Dread in the Air

Sometime after Ruby and the gang left, Watts entered the office where the headmaster was wallowing in self-pity and regret.

"You ready?" the lanky doctor asked the man.

Lionheart wasn't, but what choice did he have? So then the two opened a secret passageway behind one of the bookcases which led to a small hallway. That in turn led to a small circular room where a spherical Grimm was waiting. The monster had red tentacles beneath its main body with spikes at the tips. This was a Seer, a relatively weak Grimm. But combat wasn't its main purpose.

"After you," Watts said before giving Lionheart an "encouraging" push.

With that, Lionheart hesitantly moved to the Seer's field of vision…or closer to it, actually. "Y-your Grace? Are you there?" Lionheart stammered.

Soon enough, the fog that was inside the monster's spherical body cleared and revealed Salem in her castle. This was the Seer's main purpose, to act as a two-way communication between itself and another of its kind. "Leonardo, do you have something to report?" Salem asked with a small frown.

"Y-yes, your Grace. I wouldn't waste your time if I didn't," Lionheart stammered.

Meanwhile Watts quirked an eyebrow at the Grimm Queen's mood, "Pardon me for asking, ma'am, but is there something wrong?"

Salem turned her attention to Watts. "Nothing important." The Grimm Queen used a tone that didn't leave room for argument.

"Very well," Watts replied, knowing when to not press an issue, "I still must say, that I find this creature very fascinating. Emerald, dear, are we coming through clearly?" Watts called out as he walked right in front of the Seer before poking it.

Emerald was indeed in the room with an angry look. "Shut up." The mint haired girl wasn't in the mood for Watts.

"Grouchy, aren't we?" Watts quipped with a roll of his eyes.

"Your report," Salem then said with a demanding tone.

With that, Watts stepped out of the way so that Lionheart could report the new findings. "You see, Your Grace…I have found the Spring Maiden."

Salem smiled at this news, "Is that so? I have been in need of some good news. Well done." The compliment made Lionheart look hopeful. "Arthur." Only to realize it was directed at Watts. "Had I known you would expedite this process to this extent, I would have sent you long, long ago," Salem said, clearly pleased.

"As much as I'd love to take credit, ma'am, I fear that neither of us is to thank for this development," Watts said nonchalantly, "You could say a little birdie told us."

"Explain." Was the simple command from Salem.

With that, Lionheart started talking, "You see, ma'am, Qrow Branwen arrived at Haven Academy. He believes…that Raven Branwen is the current Spring Maiden."

This made Salem widen her eyes ever so slightly in surprise. "Well…isn't that a surprise," Salem almost chuckled at the last part, "And I trust you have their location?"

"Yes," Lionheart said, before frantically adding, "But you must hurry, Qrow's already- Uregh!" Only to be interrupted by the Seer lashing its tentacle around his neck in a stranglehold.

"Leonardo," Salem spoke up with a frown, "Do you remember the first time we met?" That question was followed by the Seer yanking on the tentacle, bringing the choking professor to his knees while desperately clawing at the tentacle in a futile attempt to loosen it. "I remember. I remember your fear, but since that day you have been extraordinarily brave." And then the Seer lifted one of its unoccupied tentacles. "I won't forget what you have done for me. And don't you forget…what I can do to you." These words were emphasized by the tentacle getting terrifyingly close to terrified Lionheart's eye. Then the Seer released the headmaster who was then desperately gasping for air. "Emerald, you and Mercury will go to Raven and convince her that the survival of her tribe depends on her coordination. Once you have her under control, contact Hazel who will in turn tell the White Fang. They were promised the destruction of Haven, and they shall have it once we have what we need."

"Ma'am, we have more to report," Watts then spoke up, earning a quirked eyebrow from the Grimm Queen. "We have two living people from Alrest right here in Mistral."

"Is that so?" Salem asked with an intrigued look, "Are they people of worth?"

"One of them is what is known as Special Inquisitor of the Mor Ardain empire," Watts began explaining, noting that Salem had an interest in this, "The other is a boy with a Blade known as the Aegis."

