A/N: Just in time for Monty's birthday (no, I didn't cram in the extra hours on purpose - what are you talking about?). All the same, I'll keep trying to write more in one go, or at least write more frequently.
Means to an End
One hour later…
When Tanner finally regained consciousness, he had a throbbing headache and an aches all over his body - like he had been thrashed about. It was only when he tried to sit up and bring his hands forward did he remember that he had been thrashed about.
The mercenary, Raiden, had slipped out of the shadows and caught the swordsman by surprised. He was able to fight back, but was quickly overpowered because of his still-injured wrists. Raiden had quickly disarmed him and knocked him to the ground; causing the earpiece that T had given him to come loose and prevented him from calling for help.
However, Tanner had been able to fire off a couple shots from his pistol wildly in order to let the others know that he was in trouble before getting knocked out. He had hoped T could have beaten him, but now?
Now the brunette was sitting in the back of some kind of carrier vehicle with his arms tied behind his back.
Though they were heavy, Tanner was still able to open his bright orange eyes and take a quick sweep of the interior of the rumbling carrier. One of the things he picked up on immediately was the fact that both T and Mason were also here. On his left, the redhead had been bound from head to toe, gagged and muzzled, and was flanked on either side of the carried by armed members of the White Fang.
Shit. They have us. Tanner thought as he turned to see that T was flanked similarly, though instead of four guards, two guards and Raiden stood by, watching him. The cyborg's arms were cuffed in front of him, though there was another strange contraption that seemed to be magnetically stuck to his robot arm, which the brunette guessed was some sort of device that prevented it from working.
Tanner also felt something that shouldn't be there on his upper right arm. Though he couldn't see it very well without turning his head, it felt like a metallic bracelet or clasp of some sort, and that usually meant one thing: Aura Restraint.
Such devices and how they worked was common knowledge for the swordsman – considering his background; you slap it on someone at it prevents their Aura from reaching a level higher than what you allow for them on the restraint, though it could never go lower than five percent without a chance of the device shorting out due to an Aura surge or something that might push it over the limit. It did, however, restrict all use of Semblances, and is used frequently by all Kingdoms to transport dangerous individuals.
"Well, look who finally came to." Raiden's voice drew Tanner's attention to where he was now fiddling with one of the swordsman's pistols. "I have to say, for someone who took the beating you did, you lasted a couple seconds longer than I expected you to."
"Hey, I don't mean to be rude, but could you get your fucking hands off my guns?" Tanner asked in a calm, nonchalant tone.
The shadowcaster chuckled for a few seconds before setting the weapon next to him. "You guys are fucking hilarious, you know that? Fighting in the face of certain doom, going up against Cinder with nothing but a four man – sorry, three man team and a gunship? If I didn't know any better, I'd say that this was some kind of complicated plan to get killed."
It was then that Tanner realised that SK was not with them. His eyes widened for a split second before he put on the mask of unflinching resolve once more.
This was a good sign; if SK wasn't here, then there was a chance that the rogue was nearby and planning to spring them loose. But, there was also the chance that he had run off at the first sign of danger and left them to die.
Given their last exchange though, Tanner was realistically more likely to bet on the latter. Thinking about it more, the brunette slowly realised that there really was no way out of this. His weapons were out of reach, they were surrounded by enemies and were likely being taken to the very heart of Cinder's operations, and there was no one coming to their rescue.
It was only when he felt the tickle of fabric against his face did Tanner realise that they had neglected to disarm him of his scarf. The swordsman's conviction renewed as he felt his Aura gently pulse through the fabric. They hadn't taken all of his weapons from him, now they just needed an opportunity.
"What's your story, anyway?" Raiden spoke up again, looking first to T, then to Tanner. "Cinder didn't exactly tell me why she wanted you guys dead, so I've been left to speculate for the past few hours. Since you're all dead anyway, why not tell me – keep me entertained until we get to Cinder?"
Raising his eyebrows, Tanner gave the teen a sceptical look before responding. "Uh, because Cinder's evil – is there anything else to it?"
