AN: Here is another Team BLJC fic. This one is ~ 6 years after they graduate haven academy. Fall of Beacon during the Vital Festival.
Jette Black (on literal fire at one point): 27 – King of ClubsSemblance: Kinetic Energy Empowerment (absorbs energy into body to enhance strength)Weapon: Katar dagger (Pain), Punishment (shotgun)
Carmyne Rowley (whip it, whip it good): 26 – Queen of SpadesSemblance: Telekinesis (uses thread)Weapons: Dust Whip and Pistol
Burgundy Marx (leader) ("I'm an architect, not a military leader!"): 25 - Ace of DiamondsSemblance- Tremorsense (Shockwave)Weapon- Block (Sledgehammer) and Mortar (Hardlight Gauntlet)
Lazuli Jones ("I'm surrounded by idiots"): 25 – Jack of HeartsSemblance: Written Apparitions (Summons with writing)Weapon: Pistol and throwing pens
They are old af compared to my other stories, I know. I wrote this story for the hell of it. I seriously doubt the whole team would be at the Vital Festival and at this particular Vital Festival.
There Ain't No Rest for The Hunter
The attack was sudden with ill timing on the part of protectors. No one expected an attack during a student tournament. Huntsman, police, and soldiers all found themselves in a war zone. There were too few who could protect the civilians. But that didn't stop a team from Mistral, who were going to fight until the end. Anything to save lives, because that was what huntsmen do: protect and love at all cost even when coin is not involved.
A small dark brawler reached out and caught a bot's arm. Jette whirled around with a loud cackle and flung it as if she was participating in a hammer throw competition. It barreled into a unit of hijacked robot soldiers. They all tumbled down like bowling pins.
This allowed Burgundy, her team leader, to quickly dispatch a few with his sledgehammer, which was just a hammer. He turned and thrusted the head forward, mashing a chest and then turned once again to dispatch a creep with an overhead blow.
"Keep 'em comin', Jette." Burgundy called out as Jette flung more machines at him to destroy with his hammer.
"FORE!" Jette shouted with glee.
Lazuli jumped on a beowulf, using Jette's strong shoulders for lift. The penmen slashed at the grimm's unarmored neck, downing it. She rolled to the ground and threw pens, aiming at the sensors in the back of the robot's necks. She watched the soldiers shutter and the lights faded as they fell.
"Aim for the back of the neck or face, Carmyne!" She shouted over the roar of battle. The faunus nodded and adjusted her aim.
The penman saw a dark shadow loom behind her and withdrew yet another pen and focused, writing in the air. Before her formed a ursa outline, inked with her semblance. It rushed to protect Lazuli. The ursa she summoned roared in triumph and melted away, leaving ink splotches on the ground and the haze of a downed grimm.
Lazuli picked up a dust rifle from a fallen soldier and blew through the enemy with expert aim. Once empty, the penmen bashed the nearest soldier's head with the butt, damaging visual sensors then returned to her razor sharp pens.
A whip cracked, short circuiting any bot who fell prey to the bite. Energy dust flowed through the leather sending light and sparks in all directions. Those who looked on would think the user was wielding pure lightning. Carmyne reeled back and shot out. The tip wrapped around a robot's leg and swung it toward her teammate, who easily smashed it to the ground. Jette fired her energy dust buckshot for extra measure.
Jette's crouch was well timed to evade bullets from her partner's revolver. Each aimed at the heads to damage visual sensors. Carmyne whipped out her thread to yank her partner away from an Atlesian Paladin's stomp. Two large mechs crashed their party.
"Could use some magic, Burgundy!" Lazuli shouted at her partner.
The hunter turned and quickly typed on a gauntlet on his right arm, harnessing his hard light constructions.
"It's not magic!" He aimed and released a large hard light railroad spike right through a Paladin's torso. Metal and dust parts exploded in all directions as it was reduced to scrap metal. "It's engineering at its finest."
"Fuck!" Jette got into a ready stance, knowing what should be done. It was her turn to show off.
