F3: Hello readers and welcome to chapter 14. We left where we found out why Trifa is working with the White Fang. Star creating a new gadget. Mars and company are now heading to Gossan. RWBY is the property of Rooster Teeth and Monty Oum. OC characters are owned by me unless stated. With that said Let's Roll Out!
Volume 4-14 Blue: Race Against Time.
Star practically wolfed down her lunch as she had been starving after she finished her little project as she just finished a plate of chicken as she let a satisfying sigh giving her stomach a pat.
"Oh I so needed that. Definitely fills the stomach after working that hard." Star said with a smile on her face glad to have something in her stomach.
"Yeah you certainly worked up an appetite. Though it looked like you knew what you were doing pretty good. Where'd you learn to use a forge?" Carmine questioned.
"Actually I learned that back at Beacon Academy from a friend. It was a struggle at first but I've managed to get a hang of it after awhile." Star replied tearing up a bit as she thought of the younger girl who helped teach her.
"Though I got to say the cooks here are even better than at Beacon. It's like they get the whole flavor out of it. How do they do that?" Star questioned.
"Sorry but that's a trade secret. The cook still won't tell me how." Carmine added.
"And I still won't!" The cook shouted from the back of the small shop.
Carmine simply chuckled at this as she ate her sandwich at a moderate pace.
Star had some thoughts running through her head but for some reason a thought came to her as she remembered the conversation with Fenix a week ago about Nia. Knowing that Nia was a bandit back in her youth and about how she met Fenix though that made her wonder if Carmine knew her as well.
"Hey Carmine? Do know someone named Nia Kaminari?" Star questioned and just from hearing her name Carmine froze in place mid bite. She placed her sandwich down, got up and simply walked away not even bother to answer Star question but she could've sworn she saw Carmine with a saddened look on her face.
Star tilted her head a little confused at what was going on as she decided to get up and follow her as she looked like she was heading back home.
"Um... are you okay? Did I say something I shouldn't have?" Star questioned but the women still ignored her as she had her hands in her pockets as she continued walking.
The fox faunus seemed to not be getting any answers from her so out of habit she pulled out her scroll to check her aura levels since it has been awhile since she checked them last. She noticed they have increased significantly since the last time. Her aura now stood a sixty percent which was pretty good for her since now she had something to defend her incase she got attacked.
Star continued to follow Carmine but she noticed she wasn't heading home but somewhere else in the underground city. They walked for another ten minutes before coming to a stop at something that Star didn't recognize but she noticed that is was a large slab of stone with words that were handmade into it.
The slab of stone read 'Nia Kaminari. Leader, Wife, Friend. May your soul rest in peace.' There were other words on it but it would be too long to read.
"This is... her grave isn't it?" She asked as Carmine shook her head.
"No... it's a shrine... to the women that once protected us. So that way we never forget what she's done for us." Carmine replied almost admiring it before looking away.
"If only I was faster she would still be alive today." She added her fist clenched which kind of confused Star for a moment.
"What do you mean?" Star asked now getting curious about what she said.
Carmine took a moment to compose herself before she spoke again "It was about five years ago. Nia had already left the bandits and became a full time mom. Though what we didn't know that Nia had enemies that wanted her killed. Even though she was our former leader the group made sure that nothing came to harm her or her family." Carmine began.
"Though one day... we... I screwed up. We received information that there was a bounty hunter in the area of Corquina. So I decided to check it out since I was nearby. Though when I got their... I was too late." She continued with a saddened look on her face.
"When I entered the home it was a complete wreck like a brawl broke out and I saw her body their laying on the floor... lifeless. She was stabbed in multiple areas before a single slash across the throat. The amount of blood that was their made want to vomit but knew a regular bounty hunter couldn't have done it. I noticed something out the window that looked like a person but the person had a long scaly tail with what looked like a stinger." Carmine replied which caught Stars attention.
"Stinger... long scaly tail. Tyrian... I doubt he was a bounty hunter back then. Probably found Nia a threat and took her out." Star thought.
"Before I could give chase I heard a gasp behind me. That was when... I met Mars. First thing she did was pull out her guns and tried to shoot me out of anger. Clipped my shoulder when I escape through another window. That was probably when Fenix saw me too. To think I got both the husband and the daughter wanting to hurt me. Guess they could only see me as a murderer and not someone wanting to get justice for Nia." Carmine replied before looking back at the shrine.
