The next morning, Yang woke up, rose from the living room couch and stretched her arm. The first rays of sunlight poured into the living room through the windows.
The living nightmare has ended, but can I really escape it? She looked at Zwei, sleeping contentedly in his bed. She looked at the empty tea cup and miniature plate it was on, still on the living room table.
Overhead, she saw a green rimmed clock on the wall; 7:35am.
I guess I should try to pick up the pieces of last night's near disaster... And fix myself some breakfast...
Carefully balancing her plate and cup with her left hand, she placed them into the sink and looked in the refrigerator. Among other things, she found some cooked, chopped bacon, diced onion and pepper mixture, a bag of shredded cheese and a carton of eggs. One by one, she got out her ingredients and got to work.
First she took out two eggs and slowly whisked them together in a bowl. Then she got out a medium nonstick pan, set it on the front left burner and turned the heat to 5. As she waited for the pan to heat up, she got out a bowl and placed it beside her ingredients. She got out a bit of cheese, bacon and peppers and onions placed an even mixture into the bowl.
One by one, she put away the ingredients and as she put away the eggs, she sighed to empty air. Is it possible to rise above this? To escape the hell I was thrown into?
After the pan heated up, she poured the egg mixture into the pan and placed the handle of the pan away from her for balance. She got out a spatula as her father walked into the kitchen.
He blinked in surprise. "Oh, you're up! I was wondering what that smell was." He took a glance around the kitchen. "You need any assistance?"
"Don't think so. As long as I don't drop the pan I should be alright."
"Right. In related news, I've called over Madame Mallari. She should be arriving within the next hour."
She turned back to her cooking. "Do you really think she can help?"
"I would hope so. She's a doctor, psychiatrist, physiologist, folk medicine practitioner and therapist. Seriously, she's super good. She knows her stuff."
This has to work. If she can't help, I fear no one will be able to... Taiyang silently thought. Very glad Yang doesn't have a mind-reading or secret discovering semblance... Unlike Professor Mustard... Oh, I did not like that guy. Still, hope he's doing alright...
Yang finished making her omelet and proceeded to eat her breakfast.
Sometime later, the clock was shown to be 8:05am. A knock was heard on the door. Taiyang opened it and smiled with relief. It was the woman he called for.
Madame Mallari was an elderly woman in a lavender Victorian-style dress with a white ruffled neckline. Her pale grey hair was faintly visible under the pink hood she wore. Her eyes were mostly hidden with the dark-tinted glasses she wore.
How can she see? Or... is she blind? Yang thought. I don't remember her being blind last I saw her.
"Good morning, Mr. Xiao-Long." she greeted, her voice like warm honey.
"Please, you can just call me Tai."
"I see we're foregoing the formalities." The former STRQ member nodded in confirmation. Mallari entered the home, shutting the door behind her. "So, you told me that your eldest daughter, Yang Xiao-Long, lost her arm in the Battle of Beacon?"
Tai grimaced. "Unfortunately."
Mallari raised an eyebrow and looked at them in concern. "That was months ago. And you're just now asking for my assistance?"
"Honestly, I thought that the best way to handle this would be to give Yang her space. Some time to accept what has happened and come to terms with it. I... I wasn't sure how to help her, so I just let her be. However, after seeing her nearly take her own life, I realize now more than ever that the approach just wasn't working." He sniffed, trying to hold back tears. "I feel like a failure as a father."
"You are not a failure Tai. She's still here, isn't she?" Yang placed her left arm behind her back. "Still, you should have said something earlier."
Tai looked down, a lone tear slid down his face as Yang looked away from him.
I failed her... he thought.
I failed myself... she thought a few seconds later.
"It seems you don't believe me when I say you are not a failure." Mallari began again. "So let us sit down and begin."
Yang sat on the couch. Tai looked around nervously. "Should I... stay here? For emotional support?"
"I believe it would help the patient in question. Maybe it'll help you indirectly as well."
"Alright. Thank you."
He sat down in a chair opposite to Yang and Mallari.
