The alarm screamed in Kistune's ear as she rolled over and stretched, groaning as her eyes adjusted to the pitch black of the room and allowing her to locate the alarm. She reached out with her tail, slapping it hard enough to snooze it as she sat up and threw her arms up, the sheet falling off of her naked body as she glanced at the door like she did every morning, making sure that it was still locked, even though she fully remembered locking it the night before. She yawned, not quite ready to face the day, and though she was a lieutenant general and her training regiment wasn't nearly as severe as it used to be, she still stuck to that of a recruit's regardless. Five AM, too early to get anything done but training, and as she finally freed herself from the comfort of the bed she moved to the other side of the room and opened the door to her own personal bathroom.
She started the shower looking into the mirror, admiring the curves of her body as she sighed, her tail waving back and forth as she contemplated how things had gone since she'd become a high ranking officer in the Atlas Military. She'd been given many assignments at this point that dealt with protecting VIPs, remedial missions that involved special training with the recruits, and high profile missions like the ball they'd attended, and defending Menagerie from the White Fang. But over all of that, her meeting Titus preoccupied her thoughts the most. How could she help but love the man? He was a looker to be sure, and he had killed her father. It was perhaps a bit twisted to think about it that way, but her father had been horrible to her mother, to her, and everyone else that he met.
He strapped a bomb to himself and attempted leveling the capital, but in what was probably the toughest decision that the army's youngest high ranking officer had ever made, her father had been killed before he could hurt anyone more than the SDC's security guards. She embraced her tail, holding it and brushing it with her hands as she melted over the idea of having Titus all to herself. She imagined what it would be like to have him, for him to hold her in his arms and cradle her gently, kissing her lips with conviction and uttering the words 'I love you'. The idea alone was enough to reduce her to a trembling bundle of nerves, her body tingling with delight as she finally stepped into the shower and let the water wash over her.
There was a banging on her door that startled her and she nearly jumped out of her skin, it was a sound that she'd never become accustomed to. In her childhood, it was often accompanied by her father breaking down the door moments later to ask why she was still in bed before taking a belt to her. She shuddered the thought off before calling back to the messenger.
"How may I help you?" She called out to him.
"General Branwen would like to see you in her office in fifteen minutes from now," he informed her. "Should I tell her that you're unavailable?"
"No, tell her that I'll be there as soon as I can," Kitsune replied. With that, he left and she exhaled deeply. She was looking forward to a long shower this morning, but it appeared as if it was going to be cut short due to something of importance, otherwise, Winter didn't normally rush her like this. After a standard military shower which normally only allowed enough time to soap up and rinse off, Kitsune dressed in her uniform, holstering her pistol as she opened the door and made her way down to the main floor of the officer's building, grabbing something quickly from the kitchen before heading out the door with her bagel in hand.
"Eating in front of the recruits during laps?" Someone asked behind her as she waited for a large platoon to pass by as they were shouting out their usual cadence. All hail Atlas! / The mighty army power! / All those that oppose us! / Will turn away and cower! It droned, it didn't really raise morale. It was more of a mission statement than anything and it was the only cadence that they ever used. Ever. Kitsune turned back to see a face that she hadn't seen since the incident on Menagerie. The captain, she didn't know his name, though she did recognize him. He wasn't anything too special in terms of looks, but he'd make a good catch for someone someday.
He wore the drab grey that the recruits wore with the only defining article of clothing that set him apart being his red tie, though the sudden contrast of his neckwear against his ice blue pupils with a slight silver ring around them instantly drew the attention of anyone who noted him. His hair cut was ivy league, curled slightly to the left in the front, the white hair only furthering the completeness of his motif, and she came close to questioning if he was a Schnee or not.
"Hey," she replied friendly enough waiting for him to catch up to her. She looked at the bagel and chuckled, shrugging as she took another bite out of it and crossing the road with him beside her. "I can be a bit thoughtless at times."
