Eclipse - Act 4 - Cycle's End

Chapter 21 - Memories of Home

Dutch

He saw the alert on his terminal, the files on all Safehouse locations... and he knew it was her, continuing to dig through his archives of hidden information.

Anger was not a word strong enough, and thankfully he was not alone in confronting Amara about what she had done. The Deacon was walking beside him, and so was Sienna, both with anger in their eyes. Sienna especially, for she was there in that council meeting, and she heard all the Councillors agree that Amara's request was too extreme for a case lacking so much critical proof.

And now she had just gone behind the Council's back and did what she wanted to do anyway, like a child who was having a tantrum for not getting their way. The trio approached the door to her office, and he opened it with their combined override keycards, opening the door despite her lock in place. She was standing in front of the large window, staring out across Vale with her hand held to her chin.

"Did you really think we wouldn't notice what you just did? Our stockpile of Legion Knights? Two Huntresses? A massive battle lighting a portion of the Emerald Forest aflame?" Dutch sounded calm, but the anger could be heard growing in his voice, staring her down.

"The Council will know of this, Amara. You have just gone against the Council who agreed to stand against such a vicious and senseless attempted murder of an innocent man!" Sienna was not as calm, but the Deacon was the most unnerving, staring at her silently, and his fists clenched, until he finally spoke.

"This was not what the Legion was supposed to be used for." The Deacon snarled.

Amara still said nothing, staring at the rising smoke from the Embered Forest, spotting the airships dousing them with water cooled from ice dust. "Why do you say nothing?" Dutch questioned.

"Because you're blind to the truth, Dutch. You keep believing that your secrets, your games will work. That reading the journal of a dead witch will give you the answers you want. Did you really think that the Safehouse location was all I had retrieved from your files?" Amara questioned, still not turning to face him. "How about the Horn of Darkness? Pulsing rhythmically? Or as your private log with Heimdall's Lab put it... communicating?"

The Deacon turned and stared at Dutch, seeing him sigh. "Or how about the most recent one? That... all... of the Grimm from the Atlesian Wildlands have escaped alongside that Hound, and they're all out here somewhere? And a Hound that is pursuing Jaune Arc savagely? A man who was corrupted by a monster, and still has been showing signs of that power residing within him?" Amara listed her reasons, leaving them silent.

"Tell me, all of you... am I mad? For coming to this conclusion? I don't believe in coincidences. Something is happening here. The Grimm are waking up, and if those tar pits open once more, we may not be able to stop them." Amara explained, turning to them all.

"We have a powerful military, and those mechanised units you sent after them were designed to hold back such a threat." The Deacon explained.

"And yet they cut through the Drake like butter." Amara argued.

"They're Huntsmen and Huntresses. They were trained to fight against seemingly impossible odds. It's in our nature." The Deacon stated.

"Perhaps, but where are the Huntsmen and Huntresses now? We offered many a place here at the Legion, but most refused, and I can't say I blame them. What Killian did... what Salem and her followers did? The Inhumane Necessity? We don't have enough Huntsmen and Huntresses left to fight the Grimm if they return."

"Then why have you been fighting against having the Academies rebuilt?" Dutch questioned, sounding confused now more than ever.

"It should never have fallen onto the shoulders of children to save the world, and that made them all a target. Corrupted some from the power, and lead so many to their deaths. I do not want to see anymore names in those graveyards from people so young trying to be heroes. It's why I've been pushing so heavily for automated defence in such an eventuality." Amara explained, and there was no doubting her honesty, for once she was told them the truth.