Her father, however, was dead. He was King of the Silver Isles, and for his goodness had been loved by all his subjects. Mirabella was his only child; and her mother having married again, she wanted to get rid of Mirabella, so that her little boy Gliglu might inherit the crown. So she ordered one of her servants to lead Mirabella into the pine-wood far away and leave her there, hoping the wolves would find her and eat her.


"Would you like something to eat?" The interrogator asked.

Velvet gave a suspicious squint at the silhouette on the other side of the light slamming into her face. How nice it was for a man to offer a meal when he didn't even have the courtesy to show his face.

Perhaps it was just bias, given one of her cell mates had given enthusiastic tales of interrogation techniques they'd use on them, including softening them up with a good dish, before pulling at their heartstrings to guilt them into confessions. Then the woman beside avid storyteller cuffed her in the head and told her that was only used in really melodramatic soap operas (and then cuffed her again when queried how she had known it was from soap operas).

The silhouette must have already figured her out, and gave a quiet chuckle.

"You're already cooperating, Miss Scarlatina, there's no need to be suspicious of foul play. You've simply missed breakfast and it would be good to eat something in the meantime. Besides, the idea I would use food for interrogation is only something a television show would use."

"Fine… just a breakfast sandwich, please," Velvet mumbled, still suspicious, but also equally embarrassed at how easily she was seen through. That and her stomach had starting wringing itself to torture its owner into filling it the moment it heard the word "eat".

There were a few moments pause as the interrogator poked his head through the door to ask a guard outside to acquire food, before returning to his chair. For the few minutes Velvet saw him move, she could make out the frame of a well worn suit.

"Well, until your meal arrives, perhaps you could fill me in on a few particulars… how did you arrive in Vale the day before?"

"By overland train. It was the fastest route."

"I see," The interrogator said, half to himself while he flipped through a file, "There were some reports of a car jacking near a train station…"

"Oh. That," Vel dully retorted. Of all the things this man had to start with…

"So, are you admitting to committing theft of a car?"

What was she supposed to say? "Yes"? Then the man would have free hand to start dumping one charge after another on her, without even getting the whole story. Oh, she stole a car, there we go, case closed.

Velvet sighed, "I was probably in the car you're talking about, but it was an emergency."

"What sort of emergency?"

"Will you listen to the whole story before judging?"

"I promised I would listen."

"Yes… but will you pay attention?" Velvet said, a certain twinge of spite and bravery.

The interrogator was quiet for a second, but then responded, "Yes, I will pay attention to everything you say."

Velvet looked at the tape recorder, still spinning and capturing her voice, before turning back to speak again.

"I took the train to Vale. It was the fastest route the orphanage could afford. Angelica helped me pack, I said goodbye to the children, and then travelled overnight. When I arrived, it was late afternoon…"


Perhaps it was a bit beastly (heh), but for Velvet, the first impression she'd get of a new environment was not from sight, not from sound, but of smell. Mother Sparks was filled with the smell of dried dirt from the child trampled yard in the back and the road in front, that crept into its halls and merged with the scent of laundry with too much starch, and old wood. The train to Vale was filled with sterile air interlaced with a cacophony of snack foods and complementary meals, and the musty smell of felt in every chair.

Now, even as Velvet walked through the train station, her nose was already sensing traces of Vale in the air, getting a feel for its nature. Traces of sea salt from the bay it was built next to, the earthiness of classic brick and mortar construction, the subtle ionization of electrical cables strung up across the city, the grease and char of outdoor food stalls…

Velvet had never smelt a city alive like this. An adventurous smile was starting to form on her lips unbidden, as she walked on.

A new city, a new school, new opportunities! It was like an adventure! The rabbit faunus was certainly dressed like she was ready for one, with a tan jacket over her plain brown dress, carrying her black suitcase with the bare necessities she would bring to Beacon, like it were an outdoors rucksack (Angelica assured her that all she had to do was send a letter, and the matron would send along anything else of hers that she needed).

The beckoning of the new life was so enthralling that Velvet had almost missed the sneering voice that passed her by as she exited the station.

"Tch, just we need, more faunus immigrating… we'll be hip deep in the petting zoo next week, eating us out of our houses…"

It was a comment tailored just for her, loud enough to remind her whatever reason she was here, she was not welcome.

It's just one man's opinion. Just one man. He's just mean. Not every person out there is like that. Don't get discouraged, Velvet tried to console herself, as she brushed on, her open smile collapsing into a merely cheerful lip curling. Still not the best way to be enter a new city, all said.

Dropping down the paved steps and out into the sidewalk, the rabbit faunus could finally see Vale in its true glory.

Rows and rows of squat, classical architecture lay before her. Gray bricked buildings that had been built and rebuilt according to tradition, with a minor detail of modern sensibilities integrated into the historically shaped structures. Old style street lamps now fuelled by Dust, modern vehicles lining streets that must have been used for centuries, and the citizens of Vale breathing into it ever new knowledge of fashion, accessories, and cuisine of the current era.

The sky was blue with the late afternoon. The sort of brilliant blue that grew ever richer, with hints of gold as the sun began its descent, while shadows began to stretch out and languish in the daylight, becoming ever braver to herald the coming of the darkness of night.

Velvet took another deep breath, and felt the cool air enter her lungs. She was actually here. She was actually going to Beacon. Well, sort of. As far as the rabbit knew, she had arrived too early. The shuttle flight was actually due in the afternoon of the next day, which was preferable for her anyways. Velvet now had a day to unwind from the whole week long blitz of getting mentally prepared, packed, and travelled to Vale. With Beacon just around the corner, she had time to get accustomed to metropolis, and see the sights.

But first, it was high time to find a hostel to cram her things away.

Nearby where Velvet was standing was a row of checkered white cars. It was quite obvious she was looking at a row of taxis, and it was quite busy with exiting train passengers quickly shoveling themselves into the next vacant vehicle possible. Taxi drivers were quickly helping their future fares pack away their luggage, and driving them off across the city.

For Velvet, who was watching this madcap activity, she sighed and shook her head hopelessly. There was no way she could catch a ride with this mass. Someone of her size would be too easily pushed about, and besides, the taxi drivers would never accept someone like her when they had plenty of other normal people to ferry around.

No, they'd just brush her off. If she wanted to find transportation, she'd have to look. Besides, it wasn't like Velvet was so old that she couldn't afford a little walk around town.

