Board Thread:Role Plays/@comment-24260323-20150805012917/@comment-5426254-20151226003856

''Happy holidays, everybody! Sorry I took so long, I had to deal with exams and revising my post over and over again. It's long, but it ties everything up with a satisfactory ending for everyone. Also, it ties into another subsequent RP I did a while back. It also has references to popular anime too. Anyways, have fun, merry Xmas, and see you all next time! I hope you all enjoyed this RP as much as I did. -GL'' --- As the VTOL began its long journey back to Vale, Alicia Blue took a few moments to get herself dry.

"I'm a-okay, Mister Dirtnap!"

Then she rummaged through her sack and grabbed her Scroll, continuing her vlog.

Honara and Loretta, along with Rowan and Travan, were discussing about how they felt about it, and what they could have done better next time. Prism, Memories, and Seager sat by themselves, deeply reflecting on their experience and what to do next...

"Hi! Alicia Blue here! As you can see, we've finished looking for sunken treasure on the uh... Borealis, and we're all together in one piece. But wait tillè I show them what I have!"

She stopped narrating to address her partners.

"Hey everyone! I've got a few souvenirs! Wanna see them?"

The other passengers stopped what they were doing, and turned their gaze towards Alicia.

"You have to make sure you're dry first, though." --- White Fang Base of Operations: Location Classified

The four Bullheads, now on bingo fuel, slowly descended on the landing pad, with their comrades on base waiting for them.

The cargo were carefully hauled on trailers, while all of the surviving members were carried on stretchers by in-house paramedics and trained doctors.

Lorelei took off her mask as she stepped outside, revealing her teal eyes. And standing before her was a young man, a deer Faunus, with short, silver hair and green eyes, anxiously waiting to hear the news, judging by the concerned expression on his face.

"Lieutenant, is he alright? Where's Dad?"

"Nickel," Lorelei replied, "I can't right now. I'll tell you later. Right after I make the report. Please, just wait outside."

As the lieutenant walked through the base interior, she had a small smirk on her face.

''This is going to be fine. All I need to do is to say a few words and make a few changes, and I've got this in the bag...'' --- Once everyone was nice and dry, Alicia grabbed through her sack and pulled out a steel canister.

"Alright everyone, what I'm about to show you is highly dangerous. And you're going to love this."

She opened the canister, revealing some of the small powder. It was the chlorine trifluoride from the ship!

Everyone's eyes were wide open when they realized what happened.

"Are you crazy!? Do you want to burn us all alive!?" was the general reaction in the VTOL before Alicia called for silence.

"That's why you had to be dry first," the third-year continued. "It only burns when you're wet."

"Hold on," Memories asked. "How did you get some of that stuff? I thought it went with the ship!"

"Well, why don't I show you?" Alicia continued as she began to explain what happened.

Earlier, Borealis Crew Quarters

While the others were busy waiting for extraction, simultaneously fighting off the task force, Alicia was busy touching some of the Object 23176 along with several other metal containers, before two of her partners were busy finding a solution.

"Stop fidgeting and help us, damnit!", came the scream from Rowan and Travan as they were busy strategizing.

Alicia had put all of the information about the chemical together and had decided it would be a shame to walk away empty-handed. So, before she passed the original container of Object 23176 to the two, she poured a portion into one of the steel canisters and sealed them shut, before putting her share of the chemicals into her backpack.

Now, Armored VTOL Passenger Bay

"So, that was what you were doing back there."

"Mm-hmm."

"Wow, I'm actually impressed," Memories replied. "I honestly didn't know you had it in you to pull it off.

"Thank you, thank you."

The others were genuinely shocked that Alicia was able to salvage the chemical, as she poured her handful back inside. Some decided to clap out of respect for this young Huntress' quick thinking and intuition.

"Hey, Miss Memories?"

"Yeah?"

"Once we dock, I want to tell you something." --- "Lieutenant Stanford. Report."

"Gladly."

The White Fang lieutenant paused for a deep breath before providing the details. She would have to be as professional as possible with her superiors, in order to escape the possibility of punishment.

"Roughly at 1300 hours today, several teams for a total of 80 men, were deployed to retrieve weapons and ammunition, along with the chemical weapon Object 23176. Among them were Squad Leader Zinc Eisenhardt, and myself, Lieutenant Lorelei Stanford."

"Go on."

"Initially, the mission was going as planned, but there were ... some complications."

"What do you mean?"

"The mission was interrupted when my team, Bear Team, encountered a gigantic serpent Grimm lurking in the ship interior."

"Anything else?"

"The mission was interrupted by a team of Huntsmen and trainees deployed against us. Crow Team fought against them, with little success. To deal with these two threats, I had to radio in an extraction team of six Bullheads and 48 additional soldiers for reinforcements and extraction."