Carmyne cracked her whip at Jette's mechanical arm, supercharging her partner's semblance.
"GO!" Carmyne shouted at her teammate.
Jette's arm glowed bright white from the amount of energy stored up. Jette used a truck to get higher. She braced herself and jumped as hard as she could, landing on the paladin's back. It began to shake, trying to throw the woman off. But Jette had other plans. She brought her fist down in a semblanced blow, topped off with energy buck shot, plowing through metal and dust. The resulting explosion sent the woman barreling to the ground. Jette landed hard on her side.
"Jette!" Carmyne went to her partner. She didn't have to worry much since the brawler rose back up.
"I'm good." Jette patted off the flames on her now tattered, sleeveless, plaid shirt.
The grimm and robots kept closing in and the team found themselves pinned down with no relief in sight. The three women all looked to their leader, who raised his hammer, activating his semblance on the way down. Concrete cracked and rose up out of the ground like fractures. Cars left the ground, tumbling and twisting away. Lamp posts sparked and fell with loud clunks, taking power lines with them. The Grimm and robots stood no chance from the seismic wave, losing their footing and pushed back and away from the hunting team.
Jette, Lazuli, and Carmyne held their ground. All three trained hard and long on how to remain in the fight after Burgundy's powerful tremorsense.
Team BLJC took a quick breather.
"Yes! That's you get for messing with the BEST TEAM IN REMNANT!" Jette screamed in pure wild ecstasy at the victory that transpired. Her enthusiasm in battle warmed her team up to return to the fight.
The four jogged down the street, stepping and jumping over Burgundy's mess. They didn't get far.
Down the street and around the corner, the four stopped. Before them laid the remains of a Altision live unit. Every one of them torn apart by bullets and grimm. Lazuli covered her mouth in shock and looked at the reactions of her team.
Burgundy looked soulful.
Carmyne shocked.
Jette furious.
"We have to keep moving." Jette told her teammates. "The knights have passed, but we don't know their direction."
The other three nodded.
The four each reached down and took a dust rifle. Hunters learned to make use of any weapon they can. And to preserve their own weapons, BLJC took up arms of the fallen.
"We are near the west docks." Burgundy pressed against the wall, peeking around if it was clear. It was. "Move."
Burgundy started forward, Lazuli and Carmyne followed with Jette at the rear. Each party took a side. Burgundy watched their front. Lazuli and Carmyne, the three and nine. While Jette watched their six.
The four were in total sync as if they've done this before. But they haven't. No amount of training could prepare a hunter for moments like the ones this team currently faced. Jette was the only one with military training, being leader of an elite police force. But the other three were running on their huntsman knowledge from Haven and their many missions fighting bandits and grimm.
They moved at a steady pace down the street. The team did not encounter any foes. The girls stopped at the end for Burgundy to check, each keeping their eyes peeled and aims steady.
"Clear."
Team BLJC continued their route to the docks. The sounds of skirmish grew louder and the four stayed on high alert. Jette saw movement and tilted her gun up and over, ready to pull the trigger. She stopped at the sight of a huntress wielding a bow, slowly climbing up a fire escape to the top. The huntress paused at Jette's move. Jette gave her the carry-on signal before the four moved on.
"I hear gunfire from the south." Carmyne confided in her team, her faunus ears more sensitive. "Do we engage?"
"Negative." Burgundy answered. "The docks are our objective. Secure the docks for evac."
"Roger that." Carmyne felt weird at the military jargon. But this was a battle and their training came through. She didn't become a huntress to fight on a battlefield. No. She became one to show the world and her family how powerful and strong the Rowley name truly was. Faunus or not. Her only training remotely similar to this situation was serving as a field nurse to splinter cells of the white fang. Though she carried a gun, she never had to even hold at the ready.
Lazuli was off too. She was a professor of history, not a mindless, militant fighter. A renegade. Though she trained heavily in guns and aim. Lazuli rather use her more personal touch with her throwing pens.
