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Chapter 31: Dark Side
It had been roughly weeks since Eagle Arc, alongside her partner had agreed to Melanie Malachite's terms, their assistance when she called on it in exchange for her vast criminal network being turned to the task of locating her mother. In those two weeks they'd heard nothing, making it almost a month since the scientists' abduction at the hands of the Shadow Cadre. Eagle found herself continuously distracted in lessons by the thoughts of her missing mother and anger towards everyone involved, only worsened by nerves at what she'd found herself embroiled in. That distraction was something of a problem at the current moment in time as today was Friday, more importantly it was the last lesson of the day on a Friday
Combat training
"Eagle BLOCK!" Felix's frantic bellow from his position at the front row of seats got her attention, inadvertently taking it away from her opponent. Eagle was struck in the chest and hurled from her feet, the force of her opponents' attacks dragging her along the surface of the protective shielding that encased the sparring area. The sensation was an odd mixture of sandpaper on skin and numbing tingles.
"Get up" Sable Lepida, the 'S' of Team PSTL snorted as Eagle rolled to a stop and forced herself into a crouch. Her opponent was almost her opposite, tanned, blue eyed and wearing almost no armour; her outfit leaving flesh on display almost as a taunt, as if she knew nobody could land a hit on her. Sable's weapon of choice was a double ended halberd, which could separate and form twin axes or launch blades forwards on chains. Currently Sable had reconnected the halves of her weapon behind her back and was now twirling her polearm expertly, putting on a show for the crowd as she continued her teasing
"Come on Arc, you and your partner are meant to be some of the best in class. What happened, your little cyber-pets' batteries run out?" Eagle knew, intellectually, that Sable was just teasing; Teams FADE and PSTL were on fairly amicable terms if not exactly friends, however something in the blonde snapped and she charged forwards with a furious roar
"That's more like it!" Sable cheered, thoroughly enjoying herself as she sprinted forwards to meet Eagle in the centre of the enclosed arena. Sable held her halberd one handed, as if to throw it like a javelin and Eagle raised Sentinel, her droid still in shield form mounted on her left arm; crimson eyes widened as she realised she'd fallen for a feint when Sable leapt into the air, her feet connecting with Eagle's shield with enough force to rob her momentum. The athletic girl back-flipped into the air, her weapon breaking apart in her hands before launching the blades at sentinel and retracting the chains they were attached to as she landed. The attempt to deprive Eagle of her shield would have worked were Sentinel a more conventional weapon, as it was Eagle's freckled face morphed into a confident smirk that served as too little warning too late for Sable
"Sentinel, release" the droid mounted on her arm complied with the order and detached from her arm; mostly. Sable staggered back as the shield suddenly came flying towards her at greater speeds than she'd anticipated. Sentinel connected with her chest and Sable fought to keep hold of her weapons as the air was forced from her lungs, this proved to be a mistake when Eagle retracted Sentinel. The claws that formed the droids arms were still attached to her armour, connected by strong cables; Eagle turned as the shield was pulled back towards her and as Sable's weapons were still hooked in place she found herself dragged from her feet and ground into the surface of the protective shielding in a brutal reversal of her own earlier move. With the cheers of the crowd still ringing in her ears Eagle continued her assault; Sable had been sent crashing to the ground as she completed her about turn and she used her momentum to eject Sentinel from her arm, the droid shifting into combat mode before hitting the ground
"Doot da doot!" Sentinel's singular optic flashed animatedly and the droid held it's clawed arms up, as if it knew it were the real star of this bout
"Looks like he's not out of battery" Eagle noted coldly.
"Ah crap" Sable had no chance to offer anything more poignant as she was forced on the defensive, superhuman reflexes being pushed to their limits when Sentinel's compact mini-gun began to fire and she attempted to block what she could with the blades of her twin axes. It was an impressive display, her limbs a barely visible blur while the air around her was filled with sparks as metal collided with metal and ricocheted; however this left Eagle completely free to attack and the blonde took advantage; sprinting around the perimeter of the arena with her sword at the ready. As she drew close she used the shielding as a springboard, wincing slightly at the uncomfortable feeling it caused; Sable had only the briefest moment to wonder why Sentinel had stopped firing before Eagle's downwards thrust connected with her shoulder and sent her skidding across the arena floor to the sound of thunderous applause. She didn't get back up
"Eagle Arc takes with win!" Nora announced proudly, through a mouthful of popcorn as the shield began to dissipate around them "Sable Lepida's Aura has been knocked into….Holy Oum Eagle you took her Aura out completely" Eagle sheathed her sword and shuffled her feet guiltily as Sentinel trundled over to her, bleeping and chirping triumphantly before reattaching to her arm and shifting back into shield form. Nora drew close and leaned up to whisper in her nieces ear.
