Chapter 1 Betrayal
"They've been sighted." The radio communication broadcasted into the ear pieces that belonged to all ten of the operatives, they were all hidden up on the rooftops of the city as they surveyed the area. Their identities hidden underneath hooded cloaks, it was cold out. They were waiting and stalking their prey, they had been tracking them for years now and they were finally closing in. The ten man squad awaited further orders from their mission leader patiently, apprehension filling the night air. The squad looked up to their commander, it was hard to miss her since her cloak stood out more amongst the black cloaked Beacon Operatives.
The leader of the squad was covered by a simple yellow cloak, she stood at the edge of the rooftops, staring straight ahead in the direction communication advised where they've sighted the enemy. She thought to herself if she was truly ready for this, if this time she really did have the strength to stop this. For a moment she wondered if this was even the right choice to have been entrusted this kind of mission given the circumstances, but she couldn't question the headmistress. If the head of Beacon Academy chose her to do it, then it has to be the right thing to do. There was clearly no one else who could handle it. She had to believe in this, there was no time left.
Now was the time.
It was time to face the demons of her past, it was time to face the White Fang.
The squad leader held out her arm towards the right, a sign for the squad to disperse and advance towards the enemy's direction. As they zipped by her and leaped from rooftop to rooftop ahead of her, she stared up at the night sky up to the shattered moon above, she was never the praying type but in this moment she prayed that this mission will turn out exactly how she pictured it in her head. Fast and painless. It was the little strength she needed to push herself off her feet from the rooftop and follow her squad close behind, her yellow cloak fluttering in the air with each massive leap she made.
Inside Beacon Tower…
Cold blue eyes stared out through a window, the tower allowed her gaze to overlook the city of Vale from afar. She knew the mission had begun, there was only going to be a few mere hours until this pursuit ended and finally bury this for good. With eyes closing shut, a deep sigh escaped her, the idea bringing her a strange kind of relief. Relief that it was ending, and relief that it was being taken cared of by someone who she trusted with her life.
A faint light sparked behind her, an incoming call she was sure. She turned away from the window and approached her desk. An image of the contact appeared in the middle of her office, a hologram to be more specific. "Hiya, Weiss!" She was greeted happily by a young woman who was waving at her excitedly.
The woman named Weiss stood behind her desk and smiled, even in hologram she could feel the others energy. "It's good to see you again, Ruby. How fares your mission in Vacuo?" She greeted back, always thankful to hear from her old friend.
"Oh you know… Same thing different day, lots of butt kicking. It's all in a day's work for a Huntress." Ruby joked, a bright smile on her face, she had not contacted Weiss for a few days now and was also happy to see her. Even if it was through holo-communication, this was the closest thing they could get. In reality they hadn't seen each other in the flesh for about six months now since Ruby's departure. Sometimes Weiss regrets sending her off to that mission in Vacuo, but it couldn't be helped. Numbers couldn't lie, and Ruby was the only one perfectly qualified for the job. It would have been absurd to have chosen someone else.
Despite the distance they have, Ruby being away on dangerous missions in far off kingdoms and Weiss running Beacon Academy they always found a way to make time for each other to catch up, be it by scroll or by hologram communication. It was always good to know how the other was doing, though this time Weiss knew it was more than just Ruby checking in today, "I'm sure you're calling for more than just idle chit-chat." Weiss casually addressed the elephant that was in the room, she knew exactly what the second reason for Ruby's call was and Weiss was ready for it.
"Nothing ever gets past you, Weiss." Ruby changed her mood to a more serious one, she cleared her throat and brought hands behind her back as she stood straight. "Rumors have been floating around Vacuo among the Hunters and Huntresses that the Golden Flame of Beacon had left on a mission in Vale…" She started carefully, preparing herself to ask the question that had been eating at her all day, "Is this about the White Fang?"
"Yes." Weiss answered simply as she sat down comfortably in her desk, hands clasping together on top of it. She readied herself to hear Ruby's plea on the choice she had made to conduct the mission, and the individual she had chosen to assign it to. She can already guess what Ruby would say in protest of her decision, given how overly protective Ruby was.
Though to her surprise, Ruby hadn't protested against it entirely, but she still voiced her concerns about it. "Are you sure that she'll be okay?" The hologram flickered slightly, as if responding to Ruby's worry. Though it could also be the bad reception Vacuo had, it was extremely far away from Beacon Academy after all.
