Bumblebee

"From Shadows"

17 

As a late Merry Christmas gift to all of you, this chapter will include a part of Chapter 18 as well.

I hope you all had a good holiday. Happy New Year!

Weiss_Knight

From Shadows

We'll descend upon the world

Take back what you stole

From Shadows

We'll reclaim our destiny 

Set our future free

And we'll rise

We'll rise

X X X

It had been 51 days since Team AVTR had last been seen. Tiffany counted.

It wasn't unusual for a mission to take longer than usual. But a month and a half more was ridiculous. After the third week, Tiffany demanded to meet the Headmaster for their information. Much to her disappointment, he didn't know much either.

"Teams only report when they're done or if there is a problem." Professor Ozpin stated. "So far, the only reports we've gotten were from the misson requester, Sergeant Senri. He stated they were doing fine and that they requested for them to stay a little longer due to complicated reasons. But," He tapped on his scroll an calmly took a sip from his drink. "That was a report a week and a half ago."

"A week and a half ago?" Tiffany blurted out angrily. "A lot can happen in a week and a half, professor! What if, oh god, what if they're all injured and that's why they haven't reported anything? What if they're--" Tears began to swell up in her eyes. Professor Ozpin's personal assistant walked by, ready to the emotionally unstable girl out. He lifted his hand, gesturing his assistant to pause.

"Miss Hwang, I can assure you that nothing terrible has happened. I've been concerned myself, in my entire life as Headmaster I've never had a mission that's taken this long. In any case, I've sent a team of Third Year students to check on them a week ago. As a matter afact, I'll send them a message to them now for mission details. Will you wait?" Tiffany took a while to nod but eventually did so after cleaning her messy tears. She sat down and was kindly offered a cold drink.

"Nice to see you, Headmaster." A faunus student filled up the screen of Ozpin's scroll. He tapped and palmed it, expanding the view to allow Tiffany to see the screen. "This is Segment Three, Year Three, Team CFVY responding to your call, sir?"

"I'd like a mission update." answered Ozpin.

The faunus step aside and another student stepped in. "We've arrived at Airstrip One safely and found untouched. We reported to the Sergeant and we've learned that Team AVTR's scrolls have been damaged and lost. The military have done their own search into finding the team and have found them yesterday. I checked on their health and they all seem fine." Tiffany breathe out in relief. "They claim they were lost in the woods. I'd ask for more but they all seem incredibly restless, so I didn't pry much further. We're on route back to beacon, we should be there this evening." The student paused for a moment before ending. "Will report in full detail once we arrive, is there anything else professor?"

Ozpin shook his head and thanked them. Then he closed the screen and eyed Tiffany carefully. "Once they arrive I'll be interrogating the team. I feel that there were some strange occurrences that might have happened for them to be lost in the woods for a month." He raised a brow while taking a sip. "I understand you're in a romantic relationship with one of the members. I'll give you special permission to come during the interview." Tiffany tried to smile but she was jittery with an unexplainable feeling. After apologizing and thanking the Headmaster, Tiffany left to spread the news to Ice.

X X X

"I can't believe that guy." She munched on some beef jerky Rosie had given her earlier. "Making me wait an entire month for his stupid response. Ugh, I don't even know if I'm happy or angry anymore!" Ice continued to bitterly mumble and chew.

Classes continued for second year students and it was their last class of the day. Tiffany planned to take her team out for a quick dinner before waiting for Team AVTR at the school docks.

"Professor Goodwitch taught me a new offensive strategy for dust." snickered Jessica. Rosie's love for weapons must have rubbed off on her. Normally keeping her weapon in the locker, she twisted the revolver beside her seat and filled it with dust. "Verrick is going to be surprised, I don't even know why he bothers sparring with me. He'll obviously never defeat me."

"I don't know about that.." Rosie responded messily stuffing beef jerky in . "I see the look in his eyes. I think he's going easy on you."

Jessica scoffed and rolled her eyes at her girlfriend's remark."The only look in his eyes are look of defeat after I battle him."

