Interlude

XxX----XxX----XxX

Official Supporters:

Fanatical Fucking Reader, ScrubLord Yoda

Obsessive Reader, the Lizard

Compulsive Reader, The Impossible Muffin

Adeptus Militaris, Wilger

Commissioner, Gib, Espa Cole, Death Daddy

If you want to be on the Supporter list, PM me for details or join our private server for details. Hope you enjoy reading my stories, please leave me a comment to let me know if you did, or where I can improve. Link here, where able to be seen : https://discord.gg/2UZncAm

Second link here, remove ( and ) and it SHOULD work : D(i)scord(.)gg(slash)kfhkfUb

I have a kofi account now, too, under this name for those interested.

Beta(s) :

XxX----XxX----XxX

Sienna Khan stood at the open flap of her command tent with her robes pulled taut around her and her hands clasped behind her back. A few feet away, and a hundred feet down, the blue of the ocean stretched out in every direction aside from to her rear. It was a warm, sunny day. The kind with only a handful of puffy white clouds dotting the sky, and a warm breeze blowing in from the ocean, carrying with it the scent of salt and brine. In another life, or just another time, it would have been perfect to find a beach to lay out on.

Unfortunately, this was her life.

And now, she had her duties.

Inside, the tent was spartan, the way she preferred. To one side was her cot, and to the other, a table with a detailed map of Mistral sketched out on it. Under the table was a thick, metal truck secured by a genetic-lock keyed to her. And in the middle of the tent, blinking quietly in its idle mode, sat a head-sized cylinder propped up on a metal frame. A long, thick cable ran from its base and meandered to the back of her tent, slippin out to the wide-brimmed dish outside that linked it to Mistral and Menagerie's communications network.

At least, when the weather permitted.

Which meant that a beautiful, clear day like this made damn sure she couldn't be outside as much as she'd like.

Because of course it did…

The little holodisplay chimed gently as the call she'd expected came in and she cleared her throat and said, "Sienna Khan, accept."

Little holographic cubes, barely a quarter the size of her thumb, flowed out of the top of the holodisplay and rolled up. They rolled and roiled like a languid tide for a few seconds before they rolled together, the extra dispersing. Headmaster Leonardo Lionheart's bearded, smiling face materialized a moment later, color correcting after a few seconds for a proper, nearly flawless, representation of a man a few hundred miles away.

"General Khan." He smiled, with none of the delay she'd gotten used to in her younger years using the less advanced Atlesian comm systems they managed to steal or splice into. "I trust all is going well?"

"It is." She nodded, adjusting her black and silver uniform robes and clasping her hands behind her back. "I hope Mistral is doing fine, too?"

"It is." He nodded, "And, by the way, you do look good in your uniform."

"I guess so." She shrugged. It was comfortable enough, to be fair. A simple black robe and loose cloth trousers, with hidden pockets on both and a star stenciled in silver on either shoulder. It was tied by a tight wrap around her stomach, layered thickly to protect her stomach from knives and the like.

"I know you find it stiff and, well…" Leonardo seemed to want to say something else, but shook his head suddenly and waved the matter off, his hand appearing in a wash of the little cubes as it came and went. "N-Nevermind."

"Alright…" She shrugged. It wasn't the first time he'd acted awkward since she'd met him, and she was sure it wouldn't be the last. Moving on, she asked, "Anything to report then?"

"Nothing you don't already know." He answered with a chuckle, "The 'Bots are developing the northern desert, as you know. And the badlands highway projects are going well enough, under Kali's directions."

"Oh?" She'd had a lot of trouble organizing that, Sienna knew. That kind of labor required 'bots, and getting them to work on projects had gotten hard a few years after Shockwave… She shook the thoughts away and sighed, "I'm glad it's going well."

"Well…"

"It is going well." She hummed, cocking her head, "Right?"

"Better than I expected it to." He answered with a sigh, "Worse than it would if all the 'Bots were working on it. There's no danger, though. Aside from the heat, at least."

"Good." She nodded, "I can't take the White Fang away from the southern coastline. Not right now."

"Yes, yes, the Leviathans spotted in the area." Leonardo nodded, face falling into a deep, grim frown. Quietly, a tremor of anxiety under his voice, he asked, "Any, uh, news about those?"

