Two years ago…
The wolf faunus walked slowly down a hallway in the White Fang headquarters. It was very quiet, the only discernible sound being the soft whirring and the muffled thuds of her mechanical footfalls. She stopped before a large set of double doors and raised her hand. After a couple of deep breaths, she knocked twice.
"Enter!" a voice called from inside and the faunus heaved the door open, allowing it to swing shut behind her as she entered.
The throne room was massive, with large pillars leading up to vaulted ceilings. Torches ensconced on the pillars gave the room a warm, reddish look. This was accentuated by the massive red banners hanging from the ceiling, emblazoned with the White Fang's sigil. A crimson carpet ran down the center of the room to a raised dais. There, sitting on the throne and flanked by two guards, was the high leader of the White Fang herself: Sienna Khan.
The wolf faunus knelt and bowed her head, her red and silver hair tumbling over her shoulder as she did, "You sent for me, high leader?"
Sienna regarded her solemnly, "I did. I've been told you are the best sniper we have."
The wolf faunus shook her head, "you flatter me, I simply do as I am ordered."
Sienna scoffed, gesturing dismissively with her hand, "You can forgo the false modesty. I've seen your work. Adam Taurus is requesting your assistance with the extermination of the Atlesian vigilante. Apparently, Taurus discovered him hiding amongst the students during the attack on the huntsman academy." The supreme leader's brow furrowed and she dragged a claw along her arm rest, "Although his jurisdiction is in Vale, Taurus deemed it appropriate to tell me how to fix our Atlas branch's problems."
The wolf faunus could sense the irritation in her leader's voice. "Are you sure you wish me to go Ma'am?" she asked.
Sienna's eyes flashed at the question, "Why do you ask?"
The wolf faunus bravely met the tiger faunus's eyes, "With all due respect, high leader, why hunt down a vigilante that hasn't bothered us for years?"
Sienna stared cooly back at her, "We have it on good authority that this vigilante used to be one of us. Personally, I wouldn't bother. Our way of fighting discrimination isn't for anyone and if a faunus wishes to leave us, that should be their decision. Taurus disagrees. To him, desertion is a crime punishable by death."
The wolf faunus tilted her head, puzzled, "couldn't you just tell him no?"
Sienna leaned back in her throne with a sigh, "I fear too many faunus follow Taurus's lead. He's become something of an idol to our younger members and if I butt heads with him, it could lead to in-fighting. I want to keep that from happening at all costs." She sat straight again, a flicker of sadness in her amber eyes, "as unfortunate as it is, one faunus's life is worth keeping the White Fang from falling apart."
The wolf faunus bowed her head once more, "I apologize for questioning you, I meant no disrespect. Where should I begin my search?"
Sienna settled back in her throne, inspecting her claws with an almost careless air, "this is Taurus's errand, not mine. Ask him for the details." Her amber eyes locked with the wolf faunus's ice blue ones as she continued, "I should mention that there is a standing bounty on the vigilante's head. Some 70,000 lien."
The wolf faunus felt her tail begin to wag and quickly quelled the movement, "I won't let you down supreme leader."
Sienna nodded to her, "I know you won't. Safe travels, Lunaris."
Three weeks ago…
Lunaris silently stole through the back alleys of Mistral. With how big the city was, it was almost too easy for her to blend in. Unfortunately, the city's size was making it difficult to find her quarry. She had begun her hunt in Vale where she'd found the house her target had been staying in. It was a simple matter to sneak inside and find something he'd left behind.
Her semblance allowed her to track the 'scent' of someone's aura, which appeared as a shimmering trail. Following this trail, she'd been able to track her target as far as the island of Patch. When Lunaris had asked around the port, she'd heard from the harbor master that a 'faunus fellow' asked for a ship going to Atlas. Her trip to the northern kingdom had been fruitless, the ship she was on detouring to Mistral after being denied passage through the blockade. Upon landing in the capital city, she'd activated her semblance and through sheer dumb luck, had located her target's trail. She'd been following it for hours as it snaked through the city streets.
Her scroll suddenly buzzed, throwing off her focus. Who would be calling me, she thought as she slid the scroll open, "hello?"
