Blake Xiao Long

"Deep breaths... calm down... you can do this... you can get out of this..."

She knew they were ok. Her family, her wife, her children... she knew they were ok for one reason and for one reason only... because the threat was right behind her. Just as she wanted.

Blake would do anything to keep this situation exaclty how it was. So long as he was stalking her... trying to find her... trying to plant his sword through her gut... then he wasn't going after the people she cared about. Blake currently had her back pressed against a wall. She hadnt seen where Illia had gone, it had all happened to fast to really understand it... the second she had seen him standing on the roof... she froze, and that was enough for the other faunas to escape her grasp and run off somewhere.

"Where are you?" His voice was like nails on a chalkboard for her soul. She wanted to cover her ears and pretend it was all in her head... but she needed to be aware, she needed to keep her senses sharp and track his position at all times. Blake had managed to get inside and was currently hiding in one of the halls, but that left Adam and her separated by a single wall full of windows. Each one let moonlight in that looked like a death sentence, all of them leading out to the courtyard where he slowly walked down the side of the wall... peering into each window to see where she was. Currently, she was waiting for him to move past her spot, a break in the windows that resembled a pillar built into the wall.

"Celica and Jasper are probably with Yang... she can handle Illia if she goes for them... Sun... I don't know where Sun is..."

He was a smart boy. She was hoping that he had enough sense to hide after he did what she asked... but Blake knew her son better then that. There was a good chance that he would come rushing back to her side in order to help his mother... but if he did that...?

"Calm down..."

Her breathing grew harder to manage as the moonlight around her became blocked by a shadow crossing the windows around her.

"Even if that happens... he wouldn't... even Adam wouldn't kill a child... right...?"

Sun was a faunas... hopefully that would be enough to keep him off of Adam's hitlist, but he was also Blake's child. She channelled her mana slowly and carefully, forming a small blade made of shadows in her hand and taking a deeper breath. That risk wasn't one she was willing to take. If Sun actually did come back, she would have to make him run... and cover his escape.

"He practically just walked in... why didn't the defenses do anything...??"

They should have attacked him the instant he crossed the threshold, yet he remained complelty unharmed, and his presence had been completely unannounced until he had spoken. Blake could recognise his overconfidence, but it was well founded. She needed to keep hiding and out of his sight until Pyrrha arrived... she trusted her, she knew that Pyrrha would drop anything to come and help, no matter what. Which left Blake with just a few minutes she had to keep Adam on a fishing line, constantly chasing her, but not able to catch her.

"Mama." A whispered voice, one that was as quiet as it could go yet all the same was much too loud. Her head whipped to its direction and her eyes were wide with fear as they made contact with her sons own eyes. He gave her a small thumbs up and seemed very happy with himself, but that quickly vanished as Blake reached out to pull him closer. Only, she didnt grab him first.

A hand burst through the window and grabbed the boy by the back of the collar. Adam pulled him through the now open frame and Blake followed without a hint of hesitation, practically flying out the window and landing in a stance, her body letting off a low noise that nearly resembled a growl.

"Let him go." It wasn't a question or a threat, she demanded it with her words, and Adam seemed to find that fact entertaining. He was holding Sun in one hand by the back of his shirt, having picked him up like animals would pick up their young... and Blake didn't know what to make of that comparison.

He didn't respond at first, instead leaner closer to the boy and smiling as he saw the cat ears perched on his head. "Well, aren't you lucky." He let Sun go and the boy quickly scurried over to Blake, hiding behind her as fast as he could. As much as Blake wanted to comfort him, she was smart enough to not take her eyes off the threat.

"Sun... run."

"But... mama-"

"Now." Her voice held none of its usual warmth. She was trying to get him to leave as fast as possible... and luckily enough it seemed to have worked, he left back through that same window and disappeared somewhere into the house... hopefully hiding somewhere safe.

"Its been such a long time, my dea-"

"Shut up. Do not call me that! You don't get to call me that. Not anymore." She readied her blade and took deep breaths to calm herself, shifting her stance to a defensive one with her short blade held horizontal in front of her. "Theres only one person who can call me anything like that."

That caused him to tilt his head in question, but he was also probably raising an eyebrow under that mask. "So you really did find someone else... I'm disappointed to see that you're so unfaithful." The noise that left her in response to that was definitely a growl, and without a second to waste she darted straight at him in what resembled a desperate charge.