In response, Raiden scoffed as he put the sword in his hand down on the empty seat next to him. "Listen, you look to be about my age, so I'm pretty sure you know by now that evil is a matter of perspective."
"No, I mean she is literally evil!" Tanner insisted, his tone suggesting no anger and instead only the interest to get his point across. "She kills people like you and me without batting an eye – no matter what we do for her. The only way we survive is if we beat her first!"
"Not me," Raiden boasted with a smug expression. "Once I turn you three in, I'm off the hook – no strings attached."
The brunette furrowed his eyebrows, wondering if there was a chance that they could persuade the midnight-haired boy to help them escape. If what he was saying was true, then really, they were all in the same boat. However, before he could say anything, T beat him to it.
"Tell me, Mr Alexander, do you really think Cinder is the type of person to hold herself true to claims like that?" As soon as T spoke, the White Fang goons in the truck with them suddenly seemed more wary and alert.
Raiden, however, looked puzzled more than anything. "How...do you know my last name?"
"I know more about you than you think. I know that you've been working for Cinder for five months, two weeks and four days. I know that in that time, Cinder has called upon your services in order to perform Dust thefts and bring gangs like the Blue Boys under her control…I know that your kill-count numbers forty-eight confirmed kills, and at least two dozen unconfirmed ones." After saying all this, T spared the shocked shdowcaster a glance. "After all the blood you've split, do you think she'll really let you walk back home to your brothers without any catch?"
This time, Raiden really was surprised. "How the…what's it to you?" he replied more sternly after his initial stutter.
"You've seen what Cinder does with people like us. She's about to do just so with me…and my team." T continued, constantly staring in one direction. "Do you really think Cinder will stop with her loose-ends there?"
Tanner searched the shadowcaster's face for any sign of what he thought or felt, but he was doing a good job of keeping a straight face. The rest of the ride to wherever they were going went by in silence, only broken by the occasional muffled noise from Mason, who struggled against his heavy bindings that were surely cutting into his skin and cutting of blood circulation.
As far as the swordsman could tell, it took roughly another twelve minutes before they reached their destination – the bumpy road constantly jostling the vehicle as they went. When they finally came to a stop, nothing happened for about ten seconds before the back-doors of the vehicle were thrown open, and a familiar voice resounded through the air.
"Alright, you grunts, let's get these ingrates outta there!" as soon as this was said, the guards around them grabbed either of T and his arms and helped them to their feet, pushing them out of the truck and into the arms of another pair of guards. Looking up, the brunette found that the day had already turned to night, with just the fading twilight of the sun casting a dark-purple shade on the sky over the distant mountains. It was then that Tanner caught sight of the source of the voice.
"Roman Torchwick," he greeted evenly with a curt nod. "Come to see Cinder put an arrow in between my eyes?"
The older man quick knocked some of the ash from his cigar before scoffing at the boy as he passed by the criminal. "Don't try to squeeze sympathy from me, Vermillion. You knew what you were doing when you joined up with the likes of him." Tanner's eyes followed where Roman was pointing his cigar to indicate T, who still struggled against the guards that held him.
"Well, in that case, I think we can consider the alliances you had between my parents over." Tanner stated as his escorts urged him forward.
"Oh, don't be so naïve, Tanner." Roman said with an exaggerated groan. "I don't give a damn about alliances with cold corpses."
The words set a fire burning in his chest as he suddenly lurched out of the grips of his captors – who hadn't expected him to struggle – and stood right in front of the orange-haired criminal. "Those 'cold corpses' were your friends." He hissed venomously as the guards came up behind him to grab his upper arms more firmly.
"You don't get to where I am now by having 'friends', Tanner." Torchwick called out as the brunette was escorted to what looked like an old Mistrali airship hangar. The building was shaped much like a hunter-green inverted half-pipe; a more primitive design in comparison to what Atlas had around the same time, but it served its purpose. From the sheer length of it, Tanner estimated that – if you tried hard enough – one could fit an entire attack squadron of airships in it, along with the necessary parts for repair and maintenance.