It was with this resolve that took Velvet down Vale's sidewalks, enjoying the sights. Velvet had no real plan besides "find a hotel, or a taxi", and went where her feet took her. Turning a corner, Velvet found herself in an empty back street. It looked like a residential district that wasn't seeing much use yet, since the work day still had yet to end, with empty sidewalks, sleepy cafes and convenience stores, and closed bars that were only waiting for the days end before residents would return home, taking time to buy a snack or a drink. As it was, only a rabbit faunus stood, out of place there as much as any other location in the city, an outsider and interloper.

However, in the over stretched shadows of the buildings, Velvet realized that there was one other object of note in the street. Another taxi sat packed in the side, unoccupied, yet she could clearly see a driver in the seat, shuffling for some reason. A little strange, but as long as the seat was open, the driver wouldn't be able to refuse a fare.

Steeling herself, Velvet strode with the confidence she had, opened the back passenger door, and threw herself and her suitcase in. Settling on the seat, she looked, and saw no head behind the steering wheel.

On the other hand, she could hear the sound of a shuffling body seemingly struggling with something below the dashboard.

Velvet waited ten more seconds before realizing that she was in fact, below the notice of whatever was absorbing the taxi driver's attention so thoroughly.

"Uh… hello?"Velvet began to ask.

When asked, Velvet, like many others, would probably imagine a taxi driver as a middle aged male with perhaps some bad weight distribution and maybe a funny accent. This would explain her general confusion when she did not see a male, but a great slab of sharpened steel rising from behind the combined front seats, attached to a covered head.

Some figure rose, slight of shape, but strangely terrifying. A white scarf was draped over the general head region of the body, fabric wrapped loosely around the neck and shoulders, and then up and around, draping the head like a hood, and masking the face in shadows, save for a blazing crimson eye that almost glowed as it bored into Velvet, freezing the faunus in place while leaving a grimace on her face.

The sharp edge in figure's hand was not a sword, as Velvet thought for a second, but it was not exactly a paring knife either. Smaller than a machete, but greater than a knife: a gunmetal rectangular slab with the slightest diagonal angle to indicate a tip. One end provided its brute single cutting edge, while the other end transformed into rubber molded grip, tipped with an unusually large ring for a pommel, while all along the handle, the hint of switches and triggers could be made out, easily reachable by the thumb, index, and middle finger. Odder yet were the four red discs that were set inside the wide flat of the knife, crimson like the gleaming stare of its owner, and she had no clue what those were for.

All in all, whatever it was in the figure's hand, it could be considered an adequate hunting knife for a bit of outdoor backpacking in the same way one could consider an armored personnel carrier adequate for a Sunday drive.

This was what Velvet's rational mind was deciding when she saw and described the hooded, ghoulish thing presenting itself in the very confined spaces of taxi. When the facts were taken into account, Velvet's irrational mind quickly came to the most sensible conclusion anyone could make at the time.

Oh god, there's an axe murderer driving this taxi.

"Oh. Hello."

Velvet narrowly avoided hyperventilating when she heard a quiet girl's voice emanate from somewhere inside the shadow of the hood. Whatever happened next, Velvet wasn't sure, but suddenly she wasn't quite looking at the world's most demonic eyeball, vanished somewhere and replaced with a half obscured face, expression placid and red eye dully looking at the faunus.

"Um, I'm looking for a cheap hotel, do you know any you can drive me to…?" Velvet weakly began. The girl shrugged, leather jacket scrunching at the shoulders.

"Hmmm… Not really. Sorry."

With that, the girl slunk back under the dashboard, and continued doing whatever she was doing, completely ignoring the rabbit eared girl. Velvet sat there for a second, stunned and confused by both the presence of the girl driver and the blatant refusal of service (well, at least she's honest about it). It was when she heard the sound of cracking plastic, that Velvet turned to confusion and hesitantly edged her face over the top of the driver's seat.

The girl had pulled herself under the steering column and managed to get herself wedged between the pedals. The shell of the column had been torn apart, doubtless with aid of the knife in the girl's hand, and colored wires spilled like angel hair onto her face, while she wordlessly struggled with the leads, stripping and cutting in some attempt to do… well, Velvet really had to ask to figure out what.

"Um… what are you doing?"

"Hotwiring this car. I can't find the keys," The girl murmured off hand, while her own were getting increasingly tangled in the disarray.

"I don't think that's the right way to do it," Velvet hesitantly offered. She wasn't in the business of giving advice, since most wouldn't listen, but where heavy metal was concerned, she couldn't help but judge the seemingly uneducated flailing around the taxi driver was performing with the electrical wiring she was drowning in.

"Besides, should you even be doing that? Isn't the taxi company property? Can't you just ask to get the keys replaced?"

The scarf bound girl looked up at the rabbit for a second, before shrugging again, and taking a knife to another bundle.

"I guess. But it's not my taxi, anyways."

Velvet's eyes widened, and the gears in her mind began to process the new statement. The car didn't belong to the girl, yet she was underneath, hot wiring it to get it to start-

"Wait a minute, are you trying to steal this car!?" The rabbit spluttered in disbelief.

The girl looked back, "It's… an emergency?"

"You can't do that!" Velvet hissed, slapping the seat in front of her, "That's illegal!"

"Oh," The newly christened carjacker turned her head to the side, considering that, "…Well, you can leave if this makes you uncomfortable."

"That's not the…! Of course I'm not going to leave in the middle of a crime! Y-you get out from under there, right now!"

Against all common sense, the carjacker did listen, and slowly slid out from under the steering wheel to sit back up and look at Velvet.

"Can I help you?"

The rabbit choked, and she wondered if she could feel her ears shooting up straight in sheer indignation. Was this some sort of joke!? Reaching forward, Velvet wrapped one of her slim hands around the one holding the knife, keeping it in place.

"You can help me by stopping this! I won't let you go through with this!"

"…Are you a police officer?" The girl asked again, in that ridiculously ignorant tone.

"Well, no… But that's no excuse! If I can do something, I will, and that means stopping you!"

There would have been an epic contest of wills of the two girls staring each other down, except the carjacker took one look over Velvet's shoulder, widened her eyes, and changed her tune. The faunus could only take a second to gasp in shock before the carjacker's other hand reached over and grabbed a handful of Velvet's jacket lapel, and in one seamless motion, drag her over the chair and into the two front seats.

"Hey! What are you-"

Velvet was thrown flat, back crushed against the hooded carjacker, who clapped a hand over her mouth, while her legs twisted around the traveler's body to trap her in place while they both lay down across the front seats. Velvet wasn't exactly sure what to make all this besides the fact this was far too close for comfort with a criminal who was now trapping her in place and keeping her mouth shut.

"Quiet," the girl murmured.