Burgundy had no idea how to lead in this situation. His team never faced units of mindless killing machines. Grimm they could handle with ease. As well as bandit tribes and the occasional White Fang. But not an army designed for large scale assaults. Guns felt foreign to him. The last time he actually fired a gun was two years ago in desperate defense for his team against bandits. Even then, it was hard. It was still hard.
Jette was at ease. She was trained for this very situation. The minute she was able to walk, she had a gun in her hand. Killing came easy to her too, having been brainwashed and groomed to feel no remorse at the trigger of a gun or the point of her Katar. Hitwoman turned huntress turned military officer. She had trouble determining what was fact and fiction from all the conflict in her head. Truth from lies. But one thing that always stuck with her was her loyalty to Burgundy and the team.
And right now, the four only had each other.
"I see our objective." Burgundy stated to the team. Lazuli and Carmyne looked on while Jette meticulously watched their six.
"Let's move." The four hastened their pace at their leader's command.
They were not prepared for the sight.
The hanger bay was covered in blood.
Bodies of civilians and pilots littered the ground. Dead. All dead. Jette went on high alert, watching the rooftops. Something glinted in the low sun.
"THE ROOF!" The four separated and lunged for cover as bullets rained down on them from heavy machine guns.
Lazuli dared a peek and frowned. "White fang!" Her team listened, showing various expressions from frustration to worry.
"Wait for them to reload." Jette informed her team over the loud fire. "That's our opening."
The four waited for what felt like hours for it to stop.
"RIGHT!" Jette ordered.
They all rose their dust rifles and retaliated against the militant faunus, focusing on the right turret. They watched as many fell to their guns, but they still had to worry about the left gun. Which reloaded, forcing them to take cover again.
After a few moments the guns stopped. All four poked out with the guns ready. But they smiled. The Huntsmen arrived. A woman rose a bow over her head in salute.
Burgundy pulled out his scroll and set it to a radius signal, used only in times of distress. But now in a time of courage.
"This is Burgundy Marx, leader of team BLJC." Scrolls across Vale echoed his words. "I'm calling all available personnel to create a perimeter starting at the West docks. Create safe zones for civilians as you go. Any with pilot and medical training report to the west docks. Stand by for more orders. Burgundy-out."
"Daammn." Jette smirked and lightly, which was an understatement due to her strength, punched his arm. "Look at chu all high 'n mighty."
"This is Crim team CRNN reporting in from west main. This is Timber, Team TEAL signing in at market square. Fox from team FLNT signing in market square. Commander Rust of Alpha-4 squad in south second. Inspector Maine of Homicide division, vale PD north." More and more reported in. Giving locations and showing allegiance. Burgundy smiled at his team.
"Woah now, kiddo!" A husky voice sounded from his scroll and everything grew quiet. Team BLJC looked at each other in suspicion and confusion. "Qrow Branwen signing in from the residential district with Goodwitch and team TRRA…" Almost everyone knew about Qrow and his unmatched skills, loyalty to Ozpin, and drunken habits. "Get 'em tiger."
Burgundy sighed at the answer, part of him was scared someone of more influence or experience would assert themselves and take the lead from him. His moment. And THE Qrow Branwen pretty much tipped his hat to him. Burgundy took a deep breath.
"Make your way to the west docks, save as many as you can. That's a priority. Search and rescue must wait."
Many teams and groups sounded in their understanding and accepted orders from a twenty-five year old architect working out of a small two floor building with his team living on the second floor.
"Boss?" Burgundy looked to Jette. The three girls looked on, expecting orders from him. He smiled slightly.
"Carmyne, determine a set location near the docks for those who need medical attention." The faunus nodded. "Lazuli. You be ready to brief any pilots who volunteer to help." The woman smiled. Lazuli knew she was a decent pilot, but she now felt the heavy responsibility of organizing evacuations in a war-torn city. "And Jette. You control the fighters once they arrive at the docks. Organize the protection." Jette shouldered her rifle and gave him one of her wicked grins. "This whole city is dependent on us. We cannot fail."