"That was really cool, your Aunt Vicky would've loved to see that….Just be careful okay, it's only a sparring match" Eagle left the arena beaming with pride at the idea that she could fight well enough to impress Aunt Vicky, a veteran of the tournament circuit. Returning Sable's thumbs up to show there were no hard feelings she made her way over to where the rest of Team FADE were situated and hearing that the next match would involve none of them she collapsed into her seat with an exhausted sigh
"So how did I do?"
"I'm so glad you beat her" Diamond snorted "Her weapon couldn't be any more clearly based on my Mum's if she tried" the exaggerated eye roll and shake of the head she gave in the general direction of Team PSTL got a laugh before Felix chimed in
"Really nice finish, extra flashy-"
"Even if that downward stab is clearly one of mine" Arctus chuckled, earning a playful shove from Eagle
"Oh be quiet, you did not invent that….Sword over your back and I bet you can't even do the Branwen defence"
"And you can?" Arctus challenged, Felix cleared his throat to get their attention and get the conversation back on track
"Yeah, really nice win….but what was going on at the start of the match Eagle? She got you into the yellow, you never usually take hits like that" a cheer from their classmates at a particularly acrobatic dodge from Nyanza, followed up by a series of blows that showed just how much training with Helios was paying off. Eagle used the distraction to consider her answer before speaking
"I couldn't focus, I was thinking about…..other stuff"
"I swear if you tell me it's 'cos she was cute" Felix sighed jokingly, managing to cause a blush to creep across Eagle's cheeks with the usual ease. His tone became more serious and he leaned closer conspiratorially, Arctus and Diamond following suit "Is it about you, y'know. Looking?"
"Yeah" Eagle breathed out, nodding slightly. The day after her altercation with Hellion Eudialyte she'd told her friends what had happened and while all of them had their concerns, all of them could understand the way she'd lashed out. Felix had proven himself as the best possible friend Eagle could ever have asked for once again, by offering to help her look for where Hellion was being detained. Eagle's face became a smile that spoke of pure determination
"I know where they're keeping her. I've been looking at blueprints of the academy in the library and checking them against where we've looked. There's only one place she could really be"
"Me and Arctus are working tonight" Diamond mused "I know you want to do this, but if you wait until we've got the night off then all four of us can go, give you some backup" both she and Arctus looked apologetic, Eagle didn't begrudge them their volunteer work in the slightest; on the contrary she thought it was something they should both be proud of.
"Actually" the freckled blonde mumbled "Felix can you give me an alibi if anyone asks where I am tonight?….I want to do this alone. Just me and her" they were briefly distracted by Nora announcing the end of the current sparring match before Felix gave her a concerned stare
"Eagle….I don't like this, like at all" seeing her expression crumple he took a deep breath "Promise me you won't do anything you regret later" her freckled blonde nodded
"I won't. I just want answers. I won't even go into the cell or whatever she's in"
"Okay" Felix accepted, clearly still uncomfortable with the idea "I'll cover for you if anyone asks. Just be careful" with that the Lion Faunus stood up and made his way into the arena where both Nora and his opponent were waiting impatiently; he twirled Hack and Slash while his tail swished behind him enthusiastically, the last thing he saw before the protective shielding reformed around the arena was Eagle mouthing a silent 'Thank you'
The late winter sun was setting on the horizon, partially obscured by clouds from which a fine drizzle descended; it's rays giving the constantly rippling waves a golden glow. In most instances it would have been a peaceful, almost serene setting. For Carcharodon Gore the view did nothing to abate his temper which had been becoming harder to control with each passing day; the ship that his people had stolen in Atlas had been damaged in ways that offended the seafaring raider to his core and hidden amongst the similarly abused hulks of the 'Broken coast' outside of New Vale and idle thoughts of what he could achieve with these ships if he had enough people to crew them filled his head while he kept watch from a shaded area of the deck; those thoughts soon led down paths the Shark Faunus was desperate to avoid as he remembered when his tribe did have the numbers to command an entire fleet. Eventually his forlorn musings were interrupted by the sound of rusted door hinges protesting and the heavy footfalls of Onyx Ursabane
"Do you have any good news?" Carcharodon rasped out, hope and barely restrained fury vying for dominance. Onyx's shake of the head was all the answer he needed
"A month and she hasn't cracked" the Puma Faunus grunted "She's refusing to help us. I told if she doesn't then we'll take another of her people. She laughed in my face Car, told me we wouldn't be able to do it again"
"She's right" Carcharodon snarled "Wake Raffia, tell him take watch. I'm going to deal with this"
"Car" Onyx warned his old friend as the Shark Faunus lowered his hood and made his way below deck "Be careful with your temper….we're not savages. We've compromised enough" Carcharodon's only response was a low hiss of frustration; Onyx was one of very few people who had ever earned the right to chastise him in such a way, Hellion was another. The rest were dead.
