Velvet and Kandase ran back into the encampment. Leaves fell upon her and around her. The two brushed branches out of the way, trying desperately to see what was going on within. Once they passed the walls of the compound, Velvet was horrified by the grisly scene that she saw.
Scores laid dead amidst the wreckage. Buildings lay in ruin, rubble having crushed poor, unfortunate souls around them. The once purple evening sky was covered by the pillowing black smoke that served a double purpose of Velvet's lungs. Her eyes stung immensely, but she did not get long to lament in her own ailments. She felt Kandase's massive hand grip her wrist and pull her into the hell that was once the head base of the Vale Branch of the White Fang.
"C'mon. We need to find Adam. Stay with me, Velvet. Something tells me that we're going to need to have each other's backs pretty soon." Kandase began bounding with Velvet in tow, struggling to keep from falling to the ground. "I don't understand. How did they get past our defenses? Who even got past our defenses?" Kandase pulled out a Scroll from her pant waistline and extended it to its tablet setting, momentarily letting go of Velvet's wrist. She rang Adam, and after several of said rings, the device clicked to indicate the other party had responded. She did not wait for Adam to speak, but began to ask whatever was on her mind first in as calm a fashion as she could.
"Adam, what's going on? Who is attacking us? Where did they--?" Kandase was cut off by the appearance of an Atlas soldier who spotted the duo first. He raised his rifle, but before he could pull the trigger, Kandase swiftly drew her pouch of throwing knives. Without missing a beat, she dispensed a knife that landed square in the middle of the Atlesian soldier's visor. He slumped into the wall of the building that he had rounded, and fell to his side. She looked at her Scroll once more. Velvet was taken aback by the coldness of it all, a cold chill running down her spine.
"Never mind. That answered itself. What do we do?"
Adam's end was silent for several seconds as the two ducked into the battered building that the Atlesian had been killed outside of. Kandase ducked in a dark corner away from any of the windows, and instructed Velvet to do the same. The two hugged the walls while Kandase continued her conversation.
"You know what to do. Operate Contingency Plan Sigma. Make sure that there is nothing left standing or alive that could serve as a liability for our Organization. That is priority number one. Second objective is to retreat to rendevous point Knucklevee once the first is complete. Eliminate as many of the enemy as possible. Make them regret the moment they thought attacking our borders would be wise."
"Understood. Kandase out." She closed her Scroll and replaced it in its original position in her pant waistline. "You heard him, Velvet. We're torching the place. Leave nothing standing for those damn Atlesians to find. There are others assigned to that, so all we need to do is provide support. You up for it? Good." She directed without giving Velvet a chance to answer. She began to run without a word, and Velvet followed.
The two traveled through the destruction, taking care to steer clear of any gunfire. "We can take care of them after the objective is complete." Kandase said to justify her aversion of the battles.
"Where are we going?" Velvet asked. She was interrupted as a group of White Fang members began to sprint ahead of them towards a building that was surprisingly intact. Kandase raised her hand and pointed towards their comrades. Velvet's eyes went from the group to an Atlesian gunship hover down and begin to rotate its cannon underneath. "It's going to fire! Move!"
It was all for naught, however. Kandase threw Velvet to the ground, where she watched helplessly as the Faunus in front of her were torn to shreds.
"Oh, no. Those damned Atlesians. They're using Aura-Piercing rounds." She began to rise and lift Velvet up with her. "We need to get out of here. There's no way that our weapons can get through the armor of that thing." Kandase further deduced. Before the two had a chance to flee, the pilot of the gunship set its rotary cannon's sights on them. "Oh, hell. Move, move, move!" Kandase cried, despite the futility of their situation.
Velvet clearly understood this, and she elected to not run. I won't run anymore from these people. I won't let any one else die on my account. She thought with a steel resolution. She firmly planted her and closed her eyes, concentrating all of her energy on her Semblance, as Kandase had trained her to.
"Velvet, what the hell are you doi--?" Her voice was cut off by the roar of gunfire from the ship. Velvet winced, fully aware of the chances that her plan would fail. Despite the odds against her, she opened her eyes to see that a Hard-Light Copy of a heavy plate of armor prevented the bullets from reaching them. To her surprise, the Hard-Light Copy held until the cannon stopped firing. Kandase withdrew one of her throwing knives and spun through the air, giving herself enough velocity to propel the knife far enough to reach the reinforced glass protecting the cockpit. Velvet watched in awe as, upon impact, the blade exploded, covering the cockpit in a thick sheet of ice.
