Hey there everyone, sorry for the hiatus, had a lot of personal stuff to deal with. Anyways, new chapter as always and leave a review if you can to help me improve. I felt incredibly rusty and it took a while pumping that chapter out.
"There are a few things common within every Grimm," Index lectured as she tapped on the board with a long metal stick, "Their appearances or their goal of eliminating human or Faunus life, indiscriminately. However, what differentiates each Grimm more so than their physical features, is their method of achieving that goal."
"So… The Covenant or rather, the Effigy is the one we need to deal with, right?" Weiss asked as she tapped on her tablet. Every huntsman, student and official, glanced at each other while Index nodded fervently.
"Correct, but there is one more thing you would all need to be aware off, with Acqua's report, we couldn't verify it, but with the recent reports, we do have enough information that you all need to be aware of," Index continued and despite her small stature, everyone could feel the weight behind her words, even Motoharu and Awaki shifted as the small professor tapped the board and the images flickered to reveal a diagram of a human.
As details slowly stamped themselves aside from the image, many of the huntsmen started to gasp or groan as they realised what the image was about.
"... That explains a lot of things," Motoharu muttered as he scratched his head and turned to nod at Etzali, "Mind getting in touch with the Guard corps? I think we may have found out how they got into Mistral in the first place. Oh and uh... Take care of that errand we were talking about earlier."
The tanned man sighed but stood up and wordlessly slinked out of the room, Yang quirked an eyebrow as she piped up, "Hey, what's going on?"
"Yeah… you've been sending out Etzali on whatever for the past few days, is there something shady you've been-" Awaki turned to Motoharu, her eyes narrowed while Stiyl quietly buried his face in his hands and Oriana chuckled at the situation.
"I wouldn't worry about this now, pay attention to the Professor, yeah?" Motoharu suggested and Index had her arms folded, almost like a childish pout befitting her appearance.
As she noticed everyone returning their attention to her, her frown flipped into a bright smile, "Thanks, Motoharu!" She slapped the stick onto the board and continued as if nothing happened, "What we have here are Puppets. Humans that are effectively controlled by the Grimm to perform certain tasks, to what limit, we aren't sure.
"What we are sure of, is that the victims that are controlled are done in by some sort of parasitic Grimm node they implant into their victims. How they managed to get those parasites into their victims is a mystery, but what we do know is that if the Puppets are around, the Sentinels are probably around. They might be responsible for implanting those parasites, so please be careful," Index finished, immediately Stiyl clicked his tongue in annoyance as his fingers fiddled with the unlit cigarette.
"Damnit…" he muttered as he rubbed his brow, while the others were grimacing at the implication, even Weiss and Blake were frowning as well.
Ruby had a worried look on her face as she read the details carefully, she might not be studious like her team, but she wasn't blind to what Index implied in the lecture. Touma scratched his head, he understood why everyone had these reactions, but since he wasn't augmented by aura at all, he couldn't completely see it from their point of view.
"Wait… you're saying that the Puppet…" Yang asked as her eyes widened.
"Yep, those controlled by the Effigy are very much alive," Index confirmed with a nod, "That means all of you will have to employ non-lethal tactics against them."
Touma grimaced as he realised what she implied, every single huntsman had unlocked aura, which grants them greater physical capabilities. In the heat of the moment when facing a Sentinel and those puppets, he could see why this was an issue, but he glanced at his right hand as he wondered if there was a way they could deal with that situation at hand.
When it came to combat, Blake was confident in her capabilities to avoid most attacks and those that can't be avoided, she parried instead. She wasn't like Yang, who was an unstoppable juggernaut if given the chance, Ruby with a unique dancing like fighting style or Weiss's calculative and methodical approaches. She was patient, let the enemy take the first attack and then counter them, taking them out in one go. It didn't matter if they were a mindless Grimm, a dangerous animal or another person, she always believed that she could read the opponent given the time.
The Sentinel, however, proved to be beyond her experiences, its body convulsed and twitched as if it was a clockwork machine wearing a black skin tight suit. Blake stepped back, her weapon held closer to her body and face, she wasn't willing to take chances from this Grimm. It was incredibly unnerving, even for a Grimm and she had faced hundreds before. The Puppets staggered at the Sentinel's flank, their harsh breathing and low growl were all the signs she needed as half a dozen began rushing at her.
Each attack from those Grimm controlled Faunus was easily met with a parry followed by a light thrust from the hilt of her Gambol Shroud, while not lethal, it sent them stumbling back as she slowly pushed through the crowd while the Sentinel watched. The clanging of steel and disrupted howls from the Faunus inundated her ears, but she could hear a vacuuming hum from behind her, Touma must be trailing behind.
She knew that Touma could probably take out the Sentinel if given the chance and from the corner of her eyes, she noticed the Faunus lying around him weren't getting up. With a small smirk, she pushed harder, weaving and ducking under the attackers. As she pushed through, her ear twitched as she picked up a strange hissing sound and her aura flared as she jumped up, a black tendril piercing her clone and crashing into the road, leaving a small crater behind.
