Author's Notes:
Greetings readers. We have made it to 2024. I'm trying to be all happy and say Happy New Year, even if I'm a few days (or more) late to posting this…
Okay, I'm going to admit it; I'm fucking terrified (and I'm trying not to let it get to me.) I've got a protective amulet, good luck charms, and a good amount of therapy chocolate. (Among other supplies.) It's gonna take a lot to get through this year.
Buckle up, fellas- it's gonna be a long, bumpy ride.
One good thing though; I have another chapter of Everlasting Light. Action, horror and uncertainty. Perhaps it can be a mirror to how many of us are feeling right now.
Anyway, let's get this pain-train rollin!
The sound of a motorcycle was heard speeding along in a forest path. Yang Xiao Long was riding Bumblebee with Shay D. Mann through a forest in Anima. Thankfully, Shay, despite his lack of morals, kept his hands above the waist as he held on to the blonde brawler.
This isn't the best idea…
Swerving to avoid running over a squirrel, Yang swung to the right. The squirrel soon squeaked and ran away.
You know this is a bad idea…
She swung a bit to the left to avoid a large rock on the path before straightening out.
But answers aren't going to come very easily…
The bandit pointed to the right as they approached a crossroads, and she swerved in that direction.
And I've been waiting a damn long time…
"How much further?" Yang asked her reluctant ally.
"Almost there."
She rode a few more hundred feet as one of Shay's hands stroked her hair.
"Knock it off," Yang warned.
Shay retracted his hand but did not apologize.
"And stop." Shay instructed.
She hit the brakes, stopping her bike before a clearing.
About damn time…
"You wait here. I'll go up ahead and make sure the coast is clear."
Shay dismounted from the bike and ran into the bushes. Yang shook her head in annoyance and discarded her sunglasses, sleeve and coat tails before stretching a little.
Now, how many fiends are going to…?
Suddenly, someone pulled the trigger of a gun, interrupting and derailing Yang's thought. Yang blocked the shot with her right arm. Shay reappeared with several bandits in tow.
"I can't believe you were dumb enough to let me lead you here." he taunted.
The bandits present all had their weapons drawn at Yang. Most of them were guns, but there were also a few swords, two bows with arrows ready to fire and one longspear holder.
"Is that all of them?"
Shay simply laughed in response. "Yes, little lady. This is it. Well, unless you count the whole rest of the camp back that way."
He gestured behind him with his thumb, pointing northward. Yang pointed a finger in the same direction for confirmation.
"That way?"
Shay grunted in confusion and looked at his tribemates before answering. "Yes. That way."
"Good to know. Thanks."
"Now to pay me back for this tooth, we're going to take your bike." He punched his fist as he added, "And you're going to take your lumps."
But Yang was ready. She engaged Ember Celica on both arms. The bandits, unsure how to react, were cautious and kept their weapons targeted on her. One of the archers set up an arrow and pulled back the string. The other archer quickly followed suit.
Shay, still believing he had the upper hand, aiming his gun but didn't fire, laughing at her. "You got the jump on me last time, sweetheart. But you really ought to think twice about fighting all—"
He was cut off when Yang engaged Ember Celica on her robotic arm and fired at him. He ducked down to dodge the gunfire as the rest of the bandits gasped.
She was a real threat.
"Alright... No more fooling around! Get her!" Shay commanded.
The bandits attacked, and an arrow or two flew by Yang's body as she stepped out of the way, as well as a few bullets. The spear wielder approached and tried to impale her, only for the tip to pierce the robotic hand. With the tip in her grasp, Yang crushed it into several metal shards.
The spear wielder was so frightened that she fainted then and there. Yang soon ducked to avoid a few more arrows being launched her way.
Okay, those archers need to be taken out soon. she strategized to herself.
Advancing towards one of the archers, she bobbed and weaved until she was close enough to punch the woman firing arrows at her. She fired Ember Celica from the left gauntlet, the explosive bullets fired off destroying the bow. She followed up with a swift side kick to her stomach, knocking out the archer.
The other archer, this one male, tried firing an electric dust arrow at her, only to see it destroyed with another blast from Ember Celica. Upon realizing his mistake, he froze up and was soon knocked down by the blonde brawler.
Two bandits with swords attempted to slash at her, only for Yang to duck down and the bandits to slash at each other. A few anguished screams were heard in the pandemonium.
As Yang took down more of the bandits, Shay attempted to fire a few bullets at a distracted Yang, only for nothing to come out of the bullet chamber.
"Oh not again…" he cursed under his breath.
Yang stepped on his foot. He yelped in pain, holding his foot and dropping his gun.
With a harsh swing, the brawler threw the perverted bandit into the bark of a tree. Shay groaned and faded out of focus as the last gunslinger realized too late that she had run out of ammo. She attempted to get away, but she didn't get far before Yang punched her, knocking her and sliding the thief to the ground. With that, the last bandit was defeated.