"Explain," Salem said, sounding even more interested.

"Supposedly, this Aegis is the most powerful Blade in Alrest. It has the appearance of a young girl with red hair and a green Core Crystal, as opposed to the blue we know that these things tend to have," Watts explained further, earning a malicious grin from Salem.

"Very interesting," Salem said with a smile, before adopting a neutral look. "For now, focus on obtaining the relic. We will discuss this 'Aegis' later."

"Understood," Watts said and turned to leave.

"Not you, Arthur," Salem said, causing the doctor to stop, "I need you to come back and construct a new tail for Tyrian."

"What happened to his old one?" Watts asked almost playfully.

"Guess." Salem replied in kind.

"…The silver eyed girl?" Watts muttered with an exasperated look.

"Alongside the Aegis, if Tyrian's report is to be believed," Salem added with a smile.

"I see," Watts muttered now having some credibility to the Aegis' power, "It will be done."

"Good." With those final words, Salem cut the connection.

"Seems that these children aren't pushovers, Lionheart," Watts said to the headmaster who hadn't dared to get back up from his kneeling position, "Much less this Aegis."

The headmaster only looked down, still shaken from the threat of Salem.

In Salem's castle, the Grimm Queen turned to glance at Emerald who was looking away from her. "You're free to speak your mind," Salem told the mint haired girl.

"I just…" Emerald hesitated, having not dared to talk during the conversation, "I just don't understand any of this. Why are we even keeping Ruby alive? What's the point? Why even bother with this 'other world'?"

Salem chuckled at the questions, "You are clearly young. But you mustn't underestimate the usefulness of others. Take Leonardo, he was one of Ozpin's most trusted lieutenants, and now." Salem let the sentence hang with a smile, "And more importantly, aren't you the least bit curious what this new world looks like and what it may have to offer?"

"…Not really," Emerald said as she rubbed her arms which now had small scars. "I just…I just want to kill the ones who took Cinder from me."

"And you will have your revenge in time," Salem said with a tender smile, "But I must ask, once you have this revenge, what will you do then?"

"What?" Emerald asked, daring to look Salem in the eyes, the woman almost had a motherly look. Despite the ashen skin, black sclera with blood red irises, and red veins all over her body.

"Surely there's more you want to do after that," Salem said with a smile, "I can grant that to you, once you figure it out."

"…I-" "You don't have to answer now," Salem interrupted, "All you need to do is think about what it is you want after you have your revenge. You may go now." With those words Emerald started walking away with a confused look. "And Emerald." Only to be stopped by Salem's tone. "Please inform Tyrian, that I wish to have a word with him," Salem said with a small frown. Emerald nodded her head in acknowledgment before walking out, still utterly taken back by Salem's questions.

This left Salem to think about her most recent problems. Not just about her plans being derailed by her inability to control the power she stole from that half-corpse, but also about the flashes that have come periodically lately. "What is happening to me?" Salem wondered while clutching the left side of her head. The same side that was left of that half-corpse. "And who is Klaus?" Salem questioned with a frown.


In the airship that Weiss shared with Dahlia and Aizen, the former heiress was sitting on one of the crates before she happened to glance out the window.

This prompted Weiss to take the ladder to the cockpit with Dahlia following her Driver.

"Where are we?" Weiss asked the pilot, as she entered the cockpit, walking past Aizen who was leaning against the wall next to the entrance.

"Nowhere good," the pilot replied, "We're passing some of Lake Matsu's floating islands. The gravity Dust keeping the islands afloat causes some turbulence. Nothing I can't handle, but sometimes these islands hide some nasty Grimm."

"It's beautiful," Dahlia said, looking at the islands on the left side.

"I must admit, this sight is- Look out on the right!" Aizen shouted when his gaze fell to the right window. This caused Weiss and the pilot to look up to see an incoming Mistralian airship. A badly damaged one if the smoke coming out of it was any indication. Acting fast, the pilot was able to avoid the ship that soon crashed into one of the islands with an explosion.