Blake looked up as she noticed the shadow of the Sentinel crept up to her, its lone blazing red eye observing her as the tendril retracted to its limb and at the same time, she heard hurried footsteps behind her where Touma was as he continued to fight his way to them. As she stared at the eye, her ears twitched as something tickled inside them, almost as if it was calling to her. She shook her head, in an attempt to rid of the small yet gripping sound and focused as she twirled her weapons into a stance, licking her lips as the Grimm clicked softly yet distinct enough to be heard over Touma's battle.
Suddenly, the Grimm shifted, its long arms shot forward like missiles but Blake's aura flared as she flipped over it as her clone was pierced and dissipated just as quickly as it appeared. She landed and jumped off the tendril as another one shot at her while she held out her pistol and fired at the Grimm.
The Grimm twitched as the rounds sparked against its bone plating as Blake scooted back away. Once she landed, the hair on the back of her neck stood up and she struck with the hilt of the blade at one puppet who tried to jump on her and then another in the gut, crumpling them. Suddenly, her vision were filled with faces splattered with blood and drool and she grunted in frustration as she shoved the mob as hard as she could while recoiling and hopping back, narrowly avoiding the strikes, but the mob would rebound like a ball and surge forward with their weapons scrabbling to scratch her flaring aura.
"BLAKE!" Touma roared as he was accompanied by another humming sound and the blue-clad girl immediately ducked and braced. Her aura shimmered as her feet slid against the road and her vision cleared from the mass of bodies as they were jerked away into the sky like ragdolls. Touma leapt to her, his Retterhand clicking as he landed and asked after taking a breath, "You okay?"
Blake nodded as she noted the small scratches on his right arm, the sweat and grime covering his face from fighting the mob. Compared to him, she was relatively clean, even the blue overalls she was wearing had less dirt marks than Touma's shirt. Despite the minor injuries and mild exhaustion, his lips were curved upwards.
"Just so you know, my Imagine Breaker can take down those Puppet guys. They just stop moving if I hit them," Touma explained as he turned his eyes to the lone Grimm while shaking his right fist, "But they've been avoiding it whenever they can."
"So… they're learning," Blake muttered more to herself than to Touma who nodded. She gritted her teeth at this new information, despite the fact that they could handle the controlled Faunus easily, the Grimm was proving to be a threat they couldn't ignore.
"Yeah, if you can hold off the Sentinel, I can try to get rid of what's controlling the people and then we can take it down together," Touma proposed, Retterhand clicked at the ready as it began to rev up intensely.
The Faunus girl raised an eyebrow, it was certainly better for her to engage the Sentinel while Touma dealt with the puppets. With a nod, Touma immediately rushed forward at the Puppets that were beginning to make their approach. She followed soon after and leapt, using the Puppets as stepping stones while the Grimm twitched and waited.
Once again, the Sentinel's arms rose up, its black tendrils shot like lances at her. Blake grunted as she flared her aura once more and leapt over the attack while throwing the ribbon of her Gambol Shroud at the Grimm's arm and swerved around another attack before landing behind it.
The Sentinel shivered before its body contorted with a sickening crunch as it turned to face her while clicking relentlessly, its eye pulsing at her and as she stared into that very eye, everything seemed to slow down. The sounds of Touma's shouting at the squabbling Puppets and his Retterhand humming as it released its concussive force dulled as she gripped onto both her blade and scabbard with the Sentinel slowly approaching with shuddering steps. Hushed whispers began to invade her ears, yet the red glowing eye gripped her attention without reprise.
"Blake…" her name echoed around her and her grip on her Gambol Shroud slackened, as her jaw dropped. The Sentinel's visage shimmered and suddenly, a sharp pain stabbed her mind so quickly and so fleetingly, she almost jumped in shock as if she didn't know if she experienced the pain or not.
"Blake…"
"Blake…"
More echoed around her as she felt her ears twitch against the bow and as if someone was pushing behind her back, she stepped forward and the whispers began to clear, she could make out words and even some of the voices. Each step she took, the vision cleared, revealing that she was in the same place as before, but the Sentinel was absent. All there was, was a road covered in Faunus, each one laying there as if gently sleeping. Did they do it? Blake scanned around her, more Faunus, each one as different as the next, yet they all were lying on the road, their chest rising up and down like a rhythm.
"Touma!?" Blake called, as she whipped her head around one more time and soon enough, she found a body covered in blue overalls lying on the road. Touma's eyes were closed yet his face was as calm as still water. With a silent sigh of relief, Blake began to scamper but her ears twitched as it picked up a strange sound, almost like whining steel.
"I'VE FOUND YOU!" Blake jumped at the guttural roar, her clone that took her place was quickly sliced in half by the black and red blur. She flipped away, gaining distance from the unknown assailant but as she regained her composure, she blinked in surprise at the person who stood before her.
"It can't be…" Blake muttered as the spiky-haired person lowered the red chokuto that just sliced cleanly through the clone and her heart pounded against her chest as if trying to escape an icy grip. The man exhaled slowly, twirling the blade before it was returned to its sheath with a smooth yet grating sound that had Blake's arm shivering. She had seen that weapon slice through even the hardest and sturdiest of materials with little effort and it had dawned on her that it would be her first time to face it.
