A Deathly Silence (RWBY/Drakengard 3)

[X] Sacrifice: Terror of the Unknown

Today was the day.

For a while, there was some concern that the plan had failed. Illia had gone dark, failed to report on who was coming back to Atlas, and it had to be assumed that she'd been intercepted. Thankfully, another source of information had presented itself.

Just as Blake was getting spooked, the mysterious woman in red offered her services. How she knew what she knew, Blade didn't know, and that scared her. But Blake needed the plan to work. If it didn't, then they were already screwed. So for now, she had to assume that the woman was legitimately helping.

Soon, the Intoner's Two and Three would be back. This, everyone seemed convinced in. Two had her orphans to watch, Three had projects she needed to work on. One, Four and Five were still with the Atlesian army to the north.

This would be the best chance they got.

Blake's role in this plan was simple. Provide a distraction to keep Two away from Three. As long as Zero and her dragon could get the best opportunity to kill an Intoner, it was fine.

If Blake actually got into a fight with Two, she was dead. But that was a sacrifice she was willing to make, as long as the plan worked.

Everything was prepared to get Zero her chance to get in. Gawain, Ciel and Penny were all in the mansion where Three was set to return to, ready to deal with the people there. Mordred was getting ready to enter as well. If Illia had been in place, she would have gone as well. With her missing, the mysterious woman had provided an ally, Mercury, to deal with the issue.

If he turned out to be untrustworthy, it didn't matter much. In the end, the five of them had a simple role. Clear the way for Zero to take care of Three unopposed. The only way they could fail would be if one of them alerted Three too soon, and it hardly mattered. Between Zero and her dragon, it wasn't as if anyone else was needed.

Blake had seen firsthand, how dangerous a dragon is. And she had seen from experience how powerful an Intoner was, both in Four killing Adam, and in seeing Zero prepare for this day.

...Of course, there was no danger in being over-prepared. Once Two had been sufficiently distracted, Blake herself would make her way to the mansion as well, to make sure she was able to fight.

The mysterious woman had set her role as well. She had been positioned between the mansion where Zero was going, and the mansion Blake stood on now, which functioned as an orphanage. Her role was to prevent transport between the two, and to ensure another distraction was in play.

...A lot of people were going to die, Blake mused. A lot of innocent people, even.

She was about to set an orphanage on fire in order to distract an enemy, for goodness sake. She had essentially become the stereotype for a mustache-twirling villain, in this moment.

But right now, Blake didn't have to have a choice. She needed every advantage she could get, in order to ensure the Intoner's were killed. If it was just the Schnee, as it was once upon a time, she could afford to care about innocent people.

That was no longer an option for the Faunus girl, however.

...Ifrit's terms of contract were that Blake was to kill every person connected to Four, as revenge. Ifrit's demand was that Blake made them suffer. Killing orphans to make a person suffer was cruel, but there was no choice. Blake needed this power. Their deaths would pave the way to a future without the Intoner's evil, and that was all that mattered.

Calling upon Ifrit's power, Blake lit herself ablaze.

How do you feel about this? The voice in Blake's head asked, as the smoke around her twisted into a face.

Nothing, she thought back. There was no point in feeling guilt for actions that had to be done, but she felt no joy from this. She sought revenge, yes, but her revenge was a just one. This was merely a sacrifice she needed to make, in order to complete her mission.

Ah, a pity. Ifrit replied. You feel neither glee nor shame from this. I was hoping to enjoy your emotions from this, but this is a pity…

Then just wait, Blake thought back. The beast within her skin would be able to enjoy all the emotions it wanted to, once the struggle began in earnest.

The Intoners, the Schnee, the chance at success, the possibility of failure…

Ah, is that fear, I sense?

Naturally. Why would Blake not be afraid? Had Illia been killed by Grimm in the wild, or caught by the Intoners? Had they gained information of the plan from her? Was the mysterious woman trustworthy? Was the information on Two accurate? If Winter Schnee was returning to Atlas, as the information reported, would Blake be able to defeat her if they fought?

There was too much unknown about this situation. Of course that scared Blake. She could steel herself against known factors, but the terror of the unknown would catch her off guard when it came. All she could do was endure it as it came. How was that not worth fearing?

Hmph. Fearing a mere Huntress? Have you forgotten who you have forged your Pact with?

Your worth has yet to be seen, Blake thought. But now was the time to test it.

With the fires gathered around her, Blake pointed down, and let the building ignite.

There was no more time for talk, no more delays. Inaction would gain her nothing.

It was time to begin.


