//------------------------------// // Chapter 11: A Meeting of Equals (Part 2) // Story: Sunset Huntress: A New Beginning // by Wind Typhoon //------------------------------// Chapter 13: A Meeting of Equals (Part 2) After about 10 minutes of flying, Sunset and Cinder saw a mountain in the distance. "Wow, I didn't think we would be heading to Mount Emerald." Cinder commented as she noticed the mountain. "Mount Emerald is in the center of the Emerald Forest right?" Sunset asked. "That's right, I didn't think that there would be any Grimm living on it though." Cinder said as they approached a big, seemingly man made platform that lead into a cave. Mia took a few quick flaps of her wings and landed near the edge of the platform. "Welp, this is the place." Mia told the two as Ace came and opened up the pod. As Ace did that, Sunset noticed a few bits of ice on her face and wings. "Did you go above the clouds?" Sunset asked as she got out. "Maybe a little bit." Ace said as she shivered a bit. Sunset then hopped out of the capsule and landed on the platform with Cinder doing the same. Ace then landed in front of the two as Mia walked forward into the cave. "Is this where you live?" Sunset asked out of curiosity. "No, this is actually where Mia lives." Ace told Sunset. The cave was actually fairly big with a set of beds on the far wall on the left. There was also a TV on the right with furniture in front of it, a carpet in the center, and a makeshift kitchen on the left. "This seems a little small of a cave for a Grimm." Cinder commented. At that moment, a bright light came from behind the three. "Well, there is a reason for that." Mia said, her voice sounding more human like. Sunset and Cinder turned around to see not a Nevermore, but a raven Faunus standing where Mia was. The faunus was wearing a black shirt, white shorts, and black sneakers. On her back was a pair of white wings and all around her body was blue markings. "Mia, is that you?" Sunset asked out of surprise. "That it is and I can see that some explanations are in order." Mia said with a smile. "We should get inside before we do that." Ace chimed in. No one argued that statement as everyone entered the cave. When they entered the cave, Ace immediately walked over to the TV area and sat down in one of the chairs. "Come on, we can sit here for right now." Ace said as she motioned at Sunset and Cinder. "You better have some of the best stories to tell us if you decided to show up now after being gone for the past year." Cinder said as she sat down. "I do have something to talk about, but I don't think that I've properly introduced myself to someone of the Council." Ace said with a slight smile. Sunset sighed after Ace said that. "Do I really have to do this?" Sunset sighed. "We don't have too, but I kind of want to hear what your title is." Ace said. "As long as that is what you want, I'm all for it." Sunset said. "If you don't mind me asking, what titles are you referring to?" Mia asked as she brought some drinks over. "Everyone part of the White Fang Council has a title and an alias granted to them that they can go by." Ace said. "To give an example, my alias is Fall and my title is the 'Fall's Flame'." Cinder explained. "I'm going to guess that they relate to what you do in the White Fang." Mia said. "Exactly, and I believe I've told you this before, but to be on the safe side, remember to keep quiet about this." Ace told Mia. Mia responded by nodding in agreement to what Ace said. "Why would you tell her to be quiet?" Sunset asked curiously. "Well, there are times when I go out to Vale just to get away from home. It gets boring out here a lot of the time." Mia said. Sunset simply nodded as she understood where Mia was coming from. "Anyway, I suppose to introduce myself to you Ace. My name is Flare and I am known in the council as 'The Blazing General'." Sunset said. "'The Blazing General', I like it." Ace said. "Now what about you?" Sunset said. "Nice of you to ask, my name is Joker and I'm known as 'The Wild Wind'." Ace responded. "I'm guessing your style of command is a bit different that what I'm used to." Sunset commented. "It sure is a unique one, I'll tell you that. There's a reason why my alias and title are what they are after all." Ace said with a proud smirk. Sunset simply smiled as she knew what she was talking about. "So, I believe that you have a story to tell." Cinder said. "That I do and I would say that it's a bit of a story that you have heard before Cinder." Ace said. Cinder thought about that statement before sighing. "Are you really going to talk about the Freelancers again?" Cinder asked in a somewhat annoyed voice. Upon hearing the word Freelancers, Sunset's ears perked up. "Well, I don't think Sunset wants to hear me ramble on about them. Instead, I have