Chapter 17: The sky is blue and so is the Fall (4)
"To save a life is a real and beautiful thing. To make a home for the homeless, yes, it is a thing that must be good; whatever the world may say, it cannot be wrong." – Vincent Van Gogh
Chapter 17: Where the sky is blue and so is the Fall(4)
~Sienna's POV~
The plan was simple… or at least that was what her mind was constantly repeating to her.
An attempt to keep her worries away from her composure, at least enough to give her the edge to not fall in any of the various escalations that her inner nervousness and anger were so eagerly yanking her towards.
Not that Sienna was truly 'afraid' of giving a proper end to this defeat for Jacques Schnee, actually she was eager to see the closure of this feeble defense from the businessman and bring a new milestone to their cause.
…
It was odd, the Tiger Faunus mused softly as she ventured the halls of the building, preparing for the grand finale of this little theatrical mess, and her hands were carefully handling the two pages filled with strong but careful words that she will have to make use of.
Either repeating those in the proper cases unraveling with this last push to get this commission to pass some serious edicts or even invent in a creative but mindful way some answers to any eventual questions asked by the lawyer.
John had been quite certain that this final session was going to offer just a little cessation of the current situation, now that they had won before 'judges, jury and executioners', it was time to bring a passionate personality to exalt this victory.
Something that the human couldn't quite yet express for two specific but legitimate reasons: Not only had he joined the White Fang quite recently and his position was still uncertain (but not for too long if the situation conclude as happily as predicted), but he was a human and, in the eyes of Atlas' people, still someone that couldn't certainly praise too much the animals.
Some were still skeptical over his commitment, but it would be even worse if he was the only one that had to speak for the occasion as it would undermine terribly the Fang/Menagerie's current standing.
As the official representative for this special event, Sienna knew that there was no way out from avoiding verbal confrontations now more than even as things were reaching its formal sealing.
Was she ready for this? She felt nervous, there was no point to lie over something that was distinctly weighting over her thoughts.
But it wasn't the kind of nervousness about messing things with what she had, but rather the Faunus knew that her emotions didn't make her the best of diplomats.
The young woman could hold well against simple officers and 'no-name' industrialists, but to bare a calm mind in front of Jacques Schnee?
The only reason she had been able to keep up an exemplar attitude before the man the day before was because her whole attention had been taken by the cautious words used by John to unbalance his 'opponent'.
With her mind tuning back to the human that was currently and 'willingly' kept back to the medical bay of the building for some more check-ups, her mind couldn't help but bring up the very annoying but also confusing bit of the night before.
Sienna didn't get much sleep that day. Even trying to tire herself out by merely closing her eyes and think over the complex mess she would have to deal with didn't seem to bring any of the hoped results.
The room was quiet, the only noises coming from the lone human sleeping softly on the little couch of the room.
His bandaged arm was still lying on his chest while the young man continued to lie on that piece of furniture.
The positioning was awkward considering that part of his legs stood out from the length of the couch, his socked feet waving mid-air as he continued to… sleep.
It was difficult to discern if he was dreaming or not, but the lack of discomfort on his face was… actually very comforting for her.
The simple expression of resting, his eyes closed and his lips barely open to let out some little snoring while he continued with his eased slumber.
The young woman could remember having her eyes fixed at that calm expression, the room was barely-lit and dim, but being a Faunus her sight allowed to give proper looks in the dark.
She blinked, then again and…
Sienna blinked right early in the morning as John folded back the little white sheet he had been given while asleep.
It was morning alright, the light coming from the half-closed windows shining onto the lower section of the bed.
The rest of that preparation phase proceeded smoothly, the Tiger Faunus hiding from the blissfully-unaware human about her confusing take on sleep.
It had been so sudden and… so pleasantly uneventful.
While she couldn't get any dreams from that little rest, at least she didn't have to face any of her usual nightmares.
An energizing dreamless slumber was actually something important as she then considered the burdened day that awaited her.
Little worries, but an incredible amount of concern about any unexpected developments.
This was the first time she had to deal with something that required so much thinking and planning, well-beyond the classic tasks she had been facing with the White Fang.
Sure, helping with administrative issues had given her some knowledge over what had brought the entire world's angry hammer down on Atlas, everybody had to get quite irritated when someone starts to 'cheat' around the basic rules and laws of economics, but this conclusive part was sure going to bring to her some little chances to bring forwards some of the message of her group.
