashing forward as fast as she possibly could, drawing Hush's hidden blade. At the same time, Ruby deployed her scythe, spinning it around in time to deflect the attack. The two continued their fight, sparks raining around them as they fought. Neo easily pushed her back, making her stumble into the wall. She threw a jab at her face only for Ruby to dodge it with her semblance, a flurry of rose petals swarming around her.
"Leave my sister alone, you bitch!" Yang shouted, throwing a jab at Neo, who took the attack, letting herself shatter into a million pieces. Yang turned around, looking for the short girl, only to see a flash behind her sister. "Ruby!"
"Hah!"
Hush was deflected, throwing Neo off balance as Jaune spun around, slamming his sword into her chest. She was sent flying through the patio doors, the glass shattering under her weight. Neo slowly stood up, looking at her torn shirt, seeing the blood from her wound, only for her aura to rapidly close it.
"If you want to kill Ruby, you'll have to go through me. We've gone through a lot of shit for her to die here." He said, holding his shield at the ready.
"Look, I know what happened to Roman was bad, but it wasn't my fault. I was only trying to stop him from killing innocent people." Ruby said, causing Neo to snap her gaze in her direction. "He was the one who was beating me, he was the one who almost killed me. But then a Griffon came out of nowhere and ate him. It wasn't my fault. I wanted him to be stopped, not for him to die!"
Neo could feel the hot tears rolling down her face, feeling her legs quivering. She held Hush tightly in her grasp, about to race forward, yet still hesitating. She wanted to scream, scream until her throat was raw, but that was pointless. She didn't have a voice, it was nothing more than a moot point.
"She's right Neo, she was never the one at fault. It was always Cinder." Roman said, causing her to look to her right, seeing his form. He stood there, both hands on his cane, head bowed, a look of melancholy on his face. "Little Red was likely my greatest enemy, but she was just that, a kid. We had our Saturday Morning Villain routines, but there was nothing else. It was just business."
"It isn't just business Roman. You died because of her, you are gone and never will return. It's because of her that you left me all alone. I am nothing without you, NOTHING!"
The man let out a laugh, swinging his cane around as he approached her, tipping his hat back. "Neopolitan, you are everything without me. All I did was raise you in a life of crime, but you… you came out of that life. You grew stronger, you made friends. Now it's time for you to make a choice. Do you try and kill Little Red as an act of misguided revenge, or do you work with them to get the real bitch? Only you can make that choice, not me."
"I… I can't!"
"Yes, you can. It's time you learned how to be your own woman, without me. Remember where we came from, what we became, and what you can become. You are a beautiful flower, Trivia Vanille, it's time for you to bloom." he said, giving her a smile.
"I told you not to call me that ever again," she said, sniffling. "I love you, Roman. I'm sorry that I couldn't be there for you."
"Don't be sorry, besides this isn't goodbye. Just so long, I can't wait to see what a beautiful flower you'll bloom into. You'll always be my little Neo."
She returned to reality, looking back at the people she had attacked at the girl she had wanted to kill. She didn't know how long she had been standing there, but she felt all of her rage leave, being replaced by an immense sadness. She stabbed Hush's blade into the ground, etching something into the soft dirt. They watched curiously as she continued this odd behavior, briefly looking up. She opened her parasol, giving them a bow before allowing herself to shatter.
The group remained in place for a few minutes, wondering what she was up to. Ruby's curiosity got the better of her, and with her semblance, darted to the spot Neo had stood, stopping shy of what she had written.
"Ruby, what the hell is wrong with you? Can't you see she could still be here?!" Yang shouted.
"She wrote something here. You have to check it out!"
Sharing a look with the others, Yang decided to see what was written down. The others followed suit, staring down at the letters that had been etched into the dirt. The blonde brawler's eyes scanned what was written, an emotionless look on her face.
"Cinder Fall, White Fang, Attack on Haven. No Set Date. Will be in Contact, We'll End Them Together."
"We should tell Qrow about this," Jaune muttered, causing Nora to groan.