"Are you telling me that you failed, Stanford?"

"No sir. We were able to secure a few crates of ammunition, and Object 23176," Lorelei continued, gesturing to the remaining steel crate now brought in.

"It appears 'Object 23176' was a small container of Chlorine Trifluoride (CLf3). This was a poison gas and incendiary weapon used in past wars. It burns when it comes into contact with water. We were only able to retrieve a small sample and store it in the crate due to its volatile nature."

"And what of the rest?"

"The other ammunition crates were detonated on the ship to cover our escape, along with Object 23176, which I presume was destroyed as well."

There were low whispers as the committee pondered what to do next.

"I see. The casualties?"

"Out of the original 80 men, only five from Bear Team are still present and accounted for, sir. 7 from Crow Team still survived, and of the 48 members of the task force, only 24 survived."

The committee murmured before they were interrupted.

"Additionally, we lost a good commander today..." --- Once the entire team docked, they began heading their separate ways. Honara and Loretta were probably going to rest before engaging in their next mission. Rowan and Travan were likely to continue their search for their colleague, and Seager, his father. Prism would go about her business as usual.

Memories and Alicia stood face to face, as Alicia began her little confession.

"You know, Miss Memories, it's only been a short time, but it's been nice working with you."

"Ditto."

"I think we're going to be good friends from now on, and I just want to know how we can stay in touch and all."

Memories smiled behind her mask. "Well, I'm not exactly the kind of girl that hands out my contact info all the time. Maybe you can pass me your info. Don't worry- I don't bite."

As Alicia passed her dorm location and her phone number to Memories, the masked ex-cultist nodded, before the two of them took a selfie.

"If we ever need to meet again, I'll know where to find you."

"Good-by, Miss Memories!"

"Take care, kid."

As the two of them left, Alicia was immediately greeted by her teammates, the other members of CADM.

"Hey! You're still here," Carmine noted. "How'd it go?"

"It was fine, I suppose."

"Great. Now that you've had your fun, remember that you've got a 20 page history report from Oobleck due tomorrow."

"Aww, really?"

"Yeah. Come on. We don't have all day."

The four of them then proceeded to head back to their dorm at Beacon Academy... --- Nickel Eisenhardt was pacing back and forth, clearly stressed. The White Fang operative disapproved of his father's decision to sign up as the squad leader for the Borealis mission.

"Father, please, I beg you, don't go!"

''The elder Eisenhardt smiled as he patted his son on the head. "Look Nickel, as much as I wish to spend more time with you, I can't. This is very important, for all our Faunus kin."''

"But Dad, you'll die! Who will I have left once you're gone?"

''Zinc could see the tears streaming on his son's face. He could understand the pain of losing people he loved, having underwent a similar experience in the Schnee mines long ago.''

"Son, just because I signed up for this doesn't necessarily mean that I'll die. Before you know it, I'll come back and we can spend time again as father and son, just like we used to."

"Promise?"

"I promise."

He had desperately searched the Bullheads for any sign of his father, but so far found none. He still held out hope that he would still be alive, as he waited for Lieutenant Stanford to tell him the news once the meeting was over.

In the meantime, he had been fidgeting with a metal bar, using it to pass the time and relieve his stress.

That is, until he heard mumbling.

Curious, he tiptoed his way to the door of the conference room, and eavesdropped in.

"Additionally, we lost a good commander today..."

No...

"Eisenhardt performed admirably, though stubbornly, in warding off the Grimm and the Huntsmen during the Borealis mission. However..."

It can't be!

"... however, I regret to inform you that he's dead. The Huntsmen ruthlessly slaughtered him, like a monster, while he bought our comrades time to escape."

Nickel held back sobs as he clutched his face with his hands, and the bar now lay on the floor ... -- CADM dorm, Beacon Academy

Once the team went back inside, Alicia unpacked her things as she began writing her history report. And when she turned on her Scroll, she looked back at her selfie and smiled at the time she and Memories both had only a few hours ago.

Carmine walked by as Alicia was writing said report. "What's that you've got there?"

"My Scroll. I had vlogged while on the mission. Why'd you ask, Carmine?"

"Interesting. Mind if I have a look?"

"Sure. Oh, and by the way, the paycheque's coming into my account soon. Just letting you know." --- After Lorelei walked out of the meeting, she went to talk to Nickel.

She was plesantly surprised to see him with his head towards the ground, with his fists clenched.

"Is it true?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Is he dead!? ANSWER ME!"

Nickel clutched Lorelei's shoulders and slammed her to a wall, before she forcibly pushed him aside.

"Look, Nickel, I hate to say this, but ... I'm afraid it's true. Your father died on the mission to the Borealis. I ... I saw it myself."