"And here I thought that the word was 'cruel'," he fired back at her with a wink. She chuckled.
"Not intentionally," she laughed. "I don't think that we were properly introduced last time." She extended her hand and he shook it firmly. "Lieutenant General Kitsune Aka. I'm the one from the beach that kissed Quake." He laughed, moving in front of her quickly and opening the door to the administrative and intelligence building.
"Oh, I remember," he noted. "Captain Neró Creel. I'm the freak that was able to transform into different materials." She laughed as well.
"I remember you also," she told him. "So, where are you heading to this morning?"
"I was informed by a messenger that I was wanted in Branwen's office this morning," Creel told her. She gave an amused sigh as they headed for the general's office. They already had their debriefing from the Menagerie mission, why would Winter want to speak to both of them? They made small talk for the rest of the walk, he showed once more that he was eager to open the door for her and she thanked him, thinking it nothing more than appropriate seeing that her rank was higher than his own. Winter stood from her desk, ushering them in with her hand and a smile as one of her personal messengers stepped out into the hall and closed the door behind them.
"General Branwen, you're up early this morning," Kitsune replied. Winter offered them seats before taking her own, resting her elbow on the desk and rubbing her forehead.
"With the recent news about the relic from Qrow, we've been busier than ever and rest hasn't come easy. He left earlier with as many men as I could offer that aren't looking for Strakh and they headed to the northern woods of the Vale Kingdom in hopes of finding the White Fang before they find out just how powerful that girl's staff is. We're spread so thin and the information goes and leaves faster than we can hope to keep up with, so you could say that I'm a tad stressed out," Winter told her. "Not to mention even our own Dust reserve is running low and Ironwood, despite being retired, is recommending that the military have exclusive access to the Dust. The people would panic."
"Understandably," Creel added.
"So why have we both been called in?" Kitsune asked. Winter chuckled before opening a drawer in her desk.
"More plans and actions that need to be set in motion and it seems the best time to finally assign you to your exclusive mission," Winter told her. "Natalia was given hers before she left almost two years ago, and Titus isn't set to receive his for another couple of months, so I've decided to give you this one now so that hopefully you can put it to rest while I worry about everything else that's falling apart."
"How long will I be gone?" Kitsune asked her.
"Indefinitely," Winter told her as she handed over the file. Kitsune took it slowly.
"But as your right hand for council proceedings…" Kitsune began protesting.
"You'll be summoned and still be expected to attend," Winter informed her. "Now, Neró." He stood instantly and saluted her.
"Yes, ma'am!" He shouted. Winter glanced at Kitsune who rolled her eyes before looking back at him.
"Ironwood really did have all of you trained a little too well," Winter replied. "You've been captain for the last several years with us and after noting your performance on our mission in Menagerie I'm pleased to announce that we'd like to promote you to colonel. Along with this promotion, you'd become Kitsune's personal assistant of sorts and would accompany her on the mission detailed in the file."
"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Kitsune asked.
"Have you finished reading?" Winter asked. She shook her head. "Finish first, okay?"
"I guess it couldn't be helped, you all would have found out about my power eventually," he replied. He extended his hand. "I accept."
"I'm pleased to hear this," Winter told him shaking his hand. The notes that Kitsune skimmed over in front of her had a lot of gray area, only hinting towards something that couldn't possibly be true and left her in confusion.
"Ma'am, this is suggesting that one of the maidens refused to give their powers up when the bridge to Salem's Realm was destroyed and sealed off," Kitsune told her.
"There have been reports of sighting strange magic happenings in Vacuo recently according to a few of my informants," Winter notified her. "There aren't many people or items left in Remnant that have these kinds of abilities, and it would explain the sudden interest for the Neo-Salems to get their hands on the stones."
"But without the child, there's no way for Salem to be brought back," Kitsune argued.
"It's true that he's dead, and that the prophecy was explicit in that information, but perhaps they plan to use the stones for something else," Winter told them.