Kandase tightly gripped Velvet's wrist and urged her behind the nearest building. They heard the noises of the gunship spinning uncontrollably, likely as the pilot attempted to regain his bearings. Velvet retreated from cover once more, summoning a Hard-Light Copy of a chained javelin. Kandase, without being asked, lifted Velvet with both hands from the waist and threw her towards the ship. Velvet sailed forward, calculated an optimal time for her next move, and threw the javelin. She landed on the palm of one of her hands and her feet, bent towards the ground. Velvet wasted no time in pulling on the chain.
Despite her best efforts, she was finding it extremely difficult to pull. She felt Kandase behind her, grabbing onto the Hard-Light chain as well. The two yanked, pulling the light with all of the power they could muster. Little by little, the Gunship began to sink lower to the ground. Velvet could sense the pilot panicking, because they began blindly firing their cannon at a target that they could not see. To their good fortune, the gunship was faced towards the nearby forest, sparing them of any possible danger.
After several seconds like this, their fruits paid off, and the nose of the gunship sank hard and deep into the ground. The two put their hands on their knees and breathed heavily. Velvet was unsure about Kandase, but she felt as if she would keel over any second, despite the immenint danger around them. As soon as this feeling hit her, the door to the cockpit of the gunship opened and a frantic pilot leaped out. She had a pistol drawn, ready to gun down whoever was within firing distance. Velvet could not see her eyes through the visor of the helmet, but it was without doubt that they were filled with appreshension. It didn't take her long to spot Kandase and Velvet, who had since uprighted themselves. She trained her pistol on them, alternating her sights on each of her targets.
"You--you wrecked my ship!" She cried out, her trigger finger itching. Velvet looked over to Kandase, who had taken on a stoic face. Over the course of the next altercation, Velvet kept her eyes peeled around them to ensure that some form of sneak attack or ambush wasn't being put into play.
"You murdered my friends." She said cooly. The pilot didn't take her eyes off of either of them, but slightly lowered her pistol.
"I was only following orders. No one would have died if that damned leader of yours would come quietly. They're all dead because of him."
Kandase remained cool, not even reaching for the knife pouch wrapped around her wrist.
"No," Velvet said. "They were acting in self-defense. Their blood is not only on his hands, but on yours as well." Her sudden surge of confidence amazed even her.
"You claim to be following orders. I'm doing the same. Now, if I were to wager, our orders would say that one of us is supposed to be dead by now. Yet, here we are. Why can't we both walk away, live to fight another few minutes? Why can't let ourselves dictate what's going to happen next, not some brass we've only met on a few occassions."
The pilot considered what Kandase said, then holstered her pistol. "Make no mistake. If any of my comrades see you, I won't stop them from killing you."
"I say the same to you. Don't expect the same kindness twice."
"Likewise." The Pilot said. She turned and jogged away from the scene. Kandase sighed and looked at Velvet with a coy smile.
"What's wrong?" Velvet said. Kandase shook her head.
"There was a damn good chance that that may not have worked. We could easily be dead right now if she was so adamant about following orders. Then again, I would have been able to kill her before she could hit both of us, so win-win...unless one of us died." Kandase was about to go on, nut Velvet put a hand on her shoulder.
"It's dangerous to put too much thought into the 'what-ifs'. No one had to die. Your plan worked. Take solace in that."
Kandase nodded, and suggested that they move before the wreckage was investigated. Velvet agreed and they began to run towards the camp's armory, the simulataneous location of all of the camp's munitions as well as their Dust supply. "Kandase. There's one thing I don't understand. If this is supposed to be a raid, why are they using such lethal measures? And why are the Atlesians here? Shouldn't this be a matter for the Police?"
"Velvet, I don't think that woman was police. The Vale Police Force doesn't have that much firepower. This is probably one of the Task Forces that the VPF and the Military have put together. That ship was Atlas manufactured, but the pilot had Vale patches on her jumpsuit. I don't like any of this. Something isn't right." She stopped, and gasped. "I'll be damned. This isn't a regular raid. They're here for one person: Adam."
"That doesn't make sense. They wouldn't simply massacre us without justification." A pock of distant gunfire was reason enough to get them running once more.
"I'm not going to pretend like I have all the answers. All that matters is that we survive the night and do our jobs. This is looking bad, so we're going to the last resort to make sure that there is nothing left of this place for them to investigate." She crossed a dead guard and relieved him of his rifle. Velvet pondered why she acquired the weapon, but she did not need to wonder long.
They soon came across the desired location of the armory. Kandase and Velvet stopped several meters from it, crouched behind the torched wreckage of what Velvet thought was once a truck. Kandase looked through the scope of the rifle, likely formulating a plan of action in her mind. "I only get one shot. And I only need one." She whispered to herself. Kandase took a deep breath, and pulled the trigger.