Mallari turned to Yang, her gaze solely focusing on her. "So... you lost your arm the night Beacon fell. Would you care to elaborate further on what exactly happened?"
"Oh boy... Where do I even begin?" Yang asked herself. She breathed in and after a moment of silence, spoke, "It was a dark night. In a strange way, it's almost a blur... But yet I remember everything. The Fall of Beacon. All started with Pyrrha Nikos unintentionally destroying Penny Polendina, then the broadcasted message from the unknown woman about who one can really trust. Then Grimm came... the Altesian robot soldier drones were hacked, and the White Fang came crashing in...
"After fighting some hijacked Altesian robot soldiers and White Fang goons, I tried searching for my best friend and team partner, Blake Belladonna. I punched a goon down and called out her name, frantically trying to find her. Much to my rage and horror, I was answered back with her scream. I saw a man, whom I later learned goes by the name Adam Taurus, and rage instantly consumed me upon seeing him attack her. Losing all other thoughts, I charged towards him and the next thing I know, he's using a lot of energy with his aura to unleash a devastating attack. An attack that broke my aura, sliced off the upper part of my right arm and rendered me unconscious.
"The next thing I know, I'm fading in and out of consciousness for hours on end. And when I wake up, I see that the remainder of my right arm's been wrapped in bandages, Ruby and Weiss have been and/or already escorted home, and Blake? She was gone. Sun said he saw her leave, and that he tried to stop her, but to no avail. It was bad enough trying to recover from the loss of my arm, and then Ruby leaves with team JNPR on this avenge Penny quest, leaving me even more alone. I alienated her, so I guess she had the right to leave. Not like my feelings matter."
Mallari shook her head in disagreement. "That's probably one of your biggest problems-you're acting like your feelings don't matter. They do. They lead to many actions being taken, and humans and faunus are known to be very emotional creatures. But what's important is that you don't let your emotions consume you."
Easier said than done... Yang thought.
"Still, we have to start somewhere."
As Yang's therapy session continued, the scene zoomed out from the house and showed the sun above...
...To show the city of Wind Path. Athena and Ares stood in the meeting room of her hotel fortress, waiting for Wungeng and Adam to arrive. The owl faunus looked at her scroll for the time;
March 1st
11:30am
And promptly groaned. "Where are they? They were supposed to be here a half hour ago."
"Someone seems anxious." Ares noted.
"Perhaps I am... a little." Athena confessed. "This is the aftermath of a war against the former High Leader that I did not win. I have to plan my next move carefully, and I can't do that if we don't know Adam's primary objectives. Also, why is Zhu/Wungeng even here in the first place? He should not be-"
At that moment, the doors flung open, revealing Wungeng and Adam. "Ah, speak of the Devil!" Athena exclaimed. "I was wondering when you would show up."
"My apologies for keeping you two waiting. I had unintentionally overslept and when I woke up, Wungeng was raiding the already limited supply of snacks in the pantry." The pig tailed leader frowned indignantly before Adam turned to Ares and Athena.
Athena cleared her throat. "Ahem."
"Now then, down to business."
The four sat down at the table, Adam taking one end, and Athena taking the other. Wungeng sat closer to the former and Ares closer to the latter. "With Sienna Khan dead, we will have to organize and plan a memorial service for her." The new High Leader addressed Athena and Ares. "I trust that you have seen the video of my High Leadership speech that Wungeng recorded."
"We have, and we have informed my specialists of the tale, who in turn have told, are telling and/or will tell a few soldiers and messengers." Athena answered. "Pretty soon it will become common knowledge within the entire Mistralian White Fang branch."
"Fortunately, the story has already been told and everyone believes it. But if I seek to fully consolidate power, I must inform the leaders of the other two branches; Laverna in Atlas, and Fennec and Corsac in Menagerie." Adam looked exclusively at Athena. "You once told me that you had formed a squadron of twenty-one messengers to spread the word of your rise to power after Maura's untimely demise. I know you have at least one of those messengers here because she was a victim of the catgirl's scheming, so answer me this; do you have another within this city?"