Weiss and Dahlia had horrified looks at what just happened. "You gotta be kidding me," the pilot complained through gritted teeth before checking on radio frequencies.

"By the gods we lost Percy! Help!" was the frantic voice that greeted them.

"More on the right," Aizen informed with a frown as everyone turned to look at another ship that was being chased by what looked like giant flying wasps. Grimm versions of them anyway.

"I was hoping our friends in distress would keep them occupied," the pilot muttered as he started adding speed. All the while the wasp-like Grimm managed to surround the ship and fire their stingers on the ship, which were still attached to them by ropelike extension. Then they all started pulling, not only stopping the ship, but also tearing it slowly.

"Quick abandon ship!" Was the last transmission that came before the ship exploded when another of the insect Grimm flew straight at the ship.

"This is not good," Aizen said the moment the swarm turned its attention on their ship and started to approach.

"Lancers," The pilot complained, "Freaking Lancers!" And then he added speed. "Okay, everyone buckle up!" the pilot turned slightly to Weiss and company, only to realize that the white haired girl and the bunny lady had gone back down. Aizen still stayed in the cockpit. "Kid what are you doing?" the pilot asked through the intercoms as Weiss moved to her suitcase.

"What we should have done in the first place!" Weiss shouted back as she opened the case and loaded Myrtenaster while Dahlia prepared her bitball.

"If we had to face these things anyway, we might as well have tried to save those two ships," Dahlia added in, now regretting that she didn't put up anymore argument than Weiss did.

"Too late to regret that," Weiss said as she turned to the rear door, "All we can do now is kill these things." Then Weiss started calling out through the intercoms, "When I call out, open the rear door!" Then the ship shook a bit.

For while Weiss and Dahlia were making their preparations, the pilot was doing all he could to avoid the Lancers that were trying to hook them with their stingers.

"Dahlia, stand close to me," Weiss said, and her Blade did just that. Then Weiss created a black glyph, large enough to anchor herself and Dahlia to the floor. "Ready!" And then the rear door opened, allowing a strong air current to pass and revealing the Lancers that were chasing them. Already, Dahlia began throwing her bitball at them, while Weiss used a glyph in conjunction with wind Dust to create a shockwave that pushed them further back. Then Weiss switched to shooting fire Dust at them. Some of the Lancers dodged, but she did get a few of them. As did Dahlia with her bitball, which always managed to return. And when it couldn't, all the ice Blade had to do was resummon it. Then the ship jerked.

"What was that!?" Dahlia shouted out.

"We're hooked!" the pilot's voice rang out as the ship shook a second time. In the cockpit the pilot was getting a little worried about this, then two sets of screeches rang out, causing the pilot to briefly look behind. Only to see Aizen in the hallway, who had stabbed two thin, energy katanas into the roof. A little away from another set of holes which were previously filled by stingers.

"Not anymore," Aizen said in a bored tone to the pilot, as he prepared his twin swords for more possible attacks.

Meanwhile Weiss had an idea, "Can you find a pair of islands we can fit between!?"

The pilot grinned, "Kid, you are reading my mind!" And then the pilot started flying to the largest pair of islands which had small enough gap between them that the ship could fly through. And the Lancers of course followed.

"Weiss, what are you up to?" Dahlia asked as Weiss created a set of glyphs before shooting fire Dust through them, but not at the Lancers. The shots curved slightly in front of the ship and into the narrowing space above them. Causing rocks to fall down.

"Oh." Dahlia sounded out as she saw the falling rocks hitting the Lancers, of course, some of it hit the ship itself but not hard enough to cause damage.

As the ship exited the narrow space, Dahlia turned to the intercoms. "That was the last of them!"

"Great going you two! We are in the clear," the pilot cheered.

Which was followed by Aizen moving to the cockpit from the hallway with a small smile. "Well done, Miss Schnee, Dahlia." And then the scheming water Blade praised the two.

Weiss sighed in relief at that information. Until she heard buzzing, then she saw Lancer the size of the ship chasing them now. "It's a Queen Lancer," Weiss shouted out in horror.