The hangar doors had been thrown wide open, and through them, the brunette could see some of the weapons, Dust and war machines that had been stockpiled in there, as well as the dozens of White Fang goons and hired thugs that were working to get things organised and prepared for…something. Tanner even recognised a few of the gangs by their uniform, but he was in no position to try to turn them over to his side right now.
Passing in between the airships that lined the airfield outside the hanger, Tanner briefly considered trying to use his Semblance to set one of them off and cause a distraction, but knew it wouldn't work. He had been subtly trying to summon his Aura to a level where he could actually extend it through his Semblance, but alas, the Aura restraint on his arm wouldn't allow for it.
It was only after he and the others had been walked right up to the entrance of the Mistrali hanger did Tanner notice that their escort had increased in numbers. He had only meant to take a quick glance over his shoulder to see where the others were, and found that their escort had roughly tripled in size.
Right behind him, T was being brought forward in a similar manner to the swordsman. Two White Fang goons flanked him on either side, but now there were three more goons wearing dark-blue fedoras with matching dark-blue overcoats and slacks over white undershirts. Each of them held two automatic pistols in their hands, and Tanner recognised the attire as that of the standard Blue Boys gang – the same one T had mentioned.
Tanner didn't know too much about them, but knew enough that he was surprised that a Vale-based gang was now working for Cinder in Mistral. In hindsight, the swordsman was in much the same position when Roman first approached him, except something told Tanner that Cinder didn't give them much of a choice with what their job options were.
Behind the cyborg, Tanner spotted the berserker, who was being wheeled along in a two-wheeled push trolley, firmly strapped in with leather belts as the redhead continued to struggle against his bindings and yelled muffled nonsense.
Looks like they aren't taking chances this time. Tanner thought to himself as he saw Torchwick and Raiden when he looked the other way.
Turning the other way, the swordsman saw a pair of White Fan goons carrying his, Mason's and T's weapons in each of their arms. Tanner briefly considered trying to take his sword and pistol off them, but dismissed the idea when he realised how likely it would get him killed. Instead, he had another stupid idea – which was probably less likely to get him killed.
Taking a deep breath and holding it for a moment, the swordsman suddenly shook free of the White Fang grunts holding him by elbowing one under the ribs and kicking the other in the ankle before making a mad dash towards where Raiden was.
The sudden action seemed to take everyone by surprise, as no one reacted in time to stop Tanner from tackling the shadowcaster on to his rear.
As soon as they hit the ground, five different pairs of rough hands were on the swordsman's black overcoat as they quickly got him off the black-haired teen, but not before Tanner was able to look Raiden in the eyes and shouted, "As soon as she's done with us, she'll kill you next!"
It was all he was able to get out before being thrown onto his back, sliding a couple metres away from Raiden. Sharp kicks and flat-footed stomps followed a split second after his back hit the ground, depleting all his Aura in seconds as someone drove one last punch into his chest before forcing him to stand. The whole time, the pain and lurching in his gut was too much for the swordsman to even open his eyes, so he wasn't sure who helped him back to his feet or who threw the punches.
There was a sensation of motion sickness when Tanner was suddenly righted seconds after being beaten in, but the brunette was able to stop himself from throwing up as he regained the strength to crack open his eyes.
Tanner half-expected a slap to come his way when he opened his eyes, so it came as a pleasant surprise when none came, and he was instead pushed along – more roughly this time – into the open hanger.
From the edge of his peripheral vision, he was able to catch a glimpse of Raiden as the shadowcaster picked himself off the ground. Because of the disorientation and how fast he was being pushed along, Tanner couldn't tell what the teen's expression was, but had a feeling by the look of his posture that at least one word from the swordsman's mouth got to him.
"Really, Vermilion, you're only making this harder on yourself." Roman said in a mock-pleading tone. "I'd rather not have the boys here rough up your suit – considering it's what you're going to wear for your funeral."
