Author's Notes:
-Hello my dear readers. Thanks for 300 reviews. It means a lot to me. Looks like we have another long chapter. A new record even.
-In other news, this will be the last chapter published before my fourth and final year of college begins. Also numerous other things happening. It'll try to keep up, but I can't offer any guarantees.
Now then, even though Hallow's Eve is still a while away, let the haunting begin!
The next day, Ilia stood in front of a mirror, looking at herself in her White Fang specialist outfit. Her mask was on a nearby table, and she was shown in a hotel room at Athena's fortress. Her room had red colored walls, a dark green-grayish carpet and two windows with blackout curtains. Her bed consisted of a twin mattress with red and white bedspread with the bedframe against the wall. The red comforter was shoved off the bed to the left side facing the door.
It wasn't hard for her to transition from the warehouse to the hotel. She never had too many bags, and the two bags she did have were unpacked. Despite Adam and his small crew choosing to take up residence in Athena's fortress for the sake of convenience, Ilia still couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong.
She paced about her room three times and groaned. The gecko girl then laid on her back upon the soft, pillow-laden bed that she now had.
Well I suppose this place is better than that old factory... but why can't I shake off that something's still wrong? Ares said that the blood on the carpet was because of Athena getting her menses, and it sounds believable, but why not tell the others that? And why move the library to a new room because of it? They could have simply replaced the carpet and called it a day, but they didn't. And then there's Blake. Why did she want me to go to the library? Did she know about the blood?
She placed her right hand on her forehead. She felt warm, but not feverish.
Wait a second. She sat up, feeling a tinge of pain from her stomach. Periods aren't that heavy! A miscarriage maybe, but even then that might be a stretch. I've heard rumors from Daphne who heard from Marrok that Athena and Ares have sex on a semi-regular basis, but would that even result in such a string of events? Athena is highly intelligent, and if she was having sex, then she and/or Ares would almost certainly be using some form of contraception. And even in the highly unlikely instance that it failed or they didn't use it and she became pregnant, would she have kept her unborn child? Could she have been pregnant for several weeks and not realized it until it was all but too late? Does she even want children in the future? Or...
Her head started to pound and the chameleon faunus groaned in pain. My head hurts. All this thinking is hurting my brain! She looked at the alarm clock on her nightstand, reading; 2:55pm.
I know I had a big lunch, but why do I suddenly want a bowl of mashed potatoes? She sighed to empty air. I'm way stressed out, I'm overthinking and my period still hasn't come yet. The specialist held her hand to her abdomen. It's been over seven weeks, close to two months. I know my cycle is irregular, but this is abnormal even for me. What the hell is wrong with me? She placed her hand to her forehead. Blake's actions at Adam's former warehouse, her words on the balcony, Ares's words at the library, Adam moving to Athena's fortress to prevent the police from finding his lair with less security, combining forces with the Revolutionists who were once our foes, Sienna dying at the hands of a malevolent human huntsman... I have a lot of problems. Not to mention that I never got that lesbian romance novel I asked for! She sighed again. Ilia, at this point, getting a book is the least of your worries.
But maybe it would help...?
Before she could think any further, she felt a massive cramp in her stomach.
Great, now my stomach hurts too or... wait.
She went to the bathroom and upon wiping up down there, saw a small patch of pink-red blood on the toilet paper.
Well that's one problem solved. Oh wait, I don't have any supplies. I'll have to go the communal bathroom to get them.
Taking six squares of TP, she folded them into a smaller square, placed it in her underwear and left her room. She roamed the halls, trying to remember her way.
At least it's not heavy right now. But who knows how long it'll be until...
"Come on! Hurry it up!" Athena shouted from afar. "It can't take this long to rebuild a weapon!"
"I'm sorry, your my lady, but we've had some trouble rebuilding it based on the pictures alone." a female voice responded. "Why didn't you give me any blueprints like you did for fake-Maura's laser sword?"
Ilia peeked her head around the corner as Athena responded, "That's because there weren't any for World's End. But you are a blacksmith. Building and rebuilding weapons are part of your job!"
The blacksmith, a woman with claws, responded. "Don't worry, My Lady. Your sword is in the process of cooling right now. It should be done within a matter of hours."