"Whenever I need to forget all my griefs I usually come here and meditate. Helps me think clearly and to pay my respects." Carmine replied as she then crouched down in front of the shrine then fully sitting on the ground and sat cross legged.
"You're welcomed to join me. Plus it might help that semblance of yours." Carmine said catching Star completely off guard.
"How'd you know about my semblance?" Star questioned.
"It wasn't hard to figure out. Your semblance is similar to Fenix but it seems yours seems to work more toward your emotions. I've noticed that when you got angry with Jacque your tail started to become two tails." Carmine added.
"Trust me this will help you." She said as she patted at a spot for Star to sit down.
Star taking the offer she decided to sit down near Carmine as she let out a calming breath and crossed her legs like what the women did. She looked over to Carmine noticing that she closed her eyes and placed her hands together as if silently praying. Star mimicked the same motions that Carmine made and began to clear her mind or more like tried to as she couldn't help but recall the good times she was at Beacon. The times she spent with her friends and teammates and especially finding Cinder and the others that she was happy about.
Unknown to her that her tail began to sway a little but for some reason her tail was beginning to split into two and before long she had two tails. They stayed like that for about five minutes before Carmine nudged her breaking Stars train of thought.
"Sorry guess I got a little too into it." Star said as she got up from her spot.
"I'll say. Look at your tail." Carmine mentioned pointing toward her tail. Star looked behind her and noticed her tail had suddenly became two.
"Huh? But I thought it reacts to anger." Star said now completely confused.
"It probably was but I think it was more of a controlled anger. You were rather quite into your thoughts. Did you think of something that made you mad?" Carmine asked.
Star recalled something that she thought of. It was when she was in Vale as she ran after the scent of Tyrian but she also left her teammates behind which she regretted leaving them.
"Yeah... I know what it is too. I left my team to chase down a scent of a scorpion faunus that burned down the orphanage some time ago. Now thinking back... I regret doing that to them. They needed a leader to watch them but I decided to handle a grudge." She sighed.
"And look where that got me." She added as her tails reformed into one.
Carmine simply smiled at this "Well... at least your realizing your flaws and a way to control your semblance." Carmine said.
"Really?" Star said.
"Yeah. If your semblance responds to certain emotions then you can control your emotions to activate your semblance." Carmine replied.
"So if I were to like control my anger I'll be able to use my semblance more often." Star replied.
"I think so. Though I'm not sure how many tails you've been able to reach." Carmine added.
"I... think three tails right now. Why'd you ask?" Star asked.
Carmine cupped her chin for a moment before her eyes widen at a thought "C'mon let's head back to the house. I think I might have something to solve your semblance." Carmine replied as the two decided to head back to Carmine house as Star was wondering what kind of solution she had for her semblance.
=RWBY=
After getting a hardy breakfast the mother and daughter duo were walking about town as they could only wait till May returned with Fenix and his group but for now they decided to pay a visit to Sun's home which was the dojo.
The two approached the door of the home as Vanessa knocked.
"Coming!" A small girls voice called out they heard footsteps coming toward the door. It slid opened revealing Lexi as she looked up seeing the two of them.
"Oh hello Miss. Tora. Can I help you?" Lexi asked.
"Actually we we're wondering if your parents are home." Vanessa asked. Lexi brightened immediately as she ran off to go get her parents as the two entered the home.
The little girl came back quickly before she spoke up "Momma's in the living room if you want to see her." Lexi replied which did bring attention to the older tiger faunus as they decided to follow the young faunus into the living area of the dojo.
Walking through an open door way they were met with the sight of the kitchen and it was a large kitchen with a refrigerator, a stove and oven combo and the kitchen sink with plenty of cabinets around. They then walked through another open doorway which was the dining area with a large table to sit around eight people. Then finally is the living area with a wide couch to fit more than three people along with two comfortable chairs as one of the chairs were occupied by women the looked to be in her early forties.
She was a lemur faunus like Lexi with a black and white striped tail. She had rather tanned colored skin as she was wearing a simple outfit. She wore a bright blue colored sleeveless top and blue jeans that looked a little big for her but their was a good reason for that as by her bulged belly. The women looked to be eight months pregnant. She had golden blonde hair with sharp purple eyes.
"Oh hello Mrs. Tora. I wasn't expecting you to be visiting or I would've made some tea." The women replied.
