AN: Hey everyone, I have the next chapter here. Thank you for all the support this series has gotten here and on Tv Tropes. This one was a lot of fun for meeting a new player and the reveal of something I have waited a long time to do in this series. Not much else to say, it is a lot of cool stuff ahead. Hope you enjoy this chapter, leave a review with your comments and questions, and have a nice day.
Chapter 47 – Blackout
Some time earlier.
Musashi.
While hiding in the bushes, Musashi made it to a clearing in front of a cave. There, she spotted Hijikata sitting near the entrance. His eyes closed, and arms crossed. Musashi gritted her teeth as she saw the gun and sword at his side. As the swordswoman was about to draw her weapon, the White Fang Killer spoke, "You're late." Hijikata said with Musashi slightly gasping, then hearing a set of footsteps to her far right. Approaching were Nagayoshi and Izou, causing Musashi to retract her weapon before remaining hidden.
"Had to take the long way back so we wouldn't be tracked," Izou spoke with a shrug.
"I assume that means you did not kill the Khan," Hijikata said while standing up.
"No, not yet." Nagayoshi before having a sinister grin, "But I will have her head."
"I doubt that admin you impaled will live, and everyone else at that base is dead." Izou added, "How did your assault go?"
"We can discuss that with our leader." Hijikata said before walking into the cave, "I don't want to repeat myself." Nagayoshi scoffed while Izou sighed, then both followed into the cave.
Musashi gritted her teeth as she stood up, "I need to report back to the others," she said while taking out her scroll. However, the swordswoman paused herself, "But, what could they be planning now?" She said before gripping her scroll, "Just stay out of sight, that's all you need to do." Musashi said looking back at her scroll, "Just to be safe tho." She said before pressing the center emergency button back to the General. Musashi then signed before putting the scroll in her pocket and following into the cave.
After a few seconds of travel, the dark tunnel was illuminated with runes of light. Musashi kept her distance from the trio of White Fang Killers before they reached a wide corridor. The three men stopped before a fourth man. Musashi hid by hugging the right wall of the cave. In examining this new person, her eyes widened. His brown eyes were as cold as a glacier, with no sense of any emotion. His grey hair was combed back, a slight amount of stubble on his chin. He wore a brown robe over a black gi, a pair of swords at his left side, "You're back." He spoke with the swordswoman gasping.
"T-That's Yagyuu Munenori," Musashi thought, a line of sweat running down her forehead, "The Saber Empireo. This man, he was one of Apocrypha's greatest saber classes. People loved him." She thought before gritting her teeth, "Why is he here!?"
"Yo," Izou said with a wave, "Sorry to keep you waiting."
"Is it done?" Munenori asked in a cold voice.
"The approaching White Fang group was completely annihilated." Hijikata answered first, "No one escaped, not even their Leader's informant."
"At ours, not quite the same," Izou responded, causing him to be met with a chilling gaze from the Saber Empireo.
"The Khan is still alive." Munenori interpreted, "What happened?"
"They had some unexpected help." Nagayoshi added, "As well as an airship that came out of nowhere, causing us to retreat."
"I see," Munenori responded, "The Woman in Black wanted us to kill the Khan before they could meet."
"Who are they?" Hijikata asked with his arms crossed.
"A military group, though not directly affiliated with Atlas." Munenori said before taking out a scroll, showing hologram portraits of Brynhildr, Sigurd, Reines, and Adam, "These are members that two of her associates fought aboard the airship."
"Oh, you mean that bookworm and fox girl?" Nagayoshi clarified in his own way, with Munenori nodding, "Don't they have their own mission?"
"They do, this was their attempt to steal the Summer Maiden power." Munenori said with Brynhildr's portrait glowed yellow, "However, they failed to capture it and have shifted towards acquiring the Winter Maiden." He said before the hologram showed a mountain with a large structure built on top of it, "They are heading to a place called Clockwork Academy."
"Heh, lucky them." Izou commented with his arms crossed, "I guess we should do them a favor a capture this Summer Maiden, since we owe that fox girl." The faunus-slayer then sighed, "Got to hand to her, she sold out a lot of those White Fang camps by sweet-talking their gullible grunts." He said with Musashi gasping, "Regardless, I still don't get why boss lady wanted all the White Fang dead anyway."
