Hunters of the Dark Chapter 9:
Oh hey, I get to write about a season I can tolerate more than half of now. Well, I'll get to when we reach Volume 2. We ain't there yet.
Someone on asked if Grimm Eclipse was still canon to this story, which I found amusing because I had just finally bought it the day prior to the review (It's, um… a game? Yeah, it's a game. No strong feelings for or against it). Since they were a Guest review on , I couldn't respond, so I'll just say here: Yeah, Grimm Eclipse is still canon. I don't go around making things not-canon just because I can.
Hope you enjoy.
Beacon, CCT:
It was a week into the first semester break at Beacon, meaning many of the students had left for the short break to go home. It meant that for those who stayed at Beacon, they had a large amount of free time to spend doing whatever they wanted to within legal reason.
For Noir Malphur, this meant training, which meant trying to stab someone.
Amber ducked under his first swing, staff coming up to deflect his off hand. She slammed it against his knee, blasting him back with a gust of wind. He rolled into the landing, rolling onto his feet before charging again.
Umbra and Sanguine watched passively as the Maiden and the Hunter went back and forth. In lieu of any better ideas and sparring partners, a space had been cleared up in the subterranean basement Amber lived in to serve as a training area.
"She's getting better with the staff," Umbra muttered as Amber slammed the jewel-laden staff into the back of Noir's knee. "We can help with the martial stuff, at least. This whole Maiden thing's a different ball park." The Exo hesitated. "At least, for Noir and myself. I'm sure your own training has given you some tips you can pass along to her."
The Warlock nodded as both combatants managed to kick the other's leg out from under them at the same time, hitting the mat. "It's surprising, how applicable my knowledge on the Void is with Aura. The core teachings cover much of the same ground, though the more specific fields of manifesting Aura are far different."
"I'm sure you've been in your element with these new things to study."
"Like you wouldn't believe," Sanguine chuckled. "Aura is the manifestation of the soul. For one thing, confirmation that we do, in fact, have a soul. Through the Light, we can stimulate the effects, potentially even unlocking the Aura of more mechanical people." She shot a look at Umbra.
"I'm good for now, thank you. I don't doubt my sentience, but I feel like if this Aura thing is unlocking my soul, better to give my body a few weeks to get used to it before taking the plunge."
Sanguine nodded again as the fight continued. "Understandable. But anyway, the whole soul thing has me wondering. When someone with Aura dies, where does that energy go? Can a consciousness be kept around, or transferred into a new object, maybe even a person?" Her brow furrowed as she took out a notepad and scribbled a note on that it that simply said "Whiteboards."
Umbra looked back, seeing that the fight was nearing its end. Noir twisted Amber's staff out of her hands, kicking her back into the wall. He lunged forward, blades slamming into the wall inches from her neck.
Noir chuckled, sliding the blades into sheathes on his back and offering Amber a hand up. "You're getting better, Leaves. Good shot on the legs." He winced as he felt the backs of his knees. "I'm gonna be feelin' that in the morning."
Amber smiled easily, her staff shooting over to her in a gust of wind. "My ribs cried for vengeance, so I delivered." She paused. "Wait, Leaves?"
"You keep a pouch of the things. Figured it's a start if nothing else. And yeah, message received." Noir looked over at Umbra and Sanguine. "Hey, didn't hear you come in. Amber had an idea for tonight."
"What's the idea?" Umbra asked.
"I got to talking with Qrow last night on the scroll and he mentioned a few good places in Vale." the Maiden replied. "I need to get out of Beacon anyway."
"Night out shouldn't cause a problem," Sanguine noted. "Besides, going out for a drink would be a good way to catch up."
Noir seemed to nod as if he realized something. "Why not? Could be fun. Most of the students are gone for the next few weeks, so I should be able to take the night off. Especially with most of RWBY gone- they're frickin' disaster magnets."
Sitting down and throwing his feet up, Noir let out a content sigh. "Yeah, a few weeks of no RWBY getting caught up in terrorist plots, or bullying. Just time to kick back and relax…"
He trailed off, face hardening. "I'm gonna go nuts," he mumbled. "I need a mission." Getting back up, Noir made for the elevator, brow furrowed. He was still muttering to himself as the door closed.
"Is that… one of those Guardian things?" Amber asked.
"Yes," Umbra nodded. "Hunters get, put bluntly, cabin fever. They don't like being stuck around with nothing to do. This is the lesser of two evils. Better he finds something to do over making something to do."
