"Man, this blows." Amber complained with her hands behind her head. Arslan, Ilia, and Amber were supposed to go set off on finding information about how to get higher up into the sky. So far, the merchants and street thugs they had encountered either thought they were prostitutes, tried to convince them to become prostitutes, or simply just tried to get them to buy weapons and armor that wouldn't help them out. It seemed as if nobody was willing to give tips about how to get bigger into the sky aside from Bullheads.
"It seems like everyone is...afraid to say anything." Ilia piped up as she looked around. Amber was only wearing a black crop top with jeans and combat boots while Arslan and Ilia were hidden by black cloaks, hats, and the regular Atlesian garb underneath. "Maybe we should go somewhere else? I'm getting kind of tired of all this attention."
"Hmmm..." Amber thought as Arslan and Ilia continued to look around. "Last time I was here, it was to meet Ironwood with Ozpin. And if Bullheads are the only way to get up..."
Amber looked all over the place until her eyes honed in on the giant black chains holding the floating part of Atlas to the ground so it didn't fly off. Amber smirked evilly before quickly grabbing onto Arslan and Ilia's hands and dragging them through the barren streets.
"A-Amber?!" Ilia called out scared. "W-Where are we going?!"
"Up." Amber laughed crazily as Arslan shrugged behind them both. Eventually they came up to a clearing where one of the large chains were holding onto the ground. The sun was clouded above them and the city was even brighter directly underneath the flying part of the city. They hid behind a building while surveying the area around them. What looked to be an small Atlesian base was completely barren. The lights were still on, but there were no guards in sight. Amber's eyes narrowed while Ilia looked scared and Arslan began to wander off.
"Arslan..." Amber whispered as the lion girl hurried back over to the two. "Somethings not right."
"What do you mean?" Arslan's eyes narrowed as she seemingly switched off her oblivious mode. "Enemies?"
"No...a lack thereof." Amber put a hand to her chin. "I'm all for going in guns blazing...but this seems weird, almost like a trap. Why would they leave one of the most important parts of Atlas unguarded?"
"Well, the chains are quite large. It would take someone like Y/N or you to be able to move them." Ilia said as she peeked around the taller girls shoulders. "But...it is odd. If Arslan isn't hearing anyone and I can't see anything, then it's gotta be unguarded."
"Hm..." Amber thought for a second before turning towards the two. "Ilia, I want you to go invisible and scout ahead. Arslan and I are gonna split up and go separate ways around the base. If we scout the perimeter while you check the inside, we'll get a clear view of the situation."
"A-are you sure?" Ilia stammered. "I'm not sure if I can really do this."
Amber turned around and flashed a bright smile at Ilia. Her eyes exuded confidence as Ilia looked up to her.
"If I sense you're in any danger, I'll smash through the walls to get to you." Amber gave a thumbs up. "You just call me if you think there's any danger lurking around. I'll be there, I promise you."
Ilia gulped before nodding and taking off her cloak and handing it to Amber. Arslan and Amber both nodded as they took off in separate directions around the encampment while Ilia hesitated.
'Make yourself useful and I'll consider not killing you.'
Y/N's words echoed through her mind as she looked to the ground.
"..." She gripped the bottom of her white shirt before taking a deep breath and going invisible. Ilia took off forward, keeping out of the bright spotlights beaming down on her so she wouldn't give off any glints. The encampment was relatively small. There were big white and gray walls with barbed wire over the top. The front of the base had a small gate that was already opened with no guards anywhere near it.
Ilia moved for it before noticing that there were two large trucks still running with smoke coming off of them, signaling that someone was already there. She took care to stay out of the sight of cameras before disabling them discreetly. Not only did it protect their identities, but it also would allow them to see if anyone came running out at the sight of it.
Quickly moving forward closer to the front door, Ilia noticed that it was a plain looking building. No mounted guns, no explosives anywhere, no traps, no nothing. Sure there were a lot of chains and it would take someone a substantial amount of time to blow them up, but you would think there would be more defensive measures at such an important spot. The building was only two stories, with a courtyard in the middle that allowed for the chains to be connected down into the middle of the metal building.
Taking cautious steps forward, Ilia slipped through the open door, which worried her. In contrast to the outside, all of the bases lighting was completely down, allowing for Ilia to move more freely. She crept behind walls and the numerous amounts of sleeping bags and supply boxes that got into her way of progressing. Slinking through the corridors, she checked every open room and found that there wasn't a single person around.
