Chapter 38: Dea Calamitatis
A/N: If Akame ever meets Sienna Khan, They can share a drink over their subordinates being their main source of suffering, Vernal and Adam respectively.
Starr always considered herself an explorer and a fighter.
The desert may look like barren nothingness but there are always hidden gems to be found. She isn't a slouch in combat either being the one who trains the younger generations of her tribe. The woman has seen it all in her home kingdom.
Even accidentally going too far west and landing on the eastern shores of Anima.
The call home was hilarious! She mused to herself. In her defense, She thought it was a large river.
Now the desire to explore the world is ingrained in her little cousin, Sun. Which is great because She decided to call it quits and settle down somewhere safe. First, She needs to finish one more expedition.
She set up camp on a hill overlooking another tribe. There are a few hundred of them down in the valley. A small stream bisects the middle of the encampment.
They aren't her people nor is she here to protect them. Unless there is a Grimm attack and the Grimm are REALLY winning. Starr people are coming near their area and she is ensuring no fight goes down. Thus, She scouted ahead and acted as a spy and vanguard.
The Ghar tribe aren't the nicest people and have feuds with anyone entering their territory. Starr figures the place is a cultural land. The land is where the tribe has lived on the spot for decades.
She didn't know why they were so aggressive. Maybe it's an ancient ruin or artifact. She had heard rumors of old relics having supernatural properties.
Starr was curious but didn't want to stick her nose in it.
She took one more look at the tribal camp. Starr notices a single speck of green in a sea of tents and muted colors. It wouldn't be out of the ordinary but all the Ghar tribe members were wearing dull colors like beige, khaki, and gray.
'That isn't important,' Starr thought.
"They're a few days out," She whispered to herself and crawled into her tent. The hill she is on is difficult to climb with its steep slope and thorny scrubs. It is unlikely anyone would check this late at night.
She can sleep peacefully here.
The woman put a blanket on herself and drifted to sleep.
Gibberish.
That's what it sounded like to Starr.
She could faintly pick up on the words.
Mors Tua—
An unrecognizable set of words from a distorted voice.
—Vita Mea
Mors Tua Vita Mea.
She figured it out now. Starr recalls what she learned in her travels. That's a language dating back to thousands of years. It's the dead language of the western land of Vacuo.
Why is she hearing it now?
'And why those it sounds so close to—,' Starr clutched her weapon, a sword-staff, in an instant and stood up before her eyes even opened. She tore through the tent and swung her staff around, expecting a fight.
No one was around her.
Save yourself.
It was a woman's voice.
"Huh?"
The sun barely rose out of the horizon.
Starr growled at her brashness. It was a perfectly good tent she just tore to shred. All because she felt someone whispering into her ears!
She scans her surroundings to see any trace of an intruder(s). She found none but when she looked down at the tribal settlement below, She dropped her weapon upon seeing the valley below.
Eyes dilated.
Mouth aghast.
Body stiff.
The sun illuminates the impossibility before her. A sea of green flourished in the valley below and the tiny crescent-shaped lake near the middle. She notices the trees inside the curve of the lake are a vernal green. The rest of the oasis is a patchwork of many different colors. The oasis stretches over a kilometer long and half a kilometer wide.
'This is a dream,' Starr concluded,' A whole oasis doesn't pop up out of nowhere.'
The explorer immediately checked her scroll, pinched herself, and called Sun to check she wasn't still dreaming or hallucinating. Sun thought she was going crazy and told Starr to come back home.
"Signals still work," She hung up and scanned the dense assortment of trees.
'Some of those trees aren't even native to the region. And I have never seen forestry this dense at any oasis. Everything about this—'
She felt cold sweat run down her neck. There aren't any people leaving the oasis either. It was only a few minutes and she couldn't hear any human activity.
"It's like magic."
Another second passes before she descends on her next move.
"Whelp, Time for an adventure," She smiled and started packing up her shredded tent.
She put her pack on her back and ready her staff. She texted the tribe her last location and what she was up to before descending the hill, and toward the strange oasis. They weren't happy about it.
'Maybe I find the answer to my next question. What happened to the hundreds of people that were here?' She approached the edge of the oasis and noted the dozen different types of flowers in front of the just as varied trees.
She counted tulips, roses, Iris, lycoris, winter jasmine, and many more flowers native to other parts of Vacuo and the world.
She walked deeper into the oasis.