Carcharodon's footsteps reverberated through the dimly lit and dingy corridors of the vessel and he was once again struck by just how pitiful this ship was in comparison to the Despoiler Kraken, the ship he'd never captained but had been his pride and joy nonetheless. Eventually he reached the cabin whose door was locked from the outside, the cabin acting as a jail cell for his prisoner. Just looking at it made Carcharodon's abyss like eyes narrow in disgust, silently loathing the steps he'd been forced to take. Forcing his emotions under control he unlocked the door and entered the cabin
"Back for more….Oh the king of the pirates this time, have you tried putting a patch over one of your eyes?" Carcharodon fought the urge to give her a grin that displayed his rows of jagged fangs. Onyx had reported that Antonia Arc had remained mocking and defiant for the entirety of the month she'd been their captive, seemingly filling long hours with inventive new ways to insult his crew; frankly the Shark Faunus was impressed, her attitude spoke to a bravery and iron will that few possessed
"I see my crew weren't exaggerating, you still won't concede-"
"No. I won't" Antonia snapped, rising to her feet from the small metal framed bunk decorating her cabin "You want me to make weapons for you? Arm raiders that attacked my Kingdom, where my family live?….You may as well just throw me overboard with weights tied to me or however else it is you like to dispose of prisoners" Carcharodon gave her a furious snarl, a flick of each wrist deploying the Red Waves; Antonia's eyes widened and she reflexively stepped back as the curved and serrated blades unfurled along his forearms
"I have never!" Carcharodon spat venomously as he stalked towards her "Killed someone who was unarmed or restrained, you think me a coward! Like you Hunters?" as Antonia backed into a corner, hands visibly beginning to tremble the Shark Faunus realised he was doing exactly what Onyx had warned him against, his old friend was right, far too many compromises had been made already and he would not sacrifice his self respect by brutalising an unarmed woman old enough to be his own mother
"My apologies" he hissed as his blades collapsed, his voice notably quieter now "I mean you harm….But you will do as we ask"
"I will not-"
"I give you my word that I have no interest in raiding this Kingdom any more than I have to" Carcharodon's words silenced her and he pressed on "Just as I gave you my word that no harm would come to you if you came willingly. I've honoured my terms, it's time for you to do the same" Antonia stared at him intently, trying to read inscrutable features while Carcharodon did the same; she looked worn and thinner than she'd been when she boarded, her hair was a mess and several strands of grey could be seen amongst the blonde which he wasn't sure had been there before. Finally she spoke
"What is it you want? Those weapons….they're not for stealing from ships. They're for sinking them" Carcharodon paused, debating lying or simply remaining silent before it occurred to him that this was the way forward. Something with too many negative emotions attached to it for Onyx to discuss with a prisoner, the truth; unfiltered and unashamed
"I want justice" Carcharodon rasped out, voice barely above a whisper "Justice against those in Mistral and Atlas who betrayed and murdered my people….Have you ever lost family?"
"My brother died in the battle of Lower Atlas" Antonia admitted, Carcharodon nodded in understanding
"I watched my sister die in Atlas, Mizu Gore….I only hope I can be half the captain she was one day" he told her bluntly "The war was before my time but my people know of it, the Shadow Cadre are the children of the White Fang after all-"
"YOU SON OF A BITCH!" Antonia launched herself at him, only for Carcharodon to effortlessly sidestep and deliver an elbow strike to the back of the head which left her struggling to stand, she was not a trained fighter the way her sisters were after all. Carcharodon continued as if the interruption hadn't happened
"When the White Fang were defeated in Lower Atlas they fled, Adam Taurus had been in the process of arranging trade deals with my people. We traded those survivors, their weapons for safe harbour amongst us. Almost without exception the White Fang left my tribe as soon as we reached a port city, leaving almost three dozen Faunus children and their mothers in the tribe behind….My sister and I had the same father and neither of us knew him"
"Oh" Antonia had finally managed to pull her self onto her bunk, the news that the Faunus before her had never actually interacted with a member of the terrorist organisation she blamed for their part in her brothers' death was enough to convince her to at least listen.