Athena sighed. "It better be."
With this, Athena flew away from the blacksmith and Ilia went on her way to the bathroom.
It seems Athena's in a bad mood. And even if she were in a better mood, I have no real right to ask her about her sex life. She soon found the communal bathroom and entered. And I feel that even if I were to ask Ares, that he might possibly lie to me. I'll need to get answers from someone else.
She looked around, found some pads lying in an open bin, took one and entered the nearest stall.
As she discarded the makeshift pad from earlier and put on the real one, Ilia pondered her options. If I recall correctly, two out of five Athena's inner circle members are females, and thus, she might trust them with information about her romantic/sex life. Their names are Aoi and Tawny. The latter seems nicer and more approachable. Although... Since Daphne left Adam's entourage, she may have had major interactions as well. On the other hand, she is just a warrior trainee right now. Not quite an ordinary soldier, but not yet skilled enough to be a specialist either. Since she's not a specialist, she may not have enough information to give me answers...
Finishing her business, she flushed the toilet, exited the stall and washed her hands. She claimed a few more pads and some tampons for herself before leaving the room.
Now where is Tawny's room?
The gecko girl searched around, trying to find Tawny's room. She started on the thirteenth floor, where she had seen her for the first time. As the elevator dinged, she searched the halls.
I remember Tawny having a somewhat low-pitched voice. I remember some of the words she said during our fight with her. I don't want to just knock on every door either, but at the same time, I don't just want to wander around aimlessly.
A montage began of Ilia searching through the halls, knocking on a few doors, traveling up and down the stairs, and ended with her heaving for breath as she collapsed nearby the doors to a stairway.
"Dang it. How hard can it be to find Tawny Lemongrass?"
"If you're looking for her I'm afraid you're out of luck." Daphne said, revealing herself to be along the wall before getting away. Her right arm was shown to be in bandages. "Athena assigned her to an important mission not too long ago."
Ilia looked down. "Oh, I see."
"You wanted to speak to her about something?"
"Well..."
Oh boy... Can I really trust Daphne, especially after she left us? Ilia thought.
Daphne raised an eyebrow, as if to say, "Well, I'm waiting..."
"How much do you know about Athena's personal life?" Ilia asked.
She appeared more confused than before. "Her... personal life?"
"Yeah." Ilia quickly added, "I mean, I remember you telling me about the rumor that Athena and Ares are having sex. You wouldn't happen to know what form of birth control they use, do you?"
The Revolutionist shrugged. "No idea. From what I can tell though, I've never seen any birth control pills, condoms or even emergency contraception. My best guess is some kind of LARC, but I can't say for certain."
"I see."
Although now that I think about it, she may have gotten contraception before she stormed Sanctum... But even then, assuming that she wants children, she has to have a doctor or OB-GYN of some kind. Is it possible she has her own personal doctor who travels with her? Or worse, may have kidnapped a doctor and forced them to work for her?!
"Are you alright?" Daphne asked. "You look a little pale."
"Huh? Yeah, I'm fine." Ilia lied.
On the other hand, there are nurses and medics within the White Fang, albeit not very many...
"I know this might sound like a silly question, but do you know how many medical professionals we have on deck?"
"Oh it's not." Daphne waved her hand dismissively. "We currently have five registered nurses and two licensed doctors. I know this because I accidentally injured myself while training in archery and forgot to activate my aura, causing a cut to form on my right arm."
"Ouch. That sounds painful."
"Yeah it does. Usually happens to those just starting combat practice. Or sometimes to fighters who haven't trained or fought in a long time. She lifted said arm and showed her the white bandages wrapped around it. "Fortunately, they patched me right up. Should be healed in a week or two."
"Good to know. Thanks."
At least now I have something to work with. But finding the exact truth to everything is still not easy...
"You're welcome. I.. know we haven't talked much since I joined the Revolutionists, but are you doing alright?"
"No, I'm not. I'm scared, stressed and cracking like an egg." is what I want to say. Ilia thought. But I can't... Not without risking extensive interrogation.
Instead, she put up her poker face and lied again. "Yeah. Perhaps a bit restless from not having much to do."
