Sienna Khan was not having a good day. She had been attacked three different times by Grimm in a span of four hours, her cloak and cape were partially torn, and her stomach, while not stabbed or injured in any way, was still hurting.
Why me? Why am I having such bad luck? And why is my stomach still hurting off and on after a few days?
The High Leader of the White Fang walked forward, trying to ignore the pain. Suddenly, she felt a gush at her lower regions.
Uh oh...
She stopped and laid her back against a tree. Raising her knees to her chest, she took off and looked at her undergarments, seeing them stained with blood.
Of course. Well, I suppose this is actually a good thing. At least now I know I wasn't taken advantage of in my sleep. Alright, now where are they?
She searched through her bag, looking for a certain garment. Eventually, she pulled out a large black pair of underwear.
Period-proof underwear. This should do for a few days.
The scene transitioned to Sienna, now wearing a pair of black pants with her usual top, trying to wash out her soiled garments in a nearby river.
It's funny. Here I am, worrying about whether I was taken advantage of by the wrong guy. Yet strangely enough at the same time, I've never found the right guy. Or a guy for that matter. Twenty eight years old, soon to be twenty nine, and I've never had sex, written a love letter or text, or even kissed a guy. She chuckled to herself. I always thought love would find me and smack me upside the head one day, but it never did. And even then, with a job as demanding as High Leader of the White Fang, who has time for affairs and romances?
The tigress took her clothes and set them on a nearby tree branch to dry. She then started setting up her campsite and started roasting a mid-day meal of squirrel and acorn stew over a campfire. Looks like I'm going nowhere fast. Then again, maybe rushing into dangerous situations you aren't entirely certain about isn't a good thing. I can use this time to think about my next move.
She began to stir the pan with a wooden spoon. Now let's see what I have going for me- Maura, my best friend and closest ally, is dead. Athena is now the leader of the Mistralian White Fang. I still don't know what she's planning, and I've been knocked unconscious and later on brought back by the hand of Salem, an immortal and possibly evil goddess. Since I was out for two weeks, and thus, couldn't be there for Maura's trial, I can assume that Salem wanted Athena to become Mistral's White Fang leader. But why? What could Salem hope to gain by having Athena in charge? Is it possible that she just wants to watch Athena cause destruction to strengthen herself? But what if Athena doesn't want to destroy? What if she wants to conquer? Then again... somethings could end up destroyed in the process of Athena's conquest.
The High Leader paused for a moment. Could Athena actually be in league with the dark goddess? No, that's... that's madness. It can't be true... Or... can it? Is it possible that Adam is or once was working with her too? No way, that's crazier. She sighed. I think I may be thinking too much, but I need answers. She looked at the book on Salem she had stolen from the library before her head began to hurt. Dang inconsiderate brain.
Her stomach cramped up again and she put her back to the tree.
I did not sign up for this when I agreed to take the helm from Ghira all those years ago. She looked at the Fang Badge of Leadership, holding it in her hands. Who knew that the badge, with its responsibilities, could be so heavy?
Elsewhere in the forests of Mistral, Negra was tied to a tree with rope. She was trying to get out of her restraints, without very much luck.
The camera turned to Adam, with Hector, Ilia, Daphne, and Douglas standing behind him. "Alright, Missy." Adam began. "We can do this the easy way, or the hard way. Where is Athena Bruna?"
She scowled at the bull-horned faunus. "I don't know where Athena went to." She gave an angry look to the rest of them as Adam drew back his sword. "All I was told to do was spread the word about Athena's rise to power. And even if I did know, why would I tell you? You have a Loyalist messenger in your ranks. For all I know, you want to assassinate her!"
"We don't want to hurt her." Ilia told her calmly.
"Speak for yourself." Daphne grumbled.
Adam turned back to his entourage. "Guys, shush!"
"Well, this is going nowhere." the White Fang lieutenant stated.
"Thanks for obvious, Douglas." he sarcastically quipped.
Hector was the first to suggest, "Maybe she's telling the truth."
"She does seem to be genuine in her response." Ilia added.
"But what if she's lying?" Daphne posed to her cohorts. "I mean, she is a Revolutionist. Revolutionists are nothing but liars and murderers!"
"Liars and murderers? I've never lied to anyone since joining the Fang. Also, I've also never killed anyone! The closest I've gotten is subduing them and breaking a guy's hand! Furthermore, you look at this situation like it's all black and white. It doesn't matter! With Maura's downfall, your Loyalist allegiance means nothing anymore!"