The yellow-haired girl had escaped the building. That was unfortunate, but acceptable. Blake didn't want to tire herself out too soon, and if she was close enough to the Intoners to appear twice, there would be another chance to kill her.

You had best not be hesitating. The Ifrit warned. Is your resolve not strong enough?

Looking out the window, as Winter Schnee made her way in, Blake raised an eyebrow.

Shall she prove her resolve, then?

Here was one of the most important enemies Blake could face, short of the Intoners themselves. One of the two last living Schnee, the oldest who carried the name, and the one who had been trained. An Atlesian Specialist, and said to be close to General Ironwood, the Headmaster of Atlas Academy himself.

Would this not be a worthy target, Ifrit? Would seeing her suffer and die not satisfy your terms?

The voice in Blake's head didn't reply, but she could feel it's satisfaction.

Two glyphs appeared in front of Blake, and two ghostly summons stepped out of them. The Faunus lunged forward, using the sickle in her hands to cut the throat of the first, and sent out a blast of flame towards the second. The second summon absorbed the fire, and it's glow became all the brighter for it.

...This was worrisome, Blake thought to herself.

She had known how the Schnee summons worked, everyone did, but details such as this were rare. It would appear that the humanoid summons kept their Semblance.

That, Blake feared, was something that scared her.

Given how many years she had been fighting, Winter Schnee had a rather versatile set of techniques at her disposal. How many people had she killed, in her life? How many unique forms of Grimm? How many rare beasts?

There was no way of knowing exactly what the Schnee was capable of, and that made her a dangerous foe. Not only was she more important a target than anyone but the Intoners themselves, but she was also the closest to being as dangerous as them.

Still nowhere close, but the point remained.

A number of Glyphs surrounded Blake, and a sudden surge of gravity slammed her into the ground. A gunshot rang out as a bullet hit Blake's Aura, and Blake was forced to leave behind a replica of steam to leap into the air.

Winter Schnee lunged forward, her blade cutting into Blake's aura, and the difference between their skill became apparent very quickly.

If she darted out of reach of Winter's sword, she called forth a glyph to stop Blake's retreat or force her to dodge in another direction while Winter closed the distance. If Blake teleported within distance of Winter's sword, Winter predicted her positioning before Blake could attack.

A sword hit Blake's neck, and is it clanged away, Blake could feel her Aura break.

...She was hoping to hold back at least a little longer, and not exhaust Ifrit and herself before having to face an Intoner, but that wasn't an option anymore.

Fire exploded away from Blake, hotter than anything else she she had conjured up with Ifrit's power before, and Blake saw Winter retreat. Glyphs appeared around Blake, containing the fire for the most part, but cracking and burning after a moment.

A spear appeared from nowhere, stabbing into Blake's arm, and the girl used her Semblance to disappear, reappearing close to the window. Winter had jumped back towards it, and so Blake moved in close. Her sabre twirled in the air and moved to stab into Blake, and so the burnt girl disappeared.

A summon appeared a moment after Blake, and even if Winter was blinded by the flame left behind by Blake's lingering shadows, the small flying Grimm was not. It's claws dug into Blake's back, and as Blake set herself ablaze to kill it, she could feel the blood dripping down her back. The heat cauterized the wound after a moment, and then the sensation faded entirely.

...Huh? The pain should still linger. This wasn't like the burnt half of her body, where her nerves had been damaged and she could feel nothing. This was-

Blake forced herself to stop being distracted, as she fell on Winter Schnee again. The sabre hit her in the side, before she could react, and Blake used the opportunity to her advantage. Her sickle hit Winter, and the woman's eyes glazed over as she a painful memory surfaced.

Taking advantage of her distraction, Blake hit Winter's wrist to break her grasp on her sword, and vanished. The replica of smoke burst apart, but the sabre was still in Blake's side.

Tearing the sword free, Blake focused Ifrit's flames, and watched Winter Schnee's sword melt.

Just as it was about to lose its shape entirely, Blake threw the molten metal at the Specialist, who held up a palm to conjure a glyph to block with.

...Winter's immense variety and potential with her glyphs and her summons hadn't been reduced at all, but the loss of her weapon in combat would be crippling. She had trained with it, after all. Out of everything Winter fought with, would not the weapon she always had be the one thing she was the most adept at? She had so much more at her disposal, it would be unlikely that she was as masterful at every use of her glyphs as she was with her sword.

But, Blake didn't know that for sure. Moreso than any other Semblance, the Schnee had too much potential. She couldn't be absolutely sure that the knew what was going on here.