"What's bad about the second thing?"
"It usually involves copious amounts of fire and screaming."
A nondescript warehouse:
Cinder Fall took in the scene below her. The White Fang were hard at work on carrying crates around with a trained precision that had been effectively drilled into them over the past several months.
Her scroll vibrated, a message from an old friend.
Ironwood's fleet arrives in the next two weeks. I'll be going dark, but I have the utmost confidence and faith in you kid. The people I acquired should be arriving about now, I trust you to brief them on their job. See you on the other side.
She smiled, tucking the scroll back into her pocket as two people walked in. One was a man in shades, wearing a full suit with gloves and a handkerchief wrapped around his neck. His hair was rusty red, slicked back. The other was a woman- rabbit Faunus, she was casually dressed in a black leather jacket and red shirt over denim jeans. She had her brown hair cut at her shoulders, and wore enough smiles for the two of them.
Mercury and Emerald intercepted them. "Think you're lost buddies," Merc drawled. "Nothing for you here." Emerald had her hands behind her back, ready to draw within seconds.
The Faunus kept smiling. "Well that is a shame, isn't it Shade? His name is Shade by the way, I'm Violet. But we were told by a distinct gentleman, who told me to tell you about his stunningly green eyes by the way, told us this exact warehouse was where we could acquire clandestine work. Is that not what he said Shade?"
Shade shrugged as Violet continued to speak rapidly, her Menagerie accent making comprehension a little tricky. "He might've said something about the colour green."
Mercury and Emerald looked at each other, Emerald relinquishing her grip on her weapons. "He did say something about that," she muttered.
"So, we are in the correct place?" Violet beamed at them. "I hope we can be great friends! Just because we're all involved in a conspiracy against Beacon doesn't mean we can't make some friends along the journey. Am I right or am I right Shade?"
Shade pulled off his sunglasses, appraising the warehouse as Cinder made her way down to the assembled group. "From what I've gathered since we shared a flight, you're not usually wrong."
"He catches on quick! Are you the other infiltrators?"
Mercury shook his head. "There's two others that will have to… tolerate you. We're more outside assistance than anything."
"What Mercury means," Cinder drawled as she stepped up to the new arrivals, "is that due to outside circumstances we cannot show our faces at Beacon. Professor Ozpin would not take us arriving kindly. Hence, why we have recruited you two in our place."
"What's the job?" Shade folded his arms.
"An infiltration job. You two and two others will be inserted into the list of teams from Haven Academy that will be competing in the Vytal Festival. During that time, you'll be monitoring the events and reporting back on key events and stimuli as they appear."
"Sounds easy enough," Shade rumbled. "but teams require four. And Violet may have enough air in her lungs to talk for four people- no offense, darlin'- but they don't count that as a team."
"Your other teammates will be arriving soon, I assure you-"
Cinder was cut off by another door in opening, two White Fang grunts dragging someone, kicking and screaming, between then. Another one walked up, pulling a pistol out of one of the boxes.
"Wait!" The woman screamed. Bleached white hair and dark skin exposed by a sleeveless waistcoat and leather pants. "I'm expected to be here! Hey, lady in the red dress! Green-eyed-dude sent me here, told me to look for you!"
"Why were you sneaking around then?" One of the grunts snarled.
"Do you ever enter a building without scoping it out first? First rule of staying alive, be the most paranoid person in the room!"
Cinder sighed. "Let her go," she said with a casual wave of her hand.
The grunt hesitated. "Are you sure-"
"Did I stutter?" Cinder's eyes flashed with orange fire for a second, and the grunt decided he wanted to live.
"Yes ma'am, sorry ma'am," he mumbled, releasing the captive. She walked over, rubbing her wrists.
"Thanks, would've ended badly for them. I'm Mel by the way, Mel Anin."
"They had a gun to your head," Mercury noted.
Mel smiled casually. "Semblance."
"Ah."
Mel looked over at Violet and Shade. "So then, what's the gig?"
"There's enough people now that we can begin the briefing in earnest," Cinder replied. "Come with me."
Cinder led the group into the back of the warehouse, where Torchwick had a board set up with a map of Vale. The criminal was already here, eyes pouring over a ledger.
"Oh look, more kids. Because there isn't enough of them in this city," he muttered.
"Play nice Roman," Cinder murmured. "We're still waiting on your contact to fill out the ranks."
Roman grinned a shark's grin. "Are you?"
