Author's Notes:
-Hey guys. I apologize for how late this chapter has been. Technically I got out of college for the semester a few weeks ago, but during this time I have been doing various things. Some of these things include getting the vaccine (in which I am fully immunized as of mid-May), applying and successfully obtaining a job (bussing at a local restaurant) and catching up with family members I haven't seen in a long time. In addition, I've also been having debates with myself on certain ideas for the Atlas Arc and how to create a certain character's backstory. (No, I'm not telling you, so don't ask!)
Anyway, now that that has been said, back to the main story!
As the day started to wind down in Vale, Yang tried opening the door with her new arm, only to find that she had clinched it too hard and slightly crumpled the knob. She sighed and pulled the door open. "Looks like I have a long way to go."
A woof disrupted her thoughts, and the ex-brawler found the family pet, Zwei, at her feet.
The blond who once brawled faintly smiled. "Hey there Zwei." She knelt down and petted the dog with her right hand. "My mechanical hand probably doesn't feel as comfortable as the real deal, does it?" Zwei still smiled, happy to be petted. "Well here you go." She put her other hand onto the corgi and started petting him all over.
As cute as he is, it's going to take a lot more than an emotional support dog to help me out of my depression. Still, I suppose it's a start.
She stood up and using her right arm to guide her down the railing, made her way down the stairs and into the kitchen.
A flashback of the night of her suicide attempt kept through head. She gasped and tried to shake it off.
That was a horrible night. Why is it coming back?
Keeping her hands busy, she used her right hand to open the cabinet and then took one of the glasses on the lower level. As she took her right arm back down, she felt herself losing her grip on the glass. Trying to prevent it from breaking, she tightened her grip, only to accidentally shatter the glass, causing it to fly everywhere.
"Aw man... Another glass gone..."
Tai entered the room and looked around in concern. "Are you alright? Did it slip out of your hands?"
"No, I actually crushed it like I did with the door knob." She looked at her mechanical arm. "I guess I don't know my own strength."
"Were you channeling your aura?"
His daughter faltered in her answer. "No, I... I wasn't."
Taiyang blinked. "That's... surprising." He looked at the glass upon the ground. "Still, there's a mess to clean up."
"I'll get the broom and dust pan."
He raised an eyebrow. "You sure?"
Yang nodded. "Yeah. Besides, I need the practice using this new appendage."
The former fighter went through the kitchen and over to a small closet containing various cleaning tools. She found a broom with a red handle, black thistles and a dustpan of the same color attached to it near the bottom. She grabbed the broom, unhooked the dustpan and got to work cleaning up the mess. A minute or two later the glass was swept into the pan, the shards dumped into the trash bin.
Taiyang smiled.
It seems these therapy sessions are beginning to help her recover. I should have asked Mallari to come over ages ago. She'll be back tomorrow, and the next day and so on to continue helping her. He sighed. What was it that made me reluctant to seek help for her?
Yang set the broom and dustpan back in their place. She then left the kitchen, went to the couch and started to meditate. She steadied her breathing and Taiyang left her to her rituals.
If I was smarter, I would have gotten help right after she was attacked by that maniac. I hope he's caught and stopped swiftly, if he hasn't been apprehended already. His mind then drifted elsewhere. I hope Ruby and her friends are alright... Sometimes I wonder if Yang hadn't been injured and grieving, could we have joined Ruby and her friends? Would me, Yang and Zwei have been able to join them? Oh who am I kidding. I've been keeping my combat skills sharp, but I haven't fought in a dangerous situation in over a decade. I know I can keep a good home. And if Yang wants to leave after her recovery to find answers, I won't blame her. Still, she is recovering, and that's what matters.
As Yang meditated on the couch, she tried to breathe in and out to calm herself. But as she breathed in, she found herself seeing an image of the mother who abandoned her. Raven turned into shadows and faded away.
She gasped and looked around. She knew she wasn't here, and would never come back. But the hole in her heart wouldn't be filled. She wasn't sure if she should cry, or if she really even wanted to. Cradling her knees to her chest, she buried her face and let out a few tears.
Why...? Yang thought. Why did she leave me?
Back in Wind Path, Blake, Kali and Ghira were in the dance studio in a room with wooden flooring and mirrors all over the wall. The two prisoners, Negra and Addie, were tied up in chains and rope respectively, and thrown into the middle of the dance floor. The two sat down, with Negra looking terrified and Addie who was really annoyed.
The younger catwoman looked at her scroll for the time.
6:28pm
She pocketed her scroll and asked in concern, "Where's Sun?"
"It's been ten minutes since we arrived here." Kali mentioned.