John had been quick to shot down a full speech about the cause, pointing out that this wasn't a rally and she had to impress some stubborn crowd instead of a downtrodden group of citizens.
Those were the kind of people that mostly didn't have any issues with the Faunus themselves, but they were mostly neutral to the problems about the mistreatment and the 'missing rights' for the Faunus workers.
It was irking that some people preferred 'ignorance' to doing the right thing and… it wasn't her duty to do so.
She was here to represent an issue, first as a diplomat of Menagerie and then, if the opportunity truly allows her, to bring up something about the White Fang.
There wasn't much to speak about even if she wanted, Ghira had been quite clear in stating that this was a national-based visit and that any voicing of their cause would only alienate the proper course of justice.
Infuriating, there was no end for her bubbling anger, but the strong emotion was already quarantined in the deepest corner of her mind.
She sighed as she finally as the large room was once more opened and… the same disposition was there to look at.
Journalists and rich people to one of the corners, Jacques and his little group to one of the table's side with the military representatives led by James Ironwood sitting by the edge of the table.
Sienna didn't hesitate to carefully take a seat, instantly feeling quite anxious with the lack of someone else beside her.
By deciding to leave John to some proper check-up, she was going to stand alone against Jacques.
Which in theory wasn't truly a horrifying scenario as she could easily dismantle the smug fool, yet her grasp over her emotions would surely… falter without someone to keep a look on her.
As the session was adjourned and silence descended by the spectators' section, General Ironwood formally reintroduced the entirety of the room to the current state of things and… the mustached moron looked fairly annoyed by the retelling of yesterday's happening.
His lawyer looked just a little fazed by the words, his attention directed at the lone paper sitting right by the section of the table in front of him.
The rest of the group looked even more disappointed by how things had turned out to be, Jacques looking even more annoyed by the way some had even 'missed' the appointment by the gloomy standing they were in.
The SDC had never looked this frail before the people, or at least the leadership never did under Nicholas Schnee's care.
The old man had recovered from the ordeal from few hours ago and had been quick to dismiss any worrying injuries on himself or any other members of his family, but he was quite elated to divulge the identity of those that had intervened against the assassination attempt.
Tabloids mentioning relentlessly about the full development of the day before, between the attack on the Schnee family by some 'fraud White Fang members' (of which Jacques was particularly quiet about to the journalists asking about the infiltration in his family's bodyguards) and the utter destruction of that superfluous attempt to counter the accusation directed at the man.
She was calm, or at least calmer than before when the lawyer was given the means to speak first and he seemed quite uneasy with his tone.
"We would like to ask for a fair settlement for the case brought up to this commission," The man spoke with a tense tone. "My client, Jacques Schnee, is willing to pay as a compensation for the damage given to the local bank of Menagerie as sum equal to 3 millions Liens."
Some people gasped at the tall number, while a little group of investors merely snorted at such proposal and Sienna was well-aware as of why.
But before she could have said anything over it, Ironwood decided to jump at the end of such sentence.
"And by fair settlement, you wish to repay only a fourth of the damage inflicted to the bank, Mr. Schnee?" The General asked with a serious voice, eyes narrowed on the lawyers as the man merely gulped nervously at the development.
"W-While my client would be more than happy to dispense a rightful amount, t-there is actually a major rule that can't allow any higher amount than this."
Sienna blinked in surprise at the unexpected reply, the Tiger Faunus turning at the military officer leading the commission.
Sadly, it was Jacques to speak.
"By referring to yesterday's mentioning of the International Bank Act, specifically articles 571 and 573, 'a private company or an organization not tied to any of the kingdoms cannot and shan't allow the transaction of a sum superior to 3 million Liens to the treasury of a single nation in any circumstance'," The mustached man explained with a somewhat less determined tone. "Despite Menagerie being considered a 'Sub-Kingdom', it still does count as a 'Nation' and thus is applied to the rule."
...WHAT?!
That- That bastard-!
Anger bubbling even more than before, it took the young woman some moments of silence to avoid letting a snarl out for the world to see.
This little trick seemed to have come out of nowhere, the incredible reduction of the compensation not only would barely dent at the company's overall capacity to try again… but it also turned this victory in a shallow one.
Just like with the Faunus Rights Revolution's one.
Endless thoughts filtered within her mind as she pondered over this unexpected development, her eyes settling on the notes left by the human still by the medic bay and… she blinked.
