Kitsune stepped onto the deck of the ship as the waves gently rocked the vessel back and forth, spotting Winter on the far end and marching to her, ending in a salute as she reached her superior. Winter waved her off and Kitsune shrugged as she stared into the distance with a sense of wonder in her eyes.
"We're pulling the SDC out, right?" Kitsune asked. Winter sighed as she stared into the water in front of the ship.
"We don't have a choice in the matter," Winter told her. "Things have gotten too tense, and if we continue with our mining plans things would get out of hand." Kitsune leaned against the railing and looked at Winter.
"What about the Dust shortage?" Kitsune asked.
"The sooner that Sterling and Olesia can take care of Strakh, the better. However, Weiss does have a contingency plan and it's not like anyone will be opposed to it," Winter told her lieutenant general. "Ruby and Qrow have already given her permission to start mining in the wilderness south of the City of Vale. The land isn't as rich with Dust as Menagerie, but it will do for now. As soon as we pick up the laborers here we've been tasked with delivering them to Sanus" The coastline was rapidly approaching and the two of them moved to the back of the ship.
"Isn't a show of military force the last thing that we'd want to bring to Menagerie?" Kitsune asked.
"It's precautionary," Winter said. Kitsune rolled her eyes.
"I feel like there's more to it than that," the Faunus told her. Winter smirked.
"Classified," Winter replied. Kitsune nodded and chuckled.
"Of course," Kitsune replied.
"General Branwen! We might have a problem!" Yelled one of the soldiers from the front of the ship. Winter and Kitsune took off and spotted a mass of Atlas soldiers that were set up on the shore.
"They're wearing green armor?" Kitsune asked. "I thought they did away with the airship soldiers' armor." Winter turned back to her crew.
"All hands on deck!" Winter shouted out. "Hold your fire until they attack first, we can't risk starting a war here!"
"Who are these men?" Kitsune asked.
"Remember the psycho at the ball with the sniper rifle?" Winter asked her as she removed her scroll and made a call. "Stay cloaked for now. Battle formation three." Winter hung up and her hands fidgeted as she lightly gripped her hilt. "These men aren't properly trained for this. We've had peace for so long."
"But they've trained just like I did," Kitsune stated. "What do you mean they aren't ready?"
"There's a difference between training and experience," Winter reminded her. Kitsune agreed. She motioned for one of the men to come over to her and she pushed out her chest a bit.
"Hey there handsome, any chance I can borrow that assault rifle?" She asked. He nodded and she repaid him with a kiss, her eyes flared as she took his gun and he stumbled away with a dumb smile on his face. Winter unsheathed her rapier, pointing for the shore and bracing with her left hand as she opened a glyph. "You sure about this?"
"We need to find Ghira," Winter told her. "Admon always has something up his sleeve. If we stay out here we'll be…" A large laser blasted from the shore and slammed into one of the invisible airships, taking one of its engines as the ship became visible. "And since he used to be Atlas Military, he's relatively aware of our strategies!" Winter's scroll rang and Kitsune removed it as Winter held her pose.
"General Branwen!" The shouting over the speaker audible to both of the women.
"This is Lieutenant General Aka. Hold your fire and if need be, have your men evacuate the airship. Tell the other airship to land on the water behind us and reduce their engine power," Kitsune told them hanging up. She looked at Winter. "Something new."
"It's defensive, but with the water-based ship in the way, it might keep the men on the shore from noticing the water displacement from the transparent airship behind," Winter told her. Another laser blasted into the air and it passed through striking nothing, fading after a moment. "He was still attacking towards formation three."
"We need to move in and take out that laser before they target us instead," Kitsune told Winter. Winter turned back towards her glyph. It spun faster and sprouted three more in front of it, the white glyphs aligned perfectly and Winter placed one last time dilation glyph beneath them.
"Branwen!" The captain called.
"Meet us on shore," Winter said and with that, her and Kitsune leapt through. They flew through at an unimaginable speed, the laser activating once more as they left the path. Winter opened a black glyph before landing, it pulled the laser off of its path and blasted it harmlessly into the sky. Kitsune landed next to one of Admon's officers, winking at him before tripping him with her tail and slamming her foot into his chest. She loaded several bullets into him and snatched away his saber, smiling as she inspected the sword.