"Only what you already know." Sienna shrugged, "A dozen sightings were reported over the last few years, all along the coasts. At times that make it impossible for more than a couple of the sightings to have been the same Grimm. Two coastal towns were razed. We haven't found one yet, but when we do, my Fang and I will pin it in place for our 'Bots to deal with."

"How many do you have?"

"Four." She grunted, "As long as we all encounter Leviathans on their own, we know how to use them effectively."

"You could always petition the Council for reinforcements, you know." Leonardo said warily, more than aware of the landmine he was stepping on.

"Leonardo…"

"I know you don't like the politicking." He rushed to assure her, chuckling awkwardly, almost anxiously. "But if you would just return to Mistral, or even Menagerie and conference from there, the Council would doubtless be willing to order some of the garrison to support you."

"No one is ordered into the Fang, Leonardo. I only accept, will only tolerate, volunteers" She snapped, "You know that."

"Y-Yes, but-"

"Then respect it." She cut him off, shaking her head and demanding, "Is there anything else? Or is our little monthly chat over?"

"I'll let you go…" He sighed, "Just be safe. Hm? You'd break the girl's heart if we lost you out there."

"You don't have to tell me that, Lionheart." She snapped before she could catch herself, could cool her temper. Pinching the bridge of her nose, she sighed and shook her head. "Goodbye, Lionheart. Pass my love to Blake?"

"I will." He chuckled, "She always loves to hear from her Aunty Sienna, after all. She misses you so very much."

She rolled her eyes, killed the connection, and turned to look back out on the ocean. It was getting dark now, the setting sun casting long shades of orange, red and yellow across the sea. And she was glad she hadn't missed it. Something about Mistral's sunsets made her nostalgic in a way she couldn't quite explain.

"Maybe it's time I head back to Menagerie…" She murmured, frowning. "At least once the Leviathans are found."

XxX----XxX----XxX

"I'm sorry, but you know her. How she can be." Leonardo sighed, his holodisplay face set in a deep frown. "She's stubborn as a drunken mule at the best of times. And suggesting she change how she runs things? That makes it all the worse."

"I told you that's how things would go." Kali chuckled quietly, standing with her back to the display stand in the middle of her office and leaning over the map spread out over the curved desk she'd pressed against the wall. While she talked, she read the reports beside it and wrote out notes and addendums on the map - all of whicher were mostly just status updates, luckily, as opposed to incident reports. "Sienna is… A very unique person."

"Believe me, I'm aware…" He sighed, "You'd think a bloody decade would change a person."

"I wouldn't." She chuckled, resting a hand on her hip and turning to smile at the man. "I've known you for a decade, and you're just about the same. And I've known her for two. Same thing."

"I suppose." Leonardo sighed, "But one can hope."

"One can hope." She agreed, then cleared her throat and turned to look down at the map. "Any updates on those materials?"

"Some are on the way." He answered, "But not all."

"Let me guess." She sighed wearily and turned to give Leonardo one of her by now incredibly well practiced, highly unamused, stares, "The Council wants another budgetary meeting?"

"You must understand that even now, reconstruction and renovation of the outlying territories is ongoing." Leonardo defended gently, and with that undercurrent of firmness that told Kali this really was a matter of need rather than the common enough problem Humans dragging their feet about projects that only helped the Faunus out on Menagerie. "I secured half the supplies you ear-marked for a year's work."

"I see…" That would at least let them link the Foundry to Harmonex, and to the Badlands lookout fortress in the continent's heart. Which would help. There were some jobs that only Faunus were small enough to do, so having an easier way to get there would be good. Still, "If they want a meeting, that means they do have what I need."

"They do, yes, but-"

"But it's needed elsewhere?"

"We lost a handful of villages in the south." Leonardo defended, "The Governor of the district wants better roads and infrastructure to prevent more deaths, Kali."

"That's where Sienna is." Kali pointed out, "Isn't it?"

"For now, yes." He said, "Not forever. Leviathans or no, there are still Grimm. And most villages don't have 'Bots or a real garrison."

"Alright." She sighed and shook her head, "Tell them not to worry about the rest, then. And shave a bit off what they were packing for me."

"But-"

"I'm just working out plans left behind by Shockwave, Leonardo." She waved him off, entirely nonplussed by those plans slowing down. "Needs must and I'll just… Put the development on hold, until a better time. But I'm not about to take supplies from villages in need. That would completely defeat the purpose."

