Lavender leaned against the admin door, her pulse skyrocketing with adrenaline.

"V-Val," she said, looking over to her, realizing what had happened, and softly smiled. She would have laughed if it wasn't for the impending doom swirling up in her stomach. "We're barricaded in! Clover can't get to us now," she said, letting out a sigh of relief and turning her head over at her friend.

Valentine had been silent the whole time. She made eye contact, her expression sympathetic. "I know they meant a lot to you," she said and held open her arms, which Lavender immediately welcomed. Lav's smile faded, the situation she was in finally registering in her brain. Jaune is gone. No more random facts, no more sweet kisses between tasks. She could never see them again.

"I'm sorry," Valentine breathed. They sat there in silence for a few moments, and for a small instant, Lavender felt a touch of hope. Maybe the two of them could team together and escape from Clover. Escape from the facility. Escape from all of the bad things in the world.

"Thanks for the-" Lavender started but felt a tug on the back of her suit and a sharp edge slicing against her skin. As the knife was embedded into the bone, she cried out in pain. Her eyes were wide with agony and Lavender collapsed forward, leaning against the person she trusted the most. Valentine opened her visor, her bottom lip trembling as she held the dying body of Lavender. Blood wept from the seam, staining her suit and clouding her vision.

"I thought we were friends," she choked out. "Y-you killed all of them. Silvius and Jaune..." Lavender looked up at who she thought was her friend. Valentine knelt to her eye level. "In this world, you either eat or be eaten. You're too sweet. Too valuable to do anything. Useless tools get thrown out," Valentine said. There was a roughness to her voice that Lavender had never heard before. It sounded inhuman like there was something inside of her that was tearing her apart. Like she was housing a monster. Something that no ten-year-old should ever encompass. Valentine grabbed the hilt of the knife, bringing it out of Lavender before stabbing it back in again. She screamed, the sound echoing in the ship. Lavender's eyesight clouded with blood, which made it hard for her to focus on anything. The distant ship alarm, her small whimpering, the lights flickering on and off all were drowned out by her loud but fading heartbeat. The last thing Lavender saw was Valentine's standing over her, bloodied knife in hand and expression black, her sharp crimson eyes daunting and cryptic.