Velvet took this as her cue to squeal behind the hand over her mouth, and thrash and try to struggle her way out of the gray-white thief, whose arms and legs made no sign of any less stiff an iron like trap on the rabbit. Instead, the girl added a little garnish of sliding the back of her broad knife against the soft meat of Velvet's neck, the cold of the steel seeping into the skin.

"Quiet."

Velvet went limp.

Not a moment after, the Beacon hopeful saw a running man come to a halt outside their car, dressed in a loud and cheap suit, sunglasses over his face, as he sneered his sight around, cursing.

"Damn! Where did that backwater runt go!?"

Even the rabbit didn't need to be told that she was looking at a grade-A thug.

With more than a little luck, the man in the suit didn't seem to consider looking inside the taxi, and walked on, cursing.

The interior of the car was filled with a palpable, tense silence, as Velvet lay in the embrace of the thief.

"Before I let you go, I need to tell you that I'm being chased by that man and several more. That's why I've been trying to steal this car. I'm going to let go of you now. Will you be calm?"

Velvet nodded, uneasily. As the hand loosened, and the faunus slowly disentangled herself from her momentary captor, making sure to remain below the height of the car dashboard. The other girl made tentative peeks over head, making sure that the thug kept walking way from them.

All this only made Velvet want to ask, "Who are you?"

"I'll tell you later," The girl murmured, beginning to sink back under the steering column, "It's dangerous for both of us to be here. I need to get this car hotwired now."

"Come on," Velvet whined, "What's going on? Why was that man-"

Velvet at that moment peered over the side of the dashboard to keep an eye on the suspicious man.

She instead saw him, down the street, looking right back at her through the windshield.

The rabbit eeped, shrunk back, and turned her head quickly to the other occupant, "He saw me-"

Velvet froze up again, and the hooded girl blinked in a moment of confusion before she saw a shadow loom through the driver side window, right before the glass shattered loudly, matching the pitch with the faunus' cry of horror.

Two thick arms plunged through the new opening an wrapped themselves around the head and neck of the carjacker, and began to drag her out through the smashed window.

"You thought you could run from us!?" Someone outside was snarling.

The girl choked, struggled, and kicked for any foothold while being pulled out of the car. Velvet in that instant was running on pure instinct and adrenaline. Where was no real logic behind her thinking, but nonetheless it rung true. At the very moment, she and her strange companion had become allies against whatever was outside this car. If Velvet kept sitting there, if she let the thief get pulled out, she'd be left alone against these brutish men-

The faunus was upon the thief in an instant, hands grabbing as much of the leather jacket she was wearing as possible, and pulled with all her strength. It wasn't much, but it was enough to hold the abduction in place, the sudden halt jarring the headlock around the thief. She jerked forward, loosening herself, along with the scarf that was pulled back from the top of her head in the same motion. From under the hood, silver waves of hair sprang loose, an overcast cloud dripping down the sides of her face in long bangs, framing those blood red eyes.

There was an infinitesimal moment where Velvet saw her criminal and sudden ally gain a human identity. Even with the voice, only now did she realize the silver headed girl couldn't be older than Velvet herself, with such a soft, placid expression that wouldn't have been out of place on a doll.

That image, however was quashed by reality, when the thief twisted halfway, slamming one of her elbows repeatedly into the body behind her with meaty thuds.

The owner of the burly arms cried out in pain, and on reflex, started reaching inside his jacket to pull out a hand gun, intent on simply shooting his problem. The only problem, however, was that how the gun was being waved about, the muzzle was pointed towards the half of the car Velvet was seated in. 'Eep'ing loudly, Velvet threw her hands around the wrist of the gunman, wrenching it upward, or at the very least, in a direction pointed away from her head.

There was a sound of thunder, and the faunus could feel her head vibrate from the shockwave of a gun going off above it, shards of plastic raining down from above as a bullet put a hole in the roof. The carjacker, meanwhile, narrowed her eyes at the gunshot, and without further wasted movement, quickly wrapped her arms around the outstretched gun wielding limb of the kidnapper. With violent strength, she pulled herself and the arm forward as hard as she could, sending the thug outside slamming head first into the edge of the car roof. The arm inside the car immediately went limp and slid away, gun dangling free to drop somewhere inside the car, while the rest of the body outside crashed to the sidewalk.

"Are you alright?" The carjacker looked at Velvet and asked while rubbing her neck.

The faunus "I-I think… I don't think I got shot-"

There was a whistling noise followed by a hole puncturing the windshield of the car, a white flower of fractured glass blossoming around the hole as it sent little shards of glass inside. Velvet yelped and ducked back under the dashboard with her ally, as several more bullets whizzed through, poking a line of holes that clouded up the windshield with cracked lines. Down the street, the man in the suit had freed a gun of his own and was firing at the car slowly, in controlled intervals, letting himself pace forwards, while the taxi's occupants were ducking for cover, more glass flying over their heads as the windshield crumpled more and more under the bullets.

The silver haired girl was back to struggling with the cables, knife at work stripping their coverings and tying random ends together with no luck.

"Stop that! Do you even know what you're doing!?" Velvet shouted, over the sound of cracking glass.

"Hot wiring the car," the car thief said, while continuing to fail at it.

"You're just cutting wires! Give me the knife! I'll do it!"

The thief blinked, before dumbly offering the weapon, which Velvet snatched before throwing herself at the same pile, and immediately identified the ignition and battery cables. Most would be quick to blame Velvet's foreknowledge on a certain predilection faunus had to a life of crime and chaos, but the fact of the matter was that rabbit simply did read a lot of car magazines and a few battered manuals in the past. Some of the knowledge had to combine and collect at some point.

In an instant, the right wires were struck against each other enough times, each time eliciting a groan from the taxi's hood, before one good spark finally caused the engine to roar to life.

"Move. I can drive," The thief suddenly ordered, and Velvet obligingly shoved herself out of the way so that the girl's miniscule frame could jump in the driver's seat properly, hand shifting the manual transmission attached to the steering column, and shoeless feet slamming into the gas pedal. The taxi gave an angry squeal and pulled out of the curb, driving into the street where the gunman continued to fire on the car, bullets tearing into the soft metal hood. Teeth were gritted and heads were held low, Velvet completely ducked down, while her compatriot kept her eyes just barely above the dashboard.

The car sped on at the gunman, who was forced to throw himself out of the way. He scrambled to his feet as fast as possible, training his gun again, only to find his target peeling around a corner and into the distance.

He swore to himself and turned back to the larger thug, a bull of a man in a black suit, who was sitting up and rubbing his temple gingerly while wincing.

"You let them get away?"

The gunman shivered at the new voice, as a third man hobbled out of an alley, frowning. The sharp noise of a cane striking the pavement was followed by the similar tune of a peg leg, nearly concealed by well tailored pants and coat.

