[ → Bumblebee ← ]

  "The Masquerade Party"

18

Sometimes it's not the people who change, it's the mask that falls off.

X X X

Tiffany's steady flow of thought directed at Taeyeon had become a habit. For a while, she thought it was unhealthy that she couldn't stop thinking about her lover day and night. Waking up in the morning the first thing on her mind was to get ready to meet Taeyeon. Entering the classroom, the only thing keeping her awake was the idea of meeting Taeyeon at break. Her crazy world had revolved around the older woman, and whether or not Tiffany liked it, she grown accustomed and naturally looked out for the girl.

But that evening when the full moon was out, Tiffany couldn't stop thinking about Roy.

Behind the holographic screen of the interrogation room, Tiffany could see her tired reflection. She dug deep into her mind, trying to answer the question everyone was asking.

Why would Roy torture his team?

What really happened in that forest for an entire month?

Tiffany sighed for the hundredth time that day and brought her fingers up to massage her temples when an alarming sound blasted throughout the school. It began low but rose up into a high wail before lowering again. She recognized this alarm. It was the Vale City Emergency Alarm.

Her mind erupted into terror. It was common knowledge that the alarm would only ring during a major crisis. Was it a test alarm?

She searched around only to find the rest of the teachers confused as well. The Headmaster, Ozpin, was there and immediately took action. He left the room, stopping Roy's intensive interrogation, and demanded the crowd. "What's going on? Why is the emergency alarm on?"

It couldn't be a test alarm. Tiffany thought. Not without the alert of the higher rankings. They wouldn't randomly use the alarm. It would cause chaos and panic throughout the population.

Without warning, the room plunged into darkness. Tiffany braced herself and stood up. Something was definitely wrong here. Ozpin walked over to the window, touched the wall to bring up the room options and then immediately the emergency lights in the corners. Now the room was colored a faint blue. The school building shook with tremendous force. Tiffany's blood pulsed faster, her sweat beginning to form.

This definitely isn't a drill. She stepped up to Ozpin looking for any signs of order. His eyes were focused on the computer screen when he received an urgent messaging flashing the screen red.

"The city is under attack?" Professor Goodwitch stuttered. "What is the meaning of this?"

The school shook once again, a few crumbles coming. The interrogation room had no windows to view the outside world. All the people felt were the shaking of the earth, the supports doing their job not to crush the students under debris. "The school is as well." By his side, the teacher school enforcers stood tall and ready. Ozpin began to send out a series of commands in order to defend the school.

"Announce to the entire school the situation. We need all the help we can get. Send the Segment level of Year Three and Four to the Vale to aid the civilians. All Segment level of Year One and Two to stay here and help defen--"

"Sir, we've received reports that the Grimm of Emerald Forest and climbing the mountain as we speak. They're heading our way. There are airships attacking our school." As if to confirm it, the building shook again and the teachers dispersed. Tiffany ran to the dormitory, much like every student, to check on her team. She could hear the loud voice of Ozpin spreading the news to the school. "This is not a drill. I repeat, this is not a drill. We are under attack. I repeat, we are under attack."

Tiffany watched as a few students stumbled in front of her, getting caught in the airship's terrible machine guns. She slipped and fell lamely, watching a few people she knew get hit. She rolled to the side to avoid the line of bullets and tossed her head up. 

Her blood stopped.

The symbol of The White Fang would never be erased from her mind. There, high above and vicious, were three airships packed with heavily equipped weapons aiming at the students below. All identified with the bloody symbol of The White Fang. 

Tiffany was confused and held her breath at the sight. She had known the White Fang. She had been one of them. She had killed for them. But now that she was on the other side of the equation..Tiffany nearly vomited at the idea.

I have to find my teammates... She shook her head, still a little nauseous at the sight of dead students in front of her. Ice..Rosie..Jessica..I hope they're all okay.

Screams, victorious or terrifying, filled Tiffany's mind. Adding onto the sound of the automatic machine gun, students began to react to the deadly situation, some taking the injured to safely while the more experienced ones came on to fight the airships. She watched her friend, Neptune, from Team SSSN throw himself into the air and striking clean onto the outside of the airship. Assisting him were Sun and the rest of his team. Within a few minutes, they managed to disable one helicopter as they all jumped away before it hit the ground. Tiffany shared a glance with Sun and put on a proud smile. They were the school enforcers after all.