The sound of shattering glass filled the room, and the chair beside Roman was not occupied with a woman about four or five years Roman's junior. Her entire colour scheme could only be described as 'mismatched,' a never-ending mix of white and pink.
"A pleasure to meet you," Cinder said, and the girl smirked casually. "An illusionary Semblance is always beneficial. May I ask your name?"
The woman took out a scroll, texting on it. Everyone's scroll vibrated, and they all checked the notification.
Neopolitan. Call me Neo.
Violet strolled forward, taking Neo's hand and shaking it. "I'm Violet Neo! I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship between you and I."
"With everyone here, let's get started." Cinder sealed the door shut behind her.
The Foolish Note Tavern: 22:49 PM:
Upon meeting Amber, Noir had seen her lithe frame and thought she'd be a little like Ruby- fast, energetic and capable of extreme ultraviolence. The only thing he had gotten right was the violent nature.
Despite her short stature, Amber could drink with the best of them and had no problem slamming back several rounds. She had been nearly crying when the first drinks arrived.
"I've missed this," she sobbed into her drink, Sanguine laying a hand on her shoulder. "Booze. People. Talking. You know how much I talked to myself down there? A lot. It was pathetic."
"Well, now you've got us to talk to," Noir drawled. "And let me tell ya Leaves… we've got some crazy stories."
After that came the stories. The exaggerated, the truthful and flat out weird.
"And then Qrow shows up," Amber finished, "and he's- he's just got this look on his face like he's not gettin' paid nearly enough for this shit, and meanwhile I'm still missing my shirt, the Beowulf got its head stuck in a log, half the place is on fire, and I swear to god this entire bandit gang takes one look and just fucking leaves!"
Noir cackled, choking on his drink slightly. "This is fantastic," he wheezed. "I'm gonna miss this when I head off soon. I've an early start."
"Where are you going?" Umbra asked. The Exo and Awoken had been leery of going to the bar once more thought was put into it, but the patronage was more concerned with their own drinks than the blue woman and the robot. Amber had been curious to see Umbra drink, but the Exo was quick to note that yes, she could eat and drink.
"Oz has CFVY on a mission up to the Mountain Glenn ruins. I asked if I could tag along, and Coco doesn't mind."
Amber's face fell slightly at the mention of the city. Umbra caught it. "Mountain Glenn?"
"An attempt to expand Vale's walls with a subterranean city," Sanguine explained. "It fell a few years ago. A lot of people didn't make it out before they sealed the walls. Otherwise the Grimm would have breached Vale."
"Sorry, I just had some family there," Amber muttered. "I'm sure you'll be fine. I hear CFVY are hot shit?"
Noir chuckled. "I should be fine so long as I don't think to complain about the minigun purse."
Amber nearly spat her drink out. "That's real?"
"I know, right?"
"You know I heard she calls it her Fashion Statement, 'cause no one's gonna mess with it?"
"And you have to work with her?" Amber laughed.
The conversation concerning dumb weapons went on another five rounds, when Noir accepted defeat. "Alright, I need to be up early, I have to head off." He made to get up, but stopped. "Actually, can I get one more story out of you before I go?" He asked Sanguine.
"Shoot."
"How'd you two meet up?" He gestured towards Amber.
"Oh. I never explained?"
"I never asked. But I've been meaning to, just never found the time."
"Right." Sanguine took a drink of water in advance. "So, this about nine months ago…"
Nine Months Ago, the forests of Mistral:
It was a quiet evening. The trees swayed loosely in the wind that was dying down for the night. The animals were wandering silently through the woods, but no howls permeated the wind. Aside from the dark, ominous clouds overhead, it would have been a peaceful evening.
That was until a flat oval of blue light, shaped like cubes, formed in a small clearing. A body fell out of it, landing on their knees.
Sanguine had experience with out-of-body experiences. Using the power of the Void required walking in the deepest shadows of the galaxy, so she wasn't too perturbed at being flung through time and space when she touched the artefact. Damnable Warlock curiosity had screwed her over again.
"Icarus? How're things looking?"
The Ghost materialized at her shoulder. "Oxygen and CO2 levels are tolerable. Currently working on quick repairs for any systems that sustained damage through that trip. No satellites to get topographical data from, weird."
Sanguine got up, grabbing her rifle. Checking along the sights and nodding, she slid a new clip into it, racking back the slide. "Any information you can give me, then?"
"That magnetic north is to your right?"
"It's start." Sanguine chose instead to walk west.