"You do know who we're talking about, right? She's the strongest of our ranks besides you, and her abilities are exceptional to put it mildly." Which was still an understatement, but Weiss was not one to put too much praise on someone no matter who it was. Especially on someone who already had an over indulgent ego, the Golden Flame was already a hot head.
Ruby shook her head, "That's not what I meant. Forget her performance, and abilities. I'm talking about her feelings, Weiss." She specified, making sure her point was made. Her tone became stronger and stern compared to her overly cheery voice as she spoke. "After everything that's happened in the past, if the mission is successful…" She struggled to put it in words, she bit her lips anxiously. Not able to comprehend how any normal person would feel about something like this. "No one would come back from something like that without some damage to their Aura." 'To their very soul…' She thought dreadfully.
Weiss stared down at her clasped hands; she understood exactly what Ruby was trying to say to her. She stayed silent, letting the tension in the room subside.
Ruby let out a sigh and continued to speak, "I'm not questioning your judgment, Weiss. I know you had your reasons for choosing my sister for this… All I ask of you, no matter what happens after the mission, please support her and protect her while I'm away." She begged, she would let the subject rest for now and placed her trust on Weiss to keep her promise.
"Of course I will, Ruby." Weiss finally brought her gaze up to Ruby's, determination filled her blue eyes. "I have grown to love your sister as she was my own, I will keep her safe until you're relieved from Vacuo." Which she even did not know when that would be, Vacuo has been having massive Grimm attacks and had requested for back up from Beacon. Ruby had been the back up as well she was given the task to investigate where these large masses of Grimm were coming from, but there yet have been any concrete results. With Ruby away from her sister it was only normal to worry for her, and Weiss swore that she will have Ruby's sister safe and sound for her return.
This gave Ruby some peace of mind, with that being said she bid Weiss goodnight. "Let me know how it went, even its good or bad. I want to know how the mission ended." Weiss complied and agreed with the request before ending communication.
Once the image of Ruby faded away, Weiss laid her head on her arms resting it on top of her desk. She hoped her decision was the right one, she had made so many mistakes in the past during her younger days as a Huntress in training. She refused to make any now in the position she was in, of being the Headmistress of the Academy, not only that but as well a friend. There were times the two would conflict, and sooner or later it will become problematic.
Weiss leaned back in her seat and turned her chair to view outside the window again, staring straight over to the far off city of Vale, "Please be alright…" She prayed silently.
The squad made it to a loading dock area; this would more than likely would be the White Fang's suppliers meet up spot. They stayed out of sight within the shadows and observed, just as their leader had instructed. This was the perfect opportunity to gain some intel before apprehending them, it appeared that they were loading up various items. There was Dust, and weaponry among other things that were being loaded up on boats and air ships alike. She wondered if they were preparing for some kind of journey, if this was the case, where exactly are they heading that they needed that many supplies?
She analyzed the surroundings, as well as the enemy guardsmen. She noticed that their White Fang uniform has changed through out the years. Previously they all wore simple hooded white robes, nothing fancy. It seemed they have gone through some upgrades. They now wore white armor over long black robes, but it seemed light plating for comfortable movement and enhanced their agility. Black and red patterns decorated the armor plating, the logo of the White Fang was designed on to their chest. The image of a roaring fanged beast along with its claw marks. The only thing that has not changed were the Grimm masks they wore, they sponsored the image of Grimm to be the mascot for their terrorism. She could almost hear the voice in her ear as she remembered the words, 'The masks are a symbol. Humanity wanted to make monsters out of us, so we chose to don the faces of monsters.'
It was a brief and short flashback, but it was enough to bring her resolve down slightly at the memory of that conversation. She had to pull herself together, she was on a mission after all and her squad was waiting for further orders. It didn't seem like the object of her flashback was among the guardsmen, but she wasn't going to lower her guard.
She gave the signal for five of her squad members to attack, the White Fang had not expected an ambush but responded quickly. They fired their guns and drew their swords, in that instant the rest of the squad jumped in for backup along with their yellow cloaked leader.
Shots were fired from her fists while she was airborne, landing a few hits on White Fang members, once she landed a group of them closed in on her quickly ready to bash her head in with maces, but she wasn't worried. She waited at the last second they swung for her head and she forced her body to radiate with aura and sent a flaming shock-wave around her, pushing the enemy on to their backs.
