Chapter Twenty-Five: A Twisting Tale.

These were certainly most peculiar times. That much, alone, could have been the understatement of the century. And it is in these peculiar times that the most useful and vital information can come from the strangest of sources.

Pyrrha had been incredibly stressed, in all honesty. Though that could hardly be unexpected. If anyone should have been alarmed at Neo's secret journal's contents, it was her. She was mentioned in those dark pages. By name. And what event triggered that name to be invoked? Nothing short of her predicted death, alongside the destruction of the very academy she now sat having her lunch in. Or, well, trying to. Everyone had noticed that she wasn't herself that day. People kept telling her that she 'looked pale,' and that her eyes were shrunken and shivering in their sockets. She'd noticed her own fingertips trembling as she tried writing notes to the lectures she attended. The prodigy had even been repeatedly told to pay attention by the lecturers whenever her mind had started to stray.

Maybe she just didn't want to admit it, even to herself, but she was terrified. That wasn't to say that it was ironic that a warrior like herself was afraid of death. In fact, she had accepted that very possibility when she chose to become a Huntress. But now that the subject had been brought up and the literal deadline was rapidly growing nearer, she couldn't stop thinking about the plethora of ripple effects which that dark book had mentioned.

Oberon had given that book a name. The 'Prognosticus,' or the 'Book of Omens.' He said that it made no sense for Neo to attend this very academy if not to try and prevent those very things from happening, but she could already see people making the argument that Neo could be the very cause of those things happening from the beginning. That she was some kind of Grimm Spy or saboteur, working for whoever this 'Salem,' character was. Still, she didn't believe those claims. That girl had sacrificed too much in the defence of order to be called chaotic.

She then suddenly felt a hand shaking her by the shoulder, and she whipped her head around to pay attention to the owner of said hand. It was Jaune, with a worried-looking expression on his face. Pyrrha briefly glanced around to notice the other members of her team were sat at the very same table she was at, but she'd never noticed them sitting down beside her. Ren shared his leader's sentiment and even Nora was eating slower than usual and actually looking up at her, instead of the pancake which she was presently sliding into her mouth like some kind of oversized noodle. They were staring at her, as if expecting an answer to a question which she hadn't heard.

"Oh! Umm…Hello everyone. Sorry, I didn't see you sit down…" She began.
"…We've been here for the past ten minutes." Ren murmured.
"Are you alright, Pyrrha? You don't seem yourself today." Jaune asked. She could tell that this whole dilemma seemed to be taking its toll on him, which was just as reassuring as it was worrying. It was clear that he cared for her feelings, but she didn't want her moods to be what might ruin his day. She wasn't sure what to say to them, but before she could really think about her words carefully, her mouth was already moving of its own accord.

"Well, it's just… we found out Neo is actually-"
"Guilty?" Ren asked, interrupting her. "It's about time you quit worrying about her and focus on yourself. If you keep fretting about the lives of criminals, you'll let your emotions cloud your judgement. That could be the difference between an ill-deserved mercy and justice."
"…That's not what I…" She tried again, still not considering the impact of her words.
"I don't care if that's not what you wanted." Ren snapped back. "If you stay distracted like that, you'll-!"
"That's enough, Ren. I'm certain Pyrrha already knows that well enough. We're human, aren't we? And not even adults, at that. We can afford to be emotional and have off-days. It's better to have them now than to have them later." Jaune interfered, looking oddly serious considering his happy-go-lucky, goofy usual self.
"…For how long, though?" Ren murmured, turning his attention to Nora who was looking at him with her big, wide teal eyes. A pancake slid slowly into her maw as if she were a cartoon character. Ren couldn't help but roll his eyes as his mouth betrayed him by slowly melting into a smile.

Whilst the other two were distracted by each other, Jaune confronted Pyrrha once again.

"For real, though, are you okay? Been having bad luck or something?" He asked, turning to face her completely, whilst she hesitated to mirror his motion. Her fingers twitched together as her feet turned inwards and her toes raked at the insides of her shoes.
"…Something like that." She mumbled. She didn't want to lie to her team, especially not to Jaune, but telling the truth was something of an impossibility. This was Neo's secret. It was bad enough that Oberon had already unveiled it to the makeshift team she was a part of in her spare time. Telling anyone else just felt wrong. Especially a secret of reality-shattering magnitudes. "We've… found a big clue which should lead us in the right direction. It's just…not exactly the best of places." She replied, deciding to tell the truth but not divulge any of the sensitive parts.
"Oh, I see. Where abouts?"
"…One of the hideouts of the White Fang."
"…Do you think she's associated with them? Is that why you're worried?"

Ahah, an out. Probably the best alibi for why she was feeling gloomy was right in front of her, and she'd be foolish to deny herself the opportunity to embrace it.