There was some tension in the entire room, with Ironwood checking properly on the rules admitted by the leader of the SDC and… she blinked again, this time her whole body going briefly still as a minor realization struck.
John had been incredibly confident of success, but he had never mentioned about how things were supposedly going to end for that situation.
It was a win, there was no denying of it, but this little obstacle had to have been seen by the young man before it all came out.
Then Sienna thought back at the strange drive from John to have her mention the cause of Faunus, never being much of a 'fanatic' with his determination over the Fang's duty and yet he had seemed fairly pushy over the matter.
The little web continued to appear in a detailed and complex display of plans and contingencies, ending right to the little issue presented there.
And the solution for this specific problem was-
"Miss Khan, do you accept this settlement or do you wish to bring a counter-offer?"
Eyes going wide at being yanked back to reality, the Tiger Faunus blinked one last time before… sighing.
"We refuse this miser compensation, General Ironwood-" The tanned woman replied with a cautious tone, already noticing a snort from Jacques. "But I wish to present a counter-offer that best represents the term 'fair'."
The Atlesian officer nodded quietly. "Please do explain your proposal."
"Menagerie shall not request any direct compensation from the Schnee Dust Company," Sienna began, bringing out some surprised looks from the spectators, and a small smile was now in full display on her face. "But we wish for a proper retribution for those that were truly hurt by this heinous crime."
She blinked, her smile widening as she prepared to drop the final words. "The people of Atlas."
…
Everyone looked confused at this new development, most of the spectators looking confused if not curious about what the young woman was talking about.
"Care to explain what you are referring to, Miss Khan?" Ironwood questioned, looking particularly surprised by the choice of words.
"The Schnee Dust Company is an organization that publicize its influence and correct attitude towards its workers, the proper rights applied to the various people joining within the group to make it one of the most important and well-known brand in the world," Sienna started to explain with a sigh. "They have legal obligations to make sure they are operating within the regulations, which is not the case as seen in this commission, and all workers are guaranteed to a safe and stable environment during their jobs and… sadly, this is not the case too."
There was just a little pause, something to give her some precious time to assemble something to offer without losing the currently-gained momentum.
"Many are surely thinking I'm just referring to the Faunus living here in Atlas and, while my pledge to my people is moral-bound, I find myself saying that they aren't the only victims of this predicament," She said with a serious and saddened voice. "In fact, despite the large presence of complaints about the current work conditions for Faunus, only a few journalists have also mentioned the horrible instances of abuse towards human workers."
The crowd exploded in gasps and loud words as people were incensed by this situation, some of those reporters mentioned were among the group and… one of them stood out by lifting his hand up.
"General Ironwood, I would like to speak, sir," The man waved his hand at the table. "What Miss Khan just said is true."
The leading figure of the military entourage blinked at that. "Considering the situation and the lack of much proof of Miss Khan's statement, I will allow just a witness to confirm the news." The man nodded and gestured the reporter to move closer, the guards making way as the blond-haired man sighed as he walked by the table and took the seat previously used by John the day before.
"Please introduce yourself with name, last name, affiliations and relation to the case," Ironwood continued, following the standard procedure used even yesterday.
"My name is Forest Parakeet and I work for the Daily Mantle News as a contracted reporter," The newly-introduced 'Forest' muttered quietly if not disgruntled somehow. "And my relation to the case is a confirmed article I've written three months ago about a peculiar case of bribery happening by one of the SDC-owned factories sited by the outskirts of Atlas."
The General frowned. "Can you please specify which one in particular?"
Not a terrible request considering the non-negligible number of factories sprawling by the edges of the Kingdom's capital.
"Uh… I reckon it was Factory 642C, it was reviewed by the military just a month before I personally investigated over the growing complaints of lacking guarantees over some of the malfunctioning devices there, some people having suffered wounds during work," The journalist replied with a blunt but detailed summary of his work.
"You said it was reviewed by the army," Ironwood frowned at the news. "Can you give some more about this part of the story?"
The blond sighed but nodded. "It was Lieutenant Braddock, tall and lanky guy that was dismissed last month for some crazy stuff."
James sighed tiredly, trying to ignore the informal tone.
"Lieutenant Jacob Braddock was discharged after failing to defend against accusations of bribery and embezzlement," He explained curtly, displeased by the fact he had to bring up such a dishonorable discovery. "The army has yet to check on his last work, but we will make sure that this particular review and others that any of your colleagues are willing to forward will be checked thoroughly before the end of the month."