"Do you think we should? I mean this girl literally attacked us. She could be luring us into a trap!"
"Why would she tell us this if it was a trap? We all know the White Fang is planning something since Sienna Khan's murder. While it could be a dangerous call, it could also be beneficial. The enemy of my enemy is my friend, as they say." Ren added. Ruby turned around, facing her friends with a firm look on her face.
"Everyone, Professor, I think we need to take this into consideration. Professor Lionheart has been acting strange, there are no faculty members on campus, the students are gone and all the Huntsman and Huntresses are missing. I think this might all be connected somehow."
"I wholeheartedly agree. As stated before, Leo is breaking several of our agreements in the event of my demise. I didn't want to think about that possibility, but the more I think about it, the more likely it becomes. He may have succumbed to Salem's side, long before the Attack on Beacon. It would make sense, given the perpetrators were said to be from Haven Academy."
"So what now, do we just wait for another message to pop up?" Yang queried, throwing her hands in the air. "This girl almost killed me, she impersonated Blake and almost killed my sister."
"But she is suffering, Roman was probably her only friend and family. They did a lot of messed-up things, but all of us have a common goal. Rather than fighting among each other, we have to work together to take Cinder down. It might be wrong, and it might come back to bite us, but we'll need all the firepower we can get." Ruby said, glancing around the group. "We'll take this into consideration and have Qrow gather intel from Haven Academy. We can't have what happened in Vale, happen in Mistral."
"Let's go back inside, we need to pick up the mess that little shit made," Jaune said, sheathing his sword. "I gotta admit, she was kind of cute."
"Ugh, Jaune, now is not the time to be thinking about that," Nora whined, hitting him on the arm, making him cry in pain. "Besides, something tells me she's more of a Femme Fatale than anything you've ever experienced. The last thing you need is to wake up dead."
"Right right… wait a minute, how can you wake up dead?"
"Because you're awake when you go to sleep?" she replied, earning a confused look from her friend and former leader. She sighed audibly. "I'll explain it as we clean up."
"I'm still not sure about this Ruby, that chick could get us killed."
"I know, but sometimes you have to take a leap of faith. At the end of the day, Cinder is the big bad we need to focus on. If we can get her on our side, then we'll be one step closer to that goal. Come on, let's just clean up." Ruby replied, urging her sister to follow her. Yang spared a glance at where Neo had stood, eyes narrowed in anger.
"If she attacks you again, I'm snapping her neck."
Location: Levi's rented apartment, Mistral
"Ugh, I'm so freaking tired," Levi mumbled, as he stretched his limbs. He had been doing several reps of pushups and sit-ups, wanting to at least get some semblance of a routine down while he was in Mistral. Walking was good exercise, but it wasn't enough to keep up with his daily training.
"No pain, no gain. Keep that as a reminder for the future, Levi. That soreness you feel in your body is a sign that you are getting better."
"It's a sign that I should have quit earlier." the faunus mumbled, ears twitching a bit. They were seemingly the only thing on his body that didn't hurt. "Anyway, it's early afternoon and I don't feel like doing much of anything. What do you say to some take-out? I heard through the grapevine that Mistral has a lot of oriental restaurants. I'm certain your refined Atlassian palate will enjoy some of it."
"Pfft, refined? I've been eating canned food and crappy take-out meals for the better part of two months, I don't think my palate is that refined anymore," the former heiress said with an eye roll. "Hmm… I think take out will do, such a shame there isn't a pizza parlor nearby, Ruby and Yang got me used to eat that fat, greasy, delicious, cheesy meal all the time."
"Uh-oh, someone might be an addict." he teased, giving her a wink. She brushed him off, a look of annoyance on her face.
"As if you don't have a favorite junk food you are totally in love with. I didn't get to experience a lot when I was growing up. So after Ruby, Blake, Yang, and I became closer friends, they all taught me how to enjoy these kinds of things."