The wall next to Blake burst upon, as a ghostly tendril shot out and grabbed her. Blake disappeared from it's grasp, and more humanoid figures appeared around her.

Her fires burst outwards, and were all instantly absorbed by one of the ghostly figures, failing to so much as singe any of the other summons. She teleported behind that one and cut its throat, only for it to reform on the other side of the group.

Another moved forward with a spear, and Blake could feel a sudden pressure around her limbs as she was suddenly held in place by another Semblance. But even if her body couldn't move, her Semblance could move her, and Blake made a move for Winter schnee.

The hand with the sickle was dodge, so Winter had been looking out for it. Leaving behind another replica of smoke as she appeared behind Winter, Blake kicked the Specialist in the back, and then felt a hand wrap around her ankle.

Winter stumbled forward, but threw Blake forward at the same time, slamming the girl into the ground hard enough that Blake heard something crack. For a moment, she could feel heat along her spine, before Ifrit propelled her upright again without Blake's input.

Blake paused in her attack, as Winter regained her footing. As the Specialist realised that Blake wasn't attacking anymore, she turned, and began to speak.

"That throw should have broken your spine." She explained. "You really are powerful, to still be standing now. But you're inexperienced. Now surrender, and explain everything. Or else we'll see how many more of those you can survive."

"That won't be necessary." Blake explained. "This battle is over. How much smoke is in your lungs?"

"Don't make me laugh." Winter replied. "My Aura is strong enough to extract the oxygen in the smoke, and you haven't been able to hit me enough to deplete it."

"I wasn't hoping to suffocate you." Blake explained, raising her hand with her centre finger and thumb touching. "Ifrit, if you would?

Blake clicked her fingers, and the beast of smoke and flame ignited the smoke in the air. Winter leapt away, but it was too late.

The second explosion came from within her lungs, fire and heat escaping her mouth as the sudden surge tore apart her Aura.

Winter Schnee fell to the ground, and Blake's work was done.

...If Winter knew Blake could do that, she would never have let the smoke linger as much. Would have known there was a danger much sooner. But it was too late for her now.

Blake didn't even need to confirm the kill. Under the current conditions, even if she was still alive right now, the burning building and the lack of lungs would kill her soon.

Satisfied, Ifrit?

Oh, so much.

Good. That made the two of them.

One Schnee down.

One ally of the Intoners down.

As soon as Blake had time to recover-

Have you not looked at your wounds?

Blake looked at her arm, where a ghostly spear had stabbed into her, and she saw that there was nothing there, but a burn mark.

But that was the unburnt arm, wasn't it? Then…

Oh.

So that's how it was.

Have you realised, then?

...There will be time to talk about this later, Ifrit.

For now, Blake needed a moment to catch her breath. Then she could make her way towards the other Schnee manor.

She'd done what she came here form and Two should be distracted enough. Now she just needed to be there when Zero killed Three.

Somehow, it had all gone wrong.

They had all been forced to flee, and not a single Intoner was dead.

There was a conversation going on in the room, but Blake wasn't paying it too much attention. She was too busy trying to convince herself that today had been worth it.

She had killed Winter Schnee, at least. Proven that, with Ifrit's power, even the greatest of Hunters was easily felled. That would be a great boon to the White Fang, a boost to the morale. Once that part of the story spread, it should be easier to rally them.

Zero's voice cut in with more anger than usual, and Blake tuned into the conversation.

"Let's talk about the important things." Zero spat, looking at Penny. "Stuff that wasn't talked about before. Like, I dunno, Six."

"Indeed." Blake began. "I'm curious to know why there's apparently one more Intoner we didn't know about."

"One you were spending a lot of time with in the last few days too." A knight with a cloak brought up. "Surely, you or Ciel had to have known."

"Inaccurate." The dark skinned girl interrupted. "The information that Penny has at any given moment in time is restricted. Until the moment we began battling in earnest, she could have well known nothing. She has made errors, but neither her nor I would have intentionally approached someone we knew to be an Intoner all along."

"So it was never relevant until now, then?" The great white dragon asked from outside. "Never relevant for you to know and inform us of? Even when you were explaining the people we would face in Atlas?

"I don't get it myself." Penny replied. "The 'Me' that knows everything deemed it unnecessary for the 'Me' that knows nothing, but… This is bad."

"No shit." Zero spat.

"It's worse than you think, Zero." Penny interrupted. "I don't know if this was part of some plan, but that girl, Rub- Six, she has a Semblance."

There was a moment of silence, as Blake processed what that meant.