She continued noting the varied plant life. Vale oak trees, Menagerie palm trees, Mistral bamboo, and a Vacuo saguaro cactus are somehow planted next to each other as if this oasis is a melting pot of the world. The entire place makes no sense to Starr. It's as if this oasis is the passion project of a botanist and forester with disregard to introducing invasive species and the requirement of each plant.
The temperature in the forest felt cold, much colder than the hill. She opened her scroll to get a reading.
The reading is below room temperature.
'This makes no sense since this is a huge drop from the temperature being hot enough to fry an egg to wearing a jacket indoors,' She shrugged and started snapping pictures of the oasis.
"The signal isn't working now," She bites her lips," Sounds like the start of a horror movie."
She gets so immense in the setting that she doesn't notice what's lurking beyond her perception.
It was all surreal. She arrived at what she assumed was the middle of the oasis and yet there is no sign of human life. Now that she thinks about it, There are no animals, insects, or even birds throughout her walk.
She walked up a slight incline to reveal a dreamy landscape. It was visually overwhelming.
"Beautiful," She uttered upon seeing the sight before her.
There are trees with unique colored leaves growing within the curve of the crescent lake.
She eyeballed the number of trees to be a few hundred.
Starr doesn't recognize the trees from anywhere but it does remind her of Forever Falls if it was rainbow-colored.
She placed her hand on one of them. The trunks are like snakes twisted together. The branches spread out like arms in an orans prayer. The texture feels like hardened leather. She notices a few trees are leaking blood-red sap.
Leathery? That can't be right. She flicked the trunk and it sounded hollow.
The leaves are the strangest part of it all. All the trees have different colors and even similar leaves are different shades. They're all individually different from one another yet are the same.
"Now that I think about it," She said to herself," I should have been able to spot them from the hill. Maybe it bloomed. Wait? Leaves don't change color this quickly nor are these flowers."
She reached up and grabbed the nearest leaf. It has a violet glow.
It shines brightly in her fingertips. The sensation from the leaves is familiar. Suddenly, it hits her.
The leaf is radiating an aura.
If it has an aura that means it has a soul. The air emits it. She looked at the glowing leaf in her hand.
"This is impossible. Plants aren't capable of having an aura."
It's debated whether souls are in all living things including plants or only intelligent life like animals and humans. There have been experiments to test the theory throughout human history but plants, even if they have souls, can't harness aura.
"Is anyone here? Is anyone from the Ghar tribe? I can sense your aura!" She yelled into nothingness," I'm not here to fight!"
She closes her eyes and focuses on hearing. There was no shaking of foliage or cracking of branches. The oasis is full of life yet lacks it.
'What happened to the people? There were hundreds of them. They all disappeared without disturbing my sleep. I'm not a heavy sleeper. My hearing would pick up on the slightest noises. There is nothing. Even the winds are silent in this mysterious place,' Starr bites her lip and tightens her grip on the sword-staff.
She should fall back and save herself. Another part of her wants to unravel the mystery of this mystical oasis. Humanity fears the unknown but is also willing to seek answers to it. The woman took a deep breath and hoped it wasn't her last.
She will find out what happens to the Ghar tribe. Her people will pick up her body if she fails.
She pauses to think.
'Trees of unknown species and dead center of where I last saw the tribe members,' She turned her ears toward the trunk and closed her eyes.
'There a sound coming from it,' Starr's musing turned into dread. She heard something, someone.
Save me.
"That same voice."
She steps back and drops the leaf.
There isn't going to be a body to recover if she doesn't leave NOW. It has already been laid out to her that this place isn't normal and there is no logical explanation for it. Starr needed to warn everyone and the world about what she experienced.
She turned toward the direction she came from but a wall of earth rose in front of her. The oasis came alive and the clear sky started to form dark clouds.
"This better be a nightmare," She gulped," By the Gods, What is this place?"
Starr ducked as thorny whips came from behind her.
She leaps back as wood spikes shoot out of the ground.
The hair on her head stands on ends. She knows what is about to happen next.
She rolled forward as a lightning bolt struck the ground she was on. It caught fire quickly and within seconds, the small flame turned into a blue fire tornado.
"Whatever is trying to kill me. It's causing all of this! THIS THING ISN'T HUMAN!" She screamed as she evaded attacks coming from all directions while outrunning a flaming tornado. She can feel the pressure all around her making it difficult for her to breathe. As if she's in the clench of a giant.