Her form was still burning brightly, the tips of the flames coming off her shoulders and hands licking at the air, ready to burn another victim. She positioned her arms into a boxing stance, more enemies were heading her way. She dodged a bullet that zoomed past her head, it had torn through the edge of her hood. She barely dodged it, but gladly responded the gun shot with her fists. She punched the air and a loud bang erupted, a blazing burst of fire came flying out of her fist and connected to the White Fang member's head, it was an easy target.
Fighting was a dance for her, she loved close courters combat and enjoyed feeling fists connect to bones she'd soon break or burn with her gauntlets. More rounds were fired from her fists, not missing once. Not ever letting a single shotgun shell go to waste, always made her shots count. Of course she'd use her own fists against her enemies, again, she enjoyed the feel of bashing someone's face in. She chained combos together on each White Fang member that was stupid enough to come at her, she uppercut one of them so hard that they flew up in the air, giving her a chance to roundhouse kick them to their side. The kick sent them flying out into the waters of the docks.
She brawled against three members at once, she was pretty much toying with them. Dodging their weapons expertly, getting them to hurt one another without her even using her fists. She then landed two jabs on the enemy and kicked them aside while she dodged a sword that almost pierced her between her eyeballs, she ducked away and grinned wildly at her next victim. Her gauntlets roared another round of shots, finishing the White Fang member off. The third one stood before her in slight awe, soon fear took over and surrendered by dropping his weapons. "P-Please, not in the face!" He begged mercy. "Anywhere but the face!"
She cracked her knuckles as she approached him, an evil grin was visible underneath her hood. "You asked for it, buddy." She fired her gauntlet to boost the momentum of the swing for her fist, the punch flew fast and hard. She punched him straight in his stomach, causing him to pass out instantly due to the sheer amount of pain he couldn't handle.
One by one they fell before her, it only took five minutes for her squad and herself to beat the daylights out of them, some of them were unconscious. Others weren't so lucky, but this normal routine during these types of missions. "Tag 'em and bag 'em." She ordered her squad, "Take the survivors prisoner and order a convoy to pick up the supplies, we'll be confiscating all of that Dust and weaponry." She finished her orders and was thinking to herself how boring this mission had been.
'Looks like this was a dud.' she thought to herself that Weiss really needed to get more reliable sources. Sure, they had managed to capture and stop a group of White Fang from doing whatever it was they were doing, but it was not exactly the objective of the mission. She had psyched herself out for nothing…
She watched her squad handcuff some of the surviving White Fang members, not a single one of them had been the one person she'd been order to execute on sight. To her it had been a relief, yet she still felt disappointed. 'Maybe it's just not meant to be.'
She shook her head and rid herself of her own thoughts, she had to focus and see to this mission to an end. All of the prisoners were restrained and accounted for, all they had to do now was wait for the convoy to pick up the confiscated items and they would call it a night.
Swish
Something pierced the ground by her feet, it appeared to have been an arrow. Her eyes widened when she looked at the arrow closely, the base of it was flashing with a light and it was beeping softly. As if counting down for something, when she realized what the count down was for she quickly brought her arms to guard her face and tried to jump away from it. A bright flash blinded her, a loud ringing in her ears that had almost caused them to bleed of how loud the bang was. The arrow had detonated into a large explosion, she was too late to avoid it's blast that now had consumed her body.
The squad had yelled for their commander and leader, they couldn't see any traces of her through the thick smoke the bomb had left behind. They were certain the blast had got to her, if the ribbons of shredded yellow cloth that floated in the air were any indication. One of the squad members looked towards the direction of where the arrow had come from, "Who dares attack our commander?!" They yelled outraged, hungry for vengeance for their fallen leader.
A shadowed form stood up top a large stack of cargo crates, it still held the bow that shot the explosive arrow. It stood there unmoving, staring down at their enemy as if they were nothing.
One of the Beacon operatives stepped forward and pulled back their hood, revealing enraged green eyes that stared up at the attacker. It was a girl, her skin was pale and her shoulder length hair was a midnight blue color, her asymmetrical bangs framed her slender youthful face. She might have been too young to even be here, possibly not even in her twenties yet. "Who are you?" She demanded, her teeth bearing into a sneer as she drew her weapons out from underneath the black cloak. Her fists were brandishing dual silver gauntlets, she cocked them by pulling both arms into a punching motion. She was readying a shot for the bastard that had attacked. Outraged that her mentor-someone who she knew was the strongest close quarter's combat specialist-was taken out so easily by only one enemy. "Answer me!" She roared.