He turned away when he heard static on his scroll. His team lingered close, curious about the contact.
"S-zzzzz-ial zzzzz Schnee. Req-zzzz zzzz-up." A strong female voice barely got through. She must be at the very edge of his scroll's range. "Zzzzz Distr-zzzz."
"Agent Schnee. What's your location? Do you read me?" Burgundy reached out, wishing he could expand his radius. But it only reached five miles in all directions. Vale was much larger than his scroll's radius.
"Zzzzz- Marx – zzzzz." Burgundy held his scroll so tight his knuckles turned white. "N-zzz-th car-zzz-ion st-zzzz." The answer was not very helpful thanks to the static on the line.
Burgundy flipped through his scroll and projected a map of Vale on the haul of a bullhead. Jette and Carmyne trotted over and searched the streets in attempt to locate any mostly similar to Winter's answer.
"There's Carnation street in the heart of Vale's commercial district." Carmyne called over to her leader, pointing her finger on it. "Could she be there?"
Burgundy nodded and thought this out. This event was of historical significance and did not want it tainted by poor leadership.
"Agent Schnee." Burgundy was clear and steady. "Are you on Carnation street? Do you read me? Carnati–"
"Yes!" Winter's voice was equally loud and clear.
"Start getting civilians to safety, Agent Schnee. See you at the dock." Burgundy just ordered a Schnee. He gave orders to a Schnee.
"Do it, Boss. Be the dude to save this town." Jette ran off, tossing the rifle aside.
"You're doing great." Carmyne grabbed his attention. "You are more than worthy for this position."
Though BLJC wasn't necessarily a household name, people in Mistral and Anima grew to respect them. They were talented and young, with so much potential. The architect knew that once Jette rose in the ranks, Carmyne took over her family's business or more, and Lazuli moved from assistant professor to full time, the four would be held at high esteem. Something he was eager for. But still, they all had to survive the night.
Carmyne looked around and didn't find her partner in sight. She rolled her eyes. Jette had a habit of running off. But the team never minded because the brawler would return, usually with an obnoxious explosion. She turned back to her duty of setting up a medical zone. Carmyne searched the bullheads for any and all supplies. Their first aid kits won't work. They were nowhere near enough for one person.
On the field, hunters carried specific gear and one of them was a nice, handy first aid kit. It contained everything from a quick, temporary patch to a full force triage kit. Though only one member in the party carried the larger, fully stocked first aid kit. That was Carmyne's job. Her major duty in the team was provide support and patch up any mess Jette got herself into. Though she was a superb fighter, her unique semblance made her a perfect field medic.
But she did not have her pack with her. And even if she did, it wouldn't be enough to treat a whole town. She'd face everything from bullet wounds to broken bones.
She sighed and frowned. Burgundy always insisted they come prepared with full gear readily accessible. He yelled at Jette for carrying too much gear and slowing them down when they had to move out suddenly.
Carmyne quietly hunted down markers and pens of various colors. It was her task to organize medics and aids to label each person based on how serious their injury was. Red to green, and the dreaded black. Allowing those with medical training to quickly identify those who need immediate attention to those who just need a sling.
"Commander?" Carmyne scrunched up her face and turned around. She was not a commander of anything. No rank of any kind. Just a huntress. But, nonetheless, she acknowledged those who approached. "We are here to help."
A tall, thin woman in a dirty, black suit with a thin scar over the bridge of her nose addressed the faunus. She was joined with three others. A man in dirty, blue scrubs with fear in his eyes. A spectacled woman in uniform with a grin that challenged Jette's. And, lastly, a huntsmen with a feathered hat and feathers protruding from his forearms.
"We all have medical training." The scarred woman continued. "And have supplies."
All four set down packs of various sizes which contained supplies she lacked. But still, sadly, it won't be anywhere near enough. But she had hope knowing more medics and doctors will arrive and to help.
"Excellent." Carmyne showed a genuine smile. "We're going to need all hands-on deck for this."