"... Hello, my darling," Adam greeted, almost cordially yet Blake could hear the acid dripping from his jaws as he turned around, his mouth set in a crooked curve, "It's been some time, hasn't it?"
Blake's lips parted, her tongue curled in an attempt to call out the name, yet the words were caught at her throat, refusing to be released. She didn't know why or how Adam was here, as far as she knew, Adam had no connection to the Church except for the fact that both operated under the White Fang. Her chest throbbed, painfully reminding her that she had barely escaped the cost of leaving the White Fang.
"That time when you… abandoned me," Adam continued in a cordial manner as he gestured around him. Golden eyes widened as the girl realised that the Grimm was nowhere to be seen yet they were in the same courtyard with the grey clouds lazily drifting above them. "That time… you… so easily cast aside our purpose. I had thought that the Howling Battalion had 'taken care' of you those past few months."
"...You left me no choice!" Blake spat out, and suddenly she felt her strength around Gambol Shroud buckle as it lowered towards the ground, "We… the White Fang… it was going too far!"
"Far!?" Adam returned as he stepped forward, his teeth bared, "Do you not realise the importance… the sacrifices we have to make to ensure our kind's welfare!?"
The bull Faunus's masked face suddenly flickered like a glitch on a computer screen, yet Blake's eyes seemed to dull as she remembered that fateful time when she had left the person she had cared deeply for. It was never an easy decision when she left him, but she had to as every 'mission' the White Fang undertook was conducted in an increasingly violent, reckless and callous manner.
"I… I thought what we did was the right way…" Blake muttered, barely above a whisper and she shook her head as her grip on her weapons tightened, "But now… we should've… no… we had to be better than that."
"Hah! Do you not remember what the SDC did to us!? Do you not remember when each and every human ignored our pleas!? We tried 'being better' and look where it got us!" Adam spat as he gestured at the bodies around them.
Blake grimaced but she huffed as she kept her eyes at Adam, "Change doesn't come instantaneously. It will just make things worse if they fear us and refuse to understand us!" She shook her head as she lowered her head and implored, "Adam… don't you see? If everyone sees Faunus as a threat, what do you think they'll try to do? That's why I left, I can't be part of something that just worsens the problem!"
Her ears twitched as she heard the singing of metal and Adam's voice crackled as he retorted in disgust, "Wrong answer."
Firearms were a common staple of warfare for obvious reasons, even a close-combat junkie like Yang acknowledged its use as she held her gauntlet out and fired before ducking under her rocky cover, "Damn, this is freaking annoying!"
The nun beside her said nothing but gave a small nod as if in agreement. Oriana on the other giggled as she tore another piece of paper and in a flash, several bolts of fire sprung from her hand into the mechs they were taking cover from. So far it was a complete battle of attrition, after they tried fighting close quarters with them, they quickly retreated.
"Seriously, what are they made of? They didn't even budge when I smacked them down!" Yang complained over the sounds of gunfire as she peeked out once more to fire off a few shells before quickly ducking, rounds whistling above her head. She could take a few shots thanks to her aura, but the hail of bullets and near-deadly precision was not something she was eager to take on head first.
"That's Kihara Mechs for you, not exactly something you want to go up against head-on," Oriana replied with a humourless grin, "Their only downside is how expensive they are to make, other than that, they're the perfect soldiers through and through."
"So!? What's the plan!?" Yang hollered.
Natilop nudged Oriana and nodded towards another roof, this time with a roof access. The older blonde chuckled and muttered, "Guess our White Fang kiddo just found us a way out." The nun's mouth pursed ever so slightly but she made no other action as the blonde woman ordered, "Stay close to me, ready!?"
Her two younger colleagues nodded as Oriana pulled a flashcard and a translucent veil shimmered around them, rippling as more rounds collided into them. She dashed forward and with the other two close behind, jumped from roof to roof.
Oriana pulled another flashcard and it glowed a hellish red as she flicked it to their pursuers, the card combusted into several fireballs and collided into the mechs. However, the mechs only staggered briefly, their silver armour and cylindrical head barely had a single smudge from the attack.
"Motoharu! We got a problem here!" Oriana shouted as the three landed and scrambled to cover once the shield flickered out, "We got Kihara mechs on us, too many for us to deal with!" The three of them dived behind a thick stone wall, but as they stood behind it, the bullets peppered into it, chipping the stone off before the mechs held their fire.
"Yeah, about that," Motoharu's voice chimed into their ears, almost as if he was caught doing something wrong, "Got a couple of issues hitting on Awaki's team too. Well… not much we can do about that. I'll get Stiyl's team to you, just hang on tight."
"Wait, what's going on with Blake and Touma!? I thought Ruby's team was going to back them up!" Yang asked as she peeked her head out before she flinched as another round hit into their stone cover, barely missing her head. She ducked back with a grunt and pressed her back to the wall.
"You let me worry about that, eh?" Motoharu replied and the blonde girl growled because she could hear the grin on his voice, "Oriana, did you ID the Kihara?"
"Therestina Kihara," Oriana replied as she fished more flash cards, "You know her?"
"Hmmm… gimme a couple of minutes," the comms went dead and Yang grumbled incoherently as she kept her eyes out, making sure that none of the mechs were flanking them.