"Destroying the cameras was for nothing then..." Ilia mumbled to herself. In fact, it might hurt her more if any other surveillance area was monitoring the same cameras. However, she brushed the thought out of her mind and stood quietly before hearing a small beeping coming from a shut door. Below the door, there were scratches and markings that seemed to show the door was being pushed on from both sides, but eventually led to the door being slammed in. Ilia took careful steps forward and placed a hand on her whip.
"...el...p m..."
Ilia froze in fear and paled. Her adrenaline began coursing through her body and all she could hear was her pounding heart and her blood circulation. She took a step back and put a hand over her mouth to not scream. The door shook slightly as a pressure was on the inside. Ilia looked at it terrified before taking a deep breath and walking up to the door.
"Ellen... you taught me to be confident. I won't let you..." Ilia took a breath and placed her hand on the door. "Down!"
*BOOM*
The ground rumbled beneath Ilia as the whole building shook with fury. Ilia jumped back and yelped before looking around her quickly. She saw nothing, but could hear faint voices from the middle of the building. She quickly turned back to the door and got frustrated before knocking on it loudly.
"Hello?! Is anyone in there?!" Ilia said half angry and half terrified. However, there was no response so she tried again. "Last chance before I leave!"
...
...
...
"Phew..." Ilia chuckled to herself. "It must've just been my eyes playing tricks on me."
Turning around quickly, she rushed towards the explosion wound without a hesitation.
However, if Ilia would have opened that door or turned back at that moment, she would have seen a yellow and black eye looking out the ajar door and black and red blood seeping out from underneath the door.
XXXXXXXXX
Ilia quickly reached the middle of the base and found the large meta courtyard. She quickly fixed her eyes on the black cloaked Arslan who was currently waving away a cloud of smoke and dust with her wind element. There was a large hole in the ground directly in front of her that was steaming as Amber crawled out of it laughing. Her hair was in disarray and her clothes were completely ripped up. Yet she couldn't have looked happier.
"Thanks for the save Arslan!" Amber beamed as Arslan nodded. "Who knew gravity dust was so useful?"
"Guys!" Ilia called out before rushing to them. "Are you okay?!"
"Affirmative." Arslan nodded solemnly as Amber chuckled.
"We're okay." Amber ruffled Ilia's hair. "I climbed up and over the walls of the base only to jump over the building and land here. Nobody was on my end, how about you two?"
"Nothing out of the ordinary." Arslan said mysteriously.
"Nothing, my mind was playing tricks on me at some points though." Ilia sighed. "But there's no guards anywhere, there's signs, but no actual people."
Ilia mentally chastised herself for mentioning it, but decided to go against mentioning the door issue to not look like a child.
"Likewise." Arslan nodded again. "I cannot sense any life surrounding this area."
"Well, I'm not sure who got here before us, but I'm not complaining." Amber looked up to the sky. "I think I got higher than the last time!"
"Y-You what?" Ilia stammered.
"Amber is grappling up the chain to try and reach the top." Arslan explained as Ilia paled.
"B-But the bottom of Atlas is filled with the undersides of buildings! It's curved for Oum's sake!"
"I know that silly." Amber grinned. "But if the only way up is by flying, then the only other way is by climbing. As for the metal underbelly, well, Y/N gave me these sweet flames."
Amber pointed up at the sky and formed a blowtorch like flame on her finger.
"I can melt right through it."
"You can control your flames?!" Ilia looked at her shocked. "It took Y/N years to figure that out!"
"Don't forget Ilia, I was a maiden at one point. I had control over all four elements for a few years as well. I got plenty of time to figure out how to manipulate them. Honestly, this is just easier cause now it's tied to my aura." Amber whistled as she made animal shapes with her flames while Ilia gawked. "Anyways, I wanna see if I can try and scale these chains. If I can do it, I'm certain that Y/N and Adam can as well. Same with Raven and Cinder."
"What about the rest of us?" Ilia questioned as Amber thought for a second.
"I uh...I got nothing." Amber rubbed the back of her head as Ilia face palmed. "Arslan?"
"Well..." Arslan tore her eyes away from the group and looked up to the sky. "..."
Arslan seemed distant as Ilia and Amber looked at her weirdly. It stayed like that for a few moments before shrugging her shoulders while keeping an eye on the sky.