Rosie shrugged. "I don't know Jessica.. I mean, I heard he's exceptionally smart. He could just be playing around with you trying to figure out how you fight before he takes it seriously. We don't even know his semblance."

"Semblance or not, he's going to need to revise his plans because he has a whole nother thing coming. Jessica tested her weapon out of when the bell rang. Tiffany stood up first rushing the team to dinner.

Tiffany didn't bother to appreciate the wonderful cooked meal. She stuffed herself as quickly as possible, ditching her original plan and she went on the head to wait for Taeyeon's return.

It had been 51 days. Tiffany wasn't sure if she could wait any longer.

By the time she arrived the airship containing them had already docked.

Her feet quickened, her arms craving the feeling of Taeyeon when she slowly came to a stop.

Taeyeon looked different.

Perhaps it was because they were lost in the woods for a month that they looked incredibly skinny her armor was looser than normal, shifting out of her shoulder whenever she marched, her squishy cheeks disappeared, heavy eyebags, eyes bloodshot tired. She walked in a funny way, as if she was holding back a limp or had a small pebble in her shoes. When they shared eye contact, Taeyeon's young face was blank. It wasn't blank because she was incredibly happy or sad, it was simply expressionless.

"Taeyeon?" Tiffany called out reaching for her when her fingers make contact with Taeyeon's tan skin her lover shivered as if a cold wind unexpectedly slapped her. Tiffany watched her chest rise up and expand at a faster pace, her body was trembling. Was she cold?

Tiffany pulled her out of line and embraced her. She had expected the feeling of her lover's arms wrapped around her, or a kiss, or a sob. Anything but what actually happened.

"One thousand..." Taeyeon mumbled endlessly still shaking in Tiffany's embrace. Tiffany pulled back from a hug and listened to Taeyeon closely. "Nine hundred ninety three...nine hundred eighty six..." Roy turned and gripped and shoulder tightly shocking her back to reality.

"She's a little tired." Tiffany analyzed Roy's face. He seemed to have aged a few years, his once neatly groomed hair was dirtied by elements and sprouted in random directions. His eyes were as blood shot as Taeyeon's was. His shoulders drooped with exhaustion. "We all are. As Team AVTR's leader, I'd ask you leave us alone for a while."

This continued to surprise Tiffany. Roy would never say anything like that. In one of their Leader Conferences, Tiffany had watched Roy swear to never let his position of Leader affect anyone else's feelings.

Without waiting for Tiffany's response, Roy pulled a trembling Taeyeon back in line and they all marched to the Headmaster's office.

The rest of Team TIJR had made it in time to watch the exhausted Team AVTR pass by. Ice eyed Roy with heavy expectation, but Roy did not even offer a glance. Jessica felt a little playful as well and walked beside Verrick, teasing him like a child. "Glad you're back you dunce. When's the rematch?"

In a normal world, exhausted or not, Verrick would fight for his dignity. But that night, he simply stared at Jessica with a blank expression, much like Taeyeon had done to Tiffany, and continued to walk in silence.

"Where's Alisa?" asked Rosie. She watched some military men carry a heavy pod filling behind Team AVTR. She pointed, "I guess she ran out of batteries."

With Ozpin's special favor, Tiffany followed Team AVTR into the interrogation room. Of course, they weren't treated like criminals and were offered numerous amount of food and beverages, all which they kindly denied.

Tiffany was only allowed to watch and was strictly told not to intervene in any way.

Taeyeon had her head bowed down, rarely blinking as she unconsciously dug her fingers into the skin of her thigh, writing something Tiffany couldn't quite comprehend. Without her glove gauntlets, Tiffany noticed her nails were deeply colored black.

The interrogation soon started.

"Segment Three, Year One. Team A.V.T.R. You have chosen a Search and Destroy mission requested from the Kingdom of Atlas. With the military aid of Sergeant Senri, the approximate time of mission completion was to be a week." Ozpin took his eyes off the paper and kept a close look of the nervous members. "Yet it took all four of you to return 51 days later. Coco from Team CFVY told me that you were lost in the forest."