"Rooftops aren't exactly a good place for cover, if anyone got ideas, I'm open to them," Oriana muttered as she glanced back.
Natilop frowned, tapping her chin before she tugged on both of their sleeves, grabbing their attention. They both knew she hadn't said a single word, but their current position didn't leave much of a choice for them. She held up a scroll that simply said, 'Follow me, don't make a sound'. She suddenly gripped onto their arms and her aura pulsed warmly into them, almost having Yang and Oriana flinch. Natilop pressed a finger to her lips, then pushed off the wall and simply walked off, beckoning the two to follow.
"Are you crazy!?" Yang hissed at the nun, but the nun shrugged and continued walking, now completely exposed in the open, but to their surprise, not a single shot had been fired. The two blondes glanced at each other, perplexed before Yang took a deep breath and gingerly stepped forward. She slowly stepped out of cover, throwing a glance and all she saw was a number of mechs slowly approaching their cover yet they did not seem to notice Yang at all.
Oriana gripped on her shoulder and signalled off to follow the nun who was already at the edge of the roof. The two silently crept after the nun and all three jumped off the roof and onto the road, Natilop then held up her scroll that said, 'My semblance can create illusions, but it won't fool mechs for long, we should get out ASAP'.
The older blonde woman just stared at the roof and nodded as she placed a finger into her ear, "Okay, then let's take advantage and get out of here. Motoharu!"
"Yo~!" a lazy voice answered into their ear.
"You got our positions, right? Need a place to hole up in," Oriana said as she beckoned the nun and student to follow her.
"Yeah, yeah, it's about three hundred metres South-east of your position, you're looking for a… barber store, shouldn't be too difficult to pick out," Motoharu directed and as the three dashed through the streets, the stomping of the mechs not too far behind, "Also, that Kihara that you ran into…"
"Found anything on her?" Oriana asked as she pulled a green flash card and buzzed lightly before disintegrating. Yang suddenly felt her body become lighter, almost as if that last fight didn't take a single bit out of her and as she held up her hand, she could see a dull green glow pulsing out of it.
"Mhmm, gimme a minute," Motoharu replied.
The three of them reached their destination, a storefront with broken windows, as if a wild storm had just passed through it. Oriana signalled Natilop and Yang to enter and the three of them made their way in, their boots cracking on the scattered glass and other broken equipment. As they made their way in, the nun gently brushed small debris off the wooden stools before taking a seat while Yang rested on some wooden crates, Oriana pressed herself near the entrance and kept an eye outside.
"Looks clear, we should be okay for a while," Oriana announced with a sigh of relief.
Yang clicked her tongue and pulled off her gauntlets, "Ugh, I haven't used that much shells in ages…"
"Well, do an equipment check," Orianna directed as she pulled out her own set of flash cards, the stack looking significantly thinner compared to when they started the mission, "Only about a dozen cards left…"
"Well, I still can punch'em, not that it'll do much good," Yang chuckled with as she equipped her gauntlets again, "but don't really have much shells left, just a few rounds and I'm out."
The nun just waved her cane with a shrug, she didn't have a ranged weapon like they did in the first place. Oriana sighed, a dark look shading her face as she placed a finger to her ear and asked, "Motoharu, we really need some good news…"
"Yeahh… about that. Looks like you ran into a pretty nasty character," Motoharu answered with a small chuckle, "She's the former head of Atlas's Mech Research and Development group. Hell, she was one of the reasons why the bigwigs at Atlas decided to mechanize almost the entire military...
"From her history… she built stuff from your standard Knight mechs to the big heavy armored stuff like the ones you've encountered," Motoharu said before he drew a tired sigh, "Heh, if anything… give her enough Lien, she could probably make enough mechs to wipe out the Grimm in one go. And well, just like any other Kihara, apparently there were rumours that she even planned on making cyborgs out of huntsmen… never been confirmed though, at least officially."
"Woah… so that crazy girl made all of these!?" Yang asked with wide eyes, she may not be interested in these kinds of stuff, but for someone to overhaul an entire army was pretty impressive, and if she did make those cyborgs, it still impressed her but there was a well of disgust that stirred in her stomach. She shook her head and leaned back into the wall.
"Honestly, wouldn't be surprised if she did. We've never heard about the real reason on the Kihara exodus, but if I had to guess, the top brass at the military figured out that the Kihara were doing a crapload of shady stuff there," Motoharu speculated with a small chuckle.
Natilop rolled her eyes, not that anyone else could see it, but she had to clench her fist to prevent herself from slapping herself on her masked face. Oriana sighed as she peeked outside, to check if they were being pursued before she asked, "So, the thing about dealing with that Kihara issue, do you still want us to continue? There's no way we can handle this on our own."
"... No… this new intel is problematic… pull back for now," Motoharu stated.
Yang's fist pounded the wall, the tiles jiggled from the impact as she growled, "Wait… so you're saying we have to run? We can't leave her alone if she's gonna just march those mechs everywhere!"
"She has a point," Oriana agreed as she peeked out of the window once more, drawing a surprised but appreciative look from her fellow blonde, "She just found out that we existed so that means, she doesn't have much info on us and we still have the advantage if we strike now."