"Ooooookay." Amber turned to Ilia. "Look, I think I may have seen a Bullhead landing at another one of these chains. Maybe we can head over there and check it out?"
"It's worth a-"
*BOOM*
Another explosion sounded off that made Ilia jump again. This time, there was an explosion of black flames that roared from the skyline. They all immediately knew it was Y/N and Ilia and Amber immediately went into defense mode.
"Relax." Amber called out to both of them. They both shot glances back as she grinned. "That's supposed to be happening right now."
"What?"
"Y/N's plan is going into effect. He sent Adam's team to gain reinforcements, but to also work as a team better. He sent us together so that we can get used to each other and learn how to cooperate, especially with me since I'm new and Ilia was hated for a bit. Then, he sent JNPR to fight him so that he could test them. To see if they could actually kill him if they worked together. I'm assuming they're finally getting closer."
"I...see." Arslan looked conflicted. "And he didn't think to mention this to anyone else?"
"He only told me and Adam as far as I'm aware." Amber shrugged. "It doesn't mean he doesn't trust you, it just means he wanted the two of you to be natural around me along with making sure you didn't massacre any of the JNPR team Arslan."
"..." Arslan sighed before nodding. "...affirmative."
Just then, an explosion came off from the direction of the mines and they both looked to Amber again.
"That...that's not apart of the plan." Amber barreled through the walls of the base and sprinted towards the outside as Arslan and Ilia followed close by.
"Amber! Wait up!" Ilia called out as they all reached the outside. There, they saw a group of Atlas guards chasing after escaping Faunus from the mines, albeit unsuccessfully. In the very front a red and white streak ran quickly along the rooftops. "Adam?!"
"Something big must've happened. Even for a breakout, why are there so many guards?" Amber said warily.
"The most probably cause is that Adam is holding a Schnee." Arslan narrowed her eyes. "Y/N described him to me before. A young man with short white hair, blue eyes, and wearing all white."
"Adam bagged a Schnee?!" Ilia stammered again.
"The real question is where are the other Maidens?" Amber asked out loud and rubbed her head annoyed. "This group is awful! It's just question after question after question and it takes so long to get to the answers!"
Ilia deadpanned and thought that Amber was a little too simpleminded as some of the guards took notice of them.
"Oh Oum!" Ilia called out and went invisible on instinct as Amber grinned.
"Alright everyone run in separate directions! Meet back at the bar." Amber began comically stretching as Ilia freaked out. "3...2...1...GO!"
Arslan took off at lightning speed and began hopping over buildings at a breakneck speed. Ilia looked shocked, but quickly recovered and began running. However, a hand caught her collar and she was tossed behind the walls as Amber pushed her behind her.
(Pure Evil - Octopath Traveler)
"A-Amb-" Ilia was cut off as Amber placed a hand on Ilia's mouth.
"Those guards aren't targeting us, they're gonna be focused on going after Arslan and Adam, so we don't need to run. Even if they were I could kill them all instantly." Amber said seriously as she bore into Ilia's terrified eyes. "Look, you told me you thought your mind was playing tricks on you, but I need to know what you heard or what you thought you heard."
Ilia nodded terrified as Amber let her go. The chameleon Faunus recounted what had happened before taking a deep breath as Amber rubbed her head.
"I'm sorry for scaring you, but I'm honestly convinced we were seconds away from death." Amber looked serious as Ilia paled.
"D-Dying?!"
"The timeframe you mentioned, of about 20 minutes, was the exact same amount of time that Arslan was gone." Amber said as she crossed her arms. "She had only arrived seconds from when you got there."
"She had, but I didn't even-"
"Did you see how fast she just ran?" Amber raised a brow. "She could cross this building faster than me or you could even dream of. She's got gravity and wind dust in her body, she can move at speeds only second to Y/N's lightning."
"What are you trying to say?"
"Look, the reason we were sent here wasn't to become better friends or anything like that. It was to keep an eye on Arslan." Amber said as she rubbed her forehead. "We were sent for Arslan and Adam was sent to keep an eye on Raven."
"..." Ilia looked shocked as Amber continued.
"Y/N didn't explain it to either of us fully before we left, but he wanted to know the real reason for Raven's allegiance and he wanted us to keep an eye on Arslan for two reasons." Amber raised one finger. "Firstly, he explained that Arslan is dying and is going to die in only a few months."
"But why would he only tell you and Adam? If it was something this serious..."