In response, Tanner swirled the glob of spit and blood that had developed in his mouth and spat it down at his feet. Unfortunately, his aim was slightly off and most of the spit hit his own shoe. "If I'm going to Hell, you're going to have to drag me down there yourself."
"…Did you just spit on your own shoe?"
"I missed the floor – give me a break!"
"You know the whole 'blood-n-spit' routine loses its effect when you spit on your own shoe."
"I know – don't rub it in!"
In a way, Tanner was glad that they found Cinder before Roman could go on any longer. From past experience, the brunette knew that the ginger-haired criminal could spend hours gloating if given the opportunity and it always grinded on his nerves when he was on the short end of the stick. However, Tanner wasn't sure if it was a fair trade-off if it meant he was going to be murdered by a psychotic bitch.
Cinder and her entourage noticed Tanner and the others as they approached, a smug and knowing smirk spreading across her face as she took in the sight before her. With the wave of a hand, she dismissed the Blue Boy thug that she was talking to and began walking towards them, waving her hand over her shoulder to beckon the others to follow her.
His escort stopped abruptly as the ash-haired woman started walking towards them, causing Tanner to almost trip over himself because of how off-balance he already was.
"I see you were successful in your task, Raiden." Cinder stated while stopping. "I knew I could count on you to get the job done." The praise sounded more practiced than genuine as she looked over each of her new prisoners, the black-haired teen only nodding curtly in response. However, the half-Maiden's expression of smug pride disappeared as she looked over them for the third time. "Where's Esinti?" she demanded, her question aimed at Raiden.
"He wasn't anywhere in the village." Raiden replied with a sigh. "Now, before you start yelling, yes; I actually took a walk around the village to check."
"His Semblance is to turn invisible – you idiot!" Cinder yelled anyway. "He could be right here and we wouldn't know it!"
Cinder's words seemed to set everyone on edge. Hands flew to the hilts of their weapons – if they weren't already – as everyone around them turned their heads slowly, as if they might catch a glimpse of the rogue if they did.
"Don't bother." Tanner spoke up, though his voice was weak from the beating and only a trickle of his Aura to numb the pain. "He's long gone – and he's not coming back."
"And why should we believe you?" Roman asked as he stepped around and into Tanner's view.
Torchwick was only met with silence for a couple of seconds before the brunette spoke again. "You're not; you're supposed to believe her." Tanner indicated with a nod of his head that he was referring to Cinder. "You've seen what he's like, does loyal fit anywhere in the list of words you'd use to describe SK?"
A few seconds passed where Cinder continued to leer at Tanner sceptically before she was interrupted by the sound of heavy metal hitting metal. Turning in the direction of the sound, she saw that Mercury and Emerald had taken the weapons off the pair of White Fang goons and placed them on the nearby table. "We get claim to some of their stuff after they die, right?" asked Mercury.
Instead of responding to the question, Cinder turned to face Torchwick. "Tell the White Fang to stay on high-alert for intruders or missing personnel. If anything seems off, sound the alarm." She ordered quickly in a low tone of voice.
Glancing to either side of him, Torchwick nodded once in reply before walking off. With him gone, Cinder could finally focus her ire on the three before her. She briefly looked up at the guards still holding them before gesturing for them to bend down to their knees. The guards instantly brought the balls of their boots to the back of Tanner's legs to force him down, knowing that he wouldn't kneel on his own. By the sound of things from behind him, the swordsman assumed they were doing the same for T.
The ash-haired woman's golden eyes briefly flicked over the three before glancing at Raiden. "You've done well, Alexander. As promised, I will hold up my end of the bargain – you may leave whenever you desire." Tanner noticed that Raiden's eyes briefly widened before returning to his usual confident visage.
"I hoped you would, otherwise there would be trouble." The shadowcaster admitted as he turned on his heels. "Now, if you don't mind, I'll be going now."
Cinder's next words stopped him cold. "Aw, but I had hopes you could stay to watch the execution." The ash-haired woman's tone was almost pleading, but still carried with it a sense of insistence. Slowly, Raiden turned around to face her and hesitated before responding.