"Yeah! I mean, sure the mechs are literal juggernauts, but they're slow! We got this!" Yang's voice grew in volume and tempo as she made a fist.
Motoharu's silence was deafening, not even a crack of static until he said,"...I hear ya, but there's also another problem, rendezvous with Stiyl in the meantime. Awaki's team is in trouble, but they did encounter a Sentinel…"
Missions have different complexity levels in the world of huntsmen. For the majority, it was usually quite straightforward; get in, kill the target, get out and that would rinse and repeat. However, some missions like ones Motoharu and his team would often 'enjoy' would have ramifications depending on where and how they operate.
Motoharu wasn't a stranger to those missions, especially those of clandestine nature. That said, today's mission had a rather interesting turn of events as it hadn't really gone the way that he or his team planned, yet at the same time, opportunities sprung left, right and centre. He twirled a pen in his hand while humming to himself, right now, his attention was on a drone feed, watching Touma and Blake battle out with a Sentinel and a mob of Puppets.
He took off his shades as he leaned back in his armchair, rubbing his brow as he mulled to himself on what he could do to remedy the situation. There was no one at hand to pull them out unless he wanted to break the quarantine and he was very sure that the White Fang would have no interest in endangering anymore of their people, but they had an anomaly that might change how they would typically act, Roman Torchwick.
"Hahh… geeze, what a mess," he muttered as he stood and pulled his shades back on. The three screens staring at him made little changes as the images would flicker every once in a while, "Now… what to do?"
He had options, but none of them seemed like a good choice and by extension, those that seemed like a good choice had dangerous repercussions in the future.
"Busy?" a voice pierced his head and as he turned, Yuiitsu entered the room without even waiting for his answer and gazed at the screen, "So… how's the Kamijou going?"
Motoharu raised an eyebrow and replied, "I knew you were interested in him, didn't expect you to want constant updates. Which, by the way, thanks for the intel on Therestina."
Yuiitsu shrugged as she shoved her hands in her labcoat's pockets, "Well, can't dig that much about her, even my teacher won't let me access all her files. Anyways, I'm just checking up to make sure my data's all viable."
"Ahh… yeah… about that," he chuckled as he slumped back into the chair and pointed at one of the screens, "Right now, looks like he's doing fine against the Puppets with Blake, but can't contact them ever since they uh… decided to go radio silent."
The Kihara raised an eyebrow as she scanned the screens before pulling out a tablet out of her lab coat, "Huh…"
Motoharu eyed the tablet and asked, "Something going on?"
Yuiitsu snickered and replied, "I find it interesting, how Kamijou's right hand's reading remained constant, no matter what. Also, Belladonna is with him, right? Hmph… well… she's in trouble, though I guess that's an outcome that can be expected."
"Oh? What do you exactly mean by that?" Motoharu asked as he turned to the screen. So far, there didn't seem to be anything that indicated trouble with Blake. She was staring at the Sentinel who seemed to stare back and now that he thought about it, they were doing this for quite a while. That was definitely not normal.
Yuiitsu took a seat nearby, folding a leg over another as she sighed, "Tsuchimikado, there are times when anomalies occur in my line of work. It depends on him if he's a minor one or a major one, besides. So far, he's showing… interesting data in taking out those Puppets. As for Belladonna, well..."
On the screens, Touma was weaving or blocking through each strike before he would quickly thrust his hand on a Puppet. If he would be swarmed, he would just use Retterhand to blow them back, rinse and repeat. Compared to the first mission he had been with, Touma was steadily proving to be a solid combatant despite being incapable of using aura to his advantage.
"... You know, you're strange as a Kihara, they wouldn't be sharing their 'research' until it's complete at the very least, so, what are you really here for?" Motoharu asked as he turned to her, at the same time, he laid his hand on the table, close to a stapler. It may not be a useful weapon, but so long as it was usable, he didn't care.
Yuiitsu grinned, tapping on the tablet a few times and said, "There are a few things I've noticed about the Covenant and the way they… 'attack' humans is quite intriguing, here."
Motoharu tilted his head at the offered tablet, before plucking it out of her hands and as he scanned the report, he hissed lowly before chuckling a little, "I must say, that's a rather… logical development, at least for them."
"Quite… I admire their choice of how they manipulate humans and Faunus for their purposes, I'm honestly surprised most Grimm don't act like this," the Kihara replied before she leaned forward, "Then again, most are animals at best in terms of intelligence, maybe even lower." Motoharu's brows creased as he nodded, he then turned to the screen and began typing, but Yuiitsu piped up, "I'm not done yet, check the tablet and tap that icon at the top right."
Motoharu pursed his lips as he picked up the tablet and swiveled his chair to her, almost stiffly as he decided to humor her. The tablet revealed several lines he was all too familiar with, vital signs and across the board, most looked normal and that was a good thing. However, there was one that seemed to have red flashing at its border with the name 'Belladonna' around it.
"Her vitals…" Motoharu muttered before he sighed in annoyance, "Ahh… it didn't work did it?"
Yuiitsu shrugged nonchalantly as she stood up and replied, "It would appear that our experimental drugs were… ineffective. If it did work at all, it's likely their unlocked aura flushed it out of the system faster than a normal person."