some new things to talk about." Ace said as she brought out her scroll. "And what is this new information if I may ask?" Cinder asked in a not so energetic voice. "How about one of the documents that was made for the formation of Project Freelancer?" Ace responded. Cinder tossed that over in her head before noticing Sunset's expression. "Does she always get like this?" Sunset questioned as she noticed some stars in Ace's eyes. "Project Freelancer is something like a pastime to her, she is always looking for any information on the thing." Cinder told Sunset. "By the way Sunset, thanks for getting these encrypted files for me." Ace casually commented. Cinder then looked at Sunset with a deadpan stare. "Wait, what files are you talking about?" Sunset inquired. "The one that you and your friends got for your initiation mission." Ace said. Sunset then realized what Ace was talking about and immediately started to think of possibilities on how she would know about those files. "Before you ask anymore, all will be explained after I show you this." Ace told the two. Sunset simply sighed as she let Ace go on. "Very well then, this is one of the video files from the formation of the Project Freelancer." Ace said as she connected her Scroll to the TV and the video started to play. On the TV screen, it showed a person in shadows sitting in front of a desk. "Hello there my Freelancers, I am the founder of this Project and I am the one who will be giving you report to. Though I will not give you my name, you may simply refer to me as King. Before we get you all started on your first mission, I want to go over something." After King said that, a list of symbols replace the image of him. "These are the symbols that your code names have been based off of. You each have been assigned a code name as well as a symbol that is on your armor. You should all do well to remember these as I will expect you to know these for communication purposes. As for what you address each other as, I will not enforce you all to use your code names on missions but it's advised that you do to keep your names a secret." After saying that, the list disappeared. "Now then, I just have a few more things to say before you start your mission. First is that there are other soldiers here other than you 24. They are here simply to see if we can add more members to your group and for smaller scale missions. Second, this place is your home and you are more than welcome to relax here between assignments. Lastly, we ask that you keep this a secret from those who ask. That is all I have to say for now, good luck Freelancers." Upon finishing that sentence, the screen went dark and the video ended. After the video finished, Ace got up and got her scroll from its place on the TV. "So, that is what you wanted to show us?" Cinder asked. "Yep, ever since I left, I've been trying to find leads on Project Freelancer. It was only up until recently that I found this file." Ace explained. "Out of curiosity, where did you find the file?" Mia questioned. "Well, I think Sunset might know the answer to that." Ace said with a smug grin on her face. Sunset simply nodded in response to that question. "She is right, I do know where the file came from." Sunset said as she stood up. As she did, Sunset reached behind her back and put a hand on her one of her blades. "Before that however, why do you have Tempest's weapon with you?" Sunset questioned in a hostile tone. "Sunset, calm down. While I don't know what your relationship is with Tempest, but you should really be careful when provoking Ace." Cinder said as she stayed seated. "She is right, but to answer your question Sunset, I think it would be best if I showed you." Ace said as Mia went to go somewhere. "What do you mean by that?" Sunset asked as Ace stood up. "Believe it or not, Tempest and I have a very close relationship." Ace said as she walked towards the middle of the room. "Then why do you have her weapons?" Sunset asked. Before Ace could respond, Mia walked up between the two of them and gave Ace a signal. "Ah good, you had it prepared ahead of time?" Ace asked Mia. "Yeah, I had a feeling you might want to tell people about it sometime soon." Mia said as she walked over to the far wall from the entrance. Before Sunset could say anything, Cinder got up and put a hand on her shoulder. "Hey, I know you want to know about your friend, but let's let Ace explain herself." Cinder told Sunset. Sunset hesitated for a moment before sighing and putting her hand down. "Fine, but if I find out that you did something to her, you'll be in trouble." Sunset said. "Fair enough, now follow me." Ace said as she walked over to where Mia was. As they walked over, Mia pressed on a portion of the wall and it opened revealing a secret passage. The passage was a hallway