"Sure, why not? It's not like I've got anything better to do." As he said this, Cinder smiled a cold smile and turned her attention back to T.
"I'll be honest with you, T. You put up more of a fight than I thought you would, and have made things considerably harder for us in Mistral." Cinder began as she walked over to the downed cyborg, her tone calm, cold and composed, but also carrying something dangerous – like a glass window barely holding back a hurricane.
"Moving on to Vale so soon?" T asked back, his tone as neutral as ever, despite how fatigued his eyes looked.
The ash-haired woman hummed in consideration for moment before taking a couple steps closer to bend over and gently pull the face scarf over T's mouth down to his collar, giving the hacker what Tanner could only guess was a perfect view of her cleavage.
Whether this was to taunt or aggravate, Tanner couldn't know. She's taunting. Definitely taunting.
"Not just yet. There are a few things that need to be cleared up first." Cinder continued as she stood up straight.
"Things like Operation: Crystal Slipper? Or Project Spinning Wheel?" T shot back instantly, causing Cinder's eyes to go wide in surprise and shock.
However, Tanner was at a loss for what T was talking about. I've never heard him mention either of those before. What else are you keeping from us?
"Things like you!" Cinder shot back as she reached back for her twin blades and drew them forward, crossing them against the hacker's neck. "You must have always known it would end like this – you on my wrong end."
T remained silent for a few seconds before responding. "It was a possibility I considered several times."
"Then you must either be suicidal or more foolish than I thought you to be." As Cinder said this, she brought her swords down from T's neck to her sides, and took a couple steps closer to Tanner. "It's unfortunate this is the way things have had to end for you, Roman has said good things about you."
With a strong cough, the brunette was able to cough up enough saliva to spit on the ground in front of him. "As if I'd work with someone out to destroy the world."
This time, Cinder let out a sarcastic laugh. "Destroy the world? Is that what he told you I'm doing?" she asked while gesturing to T. The ash-haired woman waited a second – as if expecting a response from Tanner – before continuing. "How much has he told you, exactly?"
How much has he told me? The brunette thought to himself as he turned his head slightly towards the hacker. Before he was able to respond, however, the sound of leather tearing brought everyone's attention to Mason, who had somehow bit through the leather gag in his mouth. "Oh, well. He's told us lots." Mason explained with a smile. It was then that Tanner's fear spiked, unsure of how much Mason was willing to say in order to save his own skin. "He's told us all about you're narcissistic tendencies and how you're such a self-proclaimed bitch. Have to say, it's gotten me real excited to finally kill you – way more than before!"
After the berserker went silent – the sadistic smile on his face still present, Cinder's eyes briefly flitted between T and Tanner, who just stared back at her with perplexity in their expressions as she turned to face him again. "I…see." Even Cinder's tone of voice sounded sceptical.
"If you're going to kill us, please kill him first – I want my last few minutes to be silent so I can think of how much I fucking hate everyone in this hangar." Tanner requested.
"If she was going to kill us, she'd have already done it." T added tauntingly. "She doesn't have what it takes."
The half-Maiden briefly showed an expression of shock before it morphed into one of annoyance. "Well, since you're all so eager to meet your end…" as she spoke, she slammed the hilts of her swords together to form her bladed-bow and took an arrow off her back. "Your weapons will all fetch a high price on the open market."
Suddenly, Tanner realised how imminent death was, and began trying to formulate an escape plan. He focussed on the weapons and heavy ordinance that was scattered around the hangar. His eyes flitted around for anything exposed or volatile before settling on one of the crates marked 'Explosives'. Focusing all of his Aura on the box and its contents, the swordsman could faintly feel the presence of Dust inside it and began charging its contents with his Semblance. He still needed to stall for time. "An arrow? That's how it's going to end for me?" Tanner asked, rhetorically of course. He never intended to get a reply.