"And so, she ended up being enthralled, huh? She's going to turn into a Puppet?" Motoharu asked, so far Blake didn't make much of a movement after that brief scuffle with the Sentinel. However, unlike the Puppet's, she seemed to be more tense and prepared, like as if she was aware yet not aware of her surroundings.
"Hmm…" Yuiitsu leaned in as she rubbed her chin, "Can't say, we've never seen how they turn those people into puppets in the first place. But if these people are anything to go by, it must've been a decently lengthy process." She straightened up and folded her arms as if nodding at the hypothesis, "Can't be sure, but safe to say, turning people into Puppets? Not likely to be instantaneous."
"I see…" Motoharu pressed onto his earpiece as he called out, "Stiyl, Awaki… we got a problem."
Roman flicked his lighter on and then off as his cigar twitched in his lips for the umpteenth time. He had been stuck in this district for more than enough days, yet it didn't bother him as much as the situation he was forced to dive in. He had utmost confidence in Neo's ability to execute any tasks he would give her, but something in his gut told him that something was not going to end well.
Rarely would he distrust his gut as it pulled him out of many sticky situations, whether it would be with authorities, Grimm or even rivals. Right now, he would love to have some bourbon right now, however, he was a man that followed some form of guidelines which he would attribute to his survival as an experienced criminal. No drinking on the job unless it was required.
"My… you seem quite tense," Roman raised an eyebrow at the feminine voice, Mother Lidvia bowed slightly as she entered the chamber, her slippers muffling onto the carpet as she gently closed the door behind her.
"Well, my dear, things are changing rapidly here, but things should be fine for now," Roman replied with a lopsided grin.
Mother Lidvia hummed in acknowledgement as her eyes scanned the room and clasped her hands together, "It would seem your companion is absent."
Roman grunted as he returned his attention to the window, outside were a number of Faunus refugees simply going about their activities while White Fang priests and nun handed out fruits and bread to them, "Yes… Neo is working on… something important for us. I'm just waiting on her report."
"Hmmm, I've been informed that you authorised a task force on our behalf?" the nun asked as she joined Roman in watching the small crowd of Faunus. A small ghost of a smile appeared as she watched them, it seemed so far that the refugees, despite being away from their homes, were safe and in high spirits.
"Indeed I have, there's no problem with that, I take it?" Roman asked as he pinched the cigar off his mouth, smoke trailed from it lazily. Mother Lidvia's nose wrinkled in mild disgust, but apart from that, her face maintained its stony visage, "I've only dispatched Sister Agnese as a representative along with Neo."
"Yes, I've heard, however… I've received reports that some of my brothers and sisters are missing," the nun replied, however, her tone didn't betray her emotions, just a mere fact.
"Comes with the job, I'm afraid. What with the Grimm and those Kiharas, but…" Roman jiggled his scroll in his hands as he glanced sideways to his associate, "Neo updated me with something interesting…" Lidvia raised an eyebrow and Roman stuck the cigar back into his mouth and answered her silent question, "The huntsmen have figured out one of the Kihara's looking to stop us from taking care of our little Grimm problem."
"Oh? Considering how we agreed to work with the huntsmen, I was under the impression they would share that information with us," the nun stated but Roman snorted, shaking his head as he jammed the scroll back into pocket. Lidvia fully faced him, while a little irked by his reaction, her tone remained stoic as she asked, "Was there something wrong I said?"
"Hmm? Oh, no, my dear. I'm just thinking of my next move, essentially speaking," Roman replied as he turned away from the window and relaxed onto a nearby wooden chair, his hands folding behind the back of his head, "With your… rather explicit orders not to 'endanger' your people if possible, I was wondering if we should leave the Kihara to the huntsmen."
Lidvia's eyes flashed, though Roman didn't seem to notice, as she turned her attention back to the window. Her white robes bristled as her hands tried to crush each other, her face now tensed into a frown with her jaws tightening.
"Still…" Roman continued, his light-hearted tone hardened as his eyes bore into the nun's figure, "I have this… problem that the huntsmen will be using Neo to hunt that Kihara down. I've looked up at this particular Kihara they've identified, quite a former bigshot from Atlas."
Lidvia's stony face cracked as her eyes glared at the man who only raised his hands up at the hostility. While he wasn't the target, he knew that any mention of 'Kihara' made plenty of White Fang and other Faunus more or less disgusted. He chuckled as he continued, "Okay, okay, enough with the scary face, I-"
"Who is the Kihara?" Mother Lidvia whispered, under her robes, she was stiff, her hands clasped and shaking out of anger, "Who is the Kihara?"
"... Therestina Kihara, I take it you're acquainted with her?" Roman relented as he adjusted his jacket as if the nun had grabbed onto it and ruffled it.
"Yes… that… Kihara, I know her too well," Lidvia turned to Roman, who raised his eyebrows at the face the Faunus made, "She is a specialist in mech related technology and like all Kihara, has abused the Faunus for their own purposes."
Roman rubbed his chin with a small hum, he wasn't surprised with that intel, it was as surface as it could get. He was confident in Neo's ability to execute any mission, but something in his mind told him to dig deeper if he was going to ensure that Neo will be well equipped to deal with the Kihara, if need be, "Okay, and how so?"