After the fight, Yang's left hand shook once again, but she calmed herself down before walking back to her motorcycle. She grabbed the items she took off earlier, folding the sunglasses and pocketing them inside the trenchcoat.
Shay struggled to get up from the tree he had been thrown into. He coughed as he pushed himself to a standing position. "Who are you? It doesn't even matter. When Raven finds out what you did, you're dead!"
"Possibly." the blonde brawler began. "But I doubt it. I am her daughter, after all."
Shay realized his mistake. "I'm dead."
Not long after that, he fell to the ground.
Without any more time to lose, Yang got on her motorcycle and sped off.
Ilia was shown within a black domed space, sprinting through a hedge maze. Blue and orange flame lanterns lit the way (even if she didn't truly need them to see), as her heart pounded. Hot and cold sweat banded around her forehead and arms as she turned right at the fork. Several horrified feminine screams were heard from afar, a voice all too familiar to the chameleon. She groaned as she hit a dead end, turning herself around as a malevolent masculine laugh echoed. The screams intensified as Ilia covered her ears and tried to hurry through the maze, only to hit another dead end.
"No, no, no…"
Tears threatened to spill from her eyes, but she tried to hold it together, ignoring the pain in her ankles as she swung another right turn and continued her dash through the maze.
Where's the exit? Where is that madman? Is she okay?
A new horrifying thought emerged in her head. Is she still alive?
But Ilia had her answer soon in the form of a loud, blood-curdling scream from the same voice she heard earlier; the voice of Blake Belladonna.
Immediately, the lanterns cracked and the glass shattered. With the lanterns broken, the maze itself caught on fire, burning in destructive swirls of orange and blue flames. The flames grew hotter as Ilia found herself running faster. Sounds of buildings crumbling and crashing to the ground were heard, the noise nearly unbearable to Ilia's ears.
"No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no…" Ilia quickly pleaded. "Please… no…"
Ilia's eyes turned purple as her fears intensified.
Sounds of gunfire were heard, as were the agonized cries of a few familiar voices. Her head spun as glass shattered and structures crumbled from afar.
Eventually, she reached the other end of the maze, only to stop dead in her tracks.
"You're too late, Ilia." Adam spoke.
Ilia looked at the scene before her eyes;
Blake was shown kneeling on the floor, her legs sprawled apart on the cold stone ground. Around her neck was a collar and chain, held by Adam. The Cursed Cat faunus' hair was tangled and heavily frizzled. Farther up her head, she wore a thin golden crown with the pointed ends cracked and chipped. She was shown wearing a long-sleeved loose knee length dress with a color gradient fading from red to orange downwards, with miniscule orange circles piling around the hem.
Ilia noted the expression on Blake's face; her eyes were puffy from crying, yet sunken and the life sucked out of them. Her hands were free, but there was no weapon or anything she could use to get out of her bindings or away from Adam. Then the chameleon noticed her heavily swollen stomach and how trapped she really was.
"No…"
Ilia was too late. Much too late.
Emotions unraveled as tears fell. Ilia's skin and freckles turned blue, and she held back tears as she noticed something else; laying around the maze far behind Blake and Adam were the corpses of Kali and Ghira Belladonna, both slashed and shot. And Sun Wukong… was lying in a pool of blood, his head sliced off and lying not too far from his body.
Ilia covered her mouth with her hands, tears finally falling.
"Did you really think that you could stop me?" Adam asked her.
Still crying, the Lizard Girl screamed out, "You monster!"
Ilia lashed out with her whip, only for Adam to effortlessly catch it with his free hand. She gasped as Adam suffered no injury or even backlash. He tugged the whip, pulling Ilia down and weakening her.
"You're just one person. And a traitor at that."
The High Leader of the White Fang yanked the chain, dragging his victim along to one of the stone columns. He further bound Blake with chains as she screamed in agony. Ilia got up but suddenly her weapon, Lighting Lash, was gone- now in Adam's hands.
Using the tip of her whip, he tazed her, forcing her back-first onto the ground. Suddenly she was stuck to the floor, unable to move.
"Blake's punishment is all too fitting for her. And now it's time that you face yours."
With his sword raised, he swung down, ready to kill her.
"No, NO!"
Ilia woke up, frantically looking around. Her heart rate accelerated as she tried to figure out what happened. She turned around and soon sat up, seeing the broken glass shards from several weeks ago. Shards had been swept up and put into a closed plastic container on the floor nearby the mirror- a reminder of how the truth broke her.
(And that she still didn't know what to do with that broken glass.)
Realizing she was in her room and that it was only a nightmare, she breathed a sigh of relief. Her head hit the pillow as she groaned and let herself calm down.