"It was my suggestion." Munenori said with Musashi gasping again, "To ensure victory, you must eliminate a foe before the war has fully started." He said before putting the scroll away, "Faunus are far more resourceful than humans, it aided them in the past." He said before staring at the three with a cold glare, "But we will make sure they have no future."
"The lion who bares no fangs." Hijikata spoke to Munenori, "Yet whose claws are stained red from his prey."
"That is what makes you the leader of the White Fang Killers," Nagayoshi added on with a grin. "Even though we do all the work."
"Yeah," Izou said before yawning, "And it has just gotten busier with that fool Columbus dead."
"Which is why I assist in this final purge of our enemies." Munenori said before placing one hand on the hilt of his katana, "But first," He said while extending the blade an inch from its scabbard, "We have a rat to eliminate."
"Oh yeah, right." Izou said before he, Hijikata, and Nagayoshi all turned to a gasping Musashi who locked eyes with Munenori, "Did you enjoy the show?" the faunus-slayer said with the swordswoman drawing her blade, "Because it will be your last." He said as all the White Fang Killers drew their weapons. Musashi charged to fight them in this outnumbered match, but she already knew the outcome that would befall her in this battle.
Present time.
Adam.
In the White Fang tent, the five members at the base all gathered with Sigurd's scroll on the table, "What happened?" Reines asked.
"We are unsure." Sigurd answered, "The distress signal came just a few moments ago."
"What of Weiss and the others?"
"They were together, but only Musashi's signals went off," Adam answered. Sienna then looked over to the White Fang Swordsman, seeing his right fist clenched, "We need to move out now before-" Suddenly, Sigurd's scroll began to ring. In looking at the caller, it was the one who sent the distress signal. As Sigurd was about to reach for the device, Adam had already grabbed and answered the call, "Musashi!? What happened!? Where are-"
However, a different voice spoke back, "Hey, calm down buddy."
"What? Who is this?" Adam responded before Reines signaled him to switch over to the speakerphone.
"I think you know who I am." The voice spoke over the speakers, causing Sienna to gasp at recognizing that tone.
"Izou," Sienna said while flaring her fangs, "You bastard!"
"Correct, and it sounds like you met with that little military gang." Izou responded, "Did you ask them for help with your tail between your legs? Wait, you're one of those faunus with tails, right?"
"Shut up!" Caenis interjected while slamming her fist on the table, slightly bouncing the scroll.
"Hey, simmer down. I'm just want to talk." Izou responded, "If you tick me off, I may have to take my aggression out of this little rat of yours. What was her name again?"
"Musashi," Adam responded, "What did you do to her!?"
"She was trying to listen in on our plan but was not ready to be caught." Izou answered, "I give her credit, she is not a bad saber class, but still no match for a genius like myself." He spoke with Adam gritting his teeth, "If you want to see her alive, come alone to these coordinates." He said with his voice growing more sinister while leaning into the call, "If you're late, you don't come alone, or if you're not a saber. She dies."
"You," Adam responded, seeing the coordinates come in, "Fine, I'll see you there."
"Oh, I was not expecting a volunteer so quickly, nice enthusiasm." Izou responded before another set of coordinates came in, "Now, my man Nagayoshi has a message for the Khan. Come to these coordinates if you want to finish what was started." He said with Sienna hearing the raging paladin's cackle in the distance, "You can bring as much help as you like, it will only add to his final score." The faunus-slayer said before a third set of coordinates coming in, "And finally, to the Summer Maiden, come here to face our leader. He would like to see your power for himself." He said with Reines gasping, causing Sienna and Caenis to turn to her in confusion, "You have twelve hours, if your late or do not follow the rules, I guess that means you really don't care about this little rat. Bye." The faunus-slayer said before hanging up with a breaking sound. All members in the tent went silent, but Adam gritted his teeth in rage. He walked over to one of the empty chairs and kicked it out of the tent.
Caenis then looked over to Reines, "Hey, what was that about the Summer Maiden?" The White Fang Champion asked, "Thought that was just a fairytale?"
"There are no such things," Reines responded, then held her head at the throbbing pain of the power. After the pain subsided, she turned to Sienna, "I am the Summer Maiden. I inherited the power when Brynhildr died during the attack on Menagerie." She said with Sienna glancing to Sigurd, who then nodded back, "The Woman in Black is most likely after these powers. They already have one with the Spring Maiden abilities."