Stern, confident and incredibly efficient. The response barely got a reaction from the reporter as the blond merely shrugged and nodded at the promise.
"Now that this is confirmed," Ironwood stated with a calmer tone, "Let us return to the main topic. What kind of compensation do you have in mind, Miss Khan?"
Sienna blinked, her smile rising up again but this time she was careful enough to not spoil the fun too quickly.
"We have two conditions in particular," The Tiger Faunus said with a resolute voice. "First, we wish for the SDC to repay three fourths of the damage by bringing proper rights and regulations to the Faunus workers in its facilities," A brief pause, enough to gauge a little disappointment from the crowd but… here's the sweet treat. "And to repay two fourths of the damage to regulate properly the current rights of human workers in its facilities."
The effect was immediate. From the slight annoyance at bringing up Faunus as the initially-sole winners of the cause, a resounding roar of praise emerged by the spectators' section.
Many journalists were happy of the good development, while businessmen were rejoicing at the fact the SDC was meant to receive a major blow to its current economic state.
Jacques was bursting in rage at such offer while his lawyer paled but seemed uncertain over the countering of such proposal.
"That's preposterous-" The man tried to oppose, but… Sienna wasn't done yet.
"The second condition is that… Jacques Schnee publicly and formally apologize before the citizens of Menagerie and Atlas for the terrible crime perpetrated by his leadership of the organization."
"And the Atlesian Military shall make sure both conditions are respected if the offer is accepted," The General nodded, a tiny ghost of a smile showing yet he kept looking serious even then. "Still, I wish to remind Mr. Schnee and his lawyer that this offer is indeed fair as it works to benefit the people of Atlas as a whole."
The crowd didn't shy away from agreeing to such comment and Jacques turned even redder at how his little plan had failed too.
He was so close to growl like an 'animal', but he stopped to furiously whisper at the lawyer, the poor man sighing tiredly as he stood up and nodded.
"We will accept the offer, General Ironwood… and Miss Khan."
The reaction from the spectators was just as explosive as it had been the day before as they had witnessed a major victory 'against a fraud and a criminal.'
Sienna didn't bother minding around and she was glad that the reporter beside her didn't decide to ask her any questions, Forest merely shrugged before leaving to reach his colleagues as the conclusion to this case was announced.
With this done, her leave was quick and quiet as her mind was set on finding a certain individual.
Someone that could- no, should have told her that there had been a little ambush planned instead of letting her receive a minor heart attack!
With the two guards still following her behind as the woman entered the medical bay, they all stopped at the sight of an empty bed.
There were no doctors there, no nurses… and no John.
Yet there was a clue sitting by the messy bed left behind, a piece of paper with something written on it.
'Doing some good deed, will be back by dinner~'
…
THAT UTTER SON OF A-
~John's POV~
I know, I know.
It sounds dumb for me to be wandering around without giving some proper message to a lovely and understanding Tiger Faunus, but the reason that drove me to follow this little red-haired Bull Faunus leading me right where his home was, a certain disgraced doctor following us both with a sigh or two along the way.
…
Okay, some context might be needed before we proceed from this point but I can already say that there is some logical explanation behind the insane mess I just jumbled in.
When Sienna had left me to suffer once again the horrible experience that is lying on a hospital's bed to get some doctor to check on my wound, I had thought that my time here at Atlas would have been quite… slow and uneventful.
Safe but also boring and incredibly limiting considering the vast amount of things I could do with this opportunity.
Still, despite my lack of means of going around the place without a proper reason, I found myself waiting for… something to happen.
After an hour of silence spent there, I expected the next 'exciting' event would have been Sienna returning with a victorious if somewhat confusing result.
I wasn't truly certain of what Jacques was going to try before the commission with all the cards stacked against him, but considering the shrewd businessman he is, I didn't think he would have settled down with little resistance.
Imagine my surprise when finally my 'own' doctor finally arrived to the room, huffing with a tired posture while nodding at the guards waiting by the entrance.
Mustache wriggling and a certain scowl in display, I was completely caught off-guard when the incredibly familiar, younger but still-the-same man decided to introduce himself.
"My name is Arthur Watts, Mr. Bukharin, and I've been assigned to… assist you with your injury." He said with a quiet tone, quite spent considering the kind of character I was more accustomed too.