"Has anyone checked the bridge since it was sealed?" Creel asked.
"Getting there isn't an easy feat, there are seemingly endless miles of Grimm infested forest that one would have to navigate before reaching the gate. From the reports that I've read, the area is against anything that isn't a friend of the Grimm, and the way it was described almost made it sound like the woods themselves fought back against them," Winter informed them. "So for now, we look for this alleged magic taking place in the deserts."
"Something tells me that I'll need to go undercover for this," Kitsune pondered. Winter nodded.
"You always were one of the smartest recruits that I trained," Winter jested.
"When do we leave?" Creel asked.
"As soon as you can," Winter said. "There's a warship waiting behind the academy that will take the two of you to the outskirts of Shade. There on out, everything will be on you. And if you find out any information on Strakh while you're out there, please send it back to us, Vacuo's military is next to pointless, and we don't want more of Mistral than there needs to be anywhere in Remnant." Kitsune nodded.
"One last question," Kitsune requested.
"Which is?" Winter pried.
"Will Titus be back soon?" Kitsune asked. Winter laughed as she shook her head.
"I think he plans on finishing out his studies at Beacon," Winter said. "It's possible that I may have a few minor assignments for him in the future or during summer breaks, but for now I'd say it's safe to assume he'll be staying with his friends." Kitsune nodded, hiding her frustration as the military had taught her to do long ago.
"We'll leave before nightfall," Kitsune informed her.
"Good," Winter replied showing them out.
"Shouldn't we be concerned with having disguises? Something more than just our commons? They'll recognize our faces, won't they?" Creel asked. Kitsune shook her head, both of them stopping short of the city to admire the architecture, it was the first time either of them had been to Shade, and it looked just as undesirable as both of them heard it was. Since Salem's demise, Vacuo and Mistral had become mirrors of their former selves, Haven was the closest to crime-free it'd ever been thanks to Alexander's work and Sterling's near tyrannical reign taking charge just years later. Being within the city walls of Haven means that you were possibly in the safest spot in all of Remnant, even if that peace was kept via an iron fist. The same could not be said for Shade.
Criminals and killers had always been rampant in the city, but there was a mutual respect among everyone who lived in the area, outsiders were the only people that needed to worry about being mugged or possibly murdered. After Strakh's name became the forefront of all criminal activity in Shade, rule and order left the region, Strakh's men were thugs that lived only for Dust and Lien, and fear turned even the closest of allies on each other, constantly fearing that those near them had joined Strakh. Kitsune and Neró could handle themselves, but for how long before their cover was blown? Kitsune never spoke of it per Winter's request, but she was well aware they'd sent in at least five women to spy on Strakh, and all of them were never heard from again.
"The events in Menagerie are only known to those who took part in them," Kitsune reminded him. "And to the best of our knowledge, the White Fang don't have a presence here. We should be fine."
"But you would have been on TV during the attack at the ball," He informed her. She paused for a moment and considered his words.
"We'll be fine," she repeated. "It was a brief tussle and I doubt that any of these ruffians troubled themselves with the details of it." They entered in through that large sandstone arch, Creel bent over for a moment and picked up a handful of sand, letting it pass in between his fingers as he took a look around at the lively atmosphere of the city that had become known as 'The City with no Rules'. The market square was beyond packed, vendors fought each other over space as well as customers, the one thing that was noticeably different than other kingdoms they'd been to was that not a single stall for Dust could be spotted from where they stood down to the end of the road which disappeared around a corner, undoubtedly with more stands filling that street as well.
"What first?" Creel asked her as they made their way slowly through the marketplace through the motionless crowd. He repeated himself after he realized that she couldn't hear him, if the shouting and screaming was hard to hear over for him, he could only imagine the ringing in her Faunus ears as the crowd thundered about. "Lieutenant General Aka!" She turned quickly and grabbed his bicep, dragging him closer to her.
