RWBY Through Worlds (End)

BC82: Consumed (Menagerie) -1

"Okay, stay in here unless Blake tells you to run," Emerald said. "Don't let anyone in who you don't know. Does your door lock?"

"Yeah," Mindy said. "But the attic is safer. That door only opens from inside if you pull the rope up."

"Why do you know that?" Emerald asked.

"Because Jesse locked himself up there last month," Mindy said dryly.

"I didn't know it would get stuck!" a boy, who must have been Jesse, said grumpily.

"Your brain is stuck," one other girl said.

He stuck out his tongue at her.

"Can you all get up there?" Emerald said.

"Easy," they assured her.

They opened the door to Blake's room and showed her.

"Okay, but don't go in there unless you hear a lot of noise and Blake doesn't come." Emerald didn't like the idea of the kids locking themselves in, but if all else failed, it seemed safer than just waiting in the room or trying to run for it if the bad guys were waiting in the street.

Hopefully, help would come before they had to worry about this.

She shut the room door and slipped down the stair.

The Belladonna house was beautiful, and the renovations had not made it less so, though they had made it bigger and had turned a lot of the rooms into bedrooms or bathrooms. The front room still had a nice, pillared look though.

Sure enough, down here were about 15 Faunus and human kids and a handful of guardians and the escorts.

Also some staff from the orphanage.

"I really thought there would be more people here by now," one of them remarked. "But if they aren't coming, I guess you can start finding your rooms. I was hoping not to have to do this more than once, but that's how it goes. Most of you will be in the west wing. That had the most space."

"Hey, who is that?" One other kid looked at Emerald.

"That's Miss Sustrai," said another. "Remember?"

"Hello, Miss Sustrai," said another boy.

Emerald blinked "Cliff?"

He nodded.

"Oh...hi." Emerald really hoped he hadn't been given the fake shot. "Nice to see you again."

"Sustrai? The Sustai?" the staff said. "Wait, how did you get in?"

"No time to explain. Can I talk to you?" Emerald asked. "Aside?"

They exchanged a look, and then the staff ladies and the huntress and the two male and one female guardians of some of the kids stepped aside.

Emerald explained that there might be trouble with the shots, though she decided not to say what.

"They need to check them back at the ship," she said. "Just the humans."

"Are they going to send us home?" the female said, sounding tired. "I only brought my two here so they would be safe. Argus isn't safe anymore. They wouldn't really make us go back there?"

"No, they'll just check you," Emerald said. She thought this was the truth.

"No one is going anywhere," a new voice said.

They all looked up suddenly. And gasped.

A huge Faunus with bull horns--Mino, Emerald guessed--had just opened the door.