His blade was drawn before she could see it, and he attempted to deflect her own weapon with his glowing red one... but luckily she had trusted in what she knew about him. His sword cleaved through her own like butter, but rather then splitting in half like he expected, the sword made of shadows exploded out into a haze of smoke and low traces of mana. The cover was enough for her to quickly retreat back into the house to hide again, and just in time too as Adam blew the smoke away with a decently sized Wind spell.

"Just as tricky as ever I see..." She could hear his footsteps even from her hiding place. He was stalking her again... and she honestly preferred the feeling of being stared down rather then not knowing if he knew where she was or not. "Like how you tricked me into loving you."

"Don't respond... he's just trying to get a rise out of you..."

She wanted to scream out so many responses. So many different variations of 'you never loved me' or 'I didn't do anything to you' but what was the point? If he ever actually listened to anyone, then they wouldn't be in this situation in the first place... which funnily enough Blake had to thank him for. As horrible as he had been... if he hadn't been that bad, who knows if she would have met Yang? Who knows if she would have her three beautiful children...?

Time was ticking away. Blake was going to survive for long enough, it was just a matter of keeping her cool... keeping things exaclty how they were... she couldn't disrupt this stalemate... she couldn't let things progress until Pyrrha arrived...

"We'll make it though this... help is on the way..."

All she had to do... was nothing.

"Hey!!" A beautiful voice, one she would always recognise as the one she loved most in this world... the voice that usually filled her with warmth and a burning love that could only be directed towards the owner of it... the love of her life. The same voice that now filled her with so much fear and dread as she knew what it meant. Blake shot up and turned to look out the window, her face screaming but her voice failing her as she watched Yang charge at Adam, a burning fist... ready to meet a red blade.

Ruby Schnee

"Hey, Weiss?" She carefully placed Argus into his crib, the young prince looking too tired to keep his cuteness up anymore... yet still looking just as adorable anyway.

"Yes, Ruby?" She turned and smiled at the Queen, who was currently brushing her hair before bed and already dressed in her pajamas... which Ruby was about to change into as well.

"I... I wanted to ask something... personal."

"Oh no, however will I manage with a 'personal' question." The sarcasm dripped from her voice heavy enough to make Ruby feel bad for anyone Weiss used that voice regularly with. "Ruby. We're married, not to mention we have a child. I think we're past the point of you needing to ask permission-"

"How... did you get your scar?" Ruby facepalmed and let out a small groan. "S-sorry, i meant-"

"N-no i..." Weiss put her brush down, but didn't turn to face her. "I'm sorry. I thought I told you already..."

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to. I just... feel like i... I don't know, I'm sorry."

"Ruby-" Weiss had turned by now and was smiling that same sweet smile as always. "You don't have to explain. I have questions about your past too... and, I think we should be comfortable sharing things by now." They shared a smile, and joined each other sitting on the edge of the bed. "Do you know how scars work?"

"Yeah... injuries that heal overtime right? Rather then healing magic."

"Yes. But, do you know how healing magic works?"

"It umm..." She scratched the back of her head awkwardly. "N-no sorry."

"Your soul contains a reflection of your body. A sort of... saved print for what it looks like." Weiss rested her hand over Rubys own, the gentle touch enough to temporarily distract her. "Healing magic uses mana to alter your body, changing it to match the print on your soul of what it's meant to look like."

"Ok so... how does that-"

"What if that print is damaged?"

Ruby paused for a moment. "Then... healing magic wouldn't be able to fix the body properly?"

"Correct." She looked away, letting out a gentle sigh. "There are two ways to damage that part of your soul... but both of which can only be done to humans."

"Humans?"

"Humans don't have mana pools... the magic that makes up their souls isnt strong enough to protect itself... but, even so... usually the print is too well hidden in the soul to damage it without killing the person anyway." She glanced over at the crib, Argus still sleeping soundly inside it. "A baby human... the print isn't hidden properly... any damage to their soul can injure their print..."

Ruby turned her hand under Weiss's, locking their fingers together and giving her a small look of encouragement. "And... what about the second method...?"

"That...?" Weiss let out a sigh. "Well... a less likely occurrence, but... there's a certain power that allows you to consume parts of a soul... if that is used on a human... it will damage their print really effectively."

"What power is that?"

"Why are you so curious...? I don't want you to stop asking I just... why this specifically?"