An Intoner could have a Semblance?

That…

That just made things even worse, didn't it?

Intoners were already terrifying. Each one was so powerful, so fast, so strong, that Blake doubted she could fight one that intended to kill her for more than a second. And now, on top of all that, they all had a Semblance? An unknown ability that made them even more powerful?

Blake was struggling to figure out what kind of emotional response was appropriate here, when Zero made hers.

A fist slammed into the wall of the aircraft they were sitting in, blasting a hole at least Zero's size in the side.

"Fuck!" She shouted. "God damn it! That's what that was?"

"I'm afraid so." Penny confirmed. "R- Six has been using that 'Speed' power of hers since before she discovered her Song. And besides, her song was Silver, and her trail when moving fast was Red. She was an Intoner with a Semblance."

"And now One knows." Zero said. "Just fucking- That was our trump card!"

Turning to Penny, Zero grabbed the girl by the collar.

"You better get answers as to how this fucking happened." Zero bit out.

"I…" Penny muttered, sounding pained, before shaking her head. "She shouldn't… Have even been at the fight. Ciel and I trapped her in a time dilution before it started."

"Then how did she get out?" Zero demanded.

"Why don't you ask him?"

Penny pointed to the side, at the grey-haired boy who had been with the mysterious woman. The one who Blake had brought into the fold.

"Hey, don't deflect at me." He seemed offended, but only jokingly so. "I wouldn't of even known where to look to find her."

"...She has a point, though." Zero dropped Penny, looking over at the boy. "Who the fuck are you?"

"Mercury Black." He introduced himself. "Ask Blake there if you want to know how I joined."

Feeling the eyes turn towards her, Blake explained.

"His employer had information we needed." Blake explained. "I don't know how she got it, but I didn't have a way to contact everyone to warn them our contact was missing. He was supposed to fill in her role."

"Now, I might've fucked up not finding her after this escape." Mercury defended. "But why are you pointing fingers at me for letting her go?"

"Who else could have done it?" Penny asked. "Everyone else was accounted for."

"Are you sure?" Mercury asked. "I ran into some unattended girls before Zero arrived, you know. Ones I knew from back in Vale, I got distracted with them. They weren't deal with until… Well, they were still running about when Zero arrived. Maybe one of them let her out?"

Penny glared at Mercury, who shrugged.

"Who's your employer, then?" Penny asked. "How do we know you aren't a traitor? It is suspicious that you had information on the Intoners, isn't it?"

"And you having information isn't suspicious?"

"Zero has proof that I don't always operate on the same rules as normal people." Penny offered. "What's your excuse?"

"I'm just a henchman." Mercury shrugged. "My employer said she was heading for Vacuo, if you want to ask her how she knows anything. If she's working with the Intoners, it'd be news to me."

"...Fuck it." Zero sighed. "I can kill you if you pull anything, so don't pull anything."

"Seems like the smart move." Mercury replied.

"You seem stressed, Zero." The dragon noted, from outside. "Perhaps we should discuss our future plans more after you have had a chance to process this loss?"

"...Yeah, I guess." Zero grumbled, still sounding angry.

"Would you like to rest in the control room and watch the gun turrets murder airships in pursuit and enemy Grimm in seemingly endless numbers?"

"I'd like that." Zero muttered, as she moved to exit the room. "For fucks sake, I finally have an airship and can't even enjoy it…"

With Zero out of the room, that left Blake alone with Mercury, Penny, and Ciel. The others had left the room at some point, while Blake wasn't paying attention.

"So, what's the plan now?" Mercury asked. "Where are we heading?"

Penny kept looking at Mercury in suspicion, and didn't answer.

"Most of us need to be in Mistral." Blake explained, as she stood to leave the room.

"Sweet, never been in Mistal." Mercury noted, as Blake shut the door behind her.

Moving off to her own private room, the Faunus sat down, and looked at her burnt hand.

Well, today had been a failure. The Intoners had all survived, had found another one of their numbers, and learnt a method of being even more powerful.

It was going to take a lot of work to fix this. The Intoners knew about Zero and her allies, now. It was going to take a lot to deal with them now.

But, perhaps it wasn't impossible.

Right now, the combined might of the Intoners seemed insurmountable. But once upon a time, Blake Belladonna had thought the same thing about Atlas, and today she had killed a Schnee in the heart of the city.

All it had taken was my power.

All it had taken was the trade. The unknown Pact price, in exchange for Ifrit.

Perhaps, then, there was more secrets that could be uncovered. More obscure powers to be turned against the Intoner.

Perhaps.