Daphne sulked, knowing that the Revolutionist was right, but not wanting to admit it.
There was a moment of silence before Ilia admitted, "She's not wrong there."
Hector looked towards the group's leader. "You know, one of the ways you can tell if someone is being honest is to look at their eyes."
"Good idea. Remove her mask." Adam ordered.
Hector hesitantly approached her. He took off Negra's mask, revealing her blue eyes glaring at her captors.
"You're not getting anything out of me." Negra stood defiantly.
"I'm going to ask you again-" The Valeian White Fang leader glared at the captive Revolutionist messenger. "Where is Athena Bruna?"
"I don't know! I didn't know when I left to spread her message, and I still don't know."
He sighed. "Looks like we have to do this the hard way." Adam got out Wilt and Blush, retrieving the sword and pointing it at her neck. "For the last time, where is Athena Bruna?"
Negra truly looked terrified this time. "Please, don't hurt me! I really don't know anything!" Her eyes silently screamed terror.
The Valeian White Fang leader gave a heavy sigh. "Well it's clear that she really doesn't know anything. Guys, huddle up."
They huddled together, with Adam at the bottom, Hector to his left, Ilia to his right, Daphne to her left, and Douglas between her and Hector.
"Okay, it's very clear that Athena didn't tell her where she was going. Smart move, even if it makes finding her a pain in the rear." The 'bull king' sighed, this time softer. "What are we gonna do with her?"
"We should kill her." Daphne immediately told them.
Ilia gave the Loyalist messenger an uneasy look. "Isn't that a bit extreme?"
Daphne shot the chameleon faunus a glare. "Need I remind you that she is part of a group that framed Maura and got her killed for crimes that weren't hers?"
"We could keep her as a prisoner." Douglas suggested.
"But then we'd have to keep her feed, watered, et cetera, and it would put a strain on our limited resources." the loyalist reminded him.
"Not to mention that once we do find Athena, she probably wouldn't be too happy about us kidnapping one of her servants." Hector told his boss and cohorts.
"You really think Athena gives a damn about one mere messenger?" Ilia asked.
Daphne raised her eyebrows in alarm. "Uh, guys? Did you hear something?"
They turned around to find the ropes were cut and Negra was gone. The girls and Hector were heard gasping. The latter of the two exclaimed, "She's gone!"
"Great. Now we're back at square one!" Adam exclaimed.
"Like we had ever left square one to begin with." Hector remarked.
"Oh shut up."
Ilia frowned. "Now what?"
"Alright, let's review our progress so far." Adam began.
A map come out of nowhere, with Adam pointing to each location with his sword. "We searched Mistral. We searched Kunchinashi. We even searched Argus." Red X's appeared on those areas. "None of those were right. We've searched nearly every city and forest in Mistral without trekking into Mistral's outskirts. In terms of smaller cities, there's still Vita and Zephyros. However there is one major city that we have yet to search- Wind Path. That's probably our next best bet to Athena's whereabouts." The imaginary map vanished. "Move out!"
They made their way back to the plane. Ilia let her thoughts wander as they silently moved forth.
Adam seems to be angrier and bossier than I remember him. I haven't even seen him since Blake left him behind in the Forever Fall forest. Then again- how much can change within a year? She felt a tug at her heart and thought of Blake. How much can remain the same?
The heroic quintet was shown traveling through the outskirts of Vale, long past the village of Mensonge. The quintet stopped and looked at their destination.
"There we are- the village of Aletheia." Jaune looked ahead with the binoculars. "Doesn't look their leader is associated with the Trojan Alliance." Jaune put the binoculars back in his backpack. "Hooray!"
"Alright! It's about time we find a place that doesn't hate Pyrrha." Nora cheered.
"Not like that even matters anymore." Ren told them.
Everyone looked at Rouge, standing ahead of everyone else. With her hood up, cloak covering her and mask on all the time, she had emotionally distanced herself from everyone, including Jaune. But the huntress paid no attention to her former friends, having forgotten who she used to be.
"She's lost her mind... And there's nothing I can do..." Jaune lamented.
"Maybe you should tell her how you feel." Ruby suggested. "I'm sure her heart is just as broken, if not, even more than yours."
Jaune approached the woman he loved so dearly, trying to summon his courage and speak to her. "Rouge?"
