Setting: Desert
In the middle of Vacuo's large, and seamlessly endless desert, three men were running. They had looks of horror and shock on their faces as they ran across the desert, sweat beating down their faces. They appeared to be running from something, to something. They tripped and fell as they made their way towards a city hidden in the sand. They looked back several times, seeing if what they were being chased by was close. Each time they looked, it was nowhere close, which gave them relief. That relief was repeatedly stripped from them each time they heard it. They slid down a sand hill, making their way to the hidden, and abandoned city.
However, on top of the sand hill, the thing chasing them watched as they ran. The thing was a person, and he was smiling as the three men ran for their lives. "Come on! At least let me test out my new sword!"
The person chasing them was Aaron Neon, his new broadsword in hand, and a smile on his face. Behind him, three other people walked up to him. "You know we're following them to their base, right?"
Aaron turned to his three teammates, with a knowing look and a shrug. "Yeah yeah, I know. I mean, we're going to engage them eventually, so there's no harm in threatening them."
"Not really." Mystic sighed.
"Well, there it is." Bolt said, everyone following his gaze to see the abandoned city in front of them.
From the report on the job request, this city was called Acton. It was home to whoever wandered upon the hidden city, who were mainly bandits, thieves, and everything in between. Team AMBR were tasked with clearing out the abandoned city for Agradian Councilwoman, Iolanthe, so that she could expand Agradia past a secret kingdom. The four watched as the three men they were tailing disappeared into the large abandoned city, knowing exactly where they were going.
Acton had been abandoned for many years, which was shown by most of the buildings being covered in sand. As the four walked towards the city, Bolt pictured what it looked like before. Assuming were the buildings used to be, Bolt imagined this place as a beautiful paradise. The four walked towards the entrance, stopping as they came to a problem. There were four different ways to go, and they all looked man-made. The walls separating the paths were made from different materials. From bricks, to wood, to metal. The main problem, was that no one knew which way to go.
"Well, there's four paths, and four of us." Aaron said aloud, looking towards the two middle pathways. "I call first middle!"
Before anyone could protest, Aaron was already halfway down the first middle path. Rae and Bolt groaned simultaneously, while Mystic walked up to the path on the left. "I guess I'll take this one."
"I'll take the right." Rae stated, walking up to her path.
"And I'll take the second middle." Bolt said, standing in front of his. "Remember, we don't know this place or who else is here. Watch your backs and don't underestimate anyone you come across."
"Right." The three then headed their separate ways, ready to combat what ever came at them.
Aaron walked down the pathway, sword on his shoulder, and a smile on his face. He was happy to take a break from hunting down Cinder, and fight an easy battle. He eventually came across a intersection, seeing three more long pathways. This place was starting to remind him to the Labyrinth, and he was hating it more. He picked the right path, groaning as he dragged his sword across the ground.
As Aaron was walking, he felt something watching him. He knew that this places was filled with thieves and bandits, but he didn't think they were cowards. Aaron continued forward, acting like he didn't notice that anyone was around. Whoever was watching him wasn't silent about watching him at all. Aaron could hear the person walking somewhere around him. So, Aaron wasn't surprised when someone attacked him.
Aaron jumped out of the way of a strike, watching the dust clear to reveal who attacked him. Aaron saw a man in black armor with gold lining, and a pink sash across the chest piece. He also wore gray gauntlets with a similar colored armored breeches with red lining. Aaron could also see an average sized sword in his hands, which is what he assumed the man attacked him with.
The man stood and turned to Aaron, giving him a better look at the man. The man had blonde hair and blood red eyes. He also looked tired and insane. Aaron noticed that the man's armor had a hole in it, similar to a sword stab. Aaron sighed, thinking this guy was just some insane bandit looking for a fight. That was, until Aaron saw the White Fang symbol on his sash. Aaron's demeanor didn't change, though. He wasn't worried at all.
"Who the hell are you supposed to be?" Aaron asked, despite the fact that he didn't care.
"You don't know me?! How could you not know me?!" The man yelled, glaring at Aaron as he aimed his sword at him, clearly deranged. "I am the great Saturn of the White Fang!"
"Saturn, huh? Never heard of you." Aaron said with a confused look. "And isn't the White Fang over, or something?"
"What are you talking about?! The White Fang will never fall! I will lead them to victory!" Saturn roared as he charged Aaron. "I will have my revenge!"
"What?"
Aaron jumped back, dodging Saturn's attack. He had no clue what was wrong with this guy, but he wasn't going to say no to a challenge. Aaron gripped his sword, running at Saturn. Saturn roared, a twisted look on his face as he ran at Aaron. Aaron swung his sword, Saturn doing the same. The two blades clashed, creating sparks. Aaron sweeped Saturn's feet from underneath him, causing him to fall. Before Aaron could capitalize, Saturn flipped back up, kicking Aaron in the chest.
Aaron recovered just in time to clash with Saturn, saving him from a very dangerous cut. Saturn threw a punch at Aaron, who caught it with ease. Aaron held back Saturn's sword and his fist. He was surprised that this guy was this strong. He was also surprised when he was being push into a kneeling position. Aaron eyes were wide, greatly confused. Aaron could physically see Saturn's muscles grow as his pure strength created a crater underneath Aaron's feet.