"This'll come in handy," Kitsune said to herself as she took off towards Winter's landing place near the weapon, watching as the woman used her glyphs to pick apart the men around it. The airship that had been damaged crashed into the market, sending debris and shrapnel everywhere. Kitsune tackled Winter in the middle of an attack, boards scattering about as the women landed in the soft sand. Aka rolled off of her General and leapt back up to finish off the laser as Winter looked out at the wreckage.
"The council isn't going to be happy about this," Winter said. Her mind drifted back to her mission from Ruby. She was here to retrieve the Stone of Death. She glanced at Kitsune who finished off the weapon and landed beside her as it exploded, her tail draped over her own shoulder. She pet it for a moment and looked at Winter with big eyes.
"I think we make an awesome team," Kitsune told her.
"Stay focused," Winter told her. Kitsune sniffed the air and looked towards the back of the village.
"I smell a lot of Faunus further down the path," Kitsune told Winter as she checked her scroll. "The map shows a meeting house back that way."
"Can you take care of the problem here if I head further inland?" Winter asked. Kitsune's tail slid off of her shoulder and she raised her eyebrow.
"Do I have a choice?" Kitsune asked.
"I'll meet up with you soon," Winter told her. With that, she was gone, and Kitsune headed back for the shore, slicing and firing her way through Admon's men as she met up with her own. The soldiers poured out and began to push out onto the land.
"We've got experience on our side," the captain said. "That seems obvious."
"Winter warned me that we should be careful," Kitsune explained. "Apparently Admon is a bit of a tactician."
"The same guy from the ball incident?" The captain asked.
"The same one," she told him. The captain removed his sickle sword and spun it in his hand for a moment before gesturing to Kitsune.
"What's the plan?" He asked.
"We need to find the island's inhabitants," Aka told him. The soldiers held their own as they forced Admon's men into a slight retreat and a man with a large blade stepped through the ranks, his body and face covered in dense tattoos. He only wore a pair of white tattered pants with a rope wrapped around his waist that seemed to double as a belt. He slammed the blunt side of his sword against the ground, using it in conjunction with his semblance which lit up his tattoos, and it caused a shock wave that allowed him to slice through the mass of soldiers, taking out at least ten. "Fall back!"
"I won't allow that," the man said. As the Atlas soldiers moved back he embedded his sword deep into the ground, a seismic shock wave forming behind the platoon and forcing them back towards the man and he took out another ten, cackling as he inhaled sharply. "Yes!" Kitsune glanced over for the captain to assist with forming a plan but he was gone and she hesitated for a moment before deciding on going in. Her men couldn't get away from this man, he was too strong. "Where's Winter Branwen? She's the only one that Abigor is worried about!"
"Maybe he should reevaluate the rest of the Atlas Military," the captain called out. "We won't be defeated so easily. We stand for freedom and order, what do you stand for?" The brute removed his sword, slicing the air and creating a schism in the middle of the battalion, a parting through which he could view the captain who had moved. He grasped something in his free hand, one of his sickle swords in his right. The captain smirked at the brute who met his confidence with a laugh before licking his lips.
Kitsune felt like she should stop the man from going in but his aura of self-confidence was convincing enough to keep her out of the fight for the moment, though she moved towards a better vantage point in case she needed to move in quickly and help him out. She tapped a few of her soldiers on the shoulder and motioned for them to continue further inland. She gave them several hand signs that indicated for them to get in contact with her once they had found the 'hostages' and with a nod, they slowly made their escape as the captain had the villain's full attention.
"Some of us are born with semblances and don't do anything with them just because we don't like the idea of all of the added attention that comes with them," the Atlas officer explained as he walked through the gap slowly to approach the man, still gripping something tight in his left hand. He chuckled. "I could be the same rank as the fox girl back there, but I prefer obscurity, only using my power when the situation calls for it." The brutish man tilted his hand and wagged his tongue, saliva dripping onto the sand beneath his feet as he lifted his sword.