Her heart seemed to gradually settle back to normal, but fear still ran rampant in her mind.
That dream… it felt so real. But even if it was a dream, it could become all too real if I don't stop Adam…
She gave a heavy sigh. All that and worse will happen if I fail…
Wait… The lone free-thinking faunus blinked. How long have I been here?
The chameleon sat back up and looked at the alarm clock; 5:30pm
Damn it… I took a nap that turned into a nightmare…
Throwing her legs on the side of the bed, she kicked away the sheets and stared at the slowly setting sun.
She sighed. What to do now…
Her eyes soon darted away from the sun itself and instead at the surrounding sky, still mostly blue.
I could continue my battle plans against the leaders. I've gotten Ares down, still working on Adam, but I haven't started Athena or Wungeng. I know Wungeng is responsible for training Mata, so I might be able to learn a few things just by observing them. I also know that he doesn't have a semblance, and about his weapon Lightning's Avalanche. He seemed to be off his game when he fought Sun up on this rooftop, and from what I learned later, he was actually knocked out. So maybe he's not the biggest threat…
But Athena is a mystery. I need to challenge her to learn more about her fighting style. All I know is that she has a weapon called World's End. Filled with ice and fire dust. Still, it's better than nothing I guess.
She stood up from the bed, shutting the curtains to her window.
I suppose I should have dinner with the others, just to prove that I'm still connected to my fellow Fang members. Even if I'm not…
She yawned. I could get some coffee. My sleep cycle's already fucked anyway…
Gathering her belongings, she let her thoughts drift. Then again, with this much fear and anxiety boiling under the surface, do I really need caffeine to stay awake?
Unable to answer her question, she left her chambers and made her way down to the mess hall.
Sometime after, she was shown holding a tray with a big bowl on it. The chameleon made her way to a long table, seeing three members of Athena's Inner Circle- Cola, Gilford and Marrok, as well as Daphne and Mata, all wearing their masks while she was not.
"Ah, Sister Ilia. Glad you could join us." Marrok greeted as Ilia set her tray down. "I thought you wouldn't show."
"Perhaps the death of Sienna Khan affected me more than I would like to admit," she spoke in partial truth.
Gilford set his taco down and raised a brow, glancing at the chameleon faunus warily. "Is that why you've been mostly isolating yourself?"
Daphne gave him a dirty look, but it was Marrok who scolded, "Stop being harsh on her, Gil. It's been a rough few months for all of us."
"But wouldn't she be happy for High Leader Taurus?" Cola questioned, poking at a cauliflower steak. "They've been friends for a long time. Or allies if nothing else."
"Just because I'm… relieved, to hear that the White Fang is still as strong and active as ever under Adam Taurus's leadership, doesn't make Sienna's death hurt any less." She paused. "I knew her for years. She was a friend; a brave, formidable warrior. She always wanted to help faunus rise above no matter what others thought. And even if we weren't the closest friends, her death still devastated me."
And she never would have wanted Adam to be in power or to torture Blake the way that he did…
Out of curiosity (and trying to take the conversation away from herself), the secret traitor asked, "Where's Tawny anyway?"
"Secret mission under orders from Lady Athena." Aoi answered, taking a seat next to Marrok.
Ilia did not immediately respond as her mouth was full. As she chewed some of the meat from her chicken teriyaki rice bowl, she thought of what this meant for her, her mission, and how to best respond.
Hmm… Could they be lying? There's been a lot of secret missions... Cola's done one. So has Marrok, Gilford, and I think Tawny did one previously… What could they be doing or have done? Ilia thought. Has Aoi done any secret acts for Athena?
"I see. Hopefully all goes well." Ilia lied.
Marrok ate from his pork fried rice bowl. "Like we need another disaster. It's bad enough that the Cursed Cat escaped her punishment."
"She should have been dead weeks, if not months ago." Aoi remarked.
You have no idea how wrong you are… Ilia thought. On all accounts…
"Didn't Blake actually desert the White Fang years ago?" Daphne asked before sipping some tea.
"Not to mention we have no idea if those messengers ever made it to their respective destinations. The more time passes by, I'm beginning to think that they were killed by Grimm." Aoi sighed, stirring her shrimp and grits before taking a bite.
"Does High Leader Taurus really want help from the other leaders to invade Haven that badly? Or is he just wanting to reunite the White Fang after months of conflict?" Daphne inquired, holding a pork belly bun in her hand.
She chomped down as Ilia pondered to herself again.
The power-hungry bastard… Ilia thought. He'll stop at nothing until he has the entire White Fang… and more… under his complete control.
"Could that be why High Leader Taurus and the other leaders are holding off on invading Haven?" Cola questioned.
"Your guess is as good as mine," Aoi answered.