"Probably not in your condition Noire." Vanessa replied as both of them sat on the couch.
"Where's your husband?" She asked.
"Daddy went to the market. He won't be long." Lexi replied sweetly.
"And what about Sun? Where's he?" Melanie asked.
"Apparently he went to Menagerie to help a friend that needed his assistance. Not sure what for though." Noire replied though she noticed that Vanessa's right leg was twitching like she was nervous about something which didn't go unnoticed by Noire.
"Okay... is something going on that I should know about?" She replied.
Vanessa wanted to say something but she couldn't because of Lexi was still in the room.
"Lexi could you go into the other room please. We need to have an adult talk." Noire replied as Lexi nodded understanding what her mother meant as she went out of room.
"I'll keep her company." Melanie replied as she followed the little girl.
Making sure they are out of the room Noire finally spoke up.
"Now. What's bothering you? Cause whenever your right leg twitches something is bothering you." Noire pointed out.
"You know me well do you huh." Vanessa added. "Well we we're friends for a long time you know." Noire replied.
"Yeah but I distinctly remember someone getting pregnant during the last week of her fourth year at Shade Academy that the previous headmaster wanted to throw you out but I stepped in to prevent it." Vanessa replied which got Noire to laugh about that.
"Don't remind me. You had graduated already and was working as an instructors aid and helped me through my pregnancy." Noire said.
"But we're losing the topic here. What is it that is bother you?" Noire questioned.
Vanessa knew she couldn't beat around the bush even more especially to her best friend.
"There's... going to be a possible attack on the capital... more exactly Shade Academy." Vanessa replied which got her friends attention.
"What do you mean possible attack? And by who?" Noire asked.
Vanessa took a moment to compose herself as she then spoke out the words that not every faunus wanted to hear.
"The White Fang." She finally said which surprised Noire.
"Are you saying that-" Noire started but Vanessa nodded.
"There is a White Fang faction here in Vacuo. It's outside the capital. Twenty minutes away from here." Vanessa replied.
"If you know where they are then why don't you from like a strike team and take care of them." Noire replied.
"It's not that easy. We have limited number of huntsmen in the area. Plus their are more of them than there are us which will be a disadvantage for us." Vanessa added.
"As the headmistress and member of the council I can't afford the safety of the my students or the people of the capital." She replied confidently.
"So I'm guessing you have a plan of some sorts?" Noire questioned.
"May has gone out to grab a group of bandits she knows that will help us out. And other group to head to Gossan to get their friend. Hopefully they'll make it back in time." Vanessa replied.
"I'm sure things will work out. They always do in the end." Noire replied.
"I know it's just... " Vanessa paused as she looked into the direction of the other room where Melanie was more likely keeping Lexi busy.
"I nearly lost my daughter once already when she lost her arm. All that blood loss almost killed her. I'm afraid that if something like this will happen again." Vanessa said worryingly as she wrapped her arms around herself.
Noire simply looked at her friend knowing how nervous she is.
"It's not easy being worried. Wanting to be their to protect our children. But sometimes we have to take a step back and let them handle things on their own. We will be their whenever they need our support or if they lost their way, we put them back on the right path. Give them helpful advice from time to time. Embarrass them once in a while but we still be their for them." Noire said wisely as Vanessa simply nodded.
Noire felt something within her pregnant belly as her unborn child kicked.
"She seems to agree." Noire replied which surprised Vanessa.
"So it's a girl huh? Looks like you'll have your hands full." Vanessa replied which only made Noire chuckle.
That was when Melanie came back into the room with her scroll in hand "Just got a text from May. She's brought them and is waiting outside the entrance." Melanie replied.
"Anything from Mars?" Vanessa asked.
"Yeah. Their saying there almost to Gossan." Melanie answered.
"Good to know. We'll meet up with May and inform Fenix what the situation as become. Hopefully they'll be willing to help us." Vanessa said before turning back to Noire.
"I'm sorry but we have to take our leave." Vanessa added.
"Of course. Duty calls after all. Just don't be a stranger and come by anytime." Noire said with a smile as the two decided to leave to meet up with May and Fenix for the potential battle ahead of them.
=RWBY=
Three hours into the drive to Gossan Nebula was currently in the drivers seat with Velvet in the passenger while Octavia, Cardin, and Mars are in the back enjoying the smooth ride for the most part hitting a few patches of sand here and there.
