An indeterminate amount of time had passed at the beach house as the sun climbed higher, approaching the afternoon. Bartholomew had indeed made himself scarce up in the guard tower, leaving the main house to Taiyang and Raven. It was the first time in ages- since the last time they had borrowed Willow's suite- that the two of them were truly alone without fear of interruption… and the first time since the death of Arowana and the scarring of Raven's face. Neither of them quite knew what to do, and so, they simply sat on the couch and talked about life. Their friends. The sights of Vacuo.

There was cuddling. A bit of leaning into each other, and the odd kiss. Taiyang's hand found its way around Raven's shoulder at some point. A period of silence had followed, the two teens just content to share each other's company… for a time. Raven was just as surprised as Taiyang when she found herself snaking her hand down the front of his shorts without warning and beginning to feel around. It took only seconds for her to transition to a straddling position atop Taiyang's lap as the blond was overwhelmed, his lips locked against hers while she rubbed as his crotch.

"Uh… R-raves?" Taiyang asked between feverish kisses, his heart pounding in his chest. "What's… um, what's all this now…?"

"Shut up," Raven commanded. "Unless you don't want this…"

"I do!" Taiyang said emphatically as he forced a nervous grin under Raven's predatory gaze. Something about the fire in her eyes spurred him on, and he gave her a confident nod. "I just… didn't really expect something like this to come out o-…"

Taiyang's breath hitched as Raven began to work into a rhythm, her grip around him just firm enough to feel somewhat forceful and threatening.

"O-oh gods…"

"You talk too much," Raven said as she narrowed her eyes. "Kiss me again."

Taiyang was happy to oblige… until a sound from the upper floor caused Raven to suddenly fall off of him and tumble to the floor in an unbalanced heap.

"Raves!" Taiyang said in a harsh whisper as he hastily got his shorts and underwear back in place. "You alright!?"

"Shh!" the young woman answered back as she picked up Omen from its place on the floor, her knuckles white in a tight grip around the scabbard. "Just listen!"

A door opened somewhere above them, followed by a weighty thump.

"…are we sure it's just Sienna hunting you?" Taiyang asked as he slowly got up off the couch, his face pale. "I mean… there are other Watchers, right…"

"That could also be Roman and Kali," Raven considered as she watched her beau take up his trident from behind the couch. "Or… Cerise, though she has no reason to enter through the upstairs window…"

"I mean, neither do they," Taiyang pointed out. "Unless that was a bad attempt at sneaking in so they can get up to their bedroom."

"…fifty lien says that's exactly what's going on," Raven hissed as she began to walk toward the staircase in a low crouch. "Come on. Cover my back."

"Got it," Taiyang replied as he adjusted his grip on Reel Talk and began to follow, walking backwards and keeping his eyes on the front door and accompanying overlarge glass windows. "And you're on. My money's on we're about to have to fight and escape. Be ready to make a portal."

"Thought you were the optimist," Raven mused as the duo made their way to the base of the stairs. "And… sorry this put a damper on… you know."

"Hey, it's cool," Taiyang reassured as he began to slowly follow Raven up the stairs while continuing to scan the bottom floor for intruders. Though he was still very much aroused by her efforts and longing for her touch, he wasn't about to complain. "I'm content to move at your pace, I just didn't expect s-"

The sudden ringing of the doorbell caused a comedy of errors, cutting through the tension and creating a whole host of problems. First was Raven stumbling forward as she tried to crouch-walk up the stairs, hitting her head upon the wall of the staircase. Taiyang didn't fare much better, Raven's sudden absence unbalanced him, which caused him to fall down the stairs and tumble to the floor with a crash. A cacophony of footsteps thundered through the hall upstairs, and Raven barely got her sword drawn and pointed up the steps in time to see Kali in her bathing suit aiming down the staircase with both of her lugers.

"Raven? What the hell!?"

"I'd ask you the same!" Raven accused as she lowered her sword, only for the doorbell to ring once again. "That's… that has to be Cerise, hold on…"

"Cerise?" Roman asked as he appeared from around the corner, looking annoyed. "Oh, come on!"

"Quit your whining," Raven snapped as she finally got back to her feet. "We needed someone here to help us escape if… just… hold on!"

"I'm getting the door!" Taiyang said as he shuffled toward the entranceway with a small limp. He kept his trident at the ready, half leaning on it for support. "Come downstairs, guys."

"On our way," Raven reassured as she turned around and began to descend with Kali and Roman in tow. "So, you two thought the house would be empty, I'm guessing? Sneaking in to have some fun?"

"You know us too well," Kali said with a grin as they all reached the landing. "But honestly, I do want to meet Cerise. Roman said she was good."

"Can we not do this?" Roman asked, his tone biting as he glowered at the door. "Seriously. This isn't cool!"

"Relax," Taiyang ordered as he pulled open the door. "None of us a-"

For the second time in the span of minutes, Taiyang was interrupted by a sudden, unexpected intrusion. Pulling open the door revealed a figure in a tattered white hooded cloak. Before Taiyang could register that he likely was not looking at Cerise, a hand had shot out from beneath the fabric to seize his trident. Upon contact, the tines and shaft began to melt down to bubbling liquid gold and Taiyang let go of the implement before his hand was consumed by the molten metal. The figure took a step forward and thrust their other palm against the center of Taiyang's chest with enough force to send him flying backward, nearly bowling over Roman in the process.