Before they even finished sorting through their supplies, the injured were arriving. But so did medics, some even with their own supplies. Carmyne started handing out markers, almost all knew the color system and started by the rows other medics did their best to keep.
"Carmyne!" The faunus turned and smiled a Jette. Then rose her eyebrows. "What?"
"Whose child did you kidnap?" Carmyne pointed at the small form on Jette's back. "... This time."
"Oh!" Jette hiked up the small girl on her back. "I rescued her from some bots." Jette was beyond casual, as if this was a common occurrence. Which, it was a common occurrence. "Uh… Her family is gone." She was quiet for the child's sake. Carmyne frowned. An orphan. One of many that will spawn from this night. "I'm going to take care of her for a bit."
Carmyne stepped behind Jette to check the young girl over. No visible injuries but terrified beyond belief.
"What is your name, sweetie." Carmyne smiled and gently coaxed the young child. The girl looked up slightly at Carmyne. Her eyes rose up to the top of Carmyne's head. The faunus twitched her ears with a warm smile and got a small smile in return.
"B-Brooke." The child answered softly. Jette gave her partner a sad smile.
"How old are you?" Carmyne smoothed out some dirty blonde hair. She saw horror in the young girl's green eyes. No tears shed from her eyes, her cheeks were dry. This young girl thought the end was upon her. In the moments before Jette's rescue, Brooke understood a concept even many adults don't want to think about.
Brooke held up three fingers.
It was as Carmyne feared. Young and alone from the age of three. But she saw a weird look on Jette's face. An expression she's never seen, when she believed Jette became predictable after almost ten years of fighting together.
"I've gotcha, kiddo." Carmyne's eyes widened at Jette's words. She understood right then and there, Jette prepared to protect this young girl for a long time. Brooke buried her face in the older woman's crew cut. "Relax. I'm sticking around." She directed her attention to her partner. "What's the status? Anything I can do?"
Carmyne shook her head. Jette had little medical experience. She'd just use burn dust or fire. Which was how you can cauterize a wound, but infection doesn't cross her mind in the moment.
"But I want to." Jette was honest, concern etched over her face.
"Your job is to organize those protecting the dock." Carmyne reminded her partner. "Though I know you care, I've got this covered. Things are moving well."
Jette frowned and walked away with the child still on her back. Carmyne crossed her arms over her chest as she watched the girl in black go.
This was the third bullhead out of fuel. Though there were dozens in the hanger, even just one could mean a dozen people still in the town.
A frustrated growl rumbled from her chest and she slammed her fist on the consol. She silently cursed Burgundy for their initiative. Yes, Lazuli knew how to fly a bullhead. But now, she needed to find places to take these people without notice. The tower was out. Only local frequencies worked.
"Commander?" Lazuli looked at the ceiling in a silent wish for this nightmare to end. She finally turned to the uniformed woman that addressed her. "We have twenty pilots…"
"But thirty-six shuttles." Lazuli kept formulating her plan.
Each bullhead could hold fifteen to twenty people. Which translated to, if her math was correct, around six-twenty per trip. Something like that. But that was nowhere near enough because the shuttles will drop off and return. With that, fuel was a factor. Because now Lazuli had to calculate fuel usage per evac, factoring in max carry weight and approximate distance.
It was a nightmare and she did not like the thought of failing to save hundreds of thousands. To her, there was no right answer. But, for once, she had to think like Burgundy and Jette. Both were calculative, assertive, and tactical. Though she was all three, Lazuli was not a military officer or an architect.
"Dust." She sighed and slouched slightly. "Never in a million years did I have to imagine myself as Jette fucking Black."
Loud. Aggressive. Explosive. But, somehow deep down, smarter than many predict. And loving. Somehow.
Jette would work on moral. Jette would also walk amongst the crowds of people asking for volunteers. Jette would try to again and again to get more shuttles.
So, Lazuli had to do a Jette.
And she hated it.