"WHAT?!" Rang through the intercoms.

The Queen lancer started firing spikes from the extension around its head like a machine gun. Dahlia quickly countered the attack with a barrier. It blocked the spikes that were aimed at them, but they also started hitting the ship itself, one of them hitting way too close to the engines. Dahlia then dropped the barrier so that Weiss could fire several shots of energy Dust on the monster, but the shots didn't even slow it down.

"Do something!" And the pilot noticed this.

Weiss looked back at the containers, "You're carrying Dust, right?"

"Officially, no. Actually, yes," the pilot said all the while trying to take evasive maneuvers.

Weiss fired several shots of energy Dust through her glyphs, which hit the Queen Lancer, but didn't seem to bother it anymore than the last attempt. Even Dahlia's bitball didn't seem to do much damage against it, when it even hit. The large Grimm bug was pretty maneuverable for its size.

"Dahlia, get back," Weiss called out as she used a glyph to launch herself behind the cargo crates. The ice Blade quickly moved towards the ladder before grabbing on. Just before something landed next to the ladder. Aizen had dropped down.

"If I had known we would have to face something like this regardless, I would have actually sided with Miss Schnee," Aizen muttered to no one in particular.

"Too late for regrets now," Dahlia said as she noted that Weiss had used several glyphs to lift the crates filled with Dust. Then the white-haired huntress launched them all at the approaching Queen Lancer, also firing a shot from Myrtenaster after the crates.

The result was an explosion of elements on the large Grimm. Weiss hoped that that was enough to take the thing down. Only to see it flying through the cluster of ice, smoke and electricity, not looking worse for wear.

"This is starting to annoy me," Aizen spoke up as he stepped forward, twirling his twin swords before combining the hilts at their bottoms. Then the energy blades curved slightly further before a string formed between the tips of the blades. Taking the combined weapons into one hand and making an arrow appear in his other hand, Aizen took aim with the twinblades turned bow and released the arrow which turned into a bolt of water ether as it was fired. Unfortunately, it looked like Aizen's arrows only barely chipped away at the Grimm's exoskeleton, so he fired several more, but the result was the same. The Queen Lancer wasn't even trying to avoid them, probably not registering them as a threat. "Damn you, Jacques," Aizen cursed his former Driver for his lack of growth despite being with the man for months.

(Play: This Life Is Mine[Climax])

Weiss realized that even Aizen who was supposed to be an offensive Blade wasn't doing much against this Grimm. Which meant that it was time to use her newly acquired trump card. Doing several pirouettes to get the feel for it, before stabbing Myrtenaster on the floor. And then two summoning glyphs formed, and with them, Arma Gigas stood up in all its glowing white glory.

"Dahlia, Aizen hold onto something, now!" Weiss shouted to her Blades who immediately did as told. "Pull up!" Weiss then shouted into the intercoms as she used a black glyph to anchor herself. It seemed that the pilot chose to trust Weiss because soon enough the ship tilted to gain altitude, with the Queen Lancer still following. After gaining enough altitude, the Arma Gigas ran out the rear door and jumped into free fall towards the approaching Grimm.

As the Grimm was in free fall, Weiss concentrated on what she planned next. The Queen Lancer fired its spikes at the Arma Gigas, which disappeared before the spikes could even hit it. Only to appear behind the insect Grimm through a new summoning glyph with its sword ready. And then it struck, causing the bug to reel, then the summoned armor possessing Grimm disappeared again before appearing from the above, striking again. This process repeated several times until the Queen Lancer saw its enemy forming right in front of it. Then it lined up its abdomen to fire its stinger upon the knight like summon, only for it deflect it before jumping off of its latest summoning glyph and cut the larger Grimm in half with its giant sword. Both of them disintegrating as the Queen Lancer died, while Arma Gigas had fulfilled its purpose.

(Song end)

Unfortunately, the deflected stinger had continued its journey straight into one of the thruster engines. And now the ship was falling, just as it had finally reached the shoreline.