It was slow going for a spell, in part because this neck of the woods had no real paths to walk in and in part because Sanguine was exhausted. Dimensionally travelling through an experimental rift in time and space was exhausting enough, but getting right back up afterwards and pressing on did little for her stamina.
The pathway Sanguine was charting through the woods eventually cleared, opening on a dirt track that went north and south. To the north, the trees began to thin out, indicating the end of the forest, while they only drew in density as she looked south.
"The trees thin out," she murmured. "Might mean there's a settlement nearby, a place that's cutting the trees for firewood."
She began to walk north, clearing the trees within a few minutes and noting that the road now had a fence on both sides. Something caught her eye as she walked. Someone ahead, in a cloak, on a horse.
Sanguine groaned as a pain flared up in her ribs, Icarus appearing. "I'll try and heal you up, but that jump did a wonder on your internal organs. You're lucky I didn't need to revive you."
"Lucky's a way of looking at it," she gasped as she pulled her helmet off, dropping to her knees. She coughed into her hand, withdrawing it to see red on the black glove. "How bad is it?"
"It would probably be easier to list which organs weren't pulverised."
Sanguine got up. "If that horse came from near here, that confirms a settlement's nearby. I can rest there."
"If you're sure," Icarus said warily, dematerializing as Sanguine limped after the rider.
It was slow. Painful. But she kept moving, and soon that pain faded away as her body healed with the aid of Light. A few minutes went by, and her stride quickened, her posture straightened.
The rider paused in the middle of the road. Sanguine could see more clearly now- a woman on the horse, clad in a green cloak. Someone was standing opposite the horse. She kept walking, pace increasing somewhat.
The rider got off, pulling an apple from her saddlebag and walking forward, stopping midway between the horse and the interloper. She got down on a knee, showing the apple to thin air.
Sanguine reached the horse, just in time to see the interloper- another woman, green hair and red eyes- draw a pair of revolvers. She surged forward in Light, Blinking in front of the rider and covering her as the bullets slammed into her back. Her armour stopped the rounds from penetrating, but the wind was still knocked from her lungs.
The rider leapt back, cloak flying off her as a retractable staff extended. She fixed Sanguine with a look. "Get out of the way!" She called out. Green-hair dashed past Sanguine, continuously firing, but the rider held out her hand, a barrier springing up and absorbing the bullets.
Sanguine called on the Void, pulling back Green-hair and putting herself between the assailant and the rider. More gunshots sounded behind her but she pressed on, empowering her palms with Void energy and blowing the gunslinger off her feet.
Sanguine felt a ripple of pain in her side- she still wasn't fully recovered. "Stand down," she growled. "Don't make me do something I'll regret." She hadn't ever killed a human before- Guardians were the embodiment of unity against the Darkness. A part of her hoped she wouldn't need to bloody her hands.
Green-hair got back up, no worse for the wear and smirking. "That threat would have sounded better if you weren't having trouble standing."
"Yeah, I'm having an off day," she admitted. A gust of wind picked up. Sanguine looked over her shoulder, seeing the horse rider glowing faintly in golden hues. Her other assailant- a man in silver with robotic legs- was recoiling faintly in horror.
Sanguine turned back to green hair, a smirk playing on her lips under the helmet. "But if nothing else? I can distract you long enough for her to kick your ass for me."
She drew her rifle, Outbreak Prime barely recoiling as she unloaded it. Even with the wind picking up, her aim was true, the shots slamming into the arms and torso of the gunslinger. A faint hue surrounded her as the shots impacted, each causing a small wince of pain but little else.
Barriers then. Terrific. She'd have to work around that.
The wind grew even more ferocious, Green-hair's eyes widening. Sanguine turned to see the rider floating in the air, wind picking up underneath like a hurricane. Above, lightning roared at her beck and call.
"Either she's a hell of a Stormcaller," Sanguine whispered, "or this is something entirely new."
The lightning picked up, the rider sending bolts down towards the assailants. She fixed Sanguine with another look.
"I told you to stay out of the way!"
Sanguine loaded her rifle, sighting Green-hair as she dodged the lightning. "I always was bad at following orders."
They tried firing again, but now she didn't even need to manifest a barrier to stop the bullets. She held out a hand, a gust of wind summoning a swarm of leaves around her. They stopped in mid-air, ice crackling as they froze rapidly. Sanguine Blinked to behind the rider, ducking as the ice-leaves shot down towards the assailants like a cloud of daggers.