The heat was licking at her back. It moved much faster than any tornado she came across. As if it was a living creature howling for her demise.
She sidestepped ice spears trying to impale her and parried vines. A blue wall of flames stood before her and she leaped into it without hesitation. She felt half of her aura destroyed with the smell of burnt clothes and hair assaulting her nose.
Starr tumbled and rolled across the ground. She got back to her feet and took a moment to look around for an escape route. All she could see was the apocalypse happening around her. The ground split open, threatening to isolate her. She jumps over a newly created gorge.
"Dust crystals?" She looked down to see the bright colors underneath.
'Is this what the Ghar tribe was hiding? Is it the reason for their demise?' She wonders if the land is cursed.
Vines wrapped around her ankle; she cut it in an instant and kept running. She was surprised to be alive for this long. Starr ran up a tree trunk and used it to launch into the air. She dodged elemental attacks while in midair and landed on the sand.
'SAND!' She mentally shouted with glee,' I'm out of the oasis!'
The nightmare still isn't over.
Years of fighting and survival hone her reflex. She instinctively blocks dozens of high-speed pebbles coming at her like bullets.
Starr must keep running as far away from this place as possible or else her aura will give out and she would need to rely on her physical prowess to escape.
She dash away from the oasis yet it still pursues her. An unseen unrelenting force of nature changing form into a sandstorm. The woman kept running but the sand blurred her vision and dulled her reflexes. The ground started to feel like quicksand with every step.
How was she going to fight against nature itself?
She spotted dozens of stone pillars the size of King Taijitu coming at her. She ran up them, leaped, slid underneath, sliced through, and even parried away the attacks with difficulty. She was down to one-fourth of her original aura and nature wasn't stopping until she was dead.
"Shit!" Starr panicked as a whirlwind picked her into the air and slammed her violently into the ground. It knocked the breath out of her body.
In her dazed condition, She could have sworn she heard a voice.
"That's enough!" It yelled.
Starr picked herself up ready to run again.
"I-I can't die here," She exhaled.
A single rock impacted her chest with the force of a sniper bullet, instantly scattering her aura and knocking her a dozen meters back. She skipped across the desert like a rock and came to a slow stop. She cracked her eyes open despite the agonizing pain.
She could see it. The monster floats in the air. It's coming to kill her. Starr couldn't tell the body shape or age. As if it's one with the environment. The figure moves closer and looms over her.
"Demon," She uttered fearfully. Starr didn't know if this thing was a Grimm or some unknown monster of the desert. She senses nothing but hostility and contempt. Starr can feel the overwhelming power it emits.
It stared down at her.
The woman notices a hood obscuring its face and covered in darkness. The only feature peaking out is cold yet somehow glowing dead eyes. It raised its hand and blue flame emitted from it.
'Looks like it's the end of the road for me,' She blinked, and a single tear rolled down her sand-covered cheek. Her entire body aches and her limps are unresponsive," What are you?"
"Not worthy of knowing," the thing paused and spoke. The voice is unrecognizable, almost like white noise. Starr can feel the heat intensifying.
Dying by fire is the most painful death.
She isn't going to go down without swinging. Start won't die begging for her life nor awaiting it. Every inch of her refused to move, yet she pulled off an impossibility. She broke through the oppressive power of the creature.
She swung her staff around and batted away the flaming hand as it fired a blast to the left of her.
'Must fight back!' She screamed.
It was all for naught.
Starr's screams were cut into pain gasps. The creature lifted her off the ground with a single hand outstretched. She wrapped a ring of sand around her neck and applied pressure to it.
"It seems you earn it before you die," It said calmly," Remember the name in the afterlife, Ver Veritas."
Veritas applies more pressure. Starr could feel her neck cracking under the strain and black spots started to appear in her eyes. The restraint on her neck won't budge no matter how hard she pulls or tears, it won't come off.
Life flashes before her eyes.
The world slowly goes dark.
'I'm sorry, every-,' The world returns to normal in an instant.
She stared up to see the sandstorm slowly receding and a swarm of nevermores circling her. Her instinct told her to get up and run as she heard more roars in the distance.
'Grimm!' She got to her feet.
The overwhelming feeling disappeared when she looked around and Veritas was nowhere to be found. Dozens of Grimm rushed past her and toward the oasis like a moth to a lamp.