But he did anyway. "Yeah, Cinder. If you wanted us to suffer, you really shouldn't be going for arrows – they punch right through you way to quick and can end you in an instant." Mason went on. "Now, if you really wanted us to die painfully, you'd go with stabs – those blades you got would go nicely. If not, there's always-" he was cut off when a yelp of pain escaped him instead of his next words. Looking back, Tanner saw that there was an arrow now sticking out of his right shoulder. When he turned back to Cinder, he saw that the ash-haired woman had a satisfied look at having shut the redhead up.
"I'll just leave that there to bleed a little before finishing you off, last." Cinder stated venomously. No matter how hard Tanner focussed and channelled his Aura, it simply wasn't enough to reach the Dust flashpoint. They were shaking, active and charged to be sure, but the Aura Restraint on his arm was doing its work and making sure his Aura did not pass its limits.
Need to keep stalling. "Come on, Em. You're not really going to just let her kill me, are you?" he asked, turning his orange eyes to the mint-haired girl who was leaning against the nearby table, watching on with only mild guilt.
"Afraid so, sorry Tanner." She stated without the slightest hint of regret.
The brunette briefly thought that the felt the Dust in crate he was focusing on almost reach critical capacity, and decided to try stalling some more. Cinder had just levelled her bow with his face when he spoke. "Wait! Wait! Wait! Don't I get a last request or something before you kill me?"
The ash-haired woman paused briefly, as if she was considering his request before locking her gaze with his. "No."
Tanner closed his eyes as gunshots suddenly rang out through the hangar, and everyone's attention was drawn to the overhead cat-walks – where the shots came from.
Upon looking up, the swordsman's eyes widened when he saw that SK was locked in combat with two White Fang goons, kicking the legs out from one of them and stomping on the back of his neck before grabbing the other and throwing him over the edge of the catwalk.
The Faunus hit the ground with a loud thud as SK turned to face them, breathing heavily. "Hey there." He called out.
A few moments ago…
This is a stupid idea. This is a stupid idea. This is a stupid idea! SK thought to himself as he continued to scout around the perimeter of the hangar.
After the confrontation with Cinder, all SK wanted to do was find time for himself to think about what had happened, and why he shouldn't just go after Cinder by himself. He did do what he said he was going to do, and performed a thorough search of the perimeter. Aside from a few signs that Grimm had passed through the area, the area they had landed in really was safe. Even so, SK kept searching, more for himself and to put some distance between his unstable allies and himself, trying to think about what had transpired.
It had been much later when he heard the sound of fighting and gunshots from the village, but by the time he got back, it was far too late to help the others without also risking himself. The rogue was ready to go back into hiding and wait for a better chance to strike at the shadowcaster, thinking that he would be coming after him next. However, SK hesitated in striking out at Raiden when he walked by the building he was hiding against, considering the fact that the teen had beaten the rest of his team on his own, but has yet to kill them. Instead, SK kept a close eye on him as the shadowcaster took a walk around the village, looking like he was searching for the rogue before stopping back at T's body, grabbing him by the arm and dragging him off towards the forest, where a waft of shadows was holding Mason up like a hunk of salted meat. The shadowcaster left T there as he walked off, but SK didn't do anything just yet, just watching as he left to go bring Tanner over.
"Whew, you boys are heavy - did you know that? Pity I couldn't find your friend, Cinder's probably going to chew me through for it, but what can ya do?" With that, the wafts of shadows disappeared and Raiden instead got out a length of rope to tie his teammates together and began dragging them off. From the sound of it, Raiden had likely given up on his search for him, but SK wasn't about to count his luck just yet.
Instead, he continued to follow the shadowcaster from a safe distance, stopping when Raiden came upon a White Fang convoy that was likely arranged to meet him and transport the others, who were still unconscious.
As he watched Raiden hop into the transport and shut the doors behind him, a thought suddenly occurred to him. Why should I bother rescuing them? They're undisciplined, without honour, psychotic, and beneath me. They deserve this fate…we all do. The rogue was getting ready to slip back into the shadows and find his way back to Mistral when the carrier's engines started up again, and a realisation struck him. They're going straight back to Cinder. They can lead me to Cinder! He was already running after the carrier at a sprint before leaping on and grabbing a free hand-hold just as it started moving. I don't have to rescue any of them – I just have to kill Fall!