You know then, Ifrit? Where to find something to use against the Intoners?

Many things. Nothing free.

So be it.

Zero was powerful, but she was one Intoner, against six others. If Blake could grow strong enough to matter in a fight, then perhaps she could be the difference between Zero being forced to flee, and Zero killing one of her sisters.

But before that, I seek an answer.

Oh?

I could feel a realisation earlier. Did you, perhaps, realise the truth of your Pact?

Ah, yes. Her Pact Price. Blake thought she knew what it was, now.

When she had been hurt, her wounds healed instantly. But when they healed, the skin that had been wounded had been burnt away, like the side of her body that the Intoner's dragon had incinerated.

That was your doing, wasn't it, Ifrit?

No, more than that. That was the Pact's doing.

After all, Ifrit seemed capable of giving up it's physical form to hide inside Blake's burns. This was expanding the area of Blake's body that Ifrit resided within.

What, then, would happen when all of her body was covered in burn scars?

When Ifrit inhabited every part of Blake Belladonna?

That was the price she had paid. Blake Belladonna had given her body, and as she fought, as she bled, Ifrit would claim it. For now, Ifrit was a passenger in Blake's body.

But eventually, it shall be the other way around.

Would Blake still live, when that happened? Or will her consciousness and soul fade away, leaving an empty shell for her Pact Partner to control?

This certainly explained why Blake's burns hadn't been healed when she made a Pact. Wasn't it supposed to restore one to full health, except for the cost they had paid?

This is disappointing. I don't feel much anguish, within your heart.

Did you still not understand, Ifrit?

Blake was prepared to sacrifice anything for the power to kill the Intoners. She was prepared to die. If Ifrit took her body, she was ready to accept that.

Even if you are forced to watch, while I use your flesh for myself?

Even then. Blake had expected that she would see hell, if such a place existed. This did not sound any worse.

Even if I turn against all you stand for, and murder your own kind?

Even then. The damage Ifrit could cause couldn't compare to what the Intoners could do.

Even if it will hurt? Even if every moment of your existence as my vessel causes you to suffer, pain beyond whatever you could imagine?

Even then. No pain could be worse than knowing the Intoners existed, and doing nothing.

Blake would pay any price, in order to stop Four and her kind. She had decided that long ago. This was the path she was going to walk, and as long as she succeeded, it will have been worth it.

...Besides, Blake was kind of relieved now.

Oh?

Now she knew what her price was.

Until now, she had been worried she would discover her Pact Price at an inopportune moment. What would she have done, if her Price had been "Losing her Aura" and she hadn't noticed until she went into combat? What if her Price had taken her ability to fight? Her capacity to realise what was and wasn't helpful to her cause?

She had been worried about what mystery would blindside her, and be the consequence of the power to overcome what would have been an impossible foe at the start of this year.

Now that she knew, it was simpler. Blake could make her peace with the terror she knew of. It was the terror of the unknown that was harder to comprehend.

So if this was all the sacrifice you asked for, Ifrit, it was a sacrifice Blake would easily make.

Within the back of her mind, she could hear Ifrit laughing, an uproarious thing.

You are going to do marvellous things, mortal. With that kind of thinking, you won't stop for anything. I look forward to the disaster that follows your quest for vengeance.

So be it. If you wish to contribute to it, Ifrit, then tell Blake how to get more power.

Tell her how to ensure she could kill Four and her sisters.

Very well then. You are going to Mistral, you said? There is an ancient power lurking in the Kingdom, waiting to be called into action.

Then Blake knew what she needed to do next.

The girl didn't know what was happening. Not the full scale of it, at least. She'd seen a lot, but apparently, there was so much more happening beyond her sight.

It was just another day, for the girl. She had been away from the rest of the children in Two's care. It was just her and the Undine bound to her soul, the creature that had taken her Aura to save her life and it's own. The one that felt nothing for her, truly, but protected her with everything it had, to protect its own life.

Then the building had caught fire, the girl had heard the sound of conflict from above, and she had fled. With the Undine with her, the fire hadn't been an issue, even if it had been oddly resilient to being put out. Undine had theorised that there had been another beast of her calibur on site, and if that was the case, then Nightingale would have been dead had she remained.

She didn't know what had happened, after that. She had run, and been lost for a while. She had never been on the streets of Atlas without Two guiding her before, and had never paid attention. She had seen fires in the distance, more than just back at the manor, and a great roar had terrified the Undine so much that she had dragged Nightingale to hide in a random store.