"That's correct." Roy spoke up for the rest of his quiet team. Even the usually noisy Verrick was silent.

"Tell me about it."

"We were attacked by Grimm and we lost our scrolls. We went in the way we thought was correct, and ended up strolling farther away from camp."

"Even if you were to crawl, in 51 days you would undoubtedly run into a village or settlement. Did this not happen?"

"No."

Ozpin leaned closer, his voice getting deeper. "Really? So what did you do all those days. You didn't even finish the mission. You failed to retrieve the missing military equipment."

"We did find it, but it was destroyed. I told the Sergeant that." Roy explained briefly. "We survived on eating fruits and Grimm."

"And Alisa? She could fly, she surely must have been able to find the camp."

"Alisa was damaged the first day we got lost. Her consciousness faded soon after and she wasn't of any assistance."

Ozpin continued to stare at Roy, hoping he would be able to squeeze any more information, or maybe reading his body language to see if he was lying. Every question he had, he had an explanation that was hard to believe. It felt all too..coincidental. After a short moment, he leaned back on his chair with a defeated sigh.

"I'm going to have Professor Goodwitch you to the infirmary for a check-up. Then after you may rest. Your class will resume next week. And for Alisa," He turned his head looking at the recharging robot. "I assume Verrick can handle that." Verrick didn't respond as he stood up and followed Roy out of the door. Taeyeon did the same, following Roy like a mindless robot. Once they were out of the Headmaster's room, Tiffany jogged to keep up with Taeyeon.

"Hey." She pulled on Taeyeon's hand and was shocked at the icy cold feeling. "Do you want to stay with me tonight?" She shook her head. "Are you sure?" A nod. "I know you're tired, and that this might not be the best reunion ever, but just call me and I'll be by your side, okay? Now give me a kiss." It took a while for Taeyeon to respond, but she pecked Tiffany's lips for a split second before getting back in line.

Once they were out of sight, Tiffany scratched her head at the strange behavior of the team. That night, Tiffany listened to the quiet sobs of Ice crying in her bed. Roy had apparently rejected her feelings stating that Ice was too weak for him. Instead of her usual spot beside Jessica, Rosie slept beside her sister that night in order to ease Ice's aching heart. Jessica couldn't sleep because Ice had cried all night. No one in Team TIJR got sleep that night.

In Team AVTR's dormitory, Verrick stayed up all night repairing Alisa. Roy kept watch over him but the two never spoke. The only words Verrick said that day was to Taeyeon and Roy.

When they arrived at the docks, Verrick mumbled to Taeyeon, "Stay the hell away from me."

To Roy he said, "Keep her the hell away from me." to which Roy responded, "Keep me away from..water."

The two boys didn't have to ask what Taeyeon needed protection from. Her screams of agony were evidence enough of what she was put through. Like Team TIJR, they did not get a wink of sleep.

As they worked, Taeyeon took her time in the burning hot shower. She had never felt so alive. The steam fogged up the mirrors by the time she was done. Wiping them away with her hands, she took a quick look at all her scars before grabbing the make up kit and quickly covering them. No one must find out. No one..

"She's finished." She heard Verrick say as she exited the bathroom. "All wired up."

"She has the chip in?" Roy responded. With a heavy heart, Verrick nodded. "As long we do whatever he says, we'll be fine."

Alisa stood up from her pod and she spoke. "He told us to keep a low profile for now. He's almost ready for the plan. Just a few more days."

Verrick tossed his wrench aside and crawled into his bed to which Alisa responded. "Don't get too comfortable. Keep your guard up at all times."
Roy began to take off his armor as he instructed his teammates. "As far as anyone knows, we got lost in the forest. Put your make up on and cover those scars. If you're not in the mood, just say you're tired. Reassociate yourselves, we already have all this attention on us, we have to blend back in."