"I see. Well, coming from a low-income family like mine, we got used to eating fast food and take out pretty often. Once I was in Signal though, I had to settle for the cafeteria food like everyone else. During our summer breaks, mom would attempt to cook something but she was pretty bad at it, so me and the Mistrali restaurant down the block became fast friends."
"Intriguing," she quipped, a hand on her hip. "Alright, what would you say your favorite junk food is?"
"My favorite?" he queried, ears twitching a bit as he glanced up in thought. "I dunno if it counts as junk food, but I am very particular to strawberry parfaits. They are just so good! The vanilla cake is so fluffy, the whipped cream is so light and airy, oh and the fresh strawberry marmalade, oh. It's to die for. I remember this one time, my mom forgot my birthday, so she got me this huge one from the bakery, and I sat down and ate the whole thing, all by myself. I got sick, but it was worth it."
"An entire parfait? I must admit, I have never tried this dessert myself. I'll make sure to try some when next we find a bakery."
Levi noticed the inflection in her tone, noticing it had shifted slightly despite it sounding like a normal response. He had been getting used to listening to his friends, noticing their emotions from the subtle changes in their voices. He supposed this was just something he could do well as a faunus, or perhaps he was just getting better at reading people. He looked up from his scroll, the various locations of nearby restaurants visible on screen.
"Are you okay, Weiss? You sound a little sad."
"Hm? I'm not, I assure you. It's just… you mentioned your mother forgetting your birthday. I suppose that reminded me of my own experiences with birthdays. They weren't very happy ones. In fact, my father never celebrated them, he just saw them on the calendar, gave me a large allowance and that was that. My mom on the other hand… her body was there, but her mind wasn't."
Levi sat up a bit, as the former heiress took a seat across from him, placing her folded hands on her lap. "She's not the woman she used to be. She used to be fierce, sassy, loving, and yes, a bit of a rich airhead. She had money and she flaunted it, but after my tenth birthday, she started drinking. It happened after my father told her he only married her for her name."
"Oh, god, Weiss… I'm so sorry."
"Don't be. It's just another tick mark on the list of stuff he's gotta pay for," she said, forcing a smile onto her face. "Anyway, perhaps we should focus on finding that food place?"
Just as she said that the door opened, and in walked Neo, as herself. She nudged the door closed with her leg, taking a few steps forward. Levi and Weiss gave her a look, but she didn't say much of anything. She walked around the sofa, falling unceremoniously into it, a far off look on her face. Levi noticed the tear streaks on her cheeks, her green eyeliner was smeared, and most noticeable of all, there was a gash in her shirt, stained crimson with blood. He knelt down in front of her, taking one of her hands into both of his own, looking into her eyes.
"Tell me what happened. Did someone figure you out? Did someone attack you?"
She shook her head, reaching for her scroll. The device almost slipped from her hand as she opened it, slowly but surely writing what she wanted to convey to the two. Once she had finished, she held it out to Levi, closing her eyes.
"I attacked someone today, Levi. Someone who was involved in the death of my friend, and I almost killed her."
"What?" Weiss squeaked, looking up at Neo's face. "You almost killed someone? There was only one other person who was there when your friend died. Tell me, did you try to kill Ruby? Is she here?"
"Ruby?" Levi asked, tilting his head a bit. "Ruby Rose? The daughter of Professor Xiao Long?" the young faunus continued, causing Weiss to nod.
"Yes, that Ruby Rose. She was there when she…"
She paused, feeling Neo wrapping her hand around Weiss's wrist, the look of sadness and desperation were enough to get her to shut up. Levi slowly rose to his feet, staring at the message on Neo's scroll, trying to figure out whatever it was she was hiding. But his mind was a blank. He moved around for a moment, squeezing the scroll in his hand.
"Weiss, tell me why Neo would want to kill Ruby?" he asked, his tone shifting a bit, becoming slightly angered as he spoke. "The only reason Neo would want to kill her is if someone close to her was killed by her. She's been talking about her friend since we met, but she's never said a name. Tell me, do you know who Neo's friend was, and why Ruby of all people is involved in his death?"