Silence.
The dark silhouette tilted their head to the side curiously at the display of the enemies' weapons and battle stance, seeming to be intrigued by the young girl once she had drawn out those familiar gauntlets.
The sky began to rid itself of the clouds, with the moon now visible, the light revealed the attacker's appearance before the shaken Beacon Operatives. Their attacker was certainly female, long wavy black hair danced lightly along the night's wind. Though her face was covered by a Grimm mask that only covered her eyes and nose, her mouth was still exposed, regardless of that the woman kept silent.
This mask seemed unique compared to a regular White Fang member. Her mask was white and molded to form the image of an angered cat, the ceramic mask was marked with thin black and red designs to both sides of it's face. At the very middle of its forehead was a Japanese Kanji in red for the word seven. The mask was elegant and it was noted that it was crafted with care.
Her frame was slim but fit given the way the light armor hugged her body. She wore a black vest that was made out of hardened leather which covered her chest protectively, except the material did not cover her entire abdomen. Her navel was visible and kept pale fare skin exposed there. The only way the vest was clinging to her torso was the straps that wrapped around her neck firmly, and laced around her hips by the same type of leather straps. Her left arm was covered by a white cloth like a long sleeve, but it did not connect with her vest at all. The sleeve was strapped to her arm by the same leather material of her chest piece.
Her right arm was not covered by a sleeve, it was completely bare with her forearm decorated with black laces that were half-hazardly wrapped around it up to her wrist. Completing the attacker's armor was her lower half, which was covered by form fitting black pants and as well a pair of knee high combat boots. Draped over the left side of her hips was a white cloth, the length of it reached down just beside her knee, imprinted on white fabric was the White Fang's emblem in red. Wearing it as if it was a flag, and it was obvious that she was proud to promote the White Fang.
The young girl was very certain that she was faced with a White Fang elite of some kind, soon her mind went into overdrive the more she stared up at the masked woman. 'Could this be our target? If so, that could only mean one thing…'
Right in that moment of realization six others emerged from behind the masked woman, as if the very shadows curtained away to reveal them. All six of them wore the same mask as the woman, though each of them had a different Kanji on their foreheads. Each of them numbered from one to seven, they stood side by side each other in formation.
'It was just like the reports read, our target consisted of seven ruthless warriors that were all feline Faunus.' She summarized in her mind, swallowing nervously.
They were about to face the White Fang's strongest attack force: The deadly seven, Shadow Fang. They were lead by their strongest swords master of the group, 'Seven.' Who also originally founded the group, and quickly raised up the ranks. All seven of them were unidentified. No one knows their real names, just their numbers, and no one had ever once seen their faces unmasked. Not even among their brethren.
This was going to be one hell of a fight without their commander, without her mentor.
Before her and the rest of the Beacon Operatives squared up for the incoming fight, they stopped when light foot steps were heard from beside them.
Brown boots crunched against the asphalt, each step strong and deliberate.
"Stand down, Ash." She commanded the green eyed girl.
Emerging from the still smoky crater that was left by the powerful explosion was their commander, her step was cocky as she strutted past them. They watched her in silence, shocked that she had survived.
Hips swaying tauntingly as she drew nearer to the seven warriors, her body still smoking from the blast she had taken full force previously. Her yellow cloak was in tatters and dirtied with burn marks and scorches, but it did not appear that she had sustained any damages physically by the way she stopped in her steps and stood tall before the deadly seven confidently.
Ash stared at the back of her mentor's head, she did what she was told and stood behind her. She hoped that her fiery teacher wasn't planning on taking on the deadly seven by herself, 'I wouldn't put it past her if that's her intention…' Yet she still relaxed herself, relieved in knowing that her mentor was alive and unharmed. Though it really should not have surprised her, after all it is the Golden Flame of Beacon they were fighting along side with.
"So it is you." The resurrected commander said softly, but it was loud enough for the leader of the Shadow Fang's cat ears to hear it. She probably intended it for only her to hear it.
Seven stared down at her, silent and unmoving like a statue. It was hard to tell what her expression was underneath that mask, but it was certain that it remained emotionless.