"You left all of these out of our meeting." Sienna responded, "This puts my brethren at more risk than you let on."
"The Woman in Black is a threat to the world, not just Apocrypha." Reines responded, "As we discussed, she would be dealt with when we were ready."
"Well, she seems to be an issue now." Caenis said with the Reines placing her hand on her chin, "Now what are you thinking?"
"On the call, Izou confirmed their leader was male." The Princess of El-Melloi noted, "Meaning the Woman in Black is not with them at the moment, and we are still dealing with the White Fang Killers she associates with."
"Fine, so long as we are eliminating with these Killers first, we will still follow this deal." Sienna said before Sigurd picked up his scroll, "So, we have three targets to eliminate them?"
"Possibly, but I would argue four." Sigurd said as he showed a hologram map with three blinking red dots, "These are the coordinates he just gave us." Then showed a blinking fourth light, "But this is where Musashi sent out her distress signal. She might have found their base before getting caught." The King of Warriors said before putting the scroll away, "They probably don't know that we know their location but would have a guard here while the others are fighting. That is at least my theory."
Reines then turned to Sienna, "From what we discussed, this might be we're they are storing all the stone base supplies." She spoke to the leader of the White Fang.
"Great, let's go there now and kick their asses." Caenis said before crossing her arms, "Screw this twelve-hour wait."
"We go now and Musashi dies." Adam responded, glaring at the White Fang Champion, "I will not let you sacrifice her."
"She's from Apocrypha," Reines added on, "You want to prove you can help defend our kingdom, we will need to save her."
"Tsk," Caenis scoffed before sitting down, "Why even have this twelve-hour wait?"
"Musashi most likely did not go down without a fight." Adam clarified, "Plus, they must want the time to recover from the recent raids."
"He's right," Reines said, crossing her arms, "And at the moment, we are not equipped to attack all targets effectively."
"Why, there are four points and five of us here now." Caenis responded, "Khan and I deal with one, the rest of them you three can solo."
"That is not why we made this alliance." Sigurd responded, "We work together to defeat our enemies, not to spread ourselves out as thin as possible."
"Caenis, he has a point," Sienna added on, "What you're saying is playing exactly to what these Killers want." She said with the White Fang Champion turning to her leader, seeing a look of sorrow on her face, "It's thinking like this, that lead to Atalante being killed." The Leader of the White Fang then turned to Reines, "You hide one secret from us, but there is one I failed to tell you." She said before sighing, "One of our allies at the other base was an Alter."
"An Alter?" Adam responded.
"A Grimm-based creature that took the form of multiple people during the invasion of Apocrypha." Sigurd answered, "From the reports, they were assumably wiped out."
"Not all of them," Sienna said before looking to Adam, "One made it to my base looking for you." She said with the White Fang Swordsman slightly gasping. "She wanting to kill you because she was Blake's Alter."
"The Alters were said to carry the memories of their original self." Sigurd added on, "However, they often have a warped mind akin to the nature of Grimm."
"And from what I remember in the reports, they have a hatred towards their original self." Reines added on, turning to Adam, "You told me the rest of our group went in search of Blake. But if her Alter is out there, we could have more problems on our hands."
"And I already told you, nobody was alive at that base." Caenis responded, "And it's not like Atalante would have run away? She would have fought to her last breath for our cause."
"Alters are known to be hard to kill," Sigurd responded.
"One thing also to note, where are the rest of our members?" Reines responded, "If these Killers captured Musashi, what of Weiss and Yang?"
"I uh," Caenis responded, "I don't know."
"By now, they would have returned if they found nothing like you did." Sienna commented, "So, what happen?"
"If I were to guess, they found something at the base that led the group to split up. Musashi to follow the White Fang Killers, and the rest to follow someone or something else." Reines said before having a serious gaze, "We already know how half of the events ended."
"We can still track Weiss's location if she has her scroll on her person." Sigurd responded, "I can head to their right now and bring them back."
"I'm coming with you." Adam added on, but then slightly hesitated, "If…If she is there…I need to speak with her." He said with Sigurd nodding back.