"Let's get this over with." the faux fashion model stated, not even looking at him. "The sooner we get through this village, the better."
The knight lamented as they went forth, about to head into the village. The sound of rapidly galloping horses was faintly heard in the distance.
"Do you guys hear something?" Ren asked his teammates.
The galloping sound gradually became louder and hit their ears along with neighing horses. Before they could get away, they suddenly found themselves surrounded by several horse-drawn carts, with the leading cart right in front of them.
Tyrian smiled to himself as his target came into view. "Finally."
The carts came to a halt, with team SOLR-Tyrian's cart directly in front of the quintet. "Hold it right there!" Surya ordered.
The members of the Scarlatti alliance jumped out of their carts and surrounded the former Beacon students, enclosing them in a circle.
"You're surrounded!" the female police officer stated.
"There's no point in running!" the male officer added.
Ruby, Jaune and Nora looked tense. Ren glared at the team of huntsmen and their recruits. Rouge, even with her hood up, tried her best to remain calm.
"Is there a problem, gentlemen?" Jaune nervously asked.
"We're looking for Pyrrha Nikos." Surya pointed to the red-cloaked 'huntress'. "And we know that she's hiding underneath that red cloak."
"If you're looking for Pyrrha Nikos, I'm afraid you're out of luck." Rouge spoke. "For she is not here. You might as well say that she's dead."
Apollo raised an eyebrow. Surya noticed and turned to his teammate. "Apollo, what's wrong?"
"Orville's semblance led us here, but words of truth ring in each ear." Apollo recited.
"Are Apollo and Orville's semblances failing us?" one of the veterans asked.
"I don't think so." Atum answered. "Perhaps we should interrogate her further, just to confirm we have the right target."
Apollo's a lie detector... Jaune quickly and silently realized. Just like my sister Azura... But can Pyrrha, or rather her alter ego Rouge, get us out of this mess?
"Young lady, let down your hood and tell us who you are." Surya commanded.
Rouge obliged by the order. "My name is Rouge Gorlois, fellow huntsman of Haven."
"That's funny." He tapped his finger to his forehead. "I don't remember you being at the graduation ceremony last year."
"That is because I was traumatized by the deaths of my teammates and my own near-death that I opted to receive my huntress license without all the pomp and circumstance."
Surya looked at Apollo, who grimly nodded in response. "What happened to your teammates?" Surya continued.
"Team LUNR's members died in various ways. Luna died at the claws of a Nevermore to save us during our first training mission. Urdina perished at the hand of a Beowolf during a camping trip. And Nubia was killed trying to defeat several Ursai at Zephyros. These incidents occurred back-to-back, one year after another."
Surya and Apollo did the same silent exchange. The former turned back to her. "You never participated in the Vytal Festival Tournament because of this, didn't you?"
"I never did, because I lacked the courage."
Apollo nodded in confirmation and Surya turned back to her, getting more desperate to confirm their target. "And what about your near-death? What happened there?"
"I was up against a very powerful woman. One who had abilities beyond comprehension." Rouge stated vaguely. "If it weren't for the Grimm, I would have been killed."
"Is she really speaking the truth?" the second veteran asked.
Apollo sadly recited, "Every word she speaks is true." He looked at his teammates and fellow alliance members with a mixture of sorrow and confusion. "Is it possible that our semblances failed me and you?"
"Not exactly." Tyrian told them. "I know what's going on here."
Atum raised an eyebrow. "You do?"
"I've seen this situation happen before. The red-haired warrior has lied to herself so much and now believes the very lie that she's telling. What we need to do is to ask the one question that will break her and shatter the lie she has built."
"But what do we ask?" Surya asked.
"Leave it to me." He turned to the cold-hearted huntress. "Ms. Gorlois, answer me this- who are you in love with?"
Jaune quietly gulped as he and his friends had their eyes on Rouge. The cold-hearted huntress remained silent.
Surya glared at Tyrian. "She's not saying anything."
He held up his right index finger. "Ah ah ah. Wait for it."
Rouge raised her eyebrows in shock and a few memories came back to her. Her true suppressed memories as Pyrrha- the memory of her first kiss with Jaune in the midst of the Fall of Beacon, the two beginning their relationship the next day with Pyrrha held in Jaune's arms, the separation in Vale and reunion in Olympia, the masked kiss they shared in Aquarian and Pyrrha's mind and heart about to turn cold as she left Jaune behind in the hotel room in Mensonge.