"Kitsune will be fine," she informed him. "I realize that the military has driven formality into the ground with you lesser soldiers and officers, but you cannot refer to me by my rank while we're out here, is that clear?" He nodded as she released him, both of them doing their best to make it through the mass and possibly find food that looked edible, all of the food being sold along the street resembled something closer to rodents and insects and for the time being, the two of them had more than enough money being lent to them from the Atlas military. She pushed her way to the front and asked one of the men selling trinkets where they could get a better meal. He scowled, waving something in her face that looked purposeless and broken despite the price tag hanging off of it.
"You ain't buying nothing, I ain't telling you nothing!" He shouted at her, spittle from his mouth gracing her face. She wiped it away, smiling tenderly as her tail draped up over her shoulder and she turned up her semblance. He'd have no choice but to tell her now.
"Maybe we can work something out?" She asked shyly, tracing her finger on the stall. "If you tell me where I can get some real food around here, I can make it more than worth your while." Before she could lean in and seal the deal, someone grabbed her tail hard and trapped it between their arm and body.
"Look what we got here boys!" A man shouted. A grungy looking woman left her stand at the risk of her product and lien being stolen, which it was, to come take a look at what the commotion was.
"Tail that nice could turn a large profit!" She yelled scrambling back to her stall as Kitsune was swarmed, Creel kept close.
"Let go of the tail!" She demanded. They laughed, the people of Vacuo swarming in, forgetting about everything else they'd been preoccupied with.
"I seen it first, it's mine!" The man still holding it shouted.
"Don't matter who sees it! Matters who gets it!" Another yelled closing it with a knife. Without warning Creel turned into solid metal, causing most of the crowd to trip back over themselves in alarm as he grabbed Kitsune's captor and tossed him away. The man crashed through a stand and the timebomb had reached zero. People that weren't paying attention began fighting the rascal that had slammed into them, others joined for the hell of it. The area turned into an outright brawl of anger and anxiety, some simply trying to survive while others desperately tried to grab all of the lien that they could, more or less likely to lose all of it later in the evening at one of the casinos in the high-class part of town.
"Get back!" Creel warned the woman that returned with a butcher's knife. She attempted attacking Creel, the knife simply glancing off as he rubbed the bridge of his nose and sighed. "You sure you're ready for this? All the time?" The woman turned her attention to Kitsune and attacked, falling short as Kitsune maneuvered around her and gripped her wrist, snatching the knife away and throwing it, watching it stick into one of the wooden supports for the woman's stall.
"You'll regret this!" She shouted.
"Clear the road!" Someone further down shouted out, a mass of the crowd breaking off down by the intersection and scatter freely into side alleys. Some of the people climbed quickly up buildings, others opened doors and forced themselves inside, something was coming. "Zeus! Zeus! Clear the road dammit!" In unison, the crowd dispersed, all of the people moving to their nearest exit from the overpopulated area. The market cleared out in record time, the merchants had packed up and left with impossible speed as they left the road empty with the exception of Kitsune and Creel.
"Did he say Zeus?" Kitsune asked.
"That's what it sounded like," Creel replied. The man came around the corner, wearing the hydraulic exosuit that sparked with bits of lightning Dust as he stepped, spotting the two of them and giving a smirk.
"By order of Strakh Temnota, clear the road," the man wearing the armor shouted. "We're commandeering it for testing the new equipment that was 'donated' to us my Vacuo's military."
"I'm under the impression that you're lying to me," Kitsune told him as she reached down to make sure that her pistol was in her holster, wondering for a moment if maybe she'd lost it in the commotion.
"What's it matter? Clear the road, fox!" He warned again. Creel had already turned back, standing beside Kitsune with his a sickle sword in each hand. He chuckled.
"Didn't realize that they'd roll out the welcome wagon, and let us get some training in before we got settled," Creel told her.
"Stay alert," she warned him. He gave a nod as they waited for the Zeus to move.
"Anything I need to know?" Creel asked.
"He'll be using lightning Dust," she informed him.