Mars opened a small hatch to see the front of them but also to be able to talk with the others.
"How much further do we got to go?" Mars questioned.
"Not much further? About thirty minutes at best." Nebula answered which made Mars groan as she sat back down.
"Honestly why do we even need Carmine? All we're doing is picking up Star and heading back to the capital. I'm sure with all of us we would have enough fire power to drive off the White Fang attack." Mars replied.
"Even so. You heard what Miss Tora said. Carmine knows that property inside out. So if we can get an advantage we can stop this attack before it even happens." Cardin replied.
It still made Mars uncomfortable about talking about Carmine even though they do need her for what they are planning to do but she was also worried about Star and hoped that she was okay.
"Something though is bothering you isn't. More importantly it's directed at Carmine that you hate her so much. Is their a reason for that." Octavia replied seeing the discomfort in her friends face.
"It's nothing... I'd rather not talk about it." Mars said not wanting to discuss it any further as the group of five wheeled toward the small town of Gossan.
Just like Nebula said thirty minutes later the town of Gossan was directly in front of the them as they shortly arrived in the town as they parked just on the outskirts. The group of five pile out of the truck as they glanced around the small town trying to locate their friend.
"Man for a small town it certainly has some charm to it." Velvet commented.
"Yeah that's for sure." Cardin added in his interest.
Though Mars simply huffed at this "Yeah the towns nice but we kind of have a mission to do here. Find Star and... Carmine and get back to the capital before the attack happens so let's put some pep in our step and get moving." Mars replied as she started walking into the town.
"Yeah let's get going." Velvet replied but as she and Cardin started moving he looked back and see Octavia and Nebula contemplating about something.
"Hey? You two okay?" Cardin asked slightly worried about them.
"Yeah... we're good." Octavia assured but still rather unsure herself. Cardin gave a small sigh before walking after the others.
The two girls looked at each other for a few seconds before Nebula spoke up.
"You know we'll have to face her some time. Might as well get it over with." Nebula replied.
Octavia nodded "Yeah... I know. Though not sure how happy she'll be when she sees me. Won't be surprise if she slugs me one." Octavia replied.
"Well... should we go to her house then. You do remember where it is right?" Nebula asked.
Octavia only nodded in response as the two decided to go see their last member of their team. To Octavia she only hoped the Dew was in a good mood to talk to her.
Meanwhile with the Cardin, Velvet, and Mars they were currently looking around Gossan or more trying to locate Star but they were failing at that part as they could find any traces of Star or any footprints.
"If we came out here just for nothing then I'm going to be really pissed." Mars growled which only made Cardin and Velvet nervous.
"I'm sure if we ask around we'll find her and-" Cardin started but Mars cut him off.
"Don't say her name!" She shouted making Cardin take a step back.
"If we do happen to find both of them we're taking Star and maybe consider letting Carmine coming along." Mars replied.
"Consider? We need her to help us. Plus that property belongs to her and those people of hers that she is protecting. I say we bring Carmine along and maybe anyone that can help with the upcoming invasion that we're trying to avoid." Cardin replied trying not to argue with her.
Mars trying not to get frustrated as she put a hand on her dark golden hair trying to calm herself.
"Fine... but only one problem with all of this. Where do we even start looking?" Mars asked. That was a problem as Gossan while it was a small place people had many places to hide which was going to be a problem for them to locate Star or maybe it wouldn't be.
"Guess we better start looking around then. See if anyone has seen her." Cardin replied as the group began to look for the fox friend. Little did they know that one of Carmines men had accidently overheard them and began heading back to the hideout to inform Carmine of what he had found.
=RWBY=
The two returned to Carmines home in where the women began looking around for something that she'd apparently put away.
"Now where did I put that thing? It's normally right here." She said as she looked in her drawer. Realizing it wasn't in her drawer she started looking in other drawers around the house.
"Um... what is it that you are looking for again?" Star questioned.
"Something to help you control your semblance. Trust me it'll help greatly." Carmine replied as she then was able to find it.
"Ah ha here you are!" Carmine cheered as she pulled the object out of her drawer. To Star it look like a three ring arm band that is meant to go on the upper arm.
"Is that it?" Star asked again as Carmine nodded.
"Yep. I found this during one of my raids a few years back. At the time I couldn't control my semblance which by the way is telekinesis. Things would start randomly flying around when I couldn't control it but when I put this on it seemed I had better control over it. But now I really don't need it so maybe thought you could use it." Carmine said handing it over to Star.