that continued further into the mountain. Sunset and Cinder were surprised, but just decided to roll with it. "I take it you all have seen your share of secret passageways?" Mia asked. The three of them nodded yes before heading down the hallway. Mia entered last and closed the passage behind her. The four continued to walk down the dark hallway, the only light source being a flashlight that Mia gave to Ace. "So, what is exactly at the end of this hallway?" Sunset asked Ace. "To be honest, I don't know how to describe it. It's honestly better if you see it for yourself." Ace responded. Sunset was about to ask again until a light came into view. "Come on, it's at the end of the hall." Ace said as she walked forward. The others followed her to the end of the hall and entered the room after a few seconds of walking. The room that they entered was a room that seemed both natural and manmade at the same time. The room had natural windows that let sunlight in and was made of rocks and natural gems of various different colors making up various parts of the floor, walls, and ceiling. It also had a big computer that took up the far wall, an small room completely made up of white, reflective gems, several tables, chairs, and couches all around the room, and various amounts of TV and other electronics. "Ok, I can see why you couldn't describe it. This place is beautiful." Cinder said as she looked around. "Yeah, apparently Mia knows what this place is. However, she refuses to tell me about it because of her own reasons." Ace commented. "Hey, as much as I like you, you're not ready for this one yet." Mia said as walked forward and sat down in one of the chairs. "Ok, so how does all of this relate to Tempest?" Sunset asked in a threatening tone. Ace stayed quiet for a moment as she thought about what to say. "I am you and you are me. Does that sound familiar to you Cinder?" Ace said as she walked up to the small room. "That is a phrase that you told yourself a lot if I recall correctly." Cinder said. "That's right, do you remember why I used to say that?" Ace asked as she turned around to face the two. "Just get to the point already." Sunset said. Ace simply smiled as she pulled out a small disk that had a symbol of a yin-yang on it colored cyan and white. "I recognise that disk, you've had it with you ever since you joined the White Fang. What does that thing do anyway?" Cinder said. "Just watch." Ace said as she put the disk on her brace. When she did, a voice announced "Gemini Disk Set! Ready to go?"as two lights on the brace lit up, one cyan and one white. Ace then walked into the clear room and pointed the brace at the ground. When she did, a light enveloped her and transformed her into a ball of light. "What the heck?" Sunset said as she saw the spectacle in front of her. As Sunset said that, the ball of light split in half and started to separate in two directions. The left half started to turn white while the right turned cyan. After a few seconds the halfs dissipated and both Ace and Tempest were standing in the room. The two looked at each other for a moment before smiling and walking out of the room. "Ah, I think I understand now." Cinder said as she saw the two of them walk out of the room. "I'm just going to take a wild guess here and say multiple personalities." Sunset said, a bit dumbfounded. "A little bit, but it'll have to wait for a moment." Tempest said as she walked in front of Sunset. Sunset was quiet for a moment as Tempest just stood in front of her. "Just do it, I know you want to." Tempest told Sunset as Ace stood behind her. Sunset stayed silent for a moment before looking at Tempest with a hard look. She then punched her as hard in the gut as she could, sending Tempest back a little. "I feel better now." Sunset said, her sour tone from earlier completely gone. "I kind of deserved that one." Tempest said as she breathed in some air. "Yeah, so now I believe explanations are in order." Mia said from her seat. Everyone simply nodded as they walked to an area where they could talk. After a few minutes of getting set up and waiting, Tempest brought tea for everyone to drink. "Thank you Tempest, I didn't know you could make tea." Cinder said in a kind, calm voice. "You're welcome, I actually learned this while we were in the White Fang. I can tell you right now that Ace did not have a fun time learning that." Tempest said "I will admit that it wasn't a pleasant experience, but I did end up liking the taste." Ace commented. "So, you were going to explain things to us?" Sunset asked. Tempest and Ace looked for each other for a moment before Tempest spoke up. "We will, but first let me say that I'm sorry for not telling you the whole truth about the meeting." Tempest told Sunset. "Don't worry about it. I did get annoyed with