"A lot of talk from a man who can't possibly match me in strength," he replied laughing.
"I'll give you one chance to give up," the officer informed him. Kitsune shot him a look of disbelief and spotted the men she'd sent ahead in the distance. The captain had to be bluffing, and he was doing a better job of stalling the monster than she would have been able to. The large man cackled before throwing his head back, tongue still extended as he rasped and his body trembled. He glanced around at them.
"You'll all be finished with a single swing," the hulk breathed, inhaling in a way that caused a sharp gasping noise before planting his feet. The sand shifted in suddenly, grabbing them all and pulling them towards the middle like a sinkhole, and Kitsune attempted to leap back but failed, noting for the first time that the captain wasn't wearing any shoes at this point. Why? Kitsune braced to deflect, never taking her eyes off of the officer who became sand without warning and collapsed into the ground beneath him and she gasped. The freak looked back down at the Atlesian Army approaching him and gave a mighty horizontal slash but at the last moment the captain returned from the sinkhole, his body made entirely of sand and his sickle sword catching the brute's.
They were all thrown off of their feet as the ground suddenly stopped and the two men glared at each other for a long moment. Time seemed to slow and for a fleeting second, Kitsune thought that she recognized the assailant… but from where? The bigger man unleashed a quick flurry of attacks, all blocked or caught by the curved blade of the officer, a torrent of sand flying about as he disappeared into the grains below him on occasion and reappeared. The brute cracked a grin.
"There it is," he exclaimed. His tongue hung out again as he leapt back, his sword cut quickly into the sand and the sand was thrown back from him, the soldiers covering their faces as they attempted to take cover behind stands and shacks that were scattered across the market at this point. The Atlas fighter tried to take to the cover of the beach but was unable to and the maniac's blade cut up from the sand like it was butter, striking a blow to the officer's aura as he slid back. An excited and pleased laugh from Admon's man. "I think I've put an end to your tricks." The captain didn't appear deterred and his body became metal as he dropped the bullet that he'd been clenching in his fist the entire time. Kitsune and the beast both gave a smug grin as they realized his gimmick. He could turn his body to whatever he touched.
"Give up now?" The officer asked. The man threw his head back laughing maniacally, cutting it off abruptly and looking him dead in the eyes.
"And miss the fun?" He asked. Kitsune noted her scroll going off, but the vibrations must have been just enough as the attacker looked away from the captain and directly at her. "Who do we have here?" He pulled her in quickly with the sand and her partner tried to stop him but was ignored as his metal arm was batted away with the cartoonishly large weapon. He snatched her arm up as she slid into his body, breathing heavily in her face as he squeezed tightly at her wrist and forced the scroll away, crushing it as he dropped her and caught it in midair. He looked at her, blocking another blow from the captain and sinking him into the earth. "I'm guessing you're only trapped now because your ability is exhausting and you've already played your trump card."
"Do I know you?" Kitsune asked, at the very least hoping to distract him for a moment. The brute turned his attention to her now and gave a wicked smile that made her feel a bit nauseous.
"My reputation precedes me," he said satisfied. "I was pretty big in Mistral when you were a child. Went by the moniker Quake." Now Kitsune remembered him. The man had terrorized Haven for months on end until one of the members of the police force was able to put him away. He wasn't to be taken lightly, but Kitsune was relatively sure that she could take him. She smiled seductively, draped her tail over her shoulder, and looked up at him.
"Then this is the chance that I need," she told him. She walked her fingers up his chest and looked him deep in the eyes. "The moment that I've been waiting for." She glanced at the captain and gave him a chuckle as she looked back at Quake and circled him, her tail brushing his neck. "These Atlas military members forced me into this position. I didn't want to help them, but they said that they'd do horrible things to me if I didn't." She placed a hand on his shoulder and he glanced back at her. "Let me join you. I think we could do great things together if you know what I mean." He smirked and the captain struggled.
"Kitsune! What are you doing!?" He shouted out. She laughed as she walked around to the front of him and rubbed her hands across his chest. Hopefully this works and hopefully, Winter finds Admon.