The penman hopped out of the shuttle and over to the small group of volunteers. Mostly military. But there were a few public shuttle pilots with them. She studied them for a few moments.
"Each of you go into the crowds and defensemen and find three pilots each. Doesn't matter the experience." Lazuli ordered. "Except you three." She looked at the public transit pilots. "Tell me where other shuttles are. And where is the nearest fueling station for them. AND the safest places to drop off large masses of people." All three looked between each other and nodded.
"I know a guy." A strong, burly bear faunus grinned and crossed his arms.
"Let's get a radio out to this guy." Lazuli made the small trek to Burgundy's communication command spot. Which was a work table with a map and his scroll.
The small form clung on tight as Jette walk around her ranks willing to protect the docks. She made sure each were armed. Most were uniformed and huntsman. But there were quite a few others who were more than willing to blow some bots and vaporize grimm.
This pleased her greatly.
Jette sectioned off squads, making leaders. Each carried out tasks with the objective: Save Vale.
"How you holdin' up, Brooke?" Jette asked over her shoulder. The girl nuzzled closer. Jette knew it wasn't wise to carry a child on her back in a warzone. But, the kid wasn't letting go. Jette had to just adjust her fighting style and behavior accordingly. No reckless jump into the fight. She had to be tactical.
Though she was itching to hold a rifle. Itching to punch lights out. Itching for blood coating her knuckles. The usual.
Jette's behavior and thought process was highly observed. Picked apart almost. Burgundy kept her in check. The badge tucked into her boot reminded her of her duties. But Jette's biggest flaw was she run into things and believed everything would be alright. Things would go as planned. When there was a weapon in her hand or her arm was fully loaded, she felt invincible.
It was a struggle to remind herself who she could harm and those she must not. Well, Jette's couldn't harm anyone, so many drilled into her head. But she definitely wanted to break noses, all the time.
Jette had to keep a level head. Burgundy pretty much put her in charge of an army. So, Jette reminded herself to act accordingly. Every step.
"Squads Alpha and Beta this is Inspector Black, report in." Jette's heavily Mistialian accented voice echoed through Vale. She received responses from the leaders over her scroll.
"Advance forward to Vale General, look for food and medicine." Jette ordered as a police cadet she grabbed to aid her held up a tablet with a map with the leader's scrolls identity markers on it like glowing dots. "Opel." The cadet directed her attention to Jette. "I mean. Cadet Daze."
"Yes ma'am."
"Squad Delta's near the southern docks…" The brawler adjusted her reading glasses and followed the dot. "We need the craft."
"How many are on squad Delta?"
"Twelve."
"It's wise to investigate and retrieve as many as we can, ma'am." Opel suggested and Jette nodded in agreement. "Each bullhead port must have at least seven craft fully fueled and ready for emergencies. Let's hope they enforce these regulations."
Opel had to be nineteen or twenty. Mostly likely fresh out of training. But she knew this city down to details she wouldn't ever need to know or implement. It's a testament to how hard women had to work to get any recognition in this field. By her age, Jette had already claimed the name Blacksmoke. And killed a lot of people. Details. Details. But she too had to prove her worth to the Mistrailian government and military. Huntress training was not a free pass.
Jette pressed a button on her scroll. "Delta Squad. Do you read me? This is Inspector Black."
There was static for a few moments until a strong, feminine voice responded. "We read you, Inspector Black."
"Delta Squad." Jette addressed the small group of fighters. "Move to the Vale Southern Transit. Standby for further instructions. Do you copy?"
"Roger that, Inspector Black. Move to Vale Southern Transit. Got it. Out."
Opel quietly began mapping out directions and safe houses. Jette selected her because of her knowledge of Vale and her ability to respect and receive orders from a military defense officer from another country. Most young cadets followed orders from any authority.
"Cadet Daze." The young girl glanced at her leader, knowing Jette was curious.
"I-I…" Opel began to speak her mind until a distress cry came over the scroll.
"Mayday! Mayday! Mayday! This is squad Sigma!" Jette and Opel shared a look and crowded the scroll.
