The mission continues in earnest, our girls determined as ever.
And within the thick of it, the battles begin.
Preparations have been met, for the most part.
Ruby made sure to properly pack her ammunition for Crescent Rose, similar for Yang for Ember Celica, Weiss for Myrtenaster, and Blake for Gambol Shroud.
With their mission going fully underway, they were preparing themselves for any potential fighting that might arise during their time here. And they might not have all too long to wait, given what they have been told and what they've witnessed. There was no way that they didn't expect any sort of fighting after discovering everything that they have so far. No matter who or what the actual enemies might be, something within their guts told them that fighting was inevitable.
That suited Ruby and Yang just fine, to be honest. Though Weiss made it clear to them that their focus on the mission had to be maintained at all times. They absentmindedly nodded along, which gave Weiss the impression that they were only half listening to her. She quietly sighed and simply hoped they wouldn't get too far off track.
They wouldn't. A mission was a mission, and it involved people in jeopardy. They would stay focused.
"Alrighty, just we said earlier." Yang said while rolling her arm a little bit. "Me and Ruby will do a bit of investigation that'll probably go outside of the Circle. We'll ask around first and see what we can find out before we head out."
"We'll be the ones handling the expedition this time." Ruby added while stretching her legs for a bit. "These people have tried so many times, and it's left them open to attack nearly every single one of them. Best to let us take the risk so they can focus on protecting their own." She smiled to Weiss and Blake. "And besides, if something does happen, you'll be able to back them up."
"Of course."
"Nn."
Yang stretched slightly, before lightly smacking her fists together. "Alrighty then, if that's the team meeting, we're ready to go!"
"Best of luck, guys!" Ruby waved to Weiss and Blake, as she and Yang departed to another part of Circle. As they went in the other direction, Blake and Weiss briefly looked back towards the more optimistic duo, before looking ahead,wondering what they'll be able to discover during their investigation. As they progress though, they slowly felt a slight weight on their minds.
They had a gut feeling that things weren't going to go too smoothly for them.
Ruby might have gotten a bit carried away on several fronts. And by this, one would say that she got very much carried away.
She had begun dashing all over the place just to survey the area around her. The Circle just seemed to be quite a fascinating town filled with all sorts of people who used their Auras in a myriad of ways, and not all of them were even strictly for combat. It's not like she never knew that those techniques existed, because she and Yang had their father teaching them, but to see more of it in action was just so fascinating to her that she had to go and experience even more of it with her own sparkling eyes. Everyone had different feels to their Auras. Both large and small, sometimes in the medium in terms of an Aura pool. Some felt very gentle, and some felt intense. There were also Auras that felt expanded to a short space, and others to a larger and more open space. Such a mixed blend of Auras that worked together in order to protect their homes and loved ones, and to improve themselves.
It really is just like the Fairy Tale she read about a group known as the Circle. That being said, she still remembered being seriously bummed when she read how that organization ended. Such a tragic fate that didn't deserve. Which made her genuinely wonder. Was this Circle inspired by the Fairy Tale in living them, or were they the real deal having emerged from what used to be complete and utter obscurity.
Ruby shook her head, narrowing her eyes. It doesn't matter which it was. All she and her team had to ensure that the same wouldn't happen to this town as well.
Meanwhile, Yang was going at a slightly slower pace, placing her hands behind her neck with a bit of a yawn. She was on a more relaxed stroll in comparison to her sisters speedy pacing, but that didn't mean she was paying attention.
From what she could tell, they were really taking to the concept of their Auras being yet another part of themselves, on such that works out with the rest of them in order to get through all kinds of combative conflicts. Sensing some of of them concentrating and channeling Aura through certain parts of their bodies. The concept of Aura already augmenting the physical body and being able to it to push even further, brought a slight appeal to Yang. Pushing certain attributes to new levels, combat further strengthening their bodies and thus their Aura, and enhancing their finesse to further improve upon their potential. To be honest, seeing these people world Aura with great control gave her slight time to reflect upon some of her own skill and power sets. She could do to improve upon her finesse. That was definitely one area where her younger sibling had her bested. Not with serious envy, definite pride there. It just felt like something she'd have to improve upon.
While she was at it, she decided to take the opportunity to ask some questions about the situation. She managed to pass by on onlooker that was busy concentrating his Aura. She gestures for Ruby to come along to her side. "Heya, ya mind shedding a bit more light on this whole thing going on with Grimm attacking your town? We're Huntresses that are here to help."
"Huntresses?" He reacted while setting down the huge weight he read carrying, as his Aura began to settle. "If you're here about that, then I guess it wouldn't be too much to tell you a bit more. Though I'll be honest. Calling upon Huntsmen to come and help us? Not exactly something we wanted to do. It left some of us feeling a bit bitter."
"Are we that unwelcome here?" Ruby wondered while rubbing her arm.
"No, it's not that at all." He shook his head firmly. "We simply don't want to enable complacency and helplessness. If we're not able to protect what's important to us on our own, then we trouble others with having them resolve our problems for us. We don't want to get comfortable with that feeling or that option, as the end result of that never ends positively on the event that help doesn't come." He sighed. "On the other hand, remaining stubborn when we've clearly hit a wall isn't ideal, either. Hence why help was called for in the first place."