The ground trembled and a lightning storm started to form over it. Hundreds of lightning strikes flared over the oasis as a horde of Grimm descended. It didn't take much thought for Starr to start running while 'Veritas' was distracted.
She coughed and turned in the other direction. The woman ran as fast as she could and didn't stop until she collapsed. By the time she woke up, it was nighttime.
In the distance, She can see the light of a campfire. The woman couldn't yell through a raspy throat and a damaged vocal cord. She kept walking forward and hoping the monster, the demon of the oasis, wasn't behind her.
A young boy with blonde hair approached her. She cried in relief and collapsed again.
"STARR!" He yelled and came to her side," Get the medical supply! She's dying!"
"Sun," She whispered and fell into unconsciousness.
Akame PoV
"Date" with Sun
"Is she going to be okay?" I tried my best to hide the anger welling up inside of me.
I'm second-guessing my decision to let Vernal off a leash. What the hell is she up to?
This is a major breach in information security that threatens to put a bad reputation on my forces. I can't see it going well even if she killed Starr. She'll have to eliminate the rest of Starr's tribe including Sun. I know she doesn't have the heart to cross that line.
I hope not.
I'll talk to her tomorrow once I get enough information and my emotions are under control.
Vernal, You idiot.
My friend is a genius when it comes to her ability and creative application of it. She is an idiot who lacks forethought. I'm starting to think having Jinn inside is keeping Vernal from accidentally eating a poisonous plant.
"She's okay. But after what happened, She decided to settle down early and open up a dojo," Sun sighed," I wouldn't blame her."
"Is the oasis still there?"
"It's crawling with Grimm. A few of my family banded together and got inside the oasis. We didn't find any of those strange trees or Dust deposits," He said.
At least she was able to cover those up.
"What happened next?"
"We left before the Grimm got too riled up. From what I heard, Your people came and cleared out the oasis by burning the whole place down."
All of this happened two weeks ago. I asked for silence around those times so I could focus on my studies. Vernal decided to commit genocide when I wasn't watching her.
Maybe she isn't worth saving.
No, I can't think like that.
She needs guidance and even if I fail to save her, I need Vernal.
I look at my blade. If she does fall too far, I'm the only one deserving to kill her.
The next day
Abandon home west of Vacuo
I gently held my scroll to my ear and crushed the corner of a wooden table into pieces. I kept my face neutral throughout the entire exchange, It's the only middle ground I can afford. There is no one in the room; I keep a poker face out of habit.
I'm beyond livid.
"Batteries, You turn human lives into batteries," I summarized her action," Why?"
"Because we are at war," She reasoned.
"And? You're committing a human rights violation for the flimsiest of reasons," I argued," All because they have a dust mine and plan to blow it up the next morning?"
"Yep."
"And the oasis? Those strange trees held their bodies?"
"No, With my method a body isn't needed," She answered casually," A body would be extra work to maintain. I could but choose not to for the adults at least. The kids are fine. The kids still have their bodies. I ensure the process is painless and they experience blissful sleep."
A sinking feeling hit my stomach. The story doesn't add up. Starr heard a woman's voice telling her to save them. While Vernal said they were dreaming. Either someone is lying or Vernal doesn't know.
I never expected Vernal to have this much power or control over her magic. She shouldn't be capable of magic beyond elemental manipulation. Maybe I underestimated her.
"This is worse than what the Crown did. It's evil."
"It is more efficient. Aura is farmed more consistently and the only concern is making sure the container is unharmed. It would be no different from taking care of a plant: Water, soil, and, optionally, sunlight."
"It's still worse."
"The Crown needed to feed, bathe, and maintain control over its batteries. All the while, they're aware of their captivity and risk escaping. The Crown inspired me and I made it better."
It seems I underestimated my friend's intellect.
"Stop referring to people as batteries. You didn't learn this on your own. When did you make the wish?"
"I asked the Relic a week and a half after we took control of the Crown. Gillian told me, eh, ranted about her semblance and other stuff," She explained.
She must have done it in my sleep. I can sense threats in my sleep but a relic time stop goes under the radar. It's like a tiny moth in a room, inconspicuous and unable to harm me. I don't have a sixth sense detecting divine magic being used. Otherwise, Qrow could never sneak up on me. I have immunity to its effect because of the God of Darkness and that's it.
I wonder if that means I can't be harmed or manipulated by whatever power the other Relics have?
Back on topic.