"Because we asked him." Amber said as she looked angry. "None of the others have felt it yet, including you, but Arslan has been one creepy fuck during these past few days."
Amber even looked unnerved as she spoke quickly.
"Arslan's been exuding killing intent the entire time she's been in Atlas. Not only that, but she's been...off these past few days. These last two nights, she's been standing up and standing over people while they sleep just...staring at them. Her eyes glow this dark yellow and she just stares at them without even blinking. It's like she's...hungry for them." Amber shivered slightly. "Adam came across her the other night and nearly pissed himself. The first night it was Cinder and Raven, but the second night...Adam said he saw her placing her blade on Jaune and
Y/N's necks. Y/N woke up at the time and was ready to fight, but supposedly Arslan just stood there with her sword placed on them just...staring like always."
"That's..." Ilia began to shake terrified. She was sleeping in the same room as this terrifying person who could've just been staring at her the entire night. "W-Why?"
"The second reason." Amber began walking as Ilia followed her into the building. "Arslan has one main goal."
Ilia shivered as she listened.
"To kill Y/N without hesitation."
"W-What?!" Ilia stammered again. "But she's his servant! She acts like his own personal slave most of the time!"
"I know...that's what makes it all the more surprising." Amber sighed. "He has a few theories and I have some of my own, but I don't know either of them nearly enough to tell you what they're thinking. I'm surprised enough with the fact that he chose me to tell all this to."
"No kidding..." Ilia said timidly.
"But when we were outside and I fell, I didn't fall because I slipped. I fell because Arslan made me." Amber gripped her fists. "When I said that her gravity dust was useful, I wasn't implying that she saved me. I wanted to see if I could make her snap. See if she'd actually go after me and try to kill me through direct murder. If that was to happen, you were to run back to Y/N and let him know."
Ilia's eyes widened as she finally realized the situation she was in.
"So her standoffish nature today..."
"It's because she was most likely thinking of every single way to slaughter us." Amber said nonchalantly, but Ilia felt like she was gonna pass out. "I'm not trying to scare you, but I'm serious about all of this. Arslan is a real threat to all of us."
"I know that now I guess I-" Ilia's eyes widened. "THE DOOR!"
She launched herself back in fear.
"That door wasn't open before! The blood wasn't there either!" Ilia began to feel tears welling up in her eyes from fear. Amber pushed her behind her and raised her fists. Flames ignited as she slowly crept forward. "This is the same door I thought I heard people in!"
"Quiet Ilia." Amber hushed her as Ilia crept forward behind her. "Stay behind me."
Amber slowly pushed open the door fully and peeked her head in before her nose was attacked with the odor of decaying bodies and pure death as her eyes widened. Her senses burned at her to run away or to not look, but her mind made her tear her eyes open to see an entire room filled with dead bodies, ripped to shreds all over the room. Every single guard in the building had been tossed into this room and dismembered one by one. Blood and guts were splattered all over the room, excrement and piss lined the floors, and bullet holes riddled the walls. Amber had never seen such a bloodied room before and her mind was screaming...begging at her to look away. She made no sound or movement, so Ilia took that as a sign to move in. However, right as she did, she too got a look and smell at the room.
The poor Faunus' mind couldn't take and she quickly turned and threw up instantly for what seemed like minutes before she was on her hands and knees barely breathing.
"Fuck..." Amber had to try and tear her eyes away from the scene as she grabbed Ilia tightly and began running. "She's going to get to Y/N first!"
XXXXXXXXX
Arslan dashed upon the rooftops, making sure to stay out of the sight of any other person. She held her head in pain before landing on a street below and gritting her teeth.
"..." She made no noise before staring up and feeling the dark yellow flash in her eyes again. She grit her teeth and dug her nails into her arm to subside the urge. However, the debilitating feeling soon went away as the world around her froze and her body was seemingly vibrating. "?!"
Blood dripped down her arms while spit drooled down her lip as she looked feral. Nearby, an old woman walked up to her. She looked to be around 50-60, but had all of the same features that Arslan had. The same scars, the same facial features, the same skin tone, even the same body type. She wore the same yellow kimono with the breast wrap, brown pants, and sandals that Arslan wore along with a katana on her back as she approached Arslan.
"Hello there lioness." The woman said as she looked at Arslan depressingly. "Having trouble with your urges?"
XXXXXXXXX
I swear this book wasn't supposed to be horror dear god I'm sorry