Sanguine looked up at the storm, fresh pain lancing into her side. "I have a bad idea," she told Icarus. Before she could act though, she turned to see someone barrelling towards her. Another woman, in a red dress. Sanguine fired, but she ducked under the shots with a slide, kicking up a shroud of dust. From that, she manifested sharps of black energy, sending them flying into Sanguine and the Rider.
Sanguine felt one pierce her lungs and throat. She dropped to one knee as the rider fell behind her, choking as she tried to pry them out.
Amber got up in time to see the coat-wearing woman go down from a shard of Dust to the throat. Anger fuelled her as she got back up and stood in front of her ally, launching a flurry of kicks at the one in the red dress. But the leader let herself get pushed back as her grunts charged forward. Without the element of surprise, she had this, and she kept them back. Sure, they got some hits in, but her Aura was still strong and they were weakening.
She turned as she heard the twang of a bowstring, looking down in shock at the three arrows that formed a circle. They began to spark with fire, and Amber shielded her face as they detonated. She screamed as her Aura shattered and she lost consciousness.
Amber came to slowly, watching as the leader strutted forward. The person in the coat that tried to save her was getting up, but an offhand slice of a sword brought her back down with a sharp cry of pain as red began to stain her coat. Amber gritted her teeth as she tried to get up herself. She had never wanted this, never wanted to use these powers to hurt people. And yet it seemed that they always had a habit of hurting people that tried to help her, the woman in the coat that now had a slash across her back being just the latest in a long list.
But she got back up. Amazingly, she stood up behind the leader in the red dress, looking up at the storm that still roared overhead. She looked down at Amber, who started to get the idea. She did the calculations quick, figuring that she'd only have the one shot at this.
Amber threw her left hand out, rocketing the assassins back with a torrent of wind. Her right called on the lightning as the woman in the coat stood on shaky legs.
"You sure about this?" She called out.
"No. But it's the only shot we have."
Amber dropped her right hand, the bolt landing on her ally. The lightning crackled blue along her form. She clutched at her stomach as the energy poured into her wounds, before another bolt hit her. When Amber's eyes cleared, there was no sign of her. Not even a scrap of clothes.
In that fraction of a second where horror grasped at her heart, Amber gasped in both shock and pain as an arrow slammed into her chest.
Ikora Ray had once been asked what it meant to be a Warlock. Her answer was as short, succinct and expected of the Vanguard leader: Power. All Guardians had power, but few were as intricately one with the Light as Warlocks. Titans and Hunters merely used it as a channel for power, empowering themselves. But Warlocks became their element, fully submerged in Light. The ability to summon the Void came naturally to them, they had mastered the Solar Light and used it to cheat death itself, but the storm? The storm was where true power could be found.
Sanguine had gone into what was called the Stormtrance only a few times before. It could be a dangerous path to walk, since it required one die to awaken themselves to the power within. She had undergone some training when the path was opened to her during the Taken War, and the power that she felt that night on Mars as she became one with the storm was… exhilarating, intoxicating. She had nearly lost control, nearly snapped with the power in her grasp, but she had held on, returning to the physical realm of her body.
Here, in this environment, the temptation to slip away once from the mortal coil and become this storm was alluring. To become raw power, a force of nature that only gods could dream of commanding was a tempting siren's call. To be a Stormcaller was to open oneself up to that energy, of the Arc that resided in all life. To embrace the power of the storm, to be controlled by it for a few seconds… before turning it. Channelling it.
But a Warlock was more than raw power. True power, it must be noted, was in the understanding of how to apply power. The knowledge of when to unleash the fury of a storm on one's foes. She was a conduit between the sky and the earth, electricity and matter. Life and death.
And so, she returned to that field, snapping into focus with the roar of the thunder heralding her arrival like the war drums of the past. A blinding flash, and Sanguine hovered over the assailants, rejuvenated, at least for now, and shimmering with Arc Light. She snapped her hands out, the Arc crackling at her fingertips, and she smiled.
The rider looked up at her, clutching at her chest where an arrow had pierced it. The assassins looked scared, like this wasn't part of the plan.
"Boss?" The silver-haired one called out.
The one in the red dress frowned, eyes darting between the rider and Sanguine. Her right hand, covered in a glove, almost seemed to be pulsating, before she made her call.
"We're leaving." She pulled her other glove off her left hand, tossing it down. A circle of fire surrounded her and the assailants as they leapt in. Sanguine poured lighting into it, hoping to hear a yell of pain, but as the circle exploded outward, they were gone, leaving only a scorch mark on the ground as a remnant of their existence.