"Didn't you search for the Cursed Cat not too long ago?" the Loyalist-turned-Revolutionist asked.
The gecko girl raised her left eyebrow. "You mean Blake? I did, but I didn't find her. They'll probably send me after her again."
And it probably won't end well... I may have to lie again. Damn my conflicted head!
"Do you even think she's still here?"
"I'm not sure."
Yet another lie. How long would she have to lie to her friends, allies and superiors? Ilia wasn't sure. Knowing she had enough information to work with, she gave a yawn. "I didn't sleep well either, so that might be part of my problems. I should probably get back to my room and get some rest."
"Alright, take care!"
Ilia walked away, pondering her next move. Alright, next step. Speaking to the nurses and doctors.
Alone in his room, Zhu got out a picture of his mother, Rosa Huong, and another man. The man in the photo was a pig-tailed faunus with dark skin. He had dark brown eyes and black hair in a buzz cut. He wore a bright red shirt with a flamingo pink trimming and black armcuffs. On the lower half he wore black ripped jeans and dress shoes to match. The photograph itself was worn out, but with some tape, still managed to hold its shape after several years. He never saw the man in real life, but he knew all too well who the man was.
Daizi... Father... The man who abandoned me before I was born... Some days I don't know what to call him. And I still don't know why he left. If only he hadn't left. Everything would be better. To think, I could have had it all; a permanent home, a loving, caring family with me and my parents, a better sense of safety and security, somewhat better food, and/or at least less sand in it, and some semblance of a normal life, if it weren't for my father. And instead, I am here; trying to get help to keep the Vacuan White Fang from sinking under. He sighed. It's these kinds of things that can never be predicted. Then again... who can ever predict these occurrences? No mortal being, that's for sure.
The image of his half-brother Sun appeared in his mind, shifting from his twelve year old self in the desert to the nineteen year old version he saw recently.
And now my lesser half-brother Sun is here, reminding me of all the pains I left behind and that it's his fault our mother is dead! She stayed in that tribe because she loved Jinjing Wukong, and because she loved her other son. If she never had him, I wouldn't be in this situation. But who needs love? Not me! Love and loyalty are for fools, which I am obviously not! I live in the present and kiss the past goodbye! The only future is one that I make!
He folded up the image and put it back in his wallet.
Now will my future endeavors of getting laid and a ticket to good sex actually have any luck? So far, I'm SOL. Addie already rejected me twice even before leaving for Atlas. Daphne is still here, but she rejected me as well. Negra already left for Menagerie, and I missed that opportunity. She won't be back for months! Tawny is temporarily off the table as well, but perhaps I can come back to her later. Athena's already taken, and is immensely loyal to Ares. Much to my dismay... So all that's left presently in women I do know are Ilia and Aoi. The latter looks more attractive, with her wavy dark hair and blue scales. She looks like a siren from the darkest depths of the sea.
An image of Aoi came to his mind when he first saw her; training Daphne in hand to hand combat, her trident placed to the side.
However in terms of personality, Aoi isn't very... approachable. The image disappeared as Wungeng continued thinking, From what I was told by Adam during his fight with her, Aoi Morris is clever, knows how to use several dust types to her advantage, and, if I'm not mistaken, the only specialist in Athena's circle who has her semblance unlocked. She used it to single-handedly beat Douglas, Adam's trusted lieutenant. It also took the combined efforts of Sienna, Adam and Ilia just to beat her. Oh boy, what was her semblance again? I can't remember. Something with tentacles? She seems to have a lot of sibling issues though, and like me, has been accused of being a traitor by some, so we have some common ground. What did Adam say her sister's name was... Urdina Morris? Yeah, that sounds right.
Either way, Aoi might be my best bet.
An alarm went off on his Scroll.
Oh right, there's a meeting today. He sighed heavily. Looks like seducing the siren will have to wait.
Cinder was shown meditating within her room, the glow of dark, black energy surrounding her.
I still haven't sensed any negative emotions from afar other than Emerald and occasionally Mercury. Wait a second... Salem is half-Grimm, half-human. Would this mean I can absorb negative emotions from her as well? But would she be aware of it? Only one way to find out.
She focused her mind on Salem, conjuring a mental image of her mistress. She shut her eyes and sensed something.