Yang raised her hand. "Listen, don't worry about it. You did what you could in your own, and I think you're all pretty tough for it. Now it's about giving each other a hand so that you all can get through this whole thing so you can keep doing what your doing. I kinda like the theme you're going for here. Having others build up their resolve to fight for what's important to them on their own."
"There's no need to feel shamed for asking for help. It's not like you're going to sit everything out and leave everything to us." Ruby reassured as well. "We're going to help each other in this. You just focus on keeping your town secure and protect each other. We'll go for the source of these troubles and cut them down."
"Or burn em'." Yang held a thumbs up. "Give us something to work with, and we'll be able to better back you up."
The resident took a brief look at the sisterly duo for a moment, contemplating their attempts at reassurance. After some thinking, he quietly scratched the back of his head with a nod. "Alright. As we've said, every time we've tried to venture outwards, Grimm would be waiting to ambush us. And with every attempt we do so, they become stronger. They do enough damage to us that by the time we actually manage to chase them out before they can do worse, we would already have suffered grave casualties. Some of us have outright gone missing during those attacks. If they were killed, we couldn't find bodies. Needless to say, our approach wasn't getting anywhere. Hence why we eventually requested for assistance."
Ruby rubbed her chin. "Do you have an idea as to where those Grimm come from? As in, which direction do they come from the most?"
Thinking it over, the man seemed to have remembered something, and looked to the side. "When these incidents first began happening, Grimm were congregating from the southwest. Then they just began trying to attack us from all sides. But in terms of this all beginning, it was from that direction."
"Then that's where we'll start." Ruby lightly nodded. "You can leave this to us. If you need any more help, Blake and Weiss will still be here with you."
"Let's both get through this!" Yang shot a sunny smile, before she and Ruby were off on their way, with their onlookers watching them move onward towards the direction they spoke of.
Though as Ruby was slowly passing by, she looked to the side as something briefly took her attention. It appeared to be a huge gathering of sorts, which consisted of the people that have been injured during the continuous Grimm attacks that they tried to defend the Circle from. A lot of them seemed to be heavily injured, with some of them still bleeding and others unconscious.
Some of them were even worse shape than others, with some people helplessly standing to the side and looking at the ground, or sitting down with their head in their knees. With some keeping close to their injured loved ones and desperately hoping that they pulled through. Their healing would take time due to the varying severities of their injuries, more or less depending on the potency and reserves of their Aura. It wouldn't be an easy recovery, but some of them would recover better than others.
It of course didn't change the feeling of helplessness within some of them, as we speak were waiting for their loved ones to recover. Some that seemed to have been unconscious for a while have it a bit worse than others. From more than one person, Ruby subtly heard a quiet plea of 'please wake up' and it began to sink in just how much trouble these people were in. Things were looking dire for the Circle, and they can't take any more dangerous risk trying to resolve this completely on their own, lest the casualties keep building up.
After a certain point, they eventually stepped out of the water borders of the Circle, and ventured further outwards. They followed the path that the helpful resident directed them towards, keeping an eye out for anything suspicious. As they passed by, they could see several deep claw marks in the dirt, and even several of them gashed in the trees around them, with some being big enough to nearly bring them down with a bit of force. Some of them were taken down, lying on the ground, sometimes on top of one another. Yang could put two and two together, especially as they've been briefed on the struggles the Circle have been having for the time that they have. These were the results of several fights. They must have been intense, as they also said that they've been beaten back several times, being too injured to continue further.
They were currently guessing as to where would be a more precise place to look for clues, though they could tell that they were getting a bit closer to something. Despite getting farther way from the Circle, the destruction was appearing to be more widespread than they initially anticipated, and they wondered what could have led to this.
Ruby slowly came to a stop, narrowing her eyes as she looked towards the ground, kneeling to it before looking up ahead. The destruction wasn't the only thing to note, she realized. As she got a closer look at the dirt, she could see what appeared to be small imprints in the dirt, that seemed to have been intentionally made. And as she looked upwards, it seemed to have been consistent, and it was leading somewhere.
"Here." Ruby pointed to the trail ahead.."These have been made on purpose, Yang. Despite being a pretty decent away from Circle, these tracks appear to be leading further away from it. Do you think they've been made on purpose?"
"It's a possibility. We gotta account for-" Yang stopped herself in place as she turned around, her eyes narrowing as she sensed something was off. "I can feel something. I'm gonna go check it out."
"Will you be okay?"
"Pfft, I'm the older sibling here, I should be asking you that."
Ruby nodded firmly. "Of course I will, Yang."
"Then I'll definitely be fine, too. We won't be that far from each other, anyway. If something dangerous pops up, we can always regroup super quick." Yang briefly rustled her hair. "Stay sharp, sis. I haven't seen any Grimm yet, but that doesn't mean they aren't out here. Better keep your guard up."
"I will. You do so, too." Ruby nodded, before she turned and dashed along, following the trail she found.
Yang nodded with a huff, as she turned around and began moving in the direction where she felt the disturbance, breaking into a brisk jog as she was trying to piece together the origin of this. It was a gut feeling, and she'll be trusting it for now due to a lack of a super clear direction. If nothing else, whatever she might be leading herself to find will be more progress she's made than pointlessly wandering around without a care. She didn't want to waste her or her sister's time, not when people might need a hand.