It took much less effort to hang on to the side of the armoured transport than it would have had to chase after it, considering the speed it drove at, and the amount of noise the vehicle made was more than enough to mask his presence. All SK had to do was hang on, and Vanish if anyone bothered to poke their head out of the windows.
This gave the rogue a chance to relax and think of the possible situations he might have to face, but it did not last as long as he had hoped when he noticed – to his sudden shock and fear – the transport pass by a guard post along the road. Out of fear and reflex, SK quickly turned invisible as he took in his surroundings, which he realised he had been ignoring altogether while he thought to himself.
The first thing he noticed when he peered around the edges of the transport was that they had arrived at some wartime Mistrali air base. Though these places are supposed to be nearly ninety years old, the amount of White Fang activity and weaponry made it look like it was still being used for war. It's probably what it's being used for.
The raven-haired teen kept his concealment up as the transport drove further and further into the base – passing by a second guard post that was set up by an old metal fence that encircled most of the base, knowing that at some point he would have to jump off or be noticed when the guards started unloading the others. However, SK was determined to stay on the carrier and take note of every airship, weapon cache and armoured vehicle that were scattered around the base by recording everything with his glasses. He also took note of how the sun had set even further, and the sky was now in twilight – briefly considering whether or not to risk dropping his cloak so that he did not waste his Aura. Taking note of how heavily populated this outpost was, however, the rogue thought better of it; though it was now night, the fact that most of the enemies in the stronghold were Faunuses worked against him.
The transport drove further towards the lone aircraft hangar before suddenly stopping, SK's iron grip on the free handle preventing him from falling off, but also preventing him from dismounting immediately. When he did, the realisation hit him that he hadn't considered where to hide, and panicked when he saw an orange-haired man approaching with an armed escort. In his panic, SK quickly scrambled to take cover in between two cargo crates a few metres away, only disabling his Semblance when he was between them.
From where he was hiding, SK could still overhear what was being said by the orange-haired man, who from what Tanner said seemed to be the Roman Torchwick he heard T and Tanner talk about in passing mention. From the sound of things, Torchwick was taking them directly to Cinder, which once again, worked in the rogue's advantage.
Moving between the metal crates he was wedged in between, SK reactivated his Semblance as he came out into the open and watched as his allies were being escorted towards the aircraft hangar a few metres away, which seemed to be the hub of all the activity here.
A quick tap on the side of his glasses activated the tactical HUD built in the frame and gave its overlay. SK quickly found where the HUD told him his Aura level was, and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that his Aura level was still reasonably high.
However, the rogue quickly decided that he would have to expend more of it to get to the back of the hangar, in order to catch Cinder by surprise as the others were being sent in through the front.
Considering all the guards in the way, SK also decided to quietly execute few on his way – as he had a hunch feeling that he'd end up fighting his way out, even if he got Cinder.
With his HUD active, SK began marking targets along a wide arc along the airstrip next to the hangar, waiting for the right moment to make a move. The path he was going to take would give him as much cover as possible; weaving between vehicles, ammo caches and tents. The rogue would still have to be careful, but it shouldn't be much of a challenge.
SK moved with a burst of speed when he saw Tanner start another commotion, drawing his falchion silently as he went, turning invisible the second he broke cover. The first blind-spot he was going for was an airship that looked like it was being prepared to launch. Three White Fang goons were working on it, but SK didn't have any intention of killing them. Instead, he slipped by them, changing course slightly when a tank rolled by to avoid being flattened.
It helped that there were very few lights or fires lit around the base, but SK did not want to take any chances with the Faunus. Instead, he only disabled Vanish when he had clambered over a cache full of Dust and couldn't see any guards around.
He didn't get more than two seconds before a pair of guards – who looked more like they were from one of the Mistrali mafias – began walking towards the crates from SK's right. Thankfully, the two were talking with one another and didn't notice the dark-haired teen as he slipped away, making a beeline for the back of the hangar.