Ace, but I can see why you wouldn't want to talk about it. Something like the fact that you have a split personality is not something that you want to talk about publicly." Sunset commented. "Anyway, where did you want to start with the explanations?" Ace asked. Cinder and Sunset were silent for a moment as they thought about what to ask. "How about how the time when you three first met each other?" Cinder responded. "That would be a good place to start I suppose, but there is a problem there." Mia said. "What would that problem be?" Sunset asked curiously. "You see, while we me and Tempest remember when we first met Mia and each other, the in-between bits are kind of hazy." Ace said. "These two apparently have very hazy memories up until they first met me. From what I can tell, it's more of the memories being somewhat repressed rather than amnesia." Mia explained. "Well, what do you two recall about meeting each other in that case?" Sunset asked. "From what we can remember, the two of us first met in a lab. I can't remember what we were there for, but I'm pretty sure it was important." Ace started before looking at Tempest. "After that, we can only remember some things and events but nothing major until we met Mia." Tempest finished. "I found them I would say about 5 years ago just after that new person took leadership of the White Fang. They were on the edge of the forest, both in really bad shape with Tempest having these black and red markings on her." Mia said. When Mia finished talking, Cinder and Sunset looked at each other for a moment which Ace noticed and held her hand up to signal quiet to Tempest and Mia. "Do you think it's the same?" Sunset asked Cinder in a low voice. "It's possible, but I doubt it." Cinder responded. "Do you two know something about those markings?" Tempest questioned. Sunset was silent for a moment before sighing and putting her cup down. "We do, but it's going to be a bit hard to explain." Sunset said as she stood up. "In that case, should we continue with our explanation before we do anything else?" Ace suggested. "I believe that would be for the best, because I'm still curious on how you two are able to separate." Cinder said. "Well, that was a bit of a tricky thing to figure out for ourselves, but it's all thanks to this thing that we're able to do it in the first place." Ace said as she held up her brace. "Yeah, I've been wondering about that myself. What exactly does that bracelet do for you two?" Sunset asked as she thought about something. "It does various things, however for this explanation, all you know is that it recognises disks and has a different effect depending on the one slotted in." Tempest explained. "So, the Gemini Disk you have in there separates the two of you into two bodies?" Cinder asked. "Yes and no, it's a bit tricky to explain. Basically, what the Gemini Disk is supposed to do is simply make a copy of the person using it. However, this room made something interesting happen to the disk and to the both of us." Ace continued. "Yeah, without this room, there is no guarantee that I would be the same person you see before you." Tempest admitted in a somewhat ominous tone as she shuddered. "What do you mean by that?" Cinder inquired curiously. Tempest looked to Mia who simply nodded as she sighed. "I think it would be easier to show you." Tempest said as she stood up. As she did, she earned a shocked look from Ace as she walked towards the room. "Tempest, you're not actually thinking about doing that are you?" Ace asked in a tense tone. "What are you talking about?" Sunset questioned. Tempest stopped walking for a moment before sighing ind turning around. "Before saying anything else, I guess Mia should properly introduce herself if we are going to do this." Tempest said before looking at Mia. Mia simply nodded before turning the the now standing Sunset and Cinder. "What she said is true, while I did give you an introduction before, it was not a proper introduction. The only reason I didn't make it is because I didn't it is because I wanted to see if you were trustworthy." Mia said as she bowed slightly. Sunset was slightly confused as to what Mia was referring to, but Cinder walked forward to confirm something. "If I may ask, are you one of the Watchers?" Cinder inquired. Mia was surprised at Cinder's question, but smiled as if she was relieved. "I admit, I am a little surprised that you know of us. That being said, my full name is Mia Hikari, one of the twelve Grimm Watchers of this world." Mia said with a bow. "Sorry for seeming like I don't know anything, but what are the Grimm Watchers?" Sunset asked curiously. "The Watchers are a group of 12 Grimm that watch over the world, waiting for something. What that something is exactly, only the Watchers know." Cinder said. "And