He wrapped a towel around himself before entering the bathroom. "And one last thing.." Taeyeon stopped tracing the numbers on her skin. "We will never talk about what happened, ever."

Then the bathroom door shut.

X X X

Tiffany bitterly looked at the team who had just entered the cafeteria, the feelings associated with Roy's rejection to her partner. But she was happy to see Taeyeon looking much better. She waved at them to come to the table and she could feel Jessica's glare from the side.

"You're going to make him sit here? Seriously?! After what hes done to Ice?!" Her harsh whispers traveled across the table and Tiffany ignored her. After they retrieved their food, Rosie moved aside so Taeyeon could sit in front of Tiffany. Beside her was Roy. Tiffany understood they were partners, but she felt they had been too close lately. Verrick sat beside her and Alisa idle.

"So, uhm, your missi-" Rosie tried to say before Verrick interrupted. "We don't want to talk about it." Embarrassed, she slumped back on her chair and quietly sipped on milk.

Jessica pointed her fork at Verrick and tried to liven up the gloomy atmosphere. "Are you feeling better Verrick? I hope so, because you and I are going to have a rematch tonight." Verrick grunted and continued to stab his food aimlessly.

Roy finished his meal quickly and stood up to leave when a careless student bumped into him spilling the contents of his tray all over Roy.

"Ah!" The boy winced. "I'm so sorry! I-Oh gosh, let me help you--"

Roy began to breathe heavily. Pasta stained his clothes and water spilled on his face. Taeyeon stepped up and pushed the boy aside, whispering to Roy intensely.

"Roy?" She leaned in. "You have to stay calm."

"What's going on?" Rosie said standing up as well. She helped the boy clean up the mess. The scene created a small ruckus in the dining hall. Roy held a grim face as he bit his finger to stay calm. Blood trickled from his bite. His eyes shook with tears and Taeyeon calmly pushed him to Alisa's side.

"Taeyeon, what's going on?" Tiffany stood up sensing the abnormal behavior.

"He's just tired." Verrick mumbled. "Alisa, can you bring him back to the dorm?"

"Wait!" The boy reached out and pointed at Roy's hand. "You're bleeding, let me help you." From his pocket, he took out a handkerchief. But because the water spilled on him too, it was wet. Roy backed away. "Don't ing touch me!"

Ice frowned and made her way between Roy and Taeyeon. She didn't care that Roy rejected her last night, because the rejection wouldn't make up for the times Roy had been good to her. "Hey hey hey, let's take it easy, alright? What's going on here?"

"Please don't worry Ice." Alisa pulled Roy aside.

"Uh, no. I have to worry, Roy is my friend." Ice countered.

"Now isn't the time, Ice." Tiffany said placing a hand on her shoulder. "They've been gone for a while, they need some space." And with that, the two teams went their separate ways.

"Taeyeon." Before Team TIJR headed to their classes, Tiffany pulled her lover aside. "I really, really don't want to pry into your team's business, but is everything alright?" She leaned in closer, trying to catch Taeyeon's eyes. Unable to do so, she placed her hands on Taeyeon's face.

Taeyeon trembled. "Don't!" made strange shapes before she was able to put herself in control. "Don't..do that.." The bell rang and Tiffany cussed under breath.

"When I come back from class, I want to talk to you privately. This is serious Taeyeon. Now, will you kiss me or do I have to do it?" When a moment passed and it was obvious Taeyeon wasn't going to do anything, Tiffany, cautiously, leaned in and gave Taeyeon a deep and neat kiss. "Get some rest, I think you guys really need it. I'll talk to you later, okay?" Taeyeon nodded looking like a lost child. Her eyes no longer reflected the light, seemingly dull and emotionless. She always looked so troubled now and it hurt Tiffany to see Taeyeon like that.

X X X

After their combat class ended, Tiffany and her team were walking to the dormitories to fetch their notebooks before heading to their next class. Because Beacon was so large, breaks between each class were thirty minutes.

