TRIGGER WARNING for suicide ideation at the ending of this chapter. Nothing is actually committed, but it's a pretty heavy scene anyway.

Also, I apologize for this chapter taking longer to come out - I ended up almost doubling it from its original length because I had to change things around for later chapters. I don't have a proper outline for this story lol oops.

Yang didn't sleep well that night. She kept tossing and turning, and for the first time in her enforcer career, the dark made her anxious. But it made her even more anxious to look out the window and see the moon's last quarter, so she eventually got up and shut the curtains. And then she paced by her bed for a while because she couldn't stand the thought of just lying there, waiting and feeling trapped by the blankets.

She kept checking her scroll, too, making sure no unnatural entities were on the move towards the duplex.

Pyrrha had written up a detailed report of their situation to SUN – that they had spoken with Flynt Coal, who revealed there were most likely at least a dozen vampires in Vale, four of them going by the aliases Mocha, Vulpes, Axis, and Nightshade, and that a genetics research company associated with the SMC in Atlas called Cryolife was providing blood packs for the bloodsuckers here in the city.

Pyrrha also stated that when she and Yang had gone to question Cardin Winchester on Cryolife's premises, he had fought with them and proven uncooperative, but that he was most likely not the culprit behind the murders and abductions, regardless of that – and his current status was unknown after being attacked by Nightshade. She said that, taking into consideration all clues and events and behaviors, Nightshade was their number one suspect at the moment.

Only an hour after sending the report, the two girls had received an ominous message from SUN that notified them to "Please, standby. Two senior and two junior enforcers on route, ETA 72 hours. Vale priority two: Eliminate Nightshade."

There was no explanation. Not an order to apprehend her and put her in jail – just straight up kill. Yang and Pyrrha would probably have to wait to be briefed by the senior enforcers when they arrived. And Yang had no idea what to think – why was Aurora ordering a kill without hard evidence showing Nightshade truly was the culprit? After all, despite how dangerous she very clearly was, they just had suspicions. The four other enforcers were supposed to arrive within the next three days, and the blonde knew they were all going to die trying to dispose of Nightshade at this point in the investigation. Gods, what would they think if they knew she had drunk from me? That she will come searching for me to do it again?

Yang froze in her pacing. Her heart was trying to beat out of her chest, it was racing so hard. Aurora couldn't know. If they found out, they may use her as bait – that's what she would have done, if the circumstances were different.

Except it didn't matter what plan they devised. No matter what they did, they would fail. Whoever – whatever – Nightshade was, she could turn into shadows. UV-C bullets rendered useless; any kind of traps rendered useless. And Yang refused to put lives in danger unnecessarily. Hers was enough as it was.

"Ruby?!"

"Yang!"

Ruby tackled her older sister into a gigantic hug in the doorway, and Yang wrapped her arms around her tightly, laughing in joy and disbelief. "Oh, my gods, Ruby! I'm so happy to see you!"

"I knowww! Me, too! It's been forever!"

They continued hugging and giggling for another moment, and then Yang let go and held Ruby by her shoulders at arms' length, grinning wide. "You were off the grid! Gods, where were you? You gotta tell me everything!"

Ruby moved to the side a bit and motioned behind her, "I will, promise, but how about you let Sun in first, and we can all catch up together?"

"Right! Your new partner!" Yang moved out of the way and backed up, allowing Ruby to come in properly, and then from behind her came a guy with short and messy, sandy blond hair and a tanned complexion. His bright blue eyes were friendly, and the smile he gave Yang upon entering inspired trust...if not some mischief, too. She realized he had extended his fist towards her, and she snickered and fist-bumped him.

"Heya, I'm Sun Wukong; on the field I'm Private Ruyi."

"I'm Yang Xiao Long, Ruby's older sister. Operative Ember at your service! Come in and meet Pyrrha." Yang slung her arm around Ruby's shoulders, and the two of them walked into the kitchen with Sun in tow. Pyrrha had been preparing tea, but when they came into view she left it and approached to greet them.

"I'm so glad to see a familiar face, and having backup, too!" she exclaimed, bringing Ruby in for a hug.

"Hi, Pyrrha! It's been a while!" Ruby returned the hug fiercely. "How have you been?"

"Good, all things considered, but we can talk about that in the living room with some hot drinks in a moment." Pyrrha pulled away with a kind smile, giving Ruby's hair an affectionate ruffle, and then turned her attention to the newcomer, extending her hand. "Hi, Sun. I'm Pyrrha Nikos, or Operative Akouo. I heard you introduce yourself to Yang – it's a pleasure to have you helping us out."

It was then that Yang noticed Sun had a long, slightly scruffy tail whipping behind him. He was a Faunus. One of the rare few still left on Remnant – and they basically all came from Vacuo.

They exchanged a few more pleasantries, and then decided to get comfortable in the living room to discuss more serious things. Pyrrha gave everyone a cup of tea, and, as they were settling down, Yang said, "So, where have you been, Ruby? Are you at liberty to say?"

"Um, yeah, actually! Because I was told that helping you here would actually help me find out what's happening in Atlas!" Ruby giggled at the faces her words caused. "Lemme tell you, I could not get here fast enough, especially knowing we were joining you!"

"Yeah, she kept telling me to hurry up every two seconds," Sun added with a laugh.

"Wait, hold on, you were in Atlas?" Yang leaned forward in her seat.

At practically the same time, Pyrrha asked, "What's been happening in Atlas?"

Ruby shrugged. "We were! But that's the thing – we don't know what's going on. Our job was to figure out why there's no vampire activity over there. The SRO doesn't even have any on file that moved to Atlas! So, Sun and me were just literally trying to find vampires for the past two months."

"Makes us look super suspicious to the public, too." Sun shook his head. "Most boring task I've ever been assigned. Our lures didn't even work."

Pyrrha and Yang shared a look. "That's odd. Well, it certainly isn't excitement that has been lacking here," the redhead offered, and upon receiving looks of morbid curiosity from Ruby and Sun, she launched herself into the explanation of what she and Yang had been through for the past week and a half.

By the end of it, their little audience of two's eyes were wide – and yes, somewhat in excitement, but also in great worry. "That's crazy..." Ruby glanced at Sun, adding, "It never crossed our minds to look into companies run by humans. They aren't supposed to know vampires exist."

"Then I think our next job is gonna be investigating Cryolife." Sun punched the palm of his hand. "A genetics research company feeding vampires? That smells fishy all the way to here."