Star examined the object in her hand with a questionable look.
"You sure this will help me control my semblance?" She asked as Carmine nodded.
"Yeah. Try putting it on your upper arm." Carmine said as Star unclipped it before snapping it on her upper right arm. The moment she put it on the band started to glow a bright silver color.
"Okay... now what?" Star questioned.
Carmine smirked a little as she then walked behind the unprepared faunus and took her foot and stepped on Stars tail rather roughly.
Star shouted in pain as she felt the pain coming from her tail. Carmine stepped off her tail as Star faced her a look of rage on her face.
"What the hell was that for!?" She shouted at Carmine.
"Aw did I step on the poor foxes tail." Carmine said in a condescending tone which only seemed to piss Star off even more as she tail thrashed as it suddenly split into two tails.
"What did you say to me?" Star growled.
"Is the little foxy angry. Did I hurt her poor little tail?" Carmine said again in that same tone.
Star's anger was rising as her two tail soon became three tails as her nails started to grow out and her canines in her mouth started to grow a little. That was when Carmine smirked at this as her little experiment was actually working.
"Okay I think that's enough." Carmine replied knowingly which made Star look at her with a confusing look.
"Huh? What's enough?" Star asked before Carmine pointed toward her tail. Star turned her head and noticed that she had three tails now and that she was in complete control of her transformation unlike the last time where she'd lost control of herself.
"What in the world? How am I controlling it?" Star questioned but she then looked toward the arm band she was wearing as it shimmered a bright silver color.
"Is it because of this?" She questioned as Carmine nodded in response.
"Yep. That band is special. I think it's something from the old days during the Great War. From what I know it's helps regulate the persons semblance so they could master it though it's not going to be as strong. It's... like a limiter of sorts. You can still use your semblance but not at its full power." Carmine replied as Star continued to look at the arm band.
"From how this is designed. This is probably one of the artifacts." Star thought before putting a hand on the compass around her neck.
"Could this... also be an artifact." She added. However her thoughts were derailed when one of Carmines men entered the house.
"Ma'am we have a situation in Gossan." The male bandit replied.
"Yeah what is it. Should we be worried?" Carmine asked quickly.
"Some people are looking for you and the fox. I'm not sure if they're enemies or not." The male bandit replied.
"What did they look like? Did you get a look at them?" Star questioned.
"Well... I think one of them is a female rabbit faunus along with-" The male started but Star stopped him.
"Hold on. Female rabbit faunus. Light brown jacket." Star replied as the male bandit nodded.
"Yeah I think she was wearing that." The male bandit said.
"That's Velvet. If she here then the others have to be here too. Probably looking for me." Star added.
"Then I guess we better get you top side if they're looking for you. I'll walk you to the town." Carmine replied as the two decided it was time to go top side and find Stars friends and hopefully they don't try to kill her especially if Mars was with them.
=RWBY=
After about thirty minutes of searching the three of them didn't have much luck finding Star as they were now sitting down at a small outdoor diner as drinks were right in front of them.
"We've practically searched all around Gossan. For it being a small town no one knows where she could be." Cardin replied taking a sip of his drink.
"Well she has to be somewhere. Where else could she go?" Mars replied honestly frustrated.
Velvet tried to think of where Star could be but unfortunately she had no such luck which was starting to even make her frustrated but she never showed it. However that was when she heard some footsteps coming toward them. It was a set of three footsteps as she looked up seeing Nebula, Octavia, and Dew walking toward them all with a look of content on their faces.
"Hey everyone. From the looks of it you haven't found Star yet." Nebula replied in which they shook their heads.
"Yeah we haven't found her yet. I wish we knew where she was." Mars added as she placed her head on the table.
Dew pondered a thought for a moment "You know she was actually at my house yesterday. She said she had to head back somewhere. From what Nebs and Octy said that you need Carmine for something in the capital." Dew replied which only made Mars groan.
"Unfortunately yes. We do need her and Star but we can't seemed to-" Mars began but that was when Velvets ears picked up the sound of footsteps and a distinct smell of a fox.
"I smell her. Stars scent. She's nearby." Velvet replied as she got up from her seat so did the others.
"Well Vel lead the way." Cardin said as the group follow the rabbit faunus. It didn't take long as they round the corner and right in front of them is Star wearing a temporary outfit and some kind of gadget on her right wrist. Alongside her is Carmine with a bright smile on her face.