But their victory was short. Adding onto the attack of the airships, the familiar growls and howls of the Grimm neared by. She watched in a distance, a grand pack of Grimm climbing onto the ledge of the school. Tiffany shot at a couple of them, trying to slow their advance, but when the numbers grew a wearily amount, she retreated. She was useless leader without her team.

There had never been a more hectic day in Tiffany's life. She avoided bloody puddles and ducked whenever a line of bullets came her way. She closed her eyes when a gruesome image came into scene, and pathetically, she ignored the cries of help from some students.

I have to find Taeyeon and the rest of my team first. Then I can help. They're my priority.

She wasn't surprised to see the dormitory half destroyed with Grimm clawing their way into windows. Her side of the dorm was still safe, and she paced herself with a quick jog.

A scream. Phyrra's voice. She sprinted and found herself looking at--

Verrick had his trident stuck inside Jaune's belly and Phyrra's neck in one hand. Tiffany screamed at Verrick. He turned his head to which he revealed a mask.

It was a mask that covered his entire face. Not crafted, it was pulled out of the face of a natural Grimm. To others, it was considered a trophy. The White Fang hid their identity behind these masks. The larger and more scarier the mask was, the higher your rank was. Tiffany knew this, because she once had a mask.

Underneath the skull face, Verrick's eyes grew an unnatural blue. He tossed the couple aside and focused his attention on Tiffany. Tiffany kept a hand on her weapon, but tried to reason with Verrick.

"Verrick, what's going on? What's happening? Where's the rest of your team? What's with the mas-" Tiffany realized her line of questions were annoying Verrick, because abruptly, Verrick charged at her with a murderous intent. She had to use her semblance to summon a clone to get away. Seeing how she wouldn't get any answers, she decided she needed to stop Verrick first.

Swinging her blade at Verrick's throat, she was surprised to see him react so quickly. As if..As if he already knew it was coming.

It was hard to explain. It felt as if time had skipped Tiffany for a bit. Tiffany tried to continue her chain of combos but was mildly frustrated when Verrick simply dodged all of them. His blue eyes looked down at Tiffany, as if to mock her.

Then she realized.

That was his semblance.

Combat Clairvoyance.

At the second of her realization, Tiffany paused. A fatal mistake. Verrick had been waiting for this and stepped in for a dashing strike. But what he did not account for was Phyrra who stepped in and broke his attack. Quickly grabbing a dazzled Tiffany, the two girls ran away and hid from Verrick.

"P-Phyrra what's..what's going on..Why is Verrick trying to kill us..What's.." Phyrra shook her head and placed her hands on Tiffany's shoulders tightly. "There's something wrong with him. It's..I don't know, I heard sound coming from their dorm and I checked it out and..he seemed decent for a while until Alisa forced him to put on that ugly Grimm mask. Then he just.." Phyrra breathed for a while, shuddering at the thought. "He just changed. He doesn't respond to anything! Jaune and I tried to talk to him but he stabbed Jaune!"

Tiffany peeked at the corner to see if Verrick was approaching. "Jaune will be fine. He's a healer remember? But more importantly, have you seen my team?"

She shook her head. "I haven't even seen Ren or Nora." They heard the loud sound of Verrick's weapon scratching the floor in a distance. "We can't handle him. We have to get our team."

"Got it." They said before dispersing.

X X X

Taeyeon used all the power she could garner into trying to release herself from Alisa's grip. But her fragile human bones were nothing to the metal parts of Alisa. She had been grabbed and taken by Alisa who flew somewhere behind the buildings that weren't attacked yet. Then she slammed Taeyeon into the ground, before placing a Grimm mask on her face.

"?!" Taeyeon could feel her consciousness fading. The last thing in her mind was the grin of Alisa's devilish intentions.

Gathering her teammates, she bumped into Professor Goodwitch who had been repairing damages and healing students on the spot. She tapped Tiffany quickly on the shoulder before informing her that Roy had escaped the interrogation room. Tiffany clicked her tongue before running off into the distance.

