Eclipse - Act 4 - Cycle's End

Chapter 14 - Judgement Day

Pyrrha

Rain continued to pour from the sky, summoned by the very conflicted Eryka Vasillias. Her hairs were standing on end.

Of all the people she was expecting to come after them one day, from the Followers of Salem, Feral Ones, even Ex-Stockholm Troopers? It was none of those things, but it was the very person who helped build this utopia they lived in today. The Deacon... the man that nobody knew the identity of. She stood her ground at the entrance of her home, gripping Milo and Akoúo tightly. The armour that Cardin was clad in was unlike anything she had ever seen before. The closest she could think of was an Ebony Sabre's armour, but even then that was nothing compared to how advanced this was.

But of all of them, it was Neo that scared her the most.

She heard the stories of what Neo had been doing. The bodies she left behind massacring anyone who ever wronged Roman Torchwick, and of course, she hated Ruby. Blaming her for a death whose blood was never on her hands.

To be frankly honest, this was way worse of a scenario than she ever imagined. At least extremists were easy foes, but everyone here was extremely deadly in their own right. "You make quite the dramatic visit... to what do I owe the pleasure?" Pyrrha asked, hoping to keep things calm.

The Deacon glanced up at the rain which drenched his cloak, water trickling down the cold metal that forged his helmet. "How about we get out of this dreadful weather? Talk about this inside?" He suggested.

Pyrrha narrowed her eyes fearfully. "I'm afraid we have company." Pyrrha refused.

"Ah, no matter. We won't take up too much of your time." He promised, staring at her. His lack of a face gave her no gauge of his real intentions, which made him all the more intimidating. Looking at who she was up against, she knew there was no point in trying to keep them all out. So instead, she stepped aside and let them enter. The Deacon walked inside first, his heavy boots treading upon the wooden planks that made the porch.

He walked in and pulled his hood back, drying his boots out of respect. Cardin did the same, looking around with a smirk on his face, then looking down at Pyrrha. "Nice place." He said, with a hint of what could only be described as disdain in his voice as he glared at her. She glared back, never really forgetting his past with Jaune, even if he tried to make things right. Part of her never really forgave him for his cruel treatment of Jaune and Velvet and so many others back when they were kids.

Eryka came inside next. Out of everyone, she was the kindest, clearly not wanting to have any part in all this, which just confused Pyrrha even more. She dried herself but kept back, holding her forearm nervously as the exchange began. Finally, Neo walked inside. She did not even bother wiping her boots on the mat, just walking in and leaving wet footprints in her wake, smirking up at Pyrrha as she walked past. She really looked even more unhinged now more than ever.

She turned and saw the Deacon staring at a photograph of herself, Oriana... and Jaune. He chuckled softly as he stared at that picture. "Look at that... such joy... such blissful ignorance." He scoffed, shaking his head, hand slowly clenching into a fist.

"I don't overly like the tone of this surprise meeting, Deacon." Pyrrha stated, staring at him. Then he turned to the Huntress, then walked towards the dining room table, moving past the closed door to the next room, where Jaune was hiding with Oriana and Misty. His daughter had her ear pressed against the crack in the door, then she peered through, spotting the Deacon walking towards one of the chairs and pulling it out.

"It's the Deacon!" Oriana whispered, quickly being hushed by Misty. Jaune listened carefully, already holding Ira Red in his hand. He quickly grabbed it before getting the girls in here with him.