"Well guess we didn't have to look far." Carmine added. Star noticed the others and was immediately engulfed by an embrace by Cardin.
"There you are. We've been looking all over for you." Cardin replied happy to find the fox faunus.
"I'm sorry that I worried everyone." Star apologized.
"We're just glad that you're okay." Velvet added. Carmine cleared her throat to grab everyone's attention.
"Hey don't forget it was me that made sure-" Carmine started but didn't get another word out before she was met with a swift kick to the skull which sent her flying a few feet as she landed on the ground. Everyone wide eyed as the saw who attacked her as they saw Mars with her bow out but the center of them separated into twin blades. She had a look that would kill as her eyes was piercing a hole right through the women on the ground.
Carmine rubbed the spot where she was kicked as she worked her jaw making sure it was dislocated.
"Ow. That freakin' hurt you know." Carmine replied.
"Oh believe me. That's just the warm up." Mars growled finally having her mothers killer right in front of her as she was going to avenge her mothers death this very day. Mars then charged angrily at her target. Carmine quickly rolled out of the way when Mars tried to stab her as her weapons on stabbed the sand.
Carmine quickly unsheathed her weapons as they were a pair of sais with pointed prongs and wide silver blades. The sais themselves are compromised with a blue handles. In the middle adorned a yellow pyramid with a blue frame.
"Hey now let's take it easy okay." Carmine replied trying to defuse the situation.
"Oh I'll take it easy... after I lob off your head!" Mars shouted as she charged at her again. Seeing that Carmine wasn't getting through to her as she blocked the attack from Mars but she could tell that Mars wasn't going to let up.
Mars continued to press her attack as the others looked on.
"Mars! Knock it off will yah!" Star called out but Mars wasn't listening seeing that she knows the reason why Mars is attacking her but Mars doesn't know the full story.
"We got to stop her before she does something she'll regret." Cardin replied.
Star was trying to think of something to quell the fighting between them. She could trying using her slinger but it could have a chance of missing and hitting something else. She doubt her semblance would be able to help in this situation. But then she realized she had something else at her disposal something she never thought of until now.
Star closed her eyes and concentrated as she drew upon her hidden power that laid dormant. To the others they suddenly felt a chill in the air around them despite it being so hot. They looked to find the source and noticed around Star that all of a sudden a gust of snow whipped around Star before she was gently lifted off the ground a she floated just a few inches off the ground. She opened her eyes and they ignited into light blue flames.
In the battle Mars finally had Carmine right where she wanted her as Carmine had be disarmed of her weapons as they laid a few feet away from her with Mars pointing her right handed sword at her as she was breathing heavily.
"This... is for my mother." Mars growled raising her sword up to deliver a final blow. However before she could a wall of ice came in between herself and Carmine completely separating the two. Mars looked to where it came from and notice that Star was suddenly floating in the air and her eyes surrounded by a bluish flame.
"That. Is. Enough." Star voiced her words each one asserting authority as Star glared at Mars.
"But Star... she's the one that murdered my mother. She deserves this." Mars replied.
"No. She does not. She explained everything to me. Or maybe she should tell you herself." Star replied as Carmine got off the ground patting away the sand that was on her.
"Yeah. At least let me explain things to you first. Geez talk about quick to pull the trigger." Carmine replied.
Mars wasn't sure if she hear what Carmine had to say but seeing that she apparently told Star something about her mother she decided to listen anyway.
"Fine. But I'm only doing this because Star is here. This had better not be some kind of trick." Mars replied.
Carmine nodded as she began telling her story to everyone that was their. While Star remained passive the others had mixed emotions about the whole situation. Mars more importantly was still glaring daggers at Carmine as she continued to tell her story. When the story ended everyone held their emotions.
"That has to be rough. Seeing the person you came to help was dead all because of this bounty hunter." Nebula replied.
"Yeah... she was someone that I had admired for a long time." Carmine replied looking away somberly. However Mars wasn't convinced so easily.
"Hold on a minute. I know the last bit about me shooting you is true but c'mon I knew my mother had enemies but they were quickly taken care of or thrown in prison. Besides how do we know that you aren't lying that you might have killed my mother instead of this supposed bounty hunter you claimed you saw. Probably just trying to shove the blame on someone else to save your own ass." Mars replied her words cutting through Carmine like a knife through paper.