"I do. I have two messengers here in Wind Path that I think will fit the bill quite nicely. I will speak to them later and have them ready to depart within a week."
"Excellent." He addressed everyone in the room. "Once we have the remaining branches recognize my authority, the invasion of Haven Academy will come easily thereafter."
Athena questioned, "What about Blake Belladonna and her allies? Don't you fear that they might oppose us?"
He laughed at her notion. "Not likely. They may know of my plan, but they can't stop me. They realize that they are outnumbered and outmatched. Blake realized that after I took her prisoner, and after escaping my grasp, she fled with her allies."
"That may be so, but they are still a threat." Ares added. "I have faced nearly all of them in combat and lost. First to the imposter and the monkey tailed goon, and later to Ghira. The only one I did not face was Kali, but I heard from the grapevine that she knocked out Ilia, one of your best agents, with nothing but a cooking dish!"
Wungeng raised his left eyebrow, faintly appearing over the edge of his mask. "You mean her frying pan?"
"Yes, exactly!"
"Not to mention all four of them know the truth about how you rose to power." Athena said to Adam.
"You bring up many valid points, but I don't think Blake or her allies will say anything." Adam told her. "She's shattered and broken. And even if she did dare to speak, no one would believe her! Considering that Douglas, Hector nor Ilia believed her when she said that I was the one who murdered Sienna, who would even listen to her words?"
The owl winged faunus cocked her head towards Adam and Wungeng. "The members of White Fang believe the lie, but what about those not involved or formerly involved?"
"Knowing Blake's cowardly nature, she and her friends likely fled the city, but just to be sure, I'll have Douglas and Hector search for her location."
"A wise decision." Athena nodded. "Now, I've been hearing a lot about Ghira and Kali Belladonna recently. Who exactly are they, and why are they important?"
"They're former members of the White Fang. Ghira in particular was one of the founding members of the Fang when it was created twenty years ago, and it's first High Leader. He and Kali are also the parents of Blake Belladonna. She was practically born into the White Fang, her whole family was involved- until Ghira and Kali left. He chose to step down as High Leader because he believed his peaceful methods weren't working, and hoped Sienna could keep a better grip on the Fang. And she did... until now." Adam explained. "In addition, Ghira became chieftain of Menagerie after stepping down, which raises an important question- if they're here, who's governing the land of faunus?"
She blinked. "That is a good question."
"They had to have trusted it to one of their closest allies. If I'm right, they'll have placed Fennec and/or Corsac in charge during their absence."
Wungeng smirked. "And that means Menagerie is ripe for the taking."
Adam returned the smirk. "Precisely."
"And if you can get the faunus of Menagerie to join the fight, our armies will be unstoppable!" Athena mentioned.
"Indeed they will, but that's only if the messengers succeed in getting to Menagerie and Atlas. First things first though, we have a memorial service to organize. We already have our story, so that part is done. Now it is simply a matter of organizing the event. We'll host the service in your banquet hall room, since you have more floor space than I do. The real question now is when to hold the funeral."
"We should hold it within seven days." Athena advised. "The messengers will be ready to go as soon as the funeral service ends, and depart that very evening. That way, we continue to go forth with our own goals at the same time."
"You know, Sienna's birthday was supposed to be within a few days." Ares mentioned. "March 5th if I recall correctly. If we held it on that day, it would make a strong statement about how she had a life, and was mostly innocent."
Wungeng frowned. "Okay, that's just cruel to hold her funeral on her birthday, even for me."
The ram horned scowled indignantly. "Fine. We hold it a day or two after."
"How about two days afterward? On the 7th?" Athena suggested. "Is that fair?" Everyone nodded in agreement. "Perfect. Now we know that Adam will have to make a speech at the funeral to motivate our followers and announce his plan, but does anyone else want or need to speak at the funeral?"