Velvet's eyes were good enough to follow the Dust Bullet all the way up until it shattered one of the windows of the armory and connected with the Dust inside. The deafening explosion made Velvet's ears ring once more, but she managed to cope better than she had with the Grimm cries. Her eyes were locked on the armory as the night sky was lit up with large explosions and flames. The sparks flittered onto the nearby roofs of the assorted tents and structures within the vicinity, and caused them to burst into flames as well. It was then that she heard the screams from inside the armory.
She watched as several people in White Fang garbs rushed out, flames burning through their Aura and their skin. "Crap! Why were they in there? They knew the plan!" Kandase cried out.
"We have to help them!" Velvet demanded.
"No! We need to retreat! They knew what was going on! If they got caught in the crossfire, that's on them!"
"Kandase! Those are people! Show some compassion!"
Kandase scowled, then looked down at the ground. "How are we supposed to help them? By the time we get over there, their Aura will be depleted and they'll be dead. What do you propose we do?" She asked incredulously.
Velvet took a deep breath, then turned to the people, formulating a plan. When such plan came to life, she wasted no time in summoning the Hard-Light Copy of the equipment of Tierra Acielo. She raised large mounds of earth and thrust them in a wave towards her ailing targets. She watched with silent satisfaction as the fires just short of the armory were put out.
"Ok. We need to leave. C'mon, Velvet!" Kandase began to grab for Velvet's wrist when a bullet struck her in the shoulder, causing her Aura to pulsate.
"Freeze!" A Vale Police officer in tactical clothing shakily, his face covered in a mask, rifle bouncing up and down in his hands. It was obvious to Velvet that he was as afraid as she was. She jumped at the combined sound of his voice and the danger posed to her friend. She stuck out her hand in defense. He turned towards Velvet and took aim. She summoned one of Kandase's throwing knives and propelled it full-force into his chest.
The Police Officer groaned and fell to the ground. Velvet made to ensure his safety, but Kandase pulled her away once more.
"We have to go, Velvet. We have to go now."
"But--"
"Don't beat yourself up about it. You did what had to be done."
Velvet couldn't help but feel dirty. She broke away, to Kandase's dismay, and checked the status of the Police Officer. On her knees, she gasped with shock as she came to the conclusion that he was in fact alive , as she had secretly hoped.
She slowly removed the mask with one hand while his chest shook under her other. She slowly peeled back the mask, first revealing a mouth that trailed blood. Finally, she fully removed the mask. Upon seeing who it was, Velvet retracted her hands, covering her gasp.
"Hansel." She whispered.
Hansel gave her a strange look, as if he had never seen her before. "I...thought you were... oh, Hansel. I'm so sorry. I never meant for that to happen. I didn't mean to do it. "
He extended his gloved hand, trying to touch Velvet's face. She bent downward, reaching for his outstretched hand. She gripped it tightly. "Hansel. I...I wanted to tell you that--" All of a sudden, Hansel's blood spurted over her clothing and hands. He fell limp, his hand loose in hers. His eyes rolled back as a pool of blood formed underneath him.
Velvet looked back to see Kandase, slumped against a building, rifle held by her uninjured arm(so to speak. Her golden Aura took the brunt of the bullet, much like a vest). She winced in pain, likely recovering from the rifle recoil, and dropped it as a result.
"What... What have you done?!" Velvet cried out.
"He was going to kill you, Velvet. " She said matter-of-factly through clenched teeth.
"No. That's...not true. Hansel wouldn't. Not again." Velvet looked down once more to see that the man she was kneeling over was not her companion. His eyes were cold and dark, his hair a disheveled red, his face more rounded.
Velvet looked down at her hands and clothes, covered in blood. Just like that night. She looked back and saw Hansel once more. She quickly backed away, looking in horror at the realistic illusion.
"No, no, no. Not again." She covered her eyes to block the traumatic image. "You can't die twice. That's not possible, Hansel. I can't be responsible for your dying twice. Not again. Not again. Not again." Tears flowing from her face, she refused to move, even after she felt Kandase push her.
"Velvet. The fire is spreading. We need to go, or we'll be caught in it."
"Not again. Not again. Not again." Velvet sobbed, remaining immobile.
"Velvet!"
"Not again. Not again. Not Again!" She shrieked.
She heard Kandase swear under her breath, then sigh. "I'm sorry, Velvet."
Expecting a genuine apology, Velvet looked up to see Kandase brandishing the rifle in one hand like a club. The last thing Velvet saw was the butt of the gun before she felt a sharp pain and lost consciousness.