"B-boss… she's really tough…" The bullish man tried to explain, before the full weight of the cane pressed down into his leg, forcing him to bite back a groan.

"I don't want excuses!" The third man snarled, before turning his gaze to the other thug, who felt himself begin to instinctively curl up protectively, "And you! Did you just try to shoot at the HVT? Do you understand what the definition of 'live capture' is? Or did you think we'll get paid for delivering a bodybag!?"

"H-hey, boss, I wasn't purposely aiming at her…"

The man with the can snorted, "So you not only could you have ventilated our golden goose, you would have done it on accident because you were wasting the bullets I paid for! Good god! Between you two, I don't know who's more retarded in this detail! Next time you shoot something, use a rifle, because I want to see things solved in one shot!"

"Yessir…" The gunman mumbled, "So, uh… what now?"

"Go back to the ship and cool your heels. The little lady's not going anywhere with half a taxi. Go and warm up the Bandersnatch, too. We're bringing it along."

The gunman blinked, "You sure, boss? The big guy for just this?"

"Yes, just this! I'm running short on time and patience. I'm going to tie up all the loose ends tonight, so don't question me!"

"Right, boss", the thug answered obediently, before recalling an extra detail, "There was some other girl with her, too, boss. Some rabbit faunus."

"Who gives a crap about some petting zoo freak? Catch her, kill her, just deal with her if she gets in the way. There's enough faunus in the world anyways. We sell them by the dozen overseas as is. But I. Want. Mithril!"


A public park was painted in the dying light of Vale's afternoon, golden rays and red skies letting great trees paint long shadows. Even with the departing day, many people still flitted through the park pathways, trying to stretch out as much day as possible before it merged with the balmy, pleasant evening. Children continued to run and play, or clamor around an ice cream truck parked outside, selling cold sweets, while their parents watched over them. Lovers and couples meandered under the trees and grass, waxing poetic about the gold of the sky being metaphorical for their significant's complexion, and some particularly stubborn elders kept playing their board games or enjoyed life around them.

When it was relevant, more than a few passer bys noticed a taxi parked nearby, peppered full of holes, possibly an unlucky run in with several small stones. Bullet sized stones. But definitely not bullets. No way, no one would use a gun here. Vale was a civilized city.

Nearby, a rabbit faunus dressed in a nondescript but rugged dress sat on a bench, leaned over with her face pressing down into her palms in complete despair. Whatever audience there was, they quickly moved on, quickly deciding that she was doubtless the rapscallion responsible for the car's damage. The guilty expression was damning proof. She had probably been caught by the driver and was being forced to sit until the proper authorities arrived to give her what for. Naturally.

"Uuuggghh…" The faunus groaned into her hands, "Why is this happening… I stole a car…! I stole a car because the thief wasn't good enough…! People shot at me…! I had a scholarship…! I stole a car…! Angelica's going die if she hears this… and kill me. Uuuugggh…"

"I'm back," A soft voice cut in.

Velvet Scarlatina raised her head above her bout of self pity, so she could direct her narrow eyed ire at the source of her trouble. The girl stood there, scarf loose around her neck so her silver head was exposed, red wine eyes staring back. In either hand was a cone of soft serve ice cream. Standing up, she was perhaps only a few inches shorter than Velvet. The great knife she had been carrying was now sheathed in a cover that hung behind her on her waist, with only the grip visible, jutting out from behind to the right.

"I bought one for each of us. It might make you feel better," The failed car thief said to the successful one.

"Ice cream…? Do you think ice cream is going to help me!?" Velvet whined, "We were shot at, and I just committed a crime the first time I left home, and you think I'll feel better with some snack!?"

The girl appeared to think about this for a second, "…You should have the chocolate one. I like vanilla, anyways."

"Y-You…! You just… how can…!" Velvet spluttered for several seconds, before dropping her head in utter defeat, before stretching her arm out, "Just give it."

Several minutes later, the two very strange girls sat side by side on the park bench, licking and biting into their scoops of ice cream, enjoying the awkward silence as if this were just another day, while staring at their perforated handiwork. Velvet was resigned to admit it, but the cool snack did have a certain calming effect on her otherwise bedraggled state.

Finally, Velvet took one look at her companion. Her mind brimmed with questions, but with many related to how she nearly had her face blown off, something she didn't feel like approaching yet, her brain finally latched onto the most innocuous, pointless question, "How come you don't have shoes?"

The girl looked down at her feet. They were covered in weather darkened wrappings that went from shin to arch, leaving little toes poking out, and a heel digging into the ground.

She shrugged, nonchalant, "I do lots of outdoor work. I like to know exactly what's under my feet."

"'Outdoors'…" Velvet muttered to herself, before a sense of anxiety welled up in her. Perhaps it was the stress of the events not too long back that finally caused her to blurt out the pertinent questions at hand, "Outdoors where? Where are you from? Who are you? Why were we being shot at!?"

The girl looked back, before deflating slightly, before taking another bite at her cone, "I don't know if you'll believe me."

"Just tell me something."

The girl nodded, "Okay." She put a finger to her chin for a second, figuring out what would be a good start, "I'm… a huntress."

Velvet took a long moment to stare at her companion with slowly widening eyes, as her perception reorganized itself.

"…But you tried to steal a car!"

The carjacker-huntress returned a very droll stare, "It was an emergency," she repeated, with a certain slowly enunciated emphasis.

Under the gaze, Velvet felt her ears droop, and suddenly felt very apologetic. Yes, it had been very much a matter of life and death. Besides, there was no doubt about the girl's skill, the way she fended off that thug earlier…

"Sorry… you're really a huntress?" Somehow, that brought a hint of excitement to Velvet's voice, "What is hunting like? Is it dangerous?"

"Sometimes. There's no big monster where I work. I just keep the forests clean from rovers."

"Where?"

The girl didn't immediately response to Velvet's question, as she gazed into the distance. After a minute, she answered, almost hesitantly.

"…St. Elmo. It's a small fishing village on the east side of Vytal. It's quiet there."

"So hunters even work there…"

"I lived there. I did other jobs between hunting. Working with the boats or in the shops. I liked helping."

Velvet couldn't help but pick up the past tense. There was a hint of something worn out in the girl's otherwise calm voice, like a small cog that had broken and squealed against the rest of the machinery of life, forcing itself to keep working at the behest of every other part, without rest or replacement.

"Did something happen?" The rabbit asked hesitantly.