Hmm... What's this? She's... she's mad. But why?
She focused her concentration, and a brief vision flashed in her mind; a shadowed figure wielding a trident striking down the Grimm.
The warrior struck down the Grimm, and Salem is the Grimm's master, so it makes sense she would be angry. I can't see who they are... but it's enough to give me strength. She tried to focus on the vision to see the target clearer, but the vision was fading as quickly as it went. But it appears it is fleeting. Salem may have tons of negativity to absorb from nearly all around the world, but most of it is temporary angst. What I truly need is a beacon. A long-term source of anguish. But none of these beacons of negativity would anywhere near my current range of detection. There has to be another way to strengthen myself faster!
The Fall Maiden smirked.
Maybe there is. The library helped me find answers for silver eyes. Maybe I can find other knowledge there as well. And I wouldn't have to hide anything from Salem, which makes this even better.
She left her room, started roaming the halls and entered the library.
Sometime later, Adam was shown in the meeting room with Athena, Ares, who looked on in interest and Wungeng, who appeared to be bored.
"With the forces we have now, we should be ready to invade in a month." Adam told them. "However, in order to avoid detection by Mistral's airships, we will need to..."
Before he could continue, a knock was heard on the door, and Adam groaned, "Come in."
A male messenger entered the room. "High Leader Taurus? You have a man named... Hazel Rainart here to see you."
The High Leader immediately frowned. "Oh great. Not these guys again."
Athena raised an eyebrow. "You know them?"
"Unfortunately yes."
Wungeng peeked up in interest. "Who are they?"
"To put it simply, they can either be very beneficial allies to have, or a massive pain in the ass. Or both at the same time. I knew that this "Cabal" was going to speak with me after the Fall of Beacon, but I did not realize it would be this soon. Still, I better see what they want. Send them in."
The messenger left.
"Is there anything we should do, High Leader?" Athena asked.
"Yes. Be patient with him. Remember that he may be very demanding, so try to go along with it. Let me do most of the talking. And if he asks about Khan, tell him the same ruse we told everyone else."
The owl-winged faunus nodded her head. "Understood."
His other two allies nodded in agreement.
A few seconds later, Hazel Rainart entered the room.
"Adam Taurus."
"Hazel Rainart. Been a while since we last met." He gave a slight glare. "Where's the ashen-haired punk?"
"You mean Cinder Fall? She sustained several injuries during the Fall of Beacon thanks to a pesky little girl. Nonetheless, what are you doing here? You're supposed to be in Mountain Glen."
"'Supposed to be' is a rather strong word phrase. Besides, I had business with Maura, whom I never got to speak to due to a civil war within the White Fang, and thus, the situation required an intervention."
"But what would..." Hazel began, before looking at Adam's chest. "You have the Badge of Leadership. But last I looked, Sienna Khan was leader. How did this happen?"
Adam promptly explained, "Long story short, she was eaten by Grimm after being killed by a human huntsman. The huntsman was devoured, and all I was able to find was the Badge of Leadership."
"You lie. You killed her."
"And what proof do you have of this claim?"
"One, I noticed that the library was closed/being moved, and concluded that a murder of some kind occurred there." He turned to Athena. "Two, you're wearing Sienna's weapon, her whip which has been caught on camera, as a war trophy." Athena silently gasped as she covered her chain belt. "And three, the fact that you were able to take the Badge after her downfall does not seem very logical saying that she was eaten by a Grimm. You probably burned her or buried her in a lake, didn't you?"
There was a tense moment of silence, each man or woman wondering what Hazel was going to do next.
Athena placed her hands behind her back. "Well, he's certainly no fool. I'll give him that."
"So what?" Adam asked in retaliation. "It's not like it matters to you."
"If you rat him out, it'll be ugly." Wungeng warned.
The strongman groaned as he faced Adam. "I'm not going to rat you out. But, I will scold you for such needless violence. Nobody needed to die."
Adam folded his arms with a smirk. "I would disagree." A moment of silence passed. "Pleasantries aside, what do you want?"
"Ah yes. Down to business. My mistress plans to invade Haven Academy soon, and you need to call up your army to start preparations."
"We've already been working on it. We should be able to invade within a month."
