Chapter 7:
Nix
Nix cradled her new parts as she walked into her house, and laid each of them gently into the right place, almost as if she were tucking in children. Hooking a stool with her foot she sat down and began to work. She pulled out a few tools; However, only a few minutes passed before she began to hear a steady low rumble. At first it was ignored, but it began to grow steadily louder. Annoyed she stood up and strode to the door. She kicked it viciously and stormed out side looking around for the source of the noise. Her heart dropped. Two bullheads rose above the treeline, their engines purring quietly. Even if most couldn't hear them her ears, trained from years of the quiet wilderness, could. Scalic lounged nearby on the crumbled fountain his face buried in a book. Nix caught his attention and pointed. Looking up Scalic's usual demeanor became serious. He rose and looked at Cynthia who was already staring at the advancing ships.
Orion sat atop a pile of rubble watching the horizon ears perked. The noise reached him long before anyone else, but he didn't move. His mind was moving rapidly trying to decide what to do. Then he heard a door burst open and turned around. Nix, Cynthia, and Scalic were all looking on at the sky, weapons drawn.
"I met these people when I went into Vale," Orion stated, "I suggest we spread out. After all their strength is in numbers."
"And exactly how many of them are there?" Questioned Nix
"Stated simply six, there could be more," said Orion pulling on his mask, " However, all of them are hunters and huntresses."
"You are an ass," Nix spat, " but, we shall deal with them."
"Why?" Orion said, but Nix was already storming off
Nix left the group and went some distance away from her house 'After all there was some valuable shit in there' She thought taking a seat on a large bit of collapsed house. She watched as the ships dropped low and opened their doors. She saw eight distinctly colored blots leap out of the ships in pairs. She quietly wondered which pair would find her. After all, they seemed oblivious to her presents. It seemed like hours that Nix waited, tense and nervous. Finally, the clattering of pebbles resounded over the hill in front of her. Two figures, one clad in white the other red and gold, peaked the hill. Their weapons were drawn, ready to use. Nix rose and hefted the shield off her arm taking a defensive stance. The two huntresses froze weapons raised.
"We don't know who you are, but stand.." the white one was cut off by the whir of machinery clawing at her ears. Nix had already lunged for an attack her lance extended inches aside from her targets chest. Something was wrong, a stab like that wouldn't have missed, ever. She leaped back before the two could retaliate. Studying the scene more carefully Nix picked up nothing. That was until they attacked. Their attacks, slow at first began to speed up she deflected each blow until she felt something, a tug on her lance. The tug was light, but it was enough to spark an idea. She began to counterattack. Each time her strike seemed true she found herself off mark. With this disparity her blows were easy to perry. Then Nix did something nobody expected, she started using her semblance. Smoke and ash began to stream from her body and she charged forward. The two people stepped aside for the strange figure, but as she passed the smoke entwined the two. She drove her lance into the ground using it to flip backwards over her opponents and in one smooth motion slipped on the strange metallic gloves. Encasing them in a smoke. She closed her eyes and plunged into the half-sphere of smoke she created. She could sense everything, including the two people back to back.
Pyrrha
Pyrrha thought that the fight would be easy, of course that was until the lady abandoned her weapon and started using her semblance. They now stood back to back surrounded in dense smoke and ash. Unable to see more than a few inches in front of themselves, they dared not move. Weiss' back was firmly against hers so long as… Weiss' warmth had gone! She spun around only to see her dainty figure crumpled on the ground a gaping hole in her side. Red spread across her pristine white clothes, forming a red blotch that grew steadily. She heard the ragged breathing that meant Weiss was out of commission and a scrape that meant her enemy was close at hand. She left Weiss and turned towards where she last heard the scraping of stones. She tried to pierce the thick smoke, and was shocked to find it dissipating. Feet in front of her stood the woman with thin wisps of smoke trailing off her skin, her fist were raise in a typical hand to hand fighting style. Pyrrha studied her opponent, and saw that her hands, splattered with blood, were encased in strange gloves. She gulped 'So, that's what happened to Weiss' and dove forward prepared to attack. The woman opened her palm and struck her spear, the impact shook her arm. Then without warning she felt something smash into her shield, it bent inward creaking in complaint. She looked up and saw that the lady's hand had struck her shield. Strange cylinders flared out from each of her knuckles then suddenly as she saw then they were gone. She swiped the hand off her shield and tried to attack again. It was too a similar result and this time it wasn't her shield. The palm caught her side and she spun around, her aura catching the brunt of the force. Then the heel of a boot spun into her head and stars exploded in her vision then a fist filled her vision and caught the bridge of her nose. An snap rung in her ears and the sky darkened.