"Good to know," he replied.
"I'm gonna give you two until the count of three and then we're gonna test this equipment out on you," the Zeus warned.
"We're not moving, bring it whenever you're ready!" Creel shouted.
"Your funeral!" Zeus declared as he charged for them. They both moved in a separate direction as it slid to a stop, lightning whips extending from both hands and gripping them, throwing them back toward where he'd appeared from, Kitsune landed on her feet and slid to a stop as Creel bounded past her.
"That was unexpected!" Kitsune noted.
"Just a bit, yeah," Creel replied kicking his shoes off. "You ready to go again?" She nodded. They rushed towards it, the Zeus extended its hands forward and created a wall of lightning that swept towards them, forcing Kitsune into a side hallway and Creel to become sand and retreat into the ground. Zeus glanced around before Kitsune leapt down from the roof and slammed her foot into him. He stumbled a few steps, turning towards her once more and unleashing a large string of lightning that just grazed her shoulder, burning the material from her shirt and obliterating one of the sandstone walls beyond her. The opening that was created revealed at least ten people huddling in the adobe structure, spilling out and sprinting away as quickly as their legs allowed.
"Watch out girl, you're bound to get hurt," Zeus taunted. "Better run while you still can!"
"You hear this guy?" Creel asked, his arms smashed up through the worn and packed road, dragging the Zeus down into the ground slightly before exiting the sand behind it, still in his sand form. "It's safe to say that you've lost."
"Is it?" Zeus asked. A Hercules rounded the corner, spotting them and setting his feet as he prepared to sprint for them.
"Really?" Kitsune asked. She turned, opening fire on the Hercules with gravity Dust as it charged, Zeus released all of his charges at once, the electricity superheating the sand and petrifying it, including Creel as the Hercules ignored Kitsune and headed straight for her partner. The Hercules slammed into Creel, his suit overclocking as a wave of gravity Dust escaped the hydraulics and threw the two of them away from each other. The Hercules found its feet a moment later, noting that Creel was now made of metal and he smirked.
"Well, that was close," Creel replied cracking his neck. The Hercules snarled as he smashed down and freed the Zeus, rushing Creel as they ran for each other again, exchanging blows as Kitsune moved in and jammed a Dust coated dagger into the Zeus' shoulder.
"I have a few tricks up my sleeve as well," she said before taking a few steps away. The Dust erupted like a grenade, ice coating the inside and outside of the suit as she turned and fired her Dust pistol, the gravity ammunition knocking off parts of the exoskeleton like it was nothing. The Zeus turned to face her too late, her shots were precise and purposeful, destroying one of his Dust canisters and lighting his suit up, singeing his shoulder and he grunted in pain, trying to lift his right arm but finding himself unable.
"So much," Creel shouted between thunderous blows. The gravity charged blows off of him began creating shockwaves as the Hercules used more and more ammo, cracking the corners of buildings and effectively placing a crater in the middle of the street as neither of them moved. "For keeping a low profile!"
"These two are nothing to worry about," Kitsune noted as she rushed in at the Zeus. He swung around with his left arm, missing her and misfiring lightning that scattered away harmlessly as she freed her knife and jammed it into his other shoulder, leaping and placing her feet on his chest before jumping off and tearing the armor away from his other shoulder. She destroyed the other canister, the Dust that provided both the power and ammunition for the suit was no more, and the man fell onto his face, stuck in the heavy armor that he was unable to remove.
"Can I get a hand with this guy?" Creel asked as the Hercules gave it everything that he had, lifting Creel from his feet and throwing him into the large sandstone arch into the city, shattering bits of it that crumbled to the ground and would have crushed anyone beneath.