The girl's arm was still sore from where the spirit of water had dragged her aside so suddenly, without warning. It hurt. But then, if the Undine had been panicked that bad, chances were something was off.

She'd been there for hours, before someone found her. An Atlesian soldier. Not a robot, not a Specialist, just a man with a gun, sweeping the streets for people who hadn't evacuated yet and needed rescue.

One man. One who had been on edge enough that, when the Undine had tried to get close to see who he was, he had almost opened fire on it.

He hadn't explained much at all, either. The moment he saw Nightingale, he called in a car of some sort, and the girl had been escorted to a hospital.

She said she was fine, she made it very apparent, but these people didn't know about her Pact, apparently. Didn't know that having no Aura was normal for her, that even after trying to awaken it, nothing came for her. That was her price.

But apparently it didn't matter. The hospital was where everything was being taken. Apparently, with what had happened, Atlas wanted to be absolutely sure that important people were safe, and weren't able to spare many soldiers. And Nightingale was important, apparently, for knowing Two.

And that was how she got to where she was now. In a room by the hospital, sitting near the door, all the other kids around. Once someone with clearance to look at her files actually had a look and confirmed that this was normal for her, she'd been allowed to rejoin the other kids, the ones who'd gotten out at a different time.

Nightingale had never bonded much with all the other orphans Two had taken in. Most of them had been orphaned in the incident that Nightingale's father had caused, in fairness, and even if Two hadn't told any of them that, Nightingale knew.

It made things awkward. And Nightingale didn't want to get attached to them anyway. She had a goal in mind, something she needed to do, and she didn't have much hope in being allowed to live long after that, let alone hope that she'd be able to live any sort of normal life.

She did have to wonder what happened with their escape plan. Apparently, they all got rescued by a group that included that woman, but the girl with the fox ears who's name Nightingale forgets was apparently injured enough that she was still being tended to, though apparently she was awake enough to talk with people.

Sitting where she was, by the door, Nightingale was able to listen in on conversations that briefly passed it.

From what she could gather? This place didn't have that many guards inside of it. With whatever was happening, there wasn't enough people. The place was monitored and guards posted to keep people out, but that was it.

Which was weird, because Atlas didn't usually hamper security that much. What was happening outside of this building?

Every once in a while, Nightingale heard something roll past the door, alongside shouting. Take so-and-so to the such-and-such unit. Apparently, a lot of people had been injured, too.

Undine wasn't allowed in the room, she was elsewhere, but she was also keeping an eye on people passing by. Apparently, she was also unguarded, and only her whim was keeping her from wandering around. In the state security was in right now, nobody would stop her.

From the corridor outside the door, Nightingale suddenly heard loud shouting indeed.

"-et her to the priority ward, now!" Called a familiar voice. Was that the Intoner? The… One, that was it. It was Two's older sister, so it had to have been One. That's how their names worked, right?

Correct.

This might be important, then.

"Rearrange security. She's the one that needs to be protected." One declared.

"But ma'am, the only robot we have spare is watching Winter-"

"She's more important." One interrupted. "We cannot take any chances with Miss Rose. I won't allow anything to happen to her."

"...As you command." The soldier obeyed, after a moment. "And what of her sister?"

"Keep her in a nearby room. They may want to see each other, when the-"

One stepped out of earshot, and Nightingale took a moment to make sure she fully understood what she had just heard.

Someone very important to One needed medical attention, it seemed. That was nice. More importantly, though, that woman.

She was here. She needed protecting. She was protected until now, but wouldn't be soon.

...Honestly, Nightingale didn't know what would put a Specialist in such a condition that they needed protecting. But-

Kill her now?

Yeah. Now seemed like a good time.

Nightingale didn't know if she'd ever get such a convenient chance at killing the woman who killed her father.

Standing up from her resting place against the wall, Nightingale took a moment to listen in, make sure nobody else was around the door, before opening it.

"Where are you going?" One of the other orphans asked.

Oh right. There was people in this room, still. Nightingale looked back as she answered.

"Bathroom." She lied.

The other orphan- Was that a boy or a girl? Nightingale couldn't tell- Nodded, and turned away from her. "Third left'll take you there."

Nightingale nodded, and left the room.

Undine, do you know where to look?

Go right. Find me.

She did suppose Undine would be a better guide than just wandering blindly.

Making her way through the corridor deeper into the building, Nightingale kept an ear out for any other noises. It wouldn't do to get caught.

It had been several months since that woman killed her father. The pain had dimmed since then, a bit. It still hurt, but less so.