"This is Inspector Black! We read you! We read you!"
"We are over run!" They could hear the heavy gunfire and explosions from their station at the docks, not just over the scroll. "Requesting backup!"
The two went to the tablet map. The closest squad was Epsolum over two blocks away.
"Standby Squad Sigma!" The gun fire grew louder.
"Squad Epsolum!" Opel turned to a second scroll. "Do you read me? This is Cadet Opel Daze of high command"
"Roger that, Cadet Daze! What can I do for you sweetheart?" She rolled her eyes at the terminology. Opel dealt with men like this from the moment she applied for the police academy.
"Squad Sigma is requesting backup." Opel stayed professional and pushed her glasses further up the bridge of her nose. "I'm sending you coordinates. Make haste and intercept."
"Roger that, Cadet Daze." The rough voice returned.
Opel and Jette shared a look and the two sighed. Their thoughts were mutual.
How the hell did this happen.
The evacuations were smooth, but slow. With the added shuttles from the southern transit, Lazuli took a breather from the stress. It took about two hours since their arrival at the docks to start the evacuations. The most critically injured were evacuated to Signal Academy, where they were treated in the infirmary by skilled doctors. The rest were sent to the three closest coastal cities directly north of Vale. From there, they were out of team BLJC's hands. Lazuli received word that many of the cross remnant transits were closed and limited to emergencies due to Vale's attack. The world did not know who to trust after Atlas's military was taken over by a virus. When the command air ship sank to the earth, all the hacked soldiers powered down, posing no more threat. But still with a lull in the fight, evacuations will remain slow until the bull heads and other ships run out of fuel. Then everyone will have to make their own plans and travel on foot. Which was beyond dangerous with the grimm infested forests. And with the current state of pure terror and grief, deadly.
"This is an adventure," Lazuli turned on her teammate. "Haven't performed such and large-scale mission such as this."
"How can you feel this is an adventure, Jette?" Lazuli groaned as she did a head count as people entered a shuttle. "People are dead. A city is in ruins."
"Something we both know too well, Lazuli."
Jette was right, team BLJC had encountered a similar situation to this. There was a small town the team came across on a lull between missions and skipping town to town for jobs. The town wasn't just destroyed. It was beyond recognition. No signs of life. But signs of a heavy grimm attack. The four could not fathom how such a small town contained so much negativity to be ruined in such a large scale. The four heard rumors of a nightmare grimm that attacked all in it's migration path. But still, it made little sense to them. A whole town ravished by grimm. Almost unheard of.
"This time we have a chance to save them, Lazuli." Jette grew serious. "I'm not taking this for granted. You know me better than that. But it's exciting that we can do it right this time."
Lazuli studied the brawler. She was worn out and blood seeped from a cut on her head. A blow that would cripple or kill anyone who does not have the aura reserves this berserker built up. But Lazuli could see the hard eyes Jette only shown when she was numb. This usually loud, jovial barbarian was silenced by death.
The girl in black rotated her back, sighing at the relief each crack made. Her body, though young and fit for a twenty-seven year old, had its scars. But her mind was fried. Many years of rehabilitation and conditioning made it hard to separate fiction from reality.
In her youth, Jette was quiet and shy. Submissive under her abusive father. The woman suddenly had phantom pain in her shoulder but showed no physical signs to alarm her team. One evening she stepped on her father's bad side and lost her right arm. That was the next to last time she saw him. The next time was to kill him. She worked in one of the largest crime agencies in Mistral for four years before Haven. At Haven, she got a cybernetic arm and learned to fight with ranged weapons. But her shotgun was not designed to kill grimm. Her whole arsenal of weapons was designed to kill humans and faunus.
After graduation, Jette pushed away her crime days and joined the military, facing hard conditioning to turn her from a huntress back into a weapon, what Monty's agency created her to be in the first place.