"Well, about that..." Hazel grimaced. "You're going to have to hold off for a while."
"What?!" Adam was outraged.
And so were Ares and Athena. "Why?!"
Wungeng also looked displeased, but did not say anything.
"Well, to put it in simple terms, there is... a treasure vault underneath the academy. There's one person- a living keyholder if you will- who can open it."
Ares made a motion, pretending to chop off his left hand, for emphasis. "Then why don't we just cut off her hand and use it to steal the treasure?"
"I'm afraid it's not that simple." Hazel told him. "The security for the vault is highly advanced. The keyholder must remain intact and unharmed. Barbarianism won't solve this problem."
"Think about it Ares. If this treasure is as valuable as Mr. Rainart says it is, then they have to have highly advanced security. Likely requiring a hand scan, retina scan, voice recognition and who knows what else?" Athena told him.
The 'war god' groaned. "Do you at least know who the keyholder is?"
"A woman named Rosa Vernal. We know what she looks like, thanks to previously-generated photos. Unfortunately, she has gone missing, and there's the possibility that it may have switched hands in the last ten years."
Wungeng blinked. "Oh..."
"Yeah. We don't know where she is, or even if she's still alive. There is the possibility that the keyholder may have switched hands in the last decade. One of our double agents is currently working to try and uncover information on her whereabouts."
"And who is this double agent?" Athena inquired.
"His name is Leonardo Lionheart." Athena did not gasp, but her eyebrows indicated shock. She just stared at him in shock, before blinking twice. "That's not a problem, is it?"
"No, no, it shouldn't be." she said, slightly faltering. "I'm just surprised, that's all. He's the headmaster of Haven Academy. What business does he have with a shady cabal like you and your cohorts?"
"That is none of your concern, Miss Bruna."
She glared at him. She wasn't sure what to say, if anything. She knew that with one slip of the tongue, her plans could be ruined.
"I'll take it from here." Adam spoke. "So what you're saying is that you are offering us a deal, a little tit for tat, similar to the operations in Vale and the Fall of Beacon?"
"That is correct. We'll supply you with dust, weaponry and other resources to invade Haven Academy with. You get to keep said resources after the task is complete for your own personal use. In return, you hold off on the attack, allow us to take the treasure, and do whatever else we must to ensure my mistress achieves victory."
Athena folded her arms, continuing her glare. "Working with a bunch of humans? This seems really hypocritical."
"The entire group isn't human, but most of them are." Adam clarified.
"How many faunus are there?"
"One. A man named Tyrian Callows. Scorpion-tailed. You may have heard news reports about him." Hazel responded.
The owl faunus blinked. "I have."
I know more than you think, she thought.
Athena tried to ignore the knots of anger in her stomach. "It still doesn't sit well with me, but if it gets us results... I suppose I can put away whatever remains of my pride."
"I agree completely." Ares seconded. "This better be worth it."
Wungeng shrugged. "Don't care."
"Glad we're all in agreement." Hazel concluded. "I will be staying nearby in a secret compound as we continue to plan our next move. And by the way," He turned to face the High Leader. "Have you thought about who's going to take your place as Vale's leader if you're now sitting on a throne of bone and blood?"
Adam scowled at his choice of words. "I have not given it much consideration." After a moment, he added, "On the other hand, my predecessor as Vale's leader, Yayauhqui, or simply Yaya, was demoted due to his... previous behavior and fiery temper. There is the possibility that he may already be running things in Vale, and I don't trust him in such a position. Fortunately, I know just the man for the job. He's been a trusted friend and ally for years. He has served as my lieutenant for that same amount of time. Douglas Kinley will be an excellent leader for Vale. And I think I know a suitable candidate to be his lieutenant as well, if I can get him to agree to accepting the position."
"I suggest you speak with both of them immediately," he advised. Adam nodded. "We'll continue to be in touch." Hazel turned to leave the room before stopping. "And by the way, you might want to be more careful with your war trophies."
Hazel left the meeting room.
"On a scale of one to ten, how bad is this deal for us?" Athena asked.
Adam groaned. "I'm not sure. Hopefully they won't meddle too much. I will be in my new quarters contemplating this matter."
The High Leader left the room, and soon Wungeng dashed out of there.