As she progressed further, that feeling got even stronger than before with every step she took. And the feeling from her fur turned into a feeling she locked onto with her Aura. She could definitely sense something now, and it's beginning to feel more and more like someone was in deep and dire distress. Narrowing her eyes at this, Yang's brisk jogging turned into a full out run, not letting anything get in her way, be it swerving around trees or jumping over logs, she moved ever forward towards the source of the distress, which became more and more undeniable.
At last, she jumped over another log and reached a clearing, briefly skidding to a stop. From then on, her eyes widened at the scene before her.
She could see a woman with dual blades attached to her back in sheathes, while she was standing before a group of people, who seemed greatly injured. Only one of them was still standing and glaring defiantly at her. And to Yang's rising indignation, several of them, at least four, were already dead.
It didn't take her long to put two and two together.
"So this is a taste of the Circle's combat power. Not terrible, but you all still proved unsatisfactory." The woman decried we she drew one of her blades and began pulling it out of its sheathe. "Unfortunately, you don't get a retrial. First impressions are important for a reason, and you've all failed to truly impress. Such disappointments much be cut down."
"Ngh...!"
"You-" The woman nearly went on, but she stopped short of talking down to her targets.
It was hard to demean someone when a haymaker catches you unaware.
She was sent skidding back a few feet, before stopping and briefly slumping over. She raised her head with a bit of surprise as Yang glared at her with a fist outstretched. Her eyes were currently glowing red, and she felt herself beginning to heat up a little bit. The people around her were surprised by her appearance, and so was the one she attacked.
But only briefly.
"Oh? It seems a fiery soul has found me." The woman managed to get out, standing up and wiping her bleeding lip. "We just met and I already feel you have more promise than these folk."
"Piss off. The hell are you doing this for?" Yang spat, getting straight to the point.
"And she has a foul mouth." The woman chuckled. "The name is Fasha Yolanda. If you're really so curious, I'm doing a bit of a scouting and recruiting run, and so far so many have fallen short of my expectations, and I had to punish them for it. But you...you're the most promising encounter I've had in a while." She rubbed her chin and leered. "That build, those curves, those blood red eyes, that hair, and the intensity of your Aura..." She bummed as something came to her. She briefly took out her Scroll and had it bring something up. "You look awfully similar to someone. Might you know who this woman is?"
Yang's eyes went back to lilac, widening as she did indeed recognize the facial image the woman brought up.
Raven.
"A curious response. So you do know her. You two have similar facial features and even the same hairstyle, to an extent. How delightfully curious. I don't think I need to spell out the conclusion I came to, do I?"
Yang clenched her fists. "Who the hell are you, and how do you know about her?"
"Oh don't worry, I don't know her personally. Only heard of her. Never confronted her either. But I do remember that my organization extended an invitation to her, and she refused every time. We went to retrieve her by force, but she forcefully and brutally rejected us and beat us down. So to spite her, we lured her away from her tribe...and thus began the ruthless purge of the Branwen Tribe." Fasha tapped her chin. "No, that doesn't do it justice. Since the Branwen Tribe was viewed as pests anyway, I'd say it's more akin to an extermination."
Yang's hair began overshadowing her eyes.
"You seem to be around seventeen, eighteen years old. You might have been four when it happened. Qrow Branwen likely wasn't there, either." Fasha tilted her head. "Raven was guilty of denying us when we desired her strength for our faction, yet she was too powerful to recruit through force. So to punish her for her defiance, we managed to lure her away. And unleashed cheer carnage on her Tribe in her absence."
Yang's hair began glowing.
"It was their own fault, really. On top of being seen as pests, their potential was just about non-existent. Nothing of value was really lost. If anything, we did the world a favor. I remember it well, because it was one of my first missions." Fasha shook her head with visible disdain. "They were disappointing. They grew complacent with her presence. So when she was lured away, they were rendered helpless and afraid as many men, woman, and children were slaughtered like the sheep that they were. She would come back to a destroyed tribe, who made the horrific mistake of placing all of their faith in one person, who wasn't even able to save them in time."
Fasha then slowly raised her hand.
"Tell me, did you ever see regret on her face over that? Did the feeling of failure weigh down on her soul? Or did it mean nothing to her at all? Was her tribe easy to discard due to the weakness she caused with her presence?" She tilted her head again, before shaking it. "In any case, let's focus on the here and now. Apologies for just reminiscing in the middle of business. In any case, I'm sure you'll make the smart decision and-"
Fasha suddenly stopped as she held her blades in front of her as Yang rushed and slammed her fist against them. There was a brief surge between the two of them, and she found herself being pushed back a few yards from the sheer force behind Yang's blow. Steam emitted off of the place she struck, and she briefly peeked over her swords.
"I'll take that as a refusal."
Yang breathed deeply, as she began managing her hair. The Branwen Tribe being butchered? Of course she knew about that. After all, she was there when it happened. She had no idea what was going on at the time, and most of the exact details are fuzzy due to how young she was at the time. But she understood perfectly that everyone was dying around her. Raven came for her, and they both managed to escape. They would soon make it to Patch.
It was there that Yang met her father, Summer, and the then two year old Ruby, all for the very first time.
But now was not the time to walk down memory lane. She had a job to do.
"Ya know. I was thinkin' about how I was gonna beat you black and blue for picking on good people who did nothing to you, then you went and said all of that to me."
Yang finished tying up her hair into a ponytail, opening her fiery red eyes as a blazing heat began swirling around her.
"Now i'll beat you black, blue, and bloody."