The task was made easier when the rogue saw a jeep driving in the same direction he was running only a few metres away. The Faunus at the driver's seat was alone and a thick tarp covering several boxes of supplies in the rear compartment.
Without thinking much, SK made a dash for it and ducked under the tarp as he rolled into it, crawling forward until he was right behind the driver. As they neared the back of the hangar, SK briefly considered killing her, but thought better of it when he realised how suspicious it would be if the transport suddenly stopped.
As soon as she began driving in a different direction, the rogue jumped off the jeep and ran along the side of the building. Three guards were standing right in front of the backdoor to the hangar, chatting and blocking the way forward.
SK was out of options. With four quick slashes, the rogue cut down the guards before they could even scream in surprise.
He didn't even bother with hiding the bodies as he pushed open the doors to the back of the hangar – blood had been split and blood was going to keep spilling, there was no point in trying to hide it.
As soon as he pushed through the doors, SK quickly noticed that the back of the hangar was slightly darker than the front – where Cinder and the others were, which worked to his advantage. Around him were airships, scattered airship parts, several deactivated Atlesian androids and workmen dealing with various tasks.
Fortunately, none of them had noticed the raven-haired teen slip in, and he quickly ran the options through his head. A head-on attack against Cinder would probably get him killed, if he wasn't spotted first. Using Vanish was no longer an option either; SK did his best to summon it, but he had effectively burnt through it just to get here.
It was then that he noticed the sound of boots against metal coming from above, and saw a few guards patrolling a catwalk above. That's it! He thought. If I can get the height advantage over Cinder, I might just be able to bring her down before she can strike back.
SK's eyes darted around in search of the ladder or staircase that would take him up to the catwalk above, finding it on the right and immediately running for it. Whenever a guard or workmen would get in his way, the rogue would either cut them down or knock them out, making sure no one saw him do it. And if they did, SK just had to react quickly; either grabbing a sharp object nearby to throw at them or throwing Yakmak and making sure the blade went through them when he did.
Stepping around the separated wing of an airship, the rogue tackled the last guard in his way to the ground, knocking him out cold with the hilt of his sword before standing and quickly jumping on the ladder that would take him up.
He was out of breath by the time he reached the catwalk, having effectively sprinted for the last minute or so. The rogue was about to take a moment to catch his breath as he pulled himself up, when he realised the sound of footsteps along the catwalk had stopped.
The breath caught in his throat as his head swivelled to see one of the White Fang guards reaching for their gun.
No! Not when I'm so close. In an instant, he was back to his feet, adrenaline pumping in his blood as he slashed his blade across the Faunus' chest, causing him to stagger backwards before running his sword through the man's chest.
SK only realised then that there were three guards along the catwalk, and that the other two were cocking their guns. The rogue moved quickly to silence them, crossing the catwalk in great strides. However, he was nowhere near fast enough to stop the Faunuses from firing their guns, two salvos of bullets flying towards him which he dodged with ease.
Shit. He managed to close the distance after another two shots and batted the man's rifle out of the way while sweeping the legs out from under him. Flowing with the momentum of the attack, SK swung his blade and dealt a large gash on the arm of the other White Fang grunt before twisting around to stomp on the downed Faunus' neck, hearing something crack when he did. The other Faunus had dropped her pistol when SK slashed her wrist, and couldn't draw her knife quickly enough before he pushed her over the railings of the catwalk. The Faunus' screams could be heard as she took the quick way down, while SK slowly turned to where Cinder and the others were staring at him, surprise on many of their expressions.
His breath was heavy and he knew in a few moments, every Faunus on the base would be on him, and it was probably the end of everything. There was no scenario in which the rogue could get out of this on his own and he didn't have the element of surprise anymore – he was done for.
Unless…
"Hey there." He called out, his voice sounding very empty as he struggled to catch his breath. When he received no reply, he continued. "This, uh, this was supposed to be a rescue." He lied.