Gillian has been broken by the knowledge that her entire life was a lie. I had her on suicide watch for several months after she killed several of her former allies, her brother's unfortunate 'accident', and her fallout with her dad. She pulled herself together enough to become one of my top lieutenants. Gil has my sympathy and my trust. I doubt she purposely filled Vernal's head with the idea of making aura batteries.
I'm still going to question her after this.
Umber? I can sense her minuscule aura. She's approaching me but why?
Umber walked into the room and stared intensely at me. What is she doing here?
She's supposed to be outside. I tried to motion for her to leave but she stood in place.
"Sun just texted me the story," She stated," What in the fuck did you two do."
I refuse to react to it.
"A week and a half? But that would mean…buried in sand," I whispered the last part.
"How many people do you think I dealt with in Vacuo?" She asked.
"Hundreds of liens, maybe more depending on how much work you put in," I answered. Umber is in the room. She won't spill our secrets but this conversation is still classified.
"This isn't on speaker right?" She asked.
"No."
"Understood, Akame. Outside of my experiment, I only made thrice as much as you," She revealed to my shock," I have been perfecting the method to capture, contain, and farm some livestock. I started with a few bad apples and then some melons. The cattle needed pruning. I took note of my mistakes and I have hundreds of mistakes. That's how you learn, right?"
"Yes, it is," I messaged my headache," Your failures still count as a loss."
We continue talking in subtext.
"The tribe helped me perfect and upscale it. I spent an entire night with them and gave them the privilege of becoming the source of victory. It's repayment for defying my order and attacking me even when I'm being diplomatic," She raised her voice," But I'm a merciful Queen and I don't want to waste the lives of my future subjects. Even the disloyal ones."
"Pull back on imitating Gillian's royal persona. It doesn't suit you," I sighed," How did you achieve it? Without alerting the neighbor?"
The conversation must sound so nonsensical to an outsider.
"I don't know. I didn't get scared when they attacked me. I got angry. I couldn't believe they treated me with such disrespect. It was power coming from within when I yelled and demanded they stop," She recollected," Next thing I know the farm animals stopped in the soil(fainted). I'm guessing it got the neighbor(Starr) caught up. Except for this one rabbit but she was caught soon after."
Did her semblance evolve? Vernal is perception manipulation and the main reason why she is hard to detect in crowds. She was able to blend into the environment more with training thus becoming a master at stealth.
Vernal is a spear capable of penetrating the toughest defenses but with a paper mache shaft. She caused so much headache for me yet too valuable to lose.
"The leaves can last for three weeks before the cells decay and it's no good. I could extend the shelf life if I freeze them. The amount of nutrients (aura) per leaf varies but they're small and bite-size snacks. The taste also varies depending on the tree(person)."
I won't deny the benefit of an aura replenisher but what the hell VERNAL? I thought she was vegan. She jumps from not eating meat to borderline cannibalism.
Does eating other people's aura in leaf form count as cannibalism?
Ver Veritas…stop giving me a reason to kill you.
Please.
"Akame, Stop talking in code. I know you and Vernal murdered people," Umber said," Both of you no longer need to hide it."
I excused myself and lowered the scroll.
"Why are you talking about?"
"Tell the truth," Her eyes stared deeply into mine. There is no point in continuing this charade.
"Burn it all down," I ordered Vernal. I dropped any pretense to be discreet. This is just too much.
"What? But Akame! This is a harvest(war) and-"
"We are dropping the act. It's just Umber in the room. There is no excuse to lose our humanity for the sake of victory. If I didn't care about humanity, I would have become a Grimm years ago. We are all doomed if this gets out. Any PR we built up will be tarnished in an instant," I explained and heard Ver attempting to talk back," Stop. Your. Experiment."
"I will," She answered half-heartedly," But you told me to make my own decision. We need all the advantages against our enemies. And tell Umber to butt out of it! This has nothing to do with her!"
I did teach her those lessons.
"Not like this," I emphasized, "Promise? Because we both know I'll find out if you didn't."
"What about the kids? I spared them and kept farming light. I moved them deep underground before it all went poorly."
Kids.
All of those men, women, and children have been selfishly reduced to products. Souls trapped in trees for their aura. This is a nightmare. A fate worse than death.
"You killed the parents. Even if I believe they are kept in a dream world, Waking them up to this reality is going to break them," I told her," Wipe every trace of this abomination."
"I knew it," Umber uttered. It felt like a stab to my heart hearing her say that.