"I know." He said, "But…"

"But I asked you to make arrangements and you did your best." She nodded and smiled, bobbing her head. "Thank you for that, all else aside."

"Of course. You know I'll always have Menagerie's best interests at-"

Leonardo was cut off by the heavy door of her office swinging open and tiny ten year old feet padding into the room with a squawk of, "Mommy, Mommy, look!"

"Blake!" Kali beamed, kneeling to catch the girl as she nearly slammed headlong into her knees. Scooping her up she spun between the desk and the holodisplay before turning and carrying the girl over to a couch that ran along the outer wall, under a window that made reading from the bookshelves that flanked it delightful. Sitting, she asked, "What is it, dear?"

"M'book!" Blake said, wiggling in Kali's lap and yanking her little black dress down as she settled in, back to Kali's chest, and opened it to show her a picture of a swordsman killing a Grimm. "Look'it!"

"Oh, it's very…." Violent, she wanted to say. It was one of her books, a graphic novel with an emphasis on the 'graphic' about a wandering Faunus slayer of the Great War. It was all fiction, of course, aside from the man's name and the very basics about his story about searching for his sister, taken by Old Mantle.

Still, it was a book with some… Decent morals to it.

And Blake would just sneak something else if she took it away, and that might be something worse…

Shaking her head, she rapped a gentle knuckled just behind one of Blake's flicking ears and said, "Have you said hi to Mister Lionheart young lady?"

"Mmmm, nuh uh." She looked up, smiling toothily, and waved the book at him. "Hello Uncle Leo!"

"Hello, dear." The holographic face smiled and then the man sighed and met Kali's gaze. "It must be late there, hm?"

"Mhm." Kali nodded, reading the novel along with her daughter who flicked a look up each time to make sure Kali was ready for her to turn the page before she did. Reading along, Kali said, "It'd almost someone's bedtime, in fact."

"But muuuuum!" The girl whined, "My book!"

"That's my book." Kali pointed out, plucking it from the pouting girl's hand and bobbing her head to the door. "Tell Uncle Leo goodnight and get those teeth brushed, and those ears cleaned out."

"Yes, mom." She sighed, scooting out of her lap and padding out of the room. She paused to lean on the doorframe and turned, smiling prettily, "G'night, Uncle Leo!"

"Good night, dear." He waited for er to slip away before he murmured quietly, "She has your eyes."

"And Ghira's face, I know… By the Tides, do I know." Kali sighed, smile tightening before she could catch the emotions. Wrangling them in, she shook her head and stood, sliding a piece of paper into the book to mark Blake's spot before she set it on her desk. Leaning on the fingers of a hand, she said, "Every day, she gets bigger. And I just…"

"You don't have to say it." He cut in, "I understand. You've done wonderfully, raising her alone."

"Not alone." She smiled, staring down at the map, "I've had Sienna. And everything Shockwave left behind."

"I heard the instruments he made came in handy, yes."

"More than." With all the stress, she'd almost… She shook the thought off before it went too far and turned to the man. "Goodnight, Headmaster. Tell the rest of the Council that I'll make myself available by week's end."

"Yes," he smirked, "Councilor Belladonna."

"End call." She scoffed with a roll of her eyes, her voice command killing the connection immediately.

In the quiet that followed, she… Spent a while there, leaning against the desk, and just looking at her office. It was full of everything she needed and more, from books to the holo display to the desk opposite the outside wall. And maps, just… Everywhere. Maps of Menagerie, and the seas, and Mistral too. Trade lanes, road networks, resource distribution networks - her walls were a trove of every kind of information she used to run everything.

And, set on the inner half of the sliding doors by the bookshelf, a painting.

She padded over to it and reached out to run her hand along the dark, muted oak frame and murmured, "Ah, Ghira… Gods, I could use your diplomat's mind now."

And Blake could use him, too.

But fate had other ideas in mind, apparently…

She heard the knuckles rap at the side of the other door, the one Blake had left open, and turned. The masked young man paid her a nod and waited, scarred visage downcast until she sighed and turned, "Adam. What do you need?"

"Just an update, Ma'am." He said, reaching into the satchel he had slung around his shoulder and drawing out the dull grey, blue-screened data-sleet the 'Bots used to relay her more in depth reports and data.

"On the desk, thank you."