"I mean… I don't think she is, but… there's always the worry that I put my trust in the wrong person."
"Well… worst case scenario, you kick some radical extremist butts, right?" He beamed. She could tell it wasn't quite genuine, but it was quite the attempt to cheer her up a bit, nonetheless.
"Thanks, Jaune." She smiled. "Though…I'm not quite sure where to look for such a hideout. Any ideas?"
"Well…funny you mention that, actually. We were getting ready to find Roman tomorrow. Since he's got some kind of influence with the White Fang, maybe our search will lead us to the same hideout you think Neo's heading to." He explained, seeming rather optimistic in spite of his previous expression of worry and distress.
"That's convenient. Still, I'm not sure if we should put all of our eggs in one basket. We'll continue our search separately to you in order to cover wider ground. If you find Neo, let us know, and if we find Roman, we'll let you know. If there's trouble, let us know and maybe we can consolidate forces."
"Sounds good. Best of luck to you." Jaune smiled.
"Same to you, Jaune." Pyrrha said as she beamed back.

It was hard to sleep that night. For all parties involved. For some, it was the excitement of finally having a chance to solve a big mystery. For others, it was the anxiety of trying to infiltrate a White Fang meeting point. For one, however, it was the looming anxiety of paranoia and scopaesthesia. Unlike the others, Neo didn't have the luxury of a bed that night. Whilst it would have been a rather simple task to book a hotel room for the night, funds were limited to only what was essential, and she hadn't the time or real ability to scope out a hotel's security and ensure that there weren't any security cameras installed in the rooms. Whilst she could have simply remained in her illusionary disguise the whole time, she didn't have an unlimited amount of energy to expend towards that endeavour. She had to save her power if she wanted to save her skin and the lives of the civilians, which she found herself caring for significantly more than she should have.

She was fortunate enough that the perfect hiding space had presented itself to her. As much as it almost guaranteed safety, it came at the cost of some of her pride. And that's why she was currently hiding out in an empty metal dumpster. The bins had been taken out shortly before she'd climbed in, so she didn't have to be laying in filth, at least. But it still didn't smell good. Still, it didn't take too long for her exhaustion to overpower her discomfort and paranoia and drag her down into sleep.

Her scroll's alarm woke her up abruptly from the night terrors which she was still being subjected to due to her phantom memories. She'd honestly just been putting them behind her as if they didn't exist, which probably wasn't the healthiest of coping mechanisms, but it was what was currently working for her the most. She groaned and rolled over, before picking up her scroll and turning off the alarm before it drew anyone's attention. There was a reminder set for that evening. 'Torchwick at White Fang Recruitment Rally.' It was one of the many timestamps which she'd set in preparation to undermine the plans of Salem.

That meeting point was not too far away from her position, so she could easily spend some time ensuring that she was up to the task. First and foremost, however, she was in desperate need of a shower. There was a gym not too far from here which she could probably use to get cleaned up. Whilst it wasn't exactly 'lawful' to sneak into an exercise facility to use their showers without a membership pass, it certainly wasn't high enough on the crime scale for her to lose sleep over. She used the bathroom to untangle her two-tone hair (which was now brown and white, opposed to brown and pink like it should have been,) use the bathroom, and then make her way out, already feeling much better.

She still had plenty of time before the meeting was supposed to take place, so she calmly walked towards her destination, planning to scope it out early. Maybe Roman would be there and she could get her answers sooner rather than later. But what would she do afterwards? Capture him and submit him back to the Atlesian military as an act of good faith? They'd probably take her with him since they're so keen to vilify her. As if they'd just forget about the crimes which she'd apparently done just because she gave them Roman Torchwick back. No, no. In all likelihood, they'd probably just bring down the guillotine on the both of them, and that was certainly not the desired outcome.

She may want to bring her former partner-in-crime to justice in order to prevent him from just being a tool in the hands of the adversary, but she didn't want to see him dead. In fact, had she known that his incarceration would have certainly led to a death sentence, she'd probably never have let the military have him to begin with. She harboured no ill-will towards the man, because he was no more of a victim in this scenario than she was, herself. But she had to stop him. If he continued down this path… it would be the death of many, many people. Including himself. Was there a way to… save him? She'd like to think so. But the answer was impossible to know for certain.

She shook her head. What would her friends think if she showed up in their lives again, shaking hands with a criminal and frolicking in the fields of friendship with them as if things were just fine and dandy? They'd think her crazy. They'd never trust her again. It would be idiotic to think that there existed some hypothetical paradise where everyone just got along and lived in harmony.

But… maybe the answer laid somewhere in the middle.

Time is a particularly fickle concept. It's always against you, too. When you desire a large amount of it, you are rewarded with less. When you desire for it to pass, it lingers. In this instance, despite the preparations, nobody was entirely ready for the undertaking of the task before them. Blake was no stranger to the White Fang, due to her long history with them, but Sun just felt lost and bewildered every second he was there in that cramped warehouse. There must have been at least one hundred people in this room, alone, divided between new recruits and existing members. A large stage was set up at the front of the room, with a giant black curtain displaying the signature emblem of the White Fang on the front. Judging from how it laid upon a rugged surface, it was clear that it was covering something, but it was impossible to determine what, exactly, lay beneath the sheet.