before you ask, she hasn't told me or Ace about what that something is at all." Tempest commented. "Ok, so what does that have to do with Tempest and her condition?" Sunset questioned. "Well, I think that it would be easier to show you." Tempest said as she walked into the clear room. As soon as she did, she reached up and brought down a very well hidden door to close the opening she entered in. "Tempest, are you sure that you want to go through with this?" Ace asked in a concerned tone. "Yeah, after all, I know that you can cover for me." Tempest told Ace. Ace was about to interject, but Mia put a hand on her shoulder to stop her. "Don't worry too much, that room is very sturdy. Not only that, but I have done some things since you two last visited." Mia said. Ace simply sighed as Mia walked forward. "Tempest, are you ready?" Mia asked. Tempest nodded in response, which gave Mia the cue to close her eyes and hold her hands out. As she did so, a glowing red circle appeared in front of her hands as energy flowed out of it into a room, which Sunset instantly recognised. "Magic?" Sunset said in a low voice. Ace shot Sunset a glance, but said nothing as she watched the scene in front of her. As the energy flowed into the room, Tempest keeled to the ground as a wave of pain flowed into her. Those outside the room saw this followed soon by several black markings crawling along Tempest's exposed skin. After a few seconds, Tempest let out a scream of pain that sounded more like a primal howl. As if responding to the howl, the energy around the room covered Tempest's body, completely enveloping it in a red light. "You're sure she's going to be ok?" Cinder asked Ace and Mia as she felt the sheer power coming from the room. "She said she has been working on suppressing the power, but I don't know if it's going to help." Ace said as energy stopped flowing from Mia's hands. "It should be finished, now we just have to wait." Mia commented as she sighed. "Wait for what to happen?" Sunset questioned cautiously. As if on cue, the energy faded away and Tempest stood up with her head pointed down. When Cinder and Sunset saw Tempest, they were shocked at what they saw. Where there had once been a fair skinned girl now stood a human like figure with gray skin and purple lines along parts of the skin, gray wings, and white bone like pieces of armor on key points of her body, like her chest, legs, arms and waist area. When she tilted her head to look at everyone, here eyes were a dark purple and some fangs were poking from her mouth. "This is what she was talking about." Tempest said in a more distorted and strained voice, as if she was actively trying to keep something at bay. Sunset and Cinder looked on in shock as Ace and Mia were surprised at what they saw. "Wow, you really have gotten a handle on this power. I've never see you like this before." Mia said, impressed by what she saw. "Tempest, is that you?" Sunset asked through that shock. "Yep, I imagine you're a bit surprised?" Tempest responded. "More like very surprised. How do you keep a check on that thing?" Sunset questioned. Tempest was about to give an answer until Ace spoke for her. "It's because of me, having two people in the same body does have its drawbacks, but that's not to say that it has its benefits as well." Ace told Sunset. "Cinder, is this not freaking you out at all?" Sunset asked. As she looked over at Cinder, she saw that she was in front of one of the walls to the room talking to Tempest. "Of course she would be intrigued by all this." Sunset said as she held her head in her hands. "She certainly is jumping at the opportunity. That being said, I don't think Tempest will be able to stay conscious that much longer. In this form, her strength is constantly being drained to keep herself together and sane. Although she is holding it back, it's taking a lot of her strength to keep it at bay." Ace mentioned. "Makes sense, and I can imagine that since the two of you are seperate, whatever is inside her is draining her strength that much faster." Sunset commented. "Speaking of, I wonder if she's ready to head back." Ace said as she walked forward. As Sunset was about to follow her, she felt a pulse come from her right arm. Sunset quickly looked down and saw that the gauntlet was glowing slightly. "That is something it's never done before. What does it mean and why is it doing it now?" Sunset thought to herself as she looked back up. When she did so, she noticed Mia channeling blue energy into the room and Tempest kneeling down on the floor. Sunset walked forward next to Cinder to watch the process and saw that her skin was changing back to normal. "It's amazing, apparently she has something inside of her that she's holding back. From what I was able to gather, she said it was an ancient and