Yang was beginning to like Sun's obvious earnest and energy. She could see how he and Ruby probably worked very well as a partnership – not that Ruby would have chosen her new partner, herself, but Aurora, at least, knew what they were doing. Just like how Yang and Pyrrha were a good duo, too.

Pyrrha nodded and sipped her tea. "We'll have to wait and find out what the two senior enforcers have to say, first. They should be here by tomorrow sometime."

"I just don't understand why Aurora is asking us to kill Nightshade without having actual, solid proof that she's behind the murders and disappearances," Yang mumbled, not even sure if she should be voicing her concerns. She was literally going to be Nightshade's next target – why should she care if their mission was to stop her permanently? "Like, I get that she's dangerous, but...I don't know, it doesn't seem right."

"You said she resisted arrest the time she attacked you," Pyrrha pointed out. "And she's clearly causing trouble. You know Aurora won't risk humanity's safety. But...yes, you're right. It does seem just a little too premature."

Yang still recalled the black eyes before Nightshade fed on her. She remembered that monstrous form that had taken shape in front of Cardin. The shadows, the voice that resonated with power. Yang clenched her fist on her lap, the one where scars now adorned her wrist, and felt the cold around her heart. Nightshade would come to feed on her again – and it already seemed like too much time had passed. Vampires usually needed blood four to five times a week. Synthetic plasma could maybe reduce that to two or three times per week. Still no sign of Nightshade.

Maybe, just maybe – and Yang hoped this with all her might, but she knew all too well she shouldn't expect it – Nightshade was trying to starve herself again, like she had said she'd been doing before she fed on Yang. Maybe Yang would be long gone and far from Vale by the time that demon decided to feed again.

Maybe, even, Nightshade had lied and didn't need to feed on Yang, specifically.

But that was, of course, wishful thinking.

Yang did not get good vibes from James Ironwood – Agent Mettle. There was something about him that just seemed...off. He had a distinct air of calm confidence, but it was the kind that appeared to hide cold fury simmering beneath – like he could decide to just do something awful without an ounce of hesitation or regret. Yang tended to be a pretty good judge of character, being able to look into someone's eyes and just...have a feeling. Pyrrha was like that, too – they were both empathetic people that way.

James' partner, a tall woman by the name of Glynda Goodwitch – Agent Dust – held a similarly strict composure, but her sharpness was collected and observant, searching to learn more before acting – logical instead of reactionary. Yang wasn't quite sure what to make of her just yet, except that she inspired a sense of deference already.

Shortly after they had arrived in the apartment facing the duplex the two privates and two operatives were staying in, James and Glynda had asked the other four enforcers to meet with them in their apartment. And now they were all standing in the kitchen, having just briefed James and Glynda on everything they had done and found out – or not found out – so far about the various points of this multi-faceted investigation.

James stood back and crossed his arms, his dark – almost black – blue eyes serious. "You have been ordered to kill Nightshade. We will help you with this, as Nightshade is what we call an ancient vampire; creatures that have lived for so long they have gained powers and abilities beyond comprehension. Aurora does not want these creatures alive. The fact of the matter is simple: If even just one of them decides to snap, then tens of thousands of humans could be killed within hours."

"Oh..." Ruby's mouth formed a little O.

"Tens of thousands?" Yang repeated, disbelieving.

Glynda stepped forward and placed her scroll on the table, drawing up a holographic screen with a view of an Aurora's Archives page. "Aurora identified several major death-count events throughout history which were caused by ancients – for example, I'm sure you heard of the tragedy of Brunswick Farms. That was caused by an ancient over a century ago and Aurora had difficulty covering up the evidence from humanity. Fortunately, known ancients have all been disposed of one way or another thus far." She flicked through several pages of information and a few vampire profiles. The last one she stopped on, and Yang couldn't help giving it a closer look. It was a picture of a painting, faded and cracked by time, but the vampire had horns protruding from his red hair, and a chilling blue eye – the other had scars like burn marks ruining it. Adam Taurus, moniker Spite. Approximate total death-count: 73 200 lives. Yang's eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets as Glynda continued, "As you can see, they are extremely lethal. They will not be defeated by regular means."

"So, what do we do, then?" Pyrrha asked, shifting uncomfortably. There was a wariness in her expression, and she happened to glance down at Yang's wrist. The blonde wrapped her other hand around it self-consciously. They hadn't told Sun or Ruby, and definitely not James and Glynda, about Yang having been fed on – just that she had been attacked. Pyrrha had wanted to be truthful in her reports, but upon Yang asking her to keep it a secret, she had sighed and agreed, even if it went against her character and even if Yang couldn't provide a concrete explanation. That was the depth of their trust.

"We have to set up a lure, and snipe Nightshade from a distance with high-caliber explosive UV-C rounds." James nodded towards Ruby, who straitened her stance. "That's where your skills will be valuable, Private Crescent. As for the lure, we may have to encounter Nightshade a few more times, open a profile for her and take notes on everything and anything that happens, and personalize the lure to her. She won't be tricked by something obvious."

I could so easily be used as bait. If what she told me is true, I am one-hundred percent the perfect lure. But Yang couldn't make herself admit the truth out loud to the other enforcers, even when every sensibility told her she should. There was a fucking ancient vampire bound to come seeking her blood, and that particular creature was a horrific nightmare with terrifying abilities, and Yang should have been trying to get every ounce of support she could get. But she had already lied by omission, so who knew what the consequences would be if Aurora found out now? Did it even matter, though?

Glynda took her scroll back before Yang gained the courage to speak, and said, "We're going to divide tasks among our pairs. Ruby and Sun, your job will be to continue your previous assignment – you now know you must investigate Cryolife. Yang and Pyrrha, my suggestion to you to help with your own case would be to visit Vale's Historic Library and Museum and see if you can find any documents or accounts of vampires in Vale's history. Aurora's Archives may be missing some information. Further, ask Lie Ren and Nora Valkyrie about Mocha, Vulpes and Axis; find out if they know how to get in touch with them. If anyone will know anything about Nightshade and whatever other vampires are in the city, it will be the older, undocumented vampires who have been here for gods know how long."

Lie Ren and Nora Valkyrie were the other two vampires the SRO had tracked into Vale, and they would have been questioned already had Nightshade not shown up and made everything so much more complicated and dangerous.