Weiss realized that they were going to crash, so she tried to form several glyphs in front of the ship to at least slow it down.

"Miss Schnee, we must leave now," Aizen spoke managing to reach the girl and grabbing her arm.

"No! If I don't stop this ship then the pilot will die!" Weiss said, feeling how her glyphs were breaking, unable to stop the ship.

"The man has served his purpose now that the ship is useless. He no longer-" "SHUT UP!" Weiss lashed out, using a powerful launch glyph to send Aizen straight out of the still open reardoor.

"Weiss!" Dahlia shouted out as she let go of the ladder to reach her Driver, only for the ship to jerk again from another failure which made Dahlia stumbled and actually slide out the same way Aizen just did.

"Dahlia!" Weiss cried out right before a loud crash and Weiss knew no more.


In the headquarters of the White Fang in Mistral, Adam was in a large throne room where the current High Leader was sitting on the throne.

"Adam. Do you realize what you are asking?" asked Sienna Khan who was livid, but trying to stay calm. Sienna was a dark-skinned woman with tiger ears. She had chin length black hair and yellow eyes. She wore a form fitting dark dress which revealed her back and a red cape with gold trimmings. "You attempted to destroy Beacon Academy, which you failed. And now, you want the White Fang to attack Haven Academy? I will not allow it."

"High Leader Khan, I'm begging you," Adam said from his kneeling position. Having the newly reforged Wilt and Blush at his side. Although his left arm was completely covered in bandages that covered his third degree burns Dragunov gave him. At his side was Perceval, also kneeling down in respect for the High Leader.

"You should beg for forgiveness and nothing more," Sienna shouted in anger. Then the woman turned her attention to Adam's Blade. "And you."

Perceval raised his head at being addressed, "Yes, High Leader?"

"I heard you were against the attack on the Academy and yet you did nothing to stop it. Why?" Sienna questioned.

"When I was first awakened, Adam put me under the impression that he was the highest-ranking member of the White Fang. No one corrected me on the chain of command, until this day when you summoned us," Perceval explained, "Had I known that you were the highest authority, I would have informed you in hopes of my foolish Driver being stopped."

"Is that so?" Sienna queried while glaring at Adam who was internally seething at Perceval speaking against him. "Tell me, what do you believe the fall of Beacon had accomplished, should you have succeeded?"

"Nothing, whatsoever," Perceval replied simply, "It was not just humans who attended that school, but Faunus too. And they were ready to lay down their lives to defend the place as much as any of the humans. And yet Adam and his followers killed them with a smile."

"Shut up, Perceval!" Adam shouted in anger, "There are necessary sacrifices."

"Necessary sacrifices?" Sienna questioned, grasping the armrests of her throne hard at hearing that. "Adam, I was one of the first to advocate violence. I wanted to make humans fear us. Know that we will push back! But you seem to have lost sight of this. Not only have those 'necessary' sacrifices turned out to be for nothing, but you also want to continue this based on empty promises made by humans. Humans that we know nothing about." At the end of the speech, Sienna's displeasure was clear as day.

"I agree with you, High Leader," Perceval spoke up.

"Perceval," Adam grounded out in a warning tone.

"Fear may act as a deterrent to keep humans from hurting your people, but it's also a breeding ground for more hate," Perceval continued as he lifted his head, "And that hate will be passed to the next generation, creating an endless cycle. Ghira Belladonna's methods sought to break that cycle. Yours…is merely a temporary solution at best. And Adam…he is merely lashing out at humanity for promises that come from…dubious source."

Sienna chuckled humorlessly, "It seems that even a living weapon of Atlas is more capable of thinking in long term than you are Adam." This statement filled the bull faunus with rage. How dare they try to make him look like a villain. "You are a symbol to many in this organization, but you aren't infallible any more than I am, even your Blade sees this," Sienna spoke, briefly glancing at Perceval.

"That may be," Adam spoke, reigning in his temper, "But if you want to hear more about the humans, then why don't you meet one for yourself." With those words, Adam stood up before turning to the doors. "Hazel!" With that call, the large human entered, causing Sienna's guards to train their spears on the man.