"Well... I want to know more about you." She gently kissed over Weiss's scar. "But being honest... I'm working on a side project as well, and the more I know about souls the more it'll help."

"You know we have a library right?" They shared a chuckle and Ruby nodded.

"Well, yeah. But it's more of a... thought experiment then anything." She leaned back, laying down on the bed. "The Curse Breaker... Rory mentioned that it was based off of the Abaddon Curse... I was wondering... is it possible to reverse engineer the Abaddon Curse from the Curse Breaker...?"

Weiss joined her in laying down, and seemed to be deep in thought. "I suppose... but for anyone other then you it would take a while."

A chuckle escaped Ruby's lips and she turned her body to face Weiss. "Trying to stroke my ego?"

"As if I need to try to do that." Another shared laugh between them... but they settled not long after that.

"By the way... that power that can consume souls... what is it?"

"Oh... that one? Apparently it's one of Famine's abilitys."

Yang Xiao Long

"Hey!!" A deep growl sounded from her chest, and by the time he had turned she was already mid-leap, charging straight at him with burning fur scorching from her body. Her fist carried a condensed flame that could scorch flesh and muscle from bone in an instant, but luckily she was immune to her own spell. Red glowing eyes seared into her target, and the only thing that seemed to match the colour was his hair... and his sword, which he had put away into its sheath the second she spoke.

Mid-air, a gentle prick stabbed into her back... it was a feeling not unlike when Neo had stabbed her before... but this was different, something about this felt so much worse. It didn't hurt, not at first. The knife or bolt now lodged into her body didn't get any further into her then an inch or two... yet a searing feeling spread from it as time seemed to slow. Her body felt like it was on fire... no, not just like it was on fire... she could feel her skin burning were her fur had been, the flames coming from her scorching her in an instant as she flew to her now forgotten target... and her fist was nearly reduced down to the bone by her own spell before she ever reached the man.

"...What...?"

The pain didn't get to her, not at first. Rather, the shock and confusion of it all was what left her completely stunned... her soul, her spells, her magic... all of it felt... disconnected. Like it wasn't something she could touch or feel anymore... her body grew weaker, and the adrenaline pumping through her wore off as time sped up... and she didn't even feel the pain at first.

A swift movement passed by her as she slammed into the ground, her body screaming in pain now... all except for the fist that should be melted. She knew she had felt it be reduced from skin and flesh to all but bone... yet why couldn't she feel any pain from it...? Not just her fist though... her arm up to her elbow was completely numb... she couldn't feel any of it, let alone move it. Then again, her entire body was feeling way too weak to move or even function.

"Sleep... sounds pretty great right now..."

It was weird. Yang could have sworn she had been here before, in this exact circumstance. Someone had hit her with an attack... she was on the ground... her eyes were heavy and her body unable to move... sleep or unconsciousness was ready to claim her... and she had no clue what else to do but let it.

"I wonder... what just happened...?"

Did it really matter anymore as her eyes closed? She decided none of it did. Yang had failed in her one goal, her one aspiration in life... to protect her family. She hadnt been able to do anything... and this was the result? And even worse... perhaps the biggest insult on top of all of that... was that the same person as last time was here to save her.

Blake Xiao Long

"Yang!!" Her body moved before she could even process what had happened. She was charging Adam with a rage she couldn't describe in words, and her body trembled with anger as she watched him put away his sword... readying for another attack.

One he never got to throw.

A small blast of magic hit him in the chest, it wasn't anything overly large... yet it lit his front up in a majestic yellow and white glow as it expanded, eventually detonating and searing his whole front with a brilliant explosion. Blake paused in shock, but her surprise wore off as a figure landed between them, her brilliant red hair telling Blake exactly who this was... but she didn't even say hello.

Pyrrha seared forward, moving faster then Blake could follow as she swung straight for the mans throat with full intention to kill. Adam barely dodged back in time, but Conquest didn't let up for a second. She unleashed a devastating barrage of attacks that left Famine constantly on the run before she ended it with another spell to his chest, this one resembling a gust of wind that caved the man's chest in like a glowing hot piece of metal struck by a hammer.

Adam coughed up blood as he flew back, slamming into a wall and almost immediately being rendered unable to fight by Pyrrha's display... but she didn't follow up. Instead both Pyrrha and Blake rushed to Yang's side, the red haired woman immediately using healing magic and trying to help her while Blake checked her over.