She managed to regroup her teammates who were as confused as she were. By this time, the airships were down and most students taken care for. A fire started in a building, but with Vale's quick line of defense, it was brought down. The military airships dropped down and began to install anti-aircraft missiles in the dock area. From what she's learned, the entire city of Vale was under attack. So was the nearby Kingdom of Atlas. All by the works of :

The White Fang.

"This is crazy!" Jessica held onto Rosie's arm dearly. "Does The White Fang really think they have what it takes to bring two kingdoms down?!"

"Well, they're certainly taking a try for it." Ice gave Tiffany a heavy pat. "Where's your girlfriend?"

"I saw her." Rosie said getting her weapon out. A few leftover Grimm were marching their way. As they battled, Rosie shouted some information. "She was with Alisa. And she was wearing this scary mask."

"Verrick was wearing one too.." She mumbled. "And apparently Roy escaped."

Ice looked at Tiffany before focusing her eyes behind her. She spoke in a low and serious voice, "I can tell."

In the distance, Roy was visibly seen with his sigma blade blazing hot lava everywhere. Instead of helping the school however, he began to use his semblance to burn parts of the building down. Like Verrick and Taeyeon, he was also wearing a Grimm mask.

The team looked at each other, nodded, then sprinted to Roy's side. Tiffany put a hand out in front of Ice, telling her what she knew. Talking was useless and they were acting violently strange. Her team readied for attack when from the skies, Verrick, Taeyeon, and Alisa dropped beside their leader.

The series of emotions that came over Tiffany in quick succession pulled her to opposite extremes. First it was relief. But feeling the incredibly dangerous aura the team were depicting, she knew they were no longer the Team AVTR she knew. They all wore masks, with Alisa being an odd exception. Though she seemed just as dangerous at the others.

With half the school in the city, one-fourth of them injured, and one-fourth fighting off the Grimm, the two teams were locked in an inevitable battle. None of them knew what was going on or the reasons for any of it, but they all knew --  Team TIJR all knew -- Team AVTR had to be stopped.

Ice hid her eyes behind her hair before slowly putting her hands up in a boxing position. "I got Roy." She managed to say. Stepping up, Rosie pulled at her gun-scythe, placing it behind her. "I know Jessica wants Verrick, so I'll take on Alisa." Jessica rolled her eyes and with a cocky expression, pulled her prized rapier up. The team looked at their leader with a worried expression before Tiffany took out her own weapons ready to fight. She didn't say anything, well, she didn't need to. Because by default, Tiffany was going to battle none of than Taeyeon.

Alisa whispered something to her teammates before flying away and mocking Rosie. She quickly kissed Jessica good bye before running after her. Roy spread his lava into a building before leading Ice into it. Jessica used her glyph to move Verrick into the other side of school. Then left alone were Taeyeon and Tiffany.

Never once in her life did Taeyeon think she would be caught up in a full scale war between a group of rebellious faunus and two kingdoms. She had just been making coffee for a girl she liked. What happened?

Taeyeon, without a free will, positioned her blade in front of her, this time, the electricity sparking an unnatural red. Tiffany held her breath and with a determined face, dashed and swung at her lover.

X X X

Jessica swerved to the side to dodge Verrick's obvious chain of attacks. If she could, she would stop in the middle of the battle to yawn. She had fought Verrick numerous times before, and never had he once won. This was going to be easy. She'd just had to dodge his pierce and aim for his stomach..

With the idea blaring in Jessica's head, she predicted Verrick's next move and ducked, already having set a glyph in place, she planned on using her newly formulated dust to blow Verrick away.

Much to Jessica's surprise, Verrick predicted Jessica's attack and aimed what Jessica thought would be a high jab, low. Unable to cancel her glyph in time, Jessica's shoulder was met with the sharp blade of Verrick's trident. She squealed in pain before gaining her senses and backing away to reorganize her thoughts.

He saw right through my plan. Jessica bit down on her tongue. Was I too obvious? There was no way he should have been able too react to my glyph in time.