"Glynda and myself will be getting ourselves organized and better prepared to further help you," James nodded at the group, "And we will also analyze the strange heat signatures you've found at some of the key locations in your case. Any questions?"

The younger enforcers all looked at each other. There was a silence, then Pyrrha asked, "When is a vampire considered ancient?"

"At around the thousand-year mark," Glynda answered.

But it appeared that Pyrrha had an ulterior motive in wanting that piece of information because her expression darkened and she immediately followed up with, "So, to be clear, Aurora allows vampires to live until – or up to right before – they become ancient, and then orders them to be killed? Regardless of what kind of long life they've lived?"

Yang firmed her expression, too, and she saw Ruby and Sun exchange uncomfortable glances.

James was the one to reply to this, and his tone was sharp. "That is correct. An ancient vampire is a liability to the safety of humanity. Aurora's one and only goal is to protect humans – the older a vampire gets, the farther from human they become. It is gambling with far too many innocent lives unnecessarily to allow them to gain powers that draw them closer and closer to invincibility." The look he then gave Pyrrha was piercing. "Do not misplace your sympathy, Operative Akouo." His gaze traveled to Yang, becoming sharper. "I do hope this sentimentality will not get in the way of completing your task."

Yang met Pyrrha's stare, and she knew their feelings mirrored each other, but Pyrrha was the first to look back towards James and say, "Of course not. We'll do what needs to be done."

Yang clenched her jaw, but she nodded curtly. She understood, obviously, and Nightshade didn't inspire any warm or fuzzy feelings, either. But it was the principle behind it that certainly seemed to be existing within a moral grey area, and Yang didn't like that. She had interacted with far too many vampires who had been turned against their will, now cursed with requiring blood to survive. Most of them did not want to hurt anyone. A lot of them never again caused problems. But it sucked for everyone, and it wasn't fair.

Yet Aurora had deemed the risk too great – and a part of Yang had to agree. But another part of her just felt angry. It should've never had to be like this.

When she and Pyrrha entered Vale's Historic Library and Museum the next day, Yang immediately drooped her shoulders and stared in absolute shock. "Holy shit. We're never going to find anything."

The place was gigantic. That was the most defining thing about it. The other defining things were the hushed quietness and the impression of having just stepped into an entirely different century with the rustic décor colors and gothic arches.

Pyrrha was ogling the sheer height opening up before them. "It sure is beautiful..." But she still shot Yang an amused side-eye. "Have you not been here before? I thought you grew up in the area."

"Yeah, on Patch, but I never had any reason to come here." In hindsight, maybe she shouldn't have missed the day of school her class had visited this place back when she was in Signal. Boring was, in fact, not how she'd describe it, after all. Yang never thought she'd see so many books in one place – there must have been millions of them, with each floor containing exhibits, skeletons, statues, paintings, and artifacts on display related to the genre or kind of books that could be found on that level.

It would be a collector's and a bookworm's wet dream.

"I don't even know where to start." Yang passed both of her hands through her hair, dreading the amount of searching they were going to have to do.

"I might have an idea." Pyrrha motioned for Yang to follow her, and they headed towards the middle of the giant lobby, footsteps muffled by the deep maroon carpeting. Pyrrha stopped in front of one of the desks where a sign indicated Administration. "Hello!" she cheerfully greeted the librarian behind the desk.

Yang's eyes widened at her partner, but the redhead ignored her.

"Hello, how may I help you?"

"We're looking for documents about Vale's history, starting from its founding, and also anything you have about Vale's legends or mythology." Pyrrha paused, and then added, "Specifically about vampires."

Yang wanted to grab Pyrrha's shoulders and shake her silly. She was really just putting it out there, making them both look out of their minds. Yang jabbed her in the ribs, and Pyrrha jabbed her back.

Case in point, the librarian arched her eyebrows at them, taking in their practical attire and weapons with a frown, but then typed on her computer for a moment. Yang was getting ready to apologize for her friend's stupid request, but then the librarian said, "Go up to the fifth floor, in the East wing, section V. The librarian there can help you further."

"Thank you very much!" And as the two girls turned away from the desk to head towards the elevator, Pyrrha added in a hushed tone at Yang, "You have so little faith in me. I bet they get asked much weirder things. You obviously don't visit places like this enough."

Yang rolled her eyes as they got in the elevator – it was a platform with ornate metal and wooden handguards around it, allowing them to look down and around as they ascended. The view was actually mesmerizing by the sheer size of the area. "Look, in my defense, I just –" Yang stopped, eyes all of a sudden catching someone staring up at her from the middle of the lobby.

Long black hair. Faunus cat ears. Bright eyes. Yang leaned forward on the railing, and looked back at Pyrrha to see if she was seeing the woman, too.

"What is it?"

But when Yang returned her attention to the lobby, the woman was gone. And there was no one walking away anywhere nearby. "Uh..."

Pyrrha looked down, too, but obviously saw nothing. "Are you okay?"

Yang straightened her stance. "Yup!" But the truth was that tension had formed in her back and a bad feeling had settled in her stomach. "I thought there was a...cat running on the floor down there."

The elevator stopped at the fifth floor, and Pyrrha opened the gate while saying with a teasing grin, "Don't try to weasel your way out of this. So, in your defense, what, hm?"

"Uh, in my defense..." Yang's mind had pulled a blank. She forced a smile, though, and said, "You know what, you're right – I'm an idiot."

The duo began following the signs to the East wing, bringing them away from the open center of the vast library and further into the closed spaces and secrets of the past. Pyrrha chuckled quietly. "I never called you that. Just trust me next time – maybe we'll only spend a week here instead of a month."

"I dunno, Akouo," Yang drawled, pretending everything was fine, "I think you could've done better and made it so we could leave today."

Pyrrha gave Yang a skeptical glance. "I can let you talk to the next librarian if you want."

"I'd rather eat rocks."

The warrior shook her head, but they were approaching their destination, and they found a young man up on a ladder, organizing books that were up on the much higher mahogany shelves.

"Excuse me," Pyrrha called out in a whisper, and the young man noticed them and began to climb down. Once he was in front of them, she said, "We're looking for documents or books about Vale's past and mysteries, maybe something with vampires, if you know any containing that."

The librarian nodded. "Right this way."

