The last time they talked to each other was on their Scrolls.

"I'll explain everything when I get back. It's something which should be said in person," she said.

"I'll be waiting then," Bruno said.

"It'll be a couple days."

"Got it."

"I'm sorry for... not getting back sooner.

"Don't worry about it. I'm still surviving."

"Not thriving?"

"Uh, that too."

She giggled. "And one more thing."

"What's that?"

"I'd like the usual."

"I'll make sure to have one ready for you."

"Thank you. Don't make it too soon~!"

"Mamma mia. Who do you take me for?"

"I don’t want it cold when I drink it. Ha ha!"

It has been two years since he last heard from her.

----------------------------------------

Bruno peaked out of the cafe's entrance, checking to see any Grimm under the moonlight. He saw the damages done to the buildings and the roads. Broken holes peered into the interior. Pits formed through the concrete. His own cafe and home being intact was a miracle. He slowly closed the door behind him, letting the bell's ring echo through the empty street.

He was already outside. His shivering legs took him through the street. Both guns in his hands. He had to move to the emergency shelter before any Grimm got to him.

He walked with care through the torn street. How much destruction took place while he cradled himself like a helpless child? He wondered as he looked up to the moon. Griffons and Nevermores populated the sky as it swarmed the airships above.

He continued forward and managed to pass the block, being as discreet as possible. The scent of burning filled the air. He was relieved to not see any casualties but the torn and battered Atlesian Knight-200s that scattered his path caused him to hesitate from going any further.

There he saw in the distance someone on the ground. Whatever Bruno's previous thoughts were, they vanished as he ran to the person.

She was looking up towards the dreaded sky. An ice-cold chill went through his body as he knelt down and saw the three huge gashes on her stomach. The deep crimson blood stained her red and white hoodie. Her breathing was abnormal. Her left eye was covered by her black beanie but he was certain it dripped with tears as her right.

She reached her hand up. Bruno hastily freed both of his to hold onto hers. She turned to him. Her single visible gray-blue eye made contact with both of his.

"Stay with me! I'll get help!" Bruno cried out. He looked around his surroundings, hoping there would be someone that could come to her aid, but there was no one but the broken android soldiers and the mechanical ax near her. His eyes went back down to her, unable to do anything else.

"I'm scared. I'm scared," she weakly said as her voice shook.

Bruno felt the weight of her hand drop. Her head tilted away as her entire body went limp.

"No," Bruno said. "No. No. No. No."

He shook his head, hoping this was only a bad dream. But he saw death in front of himself again. He took a clear look at her lifeless face as he gently put her hand down to her chest.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

A screech pierced his ears. He saw above a Nevermore heading towards him. Its beak was wide open. It was too fast. He didn't have time to react. This was the end for him.

So he attempted to close his eyes but they were too stubborn to shut. So he stared. And he stared. The Nevermore should've gotten him by now. Why was it moving so slow?

He realized everything; the Nevermore coming at him, the other creatures higher up in the sky, the airships getting swarmed, everything was barely moving. Even the sound was being stretched to a horrifying low pitch. What was happening? As strange as it was, if things were going to move this slow, he may as well fight. He reached for the uzis, which was a struggle. His arms felt heavy. His entire body felt heavy. It was comparable to following normal motions you'd do on land while submerged in thick liquid. It was only his perception of time that changed, he realized. He managed to grip the uzis in his hands and with the same difficulty, aimed at the Nevermore.

He slowly pulled the trigger. He saw every individual bullet spray out of his guns. The space between him and the Nevermore was getting smaller but the bullets moved quicker than the Nevermore was able to.

Suddenly, everything went back to normal. He continued shooting into the Nevermore's mouth. It made a painful cry as it flew over Bruno, almost grazing his head. Bruno kept shooting as the bullets ripped through its stomach. Every shot successfully ripped through the Nevermore's belly. It crashed into the pavement behind, tumbling through the pavement before it stopped. Bruno saw his target withering away. He managed to kill it. He managed to kill a Grimm.

He shifted his attention back to where he was going. He saw in the sky a woman with an open umbrella floating down. She was up higher than the buildings around and it seemed she was coming down to land a few meters away. He didn't hesitate to reload; other Nevermores and Griffons circled around her.

As he finished reloading, he saw the woman close her umbrella, letting gravity pull her to the Grimm below. She stomped and jumped off it to kick another one in the air. Bruno was stunned. The woman had no problem handling the flurry of the Grimm coming her way, kicking and striking them with her umbrella. But he couldn't let himself be a spectator. He aimed his uzis at the beasts around her.

It happened again. Everything moved slower except his thoughts. He used this to his advantage, carefully aiming his uzis at the Grimm that laid their eyes on her. He sluggishly pulled the triggers, making sure to follow his aim to where he predicted his targets to move.

Time moved back to normal. The two Grimm were hit and couldn't go for an attack. The woman took advantage and jumped off the Griffon under her, kicking the shot Nevermore with a flip and smacking the other shot Nevermore's face with her deadly umbrella.

Bruno emptied his uzis on the Griffon under her. Its wings tore. Unable to sustain itself, it dropped from the air.

The Grimm that circled around the woman was no more. She opened her umbrella and floated down to the ruins of the city, landing not far from Bruno. He ran to her, hoping she was okay.

The woman landed with grace. Upon running up to her, he noticed she was quite short despite wearing stilettos.

"Are you okay?" He asked her.

She had a worrisome look on her face. She briefly looked at him with her pink and brown eyes before moving her attention to the skies.

"We have to get out of here."

Before she could give him a response, they heard an explosion. They both gave their attention to the ball of fire off in the distance. An airship had crashed into Vale. The woman secured her umbrella and ran towards the airship.

"Wait!" Bruno yelled. He instinctively ran behind the woman.

There were Beowolves ahead. The woman didn't care. A spike on her umbrella appeared as she mercilessly slaughtered the Grimm in her way. Bruno was behind her. She didn't need his help with them. They were nearing the site of the crash. Bruno had questions but decided to keep to himself. He wasn't going to let anybody else die under his watch.

They made it. Past what Bruno knew were corpses of civilians and soldiers alike, and collapsed Atlesian Knight-200s. The huge airship was on fire, surrounded by the wreckage of its own and the unfortunate structures around it.

Bruno and the woman saw someone lying on the ground next to the wreck. Their body was charred and black, same with the clothes. There was no way to identify who it belonged to, their face was burnt and unrecognizable. The woman rushed to the body while Bruno walked with caution. He didn't have to get close to know this person was gone from this world.

The woman fell on her knees. Her back faced Bruno. He heard no cries or screams from her, only her heartbreaking ventilation.

"I'm... I'm sorry," was all Bruno could say.

It took a moment before her quiet sobbing stopped as she managed to collect herself and turned her head to him. Her eyes were now white and her face drenched with tears. She looked back at the body before she stood up and walked around it to pick something up Bruno didn't notice sooner. In her hands was an intact black bowler hat with a small feather tucked into its red band. She looked at Bruno dismally as she put the headwear on herself. He saw her pink and brown eyes were back before she wiped the tears away. The sound of multiple footsteps quickly approached them. Bruno swung around to see who they were.

Samson, with a baton in hand and a kitchen knife in the other, and a blonde pony-tailed woman with a white down vest stopped a few feet before him.

"Are you two alright?" the pony-tailed woman asked with concern.

"Boss," Samson said in relief with a gentle smile before his attention went to the short woman behind Bruno.

He rushed up to Bruno, stopping just an inch from touching him. The smile had left his face. He asked quietly, "Who is she?"