Jessica filed her nails to keep her elegant look in place. Her father had not been very supporting of her decision to become a Huntress and with expensive lotions and intensive skin care, Jessica tried to erase any evidence she was ever a fighter. Compared to Rosie's rougher and strong skin, Jessica's was softer and smooth.

Tiffany watched Jessica blow on her nails when she was reminded of Taeyeon's black nails.

"Do you think Taeyeon would paint her nails black?" asked Tiffany randomly. Jessica furrowed her brows and continued filing.

"How would I know?" She grumbly replied. "She's not my girlfriend."

Ice stepped between them. "Whats this about nails?"

Tiffany shrugged and scratched her neck. "It's just..yesterday when I saw Taeyeon arrive, she just felt..I don't know...different?"

"Well, they've been gone for a while. Your perception of them must have changed." Tiffany disagreed at Jessica's comment. "No it was just..it was an unnatural change. I know this sounds trivial and all, but Taeyeon's nails were jet black. And I know missions don't give out nail polish or anything like that. Taeyeon doesn't even like nail polish." She looked at her own hands. "And..her hands were so cold.."

Rosie, who had kept quiet for the duration of the conversation, paused to point at her boots. "One time I stubbed my toe pretty hard and it turned black." She shrugged and tossed her arms behind her head. "I don't know if that's important. We might just be thinking things a little too hard. They've been lost in the forest for days remember? They must have been so terrified, things are bound to change."

"I agree." Ice swung her arm around Tiffany's shoulder. "Let's just take things easily, okay? Let's give them some space.." Ice paused and dropped her hands. "I kind of understand what you're saying though. Roy's personality changed. I would never have expected him to say that to me, and honestly, I kind of refuse to believe it. It just doesn't seem like him.."

"Verrick has been a little off too.." added Jessica. "Believe it or not, I enjoy annoying him. But now he doesn't even budge whenever I . He just stares at me with this scary look."

They continued to complain about their close friends when Rosie called out and pointed in a distance. "Hey wait, isn't that..Roy and Taeyeon?"

They were ascending the slope when the partners came into sight. They were hidden behind some tall bushes, but from their vantage point, they could see everything they were doing.

"Let's say hi." Ice stepped forward but Tiffany pulled her back. "Wait, they look like they're doing something."

They were too far to hear anything properly, but close enough to see each and every movement. Taeyeon's face glistened with some tears, but she seemed to have stop crying a while ago. Roy's hands were on her shoulders, he leaned so close and had an intense gaze.

Then after a moment, Taeyeon slowly nodded and stepped closer to her partner, subtracting the distance between them as she clutched him dearly. Her face was buried in Roy's chest, her arms underneath Roy's as she held onto his back.

For a second, Tiffany wasn't quite sure as to what she was feeling. Was she jealous? From the look of Taeyeon's face, it seemed they were talking about something of incredible importance. Roy had a scary look on his face as well when he reached for his back and grabbed his sword.

Team TIJR froze. Tiffany held her breath, her feet all jittery with the adrenaline rushing through her body.

"What is he doing...?" Jessica whispered. They watched the scene unfold in front of them.

With one hand on Taeyeon and one on his sword, he extended his hand as far as he could, positioning the edge of his blade on Taeyeon's back carefully at an angle.

He was going to stab Taeyeon.

Team TIJR responded quickly. Jessica pointed her fingers out, summoning her glyphs in place, locking Roy's arm in place. With her speed, Rosie dashed to their side the quickest. Ice threw a punch and knocked Roy's sword out of his hands. Tiffany sprinted and threw herself at a confused Taeyeon.

"Tiffany..?!" Taeyeon gasped. Jessica positioned herself in front of a frozen Roy, her rapier pointed at his throat. "Rosie, call the School Enforcers. Ice, get the medics." The sisters dispersed and Tiffany stood up, joining in on Jessica with their weapons pointed directly at Roy's face.