Regardless, Jessica stepped forward, right arm out, and summoned a series of glyphs to trap Verrick. Surely he won't be able to predict this.

But with each and every step Jessica made, Verrick was two steps ahead. A jab to the right. Blocked. A swing from the bottom. Dodged. A roundhouse kick. Evaded.

It's as if Verrick was reading her every move..

Seeing how none of her actions were connecting, she made a glyph to retreat herself. Catching her breath, she reorganized her thoughts. How was she going to defeat a guy who knew what she was going to do before she could do it?

Verrick did not offer Jessica a time to rest when he launched himself forward. Typically, a trident was used for piercing skills. But he surprised Jessica once more as the other end popped out a blade of it's own, turning Verrick's trident into a double ended naginata. Jessica was unable to adjust to the new change. Cuts dug into her soft skin, blood trickled from her wounds, dipping her white dress into a coat of red. She managed to get a few hits in Verrick, one directly pushing into his thigh. But he continued to walk and run as if the wound wasn't there.

Jessica was exhausted. Most her aura was depleted from the use of evading with her glyphs. It was no use. For once, she felt inferior to another person in a fight. This was rare. Jessica always strived for perfection, she had to be. This was unacceptable. Shaking the revolver of her weapon, she sparked an idea.

Verrick knows all her attacks. So why not make it obvious? She skipped a few yards, her elegant walk now thrown out of the window due to a huge chunk missing from her left calf. Verrick had gotten a little tired too. He didn't mind pain it seemed, but that didn't stop his body from naturally growing weak. Not to mention, his semblance of combat clairvoyance took a toll on his stamina as well.

Positioning herself, she drew her hand out with a pistol like gesture and concentrated for as long and hard as she could. Gathering up the remaining supply of her dust, she used all her energy into this one last strike.

The strike to end it all.

Verrick knew what was coming. It was too obvious. He ran towards Jessica in an attempt to stop her from summoning her tremendous power. But halfway there, Jessica screamed mightily as she summoned a larger version of her weapon in an aura based form. Like a missile, it launched from her hand. Verrick twisted his sword to block it, but even if he did so -- even if he knew it was coming, blocking or evading it was nearly impossible.

The impact was strong and colossally body breaking. Behind his mask, Verrick broke out in sweat as he battled the force of the attack. But he was on the verge of exhaustion and his mind was all jumbled up by Adam who was controlling it. Trying to keep his ground, the area around them cracked and blew into parts.

This was the ultimate strike Professor Goodwitch taught Jessica to do in case of an emergency.

Finally, it broke through Verrick's defense and pierced through him. In the midst of all the energy, his mask crumbled into pieces and he was left on the floor unconscious. Jessica tried to smile, but felt her vision darken. Trying to find something to lean against, she collapsed and fell harshly into the ground.

Closing her eyes, she was welcomed by darkness.

X X X

Rosie cried a barbarous scream, leaping forward like a burst of wind. She pulled her scythe in midair and plunged into Alisa. Rosie's desperation attack struck the machine directly in the back. Sadly, its effect on the robot's health was nearly imperceptible. Alisa grinned inhumanly and pulled a chainsaw out to strike Rosie clean. She disappeared into a gust of rose pedals, fleeing away and appearing a couple yards away.

Sprouting her jet wings, Alisa mocked her as she flew in the skies Rosie couldn't reach. Compared to Rosie's sniper shots, Alisa was fully automatic and shot endlessly. Rosie didn't even have time to think. No time to blink. She disappeared into rose pedals before reappearing in another spot. But Alisa had a full eye on her. Awaiting for her to reappear where she'd begin her series of bullets.

Rosie was getting tired fast. Using the recoil of her own gun, she launched herself into the air grabbing Alisa and kicking her. With a quick swipe, she sliced Alisa's robotic head off. It fell onto the ground before it exploded. Thinking it was over, Rosie allowed herself a moment of rest while she descended to the ground. But she was attacked by the headless body of the robot that continued to function. She was punched harshly, her descend quickening as she slammed onto the ground below, her breath and life escaping her lips.

She watched Alisa pick her head up, despite it exploding earlier, and reinstall it. Rosie twitched when she heard the mechanic clank! and pulled herself up. Alisa once again, flew into the skies and continued her known tactic.