That didn't mean she was going to stop. She needed to get her revenge. In those days after she had found out her dad had died, that thought was what had kept her going. Stopping wasn't an option for her, anymore.

Undine had left the room it was in while Nightingale had made her way towards her, and the creature spun into a water-like stream around the young girl.

Did you see One and the others passing by? They might have gone the direction that Nightingale needed to look.

Upstairs, to the left.

They were easy enough instructions to follow, and as she did so, Nightingale found a sign pointing towards the emergency ward. The area with all the technology meant to stimulate your Aura, with rumours having it they could basically keep your brain alive in a jar here if need be.

Nightingale hoped that that woman wasn't in that bad a condition. She wanted to choke the life out of her. A brain in a jar didn't have that enjoyment.

Following the path some more, Nightingale heard more talking, and made sure she crept as she approached the corner. Peeking around it, she saw One again, as she peeked around the corner. She had her scroll out, and was speaking into it.

"-et Gabriella to take you back. The airships need to take it slow to preserve their fuel, but I need you back now, Four. Tell Gabriella I'll find her a treat for pushing herself if you have to, but I need you back before the day ends."

She went quiet as the person on the other side of the call, presumably Four, spoke back.

"I'm still getting the story now." One replied. "But Two's catatonic and Three's still missing. I'll tell you what I know when you get back. Leave your Disciple with Five's if you have to, if Gabriella's exhausted, I-"

Nightingale took a step back to try to find a way around One, and One's head instantly whipped around. The girl was fairly sure she was out of sight before One's eyes became visible, but she still held her breath in the deafening silence to follow.

A moment passed, and then the sound of distant talking through a scroll could be heard.

"...It's nothing. Call me when you're near Atlas, I should know what happened by then."

Again, the voice that Nightingale couldn't hear well enough to understand spoke.

"Love you too." One replied. "Stay safe." She hung up, and began walking. Nightingale tensed for a moment, but the footsteps got more distant instead of closer, so she relaxed.

Okay, good. She could make progress.

The Undine looked ahead to confirm the path was clear, and Nightingale continued down it. She needed to follow One's path briefly, which kept bringing back the fear of capture, but eventually she took a different turn than what Undine said One took.

It should be nearby, then. The room with that woman, and-

"Nightingale?"

The girl jumped at her name, and turned around.

Fortunately, it wasn't any security guards. It was another one of the children. It was…

The one with fox ears. Orphan, like her. There was a bandage around her ear and hand, but Nightingale couldn't remember her name off the top of her head.

"What are you doing? The Fox Faunus asked.

"...Nothing." Nightingale replied guiltily. "Just looking around."

"...Yeah." The Fox replied. "It sucks sitting still. Nothing but your thoughts."

She looked down, and just stared at the ground for a moment.

"...Are you looking for them too?" The Fox asked. "Yang and them? The ones who saved us?"

"Is she hurt?" Nightingale asked.

"Apparently." The Fox girl replied. "I wanted to see if she was okay. Yang disappeared while the rest of us were being saved, and then I heard them when they passed my room. It sucks she got hurt. She already had to see her dad di-"

The fox Faunus interrupted herself by slapping a hand over her mouth.

...Someone else who know her pain, huh?

It took Nightingale a moment to remember which one Yang was. She was the blonde one, wasn't she? The one who got hurt really bad protecting Undine from the guy in black all those months ago. Nightingale thought it was Yang who killed the girl's dad and nearly killed her, until Winter confessed to doing the deed.

So she knew what it felt like to be Nightingale now too, did she?

"...I should go." The Faunus decided. "I'm good now. The machine made the beeping noise and all. I'll see you later."

Nightingale waved to the girl who's name she didn't remember, before making her way off.

Carmine.

Nightingale hadn't asked, Undine. She didn't care that much.

After passing a few more sections where she could have made turns, Nightingale reached a series of rooms with people in it. Avoiding the room with a robot out the front by a wide margin, she started looking through the glass windows on the doors.

Room number one had a guy in green clothes. Room number two had a girl who was missing a leg. Room number three had a girl with green hair who didn't seem too badly hurt, in all honesty. And room number four-

There she was.

Winter Schnee.

Nightingale tried to open the door, but it was locked. The robot guard was around a corner and down a path a bit, so it was easy enough getting in. Undine shattered the glass, and then caught it all in her watery form before it could hit the ground, and Nightingale climbed through.

Winter Schnee looked in a real bad condition. Most of her body was covered in machinery that blocked it from view, but Nightingale was fairly sure that she could see something that looked like a cut-open torso, like it was ready for surgery. A lot of it looked charred and black, though. It was hard to see, though, a lot of the machinery was still moving about.