The girl nodded again, "Those men. They came one day, and asked me to come with them. They were polite at first, they tried to tempt me. I kept saying no, then they brought out their guns and their true nature. St. Elmo helped me escape, and I've been running across the continent, and they've chased me even here."

"Who are they? Why do they want you so badly?"

"Smugglers. Traffickers," The silver girl muttered darkly, "I'm… valuable to certain people. Very valuable. That's all I can say."

"If they're criminals, can't shouldn't we go to the police?"

"I've… tried before. I don't know how, but the smugglers seem to have connections."

It was barely enough for a proper explanation as it was, in Velvet's opinion. The whole thing was so fantastic the faunus would have been quick to accuse the thief of spinning a tale out of whole cloth. A tale of a fugitive running from a gang of smugglers! Wouldn't that certainly give anyone free reign to do anything they pleased! But she had seen things for herself, and had been in a very real danger where what they did was nothing but necessary. Velvet was running with the fugitive now, and she had been pulled along with the story.

"Then, what are you going to do now?" Velvet asked.

"I need to avoid them for one more day. Tomorrow, there's an air shuttle going to a Hunter headquarters. I'll be safe there."

Velvet's eyebrows furrowed at that generalized explanation, while her own clues started filling in the specifics, "You're talking about the shuttle to Beacon tomorrow."

The huntress turned with a rather wide eyed gaze of surprise, "You know?"

"Well, it's… sort of why I'm in Vale, too," Velvet said, self consciously twisting a lock of hair by her head.

"You're training to be a huntress?"

"Heh, I'm not sure myself," the faunus laughed, "I'm only here because it's the best choice I have. I don't really look the part for the great warrior type, right?"

"…Not really," The silver girl admitted, "So, I dragged another student into my problems. I'm sorry."

"No, it's alright," Velvet said, shaking her head, "I got into the car on my own. I can't change the fact that those men might be after me too, now, and I'm not going to think I can leave now and act like I'm uninvolved. I just hope we can survive until tomorrow."

"Hm. You have a hunter's bravery."

Velvet choked on the compliment, and turned back to finish her ice cream, face burning. Because of that, she didn't quite catch the ends of the girl's lips curling for a second. The moment ended quickly though, when she suddenly twisted her head to look for something, paranoia claiming her. The faunus did see that much though, as she watched her ally begin swiveling her head around, searching.

"Is something wrong?"

Then it happened again. Velvet saw the eyes of her companion brighten, red irises transforming into crimson lanterns as she swirled her vision around, owlishly.

"A flaring aura… agitation… preparedness for a fight…" She murmured, before blinking away her concentration to look back at Velvet, "We need to go. They've found us."

"Already?"

The huntress had already moved back to the battered taxi, "There's no time to waste, come on."

In moments, the two were burning rubber again, pulling out of the park and into Vale's streets.

The St. Elmo girl was doing well enough, maneuvering their car even with the holes peppering the windshield. As for Velvet, she took a look in the side mirror. They were passing more than a few cars, but out of them, one particular vehicle had expose itself in how it kept pace with the shot taxi, cutting through the same openings in traffic as they did.

"Um, I think that black van is following us."

The huntress took a glance into the rear view mirror and nodded, "Looks like them. I'm going to go faster."

Velvet nodded, listening to the engine thrum louder as the two tried to outpace the heavier van. A fast turn swung them into an empty street, where the stolen taxi was able to really pour on the speed. Even as the van lumbered around the corner, the rabbit and the huntress were already turning into a speck that was gaining ground every second.

Velvet twisted to look back, and a triumphant grin started forming on her face.

"I think we're losing them!"

It was then that the second black van flung itself out of an alleyway in the street, just as the taxi was about to pass it.

The world around Velvet and the huntress whipped and screeched, metal buckling while the two were pushed sideways off the narrow empty road. Velvet could see the barest hint of metal bars approaching from her side, before the window broke, and the taxi was smashed through a pair of metal gates.

There was an eternity of silence as Velvet shook herself to her senses, fighting her way through the sensation of her brain bouncing against her skull to realize that the car was not moving. The rabbit herself she was flattened up against the side of the door, with the small silver huntress flopped dazed across her stomach, thrown from her own end of the car, and they were both covered with yet more glass shards. Velvet groaned, and blearily made out the sight of the black van halted in the open gateway, its front as equally crumpled as the car they were in.

The van made a coughing noise, and began to slowly back out, unblocking the gate.

Velvet hissed, fingers drunkenly seeking out the door handle, "They're coming… hey, they're coming…!"

The huntress mumbled something, as she also regained her senses. Velvet finally found the latch, and threw the car door open, sending her falling back onto the hard ground outside, the smaller silver girl landing atop her with a minute "oof!" Groaning, Velvet looked up to see where they had crashed into. Even with the upside down view, she immediately recognized where they had arrived, and grimaced.

Gates that opened onto a cobblestone path that cut through a wide, gently sloping field. One either side of the path were rows upon rows stone effigies of varying shapes crammed against each other like teeth, each casting a shadow in the sunset, like a sundial on the history of life.

A cemetery was not a nice place to be.

The two girls staggered to their feet, and without even saying any more, began to break into a hurried run away from the car and the van. There was no time to speak, even now they could hear doors sliding open and shoes hitting the ground.

"Nobody shoots except me!" A voice growled from behind, and it encouraged the pursued to run even faster, breaking off the path and diving straight into the maze of tombstones. Heavy footfalls signified the chase was on.

As Velvet and her companion ran, she quickly spotted a copse of trees and brush along the rising slope.

"We can run in there, right!?" Velvet managed to say between breaths and pumping arms. She may have lived healthily, but she never considered herself an athletic: a full on sprint was a rare occurrence for her, and she was doing her best just to keep up with the huntress who was a few steps ahead of her, feet silently padding across the soil without effort.

"We'll lose them, there," Velvet's companion quietly agreed.

At that, Velvet's long ears twitched and picked up a small sound.

Pop. VOOM.

The surreal addition of that little noise amid the life and death chase made no sense to Velvet, who struggled to place the origin of the noise, right up until she felt her chest tear open, and a jet of something red escaped through a hole in her shirt.

She stumbled to a halt, and looked down.

That was kind of odd, she couldn't recall her shirt getting torn like that beforehand, and all that red…

Wait, that was blood…

I've been shot?

The huntress swirled around and her red eyes bulged in horror.

"…Rabbit!"

Velvet realized something.

Huh. We didn't even tell each other our names…

With that, the faunus dropped to her knees, and fell onto her face, and began choking, agony blooming in her chest and back.