"Lupis, I was hoping you were in the area."
Lunaris scowled at Adam Taurus's obvious glee at his good fortune. She had never been very fond of the bull faunus, and recently he'd become all the more insufferable. "What do you want Taurus," she growled, "I haven't found your little vigilante if that's why you're calling."
Taurus sounded almost bored as he continued, "I have a very important job for you."
Lunaris rolled her eyes, "I'm already doing your job, ask somebody else."
Taurus's voice suddenly became deathly quiet, "I'd use a more respectful tone when addressing your new high leader."
Lunaris blinked in surprise, "What happened to Kahn?"
Taurus sighed sadly, "She was assassinated by a human huntsman who claimed he'd come to negotiate."
Lunaris staggered like she'd been punched, rage and sorrow swirl together in her stomach as her scroll shook in her grasp. "What would you have me do high leader?" she asked, hearing her voice shake from the anger.
"That's better," Taurus said smoothly, "we're launching an assault on Haven academy and I've heard you're invaluable as overwatch."
Lunaris nodded, "I can do that."
The bull faunus was silent for several moments before speaking once more, "Haven Academy, Next Friday, 6:30, be there."
He hung up, leaving the wolf faunus to deal with her sorrow and rage. She and Sienna had never been very close, but the late high leader had always been kind to her; giving her life purpose after her father had died.
The ruins of Haven Academy will be your funeral pyre, Sienna, she swore to herself, the humans will pay dearly for what they've done.
Two Weeks Ago…
Why...Why...Why is it him of all people?!
Lunaris swung her clenched fist into the side of the alley she'd ducked into. Her breath was ragged and the connectors between her prosthetics and her flesh burned horribly. She had just run down seven tiers of Mistral on foot. At long last, she'd come face to face with her quarry. The brief spark of triumph she felt was extinguished when the vigilante turned out to be her former childhood friend; Shiroi Arashi.
Just when I thought I'd seen the last of him, she let out a growl through clenched teeth, He killed that faunus… Her anger quickly turned to horror. Taurus was right, she thought, he needs to be dealt with.
An image of Roy's face flashed through her head and old resentments came flooding back. What did you see in him, dad? What did he have that I didn't? She clenched her fingers so hard, her knuckles popped, I was just as ready as he was to join the White Fang with you. But you didn't even ask me. You didn't even tell mom and I where you were going! But you took him with you…"Why!" she cried, sending a trashcan crashing into the wall with a kick of her prosthetic leg.
Her scroll suddenly rang and she whipped it open. "What?!"
Her anger intensified as she heard Taurus's breathless voice, "Lupis, forget Arashi, I have a new target for you. Her name is Bl-"
"No." Lunaris said shortly.
"What did you say?" Taurus snapped.
"I said NO!" Lunaris yelled, her fury boiling over, "There is no other target, there is only Arashi."
She could almost feel Taurus's own rage emanating from the phone as he almost screamed at her, "I am you high leader, you will follow my orders!"
Lunaris's anger reached a fever pitch and she threw her scroll to the ground and crushed it beneath her foot. I don't care what it takes, she thought as she walked deeper into Mistral, I will take him down.
As she walked, her anger began to cool and a small voice of reason made itself known. You should give him a warning. If he stays away from the White Fang, then no harm, no foul.
She shook her head as if to clear it, No! This is so much more than the White Fang now. Why should the enemy get a warning?
The voice spoke again, you were friends, once upon a time.
Lunaris growled to herself in frustration, Fine, he gets one warning…
Several hours ago…
Lunaris could feel the rumble of the dust engines against her back as she hunkered down in the bowels of the airship. She'd stowed away aboard Arashi's ship undetected, hoping to procure safe passage into Atlas. Once she'd snuck on board, it was a simple matter to find somewhere quiet and out of the way where she could hide. She pulled her tattered black poncho tighter around herself, the temperature inside the hold dropping as the ship gained altitude.
Once Arashi left Mistral, it was elementary to figure out where he was going; the port city of Argus. She'd reached the city first and posted up near the airfield until she saw Arashi's ship land. For the past few days, Lunaris had been staking out the tavern Arashi and his team had been staying at.