He walked forward for a bit before veering into an aisle of bookshelves to the left, and the enforcers followed him. It almost seemed to get darker here, away from the light. But a painting on the beige wall grabbed Yang's attention. She slowed and eventually stopped before she passed it. It was a portrait of a woman, old and faded, and it looked like it had mostly been in black and white anyway except for the lips being slightly red and the eyes slightly yellow. She was wearing a necklace with delicately crafted flowers as its pendant. Yang swore that face looked familiar.

"Oh, that's Madame Donna Lake," came the librarian's voice as he and Pyrrha returned towards Yang when they noticed she wasn't following anymore. "She was the founder of this establishment, in Vale's beginning years. Did you know she donated over two thousand books from her own collection to start the library, and during the next twenty years donated another thousand along with hundreds of artifacts?"

The founder of this establishment, some three-hundred years ago... The hairstyle was different, appropriately curled and pulled back for the century and hiding her cat ears from obvious view, but those flowers were belladonna flowers. The deadly nightshade. We are literally standing right smack in the middle of one of her lairs. Fucking fuck.

"Caught by a pretty face again, Ember?" Pyrrha teased gently. "Come on, I know you're lonely but a painting's not gonna help you with that."

Yang swallowed hard and put on a fake smirk. Her next words made her want to vomit, but she said them anyway. "Madame Donna Lake, huh? I mean, she was pretty hot." Yang glanced at the painting again and stretched the act out a little longer, asking tentatively, "What, uh, what happened to her?"

The librarian grinned and motioned at the image, "If you're looking for some mysteries about Vale, that's one right there. She transferred the library's ownership to Mr. Cedric Beryl out of the blue, and not long after that, Donna just...disappeared one day. We have a few records and letters from different people at the time mentioning and inquiring about her, if you'd like me to show you?"

Yang met Pyrrha's gaze. The redhead had her eyebrows arched, like she suspected there was more to this than what was being presented at face-value. If Yang tried to brush it off now, it may have made her partner even more suspicious – but about Yang instead of the blonde couldn't have that. So, she said, "Well, I suppose it's better than the nothing we started with, right? I can look into her, Akouo, if you think there might be a clue there." It killed her to lie by omission like that, but she wasn't really supposed to sufficiently know what Nightshade looked like to associate this painting to her.

Pyrrha nodded, "You're right, it's a start."

Yang nodded back and addressed the young man, "Okay, show me."

He motioned for them to come along, and he and Pyrrha turned their backs to Yang. The blonde started trailing behind them, but she found herself gazing back at the portrait for one last look.

She swore those eyes suddenly looked real and redder, tracking her.

Yang turned away from it, her nape tingling and cold dread reaching up her back. There was one thing becoming abundantly clear. Nightshade is here.

A few moments later, the librarian was handing Yang a few old letters with a warning to be careful with them, along with a couple more official-looking documents that seemed like they might have been from the law-enforcement department of the time. He then left with Pyrrha to show her some other books relating to Vale's history.

Yang cautiously sat down at a table in one of the study areas in the V section. She looked around, caught with the realization she was now alone. Pyrrha would probably be coming back soon, but still. The only lighting came from the rustic lamps on the walls, and maybe a sliver of outside gray ambiance coming from somewhere – it was a rainy day. Yang turned on the lamp near her on the table, apprehension making her chest feel tight. I should tell Pyrrha. This is putting more than my own life in danger.

Yang sighed deeply, massaged the bridge of her nose for a moment, and then fixed her attention on the papers in front of her. She took the document from the law department first, carefully unfolding it, and then took out her scroll to snap a picture of the contents. She made sure the image wasn't blurry, and was then about to put the document to the side, but something caught her gaze and she did a doubletake.

Floating there on the bottom of the page, mist like hazy black ink in elegant cursive... I'm hungry, enforcer. The words vanished quickly. Yang's stomach dropped and her heart began pounding in her ears. It was happening. Nightshade had come to feed. Yang put the document down away from her and gave her surroundings an intense once-over. Still no sign of anyone else in the vicinity.

But she was one-hundred percent being watched.

I'm so fucked. Madame Donna Lake's ghost was haunting her. Gods, what do I do? Do I leave? Do I keep pretending everything's fine? In her anxious state, Yang stood up and started pacing. She couldn't focus on the records. But she had to. They contained information about an identity Nightshade had donned some three-hundred years ago – and that was invaluable. What if Nightshade didn't want her finding out, though? But then wouldn't Nightshade have had the ability to make these records disappear if she didn't want them discovered?

"Just give me a fucking minute," Yang muttered, mostly to herself – although a tiny part of her hoped the vampire was listening. She then stopped pacing and sat back down, newly resolved to learn as much as she could as quickly as she could – before the very creature she was trying to read up on attacked her. Yang took a picture of each of the three letters and then put them aside.

It was then that Pyrrha finally joined Yang in the study area. She had a few books in her hands and she got comfortable in the chair facing Yang on the other side of the table. "I got a journal of someone who moved to Vale a few years after its founding – could be promising. And then just some history books about Vale in general. Did you read anything yet? You look...kind of on edge, to be honest."

Yang opened her mouth, ready to spill the truth and then make a run for it with Pyrrha in tow, but nothing came out. Just tell her, you idiot. Instead, Yang found herself saying, "I'm fine. There's just a lot on my plate with this case. And I'm not a big reader, so this whole thing is...bleh."

Pyrrha nodded sympathetically. "I'm right there with you – about this case being a lot, that is. I do like reading, though. Let's see what we find here, maybe we'll be able to leave earlier than we thought."

Yang said nothing, instead glancing at their surroundings again to make sure, and then bringing up her scroll to read the first document. It was a report from law-enforcement searching for Donna, as she had been missing for over a week at that point. Her maids at her abode stated they hadn't seen her, only that they worried about what would become of them without their mistress – there didn't seem to have been a follow-up on that, though. Mr. Cedric Beryl was questioned, but he didn't know anything, either, and no proof could be found linking him to her sudden vanishing. After a few months of searching and finding nothing, the police had determined that Donna was most likely dead, and had gotten in contact with her attorney to settle the matters of her will – only to find that Cedric's son, Hugo, would be inheriting her property and wealth. It seemed that the Beryl family had been close to Madame Lake – she had no other next of kin to speak of.

For all intents and purposes, having nothing to suspect the Beryls for and finding no evidence to accuse anyone at all, that closed the case of Donna Lake's disappearance.