powerful being." Cinder said quietly, looking directly at Sunset on that last bit. Sunset shook her head as she understood what Cinder was talking about as the energy faded from Tempest. "Ok, so just to make sure, you're in complete control Tempest?" Mia questioned. "Yeah, I'm fine." Tempest said as she breathed in and out. "You ready to join back together?" Ace asked. "Yeah, take control for the rest of the day. I need to rest." Tempest said as she reached for her brace and removed her Gemini Disk. When she did, her form changed to a cyan light and floated out of the room and back into Ace. Ace sighed as it happened and shook a little. "I take it that it's a weird feeling?" Sunset asked curiously. "Completely weird, never get used to it." Ace said as she shook the feeling off. As Sunset looked around quickly, she yawned as she saw the sun begin to set. "Wow, we've been here a while haven't we?" Sunset said through her yawn. "Yeah, we probably get back to Beacon." Cinder said as she started to walk towards the door. Mia and Ace nodded as the four of them walked back into the hallway. After arriving back in the main room, Mia headed out to the main balcony and changed back into her Grimm form. "It's going to take a few minutes to get the harness set up, we'll go when it's set up." Ace said as she went to go set up the harness on Mia, leaving Sunset and Cinder alone. "So, what do you think is inside Tempest?" Sunset asked Cinder. "Honestly, I have very little clues to go on, but it's obviously some kind of dark force." Cinder said. "Gee, I couldn't tell what gave you that idea." Sunset mumbled as she looked down. When she did, she noticed the rug they were standing on and a very familiar design to her on it. The design was clock like with circles being where the hours would normally be. The part that made the design feel familiar to Sunset was that fact that each of the circles was a different color and had a a symbol on each one. "Hey Mia, what does the design on this rug mean?" Sunset asked curiously. Mia, in her Grimm form, looked over and saw the rug. "I don't know, it was here before I arrived." Mia said truthfully. "Why do you ask Sunset?" Ace questioned curiously. Sunset was silent for a moment as she thought about why. "It's just that the design on this is familiar to me, but I don't remember why?" Sunset said as she put a hand to her head. Cinder took a look at the rug for a moment and recalled something about the symbols. "These symbols… don't they represent the Ancient Grimm?" Cinder asked. When Cinder said that, Mia looked up at Mia with a look of realization. "You're right." Mia said as she recalled something. "Well, the harness is ready. If you want to continue this conversation, the capsule is set up so Mia can hear you in the seat and respond. Don't ask how it works, we're still figuring it out." Ace said as she flew up and opened seat. Cinder and Sunset got in the seat and got strapped in. As they were getting ready to continue talking, Ace flew next the them and hovered there for a sec. "Mind if I hop in? I kind of want to hear this." Ace asked. Sunset and Cinder simply gave a thumbs up which Ace took as a cue to hop in, change into her human body and close the hatch. Mia took off shortly after hearing the hatch close. "So, how much do you know about the Ancient Grimm?" Cinder asked Mia. "Being completely honest, not much other than what all other Grimm know. The Ancient Grimm were a powerful group consisting of 12 Grimm that existed long before any of us have existed. I guess you could call them the first real hurdle that mankind had to overcome. They were also not like the Grimm you all know today in the sense that they we all very intelligent with their own personalities. Another big difference is that they each were in command with an element, similar to the Elemental Semblances we know of today. The Elements were fire, water, electricity, earth, wind, ice, light, shadow, space, time, and two others that focus more on the ferocity and elegance of all the others respectively. With these powers, you would think mankind as we know it would be wiped out. However, like the old saying goes, there can never be dark without light. To combat the Ancient Grimm, there were the Guardians, 12 humans with powers similar to the Ancient Grimm. With their help, humanity rose up and defeated the Ancient Grimm. After they were defeated, the Guardians mysteriously vanished and left humanity to create their own future." After Mia finished talking, the people in the pod were silent as they processed what they were told. "To think that's what happened all those years ago." Ace commented. "How do you know for sure that is what happened?" Sunset asked. "The story has been passed down through my home village for generations." Mia told