Here is Watts, the hacker that turned the robotic fleet of Atlas against its owners during the Fall of Beacon and probably a reincarnation of James Moriarty.
The man was shunned by Atlesian society after some misconduct that wasn't much detailed about, so much was shady about this man and…
He was a depressed fellow. It didn't take me that much to see how self-hating he felt about himself, the man going to a slug-pace as he went through the regular procedure of the check-up.
Ignoring Ozpin's loud and possibly - and genuinely – legitimate claims over the man as a threat to us, since he was part of Salem's Inner Circle in the original timeline, I decided to tempt my current predicament by seeing if I was in danger or not.
After all, it was never mentioned when Watts joined Salem and from his current attitude I could only deduce he had yet to be recruited.
Which brought to be a juicy but needy issue that could easily turn in the best opportunity to gain a resourceful ally in the long run.
I was no Dio Brando, but I was still capable of bringing a connection out of little with this disheartened man.
Someone that was betrayed by his colleague for money, horribly framed with fake accusations and robbed of the chance of becoming the most brilliant man in the kingdom.
The story which I partly expected from someone like him, but to hear him give emotion instead of keeping a formal and careful behavior around a 'complete stranger' was enough to offer me even more insight over his nature.
A misunderstood man with a growing disdain over society as a whole, his husk of a life drained of any meaningful note to explore...
...Why do I feel the need to call Todd Phillips?
Just as expected, after another hour of careful probing and intervening in the right moments seemed to get him to open up and warm up to some pleasant conversation.
His pace picked up a little more and soon we were discussing about some philosophical questions over life, death and the meaning of everything.
I was a realism-believing thinker, a theoriser and a man born with science and religion in a somewhat harmonious blend so that whole topic became quite easy to endure for some time.
Arthur was quite eager in inquiring left and right, still politely and mindful of the situation we were in, and would be entertained in finding any matching thoughts over some of his own ideas or even finding some newer but more logical solutions to metaphysical problems.
Before the talk ended up taking the entire time I had there, our attention was quickly deprived by the sudden noises coming by the entrance as one of the guards was groaning while kneeling on the ground as his partner held up the arm owned by the one responsible for the flinch-inducing attack.
It was a young boy, not as young as Ren but maybe a little older than he looked considering how tattered his clothes were and how bony he looked from my initial perspective.
His hair were spiky but quite short, a mix of red with specks of dark-brown here and there, a little eyepatch over his right eye while his left one was a bright cerulean.
I didn't need to think further to know whom I was looking for in that very moment.
Even as a child, Adam Taurus looked as vicious as he would end up becoming with how he was struggling so vehemently against the tight hold of the unharmed guard, yanking and yelling as he failed to accomplish freedom from it.
But maybe I was being too hasty as children were generally like this… but why would he be there.
I could understand the logic of Watts being there because he was also a medical doctor and that his brilliancy is something of a guarantee to a quick recovery for my wound but…
Why was little Adam here of all places?
I didn't wait too long to ask Watts to see what was going on and to let the child in the room, the doctor quick to say that it wouldn't be good to have someone unknown, even someone as young as the little Faunus, enter the room without a proper control.
I sighed and pressed on, calling in the mythical 'gut feeling' that the kid had something important to say and, after sparing a silent stare about the matter while contemplating over what to do, Watts went to the guards and told them to let the boy inside.
There were some minor protests but soon the boy was indeed allowed to get close to where I was.
He looked nervous at the new development, but he didn't shy away as he tensely give a quick bow towards me.
"I-I'm Adam Taurus a-and- you are J-John Bukharin," He stated, a half-introduction that left me with a quizzical look for just a few moments before I gave him a calm nod.
"Hello Adam and yes… that is my name."
His visible eye seemed to lit before he seemed ready to cry.
"Y-You cares for Faunus, right? You do, r-right?" His tone slumped into desperation there and he sniffed. "P-Please sir, I-I know I shouldn't be there- a-and my mom is sick and- she is ill-"
My eyes widened the more he spoke, the hyperventilating child getting me quite panicking myself as it seemed fairly urgent.
Without hesitation, I interrupted him by bringing my good hand on top of his hair and gave him a pat. "You don't need to feel guilty of anything, kid," I muttered quietly. "Can you tell me what kind of illness?"
He nodded, so innocently and so frailly. "S-She is coughing a lot and- she was coughing blood-"
Gritting my teeth, I patted his head again and stood out from my bed.