With Blake and Sun hiding in plain sight amongst the new recruits of the White Fang, they took a moment to look around, noticing the large number of enforcers blocking the exits and overlooking the goings on. They couldn't see Neo anywhere, so they assumed that she either wasn't here or was in disguise. Of course, they didn't have the luxury of choice when it came to trying to find her, since they didn't want to stand out from the crowd. Going around flicking people to see if their clothes shatter into glass wasn't an option that they had. As the final few mask-wearing faunus funnelled in, a large, masked man with short, dark hair and an impressively muscular build stepped onto the stage and addressed the crowd. He wore the standard outfit of the White Fang, a sleeveless white overcoat with the red insignia on the back. Metallic gauntlets and fingerless gloves, alongside the grey trousers. His voice was loud and carried a slight Vacuan accent to it. It showed no signs of fear. Instead, it was confident and clear. The kind of voice which people could rally to.

"Thank you all for coming. For those of you who are joining for the first time, tonight, allow me to introduce a very special comrade of ours. Many among our rank will recognise him as one of the zavodilas which spearheaded the new direction which our movement now takes. I can assure you all that he is the key to what we have fought for, for so long. My brethren, allow me to introduce Adam Taurus!"

Blake immediately went visibly pale as that man took the stage. A tall bull faunus with red and brown-streaked hair. His clothes were dark and looked kinda like a suit had a child with a yukata. He was clean-shaven, wore a modified Grimm mask over his eyes and nose, and sported a long blade sheathed at his waist. Upon his shoulder laid an embroidered pattern of red flower petals and thorns. He seemed almost emotionless as he turned to address the crowd, which were already cheering loudly at his arrival.

"What's he doing here?! I thought Torchwick was supposed to be here!" Blake whispered to Sun in distress. The monkey shrugged, cluelessly. He was mostly just here for protection. If anyone should know, it should be her, right?

"Welcome. I want to address our new recruits personally, to begin with. Are you tired of not sticking up for yourselves? Exhausted of being beaten, murdered, and treated like dogs? Sick to your skin of being oppressed for being who you are? Don't you feel furious at the ones pulling the strings, deciding that we are inferior to them? That we don't matter?! That our lives are secondary to the lives of others? They just see us as cheap, exploitable labour which they can use, abuse and discard of as they see fit. We gave them their chance to change their minds. To see reason. To understand that we're hardly any different to them. But they chose to dig in their heels and be stubborn. So, we're here to fix the broken system."

Nods and murmurs of agreement began to break out amongst the crowd, newer members, and existing members alike. Sun could see Blake's fingertips twitching and her ears pointing backwards in a mixture of fear and aggression. She was panicking, and it was clear as day even from under that mask she was wearing. He put a hand on her shoulder and whispered for her to calm down, but all he got in return was a whimper.

"The government, military, and even the schools are to blame for the way things are now. And we will turn the tides on them with these!" Adam continued, as the veil was drawn from behind him, revealing the massive hunk of metal which was a giant battle robot. Some kind of mech suit with cannons, missiles and hulking fists which could crush a car with just the tip of its finger. "Due to the efforts of Roman Torchwick – a trusted ally of ours – we were able to take these powerful new Atlesian prototypes before they could be mass produced for the military's purposes. If you want to make the world a better place, then this is the army with which it will be done. We will begin to make our own machines of war and overthrow that which is evil, so that new life can begin once more. This isn't just a question of beliefs anymore. This is a declaration of war, against anyone who mistreats us. Against anyone who would brand us as subordinate. Against the very people who turned our lives into living hells!"

A roar of agreement shook the walls as fists raised high for all to see. It was evident that his speech had won over their hearts, as well as the promise of change and violence. It made Blake sick to her stomach, especially as the crowd of new recruits were directed forwards and they could do nothing but stand there, as if they were deer in the headlights of an oncoming giant, armoured robot. With the way that they were blocking the tide and forcing people to go around them, it quickly drew Adam's attention. His calm and confident expression slowly turned to a smirk as he placed a hand upon the handle of his weapon and began to approach.

"He's seen us!" Sun hissed, alarmed.
"I noticed…!" Blake hissed back. "We need to get out of here. Now!"

And so, she drew her Gambol Shroud and fired a few rounds into a nearby circuit breaker, killing the lights, and they dashed out through the window amidst the confusion. But, unfortunately for them… Adam wasn't content with letting them get away so easily…

Writer's Note:

Well... it's been over half a year since my last upload. And for that, you have my apologies. I've been very busy as of late. Moving house, seeking new employment, celebrating birthdays and Christmas, and generally just being too exhausted and uninspired to write. I wouldn't be surprised if you thought this series was dead, or you'd forgotten all about it, but it's still here, just as I promised. I probably won't be uploading as often as I have been, or really should, truth be told, but that's not because I've fallen out with my own creation. I just have a lot of hobbies, so I'm not always in the mood to write. I've been busy playing games, too. Baldur's Gate certainly has not helped my upload schedule, for instance. Rest assured that I am here, the series is not dead, and I am still continuing it, despite the massive gap between my previous chapter and this one. I'll try to write more often, but I cannot make promises when the next chapter will be done. As always, thank you for reading and I hope to hear from you.