I have to get her wings. I can't keep dodging forever. She fights well midair. I have to stop her from flying. She allowed the small moment of Alisa's reinstallation to reload her own weapon. This was her last magazine. Without anymore bullets, she was weak. Other than using the recoil of her weapon and semblance to apply more force into the fast swing of her weapon, she depended on her stamina that had decreased dramatically. Her weapon clicked and Rosie put on a strong face.

This was it. All or nothing.

Rosie spun around with a bellow of rage, swinging her scythe with fearful speed. Alisa darted out of the way, but her scythe's shock wave threw her to the ground. She swung around mercilessly for a follow-up.

Alisa gave a nervous cackle as Rosie neared her. She was a robot. She could have always been repaired. But like everyone else, she had limitations. She tugged at her wrists to bring out her chainsaws when Rosie sliced her hand off. Using the full extent of her speedy semblance, she continued her chain of attack, proceeding to continuously damage the rest of the robot. Her breath caught in as she twisted her weapon to achieve her goal.

A satisfying crunch was heard as nuts and bolts flew out of Alisa. Electricity sparked for a bit. There. Rosie had done it. She had destroyed Alisa's wings. But for a price.

The sound was the result of Alisa's metal breaking into pieces and Rosie's weapon cracking and crumbling away. Rosie watched as her prized weapon disintegrate. She cussed but felt it was worth it. She turned to watch Alisa's reaction when she was trapped in an expression of pure malice. Her wings may have been broken, but her right arm was still intact.

Rosie watched as Alisa dug her way into Rosie's shoulder. With the adrenaline that pumped her veins, Rosie felt time slow down as she watched every inch of metal break into her skin and go deeper and deeper. When she finally realized the damage, she shuddered in pain. Alisa grinned, feeling victory at the edge of her weapon. It had broken past Rosie's faint aura.

All or nothing crept back into her mind. Using the remainder of her semblance, she concentrated the energy into her hand. With her amazing speed, even her weak strength would be able to penetrate any metal. Her hand flared a bright red before she chopped Alisa's remaining hand off. In the midst of the horrific scene, she took hold of the chainsaw stuck in her shoulder and yanked it out. Blood spilled everywhere, darkening her already red clothes. Then with a cry, she dug the chainsaw inside Alisa's own body, turning it on, causing damage from the inside.

Alisa shuddered and shook before limping. Rosie guessed she had hit something vital, because Alisa ceased to function anymore after that.

She smiled, still exhausted, before finally feeling the result of the gruesome chainsaw attack on her shoulder. Blood loss slurred her vision and before she knew it, she was on the ground staring at the sky.

Her breathing was shallow. And at first, Rosie thought she was imagining a bright light float through the sky. But she was unable to confirm it as she fell into a deep slumber.

Never to wake up ever again.

X X X

Ice had never felt so helpless in her life. She attempted to swing a punch at Roy, but the lava between them was impossible to ignore. The idea of allowing Roy to deplete his aura by using his semblance crossed Ice's mind. But before he would even feel the effects of exhaustion, she was sure the lava would have burned the entire building and collapse on them. 

She ducked Roy's burst of lava and scaled across the wall. His sword unleashed hell as he swung the sword downward repeatedly, trailing a red light. Ice stood a few steps back from the action. She had to get that sword away from him. Shooting at the ground, the recoil rocketed Ice into the air where she watched Roy with a daring expression. His lava would not be able to reach her height. It was then Roy began to engage in a melee battle.

He tried to raise his sword to block a high swipe, but Ice caught it by surprise with a left shoulder body blow. Roy faltered backward, helpless to stop the next attack in Ice's chain of devastating combo. Another shoulder, this time the right. Tackling Roy to keep him from maintaining balance was Ice's plan. She punched him on the hand, not by accident, but intentional as he dropped his sword. As she stepped onto the ground, she did a flip to obtain his sword.

Roy growled at the sight of Ice handling his sword. Ice nervously held it awkwardly. Quite honestly, sword fighting wasn't her forte. Thought she definitely didn't expect Roy to be proficient at Martial Arts. He stepped in with his left foot before trying a roundhouse kick. Flipping in mid air, he tried to gain speed to further enhance his momentum.