Nix
Nix stood over the limp bodies of the two, but there was no smile of victory on her face. She bent down and examined the wound she left on the one dressed in white. The bleeding had stopped but the gaping hole remained in her side. It was something no aura could erase completely. She would alway have a scar now. Nix sighed and grabbed the girls by their scruffs dragging them, not to gently, back to the landing zone so they would eventually be picked up.
Scalic
Scalic stood, leaning on one of his swords like a cain. He spun the other, in its pistol forum, around his finger in an absent minded way. The quiet was eerie, in a way it was too quiet. Then he heard a blast, from what? He did not know, but he raised his weapons flicking one back into its pistol forum. Then another blast, closer this time, blew its way through a rubble pile to his left. He stepped to avoid the rubble spewed at him.
A girl with long yellow hair laughed as she saw rubble pelt her prey. He, or so she assumed, went down under the heap. She walked towards him no fear in her face. Leaning down she smiled at the man trapped under the boulder.
"You sir are under arrest," she smiled in cocky voice
"Oh?" he gasped, " I don't think so!"
She frowned and raised her hand to fire. The girl in black reached out to stop her, but the time had passed. The click of a misfire echoed around the rubble. Yang reached down to extract the bullet; However, when she pulled it loose the black powder blew out in the wind and the pellets bounced off her gauntlet. She raised the empty shell "It has been…" The clash of steel cut her off. She whirled around and saw the man's sword extended inches from her shoulder. The sword however, had been stopped by blake, barely. Yang went straight for the offensive, raising her fist. She pulled the trigger and felt a uncontained explosion rattle her arm. She clutched it howling in pain. The noise of swords rattled in the background, and when she dare look she saw her gauntlet twisted and deformed. Burn marks ran across her arm where the shells had exploded. Her eyes began to burn with rage and she leapt at her enemy knocking Blake aside. She drove her fist full force into the man's chest, but found it insubstantial. As she passed through she felt cold rip open her shoulder and her right arm go limp. She howled again and collapsed from the pain radiating through her body.
Blake looked on wide eyed as blood sprayed from her friends shoulder across her face. The blood felt warm and the smell of burning flesh stung her nose, Yang's slight breathing filled her ears, and her opponent was gone again. She could barely smell him through the triage that assaulted her nose. She turned to face his general direction, guard up then two of him popped out of air and charge forward. She flipped backwards leaving a clone behind. The three shadows collided dissipating into nothing. Blake grew infuriated, how could she fight something she couldn't see? Then she saw the air begin to swirl in front of her. Her vision blurred beyond the point of recognition. Eventually she olly saw basic colors streaming into her vision. She began to panic, and swung blindly in this direction or that. Pain exploded in her right temple sending her sprawling across the broken stone. She vaguely felt stones tear open her flesh and a single color rushing towards her.
Scalic bent down to check their vitals. After all he didn't want blood on his hands. He sighed a sigh of relief, they were alive. He heard the scraping of rock to his left and spun towards it in attack stance. He lowered his guard as Nix emerged over the hill. She dragged two people bundles of their hair in her fists. She looked up and dropped the two sat down and put her weapon in front of her. She looked as if she was surrendering.
"What are you doing?" asked Scalic
"Look up and find out," Nix whispered almost so as not to be heard
Scalic looked up and cussed, a the cloth of an old man fluttered in the wind as he gazed out of the belly of a newly arrived bullhead. Scalic cast down his weapons and sat next to Nix in a similar position.
"Welp we're boned…" muttered Scalic
"Yep" said Nix simply
Not much to say other than Enjoy!
Thanks!