"What is this!?" Sienna exclaimed at the sight of a human in the throne room, while Perceval also stood up and allowed Hazel to step forward to address the High Leader. If only, because the assassin Blade wondered how this conversation might turn out.

"Apologies," Hazel begun in a respectful tone, "I don't aim to cause trouble."

"You brought a human to this location?" Sienna questioned with a downright murderous glare directed at Adam.

"You should hear what he has to say," Adam tried to argue.

"This is grounds for execution." Sienna looked like she was just about ready to order it.

"High Leader, if I may," Perceval piped up, "I believe you can spare a moment to hear what this human has to say. You can decide on the judgement after that. And if at any point he makes a threatening move, I shall execute him myself. Is that acceptable?"

Sienna looked like she considered Perceval's words. "Very well, speak your piece," Sienna said, as she sat back down, while the guards stood down. "But understand that the longer you stay here, the less chance you have of leaving alive." The High Leader decided to add to Hazel.

"Thank you, Perceval," Hazel thanked the Blade before returning his attention to Sienna, "I'll take those chances, if you don't mind." The only response the large human got was a wave of a hand, signaling him to go on. "You don't like me. And you have no reason to like me," Hazel spoke up, "But you don't have to like me to get the results you want."

Sienna frowned at this, "I don't think either of you comprehend what it is that I want. I want humanity to fear faunus, know that we demand respect. I don't want to start a war that we cannot win!" At the last part, Sienna stood up.

"That's where you're wrong," Adam piped up, causing both Hazel and Perceval to look at him. "We can win the war against humans. Both with Hazel's master, and because the Faunus are the dominant species of the planet." This speech made Perceval frown, because last he heard, humans outnumber faunus. Which doesn't exactly constitute as Faunus being "dominant". "We have everything the humans have and more," Adam continued as he climbed the steps to the throne. "Humans shouldn't just fear the Faunus, they should serve us." At the latter part, Adam had a malicious grin.

Sienna sighed at this, "I've grown tired of this conversation for tonight. Guards, take them away." But the guards just stood still, "I said, take them away!"

"You were right about one thing Sienna," Adam said with a malicious grin, "My followers at Vale already see me as the true High Leader, and many here in Mistral feel the same."

Then the doors opened, letting in several armed White Fangs and more came from behind the pillars in the very throne room. All of them training their weapons on Sienna, including the guards that were standing near her.

"Adam, what are you doing?" Perceval asked as he looked around.

"What is right for the Faunus," Adam replied easily.

Perceval clenched his fists, "Right for the Faunus? Or right for you?"

"Shut up!" one of the armed grunts jabbed a spear at Perceval who simply grabbed it by the shaft before the blade could even reach him. Then the poor grunt made the mistake of looking into Perceval's glowing yellow, optic-like eyes and backed off with a scared yelp at the murderous intent radiating from the assassin.

During this Sienna had stood up and look around the traitors, "If you think I'm just going to stand down and follow you, you're-Ugh!" the tiger faunus was interrupted by Adam having stepped forward and stabbing her.

"I know," Adam said before pulling his latest victim into what looked like an embrace. "Thank you, Sienna. You were there when our people needed you, but they need me now." At the last part, Adam had a sadistic grin. "And I'm sorry you couldn't see this through to the end."

The false pity in Adam's voice prompted Sienna to reach out with pure hate in her eyes in a last-ditch effort to grab Adam. Only for the bull faunus to back off and pull Wilt out, effectively killing the former High Leader and throwing her now limp body down the stairs, right in front of Hazel.

"…When were you planning to tell me about this?" Hazel asked with a look of remorse at the now dead woman.

But Adam didn't seem to hear him, "Give our former leader a proper burial. All who were here shall claim that Sienna Khan was murdered by a human huntsman. She will become a martyr for our cause. Her final act as a High Leader." At the end of that speech, Adam's supporters began carrying the body away, while some of them went to spread the word.

"I ask again," Hazel spoke up after the last of them had left, "When were you going to tell me about this?"