"Yes, Ma'am." He nodded, setting it beside her map and turning to leave. He hesitated for a second there, turning slightly to regard her through the slits of his bull mask. "Good night, Councilor."

"Good night, Courier." She sighed, "Be careful walking the road."

"I don't need to be careful." He grunted, hand resting on the hilt of his gently curved sword meaningfully. "But thank you."

"Mhm." She watched him leave and sighed, "He could have used you, too, Ghira… Sienna's making a fighter out of him, and I don't think I like what it's doing to him."

There were always those that were too invested in being the 'legend' though. She could only hope that he grew out of it, or had it beaten out of him, even, before it got him killed. Or before all his rage at the SDC and their crimes made him do something… Bloody.

Pulling open the door, she slipped outside into the warm breeze, blowing in off the ocean and meandering in between the apartment complexes that stood all around her.

The city had changed over the years. Its wide, brick-paved roads were lined by tall apartment buildings, shopping centers, offices and warehouses. Neon light washed many of the streets, pointing out a variety of them all. And a handful of wider, squatter buildings clustered far to the south, nearer the wall. She could see the shadowed bulk of 'Bots moving about there, coming and going from their own bars, markets and homes now that the day was over. A few even flew, some up and over the wall to wherever they spent their time, and others up to the tops of the buildings where round nests had been built by the 'swarm natured', whatever that meant.

Her own home had been built into the top of the administrative building at the center of it all, surrounded by tall complexes linked by a web of sheltered bridges. Leaning on the balcony, she stood at a dozen stories up. One of the taller buildings on Menagerie, at least that Shockwave hadn't personally built or designed.

She heard her Scroll chime and fished it out, flicking it open to a familiar name. Smiling, she answered and began searching the city around her.

"Severus?"

"To your left, Councilor."

She followed his directions and found him standing in an open path of ground a block away, looking up at her.

Like most of the 'Bots, he'd changed himself over the last decade. Gone was the wide, girthy bulk of the Insecticon design he'd been born with. Instead, his arms and legs were long and smooth, with plated 'scales' covering their tops and rounded, flexible joints. His fingers and toes no longer ended in claws. Instead they were blunted, 'normal' fingers, with webbing in between them. His torso was slimmer, too, segmented into two sections with a ball joint like on his arms and layered plates over it that flowed as he moved, hiding the joint. His wings had gone as well, replaced by a long cloak of some kind that came and went as he transformed, somehow. His head was much the same, though, albeit his mask was gone, replaced by a grim face of metal that moved as he talked.

"Ah." She smiled, leaning against the balcony and peering down at him. "Aqua is in bed already?"

"No." He sighed, "She's out with friends, actually."

"That's good."

"Hmph."

"You don't like them?"

"They're far less intelligent than she is." Severus explained, "Two aren't even attending school."

"That's a problem…"

"I'll forward their names later." He sighed, "Regardless, I came to report."

"Go ahead, then."

"Another Leviathan." He explained stiffly, "Myself and four others encountered and killed it, eighty four miles outside Menagerie. Gnash suffered severe damage, and had to be moved to the Foundry for repairs and stasis."

"I'm sorry to hear that…"

"He'll recover." He nodded, "That's five in the last year, Councilor. There's more all the time. I'm growing more and more concerned as they come."

"So am I…" But what could she do that they weren't already doing? Nothing, unfortunately. With a sigh, she said, "Keep up patrols. And ask for volunteers from the Mistral groups. The mercenary faction, too, if you have to."

"I dislike the mercenary faction…"

"So do I." Anyone that traded other people's blood and Energon for Lien was a bad person, in her book. "But we need more eyes. And more warriors."

"Mhm…"

"Is that all?"

"It is."

"Alright." She sighed, then rushed to ask, "How is Aqua really?"

"Defiant." He sighed, "But beautiful, and brilliant, and brave. I'm… Proud of her, Councilor. So very, very proud of her."

She smiled warmly, and understandingly, and nodded, sure that he could see her form there. Fighting down a yawn, she pushed off the balcony and said, "I need to climb into bed, Severus. Goodnight."

"To you as well, Councilor." She watched him turn and trundle along the wide road towards the 'Bot district for a moment before turning and stepping back into her office.

Before she went, though, she paid the sky a look, as she had every night for ten years. High above them all, the moon gleamed, a solid, dull silver that looked down on the world from on high. It had started less than a year after the end of the war. Pieces of the shattered moon slowly coming together, then coating in dull silver. By the time Blake was five, it had been solid and gray. Now, it gleamed, silver and lit up, almost, in a way her sensitive eyes could see.