The situation is escalating. I'm screaming internally at the misfortune. How could this day get any worse?
"You want me to kill the kids?" She stuttered," That's too much."
Now you're thinking about the consequences of your actions!
"What do you suggest? Brainwashing them? You made this problem and you will deal with it," I kept my voice steady. I'm beyond enraged now. I honestly don't know how to deal with the revelation.
Damn it.
I don't know who to be mad at!
"I-I will dispose of them. The Ghar are killed by Grimm and our comrades cleared out the oasis. The only value left is the Dust deposit beneath the valley."
The other elephant in the room. There is a Dust deposit that has somehow never been touched. How did she find out about it?
"Is that what the Ghar has been defending the entire time?" I asked.
"Yes and doing nothing with it for decades. I only found out when my power reacted with the dust underneath them."
That explains the oasis spawning but what about the non native trees and flowers?
"If you're wondering how an international garden appears, Magic. I have knowledge of what plant life I want, imagine it, and the Dust allows it to happen. It's a hobby of mine."
That is extremely powerful. She can grow an entire crop with a thought, replant a forest, and conjure medicinal herbs with ease. Another reason why I can't afford to lose her. I doubt anyone, besides Salem and Ozpin, can be near Vernal expertise with magic.
Qrow is right. Vernal and I are strong. We could individually handle whole armies on our own. I suspect I have more unfair advantages all because God wants me to succeed. I have one life but taking it is going to cost the entire fortune of Atlas and Mistral to take.
Massive aura reserve.
Detection and repelling Grimm.
Immunity to the power of the relics.
Regenerative healing.
A flexible soul capable of spreading out and hiding in other bodies.
What next? Becoming a bird? Another final form?
Maybe get powerful enough to parry an oversized mech?
That last one is pure insanity.
"How did you even figure out it was possible?" I scrutinized.
"Jinn told me!"
"Jinn? Who's Jinn?"
"She told me it's okay because both wishes are used up. I think. Jinn didn't confirm it but was not mad for revealing her name. The next three wishes wouldn't be possible for another hundred years. She predicted on our current path, living to a hundred is impossible for us. Jinn is my best friend and roommate deep inside my body."
What? She used the last wish and isn't she sure about it?
"What do you mean that sounded sexually explicable?" Vernal spoke away from the scroll but I could still hear her," Exellcent, Espada, Execure, whatever! Close enough, Militia."
"Half of those aren't even words. I can still hear you," I yelled," Here's the plan. You will cover this up and never attempt it again. Starr is in the city. Night Raid and I will deal with her."
"Yes, Akame. The option is always there."
"It's an option not worth taking," I hung up the scroll and hit my head on the desk.
"You're going to kill Sun's cousin?" Umber leaned over.
"No,' She now stood beside me.
"Look like you still have some sanity," she placed a hand on my shoulder," Vernal isn't worth it."
"I'm still-"
"Why are you constantly moving the line that can't be crossed? She's going to pull that crap again," Umber walks around the desk and crosses her arms. She didn't even want to look at me," Milita texted me, too. She used all two wishes on herself instead of I don't know? Finding a way to defeat Salem?"
"I-"
She used another wish. Of course, she did. Now I need to figure out what the 2nd wish was.
That last wish could help. But it also runs the risk of being used against us. 'Jinn' can't stay inside Vernal forever. 'Jinn' needed to get back to that lamp all the way in Mistral, deep inside enemy territory. I don't believe the lamp is forcing her back or why she needs to leave on my exam date. It's too convenient.
When that happens, the final wish would be in Ozpin's hand. The lamp is currently floating around outside the vault. Vernal bargained the lamp years ago with the promise to let the tribe hold Southern Anima. Obviously, the deal isn't supported.
"She didn't even sound sorry for what she did," Umber scoffed," And you just ordered innocent lives to be killed for the sake of survival."
I thought about it for a moment. It felt like my heart sank to my stomach. There will be decisions that sacrifice innocent lives. Those kids are a security risk if they reveal the truth to the world. I don't have the resources to cover up a mistake of this magnitude. Logically, It isn't worth the effort to have them around.
I can't go through with it. I wouldn't be any better than Vernal short-sightedness.
I needed to stop her now.
I dialed Ver's number again. I swear she needs an intervention if all those kids die in a span of a few minutes.
"Change your mind?" She answered immediately as if expecting the callback.
I rested my forehead on my palm and stared down.