"You have a lot to answer, Roy." gritted Jessica. "We were just talking about how strange you guys have been." She batted an eye at Tiffany. "I didn't mention it before because I wasn't quite positive. Taeyeon's nails are jet black. Not because of nail polish. I've read it in medical books before. Under heavy mental stress, anxiety, and continuous regeneration, that's what happens to people's nails." She placed her rapier directly on Roy's throat, blood oozing just a little. "If people were lost, the first thing they would look for is human life. The only thing that I can imagine why your team has been a little strange is.."

The School Enforcers stepped in and the medics accompanied a distressed Taeyeon.

"What's going on here?" Professor Goodwitch arrived. Ice pulled Jessica and Tiffany back and in a rage of outburst, Jessica screamed and pointed at Roy violently.

"Roy tortured his team in the forest!!" She screamed. "They weren't lost! Roy was about to kill Taeyeon just now!!"

Taeyeon tried to stand up, refusing the medic's help. Jessica looked at her nails, then her skin. Unlike everyone else, Jessica immediately detected the heavy make up.

Jessica kneeled and using a wet towelette the medics had, began scrubbing the make up off Taeyeon's arm. Taeyeon winced and tried to fight back, but by the time she was able to do so, the obvious scars and bruising were inevitable. Jessica pulled Taeyeon's hand and showed everyone the deep purple bruising and blisters around the wrist.

"You see this?" She said loud and clear. "This can't just be from the forest."

Professor Goodwitch stepped in closer and Taeyeon held her breath. She examined the wound and turned her head to look at Roy who was dead quiet.

"These wounds are from ropes. Around the wrist..you must have tied her up for a long time."

Before she was stopped by the enforcers, Ice managed to punch Roy harshly, nearly knocking him unconscious. "I can't believe I'd fall in love with a maniac like you."

"Bring him to the interrogation room. Surround it with aura preventing barriers. Get the rest of his team." Taeyeon tried to speak up, but was silenced by the look of Roy's face.

Together, the two looked at each other.

And then they smirked.

X X X

"Mirror Mirror"

18

Mirror, tell me something,
Tell me who's the loneliest of all?
Fear of what's inside of me,
Tell me can a heart be turned to stone?

Mirror, mirror, what's behind you?
Save me from the things I see!
I can keep it from the world,
Why won't you let me hide from me?

Mirror, mirror, tell me something,
Who's the loneliest of all?

I'm the loneliest of all.

X X X

The scarred woman trembled at the sound of the door closing. It had to either be Verrick or Alisa. Unfortunately for Taeyeon, it was both.

Verrick stayed humbly by the door in case anyone were to barge in on their meeting. Alisa stode up, paused to glance around the room, and gave Taeyeon a pained grin.

"Roy has been caught and labeled the torturer, or so I heard." Taeyeon's mood was quickly growing hostile. She felt something powerfully ethereal from Alisa -- a palpable, murderous intent. "I guess one month of pure torture wasn't enough to convince you to obey me." She smiled. "It's too bad your girlfriend caught you before you two could kill yourselves." Taeyeon stood up, tired and sore but with an angry fire sparking in her heart.

Alisa stopped smiling.

Taeyeon felt the overwhelming force of her brass-colored eyes. Fake, artificial, yet so damn realistic it scared her. She could feel her bones trembling underneath her skin.

Taeyeon knew it herself, there was no way she could defeat Alisa, especially with Adam controlling her, Taeyeon might as well have been served on a silver platter. She could either surrender herself to fear and be taken away to hell, or die trying. She eyed Verrick in the distance, hoping for some makeshift alliance, but the freshly acquired scars and bruises showed that he had no intention to.

With a mental flick of her brain, she was in battle mode. Taeyeon didn't dare wait for Alisa to strike first. All the blood in her body pulsed faster, gripping the reins around her instinct to fight and left no hesitation. Reaching to the side, Taeyeon pulled her sword and counter-sword out at once. This was not an opponent that Taeyeon could afford to give anything but her ultimate best.

Alisa tugged at her wrists and drew out a slender long chainsaw and held it out. She smiled, viciously. Taeyeon wasn't sure whether or not Verrick would intervene, but she kept an eye on him just in case.