"I'll kill you!" Saturn laughed psychotically, throwing Aaron into the wall next to them.
"Why do I get the crazy ones?" Aaron questioned to himself as he stood up.
In another part of the city, Mystic was walking down her chosen path. She had her newly upgraded bow in her hands, ready to fight at anytime. She was surprised no one had attacked her yet. She thought that this place was overfilled with bandits. She heard many small sounds, that would better fit a small animal than someone following her. Mystic continued forward, coming across a group of people in an intersection.
They group turned and looked at Mystic. They looked a lot like pirates, with red and brown waistcoats, with gold buttons, and large cutlass on their waists. The men looked at Mystic with very disturbing looks, and they were starting to freak her out.
"Well look at this, boys. We've bagged ourselves a Faunus." One man said, causing the whole group to chuckle. "Get her."
The men unsheathed their swords, charging at Mystic. Mystic acted fast, creating a portal under herself, dodging a sword swing in the process. The group of bandits looked around in confusion while Mystic reappeared in the air. She aimed at the group, firing a Fire Dust arrow down at them. The arrow exploded on impact with the ground, sending the closest bandits flying in all directions. Mystic landed on the ground, hearing someone running up behind her. Mystic countered the slash of a sword with the new blades on her bow.
She pushed the bandit off, kicking him in the chest. Mystic turned, firing an Ice Dust arrow at three bandits behind her. The arrow activated, trapping the bandits in ice. Mystic dodged another sword swipe, countering by tripping the bandit. Mystic ran at another bandit, jumping off his chest and in the air. Mystic loaded up a Gravity Dust arrow as she flipped, firing it at the man's chest. He soon went flying up, disappearing into the clouds.
Mystic turned at the sound of a stampede. She assumed it was Grimm, which shocked her greatly. Thankfully, it was just more bandits. Unfortunately, it was a lot more bandits. Some had swords, while others had pistols. There were way too many for Mystic to deal with alone. So, she jumped up onto the wall and ran down the path, with the bandits right behind her. Mystic fired arrows at them, dodging their return fire as she ran across the wall.
Rae walked down her path, hearing the chaos of her teammates fighting. For once in her time of knowing the others, she was jealous. On her path, there was absolutely no one, expect herself. She normally wouldn't go looking for fights, like some of her team mates, but she was today. She had a very aggravating dream last night, and she wanted to take out her frustration on the bandits in the city, but that wasn't going to be the case. Rae continued down her path, not a soul in sight. She wondered how she ran into no one in a city full of criminals.
She braced herself as the wall in front of her exploded, sending debris everywhere. Rae looked up to see Aaron laying on the floor, slowly getting up. She also saw a man in black armor, his muscles bulging out of it. crawling through the hole in the wall. Rae immediately ran to Aaron's side, helping him stand.
"You okay?" Rae asked, replenishing Aaron's aura.
"Yeah, I'm just dealing with a psycho." Aaron responded, glaring at Saturn. "Might need help."
"Right."
The two charged at Saturn, who laughed in response.
Somewhere near the middle of the city, Bolt was combating hordes of bandits, all of which knew exactly who he was. Bolt's path quickly became flooded with unconscious bandits and thieves, all trying to grab Bolt's bounty for themselves, as he easily took them down. Bolt punched a bandit in the face, turning to kick another in the chest. Bolt pulled out his pistols, firing at the bandits. Bolt got some of the bandits, but more flooded in.
Bolt dodged a swipe of a sword from behind, tripping the bandit responsible. Bolt turned, firing at two bandits, taking down those two as blocked sword strikes with his pistols. Bolt jumped back, giving him some pace from the two swordsmen. Bolt barely dodged a sword swipe from behind. He kicked the man in the chest, sending him back. Bolt used his semblance to avoid another attack, appearing behind two bandits. The two men were too late to attack Bolt as he punched the both in the face.
Bolt quickly dodged a sword swipe, which was followed up by many more. Bolt easily dodged the sword strikes, grabbing onto the woman who attacked him, throwing her into the wall behind him. Bolt switched his pistols into Shotgun mode, firing on the bandits coming in close. The shots caused some bandits to dodge and maneuver, while others were shot and launched back. Bolt fired a shot at the ground, launching himself up as he shifted his pistols back to normal and landed on the wall.
The bandits with guns fired at Bolt as he stood on the wall. Bolt fired back, bullets colliding with bullets. Bolt used his semblance to move out of the way, confusing the bandits below. Bolt ran across the battlefield swiftly taking down a majority of the bandits, leaving the rest in shock. The rest of the bandits got over their shock, unsheathing their swords and charging at Bolt.
Bolt pulled out his kukris, blocking and parrying the sword strikes easily. Bolt kicked the first swordsmen back, throwing the knife passed him. Bolt connected with the knife, teleporting to it. Bolt punched the bandit into the ground, looking up to see the rest running at him. Bolt groaned, annoyed at how many bandits there still were. He pulled out his sword, ready to get this pointless fight.