Lidvia sat down on another chair, her eyes closed as she whispered, "She and many others had believed that huntsmen, soldiers and mechs weren't enough to combat the Grimm threat as did many other Kiharas. Instead, she concocted an idea… an idea to create the perfect super soldier with the culmination of science and talent… She was one of the main ringleaders in an incident at Atlas for kidnapping the few Faunus students of the Atlas Academy.
"Super soldiers…" Lidvia laughed harshly, almost as if she wanted to expel the disgust of even mentioning it from her own mouth. Roman raised an eyebrow but patiently waited as he nun had worked through her disgust and continued, "She turned them into cyborgs… Faunus huntsmen without a will of their own and makes them more machine than their own self. Of course, that General decided to destroy them rather than find a way to restore them and the Kiharas were already long gone by then."
"Ah… I see," Roman nodded, he leaned forward as he pinched his cigar and poked it at Lidvia's direction, "And can you guarantee that her or other Kiharas didn't continue this… venture here?" Lidvia's face darkened, there was no way she could guarantee that, especially when it came to a Kihara, and with this Grimm sowing chaos at Mistral City, she wouldn't be surprised if the Kihara's pinched people left and right for their own projects.
"Well, looks like we have a bit of a problem," Roman continued with a small shrug, "But worry not my dear, you've hired me to solve your problems and I happen to have an idea to test out."
"Good… but, I would like to address the… losses of our people when we started working with you and the huntsmen," Mother Lidvia pointed out and when Roman threw a raised eyebrow at her, she coughed and said, "I'm aware that with the current situation, you cannot prevent casualties but, I would prefer that you minimize it, understood?"
The corner of Roman's mouth twitched upwards as he stood up and bowed, almost mockingly as he replied, "Why, of course."
Blake jumped back, her teeth gritted as she raised her katana and sheath close to her body while her golden eyes remained on Adam's frame. She didn't blink, she couldn't afford to as a single moment could easily mean her life being at an end. She had protection with Aura, and her swordsmanship, semblance and reaction time gave her all the tools to escape almost any form of injury from a fight. Yet, she knew Adam as he was just as competent in combat as she was, if not more so, and she had seen his blade cut down even the sturdiest huntsman in a single strike, slicing through their defences, aura and physical like he was cutting through hot butter.
Adam's breath seemed to cloud around his baring teeth, almost in a feral manner and Blake had never seen him display that kind of behaviour at all. He approached, step by step as he held his sword out, pointed at her. Blake retreated step for step as she said, "Adam… I don't want to fight you-"
"You don't get to decide that, darling," Adam retorted as his mouth twitched upwards, "Now stand still, I will show you how much pain a traitor like you deserve!"
Blake flinched, she couldn't believe this at all. Her former lover never displayed such aggression and open anger before. For as long as she knew him, he was always calm and collected, while tempered by his passion for their people. However, his behaviour reminded her of something that made her want to retch, a feral animal.
Adam suddenly turned his attention to Touma, his mouth curving upwards as he asked, "So… you're a huntsman now? Pathetic, they've done nothing for us and..." He then spat on the ground and muttered, "I'll show you how powerless they truly are."
The moment he braced his knees, Blake gasped and dashed at Adam, her blade pointed at him. He growled as he stepped back, his left arm raised as his scabbard blocked the attack, leaving Blake frowning at his action but she flicked her blade and pressed her attack. She struck fast and swiftly, and Adam weaved and blocked through it, his mouth widening at each attack with fury.
The bull Faunus roared, his chokuto suddenly slicing with singing steel and Blake's aura flared as she hopped over him, leaving her clone to be swiftly cut down. As she landed, Adam had already turned and struck out with the scabbard, but she barely blocked the scabbard and backflipped away from him, her Gambol Shroud held up ready for another attack.
Blake pursed her lips as she watched Adam's stance relax, her mind raced as she tried to figure out the one question that plagued her the moment she clashed with him. His attacks and even his defence were far from refined, it felt more like she was fighting a street thug than a disciplined swordsman.
"So… that was your answer, was it!?" Adam roared, "You're willing to throw away everything that we've worked for our people, for your own self!?"
Blake frowned as she immediately tried to shout but a sudden ring pierced through her head, her hands clamped over her cat ears. The ringing stopped, lasting no longer than a few seconds at most, but it was enough to have the young huntsman breathing heavily. Blake shook her head as she tried to regain her bearings.
"My darling… I'll make you pay for everything," Adam's growl echoed around Blake as he held out his blade and slowly approached her, "Yes… everything…"
The cat Faunus shot a glance at Touma who was still laying on the floor, blissfully unaware of the fight around him. Part of her feels relieved that what she was about to do, he wouldn't be conscious to witness it. The man approaching her was completely different from the man she once knew. She tightened her grip on her weapons, her golden eyes flashing against Adam's bone-white mask, if he were to continue this hostility, then Blake will not hesitate to do what it takes to neutralise him.