"The two of you best hurry." Reines responded, "We don't have much time." She said with Adam and Sigurd nodding back before exiting the tent and sprinting towards an airship.
?
"This way," Nightingale said to the group while looking at her scroll. "She should be just-" Upon saying that, Yang sprinted ahead with a look of panic on their faces.
Suddenly, Yang heard a rustling in the branches above. In the corner of her eye, she saw a shadowy, yet familiar silhouette of someone. Upon seeing the shape of the head, the blond brawler made out a pair of faunus cat ears, "Blake!" Yang called out, causing the fleeing person to stop, "I knew it! I knew you were alive!" she said with a smile while watching the person jumped down from the tree and onto the ground, her back facing the blond brawler, "What were you think-" She was saying before noticing a white cat tail on this faunus, "Blake?"
As the rest of the group caught up, Achilles was the first to see the person turn towards them. She had the same body and face as the black cat faunus. However, the hair was a stark grey and disheveled at the ears. Her attire was that of the faunus alter, but with the light blue now replaced with violet, "Atalante?" Achilles said before the person opened their eyes, revealing a greenish-yellow color.
"Neither is who I am anymore." The person spoke before reaching out their left hand, causing a bow to form. However, the upper and lower limbs of the weapon were black steel blades. As well, the grip was shaped more like it was for a pistol, with a finger already on the trigger, "My name is Nikushimi." The reborn faunus alter said pulling the trigger, unleashing a bolt of black flames from her weapon at the blond brawler.
Yang's eye went wide as she saw the attack approach, too in shock to move. Before impact, Weiss tackled the blond brawler to the ground. The shot flew over their head and past the Malachite Twins before igniting a tree with black flames, "What's gotten into you!?" Weiss shouted at the shooter.
"I'm sorry, but it has to be this way." Nikushimi spoke, then turned to Achilles, "You're better off without me."
"Blake, what are you talking about?" Achilles asked, but was met with silence. Nikushimi raised her weapon at him, causing the swift hero to gasp. Suddenly, a shot was fired, but not from the reborn faunus alter's weapon. A bullet ran through the side of Nikushimi's head and erupting out the other end. After the body had fallen, Achilles, Yang, and Weiss all gasped in shock, turning to see the origin of the shot.
With smoke still steaming from her revolver, Nightingale looked down at the body with a cold gaze, "You heard her," the steel nurse spoke, "She is not Blake anymore." As Yang was about to speak, her eyes changing to red, she heard someone getting up. The blond brawler and the others slowly turned their head to see Nikushimi's body raising, the wounds on her head healing over, "She's an Alter."
"You," Nikushimi spoke with hatred in her voice, her hair slightly spiking up, "I know you, from her memories." She said before recalling the times Blake encountered the steel nurse, "Why are you here?"
"I'm here to save you." Nightingale said while pulling the hammer of the revolver back for another shot, "Even if that means taking your life." the steel nurse said before pulling the trigger. However, Achilles tackled the steel nurse at the same time, causing her to barely miss a second headshot. Nightingale gritted her teeth before shoving Achilles aside, then saw Nikushimi flaring her fangs before running deeper into the woods, "You're not getting away this time!" Nightingale shouted while running after her.
"Wait!" Achilles called out to both, but neither responded. He then gritted his teeth before punching the ground.
"Come on," Weiss spoke to Achilles as she and Yang got up.
"We need to follow them," Yang added on before Achilles nodded back before he got up as well. Just as the three were about to give chase, they realized something, "Wait, what happened to the twins?" Yang spoke as she and the others realized they were gone.
AN: There you go, Musashi bit off more than she could chew this time. She found the base, as well as the Leader to the White Fang Killers, Yagyuu Munenori. And a small line in that meeting implies some big stuff in the future. While I do skip her four-on-one battle, you already know what kind of outcome that would have for her. As well, it would have potentially spoiled some things in the future. Do not worry, next chapter has a lot of action planned for this section. Achilles, Yang, and Weiss finally found Blake. However, not in the form they were expecting. Nightingale is not taking any chance, but this alter does not die so easily. Next chapter is an all-out brawl against the reborn faunus alter, but who will be the one to save Blake from herself? That is all for now, thanks for reading, and hope to see you in the next chapter.