As though no effort at all had been expended, the figure stepped forward and lowered the hood of her cloak to reveal a set of feline ears atop her matte black hair. The tattooed tiger stripes around her face gave her a menacing look, as did the glare she shot at Raven while she stepped over the threshold of the door.

"May I come in?"


Wake up.

Sasha couldn't see anything… nor could she use any of her other senses. All that was there was a vague, sudden sense of existence and a deep-seated feeling of terror. Seconds prior, there had been nothing. Suddenly, there was only fear.

"I don't want to," Sasha thought to herself, though she was no longer even sure what 'herself' actually meant. Her sense of proprioception was completely missing to the point that she was just thoughts, and she couldn't tell if she was dreaming… or potentially dead. "I don't want to face that again."

Face what? the voice asked.

Sasha knew that voice- the voice of her chain- though she wasn't exactly hearing it in the void. It was somehow simply channeling through her, as though it had become a part of her own internal monologue.

"Him," Sasha explained. The sensation of hearing returning in a series of steady beeps caused her alarm, as did the sudden tingling within the limbs she suddenly remembered she had. "Or… them."

…yeah. I didn't see that one coming, either, the belt replied. But it's not the first time our boss turned out to be someone we didn't think they were, is it? You'll be fine. Just don't panic, and don't tell him what you saw.

"He'll know," Sasha replied as more feeling returned. "He's going to know, and he's probably right next to me… wherever I am…"

He isn't. He isn't even in the room. Sasha, don't panic. Think about everything I taught y-

Sight came last as Sasha's eyes flew open and she launched into a series of coughs. The oxygen mask around her nose and mouth muffled the sound, but they were enough to startle Professor Goodwitch, causing the woman to stand abruptly from her vigil at Sasha's bedside.

"Easy," the woman said in an uncharacteristically soft tone as she laid a gentle hand upon Sasha's shoulder. "Just breathe."

Sasha tried to calm down from her state of hyperventilation, her breaths fogging the mask as she looked up at the professor. Glynda Goodwitch looked exhausted, as though she had had a sleepless night before being tasked with watching over Sasha. All of the annoyance and judgment the woman had projected when the two of them had first met in the hallway was gone and replaced by a clear desire to simply leave the situation, as well as what appeared to be confusion. Sasha, too, felt disoriented and weary as she looked beyond her caretaker's head, finding the unmistakable drop ceiling and soft lights of a hospital or infirmary. She guessed it was some wing or another of Beacon Academy, though clearly in a private room. That explained the steady beeping of a heart monitor, at least.

Don't be too direct. Don't let on what you s-

"What is he?" Sasha asked, ignoring the voice of the belt. Though she couldn't see her chain, she knew it had to be nearby. "Do you even know?"

"…excuse me?" Professor Goodwitch asked as she removed her hand from Sasha's shoulder and adjusted her glasses. "What do you mean…?"

Sasha, the chain warned, giving off a feeling that was just shy of threatening. Listen to me. Think about how this approach usually goes for us. You don't know if you can trust her… or Ozpin. The last thing you want is to end up being held here. Don't surrender the ability to leave by choice by letting on that you know something you shouldn't.

Sasha briefly closed her eyes and took a few more breaths, working to calm herself. She could feel that she was still in her clothes, rather than a gown. Definitely Beacon, then, and not some secondary location. Her head throbbed from where she had hit the floor, and she felt a little dizzy. It was only then that she realized something had changed in her connection with the chain… and she suddenly knew exactly where it was.

She no longer needed to be touching the implement to communicate with it.

"…nothing, sorry," Sasha lied as she looked back up at Professor Goodwitch. "I… think I had a nightmare. I don't even remember now."

"Do you remember what happened?" the woman asked softly. "Apparently, the headmaster returned to his office to find you passed out on the ground. You must have fallen and hit your head hard enough to draw blood."

"…I did?" Sasha asked, trying to sound surprised as she reached up toward her feline ears. There was a length of gauze entangled within her hair. "I don't… know. I guess I just went down. I haven't eaten anything in a while, and I ran pretty far to get to Beacon, so... maybe low blood sugar or something. I don't know."

"…right," Professor Goodwitch replied as she leaned back in her chair, sounding unconvinced. "I could call for something while we wait, if that would help."

"Can't wait," Sasha said immediately as she reached up to slide off her oxygen mask. She knew what was coming, and there was no way she was going to let herself become trapped in an unfamiliar room with Professor Ozpin. "I left my shift to come here. I'm so fired…"

"That's being taken care of. I… had to go through your identification, and found your work I.D.. Professor Ozpin is explaining the situation to your employer."

"Oh, good," Sasha snarked, rolling her eyes. "So now my job is in your hands, too. Guess I can't leave."

"Actually… Professor Ozpin gave me explicit instruction that if you do want to leave and are physically capable of doing so, you'll be permitted to do so."

Sasha could only stare as she tried to determine the intent behind the offer. Her mind and her chain both agreed- this is a trap. Even so… she didn't know if staying or going carried the greater risk.

There was also the fact that if she didn't talk to Professor Ozpin, she would never know if he knew that she knew his secret.

"…in that case… I guess I'll wait here," Sasha said with a wistful sigh. "For whatever he wants to talk to me about…"


Author's Note:

Nothing like being on the cusp of a life-and-death fight with no weapon and blue balls.

-RD