Ch. 4
The Void was an infinite dimension of hell and illogic quantities. Strange in its own way, it creates a mysterious energy and power within those that have found methods to harness the hellspace, accepting rather than denying its twisted existence.
And within that dimension, connections are created. They are formed and twisted to the same nonsensical rhythm of the Void, tying those influenced together in a string. A sensitive little bind that sends vibrations across time and space. A call that transcends the laws of reality to send out a signal. Primal and instinctual by nature yet calculated and logical.
Centuries of inactivity, atrophied to almost nonexistence, the first of many strings rung and the rest followed suit.
The Tenno moved quickly across the roofs of the business district. Flashing lights passed as it traversed the urban jungle expert ease. Neither Faunus nor human saw the warrior move within the shadows and over their lights, a blissful ignorance. A master of stealth and movement, despite its size, it gave the warrior a sense of freedom as it crossed the gaps.
It had done this in the past. The movements were far too familiar and instinctual, a motion honed like its blade. The memories did not flow, nor did they appear. The body remembered, but not the mind. It was... Frustrating, to say the least. They were there, locked, minuscule residue that kept the mind aware of the absent information. A gnawing feeling that gradually peaked without a form of concentration to crush it in favor of more productive thoughts.
Fortunately, the subject of its focus had changed.
There had been a surge of energy detected once they entered the city. A large quantity of it now residing within the walls of the skyscraper before it. The entire structure emanated the alien energy, coursing within its walls like blood.
The Tenno massaged its hands, the small orbs within forming like spores. Small as a human thumbnail, it begun to flick the orbs at the building with inhuman strength. They were remarkably durable, slamming into the walls with little damage. Upon impact, they activated. Hundreds of scanners exploded in an iridescent orange, surging forth to cover the building itself.
The light moved downwards, the source of energy found.
Basement.
Twenty meters underground.
Locked inside a room of twenty five cubic meters.
Heavily guarded. Twenty seven guards.
Lethal countermeasures.
Seven calculated moves for efficient dispatchment.
Two redacted. Explosive ordinance unavailable.
Marked.
The Tenno stood up and rushed back to its partner, the tower and target found. It would not take long for its scanners to begin mapping Schnee's tower.
What could be described as hesitance crossed the Tenno's mind as it eyed the Fang hideout. The resulting feeling wasn't warranted by any means. It had taken multiple scans of the building itself, along with the security and patrols. The entire building was laid bare for it to see and control by any means necessary. Every route, every camera, even their stashes of currency were all shown and marked.
It made no sense to have the feeling, but that would be checked another day, filed to the back of its mind. The operation was to begin immediately.
Energy flared, the gates that blocked the torrential flow of void broken and coursing through the frame. A single jump crossed the fifty meter gap, leaving an icy trail atop the cratered roof.
The Faunus glanced back, her larger ears twitching slightly at smooth sound of the Tenno's landing.
"Got everything you need?" Layla asked. "You were gone for a while."
"A momentary curiosity." It replied conclusively.
"Uh, okay then?" The Faunus was confused, but the cryptic answer was suffice for it.
She turned back to the building, its flashing lights visible from the outside. The screams and cheers overshadowed the bass. It was agonizing for her ears. Another nightclub, but with even more people. A disguise was necessary.
She had taken the man's advice too, ripping apart her any indication of her membership. Now it just looked like she had gotten in a rough fight. Hmm, should she go and just take them from someone else?
It'd be so easy too. Just point the gun and tell them to hand over their clothes. No harm, no foul. They keep their money and life, she gets clothes to blend in.
A snap from above and clothes rained down on the muddy streets as the scythe fell next to her, alongside the warrior that picked it up.
"Camouflage is necessary."
"That works too." She said, going into the alley with a pile of clothes. "Oh, this is a cute blouse. Wonder how they got th- oh, this T-shirt is really nice too."
After several minutes of commenting on the status and viability of the clothes, she emerged with a simplistic look of a beige vest over a white collared shirt. The jeans certainly gave her a semi formal look, alongside the running shoes.
"Found a gun holster here too. Good to hide my pistol. Nothing for my rifle though." She sighed, putting the pistol under the vest. "Hard to look casual while trying to stay armed."
"Fashion is unnecessary." The Tenno spoke, keeping the thoughts of a better mixture of color and clothing to itself. Unneeded, but perhaps advice could be given at a later date. "Sidearms are a more versatile weapon in these close ranges."
"Well, you're the expert." She muttered, putting the gun behind a nearby dumpster. "Right, lets get this over with."
The warrior nodded, moving towards the building alongside her. A means for protection while she begun her initiation with the Fang. A clueless child, but one with potential given her earlier actions. Refinement was necessary, but the material was good.