"I don't think it will be necessary, but I'll keep that in mind. Unless anyone else has any concerns, I believe we are done here." Silence reigned for a few moments. "Very well then. As of now, this meeting is adjourned. We will meet again after the funeral is over."
Perfect. Athena thought.
The leaders rose, with Adam exiting the room and Wungeng following soon behind him. "Good day to you, Athena and Ares."
Ares turned to his beloved and asked with a grin, "You have a plan?"
Athena smirked. "Of course I do. He mentioned in this meeting that he wishes to invade Haven. Based on this and his rhetoric in his speech, I can deduce that he wishes to topple the human dominated government. Perhaps I can give him some assistance without his commands."
"And how do you plan to do that?"
"By using the information Aoi retrieved earlier and one of my specialists." The 'war gods' exited the room, the camera focusing on Athena's smirk. "And I know just the man for the job..."
Meanwhile, a familiar black-cloaked messenger walked around a dirt road path through a clearing in the forest.
Alright, I finally made it to Argus. I guess I've been avoiding coming back here since... Since Athena attacked my home away from home. But I've been to Zephyros, to Wind Path, to Mistral and now back to Argus. Only this time I'm returning as a messenger, and not a student. Hopefully I won't have to be here long- I'll deliver the last letter I have right now, then I can get some more letters and continue my journey.
The Hero of Sanctum looked up ahead and saw three pillars of smoke rising into the air.
Oh no...
He dashed forward and quickly made his way to the city. As he stopped to catch his breath, he saw some of the destruction and chaos unfolding around him; two criminals were shown grabbing onto citizens, and stealing their possessions. He looked closer and found two women being assaulted. The first one, a middle aged cat tailed faunus, was kicked against the wall and the other, an elderly human had her arms twisted behind her back, causing her to cry out in pain. The first criminal stole a black purse from the faunus and as the elderly woman had her arm twisted, the second criminal stole a diamond ring from her left hand.
"No, please! Leave me be!" the first woman cried out.
The second woman screamed in pain at the same time.
"Hey!" Ash called out. The criminals turned to face him. "Leave them alone!"
"Huh? An intruder! Get him!"
Ash got out Incinerator and went to work. With an uppercut of his sword, he slashed through these guys like it was nothing. Due to lack of aura, they were horribly injured. One was shown to be bleeding from the stomach, and one from the upper part of his chest. In a flash, he placed his hands on the ground, lifted himself up, and spun-kick his foes to the ground. They groaned in pain, with them falling unconscious soon thereafter.
"That should keep em down." he remarked. He picked up the purse and a diamond ring. He addressed the elderly woman first. "I believe this belongs to you?"
She took the ring and smiled in relief. "Oh, thank you!"
He then addressed the faunus woman. "Your purse, madame."
"Thank you, young man."
"You're welcome." He looked around, seeing chaos in the distance. "What happened here? Why is the city under attack?"
"I'd explain, but it's not safe to speak here. Come with me."
She gestured him to follow her and they went to a supermarket. As they approached the entrance, he saw two Nubuck guards standing there. They were blocking the entrance, much to the group's confusion.
"Halt! You possess a weapon!" the first one stated.
"Do you intend to rob the store?" the second asked.
"Identify yourself!" they both demanded.
"Ash Nikos, former student and Hero of Sanctum Academy." he spoke truthfully.
The second one raised an eyebrow and continued to grill him. "And who are the civilians?"
"They're just strangers I saved from criminals mere moments ago. I have no idea who they are."
"Hmm... Our commander did not give us instructions for training students..." the first one stated.
"Or ex-students..." the second added.
The two guards gave a slight "Hmm..." as they pondered the situation at hand.
"Alright, we'll let you in..." the first one started.
"But we'll be watching you." the second one continued.
"No funny business!" they shouted in unison.
Ash flinched before the guards unblocked the door. He and the ladies he helped earlier then entered the store.
"I don't remember the stores being this tight in security." Ash mentioned.
"A precaution taken as a result of what happened." the elderly woman spoke.
The cloaked hero looked at them forlornly. "What happened here?"