"It was my business alone," Adam said as he took out a cloth to clean Wilt of Sienna's blood.

"It's our business now," Hazel shot back before glancing at Perceval who looked livid.

"Your master was concerned about Sienna's willingness to cooperate. Now she doesn't have to be," Adam said with an uncaring shrug.

"Nobody needed to die today," Hazel said with a sad look before walking away.

Adam then sat down on his throne with a smug smile, "I disagree."

At that point Perceval walked up to the throne with clear anger. "Adam, how many more faunus must die for you," Perceval asked with a glare directed at his Driver.

"As many as it takes," Adam replied, "Which reminds me." Then Adam quickly stood up and stabbed Perceval in the torso. Right where a heart would be. Before the Chroma Katana wielding Blade could even think about what was going on, Adam followed it up by several cuts across Percevals arms, legs, which made the dark Blade collapse on his knees. Then to top it all off, Adam stabbed Wilt straight into Perceval's left eye. This caused the assassin to cry in pain and grasp at the red blade in an effort to pull it out. Only for Adam to kick Perceval's head to cause him to stumble down the steps in a manner similar to Sienna. All the while the mad bull looked at his handiwork in sick satisfaction. "See what you made me do," Adam said as Perceval was slowly picking himself up, "If only you had stayed obedient and not spoken against me, I wouldn't have had to do this. Please don't ever force me to do this again."

At the end of this speech, Perceval had almost fully stood up, all the damage Adam had inflicted having healed. Including his eye.

"By the way, I have a job for you soon," Adam then said with a sadistic grin, "If you get it done like a good little toy, I might forgive you for your transgressions."

"You? Forgive me?!" Was the rage filled thought in Perceval's head, which also made him ask another question. "Is this why she aban-, no, escaped him?". Perceval took out his gourd and took a long sip from it to hopefully numb the phantom pains that still lingered.


Back in Anima, Aizen had stirred from the place in the middle of the woods he had fallen into. His clothes had become dirty and his hair was disheveled. Then as he fully regained his bearings, he remembered how he ended like this. "That ungrateful brat," Aizen said through gritted teeth. He was looking out for her, and she launches him away. Then a terrifying thought struck him. "No, no, no, no, no," Aizen muttered as he patted his pockets and fished out a Scroll. The same Scroll Jacques had given him so the Schnee patriarch could call him more efficiently in the event he was away. Of course, Aizen had long since blocked Jacques' number, otherwise he would be bombarded with calls from his former Driver. Aizen started up the portable communicator and saw that it was intact, somehow, and that all the files he had downloaded from Jacques personal terminal were still there. It took him months to get these, and he would be damned if all his efforts would go to waste now because of a stupid brat. Satisfied at his little device being intact, Aizen pocketed it back and got up to survey the immediate area. It didn't take him long to see the smoke coming from somewhere deeper in the woods. No doubt the crashed ship, and thankfully the stupid brat was still alive. That and his Resonance pointed Weiss to be in the same direction. With that in mind, the now very annoyed nobleman Blade was walking towards the wreckage to give his current Driver an earful.

As Aizen was about to walk past a tree to the wreckage where he already witnessed Weiss on the ground, just as dirtied as he was, he saw two men standing over her. This rang alarm bells in his head and made him hide behind the tree and listen in, seeing as they didn't notice him.

"What do you think?" Aizen heard one of the men ask.

Daring to sneak a peek, Aizen took a look to see that now a black-haired woman had come and was standing over Weiss who looked distressed, but still relatively fine. "I think…that we just hit the jackpot," the woman said before kicking Weiss in the face, effectively knocking her out.

"One problem after another," Aizen muttered in a tone inaudible to the people that had knocked out Weiss. Then he noticed Dahlia some ways away between another set of trees getting up, clearly disoriented. "This isn't good," Aizen then thought as he glanced at the three thugs. One of them taking Weiss, while the other two were inspecting the crashed ship. Seeing as they weren't looking this way, Aizen took this as his chance to dash to Dahlia who thankfully couldn't be seen from their position. "We need to move," Aizen whispered to the beautiful ice Blade before grabbing her arm and dragging her away from the crime scene before anyone saw them.