Meanwhile, Ruby was dashing through the trees that were still standing in her way slightly, until she came across the clearing she was heading towards. She looked forward and up, seeing that the trail was leading her to a cave of sorts. She sighed, briefly wiping her brow.
"Alrighty then. The trail continues into that cave there. I'd better keep going." She scratched her head. "Although it looks like I'll have something getting in the way, first." She noticed, as several Grimm began emerging. She shrugged as she gently pulled Crescent Rose out, having it unfold into scythe mode. "Welp! That suits me just fine!"
Beowolves launched themselves at her with a howl. She grinned as she slashed them apart as they tried to claw at her. She swerved a barrage of claw strikes, before she jumped upwards and slashed her scythe across it's chest, jumping off of it to slash into another Beowolf attempting to ambush her. She twirled about, viciously slashing another one across the legs, then stalling it through the head for food measure.
She jumped straight over what appeared to be a charging Boarbatusk that tried to tackle her from behind. She lands son her feet and dashed right against it, making it crazy against the wall. It's belly was exposed, which she quickly stabbed after switching to glaive mode. It squirmed a bit, before it eventually died. She pulled out the glaive, before looking towards the cave in front of her.
"Coast cleared." Ruby muttered before she dashed forward into the cave, continuing onwards.
She sent deeper into the cave, and it began to get a little bit dark around her. But she stayed her course, because she sensed that something was amiss the further she went in. She could sense several concentrations of Aura up ahead, to the cave was definitely inhabited by something, even though she was unaware of what, just yet. She picked up the pace, just slightly, so she could-
She suddenly heard agonized cries.
Her dashes grew faster.
"Can confirm. Grimm, being manifested creatures of darkness, become stronger and last longer around the presence of negative emotions. They detect them, not attract them automatically. Fear, anger, violence, hatred, doubt, despair, all emotions they can grow stronger from. Depending on the emotion, and how intense they are, they might even be capable of manifesting certain powers."
Ruby dashed even faster, eyes narrowing.
"Though it seems for the weaker Grimm, the negativity needs to be constant, or else they will eventually fade away when in captivity. Fortunately, with further studies, paths have been discovered for this roadblock. More test subjects."
Ruby heard the agonized cries get worse, and she ended up dashing even faster, up to the point where she jumped upwards as she saw a boulder in front of her, and kicked right through it, smashing a whole within it. Further still, she went faster, following the sound of the cries.
Until at last, she came across a much more spacious area.
It seemed like a makeshift facility of sorts was made here. The kind that can be easily set up with some work, though nothing of too much worth would be lost if it were left behind. But that's definitely not what for her attention.
It was the fact that the place was filled with quite a few dozen people. Or from what she could see, were a few dozen people. It seemed that most of the adults she could see in the area have already perished. And if she could take a guess, it wasn't in the most pleasant or dignified of ways, seeing as some of them lie cold on the ground with their eyes opened. Unfortunately, whatever had happened to them, didn't stop with them, as she found the source of the agonized cries.
She sees something open up ahead, as well as the sound of something falling out. As she look e past the smoke, she could indeed see someone indeed fell out, and they were roughly tossed to the side, in a slump. She was startled to realize it was a child. She quickly tried to sense for their Aura in order to confirm something.
She could barely feel it from them. And she could see the dulled, colorless look in their eyes...
"This one is done. Onto the next one." What could be seen was something akin to a drone moving by and reaching for one of the other prisoners, who, in a slight bid of desperation, attempted to keep themselves away from their grasp.
It was swiftly kicked aside by a blurry Ruby, who's eyes were narrowed with an infuriated glare. The children were surprised as she landed on her feet, in which she turned to them. "Are you all alright?" She asked sternly yet kindly. They didn't answer, only seeming to shake even more with silent fear of their situation. Ruby's eyes softened again at this, then turned to the child who fell down. She grabbed him and held an ear to his chest.
Breathing. He's breathing, but she could barely, barely sense his Aura. And it wasn't replenishing fast enough to sustain his life. And there were others around like him. If something wasn't done...
"Tch, an unwelcome brat just entered the scene." An elderly woman in a lab coat of sorts turned around, glaring at Ruby in irritation. The children around Ruby whimpered, immediately gathering around her, mostly behind her. On the old woman's coat, she could see the name 'Dirce Grey'. Ruby gently sets the boy down, before standing up and glaring at the elder.
"So, are you the one who's been causing the Circle so much grief? I don't know what you're doing with these people or these kids, but it ends right now." Ruby declared angrily.
She had no idea what this machine was, but it nearly completely sapped this child of their Aura. They were just barely alive. And give how she could see plenty of others appearing to be in the same state, she couldn't even place a guess as to how long this has been going on. If they were left alone like this, they would eventually die.
"S-She's been using that machine. To drain everyone she brings here of their Aura..." One of the kids meekly spoke up, immediately getting Ruby's attention. "She hurts everyone really badly, then starts using that machine t-to drain them of their Aura..."
"Fear, anger, agony, and despair have been the most common reactions." Dirce mentioned. "If they're feeling these intense negative emotions, capturing their Aura while they're in that state is a boon. For as it's contained, it can be used to strengthen and guide Grimm, using it as a source of negativity for them to detect, that can lure them to other places. Such as...near the Circle."
Ruby clutched tightly onto Crescent Rose. "How could you?!"