She couldn't even scream as she felt herself be hoisted up and carried, too busy at the sensation of acid and magma leaking through her insides. Only faintly she felt leaves brush against her clothes and saw the orange light of the sky dissolving under a heavy canopy. Velvet felt herself lain down amongst dry twigs and dead leaves, and she saw nothing but branches.

"Am I going to die?" She whimpered.

Above her, eyes glowed under a shadowed face, and there was murmuring.

"No fragments… bullet must have passed through… But why did it…"

There was a pause, an air of realization.

"No… how could I… your Aura wasn't awake… and I dragged you along…"

"A…ur…?" Velvet winced, edges of her thoughts becoming hazier.

"…But I can at least it can now save your life."

Velvet watched finger tips settle across her temples and face.

"Keep looking at me. Keep looking at me."

The faunus nodded, just slightly, world becoming fuzzy, but the red gaze continued to close in on her, and somewhere, she heard whispering.

"I throw a light to the sleeping sea: come and be illuminated. Become a salve for my weary body. Resonate."

Something jerked in Velvet's chest.

"Become a mirror for my dulled senses. Resonate."

The pain returned in her chest, more heat than anything. Her mind woke again to the pain, and she gritted her teeth, fighting the urge to yell at the foreign sensation.

"Become a storm of retribution for my empty hands. Resonate."

The heat burned in her chest, right at the leaking and the shirt's tear.

"When all my obstacles are conquered, and my dreams fulfilled, become a current and bear my sleeping body home, under the aura of the world. So I pray, resonate and ring true, my soul."

The pain disappeared, as did the heat. All that was left was deep seated exhaustion in her chest that stretched out through her body, and Velvet couldn't do much besides lie there, listening to her heartbeat, and the faint buzzing of something she realized should have been there all along, if she had just been still and listened for it, as she was only now doing.

The hands and eyes drew back, suddenly, and the silver huntress was there, leaning back, panting, sweat and exertion pouring from her face.

"I wish it could have been less dramatic, but it will heal," The girl grunted, drained. All the same, she turned and peered through the bushes they were hidden in, "You can't move like this, though… and they'll find us…"

"…sorry…" Velvet heard herself mumble.

"I'm the one who did this to you. This was my problem to begin with."

The huntress was resolved, and tugged on the loose lengths of her scarf, pulling it back over her head, masking her face in shadows, again.

"I'll draw them away. I won't let them find you."

Velvet weakly shook her head, "…don't… all alone…"

For a while, the girl sat there, watching Velvet watch her. Then the quietest whisper came through.

"…You're a good person. Go to Beacon for me."

Then she swirled around and crawled away, disappearing through the underbrush, and Velvet could only watch.


The capacity for being quiet was always a skill the huntress valued.

As she flung herself out of the shrubbery, she made no noise by which she would be heard, and thus provided no profile by which she would have been seen. She landed and rolled along the ground until she flattened herself against a stone proclaiming it one Ebenezer's sleeping place. Her gray leather jacket helped merge her colors with the dull colors of the tombstones around her.

She could feel it, a certain emptiness in her being, a deflation, a lack. Her breath was still too short, and her muscle groups were still too limp. Not much Aura left. Even to heal that wound, the faunus absorbed nearly all of it like a sponge…

But it didn't matter. As long as she played it smart, played it carefully, she could do enough with the meager protection the outpouring of her soul could give.

"Anyone see her?"

"Naw, I ain't seen-"

"Shut up, guys! She probably heard you already!"

The silver huntress certainly did. Judging by their foot steps, they were walking up right, inefficiently sweeping their eyes through the graves, and not trying hard enough to see anything ducked below waist height. She had a moment of reprieve to begin scouting.

By a mental command, the eyes under the hood blazed, and the huntress watched the world around her transform. The color of the world became awash in the murkiest of blues, as if she were under water. Nothing but shapes and silhouettes.

She focused, squinting, and the darkness focused and refocused. Amid the shapes, some disappeared, and through them, she could see skeletons walking, arguing with each other, and more in the distance. Weapons hung under their armpits. Their frames glowed at different intensities, sometimes flaring in agitation, but none glowed like she did at her best.

Reaching behind her, she pulled her knife free from its holster. She ran a finger across the scrawl that had been etched into one side to reassure herself:

Artemisia TYPE-03: –{An Acceleration In The Rhythm Of Celestial Experience: Your Affectionate Uncle, S.T.}-

She smiled for a second, and then grimly remembered the nature of their parting, and the huntress hoped he was well. At the very least, she promised the weapon they built together would be put to good use.

The skeletons approached, and she pulled her vision back as far as she could, letting the landscape be as should have been, save perhaps submerged, and listened to the men in the cheap suits stalk her down.

One turned into the row she had been crouched in, and it was already too late for him, as she darted forward, slamming her weight into his shins. The man fell, attempting to shout, but she was already upon him, and the flat of her broad knife slammed onto his face, smashing the other end of his cranium into the ground below, stilling him. Without wasting time, she already had ran on.

"I see her!"

"Get her!"

"Nobody shoot!"

There. They were converging on her, charging through the graves, and grabbing for metal rods they carried with them. Electrical charges sparked as they were exposed to the air. But what could they do? They were large, unwieldy thugs, trying to maneuver between the large flat stones.

The huntress leapt upward, ends of her scarf whipping behind her. Wrapped feet touched the top of tombstones lightly, and the girl was off, skipping between them effortlessly, forcing the men to give chase pathetically.

She jumped row after row, until she was unto the first thug, who snarled and swung horizontally at her legs. It was no contest as she was already rolling in the air over his head, the blunt back of Artemisia slamming into the back of his head, bowling him over another tomb. More followed, as she nimbly skipped back and forth, while men swung at her small frame, while their head and shoulders were perfectly aligned at her waist, ready for her to deliver all the downward force as necessary. Knife slamming into a neck, into a nose, a flying kick laying into a jaw and sending another man swirling.

Her luminous red eyes left a jagged trail as she effortlessly beat one man down after another. At some point her murky view of the world expanded further with every jolt of adrenaline fueling her, and her Aura fuelled eyesight pushed her peripheral vision around to the back of her head, letting her back flip over a man swinging down at her from behind, only to slam an electrified baton down into the tombstone she had stood on, followed by his face into the baton, as she brought her feet and her body weight down onto his head.

She looked around, and even with the crowd she had left incapacitated, she still saw another truck's worth of them slowly pacing towards her.

Behind them, stood one man, their leader. The wizened "gentleman" in white long coat and three piece suit, salt and pepper beard supporting his vicious sneer, as he held himself aloft with his black cane, keeping himself balanced in lieu of the steel peg that replaced one of his feet.

Him.

The source of the problem, and the source of the thugs' determination.