Sunset. "I second what she said, only because I have been researching the Ancient Grimm myself." Cinder commented. "Look, I'm not one to talk about discrediting or things not being true, but I'm just saying that it might not be the full story." Sunset said. Mia was silent for a moment as she thought of that. "That might be true, but it's all the information I know. What I'm more curious about is how you know that symbol Sunset." Mia told Sunset. "I just said it looked familiar." Sunset said with a huff. There was silence among the group as Sunset thought about her words. "Although, I will admit that when I saw it, I got this strange feeling." Sunset said. "What kind of feeling?" Ace questioned. "The best way to describe it would be to compare it to an inferno. A blazing hot feeling that feels like it could break out at any moment." Sunset said as she put a hand on her chest. Mia was silent for a moment as she thought about what she just heard. "You've mentioned this feeling to me a few times before. Any idea what it could mean?" Cinder said as she thought of a few things. "No, but I'm honestly scared of it." Sunset said. "That's good, now that you know about it, you can work on learning what it is and controlling it." Ace said with a smile. "You might be right Ace." Sunset said as she was lost in thought. "From what I can recall, I don't remember anything that might cause that." Mia told Sunset. Cinder quietly put her hand to her sign as she noted something in Mia's voice. Before she could comment, Mia started to descend. "We're almost there." Mia said. "Ok, so what is going to happen with you Ace?" Sunset asked before a light flashed next to her. She noticed the light and turned to see Tempest sitting next to her. "Before you ask, it's me Ace." Ace told Sunset. Sunset quickly processed the sight in front of her before responding. "What?" Sunset asked, her brain struggling to understand what she just saw. "Tempest and I can swap our appearances, which also gives us access to the other's physical abilities." Ace explained. "Here I was thinking you were a master of disguise and infiltration." Cinder said with a sly smile. "I mean, I definitely am a master of infiltration." Ace said with a smile as Mia landed. "Ok, we're back at the base." Mia said as Sunset opened up the hatch. The people in the pod then hopped out and turned back to Mia. "Thanks for the favor Mia, I'll be sure to pay you back." Ace told Mia. "No need this time, this little visit gave me somethings to think about." Mia responded. "Well, I must say that it was an honor to meet one of the Grimm Guardians." Cinder said as she gave a bow. Sunset did the same and as she did, Mia shot Ace a quick glance. Ace noticed the glance and nodded in response. "Well I must be on my way, I have some things to take care of." Mia said as she flapped her wings, kicking up some wind beneath her as she took to the air. Cinder held down her dress as the wind picked up and all three waved good-bye as Mia left the area. "She seemed nice." Sunset said as she turned to leave. When she was getting to the edge of the clearing, a jolt went through her as she quickly looked around the area. "Is something wrong Sunset?" Cinder asked as she approached her. "I don't know, I just get the feeling that someone is watching us." Sunset said as she was on alert. Cinder put a hand to her chin as she thought about that. "Think it would be part of the White Fang from Haven?" Cinder said with a slight sneer. Sunet simply sighed as Cinder said that. "I had a feeling that you would know, but how did you find out that it was me?" Sunset questioned. "Of course I would find out about the theft and the fact that you disappeared right after got me suspicious. However, I'm more curious as to why you did it." Cinder said as she crossed her arms. Sunset sighed as she leaned against a nearby tree. "You should know why if you remembered my behavior at the time." Sunset said simply. Cinder was about to respond when Ace walked up to them. "Sorry about the wait, I was taking care of something." Ace told Sunset. Cinder looked at Sunset for a moment before turning to Ace. "It's fine, we were just having a chat." Cinder lied. Ace quickly glanced at Sunset and nodded in understanding. "Ok, so shall we get going then?" Ace asked. Sunset nodded and the three left the clearing. From a distance, Mia watch them leave the clearing an she hovered there. "I hope that this feeling that I have is wrong. If it isn't then we might have a ticking time bomb on our hands." Mia thought before she flew off. From a nearby cliff, a figure in a hood silently watched as the three walked off. They said nothing and stood there for a moment before opening a portal of light and darkness beneath him and falling into it, the portal closing soon after he left.