"These people haven't been doing anything truly meaningful with their Aura, anyway. So I figured they wouldn't be needing it." Dirce scoffed. "With every attack, more of their numbers disappear. More of them end up here to be drained of their Aura. They allow the Grimm to be empowered through their negative emotions attached to that Aura." Dirce smiled. "The purpose of this research is to find several ways to to further empower the Grimm and their potential. This data will be put to very good use in my superior's hands."
"Why would anyone want that?! And why would you do this to these people?!"
Dirce scoffed. "Why shouldn't I? As I said, they weren't using their Aura for anything truly meaningful. They are all research specimen ripe for experimentation, and they have no hope of becoming anything greater. In the end, once I'm finished bleeding them all dry of their Aura, they'll ultimately be destroyed, much like their predecessor. It's a fair enough sacrifice for the pursuit of our path. Such intense amounts of negativity can give rise to interesting Grimm manifestations." Dirce grinned as she turned around to see a shadowy presence beginning to manifest, and she stepped back behind her protective barricade. "Observe."
Something began slowly rising out of the shadows, and Ruby stood at the ready. First came a snout of some sort, three of them, then a vicious row of fangs on each. Sharpened, fearsome looking claws, on six arms. A beastly body much like a Beowolf's. The creature slowly crawled out of the shadowy darkness, snarling deeply as it's six glowing red, haunting eyes opened one at a time. The sheer amount of malice oozing off of the creature was haunting, as it raised it's three heads with a menacing tri-howl that somewhat shook the cave. The children covered their ears, while Ruby kept her attention on it.
"Tell me, girl. Have you ever slain a Cerebus Grimm before?" Dirce tauntingly asked. Ruby narrowed her eyes while still glaring at the Cerebus.
She has a point, never seen that Grimm before. Such a deep menacing growl, to better intimidate it's prey with. Three pairs of eyes, the better to see it's targets with. Three pairs of powerful arms, the better to grab and crush with. Three heads, three horrific looking pairs of jaws, the better to tear people apart with.
Without a doubt, that is one menacing looking Grimm. In all honesty, she's not entirely sure if she could defeat it. But failing to act at this moment will only continue the suffering that the Circle's been going through, and she's not exactly down for that, not in the slightest. Plus, she had no idea if turning her back will just persuade Dirce to kill everyone else here once she was done with them. It's not a chance Ruby's willing to take.
With a deep breath, she turned to one of the kids and gently patted their heads with a reassuring smile. She then turned towards the so called Cerebus.
"Have I ever slain a Cerebus? To answer honestly: Nope."
Ruby soon extended her arms with Crescent Rose in hand, and despite the sheer seriousness of the situation, she couldn't help but smile to herself at the challenge before her.
"But there's a first time for everything."
Weiss didn't know if she wanted to admit it to herself, but a part of her would have preferred to partner up with Yang rather than be left with this situation. Because at least with Yang, she could drudge up the will to audibly get annoyed with her antics, especially since she sometimes deliberately starts those antics just to rile her up. It annoys Weiss to no end, but at the very least, she knew how to respond to her most of the time. Even Ruby to an extent, she has a slight idea on how to engage with and interact with Ruby when they're on their own. Someone has to be the mature voice, after all.
Blake, however?
This was entirely new territory for her, and not in a way she could say she could confidently allow herself to be a part of. And from the core of it, it wasn't even either of their faults, not of the girls themselves. But the fact that they have quite a bit of baggage attached to them that's somewhat related to one another makes it really hard to drudge something up about it without either slightly offending one another or choking on their words halfway. Ruby and Yang provided a lighthearted atmosphere that allowed them to open up more smoothly.
But they were left alone for this mission, and Weiss couldn't help but feel awkward. Especially since, as she's cursing her less than helpful instinct on this matter, that she was walking several feet away from Blake while still being within hearing range. It wasn't like she had to be shoulder to shoulder with her or anything, but it's quite clear that she wasn't entirely comfortable with the idea with standing so close to her when it's just the two of them.
Despite her declaration to stand with Blake when it came to the conflict surrounding their shared enemy, here she was, unable to even stand that close to her when it was just the two of them. A part of Weiss felt utterly ashamed of this fact. It felt like she couldn't completely live up to her word despite speaking so confidently during those times. She felt like she failed from the word go, even though she knows she's probably overthinking it.
She shook her head slightly. This silence isn't helping either of them, she had to say something.
"So, Blake..." Weiss voiced out briefly, which managed to her her attention and turn to her with an aloof expression. "It's just the two of us. I don't suppose I need to go over what our mission is again, do I?"
"No thank you, I understand." Blake reassured her. Her mind was still sort on the Aura concealing technique that the Circle demonstrated as she was passing by. It seemed quite useful, and she wondered if she could use it for herself. Being able to move around without her Aura being determined would most certainly help when it comes to more stealthy maneuvers.
"Ah, I see..." Weiss muttered, turning and rubbing her arm, while also gritting her teeth in frustration towards herself.
"The Circle seem to know a myriad of ways of using their Aura." Blake remarked, looking around the town as many a resident was delving in different forms of Aura channeling. "Aura Arts. The ability to channel your inner strength by channeling the power of your soul. It's quite an ability to have."