"Why don't we exchange a display of loyalty?" She asked. Quake chuckled as she moved in.
"What did you have in mind?" Quake asked. She pulled him in for a kiss, holding him firmly in place as she maintained locking lips and she could feel his body relax. Foolish on his behalf, but part of her semblance was the ability to trigger hormones that would render her opponent 'needy', for lack of a better word. Slowly she drained his aura and he tried to break free but the officer had become sand once more, leaping from the ground behind Quake and choking him out as Kitsune continued her assault. She released the kiss as Quake fell to his knees from lack of oxygen and she brushed herself off, looking back at her men.
"We need to find the Faunus!" She told them.
Winter stopped just short of the village that was hidden in the oasis in the midst of the desert as she left her chain of glyphs and could hear a relatively loud commotion coming from beyond the thin tree line. She entered in, shrapnel and large bits of metal glancing off of a glyph that she quickly opened but it was shattered a moment later by Admon who was riding a mechanical Beowulf. The machine roared as Winter was thrown back, she managed to land on her feet and used a glyph to stop herself quickly. She leapt up, forming a glyph in front of her at an angle and jumped off, giving herself some distance. She slid to a stop as the Beowulf reared and howled, Admon chuckling from the top.
"I'm surprised that you knew about this place," Admon told her. She gripped her sword and pointed it, staring down the blade at him.
"I could say the same about you, only the inhabitants know about it," Winter told him. Admon shrugged with an evil smile.
"Someone must have let it slip," he replied. "But let's discuss why you're really here…" The look on his face said everything and Winter knew that she had to stop him. She set her feet and Admon aimed his rifle, letting the beast charge at her. In a blink, she had created multiple glyphs and she took off, slicing through the mech several times before it stopped and turned back around to target her once more. Its armor was strong. Admon's shot had missed, striking harmlessly into the dirt. He hadn't expected her to be so fast. The Beowulf took a wide turn and Winter stuck her blade into the sand below her.
A large glyph opened and spun beneath her, two Beowulves were summoned and chased after Admon's. Winter once again opened a series glyphs as Admon attempted to dispatch her minions. Winter flew through her attack, landing several hits on the beast again but reserving the last for Admon. He flew from his mount, crashing through a black glyph and exiting a white one on the opposite side with absurd speed. He crashed into a tree and groaned as his aura took a visible hit. He found his feet as his body peeled off of the trunk and he dropped to the ground. Winter kept her distance, but detached her rapier, holding both blades as she watched him cautiously.
"I'm impressed," he said. "You must really want that stone." Winter froze for a moment. So he did know. He fired off a few shots while she was distracted, but she blocked them with her sword without even looking up. Admon's face filled with frustration and she smirked at him.
"I don't think you can win this battle," she told him. "You better stick to picking on kids." Admon became even more pissed off and fired repeatedly, each bullet knocked away as she grew closer and closer, her summons pinning the mech behind her. Her smile grew unnerving for him and he swapped spots with her, holding her swords in his hands as she acknowledged his rifle. She examined it, noting the fingerprint identification technology and tossed it away.
"No weapon at all? That's a bold move," Admon said thinking he had turned the tables. Winter removed a pistol from her belt on her back and looked down the sight. Admon laughed. "You can't be serious. You don't actually think that you can take me down with that, do you?" A small glyph spun at the end of the barrel and Winter took a step onto a time dilation glyph behind her. After a long moment, she shot forward, her gun against his chest before he could react and she fired, the ice glyph causing her bullet to freeze him and he stumbled back.
"You don't want Titus to think he has to do it on his own because it'll make him stronger," Winter told Admon. He dropped her weapons and his breathing was labored as he tried to get rid of the ice. "You just want him to be alone so that you can kill him. I don't know what you have against that kid, but I think it's going to be your undoing." Admon shook his head and grinned.
"You don't see anyone here to help me," Admon told her. "I really believe that if he can't get by on his own, someone is going to end his life prematurely," Admon smirked. "And if it happens to be me, then I guess we can just consider it a win-win." He shook the ice off and swapped spots with her, sprinting back for his gun and grabbing it up before removing his scroll. He disappeared and in his place was left one of his men, shocked and confused. Winter understood that he must have used the camera in one of their helmets to look at his eyes on his scroll, but she didn't know previously that he was capable of something like that. She'd call Kitsune and tell her to look for him, no doubt he was weakened.