"The rest of the Frost River tribe viewed us with suspicion, naturally" Carcharodon sighed "The children of outsiders who ran from a war they started and then abandoned their own children. Perhaps we'd be just as weak willed….then as we grew the elders saw our potential, we grew large and strong enough to fight younger than their own children, our better senses and reflexes; we were the perfect recruits-"
"They made child soldiers" Antonia gasped, utterly disgusted. Whatever she thought of Carcharodon and his crew in particular the concept was abhorrent to her. The Shark Faunus puffed out his chest and stood a little taller
"They made us the vanguard of the fleet, the first and only warning our enemies receive. The Shadow Cadre are not scared and broken children, we are warriors….and they were our family, they loved us" Carcharodon's voice grew more prideful with each word, until it cracked "And then we were betrayed"
"What happened?" Antonia asked, honestly this tale was such a departure from the monotony of her captivity she was listening with rapt attention. Carcharodon's expression darkened
"The fleet docked at a port that we'd traded with in the past. The Despoiler Kraken, my sisters' ship remained at sea in search of new prey….the fleet never returned. The next day we arrived at the port to find the still smoking remains of our ships being stripped for parts and raw steel….every man woman and child aboard had been placed in a mass grave"
"Another tribe?" Antonia dared to ask
"Hunters" Carcharodon snarled, the single word contained more venom that the scientist had ever heard
"Hunters would never-"
"Harm children? Kill someone while unarmed or after they surrendered?" Carcharodon laughed bitterly "The coast of Anima is a far harsher place than you realise, the Kingdom of Mistral's influence doesn't reach as far as they like to think. The Shadow Cadre understand that harshness….we burned their port and killed everyone who dared raise a weapon against us; three Hunter teams died that night" there were several moments of tense silence before something occurred to Antonia
"You said your sister….it was in Atlas?" She didn't have the courage to openly talk about her death in case Carcharodon's temper was pushed too far
"It was" he admitted, voice wavering a little before he managed to master himself; a task Antonia could easily see was becoming more difficult "After our people were massacred the Shadow Cadre had no direction, until we heard talk from an Atlesian sailor. We aren't the only descendants of the White Fang. It took almost a year but Mizu managed to contact their leader and form an alliance of sorts….It seems fate wasn't done toying with us. We attacked a military shipment and they turned on us. Our ship, our home, was destroyed and I watched people I'd known my entire life die….I watched when my sisters' head was taken from her body. I've never run from a battle like that before; my first order as a captain was a retreat"
"You want weapons to fight people who claim to be a splinter group of the White Fang?" Antonia asked carefully, processing the tale she'd been told and methodically picking out any useful information
"I don't care for the Kingdoms' politics" Carcharodon spat "I'll paint my ship red with the blood of those who betrayed us and if that benefits those in power then so be it" before Antonia could respond to the disturbingly savage sentiment they interrupted by a frantic pounding on the door of the cabin, Carcharodon opened the door revealing Onyx, whose battleaxe was already in hand
"Raffia spotted Grimm leaving the water, some are prowling the other hulks as if they know we're here….Some are headed inland, towards the nearest village" Carcharodon's pure liquid black eyes failed to convey the conflicted emotions running through him. Casting a glance over his shoulder he saw Antonia Arc staring at him expectantly and realised that his choice here would be influential. He deployed the Red Waves
"Tell Raffia to remain on the ship, be ready to defend it. We'll handle the Grimm"
"That's all I needed to hear" Onyx Ursabane; Lord of ale, mountain breaker, thunder-fist, speaker to gods and husband to Grimm chuckled darkly. Combat was something that made far more sense to him than the minds of the people born in the Kingdoms after all.
"Boy I'm surprised you even need that ladder, you're just one ridiculously tall slab of muscle"
"Yeah he is" Diamond muttered, hand flying over her mouth as she realised that she'd just said "Dude what is wrong with me?" Arctus blushed and fidgeted awkwardly while the first speaker cackled with delight. She was Hickory Pardus, standing at five foot two yet demanding utmost respect the dark skinned woman with tied back braided hair and prominent facial scars had been a fighter in the militia groups that helped take back Vale from the creatures of Grimm; now she was a shift manager at the Mercy Foundation, which made her Diamond and Arctus's boss. While it was relatively quiet at the shelter, evening meals having already been served Hickory had requested the pair help her decorate the shelter for the rapidly approaching Centenary Festival
"Okay that's the banners up" Arctus said as he hopped down from the stepladder he'd been using "What's next?"