"I want you to-," I'm going to hate myself for this. I may have wiped my memory of the past life but the words I utter next fill me with phantom pain.
I put it on speaker mode and placed the scroll face down.
"How many children are there?"
"Thirty of them and under the age of twelve. The adults and those over thirteen are gone," She revealed," What is your plan?"
"Could you erase memories?"
"I can't. That is beyond what I can do."
"Have them dream of their family's death and the tribe as the savior. Kids are impressionable and won't question if Grimm killed their family. That's the natural tragedy of this world. Make sure they dream the same thing so the story will align," I added," The Ghar tribe were killed by Grimm and their treasure is the oasis they greedily guard."
"What next? What about the witnesses?"
I hate it. I hate myself for this but it's either that or eliminating all evidence. I'm not cold-hearted enough. I fear the day when I could be. When I'm used to seeing my comrades die by my orders or my enemies. That would no longer be me.
Sun…
I would never eliminate another tribe to keep a secret.
"The children will become a part of the Branwen tribe. Sun people…I'll come up with something," I felt my eyes burning," End call."
I closed my scroll. I looked down at my desk because I didn't want to look at Umber even if she wasn't looking at me.
"How long?" She spoke suddenly.
"What?" I knew deep down what she meant," How long for what?"
"How long have both of you been killing?"
"When there is no other option."
"And how many times is that?" She hissed.
"A dozen but I haven't killed anyone since Vernal left," I admitted.
I could individually go through the reason why I did it. But it wouldn't change a thing in Umber's eyes.
"Both of you are fools," She walked away," Congratulations Akame, You made more of us. I won't tell Uncle Qrow or your Dad. I don't want to ruin the family time."
And I'm the worst person to help Vernal with her problem. We're making empty promises and breaking them behind people's backs.
I want to make the world a better place before I—
—my mind is in a scramble. The answer is there yet I force it away.
I close my eyes again. It's for my sisters, family, and the world.
I need to keep going. I quickly dialed Night Raid to meet up at Starr Dojo. The response wasn't what I expected. They're already there.
Weird?
I haven't sent them on a mission yet. They better not be causing any trouble. I already have one headache to deal with.
I left through a hole in a wall. The house was abandoned for years and I needed a spot to keep my talks secret. Umber is heading home. I can see she's walking toward the southern horizon in the direction of our home.
I want to pursue her but it's best if I let her cool off. I need to hurry. It's about to be afternoon and Qrow is covering for me while Ruby, Yang, and Dad are coming over. We're eating dinner together tonight.
Uncle…
He's in the dark for now. It isn't beyond his ability to unravel the skeletons I kept hidden. Uncle Qrow made it clear how fast he could dismantle everything I built up. I must be such a problem child.
He even went to a meeting with the headmaster without me.
I felt my phone vibrate and checked who it was.
A text from my uncle?
What could it be?
My heart skipped a beat once I read the brief message.
'They know what you did. Run.'
Shade Academy
Headmaster Office
He has the proof. Audio and vision evidence of Akame involvement in several murders and many illegal activities. It came in a briefcase with bloody fingerprints on it.
"She went back on her word," Theodore scanned through another document," Your niece is getting overconfident, sloppy with her cover-ups."
"More importantly, YOU KNEW," Rumpole stood to the left of Theodore," Months before we did."
"I wanted to see what my niece is capable of and if she can stay on the right path," He smiled proudly," She exceeded my expectations. But I'll admit. I don't approve of the body count."
"She's committing treason, several homicides, and betraying my trust," He slammed his fist against the desk," How can we trust you now?"
"I trust Akame to try and do the right thing. I'll give her a stern talking-to once I find her. Don't bother trying to arrest Akame, She's onto you," Qrow frowned.
"Because you told her," Rumpole said while holding Qrow's scroll in her hand," You're supposed to bring her with you for a quick conference."
"Meetings are boring," he waved off," The family is in town and they take priority. Hey, I have an idea, how about you announce to Vacuo that Akame is under arrest? Huh? The people respect the Academy but are divided over the matter with Akame. This kingdom harbors worse offenders who don't benefit this kingdom. The few that Akame did kill stepped way out of line. I can assure you, I know some of them and they're grade-A dirtbags."
"Qrow, You are staying here and thinking about what you did," Theodore stood up and left the room with Rumpole," Call all our contacts and cancel lessons for today. Keep a few staff members watching the drunk."