Her red eyes glared back. She held out Artemisia. The fingers on her other hand looped around the ring pommel, and she pulled. The ring lowered with a loud ratcheting noise, and a long lever was pulled out from inside the handle. With another violent motion, she slammed the ring and lever back into the rest of the knife. In response the first red disc in the blade began to spin and whine, sparks intermittently escaping the edges of the activated gear. Dust hidden inside the weapon began to be used, converting the supposed awesome power of "Nature's Wrath" into the simplest, most efficient one: Mechanical Energy.

It fed downward, through the handle, and into the huntress' hand, and into her body. She welcomed it, that old familiar sensation of power starting to make her bones vibrate with excess force.

Now, it was time to cut through.

The silver girl kicked off the tombstone she had been crouched on, enough kinetic force leaving her for her unfortunate perch to snap off from the ground in the opposite direction, and her feet both barely touched her stone platforms yet at the same time pounded away at them, each step now delivering Artemisia's multiplied force and speed.

The vanguard of the suited brutes choked and shouted something akin to surprise at the blur coming towards them. They brought their batons up and swung wildly the small huntress, who simply swooped past, barreling straight for the crippled man.

He's just standing there… I can end this…!

The girl thought this to herself, as she brought her razor edged engine up. All she had to do was beat him down, and they would all take the hint.

This was it…!

Right up until something tall and metal dropped down from the sky right between the girl and her target.

It was only thanks to her eyesight that she even saw the fall at all, or she could have crashed face first into the sudden intrusion. Her eyes were the only reason she could even maneuver with the sheer extra force her body possessed.

The huntress growled, and fingers danced along the switches of Artemisia. In response, the first gear on the knife halted and then changed the direction of the spin, and she could feel all the potential energy she had drain from her and start gathering back into the knife. She swung her knife up over her head and backwards, and the force of it was enough to spin her body in place as the axis of a centrifuge, letting her land her lightened body feet first into the metal object with a dull 'clang'. Instantly, the object started raising appendages above her, and she frantically manipulated Artemisia's gear into spinning forwards again, strength returning to her body in time for her to kick off from the machine right before several something stabbed into the air where she had been.

Flying back, the huntress' fingers caught the edge of another tombstone, and she let herself flip widely to flip and land atop it.

Before her was a great automaton, sleek and bipedal. Its head was shaped like some medieval knight, with a grated face plate showing the glow of camera sensors between the gaps. A great cloak had been draped over it, but as it reared up, it dropped away, revealing arms.

Many, many arms.

Jointed into the equivalent of shoulders, and into the back, the Bandersnatch was ready to attack, with spade shaped blades mated to the back of its many human like hands, while they all articulated and built tension towards an impending strike.

This was brought out just to catch me? She thought to herself, and a certain dread began to fill her.

Behind, the man with the cane smiled even more wickedly.

But I can't run. They'll use her as a hostage.

There was only one path.

A few deft finger motions added a second disc's revolution to the first, and the girl kicked off again, not as explosively as before, but certainly faster, and the Bandersnatch charged after her, indomitable weight simply crushing its way through the graveyard as the silver child did all she could to keep just out of reach, arms punching and chopping at her. Around her, the smugglers scattered and ran where they could, away from the fight that was coming in their direction.

Her eyes blazed, pushing her perception of the world as far as she could, trying to see every angle of attack, every tombstone around her, and every step of her energy charged foot, almost believing the world was slowing down just to let her see everything she needed to, just to barely avoid the assault.

Where is the opening? Where is the opportunity?

It came with the Bandersnatch providing a vicious upper cut with multiple arms, more than a few tearing up the ground underneath the huntress, sending earth and stone slabs flying every which way along with the airborne girl. One particular slab dedicated in the memory of a Mina came her way, and she held Artemisia Type-03 before her, letting the whirring blade stab into the slab, letting it propel her upward through the air.

Up there, her red eyes spied the robot below her, and she aimed.

"Brake Down."

Her hands squeezed one particular trigger, and the gears screeched to a halt. The kinetic energy bouncing around in her swept out in one violent wave, escaping back through the knife, before erupting out the other end, into the grave marker she was riding.

In an instant, Mina's tombstone rocketed off the knife and away from huntress, down towards the Bandersnatch. The heavy granite wedge smashed into the Bandersnatch's armored head, sending it pitching backwards, almost drunkenly.

Right after, a pair of bare feet landed on the swaying robot before leaping off again. The huntress sailed on, towards the leader of the smugglers, ignoring the Bandersnatch, now that she was behind and out of reach of its many arms.

I haven't forgotten about you!

There was no one left to save the one that had chased her across Vytal. She raised her blade, prepared to strike.

The Bandersnatch's hand grabbed the back of her head, thick rubber fingers squeezing around her face.

She could feel her eyes widen in shock. Below, the man with the cane soaked in her surprise.

How did…!?

The huntress was only spared a second to twist her head back long enough to see the smuggler's robot, with one arm out of all the rest broken into interlocking segments and stretching out like some great rope into the sky to grasp her.

She had to cut loose. She only needed to get the gears in the Artemisia running again, and cut behind her head-

The Bandersnatch swung.

"Gggh-!"

At the end of its hand, a gray blur was tethered, and remain attached as it slammed it into to the ground with enough force to crack the earth. Then hoisted the limp and struggling body up and smashed it into the ground again. Again. Again. Throwing the figure through the tombstones, sending her helpless through the air and into the ground like some abused toy.

Artemisia went flying, twirling through the air to embed itself one of the tombstones still remaining in the chaos. On cue, the Bandersnatch stopped its flailing. The dust settled, showing the battered huntress, coughing blood, while more dripped from her nose and cuts on her face. The Bandersnatch's hand firmly pressed her head into the soil, even as she struggled to raise herself up.

The tapping of a cane and a fake leg approached. Through her hazy vision, she could see a foot stop in front of her, while a gravelly voice chortled.

"Dear me, girlie. You're making the dead turn in their graves!"

"John Silver…" The huntress wheezed, possibly trying to hiss.

"Aw, a cold shoulder?" The one legged man mocked, "No kisses for your uncle John?"

"None… for a wretched… distant relative…"

"Ha! Just as well. No point pretending you're anything but merchandise," the smuggler leader said, "So, why don't you introduce me to your little rabbit friend? Got her stashed away somewhere?"

The huntress grimaced, but remained still.

"That's fine. I'll get my boys to find her soon enough. You two can have a cute little cruise trip together."

The decrepit John Silver turned to the gathering men, grinning, "Come on boys! Let's get the little lady bundled up for her homecoming! The rest of you, start going through the brush and smoke out that rabbit!"