"The nerve of that guy!" Ares ranted. "I should just end him here and now!"
"Stop!" Athena ordered. "We have an alliance. An uneasy and reluctant one, but an alliance nonetheless. We can still make this work, damn it!" She scowled at the wall. "But. We might need a change in plans."
Twas the night before the spring equinox. The sky was moonless, but the stars and lanterns from the village lit up the village of Zephyros in a beautiful, comforting light. Many of the lanterns had floral and/or solar painted/woven designs.
A woman with black hair and dark brown eyes was shown in the village down below in the plaza. Her hair was tied into a ponytail with a white ribbon. She was shown wearing a blue business casual knee-length skirt and jacket under a white undershirt. She wore black heels and a yin-yang anklet around her left side.
She looked at the village around her. A few vendors were setting up their stands to sell food, plants, among other things. The woman went along the isles and found a stand with a purple banner about thirty feet away. The banner had a white circle in the center with two strawberries side by side and a vendor with blonde hair and a cheery smile.
The spring equinox will soon be upon us. the dark-haired woman thought. Only a matter of time before the clock strikes midnight. The early festivities are just beginning. I've been looking forward to this. My parents always took me here, and I always loved this time of year. I'm just lucky I was able to get some vacation time for spring and summer.
The woman made her way forward to the strawberry stand. Crocus plants were shown among patches on the ground. The first plants of spring.
Unbeknownst to her, a pair of eyes was watching her every move. She went up to the stand, which thankfully, had no line.
The camera turned to the woman and the vendor. "Hello there! How may I help you?"
"Two orders of candied strawberries."
"Sure thing. That'll be five Lien."
"Really? What a steal!"
She got out the Lien and handed it to the vendor. Within a few seconds, the vendor handed the dark-haired woman her treats.
"Here you go."
The woman smiled. "Thank you."
"Thank you, Ms..."
"Braith." the woman answered. "Brianna Braith."
"Oh pardon me. I had no idea I was serving one of the councilwomen of Mistral."
"It's alright." Brianna condensed the berries into one plastic tray and stacked the empty tray below the first. "I'm just trying to forget about the weight of the kingdom and live carefree, even if it is for just one week of spring. And another week in summer."
"Well I hope you have a good night and a good time!"
"Thank you, and to you as well!"
Brianna made her way forward, holding the tray with one hand and lifting the candied strawberries into her mouth with the other. She ate them one by one, letting out sighs of content as she ate her treat.
My parents would always get these for me, and I always loved them. They always had a lot of good food here. But what truly makes this festival alive are the flowers. The real beauty of nature.
As she went further along, she saw vendors selling various plants and gardening supplies. Among them was a guy standing below a light green banner with an X on the banner made up of two forest green crystals. On the stand itself were crystals of that same color, vials and even a few packages of plant dust bullets.
"Plant dust! Get your plant dust here!" he called out every once in a while.
I'm a little surprised vendors are selling dust with Atlas's embargo. She finished her strawberries as she thought to herself, Last I looked they haven't revoked it. Or maybe word just hasn't reached anyone yet. Then again, it might not be legal... Oh, don't worry about it!
Brianna ignored the dust vendor, threw away her empty tray and instead saw the various plants that were grown indoors over the colder seasons at a stand with a ginger-haired vendor.. Pockets of posies, daisies, and bluebells. Next to that was another stand; A bouquet of crystal roses was shown in a glass vase, right next to a vase of real ones.
"Ooo..." The councilwoman stared at the crystal roses. "They look so beautiful."
The florist smiled. "Thank you."
"How fragile are they?"
"The roses need to be handled with care, just like any other piece of glass. But if you do care for them, they will last forever."
"Oh, wonderful. How much are they?"
"They're only 50 Lien. Normal roses are only three Lien each, or twelve for a bouquet."
"Really? Well, I'll take one crystal rose and one real rose. It'll teach me to appreciate the beauty of what we have."
She handed the money to the vendor, and put the real rose in her hair, holding onto the crystal rose with her hand.
The eyes looked at Brianna as she continued her journey. She saw a stand with desert rose crystals, and a vendor with cat claws and a scar on her neck.
"They look very pretty."