Annoyed at the sword, she tossed it as far as possible and battled Roy hand to hand. Though Ice's weapon was her hands, Roy dominantly used a series of kicks. It caught Ice off guard first, a few bone breaking hits hitting clean here and there. But she managed to regain her focus and counter.

Every time Ice landed a hit on Roy, it was as if he didn't feel it. She punched harder and harder, swinging her fists strong with all her might. She was sure she had broken Roy's ribs a few times by now. Despite being her love interest, right now he was a dangerous man and held nothing back. His chest caved in, evidence that Ice really did break his ribs.

But it didn't bother him one bit.

Ice was caught off guard when a kick smashed into her chest, she choked on her breath and stumbled back. The magma was still there, heat building up and attempted to eat anything in it's way. The painful kick boosted Ice however, as she weakly managed to bring balance back to herself. She pounded her fists together, erupting herself into a gulf of flames. Her once lavender eyes grew a dangerous color of red. It was a side effect of her semblance. Much like when Verrick used his, his eyes would turn blue.

The more damage Ice took, the stronger she got. Of course, the only weakness being her endurance and stamina. She dashed in an attempted an uppercut. Blocked and kicked aside. She got up again. Threw a punch. Evaded and kicked once again.

Within a few minutes, Ice was coughing up blood. His kicks were vicious and Ice could feel herself suffering internally. With the idea of a heroic death in the back of her mind, she activated and used up the remaining bits of her aura, turning it all into her semblance.

Like a star in the dark sky, she lit up the room brightly, her body blazing with bright yellow aura.

But we all know what happens to stars when they reach their peak.

Ice didn't care about anything anymore. Roy extended his foot out only for Ice to grab and twist it. No response to pain, Ice stiffened herself, causing Roy to catch on fire. He backed off and wiped the flames off his legs. Completely caught off-guard, Ice threw herself at Roy, who beneath the mask, pleaded with his eyes.

She grabbed him and embraced him tightly.

Like a star nearing it's end, her semblance was at it's peak.

And then...

X X X

Tiffany watched a building in the far distance erupt into a bright light before bursting into flames. Debris and lava spilled out and scattered itself throughout the school. If she recalled properly, she was certain Ice and Roy were in that building.

But she didn't have time to pay attention to that.

Not with Taeyeon destructively swinging her weapon at her.

Sheer terror chilled Tiffany's spine. She desperately lunged for the space between Taeyeon and her. At the last possible instant, she succeeded in just barely deflecting Taeyeon's tremendous strike and power. The impact was breathtaking.

Their weapons sent off sparks as they scraped. Tiffany cussed under her breath, preparing for Taeyeon's next blow. The swings came fast and furious, each individual swipe powerful enough to be fatal. There was no time for Tiffany to mount a counterattack.

This wasn't like the Taeyeon she had sparred with before. Taeyeon used double-handed greatsword skills, but the perfect craft of its combinations left Tiffany totally unable to guess what was coming next. All her nerves were on edge, her every instinct dedicated to parrying or sidestepping each blow. The force of them was so overwhelming, however, Tiffany couldn't avoid everything, a few cuts and successful slashes made it's way to her body with each deflection.

Taeyeon finally connected on a powerful . Tiffany went numb with the rattling shock and her health dropped precipitously. Tiffany couldn't last much longer. Fear of death spread through her limbs like a chill. She couldn't even coordinate well enough to escape.

But deep inside her, she knew she couldn't leave Taeyeon alone. Not like this. Something was causing her to act this way because no one could deny Taeyeon loved Tiffany as much as Tiffany loved her back. Torture or not, there was no way Taeyeon would hurt Tiffany.

There was only one course of action remaining. Tiffany had to fight her lover to death.

She gave a hardy swing of her sword and deflected Taeyeon's next attack, taking advantage of the brief pause that ensued to drop into a roll.

There was no time for a single mistake. Her body danced, her heart racing. Tiffany screamed as she attempted to strike Taeyeon. Her sword left white traces behind as it flew forward and collided with Taeyeon's electric blade, sparks flying in every direction. The two were knocked backward by the force of the impact, leaving a space in between.