"I've got some fliers for part time jobs that are available over the festival. Might help a few of the souls here get back on their feet; Oum knows it's not just for the rich folk at the top to enjoy. Plenty of people down here bled for this Kingdom"
"There are Hunters here?" Arctus asked
"Anyone can have a run of bad luck Big Guy" Diamond shrugged
"There've been a handful of Hunters here over the years" Hickory confirmed with a sigh, taking out a packet of cigarettes as she did so "A lot of old soldiers pass through, plenty of them got worse monsters living in their heads than the ones they fought….A lot of peoples' lives were destroyed in the Fall, you're both too young to remember it but there're plenty of people who never managed to pick up the pieces"
"But things are getting better though right? I mean we have a counsellor at Halo now so students know how to cope with the being Hunters" Arctus tried to sound hopeful, Hickory gave him a small smile as she exhaled
"And that's great, gotta keep moving forwards and all that….But it's not enough; somebodies gotta be down here holding things together and not a lot of people from well off backgrounds like you two want to do that"
"Hey I'm not-" Diamond's protest was softly rebuked before it could begin
"Honey unless you stole that weapon of yours, you're well off compared from to everyone living on the ground to a dozen levels up the hive. No matter though your hearts are in the right places, now come on let's get this job finished so- what is it?" Hickory's attention was instantly taken by one of her staff running into the corridor where the three of them had been decorating, visibly frightened
"The new girl, a few of the long term residents have cornered her….This looks like it could get nasty, it's only verbal now but-" Hickory waved her off
"Slate, you're a big guy….Go talk some sense into 'em for me would you boy?"
"Uh yeah sure" Arctus set off after the young woman who was hurriedly making her way back towards the scene of the unfolding incident; making the decision to leave Gefroren-Erbe sheathed on his back. It took roughly a minute to reach the sleeping area from which a cacophony of curses and accusations was spewing. Arctus stepped ahead of the member of staff leading him and entered, his voice a booming bark; subconsciously mimicking the few times he'd heard his father showcase his authority
"EVERYONE CALM DOWN RIGHT NOW AND EXPLAIN WHAT'S GOING ON!" his voice silenced them all, perhaps a dozen dishevelled and obviously homeless individuals forming a tight semicircle in a far corner of the sleeping area ceased the furious tirades they were simultaneously assaulting the person they'd cornered to. After a brief moment of regarding him suspiciously one of them called out
"We caught this bitch stealing!"
"I wasn't-" a voice from the back of the group was instantly shouted down
"I CAUGHT YOU IN MY BAG! DON'T LIE TO ME!"
"Enough!" Arctus tried to keep some control of the situation, realising that stealing from people who had so little was both deplorable and liable to provoke violent retaliation "Let her out" reluctantly the small crowd parted, the residents having at least enough respect for Hickory to comply with the Hunters she'd hired. The woman accused of theft stepped forwards, tall with deep scarlet hair and almost golden eyes, possibly in her late twenties. Her clothes while clearly cheap didn't have the worn out quality most of the other residents did, a surprising amount of muscle visibly bulging beneath them; Arctus's acute sense of smell made something else clear to him, she didn't have the lingering smell of damp and smoke the seemed to cling to the majority of those unfortunate enough to find their way into the Mercy Foundation. Realising something was clearly amiss he stared her down
"Theft is grounds for being banned from the foundation, they said you were caught red handed"
"Was looking for a Scroll charger" the accused woman mumbled defensively, eyes darting around the room; setting off more alarm bells in Arctus's mind
"Come with me please"
"Am I being-"
"Just come with me please" scowling, the young woman did as she was asked and followed Arctus as he led her towards a currently unused office. As soon as the door closed behind them he rounded on her
"Who are you?"
"My name's Kafsi-"
"No" Arctus growled "Who are you. You're not homeless. Nobody staying here even has a Scroll" the tension in the small room was palpable, Arctus's eyes homed in on her hands as her knuckles clenched, preparing to strike before she finally relented with a snort.
"I suppose I should have expected you to make me, considering whose kid you are" golden eyes rolled at his nonplussed expression "Special Operative Kafsi Asteri, reporting for duty" she punctuated her words with a mocking salute and Arctus's mouth hung open
"You're an Atlesian Operative? And you're here stealing from homeless people?"