"A series of unfortunate events- starting with Athena Bruna escape from the Argus Harbor Max Security Prison."
The Hero of Sanctum gasped in disbelief. "What? But this... this can't be possible. I defeated her a long time ago!"
"I'm afraid so." the faunus woman spoke. "It happened November 17th of last year. I don't know where you've been or what you've been doing, but you're late to the party. And I'm afraid it gets worse from there- January 6th of this year, Athena destroyed said prison with the help of Ares and some specialists. Maura Celandine was caught on camera directly working with her and the entire prison was burnt to the ground. Warden Cumin was killed, Assistant Warden Paprika was heavily injured and just barely survived, and many guards and other enforcers were also killed and/or injured. In the process of Argus Harbor's breakout, hundreds of criminals escaped. Those who didn't join the Revolutionists laid waste to the city. Since then the city has fallen into chaos, and Mistral's huntsmen and huntresses are failing to rise to the challenge."
By the end of her recount, Ash was on the verge of tears. He closed his eyes to prevent them from escaping.
How can this be? Everything I did to try and save Sanctum and Argus... was it all for nothing?
"Mr. Nikos?" the woman asked.
Without saying anything, he blindly ran out of the store, tears stinging his eyes as he opened them and ran away from everyone. He didn't hear the confused grunts of the Nubuck guards who patrolled the entrance, or the gasps and murmurs of the civilians around him. He just ran and ran, for about a half mile until he ran out of steam.
My city... My home away from home... Crumbling apart. Is there nothing left?
He then stopped in his tracks as he saw a body being carried away by a stretcher. The deceased woman had pale skin and blond hair falling out in a messy bun. She wore a headband of fake daisies in her hair. Her orange and yellow dress was torn to her thighs, her shoes were missing, showing bare feet with an anklet with a faux topaz gemstone.
"I rest my case." Ash stated.
"Another huntress fallen. And she wasn't even out fighting crime." the first medical worker told her partner.
"Killed in her own home. That's just sad." another officer noted. "Probably by one of the many Argus criminals at large..."
"Who is... er, who was she?" he asked.
"Daisy Hughes." a female detective answered. "Thirty seven. Huntress. Seventeen year alumni of Haven. Also a wife and mother of two children."
Ash looked sadly at the fallen huntress.
Another family torn apart... he silently lamented. I know I'm not the one who killed her, but... this chaos. Is this... my fault? I was supposed to stop Athena! I thought my efforts to be a hero were supposed to save lives! But now it seems like my efforts to save Sanctum were vain and in the end, didn't even matter!
Trying to forget his troubles, he left the scene. With sorrow weighing on him, he roamed the streets of Argus until he found a quiet, peaceful district. After hearing so much commotion, the only thing he heard was brief footsteps and the sound of breath being exhaled into the cold, late winter wind.
Alright, finally some peace and quiet. But how come there aren't any criminals here?
He looked around and found himself in front of a small park. The park had two black metal benches parallel to each other atop a stone platform. Further along the platform was a circle with small lights around it and a statue of a well-known warrior.
Ash couldn't believe his eyes of the person he stared at. "Pyrrha?"
The lost hero looked at the statue of his older sister. She looked sad as she held her shield in her hands. Her spear was on her back, as if she was saying she didn't want to fight. He felt a kick to the gut as he stared at the statue. He then saw the words on a plaque with Pyrrha's symbol;
IN HONOR OF PYRRHA NIKOS, ONE OF MANY STUDENTS WHO FOUGHT VALIANTLY AT THE FALL OF BEACON
Upon seeing this, he realized it was a memorial to her and nearly cried.
This doesn't make sense. I know she's alive. But why am I so sad?
He looked closer at the statue, seeing how sorrowful she was. She was sad, defeated, and broken.
Is she sad because the world gave up on her? Is it because she failed to save Beacon from crumbling to the ground? Did the maker of this statue believe that with her 'death', her dreams were not fulfilled? A new thought, equally saddening and horrifying, entered his mind. Has she given up... on herself?