What in the world was he doing up there…?

She shook the though off before it could fester and yawned widely. By the sea, bed was sounding wondrous right about now. But…

She grabbed the 'Bot report slate as she passed by. A little night reading never hurt anyone, and there was too much to be done to waste time.

XxX----XxX----XxX

"I-I understand, Mistress, but-"

"Do not waste my time with excuses, Doctor." The woman's voice oozed out of the Seer as it hovered over his desk, tendrils splayed across it and around him menacingly. The tip of one flicked, gouging out a furrow in the dark steel surface of his desk. "Just because you used your parts and parcels to create that facsimile you call a daughter with the Relic's help, that doesn't mean she is safe."

"I-I know that, Mistress…"

"Then find the Fall Maiden, Doctor." Salem said, "Or pay your dues. After you see me extract Mantle's from them."

"Y-Yes, Ma'am…."

With that said, the Seer withdrew, slinking off to a corner of his cluttered office-laboratory and sliding into the crate there. Even contained, he didn't feel safe. He felt like, any moment now, she'd emerge again, mind changed and bladed tendrils flicking. But, after a few minutes of nothing, he let himself relax and turned, mechanical quadrupedal machine lifting him up and carrying to the door at the press of a button.

As expected, he found Penny waiting outside, face sad and gaze downcast.

Quietly, she asked, "She still wants me to… Do that for her?"

"She does." He murmured, turning so he could lay a hand on his daughter's head and gently rub it soothingly. She leaned into the touch and he sighed. "I'm sorry, dear, but… I just- I didn't have a choice."

"I know, Father." Penny said, pulling his hand away from her short hair and paying him a soft, warm smile. "I understand. And I will do it. For you, and for Mantle."

"Penny…"

"It's alright, Father. You do not need to be sad." She smiled and bounced away, happy as ever, and finished simply, "I'm the Protector of Mantle, after all. This is my duty. What I was made for!"

He hated how true that was, now…

"Penny." He sighed, "I love you."

"I love you too, Father."

XxX----XxX----XxX

He grunted, rubbing at his tired eyes and shuffling on his aching feet. Turning, he eyed the clock and smiled - only ten minutes left in his shift. Hopefully his husband had something good for dinner, he could definitely use a proper hot meal after the day he'd had. A shadow fell across the front of his service-kiosk in front of Vale's gate and he fought not to sigh as he turned his attention back on his work - for the next couple minutes, at least.

"Hello, Sir." He smiled, "Welcome to the Kingdom of Vale! How can I help you?"

"I lost my identification." The man said, "I was hoping you could… Help me."

"I'm afraid I can't-" A small pouch landed in front of him and he blinked, looking from it to the pale-skinned, amber-eyed man. Finally, he paid the man proper attention, that old, familiar anxiety creeping up in his guts.

The man was wiry and pale, with long, thin arms and legs and a thin, waspish body and short, light hair that fell around his head limply. He wore simple black and gray layered robes, like those from Mistral, and carried a small pistol holstered at his waist. But for all that, he still held himself with a certain… Poise. Almost noble, even, with amber eyes that bored into his own with an intensity he couldn't explain.

Slowly, he picked up the pouch and looked inside, eyes widening at the stack of Lien cards.

"I require identification." He reiterated, "And Hunter's license."

"Why do you…"

"Nothing untoward, I assure you." He smiled stiffly, like he was foreign to the concept. "I simply want to… Continue my work."

"Which is…?"

"Private." He answered, tossing another pouch onto the counter and raising a brow. "Can you help me, Customs Officer August?"

He swallowed anxiously, more than aware this could be a test, or some kind of fishing scam. But, finally, he picked up the second pouch and pocketed it. Smiling stiffly, he said, "O-Of course, Sir. I clock out in a moment, so I'll gather the paperwork and come around to… Help you fill it out."

"When will it be filed…?"

"In the morning." He promised, typing into his computer to clock out. "You'll be fully vetted by the afternoon."

"Very good."

"I'll, uh, need a name." He said, turning sheepishly to meet the man's gaze. "For the file."

"Ah." The man blinked, then smiled and nodded, "Sol. Sol Schallwelle."

XxX----XxX----XxX