Suddenly, the man violently sniffled before falling on his knees. And he began to scream as tears began to fall on his face.

"NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO!!!!! NOOOOOO!!!! ARRRRRGGGGHHAAAAA!!! WHY, DAMNIT!? WHYYY!!!"

The young man clutched onto the wall, hobbling away as fast as he could, headed to his quarters, with Lorelei in pursuit... --- Now that she was done, she turned to Carmine, who finished watching the Vlog.

"So, what should we watch? The Red-Eyed Killer? Scriptures of Future Millenia? Or how about the Single Jab Hero?"

"Meh, The Single Jab Hero is boring. It's about a guy that kills everyone with just one punch. He's staler than bread. And we are not watching SFM. You've had enough crazy for one day."

"So The Red-Eyed Killer it is, then."

The two began to bingewatch the show for the next few hours... until Alicia fell asleep.

Carmine then turned off the hologram as he heard a knock on the door. It was Vert Jacobs, who wanted to treat him to a platonic dinner to make amends for harassing him long ago.

He looked at the clock. 7:00 PM. "Alright. Let's go." --- Memories stood on the rooftops, as the skies turned dark. Apparently, she had taken what was left of her large payoff and spent it all on getting hammered in a nearby bar. Seeing as there wasn't any left for food (that she wouldn't burn to a smouldering crisp), she had to quickly find a new source of income.

That opportunity came in the form of Maroon Rockbell in the  Heart à la Mode Café. Apparently, she needed extra ingredients for a new recipe she wanted to try out. Inside the canister that she held were a few bars of chocolate. While most would make a simple delivery, she was the no-nonsense kind of courier that treated it like an escort mission.

As she began her run, she looked past the lively part of Vale full of shops and restaurants, including one where the two boys are their supper, while a purple convertible drove below.

Little did they know that they were destined to cross paths in this night... --- Lorelei stopped to catch her breath as she stood outside.

"Nickel, wait! You gotta understand something!"

She decided that she couldn't wait any longer and walked inside. She knew how Nickel would feel, having deliberately lied to everyone about Zinc's exact fate, just to gain his reaction through her half-truths.

And apparently, given the news, being upset was an understatement.

The room, which had been previously furnished with metal weapons and lockers on the walls, were stripped naked save for a nonmetallic drawer, a painting, a couch and a coffee table.

"Hey... Nickel," she asked softly, "are you alright?"

"GO AWAY," came the reply. The young Deer Faunus continued to cry.

Lorelei gave a small sigh as she continued. "Look, Nickel, I know you're upset, but- "

"BUT WHAT!? YOU COULD HAVE DONE SOMETHING ABOUT IT! YOU COULD HAVE PROTECTED HIM!! WHY DID HE HAVE TO DIE THIS WAY!? TELL ME WHY!!"

Now she was exasperated as the wailing continued. "Nickel, I tried. There was nothing I could have done to save him. The Huntsmen and the Grimm got in my way. If I tried to fight by his side, I could have died with him, and nothing would change. I'm sorry about this, and I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I am not responsible for his own safety."

"YOU KNEW DAMN WELL THAT HE WAS STUBBORN! WHY DIDN'T YOU TALK HIM OUT OF IT!? WHY!?"

"And he was dedicated to the job. I can't thank him enough for being so committed to the mission and buying everyone else time. That being said," Lorelei continued, "I'm not the one who caused his death. Blame the Huntsmen responsible. They're the racist bastards who killed him!"

"LIAR!"

"Look, just trust me on this one. I know because I saw it myself. The people who were on this mission saw it too. You can ask any one of them, but I guarantee you, they'll probably say the same damn thing! Please, Nickel! Just ... just trust me," Lorelei finished.

"Why should I?"

"Because I know blaming us for his death won't change anything. But you know what will? Blaming these oppressive vermin who constantly hurt us. These sadistic racists absolutely love to get off on our suffering. You must hold them accountable for this shit."

A brief moment passed, before Nickel, still sobbing in a fetal position, got back up. The man had become a nervous wreck after hearing that his father had died.

"You said that you would come back to me, Dad ... but why? Why do you do this to me? You promised..."

Lorelei slowly walked over and crouched down beside him.

"Look, Nickel, how about I give you a hug? Does that make you feel better?"

The man then hobbled on his knees like a little child, nodded yes, and nudged his head on her perfectly sized chest as he continued to weep.

"I SWEAR ... I'M GOING TO MAKE THEM ALL PAY. EVERY SINGLE LAST ONE OF THEM."

"There, there, Nickel ..."

As the wails of sorrow continued, Lorelei gently embraced him, patting on the back. He didn't know that she had grinned when he wasn't looking, for the man had a reason to grieve ...

" ... everything's going to be alright."

... and with these soft words, she had an unwitting pawn.