"It's awful, isn't it?" a feminine voice asked.
He turned to find a young woman with short dark brown hair and eyes. She had a single smooth bang going down her forehead and in between her eyes. She wore a dark navy collar shirt with a light-blue cardigan, dark-gray jeans and red sneakers. She also wore red glasses and a wedding ring.
In her arms, she was carrying an infant with short black hair and brown eyes. He wore a white and blue long-sleeved shirt with denim overalls and white socks.
"I'm guessing you didn't know?" she asked.
Ash stammered. "I... had no idea... that everyone gave up on her."
"I know it may be hard to accept the truth, but Pyrrha's dead." She looked down dejected. "And it's likely that her brother fell six feet under in the chaos."
"Actually, it's not true."
The woman looked at him like he had two heads. Even her son looked at him confused. "And how can this be so?" she asked.
"For your first point, I was told and later found a newspaper stating Maura Celandine's last words." Ash handed her the copy of Nina News he found on his travels. "Read the highlighted part."
The CCT Technician examined the newspaper and came to the highlighted text. "'Pyrrha Nikos is alive? And she is innocent?'"
"Indeed so." The lost hero smiled. "I may not know who you are, but I hope I brought you some good news."
"I'm Terra." she answered. She gestured to her son. "And this is my son, Adrian." Adrian waved happily and Terra looked back at him. "Who might you be?"
"Call me Mr. N. A.N."
Terra looked at him closely... "A.N.? As in..." And blinked as she realized... "Ash Nikos?!"
He gave her a grin and a finger gun. "The one and only."
"The Nikos siblings are alive..." She widened her eyes in astonishment. "Both of them." She stood in silence before Adrian tapped her arm. "But wait." Ash looked at her curiously. "If you knew that Pyrrha was alive, then... why were you so heartbroken by seeing the statue?"
His grin faded, replaced with a forlorn look on his face. "I don't know. Maybe it's because she looks so defeated? She looks... broken, beaten. It's as if she is fighting a fight that she can't win or doesn't even want to fight. She... gave up."
There was a moment of silence. Ash looked at her, then at the statue one last time before turning away.
"So what are you going to do? Continue your search?" Terra asked.
"I was, but... upon returning here, I now see that Athena has caused even more damage, both directly and indirectly, with the destruction of the Argus Harbor Prison. Mistral's running low on huntsmen and huntresses, and Argus is no exception. This city needs a hero, and I might be the only one who can do it."
She gave the lost hero a look of worry and concern. "You're going to do a huntsman's work even when you haven't stepped foot on Haven?"
"I already stopped a few criminals upon my arrival. Also I faced Athena herself and other White Fang members at Sanctum, so I'm already acquainted with danger."
Terra looked at him with a medley of concern and happiness. "Bless your heart, young man."
Suddenly Ash's stomach growled. "Man, it's been a long day. Can't even remember what I had for breakfast this morning..."
"Perhaps you could come over for dinner?"
"I.. I don't want to intrude..." he stammered.
Suddenly, Terra's scroll started to ring, playing lovely harp music. "Hello?" The sound of a mumbling female voice was heard. "Oh hey there, hun." Ash looked closely as she stood in silence. "I got a bit sidetracked talking to a young man playing messenger." Another moment of silence passed before she answered the caller's question. "About fourteen to fifteen, maybe? He seems pretty lonely. Do you care if I invite him for dinner?" More mumbling was heard. "Alright, sweet! I'll see you in a few!" More words were exchanged. "I love you too, sweetie. Bye." Terra ended the call. "Well, my wife doesn't mind you, so let's go."
"Hey um, Terra?" She turned to look at him, a slight 'Hmm?' sound heard. "Thanks for this. I almost feel like I'd just be intruding."
"Don't worry. It's the least I can do. You've given me a small fragment of hope in this chaotic world. It's probably also been a long time since you've had a hot meal." She gestured for Ash to follow her. "Let's go."
And so, the unlikely friends walked through the streets of Argus.