Yang reflected on what she had read for a moment. The thing with all of this was that Nightshade could have very easily reappropriated her possessions and money at a later date when it wouldn't have been suspicious for her to have done so. Assuming the Beryl family was human, Nightshade could have controlled them – ensuring her movements throughout society and time remained anonymous when necessary, and then reappearing in the public eye when there was nobody alive who could recognize her anymore. It was the perfect cover for an ancient vampire.

And it also showed a skilled mastermind operating in the shadows, someone who knew how to maneuver in the law – and that was another great cause of concern.

But she built this library and museum and made it accessible for all sorts of people to gain knowledge and information. She didn't even hide these documents about her own brief identity as Donna Lake.

It didn't make sense to Yang. What kind of person was Nightshade, really? Because, so far, Yang was getting extremely conflicting messages. On the one hand she was dealing with a bloodthirsty, horrifying demon harassing and threatening her, and on the other hand she had an admittedly beautiful and generous philanthropist.

And reading the letters from other citizens inquiring about Madame Donna Lake enforced the latter impression. People seemed to have thought she was respectable and kind and very helpful, and were saddened to learn of her death. One person had directly asked the police for news of her, stating they missed her dearly – although if those letters had received a reply, that was unknown.

The only conclusion Yang could make was that whoever Nightshade had been three hundred years ago, it wasn't who she was now.

Yang stood up from her chair, and Pyrrha raised her eyebrows at the same time. "Find anything useful?"

It was another chance to come clean. Yang still didn't take it. "Nope, nothing. Just an unfortunate case of someone going missing and eventually declared dead." She gathered the old letters and documents carefully. "I'm gonna go bring these back to the librarian and ask if he has anything else."

Pyrrha nodded, and Yang started walking back to where they had found the librarian the first time. She had to turn into the aisle of shelves where Donna Lake's painting was, and just like last time, it felt like the light got significantly dimmer. Yang hunched her shoulders bit, advancing uneasily, and she couldn't stop her eyes from locking onto the painting when it came into view.

Nothing strange this time, though. She walked in front of it without incident, and her gaze dropped it. Yang was about to breathe a bit of a sigh of relief, and instead it practically came out as a squeak when something suddenly grabbed her shoulders from behind, causing Yang's bracer to warm up, and a dark voice whispered into her ear, lips touching her, "Meet with me, please."

Yang whirled around, cold goosebumps racing up her spine, just in time to see a woman-shaped shadow retract back into the painting and disappear altogether, eyes flashing red once before fading.

It was as if Nightshade had never even been there at all. Yang's heart was beating wildly. Holy shit. If this really was part of what Nightshade could do...nowhere was safe. Nowhere at all. In her panic, Yang disregarded if anyone was nearby to hear her and snapped at the portrait, "Leave me alone! I'll meet you later!"

"Ma'am? Is everything alright?"

The blonde spun on her heels again, facing the librarian, who had just come into the aisle from the other end. He was looking at her weird. Yang tried to get a grip on her expression and force herself to calm down. This was madness. "Yeah, sorry, I'm imagining things, I guess. Uh, here, I wanted to return these to you." Yang handed the papers over.

He took them gently and asked, "Did you...want me to show you more related books?"

Yang pinched the bridge of her nose and took a deep breath in. The smart thing was to leave immediately. But she couldn't do that. That required telling Pyrrha the truth, and for some insane reason, Yang wasn't capable of it. And for whatever reason, it seemed that Nightshade wasn't directly harassing Yang when she was in company of others, so the only thing left to do was to keep researching.

She slowly exhaled, took her a hand away from her face, and squared her shoulders. "Yeah, show me what else you got."

Yang pulled the covers over herself and laid down, getting comfortable on her side and allowing her body to slowly decompress. She nuzzled into the pillow and closed her eyes. It had been an emotionally charged day – she was tired and just wanted to rest. Just being surrounded by softness like this already helped the sleepiness settle in.

But then Yang remembered.

Her eyes flew open, muscles tensing right back up, and she quickly looked around her room, just in case. There was nothing. She grabbed her scroll from her nightstand and checked the surveillance grid. Also nothing. Her breathing and her heartrate had accelerated, but Yang screwed her eyes shut again, trying her best to force herself to calm down. Nightshade hadn't shown another sign of life after Yang had snapped at her to leave. Of course, Yang knew she had also told the ancient that she'd meet with her later – and now definitely counted as later – but it was possible Yang could delay the meeting until tomorrow. And, gods, did she ever want to delay it.

The fact of the matter was: Yang was petrified of Nightshade. It was hard for her to admit it, even to herself, especially because she had been fighting vampires for over seventy years and had never experienced this kind of fear towards them, but she couldn't deny the dread overwhelming her. Ever since she had seen that winged, horned demon-shape made of shadows, Yang couldn't help but believe that was the monster waiting for her – whether it was real or not. But the truth was Yang had never faced a creature she couldn't take on as an enforcer.

Nightshade was an entirely different beast, and Yang didn't know her weakness. She just knew she was Nightshade's next meal, completely at the mercy of her whims.

Yang tried to relax again. Tried to convince herself she could wait until tomorrow. Tried to ignore the threat hovering above her life, waiting to possibly take from her against her will if she withheld herself for too long. And she was so tired that the weight of sleep did begin to press on her consciousness despite the anxious part of her insisting this was a bad idea. She slipped into sleep…and right back out when her subconscious immediately launched itself into a nightmare about fangs biting into her neck and causing her to drown in her own blood.

Yang sat up straight, chest heaving. She was going to make herself go insane at this rate. And what if Nightshade couldn't be detected by the surveillance grid, and she just came into the duplex searching for Yang? That would put Ruby, Pyrrha, and Sun in mortal danger.

I have to go. Tonight.

She refused to let anyone other than herself get hurt, and delaying the inevitable was careless and stupid. Yang could not let her fear consume her.

So, with this sense of obligation in mind, Yang forced herself to move. She got out from under the blankets and dutifully, quietly, put on a proper set of clothes. She got her extra pair of combat boots from her closet and slipped into a leather jacket, hiding her bracer. Finally, she wrapped her belt with her gear around her hips and buckled it up, then strapped her guns to her thighs.

Yang rolled her shoulders and took a deep breath in, then slowly let it out. Her heart was pounding and it felt like her insides were shivering, but she did her best to at least appear composed. She headed for the window, opened it, and silently jumped out of the duplex – taking the front door would have been too noisy and she didn't want to wake anyone.