"I'm here investigating Antonia Arc's disappearance-"
"You were going through their stuff illegally, I'm gonna have to report this to the shift manager" Arctus informed her
"You're a naive little boy" Kafsi spat "The suspects have been here in person. The suspects are known to infiltrate local criminal and mercenary groups. Crime and poverty go hand in hand whether you want to admit to the girlfriend that's clearly the real reason you're here or not. Somebody here knows something and I wonder how Commander Slate would feel about his son interfering with my objective" Arctus bristled at that, feeling a sudden and unfamiliar urge to lash out at the accusations which was only held in check by the knowledge that he presented no threat to an Atlesian Special Operative. He did however have another option
"Commander Slate grew up in Lower Atlas, I wonder how he'd feel about one of his operatives being made by a first year student and then proceeding to give them sensitive information; all while spouting the same bigoted crap he spent years fighting against" the two of them regarded each other in uneasy silence, eventually broken by Kafsi
"I'll report my lack of results to Commander Slate. But don't worry I won't be back here to bother the underclass again" with that she slipped passed him and marched out of the office in the direction of the buildings exit. Arctus knew that he needed to return to Diamond and Hickory and explain the situation to them and most likely deal with a mountain of paperwork, he neglected that task in favour of sinking into an office chair and resting his head in his hands trying to come to terms with the fact that things had once again become vastly more complicated.
Solitary confinement was beginning to take it's toll on Hellion. Since being moved to a cell which was admittedly more comfortable than her previous accommodations somewhere on the floating building which, even while being transported by the Hunters, she'd been unable to stop herself gasping in amazement at. The entrance to her cell was a barred door allowing anyone standing in the corridor outside to see her, yet she still had an abundance of privacy as the only people who came down here were the members of staff bringing food, all of whom remained silent and stared at her with open disgust, the Hunter who'd arranged her transfer had visited a handful of times over the last two weeks in an attempt to get answers; Hellion had remained resolute and given him nothing, despite the need for some sort of interaction almost pushing her to talking.
Now she needed to get out.
Taking deep breaths to steady herself while her dragonfly wings fluttered nervously Hellion looked at the object in her hands and considered her plan. It was risky to say the least; Carcharodon would call it reckless; Mizu would have cuffed her around the back of the head and told her not to be stupid. But none of them were here. She knew from her time in New Vale's prison that the Aura dampening collar still clamped around her neck monitored her vital signs and relayed them to whoever was detaining her; she also knew that there were plenty of craft coming and going from this logic-defying floating fortress. Hellion's plan was simple in essence; force her jailers into a position where they would have to remove her collar, disable them and flee to the docking bays where she would compel a pilot to get her anywhere but here. The difficultly was with the first step, Hellion lacked the tools or the specialised knowledge to trick the Aura dampening collar; which was why she was now staring at the improvised blade she'd made clutched in her right hand pressing against her left wrist. With a slow exhale she dragged the blade downwards barely half an inch before recoiling at the sight of blood welling up from the wound, she'd been injured in battle countless times before but this was different. Heart hammering in her chest, breath fast and shallow she screwed her eyes shut and pressed the blade against her flesh once more. Before she could attempt her task again her cell was filled with a sound that made her open her eyes and take notice; turning to face the door she saw a familiar tall, blonde and armoured Huntress frantically picking the lock and rushing inside
"Oh my gosh what are you doing?" Eagle demanded, crimson eyes wide in shock and terror at the sight of Hellion preparing to carve her own flesh "Give me the knife, right now!" she marched over to where the Dragonfly Faunus sat at the bunk that had been provided, without thinking Hellion rose to her feet and prepared to defend herself; without her Aura it was laughably easy for Eagle to simply take the knife from her hand and stare at her in utter confusion
"Why?" the lost expression on her freckled face was something Hellion frankly thought was adorable, before the memory of their last encounter surfaced in her mind and she gave a cruel smirk
"Little canary you'll have to be better conversation than that, 'Why' is usually something I hear from conquered and pillaged-"
"Why were you trying to hurt yourself?" Eagle demanded, hands shaking with emotion now
"Oh you innocent little-" Eagle cut Hellion's retort off, apparently unable to stop herself now she'd started
"Why did you kidnap my Mum? Why did you steal from the Scavenger Guild? Why is your whole life based on hurting people….Why are you so evil?" realising she'd started to tear up she wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. Hellion had been shaken by the mention of her mother, now she looked at Eagle she could she the resemblance between her and the scientist Carcharodon and Onyx had captured; the Dragonfly Faunus debated treating the young woman before her the same as any other jailer demanding answers, realising that she couldn't, she needed to talk to someone before her sanity slipped from her grasp completely.