"What are you-" Watts tried to ask, but I sighed.
"Kid's mother seems to need a good doctor, Arthur, and I reckon you wish to do some good with your skills," I said with a huff, taking Adam's little hand on my own. "So why not now that you have the chance?"
"I'm your doctor, John, and Miss Khan-"
"Knows that I'm an adult and that emergencies are a must," I interrupted again, then I turned to the child. "Adam, can you lead us where your mother is?"
He blinked, surprise and shock filling this little kid.
He wasn't even ten, he was too short and… so desperate.
He is going to become a butcher, to help him would-
Give him a proper chance at life.
I didn't need Ozpin right now, especially with how things have turned recently and so… we departed from the medical bay with a hasty pace.
The guards were skeptical, but since I still had more influence over them than a certain lovely and understanding Tiger Faunus, they were already escorting us out of the building, following the three of us as we were led by the child right by the outskirts of the city.
Much to my shock, I discovered that Atlas did have a district that resembled to Mantle with its popular houses, yet surprisingly enough it was much worse than the city down below.
Everything looked so rundown and decaying, the people there wearing some of the worse clothes… and they were all Faunus.
It was a ghetto, the little gates around the area further cementing the idea that this was a cultural-limited section of the capital.
I felt bile rising at the revelation, but I held back even after we were led inside one of those rotting buildings, Adam showing us to the little room that was… his home.
It was small, so unfairly small.
I blinked, nose clenching and eyes flinching as I perceived the strong smell of smoke emanating all around and… it was disgusting.
Right by one of the corners was a little mattress with sheet, a young woman coughing with a blooded facemask with her eyes closed.
She was half-awake and her long red hair with two distinct little horns protruding from the top of her head made it clear that it had to be the young boy's mother.
The child let go of my hold, rushing by her side as he quickly switched the stained facemask with a new, unblemished one.
"I-I'm back, mom-" He said with a trembling but loud voice, enough to get the woman to slowly open her eyes and stare at the kid. "I-I brought help-"
She blinked and stared at us. In a normal circumstance, someone in her state should have panicked at the presence of two strangers… but she hardly seemed to care at this point.
I quickly moved by her side and took hold of her wrist, checking on her pulse while Watts started to rummage on his medical bag and soon he was by her side too.
There was palpable tension and Adam looked at the scene with wide eyes and an afraid look, something I could notice only because I was sparing some glances at him as I was uncertain over what to do with this advanced case of pneumonia.
I had some experience with treatment of Bronchitis after suffering twice of it some years ago, but Pneumonia was something well beyond that experience... and at this late stage I had little hope that Watts could succeed in stabilizing her conditions.
Twenty intense minutes passed, the doctor's mustache wriggling restlessly as the man did the best possible to make sure to help the woman but it was clear from the very beginning that there was no chance of saving her.
This is why he kills, this is why he cannot be redeemed.
I ignored him, but I flinched at the words used.
This is unfair.
Arthur backed away as the older Faunus started to slowly move her hands to her face, grasping the mask and pulling it down trembling.
"A-Adam?"
"M-Mom?!" He got closer to her once again, a little pained smile on her face.
She is going to die.
I… Can I do something with magic? Something that-
Considering your limited knowledge and practice, I would advise to-
Something like giving her more time! I know that I can't heal this kind of illness, but-
Follow my instructions, we can give her… enough time for treatment.
I gulped nervously, the mother was in the middle of giving her last words to her child but I had one of my hands over her shoulders.
She didn't seem to notice, but Adam was glancing at what I was doing as I silently followed the former headmaster's tasks.
It was mostly happening from within and I was quite confused as to what to do with some of the passage.
It was by the final step that I felt something happen.
This wasn't Jaune's healing semblance, this wasn't something negligible-
I felt like my insides were getting yanked out, sudden and sharp pain shooting through my whole body as I felt my- my soul being forced to comply to such unnatural complexity of life.
I was- I was breaking rules, important rules- I could feel guilt- shame and pain, pain, pain and-
My mind lightened as the brief pain session stopped without notice, just like it had started.
I blinked as I felt my entire body so… tired and unfocused.
I blinked again, I saw Watts rushing back to me, I saw Adam exclaiming my name and… I saw the woman tense up in slight panic before she… sat up on her bed.
A solid but soft thud preceded darkness, the last thing I heard being a disappointed sigh from Ozpin.
…
...
[I wonder, what are you?]
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