Yang was badly burnt across her whole body, her right arm was nearly entirely missing... only the distance from her shoulder to her elbow remaining attatched to her... but Blake shook her head, checking for something else in the meantime... and finding it. She had seen something hit Yangs back during the leap, it was too subtle for her to properly make out from the distance... but up close she could see the knife. It looked entirely metal, but it's design was strange... it had a seam that looked out of place where the handle met the blade, almost like it was meant to screw out or in place...

Blake pulled the knife from her wifes body and Pyrrhas healing magic repaired the wound almost immediately, leaving Blake free to look around... and it didn't take long for her to see the assailant. Up on the roof, on the opposite side to where Adam had first showed up... she stood there with a frown, like she was disappointed.

"Illia..." Blake growled out the name and readied herself, gathering her mana to go after her and-

"Blake! Somethings wrong!" Her view snapped to Pyrrha, looking down at the now perfectly fine Yang... besides her arm. It was... still missing...? "Her arm... it won't heal...!" Blake lost her whole train of thought and quickly crouched down again, barely catching Illia disappear out of the corner of her eyes. A dread filled her and she turned back to look at where Adam's beaten and broken body was... just in time to see it be scooped up by a swarm of black smoke and bats. Her breath turned to hyperventilating as she watched the swarm scurry over the roof and disappear into the night... but she couldnt go after them...

"Mama!" Another sense of dread filled her as she watched Sun and Celica run out of the house... thankfully Sun was holding Jasper, but Blake was up immediately and hugging her children... trying to keep them from seeing the state Yang was in.

"Blake! The bleeding isn't stopping!" She cursed under her breath and had to leave her kids side, darting over to Yang... and making a tough decision. She pressed her hand over the bloody stump with tears in her eyes, and quickly let off a small burst of fire magic. The smell of burnt flesh and the searing noise filled her senses and wasn't something she'd soon forget, but it was done... with the wound cauterized, she turned to Pyrrha and tried her best to form words.

"I... we have to get her to a hospital...!" Why wasn't her arm coming back...? What was going on...?

"Please... please be ok... I need you, Yang."

Roman Torchwick

"Dammit!!" Roman winced at the scream, barely ducking under a chair that had been flung across the room without a care by the very angry faunas that had just walked in.

"Calm down, Adam-" In perfect contrast was Cinder's perfectly calm voice. She didn't seem to care at all about the situation.

"Shut up. How can you be so calm?? Everytime we try something, it's those damn Harbingers that stop us!! If they were just gone-" He had gotten up in her face now, it was actually kind of funny to Roman... even with his height over Cinder, the Demon still struck the more intimidating figure of the two. Especially after her eyes started glowing, and some unknown force made Adam shut his mouth.

"As I said before, Adam. Calm down. We have a witness today." Her voice was as smooth and confident as always, and Roman tensed once more at her words. Thankfully however, she wasn't talking about him. He was watching from the wall of the room, whereas the two that had just entered were standing in the centre, and had now turned to a different wall... one with a rather large Scrying Orb built into it. "It's good to see you." She stepped over and smiled at the person on the other side of the Orb... Roman wanted to check who it was... but something deep within him told him to avert his eyes.

"How are things progressing?" The voice was deep and clearly that of a man. From just that sentence alone Roman could tell he was strong... his voice demanded attention and exuded authority... but it wasn't like Adam's childish pursuit... no, this voice belonged to someone who already had all the respect and authority that Adam chased.

"Things could be better... Give Watt's my thanks, the Abaddon Curse worked perfectly. But, I'd like to request your help, if things continue to degrade." Unlike everyone else he had seen Cinder speak to... this person recieved her actual respect. There was no lie in her voice or the way she spoke for once, her tone was complelty natural. It sounded almost alien coming from her.

"Do you have something in mind?"

"Yes... Vacuo and Mistral already seem set to go to war with Vale, but if the Dragon's die we lose our chance at the Formula... I would like to avoid pitting the Kingdoms against each other... but-"

"She has entrusted this stage of the plan to you." Another new sight. Cinder visibly tensed at the mans reference of someone else... whoever this mystery woman was... Cinder was actively scared of her. "Do not fail. If you need my help, you may request it. Failure does not come from asking for assistance... it comes from losing."

"T-thank you... in that case... I'll need your help in assisting Vacuo if we do have to go down that route."

"Very well. You know how to contact me if that time comes."

"Yes... We shall talk if it comes to that... be well until then, Hazel."