"Levi, I…" the former heiress paused, glancing at Neo who was on the verge of tears. She looked back up at the miqo'te, shaking her head. "I cannot, I made Neo a promise. I'm not going to say anything on the matter, that is something she must say to you."
He flung her scroll at Weiss, who instinctively caught it. "Tell me, Neo."
Neo stared blankly at the device, taking a deep breath, probably the deepest one she had taken since the death of her parents. When her life had ended once before. She looked at the blinking cursor and stared at the holographic keyboard. Then she typed. She typed, and typed, her nails clicking on the screen, each letter forming a word in a sentence, each sentence detailing what she had been keeping from Levi.
She felt her heart sink with every word written. The memories of their journey through Anima, from Sanus all the way to the Kingdom Capital filled her mind. Every single spar, every single conversation, chat, fight, training session. Neo came to realize everything that had happened since the Fall of Beacon had been a new start. A memory, something that she cherished. Levi had been a stepping stone for her, to get her to Cinder, but what he had become was something different. He was a stepping stone to new beginnings. She had gotten attached to him like she had with Roman. They were friends, she was willing to say they were even partners. Which was why it hurt her so much to even think about showing him this.
She wanted to throw her scroll, to break it so she didn't have to say anything. But she knew this day would come. Weiss had told her the longer she waited, the worse it would become. They were in Mistral, she was supposed to stay low and the first thing she did was attack Ruby Rose over a petty vendetta that didn't even involve her. Roman had been right. Cinder was at fault. Cinder had been responsible. Cinder. Cinder. Cinder.
She loathed the woman, she hated her. She wanted nothing more than to end her life. She was the one who took the one thing in her life that mattered, and she again would be taking something new that she held dear. With one final punctuation mark, she hit the "Speak" function, waiting for her new relationship, her new friendship, her new partner, to cast her aside like the useless trash she was.
She had been lucky to find a new place to belong, and now, she had to watch it crumble. She had no one to blame but herself.
A/N: So, much like the previous chapter, this one was a bit tough to write in certain instances. This was the chapter I decided would prelude the final conflict in Haven Academy. After so long traveling together, Neo would eventually have to tell Levi she was involved in the fall of Beacon. I always had this scene envisioned, and in fact, was one of the first ones that I planned out when I was mapping out the story. It's a scene of betrayal, and meant to leave an impact on the characters. Make them question everything and send their resolves wavering, before they become stronger once more. It was also why I decided to leave it at a cut off and have Chapter 15 be the one where everything was finally revealed, so there could be a bit of a fallout. I consider this one of the five main climaxes of the story, the following of course, being Haven Academy. In fact, we're getting close to that as well, which will end the Volume 5 events and lead us into Volume 6. The next few chapters are going to be emotional, but they'll also be fun too, at least I hope haha.
On a further note, I'd like to say that this story is 100% complete. I have decided to split it in half at Chapter 33, so I can not make it a slog through read through. So as of this chapter, this story will be named "Promise: Mistral Arc" to reflect the sequel which will be called "Promise: Atlas Arc". That one will likely be a little longer, as I want to delve more into Atlas, flesh it out, bring about the politics of the nation along with the people of Mantle and the deep seeded underground that drives Atlas to be the "Greatest Kingdom" in Remnant. I'm also likely going to make my own "Vacuo" arc, so I can be more original in a sense. While I am following the events of the series, I am adding, tweaking and removing things that I personally don't like, changing scenes and events and just spicing it up a bit. I feel like Vacuo is going to be an important Kingdom for our heroes, but for reasons that you will all find out later on. I can't get too ahead of myself or else I may end up spoiling it all haha.
Hope you all are having a good weekend. I actually got Grimm Eclipse on the Switch, and thanks to my sister again for letting my use her phone's wifi to download it, have been playing some of it here and there, when I can. I am returning home within a week, though I'm probably coming back to Puerto Rico for personal reasons. It's been an interesting sabbatical and I just want it to fucking end lol. See you all when I see you!