She growled to herself as she thought about what she'd seen through her sniper scope that morning. Arashi and his teammate, a tall cat faunus, had been out on the tavern's patio enjoying some alone time. Lunaris pulled a face of disgust as she remembered them kissing, yeesh, I need to scrub my brain later.
She sighed as she hugged herself tighter in an effort to stay warm. Maybe I'm just jealous; I did have the biggest crush on him when I was a kid. The thought made her snort derisively, did...not anymore.The ship jostled as it encountered some turbulence. Lunaris gulped, trying and failing to dig her metal claws into the iron underbelly of the ship. She hated flying. In an attempt to think of something other than how high up they were, her mind turned to what she intended to do about Arashi.
He made it clear that he wouldn't stay away from the White Fang, she thought, I'll wait to see what he gets up to in Atlas. If it involves the White Fang at all, I will kill him.
Her hand wandered down to one of her prosthetics and she fiddled with a loose bolt on the knee joint. Damn these things, she cursed inwardly, If I'd have known they were going to be such a pain, I would've told that hack to keep his damn legs.As annoying as they were, Lunaris had to admit the prosthetics gave her a decent amount of advantages. Increased speed and agility, as well as extra weapons in the form of the sharpened claws on each of the toes. She grew slightly queasy as she thought back to the accident that had taken her legs.
She'd been working in a dust mine to help support her mother. The human foreman had decided to send her and several other faunus deeper into the mineshaft to search for more dust deposits. She couldn't remember what caused the cave in, but she did remember the feeling of the boulders pulverizing her legs beyond repair. She'd been one of the lucky ones; most of the other faunus had been crushed to death beneath the rocks. The medics ended up having to amputate her legs just above the knee, leaving her bed ridden for months. She couldn't afford prosthetics, so she'd reached out to a few of her father's friends in the White Fang. They'd pulled some strings and found a doctor willing to perform the procedure, for a price. She thought. The White Fang had covered the expense; a favor for 'Simon's little girl.'
The surgery was grueling, but when she woke up two hours later, the prosthetics had been fitted. Several months of rehab later, she was on her knees before Sienna Kahn as she swore her fealty to the White Fang.
The rest, as they say, is history, she thought as she finished tightening the bolt on her knee. She'd never bothered to ask the doctor why the prosthetics looked like bipedal wolf legs, but at the end she decided it didn't matter. They get the job done regardless.
The ship's prow suddenly dipped forward as it began its decent. Well here we go, she thought, welcome to Atlas…
Two Weeks Later…
Lunaris lay prone on the roof of a building thirty clicks north of memorial park. It was a very pleasant day and the sun was shining. She was scoped in, watching two people who seemed oblivious to the beauty of the morning. One was gesturing wildly as he talked, his cat ears laying flat along his skull in anger. The other man wore an Atlesian military uniform, silently weathering the faunus's storm of anger.
Eventually, the faunus seemed to calm down and Lunaris began to set up her shot. The wind blowing the feather at the end of her rifle barrel was coming from the east, so she pulled her crosshair several inches to the right. Next, she corrected for the distance by pulling her reticle up two notches. The shot was zeroed in and Lunaris began her breathing,
In for five, out for five. Begin to compress the trigger.
She felt the trigger begin to shift and drew in another deep breath, the gunshot should surprise you…The faunus in her crosshairs stood nice and still, listening intently to the uniformed man. Lunaris chewed her lip slightly,
its almost too easy, she thought, he'll never know what hit him.This is a small teaser for next Volume. As you know, my book follows the timeline of the show and this would be the teaser trailer for volume 7 if I ever animated this. Lunaris is a character I like a lot, so be ready to see a lot of her during the next chunk of the story. Writing is going slowly but surely, a little at a time. I'm really excited to bring it to you, but it will still be a little bit. Have a good start to the school year and I'll keep you posted. I've actively considered getting a twitter going for Tales of Remnant. This wouldn't be my twitter, this would be a twitter page solely dedicated to my story and its characters. Let me know what you think!Catch you later! -Ar3mRising.