Blake held her stance as Adam was barely a few steps away, she shuddered as she wondered what his eyes were like as his bared teeth was all that showed on his face. Once his Wilt and Blush was about to reach her, he raised the blade and Blake's body sprang into action. Their blades clashed, Adam's reckless strikes grinded against Blake's calm deflection. To her surprise, he even used his scabbard to attack as well, but she didn't let that deter her focus as she swerved around each strike, her golden eyes staring straight at Adam's masked one.
Adam roared, his chokuto striking overhead only for Blake to parry the attack and with a solid kick, he was launched backwards and tumbled across the ground, gravel spitting everywhere. He coughed as he scrambled to his knees, his limbs were trembling, from rage or from the attack, Blake wasn't sure. However, she didn't expect her attack to leave him this winded, let alone getting hit.
"This… this is nothing!" Adam growled as he struggled to his feet and Wilt, his blade, began to glow an ominous red, a colour that sent shivers down Blake's spine. There was a reason why many of the White Fang respected Adam as a fighter and the red glow was often his trademark when he intended to finish off any target.
With a warcry, Adam charged as his chokuto began blazing in a stream of fire and as he reached Blake, her aura flared and with one sweep, her clone disintegrated. However, Adam whipped around, his blade chasing after her form. With another pulse of her aura, Blake dropped down as another clone fell victim to the attack.
Blake let out a cry as she pushed her Gambol Shroud into Adam, she hadn't a choice, it was either take him out forcefully or taste death at his blade. He stiffened as her weapon sank into his abdomen, there wasn't any sound of aura cracking, just a silent sensation of his flesh being pierced.
He choked a cry as blood trickled from his lips, his face turned to Blake whose eyes didn't waver. With a small grin, Adam suddenly said in a tone unlike his, "Finally… I got you, Blake."
Blake's eyes widened as Adam's right hand suddenly grasped onto hers and the world around her suddenly shattered. Adam's face was quickly melted away into a younger and somewhat scruffier boy who smiled painfully with a trickle of blood from his mouth to his chin. She changed her focus to her right hand that looked like it was trying to push into his torso. His right hand was clasped over hers and she could feel a damp yet warm feeling as the blue fabric of his overalls were quickly being encroached in a darkened reddish stain.
"No…" Blake whimpered as her other hand dropped the scabbard in loud clatter so that she could hold onto Touma who grunted in pain. She blinked and shook her head, hoping that this was another illusion, but as she opened her eyes, Touma remained panting in pain as his eyes screwed shut.
Something behind her clicked continuously, almost as if it was jeering at what she had done and as she turned, the Sentinel towered over them, its form contorting underneath the bone-white plating. Spikes began to protrude from its humanoid form and Blake's eyes widened at the realisation of what was happening. With a curse, she let go of Gambol Shroud and hooked an arm underneath Touma's knees while the other gripped underneath his neck and attempted to heave him up with a grunt.
"Ugh! J-just leave me here, I'm only slow-" Touma muttered weakly only to violently cough in pain.
"No, I'm… not letting you… die here!" Blake choked out, her knees were buckling from the exhaustion and the lack of aura thanks to Touma but she bit her lip and forced her legs to keep marching, albeit slowly.
"B-behind you!" Touma warned, Blake's ears twitched as she heard whistling that had her head ringing in alarm bells. Her body jumped in reaction but ended up stumbling forward instead with a yelp while Touma gasped as he tumbled out of her hands. She then felt her hair and ears bristle as something zoomed over her head.
Blake didn't believe in luck, but that 'trip' was a lucky evasion from the Sentinel's attack. She searched for Touma who was writhing on the ground, clutching Gambol Shroud with gritted teeth. With a curse under her breath, Blake staggered to him and grabbed onto his steel-covered arm, heaving him over his shoulder only for him to roar, "Watch out!"
Touma shoved Blake to the ground but before he could duck, something crashed into his right arm and instead of the usual glass-shattering sound when he would eliminate the Grimm attack, ribbons of red splattered all over the road as he rolled down right beside the cat Faunus.
"Touma!" Blake exclaimed as she gripped onto him and forced him to a sitting position, she wasn't the greatest medic, but even she could tell that a blood loss like that will be quickly fatal for anyone, "No… no…" Blake didn't know what to think or feel, just the reddish stained stump that used to be Touma's arm caught her eyes.
No aura and Touma bleeding out in front of her, it was at that point, Blake felt empty as if someone just scooped everything inside out of her, all she could hear was the haggard panting from Touma and the squelching stomping of the approaching Sentinel. Touma was going to die and without her aura, she was sure that she would follow suit if not before him. She closed her eyes, ready to accept her fate as she whispered an apology, to who, she didn't know.
What Blake didn't expect was her instincts screaming at her once again, but it wasn't the clicking that she expected from the Grimm that she sensed. Rather, her ears froze as she heard something akin to a guttural growling, almost like a wild beast and her hair bristling as if someone or something was breathing down her neck. The only thing she could do was clutch Touma into her harder as her mind blanked out.
Seconds turned into minutes and minutes turned into hours, Blake's breathing hiccuped multiple times as something behind her continued to growl. She gulped, her hands clutching into Touma's black hair and as if responding to that action, all she heard was an earth-shattering roar.
Alright, due to new situations, I'll be pumping chapters out a lot less often, thanks for reading and cya next time!