Mata was shown eating some ramen, silently taking everything in.
Hmm… Silence. What can I say to get useful information out of them without being too suspicious? Ilia wondered.
"Do you know how the recruitment is going?"
"I'm not sure. I don't believe High Leader Taurus has chosen a speaker yet. I do know He has chosen a date; the 15th of this month." Cola told her.
Ilia took a big gulp of water, closing her eyes as the cold water and even colder ice chunks hit her throat. She felt the ice melt in her mouth as her thoughts ran wild.
Oh my… that's not much time. It's already the 11th… Four days to sabotage this entire operation…
Cola took a bite of rice before saying with his mouth full, "The last session was two weeks ago, wasn't it?"
Ilia raised her eyebrows and widened eyes in shock. She took another bite, hoping no one would notice her fear.
Was that really two weeks ago? I didn't even notice… All this time that I've spent isolated in fear, I could have been doing something! Gosh dammit!
The others noticed, but Cola was the one who laughed at her after finishing his meal. "You really have been out of the loop."
She finished her bite before giving her response. "I know… and… I've given my excuses, but they aren't enough…"
Ilia looked down, trying to hide her shameful face.
Daphne set her last pork bun down and looked at Ilia sincerely. "Don't worry Ilia." She looked back up. "We know you'd never leave us. You've been with the White Fang longer than many of us have."
"But does the length of time that one has been here truly matter at the end of the day?" Marrok asked.
"I'd say what truly matters is our bravery and loyalty." Ilia spoke, now smiling lightly. "We are all fighters, united under one cause- to see that faunus get what we deserve. And that humanity… will suffer. All in favor say 'Aye!'"
"Aye!" several voices shouted out.
Ilia continued faking her smile, taking in the volume of how loud everyone was.
Oh… how long will I be able to play this part?
[5:55pm]
Qrow was shown with a black drawstring bag on his back, filled with a few different items. He stood at the top of the steps, stopping to check if he had everything.
Okay… Comb, check. Toothbrush and toothpaste, check and check. Five days worth of rations. Uh, check. One water bottle, filled and firmly shut. Check.
Then he checked his pockets and his weapon, still resting at his backside.
Scroll, Wallet, check and check. Weapon? Yep, Harbinger is still there.
Alright, that's everything. Now to bid everyone goodbye and fly.
Satisfied with his chosen items for his quest, the veteran huntsman made his way down the stairs, only to be greeted with the smell of frying rice. Ren was in the kitchen, preparing dinner. Ruby and Jaune were in the living room, the latter reading a newspaper.
The silver-eyed girl soon noticed Qrow's presence. "Oh hi Uncle Qrow! Ren's having a 'make your own fried rice bowl' night. Wanna join us?"
"I'll be fine. I wish to get a head start before it gets too dark."
Jaune didn't look up from the newspaper. "I guess that's understandable."
"Thanks again for healing my arm."
At this, he did look up. "You're welcome. Happy to help."
"So… how exactly are you planning to get Zephyros?" Ren asked from afar, adding some spices into a large wok.
Should I even tell them of my powers? Qrow wondered.
"I believe there are trains that go to Zephyros. If I can't get one of those, I'll have to look for other options… But hopefully this won't take too long."
"Best of luck out there!" Jaune told him.
"Godspeed. Good luck."
Ruby smiled. "Be careful, Uncle. Love you."
Qrow briefly smiled before closing the door behind him. With this, he went a few steps forward until he was far out of sight. He closed his eyes and morphed into a bird, taking to the skies once again.
As he flew into the sky and its slowly setting sun, Qrow let his thoughts wander. Sooner or later, I'll tell them. But right now, Haven needs more people to defend it.
All the while, Nora was shown in her room with the music box, listening to its melodic, chiming tune.
That first date was wonderful. It almost seemed like something out of a dream.
The music soon slowed down and ended.
But yet… I can't help but feel that something's a little off. But why? He never mistreated me, or hurt me in any way. He loves me and I love him back, but yet…
Flashes of the past went by; a younger Ren finding her in the ruins of Kuroyuri after the Nucklavee's attack, an adolescent Nora (with some hesitation) hunting rabbits while Ren skinned them and cooked them down in an old earthenware pot with other foraged ingredients, Ren defending her from bullies in an alley in a village and putting together wood pieces to create a shelter in a forest.
Could Ren have survived this long without me? Would I have been able to survive without him?
Her stomach started twisting in possible guilt. Am I… too dependent on him?
Before she could answer her question, a knock was on the door.
"Dinner's ready!" Pyrrha informed her.
"Thank you. I'll be right down!"
At this, she heard Pyrrha leave.
I love him, and I want to be happy with him, but… what if something happens… and I'm left without him?
With a sigh, she tried to dismiss the question and left the room.