The yellow cloaked commander grinded her teeth at the lack of response, she thought maybe Seven did not recognize her. Noticing that she still wore her cloak and her hood was still hiding her face, she decided to remove it. Pulling the torn up cloak from her shoulder, she ripped the entire cloak off her body. The cloth tore and fluttered away in shreds, revealing burning crimson eyes.
Long flowing blonde hair cascaded down her back, gloved hands adorned by yellow metallic braces that soon shifted and clicked, transforming into powerful gauntlets.
She rolled her shoulders, working out the stiffness the explosion had given her. Now with the cloak off her frame, she felt like she could breathe again. Her clothes were undamaged by the fires, not a single smudge was on her. Her clothes consisted of a brown sleeveless jacket that was fully unbuttoned, showing off her neck, which was adorned by a silk black ribbon wrapped around it securely. And as well underneath the jacket she wore a tight fit yellow tank top that barely kept her breasts restrained; the tightness of the shirt was exposing her bare abdomen. Finishing her appearance, lower down around her hips she wore a studded belt that had an orange bandanna attached to it, she wore tight fitting black pants which one of its legs was tailored short to only reach up to her thigh. Covering the visible skin of her leg were orange stockings that covered just below the knee, and just above her cab where her high top boots reached she had a lilac colored cloth tied around it.
Though impractical, this was the way she preferred to dress, it allowed her comfort and relief during combat since her powers cause immense heat to her course through her body.
The left side of the jacket showed her emblem imprinted on it as well, a burning heart. The outfit was almost reminiscent to what it use to be in her younger days though more matured.
Eyes narrowing behind her mask as she witnessed the human that stood before her, Seven clenched her jaw tightly at the very sight of the woman, but she still kept silent and remained still. Not allowing herself to show a single hint of emotion. She had to be grateful she wore a mask at all times.
The blonde woman grinned up at her, asking the silent question with her still burning red eyes. 'Recognize me now?' She questioned in her mind amusingly, but when she didn't receive acknowledgement or any kind of reaction from Seven her grin slipped.
This wasn't what she had imagined, she had always thought that once they finally faced each other. Once Seven had seen her, she would spring to action and fight against her without a single thought. It would have been so much easier that way, if they exchanged fists, just raw violence among warriors, no thoughts or emotions to get in the way. But she received nothing, all Seven did was stand there. That damn mask staring back at her, she couldn't even see her eyes with it on. Not a word was spared to her, just numbing silence. Was that really all she deserved?
Was she being ignored?
One of the Shadow Fang members, Five, stared down at the defiant woman before he gave his leader a curious glance, "Do you know that human, Mistress Seven?" He asked in wonder.
She did not answer his question, Seven did not even bother to meet Five's gaze. She had no reason to answer or to even explain a thing to her subordinate, she instead glanced to her left where Six stood near her. She nodded her head to him, wordlessly communicating her orders.
Six understood and bowed his head obediently to his leader before turning to the others, "We're retreating." He stated with finality to the rest of the group, making sure his gruff voice held their leader's authority in it.
The rest of the group bowed their heads, understanding the orders given. Though Three was a bit disappointed and whispered behind her mask about how she thought they had finally found some action.
As the deadly seven turned away from their enemy, the commander of the Beacon Operatives blazed up with fire. Her body burning brightly with intense Aura, "You're not going anywhere!" She yelled angrily at the slowly retreating back of Seven, completely shocked with rage that the deadly seven leader was walking away from her so casually. "You can't run away forever, I won't let you this time!" She vowed, her fists began to shake at her sides with the building up anger within her when her words fell on deaf ears. They were about to fall back, and the thought of losing her again caused an emotional reaction to erupt.
The name resonated loudly as it tore out from her throat, a name she had not said out loud for so many years. The sound of it ripping at her throat almost broke her own heart as she screamed it, "BLAKE!"
Seven stopped in her steps, her back still turned to the screaming blonde woman. A silent sigh escaped her lips, she had forgotten how persistent Yang was. She will not relent and face her, no matter how much she screamed. There were more pressing matters to attend and she was not about to get into a fight with her. Seven activated her own Semblance and wrapped the dark Aura around herself and the rest of her group.
Before Yang could react, the black energy dispersed and the deadly seven were gone without a trace.
A/N: Hey peeps, this was a quickie, to inspire me to write She Burns, which there will be an update on it soon. As for this story I just uploaded, not sure where I'm going with it but I like it so far. Let me know your thoughts in the reviews please, thanks for reading! :)