Bolt charged the bandits in the blink of an eye. Bolt slashed the first two bandits, taking them down swiftly. Bolt jumped up and kicked another bandit in the chest, sending them back into the walls. Bolt used his semblance to quickly take out the rest, eventually standing in the middle of the now unconscious hordes of bandits. Bolt looked at one bandit, who was trying to escape, but ignored him.
"Well, that was fun." Bolt said as he sheathed his sword, looking back at the bandit trying to escape. "Where do you think you're going?"
Bolt grabbed the bandit by the collar, throwing him into the wall. The boy looked into the man's eyes, sending fear into his heart. Bolt gripped the man's shirt tightly, raising him up on the wall. "What do you know about a woman in a red dress? Wears an eye patch?"
"Woman in a red dress? You mean the ghost of that abandoned town, Rosemary?" The man questioned.
"Ghost of Rosemary?" Bolt questioned, confused at the man's words.
"Never heard of her? You're a lucky one." The man said, starting to relax.
Bolt slammed the man into the wall, bringing the man's fear back. "Explain."
"W-Well, there's a town west of here, but the town's even more abandoned then this place." The man stuttered. "They say that people who go there never come out, that it's haunted by a would in crimson, with fire in her eyes."
"That sounds like Cinder." Bolt smiled, punching the man in the face, and knocking him out cold. "That's for the info."
Bolt continued down the path, planning on waiting for the others at the middle of the city. Whilst he was walking, there was something behind him. Almost following him, and keeping their distance.
Meanwhile, Aaron and Rae were fighting Saturn, and were losing badly. Saturn would throw Aaron against everything as they fought, with Aaron taking massive blows to his aura. Rae's attacks were useless, as Saturn's body became mire durable as the fight went on. Saturn wiped around as Rae pelted his body with bullets. Saturn grabbed onto his sword, the gem it's hilt changing color. Saturn slammed his sword on the ground, pulling the trigger on the hilt. The ground started to break apart, with a red glow appearing in the cracks. Rae quickly moved out of the way before the ground exploded, but the explosion was too large and Rae was sent tumbling.
Aaron pulled himself out of the wall he was thrown into, glaring at Saturn. He picked his sword up, preparing to attack the man. Rae stood up on the other side of the man, shifting her guns into sticks. Saturn looked at them both, laughing at how hard they're trying to defeat him.
"See! I told you you can't beat me!" Saturn roared.
"Oh yeah?!" Aaron sheathed his sword and activated his semblance, causing his body to be cloaked in fire. "I'll beat you face in, asshole!"
"Ha! That's a good jo-" Saturn stopped himself as he looked over towards Rae, or over Rae.
The green haired girl turned, looking down a path connected to the clearing. She couldn't see anything at first, confused at what Saturn was seeing. As she looked, she could see something coming at them. That something soon to turned into someone as Rae saw a image of a person running towards them. Behind that person was a small group of other people. As the first person jumped up, turning to look back at the others with a bow in hand, Rae knew who it was.
Soon, an explosion erupted from the path, the person coming out of the smoke. perfectly find. That person was Mystic, who finally defeated the large horde on her tail. The Faunus looked up, seeing Rae looking back at her.
"Rae!" Mystic said happily, running up to Rae. "I finally found someone, but I guess I don't need help anymore."
"Mystic... hey." Rae said, surprised at how calm Mystic was.
"What's going on-" Mystic cut herself off with a gasp, seeing Saturn staring her. Her eyes went straight to the White Fang symbol on his sash, putting fear into her heart. "S-Saturn?"
"Saturn? Wait, you know this guy?" Rae asked, looking at Mystic's pale face.
"He's a part of the White Fang. He's Adam's pupil." Mystic responded, not taking her eyes off of Saturn.
"Saturn...? White Fang...? Wait... This is the guy Bolt fought?!" Rae questioned in shock. "That can't be right. Bolt said he took care of him. How can he be-"
"Bastard!" Aaron's yell cut Rae off as he swung his fire cloaked fist down at Saturn, who easily blocked it.
"That won't work!" Saturn said manically as he threw Aaron towards Rae and Mystic.
"Dammit!" Aaron cursed, as he pulled himself up to his feet, punching his fist together, generating heat in the clearing. "Can you two help me!"
"I...I." Mystic was lost for words.
"Aaron, we have to find Bolt." Rae said, causing Aaron to look back at her.
"What?! Why?! I can handle this with him!" Aaron countered.
"That's Saturn, of the White Fang. Adam's Pupil." Aaron looked at Rae confused. "The guy Bolt fought, and barely won against."
Aaron's eyes widened for a second, before fixing his face, cloaking his body in fire. "That doesn't matter! I can handle this asshole!"
Saturn laughed as he looked at Aaron stand against him. Saturn's laughing started angering Rae. She hated how he was laughing at them. She stood next to Aaron, ecrisma sticks in hand. Aaron smiled, ready for a fight. Mystic also walked up next to Aaron, bow in hand. Aaron could see the determination in her eyes, which made him smile even brighter.
"Alright, asshole! Prepare to get your shit rocked!"
Coming up: Cornered