At that moment, Sun decided to grace them with his presence... by falling right onto the floor, spilling watermelon mush onto it.
"Sun!" Blake ran up to her boyfriend. "Are you okay? Are you alright?"
"I'm fine, just tired." Sun replied wearily.
She looked at him and sniffed him. "Why are you covered in watermelon mush?"
"Long story."
"Well, now that you've finally arrived," Ghira began. "let us discuss what we're going to do with the newly taken prisoners."
"Very well then." Sun stood and straightened himself. "From what I can tell, we have a few options; One, we can take them to jail. Two, we can take them prisoner. Or three, we execute them here and now. So which one do we take?"
Kali turned to the monkey tailed faunus and reasoned out, "Well, as merciful as the second option would be, it wouldn't work for two reasons; One, we have nowhere to place them. Two, it would drain on our already finite resources. And three, the possibility of them escaping."
"That's one option eliminated. That leaves us with taking them to jail or executing them." Blake spoke.
"If we were to take them to jail, there is the chance that they could be executed. Their blood wouldn't be on any of our hands, and it would likely be better for our consciences and emotional states. Either way, assuming they were executed or locked up for life, we wouldn't have to worry about them spreading word about Adam's rise to power." Ghira elaborated. "On the other hand though, since Wind Path is known to be a city of criminals, it's possible that the jail we take them to might not be well-secured or worse, might let them go because of a lack of room for cellmates."
Blake grew apprehensive. "We can't take that risk. We must execute them."
With a sorrowful glance, Kali looked at her daughter. "But if we are going to kill them, who's going to be the one to do the deed?"
Sun and Ghira gave each other some concerned looks, before someone answered.
"I'll do it." Blake stated. "That way the number of murderers in the world remains the same."
Kali gasped and both her parents stood in shocked silence. "You... killed someone before?"
"Oh yeah... Corvina Noire." Sun told them. "The founder and original leader of the Noire Armada. She had to kill Corvina to save herself, me, and all faunus from her wrath."
"This isn't going to be pretty." Blake warned, getting out her katana. "For the squeamish, I suggest you avert your eyes now."
Kali looked away, as Ghira and Sun remained facing forward, but neither were happy about the events that were soon to occur.
As Blake went forward to separate and kill the prisoners, Negra cried out, "No, you can't kill us!"
"Yeah, we're too valuable to kill!" Addie added.
Blake sighed. "I don't like this either, but I should try to have some courtesy. Any final words?"
"Curse you Ghira." Negra said.
Addie rolled her eyes. "Don't tell me you're going to steal the clothes from our corpses."
"Don't worry. I won't."
The executor stabbed Addie in the chest, and did the same to Negra. Their bodies fell down to the floor, leaving a pile of blood.
"Is it over?" Kali asked.
"It's over, but..."
Kali turned around and saw the blood coming out from under their bodies. She turned away.
"Now that they've been killed, we should try to recollect ourselves and dispose of the evidence." Blake said with a stutter. "Also, does anyone have a cloth?"
"I'll get one."
Ghira got a blue cloth, handed it to Blake, and she wiped off the blood off her sword, the stains visible for all to see. "Alright." Blake began. "That solves one problem, but now we have another problem."
"Oh right... Disposing of their bodies. This would be easier if we were at sea... or had others to help us." Sun stated. "And we can't call the cops and report a murder or they might trace it back to Blake."
"If I recall correctly, me and Kali passed by a lake on our way here." Ghira said. "We can dump them there and no one will ever know."
Sun raised an eyebrow. "True, but how are we gonna get the bodies from the lake without anyone seeing us?"
"Maybe there's something nearby we can use to wrap them in or cover them?" Kali inquired.
"I suppose it can't hurt to look. I'm going to find a mop before the blood and mush dry out." Ghira told them.
Both Kali and Ghira then left to try and fulfill their respective tasks. Blake looked closely at Addie, then at Negra. She blinked her eyes, a band of moisture beginning to form.
Sun noticed his girlfriend in her sorrow. "Blake?"
"I... I don't get it." She looked at her katana. "I had no regrets, no qualms when it came to killing Corvina." She sheathed her weapon. "But why... Why do I look upon their lifeless bodies... and see horror and shame? It was a logical decision; no other easy alternative."
Her boyfriend was silent for a moment. He then asked, "Is it possible that you see part of yourself in the faunus girls you just murdered?"
"Like myself when I was in the Fang, they weren't truly evil. Just... misguided. And to think that I hadn't left the White Fang when I did... that might have been me."
She sobbed into Sun's chest. He petted her hair. "There, there. It's going to be okay."