Tiffany leaped in to face Taeyeon without missing a beat. Taeyeon had recovered from its momentary paralysis and swung hard. Taeyeon's sword trailed electricity until it came into contact with Tiffany's trusty sword in her right hand, while her left hand reached for her new sword slung over her back. Unable to react fast enough, Tiffany landed a perfect strike on Taeyeon's chest. She stumbled for a moment, but ignored the thought of pain and continued on.

Tiffany dodged. Struck. Flipped. Ran. Little by little she was closer and closer to death as was Taeyeon. It was then she aimed for two places, the knee and the face where that horrible chill-worthy mask laid on Taeyeon's beautiful face. Unable to dodge both, Taeyeon sacrificed her knee to protect her face.

That's it! That's her weakness! It's the mask! It's what's caused her to be like this! Faintly excited, Tiffany began a new chain of attacks directed to her face.

Taeyeon erupted with rage and attempted another downward swipe. This time Tiffany absorbed the blow fully with both swords crossed in front, and pushed back. Taeyeon lost her balance with the reflection of force, and Tiffany leaped onto the offensive for the first time.

A mid-level slash with the right sword. A momentarily with the left. Right, left, right again. Her swords flashed so quickly they seemed to burn her brain cells. Paying no mind to the few blows that Taeyeon blocked, Tiffany roared as her assault continued, left and right. Her eyesight began scorching -- she could barely even see the enemy anymore. Even the occasional shock of the monster's sword striking her body felt like it was coming from another world entirely. Adrenaline coursed through her veins, and her nerves sparked with every swing of the swords.

Faster, faster. Her mind accelerated to the breaking point, even the double-speed of swinging twice the swords feeling inadequate. She swung faster and faster, attempting to outdo herself.

Taeyeon grunted, unable to keep up with Tiffany. She was definitely weakened now as she crouched to the ground. Tiffany jumped, eager to do the final strike to end this all. She reached out to grab the mask when she was stopped by an odd sensation erupting throughout her stomach. But she paid it no mind. Closer..and closer..the mask was in her hands.

She yanked it off Taeyeon's face, finally seeing the terrified look underneath the gruesome mask. Color came back to Taeyeon's face as she grew consciousness of her body. Tiffany stumbled for a few moments before losing her balance, making her way towards the ground. It was definitely the mask. Before she could feel the hardness of the ground. she felt instead, warmth from none other than Taeyeon.

"Tiffany.." Taeyeon responded with tears in her eyes. "I'm so sorry." Right there, Tiffany forgot everything bad about Taeyeon. She hadn't cared that her lover had just tried to kill her a few moments ago, because now she was back. The real Taeyeon.

With the mask still in her other hand, her eyes drooped down with exhaustion. "I won't..let this..destroy you." She said. With the final ounce of her strength, she crushed the mask into tiny pieces.

The look on her face was heartbreaking. Tears filled her eyes, sparkling like jewels, then fell. But Tiffany couldn't feel anything anymore. She was numb with a strange peaceful sensation.

She couldn't even hear Taeyeon's voice anymore. Her body had never felt this weak yet..so peaceful before.

Her eyes began to close. She didn't have anymore energy to keep them open.

Drawing in a breath, Taeyeon watched Tiffany, eyes closed and a little too still.

But Tiffany never had the chance to exhale.

X X X

*Takes all your feels and steps on it*

Happy New Year everyone! End 2014 and begin 2015 in A HEAP OF BUMBLEBEE TEARS

Your long comments have definitely encouraged me to spend SIX ING HOURS WRITING THIS CHAPTER JESUS CHRIST

I LOVE READING YOUR RANTS. YOUR EMOTIONAL PAIN AFTER READING MY CHAPTER. YESS. MUHAHAHAHHA

//laughs evilly

Comments + Longer = Faster update

Comments + Upvote + Longer = SUPAH FAST UPDATES

So comment your misery down below. Tell me, how'd I do?

Will answer any questions you have~

- Weiss_Knight

(a.k.a Plot Twist Queen)