CHAPTER 1: Beginnings and Ends
"We're the new face of failure
Prettier and younger but not any better off
Bulletproof loneliness at best, at best"
- I'm Like a Lawyer With the Way I Love You by Fall Out Boy -
Blake and her companions leaped from rooftop to rooftop in downtown Vale. The cobblestones below her glistened from the recent rain, and the wind carried with it the smell of the sea. As the citizens of the city slept, the White Fang moved stealthily towards their prey: a Schnee Dust Corporation store on a street corner in the heart of the city.
The leader of this mission was Adam, a bull-faunus, and his feline lieutenant Blake. Adam was an experienced member and leader of the White Fang. He had been leading the White Fang on a crusade against injustices made towards faunus for a few years now. He had made attacking the SDC a top priority due to their… unsavory… actions towards their faunus employees and encouraged others to do the same. This hit was a routine one, but the payout was supposedly larger than earlier ones if Junior's information was trustworthy.
The two dozen vigilantes approached the store as silently as shadows in the night, fanning out to surround it from above when they were close enough. Adam made a silent signal to a group of four faunus positioned directly above the store. These guys were the breaching team. They climbed down the side of the building slowly, their trained muscles rippling beneath their black shirts.
They approached the reinforced door when they finally landed. They paused when they were but a few feet from it. A faint glow emitted from their skin as their muscles contracted and contorted, their bones shifted, and their skin became fur or tough hide. Standing in place of the breaching team were four Morphed faunus. They had managed the impressive feat of altering their being into their 'animal' side by manipulating their aura in a way unique to faunus. The bear, rhinoceros, and two bulls easily battered down the industrial door.
A swarm of faunus descended upon the opened shop from the surrounding rooftops. Stealth was no longer necessary due to the loud alarms coming from the SDC store. No doubt the neighbors would hear and call the police, so speed became much more important that silence.
Blake was in charge of maintaining a security perimeter and ensuring a safe escape route. She was the first line of defense, as well as the eyes and ears of Adam as he directed the operation from inside the storeroom. Blake took it upon herself to defend the place that was most likely to come into contact with police forces first – a rooftop a block south of the store that was closest to the police station. She believed in leading from the front of the pack, not the back.
The broken moon kept vigil over Blake and her companions as they watched over the operation. The series of robberies may have been led by Adam and herself, but the plan in its entirety was Cinder Fall's creation. Cinder was the leader of the ruthless human organization, Cinder Syndicate, a leading underground crime organization in the city.
One of Adam's first decisions as leader of the White Fang had been to seek outside help to reach out and further radicalize their cause. It had initially been met with opposition, but Blake trusted Adam. The two garnered much respect in the White Fang community due to their seniority, and with their influence, the two organizations merged. Despite Adam's good intentions, she still hated the idea of the pro-faunus movement needing help from non-faunus. It didn't seem proper.
It wasn't until ten minutes after the breach that she heard sirens far to the north. Blake frowned. It was not planned that the police should come from there. Police did not take a Sunday stroll or indirect route when responding to an emergency call – especially not when it is from an influential place like the SDC. Suspicious, Blake decided it would be best to join her subordinates in the battle.
Blake froze in shock upon reaching the source of the sound. Three stories below lay her entire team in pools of blood, dead on the cobblestones. The blood had poured out in such copious amounts it seeped between hundreds of stones, resulting in the appearance of a bloody spider web. Blake's stomach suddenly clenched at the depressing sight, but she expertly shut down the rising emotions (and vile).
Blake acrobatically leaped down from the rooftop, falling into a tight roll upon hitting the ground. Her feline side helped her with the fall, and she had managed to catch the few gloating policemen off guard. They were observing the carnage when a vengeful Blake suddenly appeared like a tornado of swirling blades and violence. After dispatching five officers, the other four composed themselves and drew their guns. Snarling, Blake picked up one of the officers to use as a meat shield to the verbal dismay of her opponents.