Aizen wasn't sure how far he had run with Dahlia, but soon enough, the ice Blade had recovered enough to see a problem. "Where is Weiss?" Dahlia asked, noting that their Driver wasn't here.

"Captured by bandits," Aizen revealed as he looked at his Scroll to see what time it was. Around ten minutes after he had checked the device's condition. That would be good.

"And you just left her there?!" Dahlia almost screamed, now fully alert.

"There was nothing I could have done," Aizen tried to reason.

"You could have saved her!" Dahlia yelled back.

"The bandits would have noticed my approach and then they would have just had to kill our unconscious Driver," Aizen shot back.

"They may not have recognized you as a Blade," Dahlia argued back as she brought out her bitball, "You just left her there because she refused to abandon the pilot who helped us!"

"DO YOU REALLY THINK I'M THAT PETTY?!" Aizen yelled at the top of his lungs, earning a surprised look from Dahlia. Aizen had never shown to have lost his temper, so this was new to them. The water Blade then took a deep breath to calm himself. "It was a risk I couldn't take," Aizen said with a frown, before glancing at his Scroll to see how much time has passed. "This should be enough," Aizen said before walking off on Dahlia, although he allowed his clothes to properly cleanse themselves by undoing them for an instant before reforming them. Then he slid his hair back again.

"Where are you going?" Dahlia demanded as she was still mad at him.

Aizen chuckled, never stopping his stride, "You should be able to tell that better than I can."

Dahlia was confused for a moment before she used Resonance. That was when she realized that Aizen was walking to the direction Weiss was at. "If Weiss was captured by bandits then we need to do something," Dahlia then spoke up as she speedwalked next to Aizen.

"And that is what we shall do," Aizen replied easily, never stopping his stride, "So long as Miss Schnee stays silent about our existence, we should have the element of surprise on our side."

"…How much time do you think we have?" Dahlia asked, worrying about her Driver.

"Assuming that they plan what I think they are, few days perhaps," Aizen replied easily.

"What are they planning?" Dahlia asked, now feeling distressed.

"Think about it," Aizen said simply, "I heard one of them say they hit the jackpot before knocking Miss Schnee out. What do you think they meant?"

Then Dahlia started thinking. Weiss was dressed finely; the bandits would probably want money or valuable supplies. They would probably think that Weiss is someone rich, or even recognize her as a Schnee, which would mean… "They plan to ransom her back to her father," Dahlia concluded.

"Indeed," Aizen replied with a frown forming, "Unfortunately, if I know Jacques then he would not pay anything and then twist a tale about Weiss committing suicide to cover up her disappearance."

"What?!" Dahlia couldn't believe that, "Would he really be that cruel to his own…Forget that." Then she realized that she was talking about Jacques Schnee.

"Weiss isn't worth a single lien to Jacques anymore," Aizen then said, "And I don't trust her mother to be able to sway him, even if she was getting better. So before the bandits realize this, we need to rescue our Driver or else they will kill her…Or perhaps." Aizen let the sentence hang.

"Or perhaps what?" Dahlia asked with a suspicious look.

"I'm not sure you want to know," Aizen replied, looking away from Dahlia.

"What else could they do?" Dahlia asked with an icy tone.

"…Don't you think she is pretty?" Aizen then said, before bracing for the inevitable.

"What does that…" Dahlia's question was stopped as she realized the alternative to what the bandits could do to Weiss if they didn't get money. It caused the ice Blade to now fear for the captured girl all the more.

"If we do this too hastily it will be over for Miss Schnee as well as us," Aizen said in an effort to stop Dahlia from running off. It seemed to have worked, although the scheming water Blade would be lying if he said he wasn't worried about all of this. He will not allow his vengeance to be denied by mere bandits.


AN: There we go! Salem knows about the Aegis. Aizen and Dahlia are separated from Weiss. Perceval is questioning Adam and the real reason Blake left him.