They entered, a white veil shrouding the flurry of colors behind it. Various humans danced as they crossed the floor with many turning their gaze at the pair. An expected outcome given the Faunus' features and the Tenno's overall appearance. Of course, its humanoid appearance and vague resemblance of clothing had merely incited their curiosity, not their hostility. While some tried to approach, their questions were met with silence from both.
The Faunus moved to a taller man near the bar. The body height and build were tall and muscular, respectively. Short black hair, formal wear in contrast to the assumed dress for the building. Her direction towards him showed a sign of recognition, if anything to go by her increased step and breathing. Waiting for any reactions is its main concern.
"Err, hi, excuse me, but uh, you're Junior right?" Layla stuttered out, her earlier signs of confidence had reverted back to her usual introverted self.
"You know me? Well, that's a big surprise. What do you want?" The man, now identified as Junior, had relaxed his posture marginally. Back is leaned against the counter, elbows in, and weight is shifted towards the left leg. Systematical calculation of incapacitation to lethal takedowns were quickly cycled.
"Err, yes. I'm from the, uh, outpost in the North. Um, Instructor Garfield, if that rings any bells?"
"You're one of the old man's little rookies then. Well, guess you aren't the first to back out of that place. Again, what do you want?" Junior asked once more, an annoyed tone of irritability.
"Y-yeah. Um, I'd like to get hired here. As part of the organization? I- I'm not really a fighter and all, but I still want to make it better. I have some training too from the outpost!" She sputtered out, her confidence lowering even further.
"Kid, you need to relax. Plus, you're talking to the wrong person if you want to join them. I'm the middleman, the guy who gives people info in exchange for cash. I'm not part of their shit."
Layla gazed at the Tenno, surprised to find that it wasn't where she wanted it to be. Looking around, she barely caught the glimpse of its body lurking near her position, seemingly disguising itself from a distance. Despite its appearance, the warrior was well hidden from the untrained eye among the club.
"O-oh... Err, who do I need to talk to then?" She asked, her palms sweaty and eyes averting from the man's face. Were it a ploy, it would have been a near perfect act of weakness. Quite unfortunate that it wasn't.
"Torchwick is the person here to help you get with the Fang. He's all buddied up with them. Where he is is anyone's guess, but he's in Vale."
"A-and, does Corvas ring a bell?" One more question before leaving.
"Him huh? Yeah. Slum gang leader near the edge of Vale. Lots of power and tends to fight it out with the Fang and Schnee when it comes to territory. You never really know about 'em considering the Faunus make a bigger ruckus than they do. Rest of the info's not free after this, so either get going or pay up."
"N-no, that's it for those questions." A middleman. A hub for information to seep through from all of Vale and its powers. "C-can I still join here though? I-if the Fang doesn't want me that is. I'm not really the kind of person that fights, b-but I'm good with other stuff, I swear!"
Junior merely raised a brow. "Work here? In the club? Kid, you're not even old enough to be here. The Fang's always willing to accept any Faunus. My place doesn't exactly like you guys, so someone like you working here is bad for the business. Now scram, I ain't got time for your shit. I have a business to run."
Layla nodded, tipping her head as thanks for the information before leaving the club, the Tenno following closely behind. Sufficiently distant from the building and her weapon strapped around her, she looked at her companion.
"So, this wasn't a Fang hideout. Just a middleman in the entire thing." She began her short summary. "This Torchwick guy, he's apparently the person I have to find to get into the Fang in this sector and the guys who we met earlier are in another gang fighting both the Fang and Schnee."
"Multiple factions divide the city. A delicate balance to wipe out each other's strengths in order to prevent a power vacuum. Choosing this establishment as an alternative is in good judgement as I've seen with your coercion, despite your failure."
"Oh, uh yeah. Thanks, I guess." She gave a small nod at the praise before gazing back at the building. "We'll still need to find Torchwick though. He's my ticket into the Fang so we can start sabotaging it from the inside. But..." She trailed off.
"Sabotage alone can lead to higher chance of exposure. A partner within is beneficial, but unfortunately, Faunus are adamant supporters of the cause." It finished.
"Yeah, I can't exactly turn the corner and find another Faunus who's willing to sabotage the Fang. That'd be counterproductive." She sagged against the wall, and looked to the cracked moon. "Whatever, I'm sure we can do something about it later."
"A momentary setback. The whereabouts of Torchwick is necessary. The means to do so require reconnaissance all over the city. A lengthy procedure to take with only a pair. Perhaps it would be prudent to find a base of operations to organize new information."
"Oh, uh, I guess we can go to my house. I think my mom still runs a shop there, so I'm sure we can stay there." The Faunus was visibly nervous of the suggestion. Of course, given the risk with her parental guardians, it would induce such an effect. Other alternatives would be effective, but lengthy.
"Very well. Lead the way to your home. I will escort from above." The Tenno gave a quick nod and disappeared into the roofs.
"Hope Mom doesn't ground me off the bat for coming back after all this." Layla muttered to herself as she walked towards her home.