"Well if she is lying it's not like we have a lie detector on hand." Cardin replied. That was when Nebula and Octavia smirked as their eyes drifted toward Dew.
"Actually... we do in fact." Octavia replied which surprised all of them.
"Huh? We do?" Star questioned wondering what they were talking about.
"Dew has a semblance she calls Truth or Lie. It's very simple. First you have to join hands and then Dew asks a question and then the other holding her hand answers. If her hand glows green then your telling the truth but if it glows red then you just told a lie." Nebula explained.
"If Carmine didn't kill her mother then Dew should be able to tell between a truth or a lie." She finished as Dew approached Carmine as she held out a hand her arm incased in a white glow.
"You ready?" Dew asked as Carmine nodded as she took her hand in her own as her arm was also incased in the white glow.
"Now I'm only ask this question one time. Did you kill Mars's mother?" Dew questioned as violet eyes stared into gold waiting for Carmines answer.
"No." Carmine said confidently not even blinking as she stared right back. Dew's hand glowed revealing a crystal green color. Mars looked at the arm for a few seconds as she tried to process everything. Carmine was telling the truth... she then realized that she almost killed someone who was innocent as she reformed her bow and placed it on her back.
"I... I don't..." Mars started but words were leaving her failing to form a sentence.
Carmine looked over to the golden haired girl before walking over to her as she placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Your mother was the greatest person I've ever met. If she could see you now... she would be very proud of you." Carmine said trying to comfort the young girl.
Velvet cleared her throat getting everyone's attention.
"Sorry to break this up but we have something important we need to take care of." Velvet said reminding everyone but Star and Carmine were a little confuse what she meant.
"Okay what's going on?" Star asked as her maiden powers deactivated.
Cardin and those that came with explained the whole situation what's going on in the capital.
"So it's the White Fang that has occupied our home. Oh just wait till I get their. They've messed with the wrong person." Carmine growled pretty angry that those goons had occupied her and her peoples home.
"And it's a bit worse too. I received a text from Melanie that things got worse. Apparently the White Fang is planning an attack on the academy in less than three days. We need to get back to the capital and quick." Velvet added which wasn't good. It took them a few hours to get to Gossan from Corquina but from Gossan to the capital might take longer if not a whole day.
"We'd be pushing it but I think we can make it with a day left if we leave right now." Star replied.
"Yeah and this time I'm bringing some helpers. I have a bandit group of my own that can help out. About fifteen men but it'll do. I'll also inform Woody to get his butt out of their and back to the capital to meet us their." Carmine replied as Mars looked at her with a surprise look.
"Wait. What!? Woody is apart of your group!" Mars shouted completely surprised.
"Talk about this later but right now we have to pack up and move out fast. I'll gather my men and we'll meet outside Gossan." Carmine replied as she picked up her weapons and sprinted off toward her underground base.
"Oh and Star. Thought you might need this." Cardin said as he brought out Stars gunbreakers while Velvet brought out Stars other clothing she wore.
"Thanks guys." Star thanked as she took her clothing and weapons. After changing in the truck the Nebula pointed out she was glad to be back in her clothing that she picked out and made sure her gunbreakers were ready to go.
Mars took something out of her pocket which Star noticed and was very familiar with it. It was a tribal necklace. It was a silver arrowhead with a black segments on the upper and lower parts of the arrowhead. In the center of it is a small turquoise colored sphere. The arrowhead is laced with woven string as she held it close to her before actually putting it on as if let out a soft blue glow.
Star noticed the necklace as she was looking at it for the first time "Did you buy that? It looks rather unique." Star asked.
"Actually it was mothers. I feel like I've had it ever since I was little. She told me it was good luck and to always keep it on me." Mars explained.
Thirty minutes later Carmine returned but with fifteen of her best men and a few desert vehicles.
"Alright we're ready to head out. The faster we get their the better." Carmine said as the rest of the group loaded into the truck as Carmine took lead on her motorbike as she motioned them to move out as they followed right behind her hoping they could make it to the capital before it got attacked.
F3: And that's chapter 14. Looks like Star and company are making a long trip back to the capital to assist with defending the capital from the potential attack. Will they make it in time? Make sure to follow or favorite to keep up with future updates. Also let me know what you readers think in the comments. With that said this is Firesuer3 and I'm out.