"Thanks. The desert rose crystal is a type of selenite, and it also goes by the names gypsum rose and sand rose. Found them myself in Vacuo, albeit not without struggle." She pointed to her neck.
"I'm sorry to hear that. How much for one bag?"
"Three Lien."
"I'll take two please!"
She handed the vendor a few Lien for two bags of them. Satisfied with her purchases, she left the main area of the city and traveled to the woods. Within the distance, a cloaked fiend watched her.
Brianna made her way into the forest to the log cabin she owned. She saw the cabin in the distance, a small one story building with a slightly elevated front porch. Behind her, she thought she heard a twig snap.
"Huh?"
She shrugged it off, continuing forward. Ascending the steps to the porch, she set her crystal rose and bags of sand roses down on a wooden table as she went to get out her house keys. A soft, sinister laugh was heard in the distance.
Startled, she dropped them. She looked around, but saw no there.
"Am I losing it?" she spoke to seemingly empty air.
She bent down to get her keys, but then a knife was thrown at her. She screamed, just barely dodging a headshot in time.
"Who's out there?!" She stood up, forgetting about her keys, rolling her hands into fists. "Show yourself!"
The intruder laughed in sinister glee as he appeared before her, standing in the shadows of the trees to hide his form.
"Who are you?! What are you?!"
"Are you scared? Are you afraid of the dark?" He laughed. "It's not the darkness you should be scared of. It's what lurks within the darkness that should chill you to the bone."
Gilford Carran appeared before her, his cloak opening to reveal his tuxedo and dark dress shoes. His White Fang mask had a grey bat underneath the right eye. He gave her a toothy grin, showing off his fangs.
"What do you want from me?"
"Oh, I only want what the winged lady desires; your demise!"
She appeared terrified, losing what little confidence she had. "Me?! But what did I ever do to you? Or your kind?"
The bat fanged faunus glared at her. "Have you forgotten your actions, Mrs. Braith? You bribed the judge and jury into removing my team from Haven Academy!"
"I was trying to protect the other students!" Brianna claimed. "Those actions were for the good of the many!"
"By expelling trainees who could have fought against the Grimm to protect your kingdom? Doesn't seem very smart, or logical to me. Not to mention that one of our fellow teams got away with even worse things."
"That was one time...!"
"Silence!" He commanded. She shook. "I'm not done yet! Next, you were part of a conspiracy to get Lionheart off the council. One of your own trusted friends and allies. How you kept your position after that incident is beyond me."
"Look, I made mistakes, but I learned from them!" She pointed to the roses she set down earlier. "You see those desert roses? I bought them from a faunus vendor. I'm not racist anymore!"
"Really? Your actions say otherwise! An issue of Nina News from the year of 78 quotes the words, 'Faunus are monsters. If left uncontrolled, they will roam the kingdom and cause chaos!' You accuse all faunus of being monsters! Well if that is all you see us as, then you should know that monsters are dangerous, and they are not to be trifled with!"
With his bat fangs, he bit into her neck. As she screamed out in pain, he tore out her jugular vein. She bled out, screaming heavily. She covered the wound with her right hand, trying to stop the bleeding, but without luck.
"Scream all you want, Mrs. Braith, but no one will hear you!"
She gasped and screamed in shock, perhaps hoping that someone would help her. But even if help did come, would they even arrive in time to save her?
"You can't stop the bloodshed. None of you can." A few tears slipped from her eyes. "Aw, do you regret your words? You should. Those words are what allows this violence to continue." She choked up in silence. "Bye-bye Brianna Braith."
"I'm sorry..."
At that moment, she fell down as she collapsed from blood loss. Gilford smirked to himself as the dead councilwoman fell to the ground. "And thus, the fall of Mistral has begun. Soon the others will fall. And one of the oldest kingdoms in the world will fall apart... and perhaps all the roses will be gone."
The bat took the rose from her corpse, and tore it to pieces, destroying the petals. He threw the crystal rose against the ground, shattering it into pieces. And the desert roses? He opened the bag and destroyed the contents inside with his bare hands. The crushed crystals were scattered across the deck.
"Looks like the moon must watch the roses die."
He laughed as the camera panned up to show the broken moon.