Jette had many conflicting voices and feelings in her head. Some told her to smile and be happy she's alive. Some said to not trust anyone just Burgundy. The other side told her to kill everyone around her. Slowly. Painfully. She suppressed them as much as she could and doing that drove Jette clinically insane and barred her from combat. A weapon who will do anything and would smile as she did it. Jette was now used for espionage, designed to take down targets and "protect Mistral".
Her team was supportive. They did their best to show her love and companionship, but the military brainwashed her from a lively, enthusiastic huntress in training to a dog loyal to no one but Burgundy and the badge.
"Miss?" Jette smiled over her shoulder at the girl still clutching onto her back.
"Just call me Jette, kiddo. What's your name?"
"Brooke."
"That a sweet name." The short woman hiked the girl higher on her hips. "How old are you?" She saw three fingers come into her peripheral vision as the girl held out her hand. "Three? Ah. You are a brave one, Brooke."
"Jette?" The small child barely whispered, clearly scared. "Where is mommy?"
Jette thought back on the moment she met Brooke. The officer was fighting by her team, defending the docks from killer robots. Then she heard a scream and watched part of a nearby building collapse. Jette followed her protective instincts, leaving her team and her partner's cries, to check out the commotion.
There she found a few bots closing in on a corner and sprang into action. Jette jumped on a bot's back and used her strength to rip its head off. As the bot fell, Jette rolled and raised her gun. She shot her shotgun at a second, but it just staggered it. Jette growled and kicked at its left knee joint. She rose her arm to quickly block a shot from the third bot. The woman's arm glowed so bright, she couldn't look at it. She ripped the gun from the downed bot and slammed the butt into the visual sensors in the second's head. Jette then whorled up and grabbed the third and final bot by the chest and released the energy, exploding its upper body.
After the threat was eliminated, Jette quickly scanned the area. There were two mangled, bloody legs which poked out from the collapsed roof. Jette's heart hurt but death was nothing new to her. She heard a sniffle and saw a dusty, dark haired child in the corner that the bots were ready to attack. Jette quickly put the pieces together and panicked. When she was this girl's age, she was already training with weapons and learning to defend herself. But this was a war zone and this little girl was not her. Before nearing the girl, the officer removed her military coat and draped it over her mother's legs. Jette wanted to spare this girl from this pain. The officer didn't want this child to go through the pain she herself went through.
"She's gone, Brooke." Jette answered after a few long moments of reflection. "But… you can stick with me. How does that sound, little one? I'll protect you."
Brooke nuzzled into Jette's crew cut and cried. The officer didn't know what to do, she had no experience with children. She knew they won't find the girl's mother. Though Ivy didn't see it, Jette did.
"Yeah… Stick with me."
Brooke sniffled for a bit and just held on tighter to the brawler. Jette took it as a sign the young girl trusted her.
Jette looked over at her battered team and frowned. They were each silently listening to her. Carmyne nodded slowly and gripped the handle of her whip tighter. Burgundy shouldered his sledge hammer. Lazuli pulled out more pens. Opel reloaded her pistol and pushed her glasses further up her nose. They had the brawler's back. Jette turned to her leader for orders.
"Evacuate the school. Get these kids out." The four nodded. "And Brooke?" The girl glanced at the large, dark skinned man who was giving orders. "Just stick by Jette, alright? We all want to help you." Brooke sniffled some more and hid her face in Jette's shoulder.
"Be strong, Brooke." Carmyne stroked the young child's hair. Brooke got transfixed on Carmyne's snow leopard ears. The woman noticed and flicked them around with a smile. Brooke gave the woman a shy smile and understood that this group was friendly and not going to harm her.
The five hopped off their shuttle and frowned at the scene before them. The students did a fantastic job holding off the enemy, but the casualty count hurt their eyes. Very few were standing. The rest were out of aura, injured, or dead. But the five fighters had to protect what was left of the fine hunting academy which was in pieces before them.
POST AN:
These characters are based loosely on real people. You can imagine, Jette is me. And I had a lot of fun throwing shade toward myself because the people these four are based off of, though (at the time) close friends, still hardly got along.