Among the arsenal of the Tenno, the Lex was considered to be one of most powerful. The combination of alloy metals and rubidium turns the pistol into a lightweight sidearm. Void circuitry laced across the barrel enhance bullet speed and changing its close range ability to a long range monster. Rubedo tipped with void enhanced microcircuitry to change bullet effects through proper modification.
From the roofs, its scanners have proven to be a lethal partner to the weapon. Tipped with a corrosive tip and explosive payload, it would do well against heavier and much farther away targets its Primary could not reach.
The slums had multiple questionable individuals, but the few it saw from above were armed and stalking the Faunus. It would give them a chance upon their convergence on the girl.
They surround her and she reflexively tensed, reaching for her pistol. It leveled the weapon and fired to the knee of the closest. Corrosive chemicals melted shattered bone and muscle as he screamed. Five more rounds find their intended targets, each punching through limbs at hypersonic velocities. Screams filled the air as they all fell, a leg either blown off by the set explosives within the rounds or melting from corrosive acids.
The Tenno ejected the magazine and reloaded, acknowledging the Faunus' gaze with its own before nodding to continue as it holstered the weapon and followed. The cold guardian angel moved with efficiency, tagging each street with its own cameras.
Layla stopped at a modest shop, its lights dim and ready to close. Pots of plants decorate the outside, rows of various plant life within from the angle it could see. Two stories, no doubt the second being the living space.
The daughter entered the shop, looking at the shelves full of flowers. Bouquets hung to the side while individual flowers laid neatly in rows. Upon approaching the counter, she got a glimpse of an aging woman, wrinkles just beginning to set in her still smooth face. Kind and gentle blue eyes turned to the steps and widen in surprise.
"Hey mom. I'm back." Layla said meekly.
"Layla..." She moved out of the counter and approached her daughter, touching her soft cheek, cuts of earlier battles still marring the once flawless skin. "The... The Fang came by earlier. They said," she bit back a tear. "They said one of their outposts were destroyed and that there were no... Survivors."
"Mom, I survived the... Blast. Took me three days to even get to the edge of the city." She lied through her teeth as she gazed at her mother's eyes. "I-I'm home."
The older woman pulled her into an embrace, tears freely flowing out. She whispered to the child. "Yeah, you are."
Layla could only kick herself internally. She straight up lied to the woman that raised her and cared for her. The very woman who supported her decisions without questioning it. She trusted her to help the cause and to bring an end to the discrimination. A road to change the world for the better. No, not of that was true. The child merely wanted to survive and be safe and to do so meant spitting on that trust.
"Mom, I'm kinda tired. Is- is there a room I can use?" She asked after her mother stopped.
"Yes, of course. Your room is still how you left it. I- I just cleaned it this morning after all." She smiled and kissed her daughters forehead. "You need some well deserved rest."
"Yeah, thanks."
Up the stairs, the second door to the right, there was a stock wooden door with a finicky lock that refused to let anyone enter unless it turned just right. A click and she found her room still as clean as the day she left. A single bed to the wall and desk across. Her books were neatly stacked in one corner and her lamp on another. Carpet flooring that rubbed her feet roughly, and a single window that watched the outside.
There, she flipped the switch, the white colored walls creating a dull glow. And the Tenno leaning against the wall, arms crossed, patiently waiting for her to enter.
"You got inside." She said simply as she closed the door. "What do we do now?"
"It would take a majority of my time to properly hunt down Torchwick. However, the means to do so would be easier with access to Vale's communications. The complete control of such a system would leave the city open to our watch. It would benefit us well to take the time to do so." It began, standing straight and walked towards the window. "However, it would be unfeasible for you to embark on such a task considering your body's fatigue. Rest and recuperate."
It gave a final glance to see her smile as she nodded, watching the warrior leave through window silently like the winter winds.
The body of these Faunus would require a more thorough understand. Perhaps a deeper investigation of their limits is also in order. To find these results, a laboratory would also be necessary. Another for their weaponry. Regardless, she's gained an ounce of trust from the Tenno and would not be its victim for its thoughts. Although effective on its own, it would still need the Faunus for her trust in it. The child harbored no ill will against it and only logical answers would find its way toward her ears. Until she ceases to be important, she will be a temporary companion to protected.
The winds had picked up as it bounded across the city. The Schnee tower would be its first target. A mark on it for housing an energy familiar to its own. What it had had the potential to either advance or hinder its plans. Of course, these were merely short term in scope. The void connects around its frame and the senses of its kin were vague, but present. Inside that tower held something that resonated to the Tenno. What it was, it didn't know, but the memories grew vivid the closer it went. Flashes of fire and gold, regal spires that fell upon the weak, and blades stained with royal blood.
What the tower had would be excavated and removed, forcibly if necessary. The primitives of this planet had yet to understand the corrupted power they held in its cages. What the Tenno didn't enjoy thinking was one phrase.
Why was it not unleashed?