"Dial Kitsune," she told her scroll as she walked away from the soldier that had defected and she headed into the village, looking for the spot on Ozpin's hologram that he had left the stone. The number just kept ringing and finally went to voicemail which prompted Winter to hang up and put her scroll away. Why wouldn't she answer? Winter was several hundred yards from her destination when she spotted the massive quarry and stopped, peering into it and rubbing her temple. If it was still there, Oum only knew where. The natives must have excavated as much Dust and metal that they could for their mechs.
"Leave." Came a voice to her right, a cat Faunus. It looked at her sternly and didn't blink. Winter turned around, well aware that she outstayed her welcome. She needed to prevent any hostile actions. They couldn't afford a Faunus uprising. She ran back to the port, she found that Kitsune had rescued the people and chased out Admon's men. Winter met with Kitsune and pointed the men back to the ship as Ghira joined them.
"Why didn't you answer when I called before?" Winter asked. Kitsune rubbed the back of her head.
"It's a… funny story?" Kitsune told her.
"Okay?" Winter asked.
"Do you remember the villain Quake? He was large in Mistral when I was a child," Kitsune informed her. Winter nodded. "The men returned to where I left him on the beach, but Admon must have taken him with when he teleported back.
"Of course I remember him," Winter replied as she stared into the distance. "Another one of Alexander's captures?"
"Something wrong?" Kitsune asked. Winter waved her off.
"I'll tell you later," Winter told her. She turned to Ghira. "Is everyone alright?"
"Everyone's fine," Ghira told her. "I'm sorry that it's come to this. I know how bad the rest of Remnant needs our Dust, but if the Dust Company stays, I fear that the people will grow violent." Ghira looked at Winter with soft eyes. "I don't want people to fear us again, Winter. For the sake of my people here, and my family in Vale." Winter nodded.
"I understand Ghira," Winter replied. "Times will be tough for a while, but worse if we go to war with the Faunus again." Winter gave him a nod and began walking away before Kitsune was aware of her doing so.
"It was nice meeting you!" Kitsune called to Ghira as she chased after Winter.
"How many casualties?" Winter asked her as they strolled back to the coast.
"It's not an official count, but it seems to be close to forty," Kitsune replied. Winter ground her teeth. Nearly half of the men that they'd brought. "If I might ask, why did we not bring Titus along? I saw what he's capable of, it would have come in handy." Winter tried not to smirk as she straightened her posture and added an air of confidence to her walk.
"With that said, we should have also brought Natalia," Winter told her. Kitsune stared at her for a moment and blushed, looking away.
"I've only seen Titus in action, I haven't seen Ms. Ironwood fight yet," Kitsune replied fidgeting her fingers. "I think that your speculation is improper." Winter smiled.
"There's nothing wrong with having a crush Ms. Aka," Winter informed her. Kitsune stammered and waved her arms.
"It's not like that!" Kitsune exclaimed blushing harder. "I mean sure he's strong, and tall, and dreamy… but I think that dating a coworker would be inappropriate!" Winter shrugged.
"I don't think there's anything wrong with it," Winter said. "And you're right, he is dreamy." Kitsune groaned.
"I just want him to like me for who I am," Kitsune said. "Not because of my semblance." Winter looked at her.
"It's a noble desire, but I think that he's more focused on schoolwork… and someone else…"
So it seems that the stone might already be gone, but if that's the case, where is it? Next week, Eliana has something pressing to tell Neela in Chapter 60 - Announcement!
A big thank you to Carlomontie, Nliast, Y8ay8a, Sa-Dui, Diyaru4500, Demize00Zero, TheCipherNine, SketchHungry, Ookaminoki, Lightning-in-my-Hand, and Dishwasher1910. All of their artwork can be found at Deviantart, you can search Silent-Celica and under my favorites tab, I have a collection for NITE.
Until next week, stay classy!