The cool night air greeted her as she shoved her hands in her pockets and began walking. There was no moon in the clear sky, and light pollution from Vale made it difficult to see any stars. Her breath fogged slightly when she exhaled, and Yang kept searching her surroundings in her paranoia. She fully expected Nightshade to tackle her out of nowhere and feed now that she was alone – after all, the ancient had seemed awfully urgent in her harassment earlier that day. Yang desperately tried to keep her nerves under control, but she swore she kept seeing little movements near the trees or behind the sides of houses. She checked her scroll. There was still nothing. Yet Yang was not reassured.

Where do I go? She knew she had to walk far enough to not be within range of the perimeter Yang and Pyrrha had set up when they had first gotten here. But assuming she did find a place for this, what would she do then? If Yang was being honest, she kind of expected Nightshade to just show up. What are the chances she isn't watching me right now?

Eventually, Yang determined that she was far away enough from the duplex, and took the metal capsule device from her hip and tossed it. Before it hit the ground, it immediately deployed in mid-air, unfolding and bending and clasping together until Yang's motorcycle was waiting for her on the side of the road.

She glanced around one more time, and then swung her leg over the seat and ignited the engine. It roared to life, and then Yang was speeding off into the night.

There was an abandoned, dilapidated warehouse on the outskirts of Vale. It looked like the kind of place shady transactions happened in, and Yang figured that was as appropriate as it was going to get. Once she got off her motorcycle, she pressed a button on the dash and grabbed the handle, and the bike collapsed in on itself and reshaped itself until it was back in its metal capsule again, which she reattached to her belt.

She then took out her scroll, sighed, and after hovering her thumb over the button for a moment, turned off her location tracking. It was an absolutely terrible idea, but she couldn't afford the others coming here, especially not Pyrrha or Ruby. Yang steeled herself and began walking towards the building. The shivering inside her chest intensified.

There was a broken window all the way up on the fourth floor – Yang figured nobody ever made it up that high, so she jumped, clearing one floor and a half entirely, and then jabbed her fingers into the metal wall to hang on. It was slightly painful, but Yang began climbing with relative ease, making dents for better holds.

She made it to the broken window within just two minutes, and then hauled herself over the sill and dropped into the room inside, boots landing and crunching on pieces of glass. She looked around. It was an office, papers blown everywhere. There was an old desk and a few chairs, some cabinets and shelves along the walls. And, of course, the rock on the floor that had been used to break the window in the first place.

Gods, what am I doing?

Yang turned her back to the door, facing the window, and took a few slow steps backwards. "Alright, Nightshade..." she murmured, because maybe saying her name was some kind of summoning. Yang's heart was racing. "I got out of bed just for you. If you're so hungry, show yourself." Everything in Yang was screaming that she was about to see a winged abomination materialize in front of her, and she was not prepared to face that, much less let it drink from her. She should not have been here. In fact, for the first time ever, Yang wondered if she was better off defecting and spending her life on the run.

"I'm here."

Yang nearly jumped out of her skin. Her spine went ramrod straight and her fists started to go up, but then she froze when she realized the voice had come from behind her. She shut her eyes tight, heart now frantically trying to beat out of her chest. There was a monster behind her. She was going to turn around and have to face the devil. There was no escape now.

Slowly, fighting her fear bit by bit, Yang turned and opened her eyes. There was a figure casually sitting on the desk – where there had been no sign of anybody previously. Golden eyes – tinged with red around the thin slits for pupils – were glowing, floating in the dark, until the figure solidified and the shadows fell away, revealing...

It was that woman – the one from Yang's maybe-maybe-not fever dream, the one in the painting at the library. The one with Faunus cat ears and the haunting beauty. Except for the beginnings of that fierce crimson, a reminder of the deadly threat she represented.

But she wasn't some eldritch nightmare with wings and horns.

"Why are you calling me Nightshade? I gave you my real name."

Yang opened her mouth but her voice refused to work for a solid three seconds. She just kept staring. But then Nightshade's words registered in Yang's brain. "...That was real?" she whispered, "That bed I was on, in that room with the electric fireplace?" Somewhere along the way, Yang had pretty much convinced herself that whole thing had been a dream and hadn't really thought about it again. But now she remembered how...gentle and filled with guilt the vampire had seemed then – like she'd been an entirely different entity. There was a part of Yang that tried to consolidate all of this information together to form a clear picture of who, exactly, this creature was, but her fear was making it difficult to think rationally.

Nightshade – Blake – nodded. She crossed one leg over the other, elegant and comfortable. Her hair wasn't like in the painting – she had bangs now and she kept the length in tussled layers and waves. "I did say I would answer whatever questions you have. Shall I do that before or after I've fed?"

This made Yang take a step back, immediately guarded. "You almost killed me that first time."

There it was again – that immortal sadness, that regret in the lowering of her gaze. "I had been starving myself for...decades. I don't know how long, exactly; time is meaningless when you've lived as long as I have. It doesn't excuse what I did to you, but I was crazed by hunger. And you were..." Blake closed her eyes, inhaling deeply, and finished in her exhaled breath, "so delectable." Her eyes opened, and the crimson around the pupils was a lot more obvious now. "I won't take so much this time, I promise."

Yang swallowed hard and balled her fists at her sides to hide their shaking. She supposed the leech meant her words as a reassurance, but they felt like the total opposite. Should Yang have been believing anything that came out of this vampire's mouth in the first place? It was already so surreal to even be having a calm conversation with this predator, like she couldn't just decide to end Yang's life at the drop of a hat. "I need to know why you can only feed from me now. Why not synthetic plasma or blood packs?"

"I used to have willing humans who would let me drink from them alternatively once every two days, but...well, time has passed. My system automatically adapts to only accept what will ensure my survival for the longest. I drink from you and I'm sated for over a week. If I try to go back to lesser...nutritional values...then my thirst is simply not ever quenched."

"So...it's the dextroglobin?"

"That, and because I'm so ancient. A younger vampire could still interchange food sources."

Well, that pretty much explains why the older vampires get tired of the blood packs. To her surprise, Yang found that her stance had relaxed. She mulled Blake's words over in her mind, processing the information. She still couldn't place that subtle accent – and it was no wonder, it probably came from somewhere that had existed thousands of years ago. But then that really made Yang realize the sheer age of this creature in front of her. Blake had lived through the rises and falls of entire civilizations. She had seen Vale get built from the ground up. It was pure insanity. And SUN wanted their enforcers to kill her.