"We took the scientist because she may be the only chance we'll have to see our people again" her words a low murmur, filled with equal parts hope and bitterness
"But….your people are gone" Eagle breathed out managing to catch Hellion off guard. She hadn't been expecting her to know anything about the tribe
"Carcharodon doesn't think they were all killed" she whispered "I believe him, he wants the weapons because he wants a crusade and revenge for what happened to us….I'm following him because if there're any of the Frost River tribe left out there then this will be the beacon that brings them out of hiding. Besides, they're the only family I have left" Eagle was stunned, she hadn't really been expecting a truthful answer and the one she'd received forced her to look at Hellion if a different light. Were the Shadow Cadre criminals, yes; was she still furious beyond belief with them, most certainly, but Eagle would hypocritical if she said she couldn't relate at least a little considering the amount of rules and instructions she was flaunting just by being in Hellion's cell
"They wouldn't want you to give up" she mumbled eventually, causing Hellion's Jade eyes to narrow "Don't, don't do this again. Please" Eagle gestured at the makeshift knife she'd confiscated before pocketing it
"I'll get out of here one way or another little canary" Hellion hissed, some of her earlier mocking tone returning for a moment before being snuffed out "I need to, being trapped here is driving me insane….It's been so long since I went without my Semblance, since I've been able to experience flying"
"You won't" Eagle asserted bluntly "You won't get out. I can't let you….But if you promise me that nothing will happen to my Mum, then I promise I'll come back here when I can and give you some company. I don't know if you'd like that but I don't want you to hurt yourself"
"Your mother won't be harmed. We've never taken prisoners before this it isn't our way….We're raiders, not savages" Hellion's tone was affronted at the mere suggestion "And I'd enjoythat" Hellion watched as Eagle's expression became an uneasy smile and the blonde walked backwards towards the door to the cell; still not willing to let the Faunus out of her sight
"I have to go, I'm not even supposed to be here right now" Eagle explained as she relocked the door behind her. It was only when she'd made her way down the corridor, footsteps fading into the distance, that Hellion realised that her cell had been open the entire time and she'd been too distracted talking to the admittedly cute Huntress to try and escape. Sinking down onto her bunk she began to giggle, eventually breaking down into hysterical laughter that her crew mate Raffia Dirge would have been proud of, the sheer absurdity of what had just happened beyond hilarious to her.
Though Antonia had no way of keeping track of the passage of time in the cabin doubling as her cell, The Shadow Cadre had been astute enough to destroy her Scroll before bringing her aboard their ship, she knew it had been hours since Carcharodon and Onyx had left to fight Grimm and there had been no sign of them since. She was contemplating which would be a worse fate; for the entirety of the crew to have been killed, leaving her to die of thirst in the small room, or for Raffia, who had been ordered to hang back, to have survived; Antonia could tell that the captain acted as the only real control for the Axolotl Faunus's violent and hate filled urges. Though Antonia idly wondered how much of it could be attributed to grief which had no real outlet, she doubted that the culture that her captors hailed from put much stock in things like mental health and stress management. She shook her head, silently admitting that such thoughts were all distractions from the decision she'd made since Carcharodon's departure and time to process the information he'd given her. Antonia was snapped from her musings by the horrendous grating protest of her cabin door opening, revealing Onyx Ursabane holding a plate of meat of some description; she noticed he limped as he entered
"I doubt this is something you'd eat willingly normally, but I'm no cook" the Puma Faunus grunted "My father to do things with steel and Dust that most people in my tribe can only dream of….food, not so much" he added with a surprisingly soft chuckle; Antonia assumed that his father was one of the White Fang who had fled Atlas, being an exception to the rule in that he stayed with the tribe and raised his child, the weapon slung over his back leant credence to the theory. Her focus was redirected however, when Onyx stepped into the dim light of the cabin. Antonia gasped at the blood staining half of his face, having spilled from a series of lacerations along his right temple and brow and matting his scraggly beard, he'd obviously continued fighting long after his Aura had been depleted
"Oum-" Onyx must have seen how shocked she was, because he laughed heartily at her expense
"This? This is a scratch! Sobek caught me with its' tail….if it had let its' jaws do the job they were made for I might have a wound worth the story behind it!" Antonia was taken aback, not by way the Shadow Cadre, Onyx in particular seemed to thrive on the thrill of combat; but how like one of her sisters he'd sounded, she could easily imagine her younger siblings uttering those same words when her mother fussed over their latest injury. It made her next words come a little easier, though she still had more doubts and reservations than she was used to, people had always made far less sense than science to her
"An infected wound isn't worth the story either, get that treated….After you take me to the captain"
"You want to speak with Carcharodon?" Onyx growled, suddenly paying much more attention, greenish yellow eyes almost shining with focus in the gloom
"I want to offer terms" Antonia said slowly "His word means a lot to him. If he gives me his word that I'll be released afterwards, that nobody is harmed needlessly and that you leave New Vale, never to return afterwards….Tell him I'm willing to do what he asks"
Authors Notes:
I'm not one hundred percent sure about the way this chapter ended up, I'm sort of in a creative bottleneck in that I have all the plot points I've been setting up and I know what I want to happen. It's just a matter of getting there without dropping too much exposition-via-talking and looking like the first episode of a badly dubbed Shounen Anime, which I'm not sure if I accomplished here.
