L - Bark

~~~(L)~~~

Oxon ran through the building and found a sight he wasn't enthusiastic about. From the doorway, he watched as the White Fang girl fought against Blake. Thankfully they were too focused on each other to notice him. It also was apparent that the house was on fire.

Wasn't me!

"Quit taking potshots and fight me like you mean it!" Once again he watched the bullshit way Ilia managed to block and deflect bullets with a whip of all things, that was probably the least logical one he'd seen yet. He glanced at the many bullets on his belts.

Why do I even bother?

The girl sent out an attack which Blake used her semblance to dodge, launching herself up and into the balcony. He needed to help take the pressure of the girl, and if the lizard wanted someone to take this seriously…

"If it's a fight you're itching for…" The small girl barely managed to avoid the heavy slugs that flew at her head. She had speed and dexterity on a level far above him, so he loaded a pair of buckshot into it instead. He'd like to see her deflect twenty four steel balls at once. "I'll be more than happy to oblige!"

She glared at him, shock and anger clear on her face. She even turned her full body red. "What are you doing!?"

"What I should have done a year ago." He gave her a glare before rushing her, hatchet in his right hand. While he could do more damage with Bulls Breath, he wouldn't be nearly fast enough with it. The whip swung at him like a possessed vine, except a bit more painful if it landed. The closer he got, the easier it was for him. She couldn't utilize her medium to long range weapon as well.

"Oxon!?" He heard the shocked voice of Blake from above. He took a moment to glance her way, mainly to see her expression, thankfully she looked more confused than angry. He also noticed Blake had changed up her outfit since Beacon, she was even less covered now.

"You ditched the bow? I kinda thought they'd be bigger." He had to strain his spine backwards to avoid an electrified thrust of the foil. Damnit Ox, don't get distracted by the kitty ears, focus on the fight.

"Rrraaa! Enough!" The foil whip thingy wrapped itself around the head of his hatchet and dumped a powerful current into the metal. Unfortunately for the girl, she didn't think about the materials of his weapon. "What?"

"Quick Silviculture lesson for ya, Washboard." Oxon twirled his weapon, further wrapping the angry metal cord around it. "Wood doesn't conduct electricity!"

With a powerful yank, he forced the girl to decide whether to keep a hold on her weapon, or get pulled into close range with Oxon. She tried to hold on, but her strength wasn't close enough and the weapon was pulled from her hands. From above, Blake took this as her chance and dropped on the girl rather harshly. Seeing her down, Oxon tossed the weapon against the far wall.

Blake was easily able to trap the smaller girl beneath her. Oxon approached the two, now with Bulls Breath out and aimed at the Fang girl. "Ilia... please. You're a good person but you're making all the wrong decisions!" The two flinched as he approached the pair, but he wasn't willing to let his guard down. He saw Blake shake her head, signaling him to back off. He was hesitant, but supposed the unarmed girl wasn't a threat at this point, and clearly they had history. He kept his gun ready, just in case.

The girl on the floor wasn't happy with the words spoken to her, still struggling to try and get out of her predicament. "SHUT UP!"

"Is this really what your parents would've wanted?!"

"I don't know what else to do!"

Ilia suddenly stopped struggling, her regretful eyes staring up at Blake. Ilia then began sobbing while pinned, pulling at Oxon's heartstrings. So she was alone as well… "I don't know what else to do…"

I know how you feel… Before he could offer the girl advice, a body almost slammed into him after being thrown through a wall. That wasn't the most shocking thing, as a now shirtless Ghira jumped into the room as well. The man sure was big…

He turned to see him and Blake who was still holding down Ilia. "Blake!" All of a sudden, one of the brothers leapt onto the room and stabbed Ghira in the back, causing him to yell out in pain and slumps toward the ground slightly.

"Dad!" Shit, he'd forgotten about Ilia who threw Blake into a nearby chair. The action managed to knock Blake out, she must have let her guard and aura down. Ghira then gets Fennec off his back and tosses him away as Corsac runs to him. Her father pulled the wand out of his back and exchanged a flurry of knuckle on knuckle blows with the tailed twin. The two then interlocked hands and began to wrestle, though the older man glanced at Oxon.

"My wife! Is she safe!?" The other faunus looked at Oxon as well, anger and frustration mixed with the effort at trying to hold Ghira back.

"Kali is safe, I dealt with the intruders. She asked that I find and help you."

The shitty bastard with the ears yelled at the conflicted Ilia. "Ilia! What are you doing?! Fight!"