"I suppose it is. It's one of our most important ones, after all." Weiss agreed, while lightly scratching her head. She needed to focus a bit more, they still had a job to do. Though at the very least, they needed some input. She turned towards the Panda Faunus from earlier, though found herself hesitating slightly to go near her. Blake briefly noted her hesitation, before going up to the woman in her own.
"Lily, have you ever made any significant progress in driving off these Grimm attacks? Has there been a moment where you've gained significant ground?"
"Oh? I'd say only about a few times. But again, we would be too exhausted and winded to go any farther, hence our lack of true and sincere progress. It is a bit disheartening sometimes, I cannot lie." Lily sighed tiredly. "It's precisely why we called for assistance when we could. We had no way to break that cycle without putting ourselves in severe risk. Any chances of going out there would have been cut off, surrounding the expedition teams and attacking them."
"That's quite unfortunate. Well, not to worry. We'll be sure to help you break this stalemate." Weiss declared with a strong nod.
"Nn." Blake nodded softly. "You don't have to endure this on your own anymore."
"It's very gracious of you to come to our aid. Regardless, we'll still do our part to help wherever and however we can. We don't want to let you feel overwhelmed turning to hell us." Lily admitted sincerely. "We'll make sure that you're all able to focus on your objectives."
Blake looked to the side, seeing various townfolk beginning to practice with their Aura training. Once thing, aside from the Aura concealing or cloaking, managed to get her attention. She gently unsheathed her katana from Gambol Shroud, holding the blade in front of her. Weiss briefly turned to her, and managed to sense Blake's Aura channeling its way through the sword of Gambol Shroud, infusing itself into it.
Nodding softly, she turned around and briefly slashed through a rock next to her. A moment passed, before the top half of it slowly slid downwards, untill falling off completely. Blake inspected her blade again with a bit of a closer gaze, nodding again in approval.
"Did you use your Aura to sharpen your blade even more?" Weiss questioned once she saw the silent demonstration.
"Yes."
Lily briefly smiled while placing her hands together. "It's indeed possible to infuse your Aura into objects. As such, you're able to make them more durable if you're going to use them as a weapon of sorts. It goes a long way to strengthen your weapon's offensive and defensive capability."
Weiss understood this well. She briefly unsheathed Myrtenaster, and allowed herself to channel Aura through the blade, managing to see a briefly shining white sheen. Looking for a capable target without hurting anyone, she turned towards yet another rock to her side, it seemed quite sturdy.
With a deep breath, she briefly held her stands, holding her blade directly upwards. Before long, her eyes opened sharply, and she thrusts Myrtenaster forward. The blade managed to not only pierce the rock, but also punch a clean hole through it. She pulled back, realizing that she managed to cleanly pierce it, there was a bit of debris left over from the blow. She clicked her tongue, it felt too sloppy to her.
"Your fencing style seems to focus quite a bit on precise and fast strikes." Blake noted quietly.
Weiss blinked at the surprise rise of the subject, but decided to grab at it since Blake seemed interested. "Indeed. Precise, swift, and refined strikes. To a degree it does for my fencing style more than trying primarily to cut something, like your sword style is better suited for. Though I must say, I've never seen anyone cut with the sheathe of their sword before. That's a curious way to dual wield."
"It came to me while I was fighting in one of my arena fights." Blake calmly recalled, even though it caused Weiss to flinch. "When my katana is unsheathed or not, the sheathe itself acts as a cleaver, along with my katana acting similarly as a sickle. My style lies more within speed and using that to cut down my enemies."
"It would seem so. Our styles seem much more quick and precise than that of our cheerier comrades, doesn't it?"
"They have their styles that match their greater raw strength. I've noticed how their mundane physical prowess is immense, even without taking their Aura control and weapons into account." Blake noted. "Ruby is about as fast as Yang is physically powerful. And since Ruby is the fastest among us, Yang is the most physically powerful among us. Though that certainly doesn't mean that Ruby isn't resilient or Yang isn't fast." Blake then rubbed her chin. "In essence they're both stronger, faster, and more resilient than us, and their Aura control can push this even further. Their fighting styles and weapons compliment this very well."
"Hm. They're two physical powerhouses in different directions. I've certainly seen the evidence for it." Weiss admitted while rubbing her chin. Both of their stamina was also much greater than she expected. She was still slightly sore about a run that they did, with Ruby barely being winded, if at all. "That leaves us as the two with more intelligence, range, and technique. I'm certainly not trying to insult them by saying so, but they both appear to be more naïve in some aspects than others, as they've lived on an island for most of their lives. Though they also appear to be fast learners. Meanwhile you and I have had, well, experiences. You probably have more practical experience than all of us, though not...by...choice..." Weiss slowly stopped herself as she realized what she was saying, eyes widening. "Blake, I didn't mean-"
"There's no reason to apologize." Blake evenly turned to Weiss. "To survive my enslavement, I needed to be strong and skilled. They kept me weakened so I could never escape on my own, but energized enough where I could fight for them for their entertainment. Place to place, I fought. There was little choice. Underperforming meant I would be killed, or worse. Until my opportunity to take back my freedom came, this was how I survived. I survived, living five years without any pride in myself, until I could take back my life."
"No pride..."