Nonetheless, bullets whizzed past her head as she crouched behind the corpse, making a mad dash for the nearby police cruiser. Once in concealment and cover, Blake put down the body and assessed her situation. She needed to warn Adam – that was the top priority. The surviving officers had no doubt already called in backup, which significantly complicated things. The reinforcements would come from the south in large numbers, unchallenged. But if she left these officers, they would follow her to the SDC store all the same.
Blake was in a corner. She could not flee without being gunned down, and she could not stay without being out-flanked. Thinking fast, Blake took the gun from her officer-meat-shield and prepared for her offensive.
Blake used her aura to jump unbelievably high in the air – nearly a fifteen foot vertical! As she spun in the air, she managed to take out two of the four officers.
Before she hit the ground, a massive explosion rocked the city. Cobblestones leaped out of the ground, glass shattered, and car alarms went off. The force of the explosion threw Blake at a building while the remaining officers fell to the ground. Her instincts kicked in, and she twirled in the air so her legs would lessen the force of the impact. However, she misjudged the distance and hit the building at an odd angle, twisting an ankle and damaging some bones. Her head did not hit the brick exterior by some miracle, and her fall was broken by an awning. The explosion had left her hurt, disoriented and with ringing ears.
Groaning in pain, Blake picked herself up off the ground. Smoke blotted out the stars as car alarms sounded off into the night. Blake could hear the officers behind her slowly recovering as well, so she took this chance to flee. She slipped into a nearby alley and began hobbling towards the explosion, her expression grim and worried.
Blake stumbled out of the alley and collapsed at the sight of the SDC store. Time and sound escaped Blake as she stared at the immense crater. Only a flaming pile of rubble 20 feet high remained. Wafts of dust, smoke, and burning flesh invaded her senses, causing her to gag. "I'm sorry… I'm so sorry," sobs racked her body as clutched her sides.
A hand suddenly appeared on her shoulder, pulling her numbly away from the carnage. Blake shot to attention as it roughly shoved her to the cold ground. She could now clearly see a circle of officers enclosing her as an officer sought to restrain her. She fought as hard as she could, but her injuries made it difficult to resist.
Just as the man was about to succeed, Blake caught sight of a second man approaching the two of them. Instead of handcuffs, he was carrying a collar. A fresh wave of adrenaline poured into Blake as she managed to get to her feet. She leaped acrobatically into the air, her feet landing on the shoulders of the man who tried restraining her. She pushed her aura to the max as she jumped several dozen feet into the air before landing gingerly on the flaming rubble pile. Crying out at the pain from her leg and the flames, Blake scrambled down the other side of the rubble into a street unoccupied by police. They would have to drive around the block to get to her, so she had earned herself a few moments to act.
Should I go to the warehouse? Blake pondered as she hobbled away from the ruined store. I am a high-ranking member of the White Fang, so that would be the most logical choice. Blake grunted as she slammed her back against the brick wall of a building, hiding behind a dumpster and some trash bags for the time being. …However, Cinder is in power now. Blake snarled. The faction that supported Adam and I would be discredited and unable to stop Cinder from ascending to power. She would definitely kill me because I might challenge her authority, Blake thought grimly. She had nowhere to turn now.
Blake decided that the first order of business was to escape the police and leave White Fang territory. After that… well, that came later.
Cursing herself and to herself, Blake approached the manhole at the end of the dead-end alley. She could hear the approaching police in the distance, but not too far off. This will have to do Blake thought to herself. She pulled up the manhole gingerly and climbed down the metal rungs before putting the manhole back in its place from the inside. She then hurriedly calmed down to prepare to Morph.
Morphing was just an unpleasant feeling at first. Her mind was physically and mentally shifting from its more human-like settings to its more… animalistic… ones, all while maintaining full human intellect. This was a large reason of why Blake never tried to Morph – it made her seem even more like an animal. Although the sensation was mildly displeasing, the worst was to come.