Anyway, let's summarise:
Felt like adding the fight scene at the start just to give us some action this chapter, and to remind everyone that Eagle is more than just the delivery system for Sentinel. She's a capable fighter in her own right.
You'd forgotten about Sentinel having retractable cable arms, hadn't you?
Nora still brings a tub of Popcorn to class on Fridays.
"The Branwen Defence" anyone who follows me on Tumblr will remember that, I posted the headcanon that the thing Qrow does where blocks without actually unsheathing his sword is actually really well know and has been named after him, every Hunter with a sword has tried it at least once.
That's the problem with the campus being an airborne platform, there's only so far down you can go; no room for secret basements.
You've gotta admire Antonia's resolve, not many people would've been kidnapped and help out for a month.
It's worth noting and reminding everyone that the Shadow Cadre never really wanted to kidnap anyone, they just saw it as necessary evil.
"I have never killed someone who was unarmed or restrained" notice that he didn't see he's never killed anyone.
And there it is, that's how the Shadow Cadre are Faunus in an Anima tribe. A callback to comments made in The Downward Spiral about Adam wanting to negotiate with the pirates.
Remember the Scavenger Guild were robbed by the Shadow Cadre, their response was to "Suggest" that something needs to be done. The result was the Frost River tribe being exterminated, with the exception of the Cadre who weren't there at the time.
There are other White Fang spawn out there….But that's a second year story arc, although it does tie up the loose end of who the other group mentioned in Chapter 01 were.
"I'll paint my ship red with the blood of those who betrayed us" was bad-ass and you know it.
Haven't used Onyx's titles for a while.
A couple new characters introduced at the Mercy Foundation, Hickory is basically Arctus and Diamond's boss, I might make her a recurring character depending on how well received she is; she's very loosely based on Grace Walker from Wolfenstein.
The moment Diamond realised she's not as rags to riches as she likes to think she is.
Remember, Arctus's dad was the leader of his team at Beacon, was a ranking officer in the White Fang and led operations in the war. He just doesn't act like the authority figure at home so it's rare that Arctus gets to see that side of him.
Arctus's new and improved bullshit detector. I'd honestly put it down to being partnered with Diamond; remember in initiation when she spotted that the shell casings on the ground were still fresh.
And our second new character of the day is Special Operative Kafsi Asteri, who is quite frankly a bitch. Yes we'll be seeing her again.
So yeah, Team FADE are trying to find the Shadow Cadre, Arctus just had to interfere with an Atlesian Operative who was doing the same thing, kinda damned if you do, damned if you don't situation.
The Shadow Cadre live away from civilisation unless they're raiding and trading; even then it's usually small ports, so naturally the sight of Halo Academy up close is game changing for Hellion.
Yeah Hellion is desperate, she doesn't do well in isolation. She didn't do any lasting injuries to herself though.
Okay it's partially self interest because the Shadow Cadre have Antonia. But can we appreciate how Eagle Arc is at her core, just a good person who wants to help everyone however she can.
Now Eagle is the useless lesbian, but Hellion just missed a chance at an escape because Eagle had her attention…..that's pretty useless lesbian behaviour if you ask me.
Also, I try to make Onyx endearing in his own way.
Antonia is gonna give the Shadow Cadre what they want.
Thank you to SumoSnipe, Araniladin, Arkanes Shippou, TigerRose, FleetOfWarships, ShadowAlex2000, FluffyFirefly and Ferrous for their reviews on the last chapter.
I'm glad everyone enjoyed the smut….Just feel like pointing out Arctus only got a hand-job, I feel like a few people think things went further than they did.
If I remember rightly I delivered in The Downward Spiral….
Yeah, Blake is the go to person for these kind of issues.
Oh the Omega Wing will be back….I might actually mention it and save it til the finale though.
None of the team pressed Eagle because Felix and Diamond were asleep and Arctus had just woken up, he also didn't see her face.
Oh no this isn't the Breach 2. The Breach was a disorganised mass of Grimm bursting out a single hole that could be used as a choke point….Phobos is smarter than that.
As always thank you to everyone that reads this, with a special thanks to those of you that follow, favourite and review.