The machine hand holding down the huntress withdrew, letting her begin to lift herself up by her arms weakly, to glare at Silver, hobbling over to withdraw her knife from the stone, taking a moment to examine it idly, while the thugs closed in. Hands grabbed her battered body roughly, squeezing to elicite as much pain as she would wordlessly give, though a sharp wheeze escaped her as the hoisted her up. Carrying the huntress to the closest van, they threw her in and shut the door, and she could only lie, broken in the darkness.


Velvet Scarlatina lay under the canopy of leaves, bleary and dazed. She had turned her head to the side, and from where she was, a small break in the bushes could be made out, just enough to peer down into the cemetery further down the slope. She could see battlefield that had been torn up, one of the vans leaving, robot following close behind, while the bulk of the henchmen remained.

There was the sound of men kicking through the shrugs, talking loudly and complaining. Her body still refused to move. Though the wound in her chest had closed, it still felt like it was an iron stake pinning her down.

"Goddamnit, the hell are we looking for anyways?" A voice spat.

"You heard, a rabbit faunus, or something. HVT was dragging her along for the ride."

"We saw the boss shoot her! You could fit an air conditioner in her chest after that. What are we doing, looking for a corpse? Even if she did survive, she's probably all bled out by now," The voice groused, followed by the sound of an appendage kicking through the plants.

"Hey, the less loose ends, the less chances our sailing later tonight's gonna screw up. Sooner we're sure, sooner we can find the rest of merchandise and pack it up."

"Tch, who else we gotta visit anyways?"

"Eh, you know. That girl at Seven Bridges Station, the one who's making all those bombs. And there's that psycho hobo at that park."

"We're mailing a hobo?" The original voice said in total disbelief.

"I heard the chick's tough shit."

"I can't believe this. Poking around here for some fuzzy ass freak's bad enough, now we also gotta meet some dumpster diver?"

"Look, it's not like we're showing them to a hotel or anything. Just find them, have the Bandersnatch bash 'em up, and then cram 'em in the boat, just like we did before."

"We're bringing the big guy, too!?"

"Boss is really anxious to get this all cleaned up before three, you know that."

"I didn't know we were bringing firepower! Hell man, now I'm looking forward to this! Seeing the Bandersnatch using that little twerp as a ping pong ball was hilarious. You see anything yet?"

"Naw, I ain't see anything. She's probably all bled out after this long, like you say."

"Come on, let's get going. What's a faunus gonna do anyways at this point, anyways? Scratch us and cry?"

"Heh, don't jinx yourself. Freak might have rabies."

Loud laughter followed, as the men pushed their way out of the brush, and walked away, idle talk fading with their presence.

Velvet lay there, eyes fluttering, and dreamt.


Shapes. Forms. Creation at your finger tips, if only you accept the malleability of the cosmos. The shapes and forms that the world moves along. The calculations and languages that define it. Interlocking and interchanging. Artist. Architect. The shapes are yours. The forms are yours. Use it all. Craft them as you will, as you will yourself. Your power is…


Some time later, out from the near darkness of the trees, a rabbit faunus slowly sat up. She wasn't sure how much time had passed, but she looked up, and the yellow of the sky was now a deep purple, with a hint of red dye at the edges. The world was darker now. Vale in the distance, was blinking awake, window by yellow window, with the street lamps following after.

Standing up, she dazedly walked back down the hill, past the ruined graves. Her mind was still fuzzy by the terrible sleep she had, the sort where one awakes too tired to think, and too awake to rest.

She came to stop besides the abandoned taxi that still sat there, even when everyone else had departed, with its buckled shell and missing windows. By some dreamlike reflex, the rabbit faunus reached for the hood and forced it up. As the cover relinquished with a loud squeal, she inspected the engine.

Despite the impact, it appeared the machine itself was still serviceable and in one piece, though some of the bolted fastenings at snapped. She slammed it shut, and walked over to the driver's seat, which she dropped herself into, and sat dumbly for the longest time.

Eventually, a thought came to her.

They shot me.

They shot me.

They shot me.

Velvet Scarlatina had nearly been killed only a few hours ago. Thugs, led by some miserable smuggler, tried to kill her, and beaten and hurt a girl, a complete stranger.

Lying there in the dirt, choking and struggling, bleeding for her sake, when she didn't have to.

"I need to avoid them for one more day. Tomorrow, there's an air shuttle going to a Hunter headquarters. I'll be safe there."

They had failed. They failed because she was weak, she had been hurt for the two of them, and that girl from St. Elmo gave everything for her. Because she had been shot.

They shot me!

Velvet was by no means a girl given to anger. At least, that was what she liked to believe of herself, to help assuage the matron who had raised her with all the love she could give. She may have been a faunus, but she was no delinquent, no crook-

"Why is this happening… I stole a car…! I stole a car because the thief wasn't good enough…!

-She wasn't violent at all.

But this… to know that she had nearly died…

Something waiting for 17 years had finally begun to loose itself, and Velvet vaguely recalled all the dirty looks she would receive as a child, all the dirty words spoken behind her back in town, for simply being alive.

Freak. Freak. Freak. Freak. Freakfreakfreakfreak-

And now they shot her, and they were going to get away with it. With her.

Lying there, injured. All her fault.

"I don't really look the part for the great warrior type, right?"

But what could she do? They already had what they wanted. She was just… a skinny little orphan… from the middle of nowhere…

"Boss is really anxious to get this all cleaned up before three, you know that."

Where would she even look…

"Eh, you know. That girl at Seven Bridges Station, the one who's making all those bombs. And there's that psycho hobo at that park."

Slowly, she turned her gaze to the passenger seat, where all the glass lay across the leather lining. At the bottom, in the foot well, lying amid more glass, was a hand gun. It was the one that was dropped from those pair of large arms earlier in the day. It was still, with its cool chrome frame glistening in the emerging moonlight.

"Hm. You have a hunter's bravery."

No. No.

Not like this.

A pair of hands gripped the steering wheel tightly, teeth were bared as she ground her teeth, a fine vein of anger filling her.

She had enough of this. She had enough of being a freak, of being a faunus, of being left out, of being hurt and then discarded.

Somewhere out there, a girl had been kidnapped against her will, to have who knows what done with her. Velvet Scarlatina, here, now, was the only one who knew about this. She said she'd see this to the end, that she'd be there for the huntress who saved her life, and awakened that "Aura" to do it, whatever it was. She didn't have much time.

The rabbit faunus reached underneath the steering column, and grabbed for the cut wires, and pressed them against each other, urging the engine to start.

She had a car, a gun, and an address.

They were not going to get away with this.