The Last of Us

Chapter 16

"So!" Ilia began when Blake finished her recap. "Adam's part vampire, who tried to kill you during your last mission and left you for dead on a train full of broken military paladins."

Blake nodded.

"After that you stayed on the train until your aura healed you, which must've taken hours..." Ilia trailed off sadly.

Blake bit her lip as she remembered the hours she'd been forced to spend in pain until her aura healed her.

"After that, of all things, you decided to join Beacon?" Ilia asked, that being the part she couldn't understand.

"I knew if I came back Adam would've killed me, and if I went back to Menagerie, someone would have told Adam I was alive, I knew I'd be safe at Beacon." Blake explained.

"Fair enough, you could have contacted me though, you know I would've helped." Ilia said softly.

Blake smiled at her best friend.

"I know, thank you Ilia." Blake took a deep breath and started swinging her legs again, her shadows rippling.

"So why are you here now?" Ilia asked. "I mean, if you were trying to keep a low profile."

"That's a long story," Blake answered, a little too casually for Ilia's liking.

"Okay," Ilia trailed off. "Tell me how you became a vampire then."

"My team was out shopping a few days ago," Blake began. "After we were done, we decided to stay in Vale for dinner, but we got lost and ended up finding a warehouse where the White Fang was having a recruitment meeting, we arrived just as it was finishing and ran into Roman Torchwick." Blake shot Ilia a curious look, who nodded in recognition.

"He did this to you?" Ilia asked.

Blake gave a hesitant nod.

"We got in a fight with him, and my partner Yang got hurt, when I went to see if she was okay, I got hit by an attack meant for her." Blake cringed at the memory. "Yang's the vampire who turned me, so she would've been alright, especially since she turns into a phoenix."

"She can what?!" Ilia cried.

Blake blinked in confusion.

"Vampires can turn into any animal of their choosing." Blake explained as though it were common knowledge.

Ilia nodded for her to continue.

"Torchwick used a lot of fire dust, Yang had offered to turn me before, but I don't think she expected me to accept." Ilia stared at her in horror.

"Please don't tell me you let him live after that," Ilia demanded.

"I'm not sure, Ruby said I was asleep for the next few days." Blake explained as she tried in vain to remember.

Ilia eyed the shadows as they moved around Blake, she reached a hand out, but her fingers passed right through them. "Did you come to kill Adam?"

"Yeah," Blake answered, watching Ilia play with her shadows.

"Well, if I die while helping you." Ilia began.

Blake frowned at the thought.

"I could turn you, if you want." Blake offered.

Ilia shook her head firmly. "If I die, promise you won't, you survived because you wanted to, but I want to see my parents again." Ilia admitted, her age becoming all the more apparent; a child who just wanted to be with her parents.

Blake smiled sadly.

"Okay, but I'd rather you not die," Blake said softly. "I'd like you to meet my new friends anyway."

Ilia nodded. "Okay, so do you have a plan?"

"Kind of, but I heard someone say he isn't here, and no one knows when he'll be back." Blake said.

"He's in Vale, visiting some 'business colleagues.'" Ilia did air quotes. "They're probably just other vampires."

"Do you know their names?" Blake asked. "Or anything about them?"

"Not really," Ilia admitted. "He didn't say where in Vale he was going either."

Blake glanced down at her shadows and smiled.

"Well it gives us time to come up with a plan." she pointed out.

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"You were gone a while." the man said to Ilia with a smile.

"I lost track of time, is Adam back yet?" Ilia asked.

"All in good time," he reassured. "You should find something to do, Adam will be busy when he returns."

"I'll go back to my tent," Ilia said, turning in said direction. Weird guy.

"Don't you like him?" Blake asked when Ilia got inside.

"Not really, and when did you get here?" Ilia asked.

"I cloaked myself with my shadows," Blake answered.

"If being a vampire gives you new powers, what else can you do?" Ilia asked, sitting on her bed.

Blake thought for a moment, then smiled.

"I can turn into a cat," she answered.

Ilia blinked, remembering her saying something about vampires being able to turn into animals. "Show me."

Blake nodded and suddenly disappeared, a small black cat with big golden eyes sitting in her place.

Ilia scooped her up and held her out in front of her.

"That's amazing," she breathed.

The cat just stared at her and meowed.