The two teammates, one brainwashed and one completely afraid, leaped forward at the same exact second.

Taeyeon darted in low, gliding just over the ground. As she reached Alisa, she twisted, striking down-left with her sword. The chainsaw blocked it, sending up a burst of sparks as she turned her chainsaw on.

The sound of electricity flowing and a chainsaw running filled the dormitory up. Taeyeon was intent to have the other students listen in, hoping they would get suspicious and perhaps call the teachers.

Taeyeon learned that electricity did not bother Alisa, and if anything, powered her up even more. Curling her right arm in, she attempted to go straight in with a punch from her counter sword. Alisa blocked it with ease, but the heavy impact was impossible to cancel, sending the robot flying away in a distance. Feeling no pain, Alisa sprouted out her wings and tackled Taeyeon, causing both of them to fall out of the window.

Taeyeon landed on her back, her breath escaping in a painful gasp. But she had no time no stop as Alisa carved her sword halfway into Taeyeon's left arm. She responded by charging with her sword. She clicked her tongue when Alisa dodged and backed away. Half expecting another chainsaw attack, Alisa instead retracted them and pulled out a series of guns Verrick had installed in her a while back. With a heavy grunt, she the pointed end of the gun at Taeyeon and blew her away with a heavy energy blast.

The powerful shock wave rattled throughout Taeyeon's fragile body and she was knocked back several feet. She jabbed her right sword into the ground to keep from falling over, did a flip in mid air, and landed on her feet. She had seen Alisa fight before, but only at Grimm. Grimm and Humans were two entire different thin-

No, wait, that wasn't right.

Taeyeon was reminded of the child from their mission.

She struggled to keep herself balanced. Pain did not bother Team AVTR anymore. They had experienced far worst and have survived. Alisa's chainsaw attack that nearly ripped Taeyeon's arm apart was nothing but a scratch after everything she's been through.

Their fight had been noticed as Verrick was tossed out of the window. Unlike Taeyeon however, he managed to land properly. After his fall, two students, Jaune and Phyrra from Team JNPR, landed as well. Armed and ready to go, they paused when they saw Taeyeon battling Alisa.

"What's going on?!" Phyrra demanded. "Jaune go call back up. You two, why are you fighting?" For a moment, Taeyeon felt like revealing the entire truth. She felt like shouting that Roy was innocent and that they were all victims. That the leader of The White Fang and Tiffany's former mentor, Adam, was the one who tortured them all and took control over Alisa. But she was reminded of the horrendous torture that she went through. 

It was the reason Taeyeon despised any sort of physical contact. It was the reason Roy hated water. It was the reason Verrick hated Taeyeon.

Blindfolded and tied up. Brutally taken advantage of. Unable to tell what was inside her skin, but feeling the pain of it there. Being drowned for hours nonstop while being hung upside down. Being dipped in water and then electrocuted nonstop into submission.

For an entire month.

Pain was just a word to Team AVTR now.

Nothing but a four letter word...

X X X

(Author's note) *cussing ahead

First off, Merry late Christmas and Happy New Year! I know I'm late to party, I was suppose to update on Christmas but we didn't have internet at my house FOR A WEEK //SCREAMS so I ended up writing offline and such.

Anyways let's talk about this chapter hmm?

I know in the last chapter I put a warning that there would be torture scenes. And originally there was. I even had them all written out. But I thought it'd be boring if I just told you what happened, so instead I made Team AVTR return acting all strange (Taeyeon counts numbers for a reason, you'll find out later, much like the deal with her nails but eyy Tokyo Ghoul anyone?) until you find out what happens at the end. This escalated far quicker than I had expected though. Remember in Chapter 16 when I had four polls asking:

(Team AVTR) Taeyeon vs Tiffany (Team TIJR)

[Taeyeon won by one vote]

(Team AVTR) Roy vs Ice (Team TIJR)

[Ice wins votes]

(Team AVTR) Alisa vs Rosie (Team TIJR)

[Rosie wins votes]

(Team AVTR) Verrick vs Jessica (Team TIJR)

[Jessica wins vote with Verrick having only 5. Whoever those 5 were props to you]

Well I don't know if this is a spoiler or anything, but it's actually going to happen. In.The.Next.Chapter.