It was that moral grey area, and Yang wasn't quite sure where she stood yet – at least, with regards to Blake. She had seen with her own eyes the kind of powers Blake possessed, and those were undoubtedly not the only ones, too. Blake, herself, had threatened something about bleeding the entire city dry, and how that seemed entirely within her ability to do so. She could one day just snap, and that would be the end of tens of thousands of human lives – just as James and Glynda had explained.

And yet.

Blake was technically at Yang's mercy. She needed Yang to feed.

A part of Yang revolted at the idea that had just taken form in her head. Blake had still been human – well, Faunus – once. Despite all that power, all those experiences, back in that alley she had claimed she hadn't done anything wrong in a very long time. But...maybe she was so old that argument had become invalid. Maybe Yang was wrong in still having empathy for this ancient creature, and gaining her trust in order to stab her in the back was the best method of putting an end to her existence...

"You're awfully quiet, enforcer."

Yang returned to the present moment. Blake still hadn't moved, gold and crimson eyes searching and wanting, and the blonde knew it would be foolish to underestimate the intelligence shining there. Yang would have to think about these revelations and implications at a different time. For now...well, it seemed Blake was intent on keeping Yang alive for her own survival, so the brawler hesitantly stepped towards the vampire. She raised her hand, baring her wrist, and offered it to Blake. She was still shaking.

Blake glanced down at it, then met Yang's gaze again. Hungry. "I can now?"

Yang didn't know whether to smirk or to frown. "I didn't think you cared about consent."

"You think very little of me, and I can't blame you, but I assure you I haven't drank from anyone without their consent since the last time I tried to die."

Yang suddenly took her hand away. "Yeah, about that. Care to explain yourself?"

Blake sighed, and there was a low growl in her throat. "I don't expect you to understand. But you try existing forever, shouldering the over one hundred thousand lives you've taken in your beginnings, and see if you don't grow tired and bitter and desperate for release from all the weight of evil you've done."

Oh. Over one hundred thousand lives. Thousands of years ago. Living on and on and on. No, Yang couldn't imagine or understand what that must be like. Couldn't even comprehend the extent of murder being admitted to. But it certainly felt like wanting to die. Yang should not have been anywhere near this monster. Yet, just like a lunatic, she raised her hand back up again and said, "Then yes, you have my consent to drink, so long as you don't take so much that I can't function properly afterwards."

And you, Yang Xiao Long, have utterly lost your mind.

"I won't. And thank you. This won't hurt." Blake's long fingers came around Yang's hand and forearm, much like she had done the first time, except now she was gentle when she pulled Yang's wrist closer to her face. The bracer on Yang's other forearm once again began to burn, and it occurred to Yang that Blake must have some kind of passive charm about her aura because as far as the blonde could tell, the vampire hadn't visibly tried to influence Yang in any kind of way. It was just more insanity to consider that this creature was using power without even consciously trying.

Nervously, Yang watched as Blake first passed her tongue over her skin, causing a tingle to bloom there and goosebumps to race up the enforcer's arm, breathed in again, and then sunk her fangs into Yang's wrist. And, surprisingly, Blake hadn't lied – apart from a tugging sensation, there was no pain as the blood began to flow. The Faunus' lips pressed in, fangs retracting, and she let out a quiet moan and a satisfied sigh between guzzles.

Meanwhile, Yang felt the venom coursing through her veins, relaxing her muscles, slowing her heart. Her eyelids fluttered, and soon, before she knew it, before she could stop it, she was tipping forward. She used her other hand to steady herself on the desk, practically leaning into Blake now, her bracer scalding her forearm. In this proximity, Yang registered a smell that seemed completely out of place in this setting – oatmeal skin cream and soap. But, of course, there was the more metallic scent of blood, too.

Blake scraped her teeth on the puncture wounds, drawing out another few gulps. It went on like this for a while longer, Yang experiencing this as if in a pleasant, floating trance, and the warmth of Blake's mouth should not have felt so good. But then the leech's sucking slowed. Instead, her tongue swiped the holes and tears in Yang's flesh several times, and the enforcer watched, mesmerized, as the wounds began closing and scarring before her very eyes. Blake's thumbs were softly rubbing Yang's skin where she held her, and not long after that, the vampire opened her lids and released the wrist in her hand.

And all Yang could do was just stare, once more hypnotized by those vivid, glowing liquid gold irises, especially standing as close as she was. She swallowed with difficulty. If Blake turned and raised her head just a little more…

The Faunus slowly passed her tongue over her heart-shaped lips, wiping the red from them, obviously still savoring the taste. Her eyes drifted from Yang's throat to her jaw, then her lips, and she paused. Time seemed to stand still, Yang's heart beating somewhere in her ears and she felt her pulse in her wrist. A different kind of tension filled the space between them, and they were much too close for any kind of comfort, yet for some ungodly reason, Yang wasn't moving away.

But golden met lilac, breaking the spell. "I thought you –" Blake began in a rich murmur, lightly pushing her palm against Yang's shoulder, "– didn't like me."

Yang did step away then, practically stumbling in her hurry, and held her head in her hands, heart once again racing while heat rose to her face. Time sped back up. "I don't! Stop using your tricks on me!"

"…I'm not doing a single thing to you. You're wearing a ward."

What the hell? Yang clenched her teeth, anger now boiling within her. It had to be the venom. She refused to look at the vampire or reflect on the implications of that sentence. Instead, trying to change the subject, she began venting her frustrations. "Whatever! We have to talk about your methods of letting me know you're hungry. Do you have a scroll or something, or are you too old for that? I'd much rather if you just fucking texted me instead of creeping on me like a sociopath."

"Don't insult me," Blake grated, and her tone alone was enough to make Yang check her own temper. "I have a scroll, and I apologize for scaring you. I'll give you my contact details."

Yang glared, but stepped a bit closer and took her scroll out of her pocket, enabling her wireless connection. Blake tapped her own scroll to Yang's, and as soon as "Contact Added" appeared on their holoscreens, they put their devices back into their pockets.

Just exchanging digits with a creature old enough to have seen the beginnings of functioning modern-day society. No biggie.

"Next time, I'm sure a hotel room will be just fine for this," Blake muttered. "Or come to my place. You're being ridiculous in your attempt for secrecy. An abandoned warehouse? Really? Are we in some kind of sci-fi movie –"

"I'm not walking myself into your home to be trapped there, leech!" Never mind that she had apparently already been there before and Blake had carried her out safely (although that was a debatable issue in itself). But a blush crept all the way up Yang's neck in her embarrassment. The vampire had a point. "A hotel room seems like a good compromise, though," she added in a mumble.