Stepping close, Nightingale started figuring out what to break first.

"Isn't Atlesian technology amazing?"

Nightingale froze. She knew that voice.

"Winter should be dead right now. She was, technically, for a time. Initial readings show she may suffer severe memory loss from the time she was clinically dead. Her brain wasn't getting any oxygen for so long, people are asking if she'll even be able to act like a living person once the rest of her is restored. Even with the greatest technology Atlas has, even simulating her Aura to replicate the healing process, the doctors were calling her survival a miracle."

Turning to the source of the voice, Nightingale came face to face with the Intoner, One.

"Her death at this point would still be expected." One noted. "It's already miraculous that she's held on this long. A faint part of her soul remained, and the possibility of igniting it back to its full strength is there, but according to the doctor's I've talked to, it's far more likely to be snuffed out at random."

Turning to face Nightingale, One smiled softly. "It wouldn't have even warranted an investigation. Someone could have just turned off a machine for a few seconds, turned it back on, and gotten away with murder."

"...You got me." Nightingale muttered. "This is the part where you punish me, right?"

"That's up to you." One replied in turn.

"...What does that mean?" Nightingale asked.

"Well, the way I see it, you have two choices." One noted. "You could leave, and pretend this never happened. Or you could kill Winter, and I would be forced to take action."

"...What's the point of trying" Nightingale asked. "You're fast. I wouldn't be able to do anything before you stopped me."

"Ah, but Nightingale." One smiled. "That would require I try to stop you."

Nightingale blinked.

What?

"Of course, it would be tragic." One continued. "And you wouldn't be allowed to survive it, of course. It wouldn't do to let you contradict the story I give to General Ironwood about how i was just too late to save her. But if all you want is to kill Winter Schnee, that is entirely possible, right now."

Nightingale tried to figure out where One was going, with this. Did she not care if that woman died? Wasn't she an ally to the Intoners?

But…

Did it matter? Nightingale was prepared to die for her revenge. Some part of her could tell One wasn't lying. It was something about the way she spoke that made it impossible for the girl to doubt the woman.

Turning back towards Winter, Nightingale reached for a machine to break.

Wait.

The Undine's hand caught hers, and pulled her away.

...What?

No! What were you doing? This was Nightingale's chance to-

"Explain." The Undine declared, looking at One.

"Ah, spirit of the ocean, I need more clarification than that." One replied. "What is it, exactly, that you want?"

"Interrupted us." The Undine muttered. "Let us know. You want her dead. Why?"

"Perceptive, I see." One smiled. "Well, if you must know, then I will confess that Winter Schnee will have to die eventually. I wasn't able to spy on the entire conversation, so I didn't get the context, but she had a meeting with General Ironwood a few months ago. She had been serving me so loyally until then, and had continued to do so afterwards. But by the time I had begun to listen in on that conversation, they had been plotting when they will want to kill me."

Nightingale frowned. "But… Why?"

"I don't know, child." One clarified. "But I do know that the time will come soon enough, where she turns on me. And when that time comes, I will need her to die."

"...But you'll kill us if we kill her now?" Nightingale asked.

"I won't have any other choice." One said. "By this point, I've officially been out of sight of the Atlesian force on site for too long. If something happened to you now, General Ironwood would be suspicious."

"Why are you telling me all this?" Nightingale asked. "What's stopping me from going to the General about it?"

One looked the girl in the eye, and Nightingale almost shrunk back to avoid her gaze.

"Simple, child." One continued. "You would be passing up the chance to kill her later, and be praised for it."

The Undine let go off Nightingale's hand, and both girl and monster looked at the Intoner.

"There is information I'll want from you, while I'm at it." One said to the Undine. "I believe you may know certain things about a 'Seal of the Ocean' that ancient texts have made reference to. And you, child, will need to come with me until I'm sure you can be trusted to be quiet. But simply put…"

One extended a hand towards Nightingale.

"I would prefer to see you survive." One declared. "And I'm sure it would feel all the sweeter for you, if your revenge included Winter being remembered as a traitor."

Nightingale bit her lip, and looked at the Undine for a moment.

...As long as she got her revenge, she didn't care much if she lived or died. That's what she had said to herself so much, in those days after her father's death. She needed to live for now, until she could kill that woman.

But now, to be told death wasn't necessary for it? To be given the choice between dying now, or living by delaying her revenge?

Nightingale was only human. She was as scared of death as anyone else.

And that meant there was only one thing she could do, here.