Kali returned with some old red curtains. "Aw... how cute..."
"Ahem." Ghira spoke with a mop and bucket. "We still have a job to do."
And so, about thirty minutes later, the four of them were shown at the lake in the forest. Ghira was shown carrying one body wrapped in red curtains, while Sun and Blake were holding the second one, Kali was shown carrying the mop, the fabric wrapped in a black trash bag.
"There it is." Kali spoke solemnly. "A lake deep enough to bury bodies in."
"Alright, be our lookout and make sure that no one sees us." Ghira ordered.
Kali turned the other way, both to look out for threats and to look away from the scene. "Clear all day."
"Let's get this over with."
Blake and Sun unwrapped the first curtain tarp, showing a dead Addie inside before throwing her into the lake. Slowly she sank. Ghira did the same with Negra and the two bodies fell to the bottom of the lake with a thud. As they hit the lakebed, a familiar hand with a large cut stuck out from the mud.
Back on the surface, a fire was started- the curtains, cloth and mop thrown onto it and burning away. Blake did not stare at the fire, and simply turned away in silence and shame.
All the while, Watts was shown fighting against Star Rivera. The huntress was shown with her ponytail undone and her hair slightly frizzed. She heaved briefly before charging forward. With a sword in her hands, she swung and swung at him. Unfortunately, she missed every time, for the scientist was quick on his feet. She leapt forward to punch him, only for him to fire a bullet, forcing her to duck under and then he shot at her leg, causing her white aura to flicker.
"So why are you doing this? Are you simply jealous of me and my talent?"
Watts laughed. "Jealous? I'm not jealous."
Not of you anyway. he secretly thought.
Without hesitation, he shot her in the chest, killing her in a flash. She fell down, creating a pile of red blood upon the pristine white-carpeted floor.
"Another one defeated."
The scientist looked around the bedroom, and saw a white porcelain jewelry box. Inside the box was a diamond necklace, a ruby-studded bracelet, and a sapphire teardrop pendant.
I can't steal too much without looking suspicious, but I can take a few things to sell later to a black market and/or other interested vendors.
Watts took the three pieces of jewelry and stored them away.
I never would have guessed that I'd be here, but it seems that there are many things that are unpredictable in life.
Another note came, and he already knew who sent it, even without a signature.
Aurora Castillo. You know the drill.
The scene switched to the Belladonnas and Sun at a restaurant. The four seemed to be pondering in silence, all thinking about the actions they took. Most of them knew what they wanted for dinner, but were burying their noses in their menus.
A few others gave them strange looks, but the quartet tried not to notice. Blake took a sip of water from her glass. Eventually the customers went back to their own business.
"So..." Kali began. "when are we going to address the elephant in the room?"
Ghira raised an eyebrow. "What would that be?"
"Whether or not we are at war." she answered. "Or going to enter one."
"We are at war." Blake affirmed. "There's no doubt about it."
"As the Mistralian White Fang Civil War ended, and Adam's coup de khan came to close, a war for the integrity and morality for the Fang, or arguably whatever remains of it, began. It started with Adam kidnapping Blake, us fighting and fleeing, and now we're trying to stop him." Sun reminded them. "But I fear we may be in over our heads."
At that moment, their server, a woman with bunny ears, delivered a tray of dumplings and a ramekin of dipping sauce to their table. "Here are your dumplings."
"Thank you." Ghira commended.
"Are you guys ready to order?" she inquired.
"Not yet. We need a few more minutes."
The waitress walked off as they divided the dumplings among them.
"So what are we going to do?" Blake asked, cutting a dumpling in half with a fork.
"We have a choice to make; we can go back to Menagerie. Try to get away from the war, restructure what remains of our respective psyches and emotional states, and leave Haven to its fate..." Ghira began as everyone ate. "Or, we can stay here. Wage war on Adam Taurus and the White Fang, and try to stop them once and for all, by destroying them."
"The odds are against us..." Kali reminded everyone.
"But the price of failure and desertion are very high." Sun added. "We don't have a choice. If we want to stop Adam, we must stop and destroy the White Fang, once and for all."
"No." Blake spoke, garnering their attention. "If we're going to stop him, we don't just have to stop the White Fang. We must take it back. We must prove Adam wrong, to prove that humans and faunus can work together, by having them both fight against his army. Athena had waged war on Maura, and she and Adam waged war on Sienna to take control of the Fang. Ultimately Adam won, and Athena bowed her head to the new king. Neither one of them will go away, so we have to stop them by beating them at their own game. And there's no time to lose... because we are at war."