Now of course, you guys didn't know the conditions of the fight and how good the characters actually are --

Taeyeon and Tiffany have sparred before. Hell even Taeyeon thinks she would never win against Tiffany. But now that pain doesn't bother her..

Ice won? Really guys? DID YOU GUYS FORGET ROY'S SEMBLANCE WAS LAVA AND ICE'S IS JUST FIRE?! FIRE AIN'T GOT ON LAVA

Rosie won. understandbl-NO GUYS ALISA IS A ING ROBOT JESUS CHRIST GOOD LUCK WITH THAT ONE ROSIE

I don't understand. It seems like no one likes Verrick when he's actually one of my personal favorite characters. Jessica had over votes and Verrick had five. They had a fight scene earlier and Jessica did win, but did you all forget that Verrick has never once used his semblance? And that he's a genius? Rosie hints that she thinks Verrick is going easy on Jessica, and quite honestly, he is. In the next chapter, you'll finally get to see his semblance.

So in the next chapter it'll be the continuation of Chapter 18 Mirror Mirror. I know it seems like I'm wasting your time by putting the songs and lyrics of the chapter, hell I don't even know if anyone even listens to it, and if you don't you because they actually mean . Important . Next chapter will be what I call, the ultimate showdown. Team TIJR vs Team AVTR

Also, after the story ends I'll be adding a Bumblebee Wikia chapter. Which explains all the stuff, from my perspective. This story should end soon (I know I've said this before but jesus I keep getting amazing plot twists in my head) but it should be a happy ending.

Should be..

I don't ing know if you guys pay attention to the small details but in the previous chapter Tiffany briefly mentions Adam, her former mentor. So don't blame me and go, 'AUTHOR Y U PUT RANDOM VILLIAN' because I WARNED YOU

Anyways randomness : Anyone else fond of the new font? I like it.

Also I got a job interview tomorrow. For once my lazy might actually get a job. And if that happens, updates will be scarce. So comment and encourage me to write while you can before I slave away behind some counter. School resumes in one week. Going to be quite busy then. While I was watching my Sim get hit by a meteor in Sims 3, I got the idea of a one shot called Free Runner. So if you need a moment to get away from the dramatic chapter of Bumblebee, go check that out yo. Link here : http://www.asianfanfics.com/story/view/882875/

Free Runner story summary : Weed, shrooms, acid, molly, ketamine, heroin, meth. Whatever you want, Taeyeon has it all. With express delivery of course. It's only when she delivers to a certain Tiffany Hwang does everything go wrong. Oh, did I mention Tiffany is an undercover cop?

I hope you guys like the new poster, because I worked all day on that using paint. Look at this beautiful

yeah

I just did the background and text stuff though lol I ain't talented enough to draw the characters so credit to whoever's tumblr I got that from. And yes, that's what they actually look like in the story. Hope you enjoyed this long chapter. Comment or I'll show up at your house with a chainsaw. Upvote or I'll show up at your house with a chainsaw and a cactus.

Honestly though, I may not reply to everyone but I read each and every comment. They're the only things that keep me going and continue writing this story that I write FOR ING FREE. SOME OF YOU GUYS ARE UNGRATEFUL CACTUS

AND IF ANYONE ING CARES I LISTENED TO THIS ON REPEAT THE ENTIRE TIME WHILE WRITING THE STORY. IT GOT ME IN THE MOOD TO WRITE IT SO YEAH.

THANKS FOR READING~! Now go spread the Bumblebee love. Recommend this to your friends yo. Watch them fury and crumble in emotional pain. Next Chapter: Pure Action.

Team TIJR vs Team AVTR.

Have some Ice. (cr. owner)

Tiffany on Ice encouraging Jessica and Rosie to kiss under the mistletoe.