"I couldn't take pride in anything I did during that time, even if it was to preserve my own life. Because that's all it was. There's a difference between living and not dying, despite what many people say. For five years, I was mostly doing the latter, because that was all I could do." Blake tightly clenched her fist. "I hated it, but there was no way I could do anything about it before I was ready. My choices were limited. If I didn't fight, I couldn't survive. And there's no sense of fulfillment of only surviving until the next day. Waiting for my opportunity to escape it was worth it, because now I could start doing things for myself, but the wait itself was agonizing. Because before then, Faunus were suffering around me and there was little I could do about it." Blake lowered her eyes. "Until I was free from those shackles, I could never feel content or pride in whatever I did to simply preserve my life. Because for those five years, it didn't feel like it was really mine."
Weiss simply went silent for a moment, allowing Blake her moment to speak uninterrupted.
"That's why I swore to protect other Faunus, to prevent them from suffering like I had. And that's why I also swore to seek to evolve, because it's such an amazing achievement solely for Faunus that's been lost to time. Such an accomplishment will fill Faunus everywhere with an overwhelming sense of pride, and it'll prove that they can all achieve greatness as well." Blake narrowed her eyes. "And along the way, with that same purpose in mind, I'll become a Grand Huntress."
Weiss briefly found herself at a loss of words. It was quite obvious how and why Blake felt the way she did, but her detailing how her experiences led to her mindset and goals gave Weiss a new understanding of it. Especially about having felt no pride in herself no matter what she did during her time as a slave. That entire time, her life was in the hands of those that didn't care for it, or would happily make it worse just because she was a Faunus. Meanwhile, her fellow Faunus would suffer around her, and she'd be helpless to truly ease their pain or protect them, aside from taking in more torment for herself to spare them.
It gave her a new perspective on her resolve, because she quietly endured all of those years so she could eventually find an opportunity to free herself from it, and start achieving things for herself in order to reclaim her lost pride. On top of doing it for herself, she was also doing so to instill and/or restore pride within Faunus around her whenever she acts and accomplished various merits as a Huntress. Regarding pride, Weiss couldn't help but sense a kindred spirit within her.
"Blake. I..." Weiss cleared her throat. "Honestly, after all you've been through, I find your sense of resolve admirable. That purpose you set for yourself was what kept you going, to endure. There's something to respect there, waiting for the right moment to take your pride back. You wish to carry it with you and improve upon it as a Huntress. It's not entirely the same obviously, but I feel the same." Weiss placed a hand over her heart. "We Schnees carry great integrity over our accomplishments and how they better the lives of people around us, within our homeland me outside of it. We wish to do the right thing because it is good in of itself, but also to uphold the expectations and reputation of respectable merits and esteemed behavior. Which is why I try to give every important objective my absolute best. Because anything less than that feels like an insult. Especially to my Grandfather."
Blake looked to Weiss for a moment, then nodded quietly. "I-"
"Something is amiss." Lily reluctantly interrupted them, her eyes narrowing as she looked to the outside of the walls defenses. "I sense malice heading our way."
"Grimm?"
"Only one way to know for sure."
Without delay, Weiss and Blake made their way to the walls, not even waiting for the entrance to be opened for them. They made a high leap over the walls, before landing gracefully on their feet. They looked ahead to the source of the disturbance. Right from the get to, Blake's eyes sharpened in hostility, with Weiss' eyes widened in surprise.
They recognized the White Fang symbol instantly.
"G'day, ladies! Nice of ya to spare us the trouble of calling out for you!" Ember cheerfully waved as her White Fang cloak hung off of her shoulders.
"What do you want?" Weiss demanded to know, narrowing her eyes while having a hand on Myrtenaster's hilt. Blake didn't miss that the same hand was slightly trembling at the sight of the White Fang.
"We're here to kill ya. Both of ya." Ember freely admitted. "Might as well get straight to the point,no use in dawdling on about our intentions. I'm a simple gal like that." In the meantime, her chainsaw wielding acquaintance stepped up with a growl, intensely glaring towards Weiss.
That one seems awfully focused on me...Weiss mentally noted. She didn't know why that was, but she wasn't about to pretend she didn't notice.
"You two running around freely is seen as a bit of a no-no, so we're here to rectify that by killing you." Ember smiled. "Whaddya say, girls? You wanna come along and die willingly? Or are you going to refuse and fight it?" She raised her hand as a flowing orb appeared above her palm, with little crackling 'pops' around it. "Please refuse. That's the option that sounds far more engaging."
Weiss still looked apprehensive, her hand tightening around Myrtenaster. She looked behind her towards the entrance of the Circle, and noted that if a fight broke out, it could lead into the town. And while the townspeople could definitely right, they were still recovering from the several rounds of Grimm attacks for the most part. She didn't want to risk it.
"...If we come quietly-" She began, but Blake held her arm out.
"Don't bother with that kind of deceit." Blake denied while keeping her focus on the gang ahead. "She doesn't seem like the type who keeps any promises she makes with an enemy, fake or genuine."
"D'aww, it would have been kinda interesting to see how that plays out, though! But I guess you have a point." Ember lightly waved her hand, as several White Fang soldiers appeared in front of her. And with them, appeared to be four hostages. She walked across them, gently tapping four of them on the shoulder. "A Schnee and a Belladonna, standing side by side. Never thought something like that could happen. You're both from two different worlds, after all."
"Wrong. We both live on the same world. Remnant." Blake denied. "Trying to divide us up in such a way is pointless, because at the end of the day, we're people who live in this world together, doing what we can to make the best of life. That should be something that makes us equals."