When the imposter came back to reality, she gently shook her head and looked at the leaders of the alliance. She finally answered in her accent, "No one."
Apollo glared at her. "I can sense your lie, Miss Nikos. Also Scarlatti told us who you love the most."
A loud gasp was heard in Pyrrha's true voice. She slowly started shaking.
"Scarlatti? As in, Garnet Scarlatti?!" Nora inquired.
"Of course, Miss Valkyrie." Orville responded. "Who else would we be referring to?"
Nora glared at her team's leader. "You had a run-in with Scarlatti?! Why didn't you say anything?!"
"I didn't think it was that important!" Jaune defended.
The valkyrie exhaled a heavy sigh. "Guys, stop! We have bigger problems." Ren reminded them. "We are surrounded by a group of armed men and women who wish to take our friend down."
Apollo turned to his teammates. "Well fellow huntsmen, it seems Pyrrha truly is a liar." He looked back at the red-haired warrior. "Even if her dress isn't on fire."
"You're wrong!" The red haired warrior spoke in her accent, "I'm not Pyrrha!..."
"It's over, Ms. Nikos! Surrender and give up the ghost!"
"No... This... this can't be possible!" The faux fashion model exclaimed in terror. "How... how..." She strained to hold back tears and reverted back to her normal voice. "How can this be?"
Apollo glared at her as he got out his weapon; a golden-painted wooden bow with a yellow string and loaded it with an arrow. "You tried to protect yourself by spinning a web of lies, but now the web is burned and you will soon meet your demise!"
The five heroes tried to back up, only to hear growling from five people from the Scarlatti Alliance with wooden staffs as everyone in the mob got out their nonmetal and wooden weapons.
"You aren't going anywhere!" the police woman stated.
Surya got out his fire dust wand, Orville retrieved a large two handed sword with fire dust, and Atum unveiled a crook and flail with fire dust and explosion dust. Tyrian got out his wooden sword, for his real weapon had to wait for its appearance. Ruby, Jaune, Ren and Nora quickly got out their weapons. Despite her best efforts not to cry, a tear began to fall from Pyrrha/Rouge's right eye as she ruefully got out Froidcoeur.
The lie detector turned to his comrades. "You all know the battle plan, and there's no holding back." He pointed at team JNPR-Ruby. "Scarlatti Trojan Alliance- it's time to attack!"
He fired the arrow at Pyrrha, which appeared in slow motion for a few moments. As the tear fell off her face, normal motion resumed and she backflipped out of the way of the arrow as the Scarlatti Alliance charged towards them. But as soon as Apollo fired the first arrow, the archers soon shot a barrage of arrows at the red-haired warrior, forcing her to bob and weave to continually dodge them.
"Aw crud..." Jaune groaned.
Nora turned to him. "What do we do, Jaune?"
Team JNPR's leader dodged a wooden sword from a civilian. "We have to fight them."
"Are you crazy?! We're out numbered!" Ruby reminded him, jumping out of the way of incoming police officers.
"And outmatched!" Ren quickly added.
Jaune dodged several wooden sword swings. "Unfortunately, I don't think we have a choice!"
Nora knocked two civilians aside with a kick to the face. "Permission to break their legs?"
He gave her a smile of approval. "Permission granted."
She cheered and swung her hammer round and round. "Wahoo!"
As Nora entered the fray, Orville was shown standing back and letting the civilians do the fighting. Ren fired shots at the civilians to try and keep them away before Atum approached him. Jaune swung civilians away from him with his sword before Surya engaged him in a duel. Pyrrha continued to dodge arrows as they were fired at her, the mask not hiding the look of fear on her face or in her eyes.
The camera shifted to Ruby firing rounds at civilians with her scythe, and Tyrian watched from afar as the pawns were knocked down. He quickly approached the silver-eyed girl and slashed at her with his wooden sword. As expected, she quickly dodged, but he swept the leg from under her with a full circle kick, leaving her falling. Before she hit the ground, he kicked her in the stomach, sending her flying further into the forest.
Digging her scythe into the ground, she stopped her crash and swung herself to land on the ground. She got her scythe out of the ground as Tyrian approached her with a malevolent smirk, tossing aside his sword and unveiling his true weapon, The Queen's Servants.
"Ah, finally. Alone at last."
He started using his small guns hidden in the arm blades to fire at the silver-eyed warrior and the scene cut to black.