Blake braced herself mentally as best she could as the bodily transformation began to take place. A faint glow emitted from her as she grunted in pain. She felt as though she was in a vacuum-seal bag that kept getting progressively smaller every second, squeezing her insides into a small, contained shape. Her bones changed, muscles shifted and twitched, and she started growing fur. It felt as though her muscles were swirling around her body instead of being anchored to bones. Mind-numbing pain filled Blake as she nearly slipped into unconsciousness.
After some time recovering, she slowly regained awareness. She was lying, in cat form, surrounded by her clothes. This isn't conspicuous at all Blake thought sarcastically. Blake grabbed the clothes in her mouth as best she could and began dragging them away, limping all the while.
Blake quickly came across an intersection of tunnels, thank Oum. She left the clothes in the confluence of the tunnels to confuse possible pursuers as to which direction she went. Her enhanced senses detected fresh air coming from the tunnel to the right of the one she just left. This tunnel was leading away from city center. Following her nose, she eventually came across a beam of light penetrating the darkness of the tunnel. She managed to pull her sore body up the metal rings to crawl through the storm drain entrance.
Blake was pleased to neither see nor hear signs of the police when she looked about above ground. The street corner she currently occupied was completely abandoned.
The faunus frowned at the sky, not looking forward to the impending rain. She needed shelter and food. Morphing was not only exhausting but also made her ravenous.
Blake realized that she was in a run-down neighborhood on the outskirts of the city as she awkwardly walked about on her hurt leg. It was outside the White Fang's influence as best she could tell. Now that she escaped, the weight of her situation hit her in full. She had not planned for food or shelter without any possible contacts. With any luck, karma will be on my side Blake thought sardonically.
With no clear purpose, Blake padded away in whichever way the wind blew.
Blake had walked for two days in a daze. Her delicate paws had scabs, her fur was matted with the rain, she had hardly slept at all, and she was weak from hunger. She slept during the day and moved at night, trying to evade any contact with anyone. Getting food was a priority, but she could not seem to find any. She was neither strong nor healthy enough to fight the strays for food in the dumpsters, and she would never beg a human. The best plan would be to Morph so she could at least approach a fellow faunus, but she couldn't muster the strength to Morph – she needed more food. To make matters worse, other faunus cannot detect a Morphed faunus even with their sensitive senses. She was stuck.
It was still the wee hours of the morning and Blake's body was not functioning well. Blake greeted death with an odd mix of apprehension, shame, and indifference instead of terror. She wished to fight it, but she came to the conclusion that she had no reason to. She had indirectly killed her only family and lost all she had. Blake felt that she had was no longer needed nor wanted on this earth.
Blake observed her surroundings. She was near a parking garage that was in proximity to a near-empty shopping mall. The four-story structure should give her a fantastic view of the sunrise.
After struggling up to the top, Blake collapsed upon the concrete railing in utter exhaustion. Her leg had gone numb, completely saturated from pain and strain. But it was decidedly peaceful up here, Blake reasoned. The view was incredible; the city was to her left and the sunrise was to her right. It glowed over the tops of trees and buildings, and with it came a breeze that was warm and soft, carrying with it the smell of the sea. The rays of sun made the gray concrete shine like gold and the few clouds sing with a myriad of colors. Above her shone her favorite star like a beacon: the Morning Star.
Blake had to come to terms with her own mortality. She felt odd and tingly as she pondered the void and her immediate future. After a moment, she left that thought alone for fate to answer and instead tried to make peace within herself. Her recent failures were heavy on her mind. She had wanted more in life – university, friends, a girlfriend. Blake reflected upon these failures and these wishes and concluded that whether she liked it or not, they drove her and shaped her into being… well, Blake. And she rather liked Blake.
A small tear escaped her eye, as Blake settled into her final resting place. She snuggled into her soft fur for a last grasp at warmth. In her final moments, a sense of peace washed over her. She was ready.
As Blake's eyes dimmed, she heard soft footsteps and a girl's humming. It was soft and beautiful – a nice lullaby for the last sleep. As her eyes closed shut, she felt warm hands brushed against her cheek before picking her up. Roses…
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