Ember sighed, scratching her jackal ear with a quizzical head tilt. "Man, they were right about you. Your naïvety is stifling."
"It doesn't matter what you think of us. Release those hostages!" Weiss shouted. Among them, were two humans and two Faunus. A slight balance. It looked like they were travelers they decided to pick up on their way here. "Fight us properly!"
Ember narrowed her eyes towards Weiss, until she dramatically sighed, head hanging back. "Ugh, fine. Be a killjoy." She waved her hand, and the White Fang soldiers released the hostages while roughly pushing them forward, and they began hurriedly running towards Blake and Weiss.
"They're letting us go?!"
"But what about the whole time they were on about-"
"Who cares?! Just get inside the town! We'll be safe!"
Weiss seemed somewhat relieved that Ember was at least willing to need that request out, but Blake was suspicious. She agreed...too easily. Her suspicions were proven right, as one of the Faunus hostage looked towards Blake with a teary eyed, fearful look of regret. As if she was the only one of the quartet who knew what would happen next.
'Forgive me.'
Blake's eyes widened as she immediately realized, as Ember looked own with a malevolent glint in her eye. She grabbed Weiss by the arm and moved.
Four large explosions went off simultaneously, large and powerful enough to seriously damage the protective walls leading into the town, and a great number of townspeople looked on in shock, with some of them blown back by the shockwave of the explosions. Weiss coughed as she eventually opened her eyes with the smoke clearing. The first thing she saw was Blake standing in front of her defensively, with Gambol Shroud unsheathed as she prepared for battle. She looked towards the four hostages, and found herself horrified that they were naught but charred corpses. Once she realized what happened, her heart sank.
An explosion type Semblance? More than that, she turned them into living bombs. She callously sacrificed them for a surprise attack...?!
"Good instincts, Belladonna! Almost had you both in one!" Ember whistled.
"Is this what the White Fang have been doing in my absence? That they're willing to sacrifice human and Faunus alike to eliminate their enemies and achieve their ambitions?" Blake accused, holding out her katana with a vicious glare, as her thoughts went to her parents, Ghira and Kali Belladonna. She couldn't help but release her sudden anger. "This is what you betrayed my family for? To further gather up your numbers in order to further your own ends, secretly using it to scout Faunus with 'potential' so you can indoctrinate them, like my friends Adam and Ilia?" Blake narrowed her eyes further. "My parents and their dreams, they believed in the White Fang closing the distance Humans and Faunus have. It was all a lie? You all took advantage of that belief to further your own ends. You used them."
Ember cruelly smiled, raising a casual hand back in a wave. "And your folks were such useful idiots."
The ground beneath Blake's feet suddenly cracked, and surged outwards slightly. Blake's hair grew more unkempt and wild, her grip on Gambol Shroud grew tighter, and the catlike pupils within her eyes grew more pronounced, sharp, and animalistic. Blake's grip on Gambol Shroud tightened further, her Aura flowing around the blade as she held it towards her enemy, a fierce glare in her eyes.
To the slightly interest of the others, Weiss slowly stands up after getting over her shock, as it was replaced with something else. All she did was narrow her own eyes. Hey as she did so, the ground and air around her grew a bit colder, with the spot around her even beginning to crack a bit from what appeared to be ice. Yet in spite of this, she barely said anything, simply glaring at the enemies before her as she held Myrtenaster steady.
"So. You came to kill me and Blake. And you believe that senselessly wasting the lives of human and Faunus alike is worth that objective and other things you do." Weiss began icily. "Okay. Very well. You came to take our lives. We understand. Before we begin, I want to ask you something."
"Which may be?"
Weiss' Aura pulsed powerfully, the cold air around her growing more intense, yet her expression didn't change at all. "Is there anything we can do or say to dissuade you from continuing? Hm? Anything at all?"
"You can't talk your way outta this, you spoiled Princess."
"I suppose that's a no, then. Can we also assume that you intend to harm the Circle for the act of welcoming us so we can assist them?"
The chainsaw wielding Faunus grunted. "Unfortunate for them to have you cross their path."
"I see. Then there's no peaceful resolution. What a pity. Isn't that a pity, Blake?"
"It is a pity, Weiss."
With that being said, with a swift movement of their blades, two cutting waves surged forth and rend the earth, sending some of the soldiers flying away from the intensity of the force. Ember and the bulky Faunus were the only ones not seriously moved by the initial attack. The former was even smiling amongst it a little. Weiss and Blake stared down their enemies to be, with neither of their faces changing all that much, her the sheer intensity of their now pulsing Auras couldn't be ignored.
Weiss and Blake eventually separated, with the latter slowly happening upon Ember, while Weiss was left with the White Fang member with the chainsaw sword, both of them circling one another.
"Finally, I get to kill a Schnee..."
Weiss' eyes sharpened at this. 'Finally'? That means he's been waiting for an opportunity like this. So she's definitely a target. But alas, that's done nothing to relinquish her of her icy fury at what ends they would go to try and eliminate her. No, there's nothing she could do to not feel furious about this now. She took a deep breath, sighing as she remembered one of Winter's lessons about handling true fury if it became too much for her to hide.
Cold. Controlled. Channeled.
"Hm. You're awfully presumptuous about your chances. Were you waiting a long time for this opportunity?" Weiss held Myrtenaster his way, her icy cold glare not relenting. "I'll be sure to thoroughly disappoint you."