"You're making a mistake! Oz is not going to like this!" He yelled as they closed the door behind them.
The headmaster and professor walk down the hall filled with huntsmen, school staff, and several senior students. The most trusted within Shade Academy.
"This mission requires everyone's cooperation. Our target is to capture Akame Branwen while her main forces are busy in the west," He turns toward all of them," We must cause as little commotion as possible among the populace."
The crowd started to murmur. Theodore already mentions they can't trust the police to apprehend her with the number of sympathizers in its ranks.
"Akame? She's here?" A student asked," I don't think I have a chance against her."
It is a common sentiment shared with several students and huntsmen.
"She's been here for almost a year. She promised not to cause trouble but was breaking the law the first moment she set foot in this kingdom," Theo explained, recalling the evidence of her takeover of the Crown," This is an arrest warrant for Akame Branwen for a checklist of crime."
"Akame cares about how she presents herself to the public and won't attack us. She can't refuse an invitation to the Academy nor cause a ruckus so long as we identify ourselves and ask nicely," Rumpole added," But you are free to take her down with force if she attacks first."
"How do you know she is still in Vacuo? She could leave for the countryside making it much harder to catch her," A huntress raised her hand.
"Then we no longer need to go after her, and I can make her crime public without Akame riling the people against us," Theodore countered," She'll end up becoming the enemy of Remnant from henceforth. That rascal knows this and will stay in the city brewing up her plan. Whatever it is!"
"Get into teams of two to four and spread out around the city but keep it calm. Locate Akame Branwen and peacefully bring her here. Even if she is in disguise, She can't hide her icy cold skin. And I mean it literally," Rumpole dismissed all those in attendance.
The school buzzed with activity as they left the ground. A hundred trained and in-training huntsmen and huntresses filtered out into the streets of Vacuo.
The Hunt for Akame begins.
Mistral Capital
Lil Ms. Malachite smiled at Ozpin, who was now back in Beacon.
"Many MIA agents were killed trying to get the knowledge into Theodore's hands," She revealed. Milly still has a few more tricks to play but turning the Academy against Akame is one of them," An improperly disposed corpse can still spread disease."
"You don't know when to quit, do you?"
"What would it be? Tarnishing Shade Academy's reputation and power or ending an international threat?" she tilted her head," My only regret was not finding dirt on the rest of her organization and that Spring Maiden but Akame is good enough."
"I prefer if Vacuo doesn't fall into civil unrest," the wizard answered.
"How are you going to resolve it? The strength of Shade Academy is too overwhelming for Akame even if she decides to go all out," Milly chimed.
"Strength isn't everything," Ozpin answered and closed the call. He contacted Goodwitch immediately.
A/N: This story arc is improvised at the last minute but I already thought of the climax and ending. It is likely going to be the shortest arc because it occurs over an hour. I like writing Milly. She won't give up screwing Akame over every chance she gets. She's extremely petty. Milly is far from admitting defeat even after losing hundreds of Agents.
*Story supposed to end at 225k words*
*Could keep going until 300k or more*
I'm 100% sure the continuation is going to reach 500k or more.
There is a bit of a twist on the second/last wish.
Vernal's first wish is to use her Maiden power to its fullest potential. The second wish is…It will be revealed soon.
Jinn wouldn't be able to see Akame's backstory because the God of Darkness is blocking it. Another example is if someone asked the Staff of Creation to make a cage to hold Akame, It wouldn't work. Akame would walk through the cage like it didn't exist.
It doesn't mean she got divine hax. Marrow's semblance will freeze Akame and Robyn can detect her lies. Silver eye still works on her because it isn't relic-based. She is only immune to the relics.
It is still possible for team RWBY and anyone important to see Akame's past. Ice Queendom gives me a great excuse to show it. Especially considering the real Ice Queen has Akame memory. Akari isn't immune to a Nightmare Grimm.
Akame could piece together Ozpin and Salem's backstory with enough inquiries and investigations. She knows they were once married/in love.
I won't do Justice League for obvious reasons, one crossover at a time.
Akame, Vernal, and Umber are child soldiers who came out of it with different experiences. Umber is abhorrent to bloodshed and seeing others walk that path. Akame is killing when it is needed. Vernal is trying to find justification while slowly becoming worse than the actual Esdeath.
Esdeath can torture your mind and body, but Vernal is capable of affecting the soul. I'm limited to the T-rating for this story so I'll leave it up to the imagination.