On a different thought, Blake was willing to give her residence location away that easily? And now that Yang was really thinking about it, she didn't know why she had assumed Blake's home was some inaccessible mansion or strange cave system somewhere. She'd never thought that of other vampires. Maybe Yang had watched too many sci-fi movies as a kid, imagining the apex predator lived differently than everyone else.

Honestly, not Yang's proudest moment.

"Lovely. Now, do you have other questions for me?"

Yang closed her eyes and took a deep breath in before slowly letting it out. She was standing here in front of Nightshade, herself – the vampire she was ordered to kill, the vampire she was supposed to be deathly afraid of, the vampire that had just drank her blood, the vampire that had admitted to murdering over one-hundred thousand people. And yet, that wasn't the most surreal part anymore. It was the fact that somehow, after the interactions they'd just had, Yang actually felt like she was talking to another person just like her, someone who was a part of modern-day society and who had feelings, too.

Not some ancient, inscrutable being with terrible powers and a fountain of blood on her hands.

But that was exactly the problem. Blake was that, too. She was Nightshade.

Yang opened her eyes. "What's your real form?"

Blake tilted her head a bit, cat ears leaning backwards somewhat. She swept her hand up the front of her body, and Yang's eyes – betraying her will – couldn't help following the motion. "This is me."

Never mind that cryptic answer. "But you have a different form," Yang insisted. And don't lie to me.

Blake sighed, her expression turning into a frown. There was hurt in her eyes, though, and Yang couldn't fathom why. "I have developed a different form, yes, over the last few...millennia. It has its uses. It is not my real form, though, as you so graciously put it." She spread her arms a bit. "This is me, truly."

Yang took a moment to observe her, the fine arch of her eyebrows, the dark lashes framing those gold gems, the soft nose above criminally tempting heart-shaped lips – the upper fuller than the bottom. Jet black hair framing sharp cheekbones, felid ears atop her head betraying some amount of feeling. There was no denying Blake was beautiful. And she was very much real, and it was now strangely hard to imagine that she had any other form than this.

But Yang wasn't supposed to get distracted by a pretty face. She swallowed hard and managed, "You tried to die before?"

Blake nodded her head once, and it was like she was gauging Yang, too, gaze intense and unblinking. "I wish to cease existing, enforcer, but I am cursed with instincts for survival that even I can't fight. It doesn't matter what I do, or how much information I divulge. I'm still here, and every single last person who tried to end me is not."

Yang would have thrown her hands up in disbelief if she wasn't so caught in abject horror at the matter-of-fact admission. Lethal, unkillable, even when trying to die. Imagine what she could do if she had intent to destroy.

Except Yang already knew. Blake had not kept secret the number of deaths she had caused.

It still made Yang wonder about that first night when Blake was hunting her – after decades of starvation, if Yang had just done as Blake had asked...would it have actually worked? What wicked irony, that the vampire SUN wants their operatives to kill actively wants that fate, and survival instincts alone make it impossible.

"So, starve yourself again, then, and I'll do what you asked of me that night."

A very, very, very dangerous glint appeared in Blake's eyes. Purposefully, she uncrossed her legs and stood from the desk. Yang took a step back, eyes widening, immediately regretting her words. It was beyond her why it would have triggered the monster if her suggestion was literally what Blake had already tried to do, but Yang wasn't sure she'd ever understand what motivated a monolithic fossil.

Blake continued advancing, and Yang continued backing up, fearful of what was about to happen, but then her boots crunched on glass, and the enforcer knew the window was right behind her. There was nowhere for her to go unless she jumped – and she knew she could survive the fall, but was it wise to bring this out in the open?

"Draw your gun, enforcer," Blake uttered, and there was power in her voice, resonating all around them like it was coming from everywhere. She stepped right up to Yang, pools of yellow lava sparking and igniting, and Yang's breath caught in her throat. "Come on. Put a bullet in my head."

Yang opened her mouth, tried to say something, but nothing came out. Her hands didn't even reach for her weapons. All she could see was that glowing gold, all she could think about was how little space there was between them. There was a voice screaming inside her head that she had a job she was supposed to do, a duty to keep her friends, family, and humanity safe, and that she was failing all of them now. Like a coward.

Something in Blake's eyes changed – danger becoming razor sharp. She grabbed Yang's gun from her thigh, the one with the UV-C bullets, and unholstered it roughly, making their hips collide for the briefest, electrifying moment when she pulled. But before Yang could gain a semblance of proper reaction, Blake took the safety off, wrapped Yang's hand around the handle, and pressed the barrel of the gun to her own forehead.

Her glower was lightning across a stormy sky. "Now pull the fucking trigger. End my undying, wretched existence."

"I –" Yang's heart was beating in every inch of her skin, pounding in her head. She stared, wide-eyed, at this ancient creature demanding death, and her index came around the trigger. She could end this, right here, right now – do what she had literally just told this vampire she'd do. Complete her task. It was what everyone wanted, Blake included. Yang tightened her grip, shaking, and Blake just waited, every bit as defiant as an army of avenging, fallen angels.

But there was desperation there, too. A grief-stricken longing, a brokenness so great it reached into Yang's chest and cracked her own heart. She swallowed hard, trying to find the motivation, the will to do what was, for all intents and purposes, the right thing...

Coward! Traitor!

Tears blurred her vision, and Yang clenched her jaw before lowering her gun. "I can't," she whispered. She dropped her gaze, too, no longer able to look Blake in the eyes. "I can't..."

There was a silence – a heavy, tense silence that settled on and between them like some kind of physical barrier. But then Yang felt cool fingers against her cheek, a gentle caress that lasted just long enough for the vampire to murmur – softly, sweetly, chillingly, "Until next time, Ember."

Yang gasped and looked up. But Blake and her touch had already vanished into the night.

Hope you enjoyed! Also, I know Agent Mettle (Ironwood) and Agent Dust (Glynda) don't follow the rule of enforcers being named after their RWBY weapons, but did you really want me to name them Agent Due Process and Agent Disciplinarian? Like, that's so cringe. Haha

Thank you again to my wonderful girlfriend for being my beta-reader, and thank you to Wolfcreations21 for the inspiration! See you all in the next chapter!