"You might be on your own with this guy?" Kitsune replied as she leapt onto an awning across one of the alleys and took to the roofs. "I can lay down some cover fire and try to distract him, but I'd be like a fly to this guy and he seems a little more alert than the other." The Hercules raised a hand, shockwaves of gravity Dust came for her and decimated the roof as she leapt to another building, an opening that Creel took to move in but the Hercules was indeed smarter than his partner, gripping Neró by the face without looking and lifting the colonel over his head before slamming him onto his back behind him. Creel grunted, losing his metal form as his Aura took a hit and he groaned, rolling out of the way of the Hercules' foot.
"Held that for way too long," Creel groaned. The second attack with its foot made contact, kicking Creel clean through a building wall.
"Neró!" Kitsune shouted grabbing the Hercules's attention.
"You're next girl!" The Hercules shouted.
You're next girl! Kitsune's eyes lit up. She opened fire on him with gravity Dust that seemed to bounce off of a forcefield he was generating with his own Dust, sprinting in the meantime towards his downed teammate in the Zeus, a wave of gravity tossing her from the body and she hit the wall hard. She bared her teeth, mind frantic like a trapped animal as she quickly sheathed her blade, coating the dagger in what ice Dust she had left and tossing it into the air, unloading two quickfire Dust bullets into it as her feet carried her to the Zeus, the reaction causing a cloud of steam that obscured the vision of the Hercules, she was well aware that they weren't as technologically advanced as Atlas' mechs. She dropped, using the heavy armor to block the blind wave of gravity that came in.
"I'm not finished yet!" Creel shouted and she could hear that he was moving in, the Hercules stumbled as he cracked it in the jaw, allowing Kitsune time to remove the Zeus' helmet and firmly plant her lips on his surprised lips. She went overboard, filling her Aura and going beyond, feeling her body fill with energy like it had the first time she'd ever used her semblance and killed that boy on accident. She left the Zeus alive, her body light and nimble and she moved for the Hercules with speed that possibly surpassed Ruby's, her fist smashing through its jaw and shattering the armor as she landed on the other side of it, her body heaving as it turned to find her, Creel's next blow also met his jaw. The Hercules hit the ground, knocked out instantly and Kitsune came down slowly from her high, her being on high alert as everything was still amplified.
She could hear the murmurs of those hiding, wondering if it was all over finally. They slowly opened their doors, she could feel their gazes as her Aura leveled out. Creel moved to help her, she swatted him off before looking at her and her eyes softened.
"What was that?" He asked.
"Something that I try to avoid doing," she told him as they headed further into the city.
"Wait!" The crowd called.
"They're crazy!" Another voice shouted.
"They did it!" Someone announced.
"They defeated the mechs?!"
"It was amazing!"
"I saw the whole thing!"
"I was there and I'll tell you the story for fifteen lien!"
"Me too, but I'll tell you for twelve!"
"Does it hurt?" Creel asked after a few minutes when they reached a part of the city that was emptier. Kitsune sighed and rubbed the back of her neck.
"No," she replied coldly. "I just normally lose myself if I do it for too long. It's like my animal side takes over and I start attacking anything and everything in sight."
"Well, we can at least thank it for today's victory," Creel told her as they finally found a place to stop in and eat at.
"I wonder how Titus would have handled that situation," Kitsune pondered.
"You sure talk about him a lot," Creel pointed out. She blushed and turned away.
"Hardly," she protested.
"This is the second time today," Creel reminded her.
"That's not that many," she replied.
"How many times have I mentioned fighting Ursai today?" Creel asked. She rolled her eyes.
"That's different," she said. They took their seats and prepared to order.
"What's so great about the guy. I mean, I've heard that his aptitude and strength put a lot of people in the military to shame, but is that all he's got going for him?" Creel mentioned offhand.
"Of course not!" Kitsune yelled at him before covering her mouth.
"Sure you don't have a thing for him?" Neró asked again with a smug grin.
"Just shut up and order."
Kitsune is now 'undercover' and on the lookout for Strakh. Next week, take a dive into the imagination of our cutest character! Chapter 99 - Shadow's Adventure!
A big thank you to Helihi, Cadhla182, 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!