As much power as the Storm had, Sanguine knew she hadn't killed them. Part of her was glad at that, but she quenched it, alongside the Arc. It faded under her skin, the power rumbling until she channelled it into her many wounds.
The rider gasped in pain as she pulled the arrow loose. Sanguine dashed over.
"Are you alright?" She asked, turning her over.
"No," the woman groaned. "I think that arrow pierced my liver."
Sanguine ran a hand along the toned stomach, nodding grimly. It didn't go all the way through. "I can try and cauterize it until we find a doctor."
The woman grimaced. "Do it."
"What's your name?" Sanguine asked as she called the Arc back to her fingers.
"Amber."
"Amber, I'm so sorry. But this is going to hurt a lot."
Sanguine pressed her hand down on the wound, and Amber screamed in pain, losing consciousness.
"Wow," Noir muttered as Sanguine finished. "So, what happened after that?"
"A whole lot of stuff," Amber answered. "Qrow showed up and nearly killed Sanguine, but I woke up in time to stop him before losing consciousness again. We got on the road after that, I unlocked San's Aura, she told me about you guys, I stopped Qrow from killing her, we made it back to Vale and then she got the recruitment speech." She shrugged. "Story for another day, basically."
"Huh." Noir nodded, before smirking. "So, a Warlock saved a Hunter, eh? First time for everything, I guess."
Sanguine frowned, a nudge of her fingers making a bottle on a shelf behind Noir fall onto his head.
"Don't hate me 'cause I'm right," he muttered.
"I have a question," Umbra asked. "No offense, but you don't put forward the best description of yourself in that fight. What was up with that?"
"I hadn't finished healing myself from the dimensional hop. You probably were fine due to your Exo frame, but organic bodies don't handle these jumps well without outside assistance. Add in low Light, and I barely did much."
"Kept me alive," Amber muttered. "So, I ain't complaining, trust me."
Amber's hand ghosted over Sanguine's, and the Warlock cast her gaze elsewhere, a rosy tint on her face- and not just from the alcohol. Noir and Umbra shared a look before Sanguine looked back at them.
"You know," Umbra said to Amber, "you're quite different from what I expected. I'm sure you get this all the time, but when I think Maiden, I was expecting something a little more… demure. Elegant."
"Is she saying I'm not an elegant lady?" Amber asked Noir. Despite the playful tone and quirk to her lips, he froze like a deer in headlights, a sinking feeling entering his gut compared to that of one walking over his grave.
"I think…" he said diplomatically, "that you're not one to care what others think of you. World be damned, you're you. And if people don't like that, then fuck'em."
Amber smirked, the smile not quite reaching her eyes. "Smart answer."
Bullet dodged, Noir got up. "But I really do need to head off. I'll see ya when I get back in a few days."
Leaving the warmth of the tavern, for the chill of Fall, Noir brought his cloak tightly around himself as he walked into the night.
(technically) Three chapters? In one month? I'm on a fucking roll.
I've a few more scenes planned with Sanguine, Qrow and Amber set before Noir arrived, but I cut them here for time and brevity. The story's already hitting 5000 words.
Now, the Sanguine and Amber vs Cinder fight was very different at first- Sanguine steamrolled through them before popping her Super, and was much more active with Light powers. I ultimately decided that Noir was fighting as well as he was because his Ghost had time to recharge after the fall. Sanguine, meanwhile, pressed on without stopping. If she had stopped, Amber would have likely suffered the same fate as canon, but that's my explanation for why she got her ass beat by Emerald.
That, and since CRDL put up a good fight against Noir, I figured Sanguine steamrolling Cinder, Merc and Emerald would go down about as well as an OC Marty Stu beating Adam in the first chapter of a story- read, poorly.
But I did make a list for why, if Sanguine had been in peak condition, she'd have won the fight; Cinder prepped extensively for Amber and wasn't expecting another ally to be there- she thought she'd have time before Qrow arrived. She also gathered a team built around taking out a Maiden. Finally, Sanguine showed up while Cinder's team were running low on Aura (Sanguine showed up later in the fight than here). While I stand by the belief that Sanguine could beat pre-Maiden Cinder, it ultimately doesn't make for a good story so I went with the nerf. Don't worry; I think Warlocks are the most powerful class in Destiny lore, so I'll give Sanguine her time to shine in the coming chapters.
And… that's pretty much it for now. Hope you liked it.