"Or don't." The two faunus looked at him, ear boy glared at him while the girl seemed confused. "I've been where you are now, going through the motions and ignoring the guilt inside, but you don't have to continue down this path. There's always an option to walk away. I wish I had back in Vale, and I have to live with that regret. Or, you could even help us, start making things right."

Corsac? Seemed finished trying to speak to them and glared at Ghira. "Deal with the human!" The man pulled out a strange dagger and charged Ghira. Hell no.

A spray of buckshot kept him from charging the man. "How about you and me have a throwdown? I've been wanting to wipe that smirk off your face since I met you, Corsac." Placing New Leaf back, he hefted Bulls Breath diagonally across his body.

"I'm Fennec!"

"And I don't care." Oxon swung his ax at the man as he tried to get past him and attack the chieftain. The man frowned as he realized he had no choice but to change targets. Oxon promised Kali that he'd protect her husband, and he would, this creep wasn't backing up his sibling any time soon.

The man pressed a button on the handle and the blade began to blow white. Some sort of dust mechanism, wind most likely. He clicked his heels, activating the spikes in the treads. He'd apologize later for the holes in the floor, but the room was already in rough shape. Once the wind came out, he bent his body to bleed the force and keep himself from flying away. Slowly, he moved towards the crazed fanatic.

The wind suddenly stopped and he had to catch himself from falling over. The faunus took advantage and stabbed at his chest with a similar blade, again, he was thankful for his superior defenses. The blade poked into his leather, but couldn't get past the steel scales underneath. He went to backhand the all too close opponent, except for the fire blast that the weapon sent out impacted his chest, bathing him in a wave of heat. He brought his aura up just as the weapon lit up and barely in time to avoid being burnt.

"You worthless human, you and your race will learn to kneel before the faunus! We won the war! We have superior traits! And we will take what we are owed!" Oxon swayed side to side to avoid multiple stabs sent his way, the guy seems to have snapped, no longer caring to wear his mask of pleasantness. The loud yells with every swing or thrust was starting to get annoying. "It's unfortunate that you won't live to see such a utopia! But it's a sacrifice I'm willing to make!"

Oxon rolled under a fiery blast and swung his ax head upward. The blow sent the man into a pillar and Oxon tried to follow up with a heavy chop. Unfortunately the man weaseled out of it, causing him to bite deep into the wooden pillar and showering Fennec with wood chips instead. The blade had gone in deeper than he wanted, and it was momentarily stuck. Seeing his chance, the faunus ran off to aid his brother who had just been knocked out by a vicious uppercut.

"Brother!"

"Crap…" Pushing in a bit of aura to his arms and shoulders, he ripped his ax out, causing the large wooden support to groan slightly. Looking up at the burning section of the house, he backed up quickly in order to not test his luck. Turning to Fennec, the man wasn't able to get to the older Belladonna due to the timely intervention of something that really shouldn't have surprised him.

"Sun!"

"Ox!"

The blonde faunus raised his staff in clear hostility, but thankfully Blake's dad put a hand on his shoulder. "Trust him." The guy clearly wasn't enthusiastic, but he listened to the older man. Behind him, he heard Ilia shuffling around, he turned around and saw her with her weapon out.

Dammit girl, you gotta surrender!

The bearded man turned his head to Sun and then to Oxon. "Go help Blake!" The two teens shared a nod and went off in different directions.

"On it!"

"Yes sir!"

Sun rushed Ilia while Oxon checked on Blake. She had begun to return to consciousness and stared at him with a curious and cautious look. He ignored the way she tensed as he helped her get to a sitting position. She turned her attention to the pair fighting and yelled out when she saw them crash into the pillar he'd damaged earlier.

"Stop!" The two looked at her tear stained face. The struggling pair lessened the strength used to fight each other. "Please…"

"That pillar isn't stable! Get away from it!"

Ilia uses Sun's pause to get herself free from his staff but falls to the ground as he hits the damaged support beam. Like he knew would happen, the pillar started to crack even more and Sun moved out of the way quickly. Unfortunately for Ilia the balcony above began to loudly give way. He was in no position to get to her in time, and even if he got there, he'd just end up under the thing himself. He heard the girl yelp as she looked up as the balcony was beginning to fall on her.

Out of nowhere, Ghira leaps under the falling structure and manages to catch the massive thing. It was clear that lifting the broken part of the balcony was using a lot of his strength. Oxon leaned Blake against the chair and prepared to help the man.

As he approached, he saw Ghira look down at the stunned girl. The man was lifting a section of architecture no doubt three times his weight and definitely feeling it. "Go!"

Ilia took the chance given to her and crawled out from under the thing, passing Oxon with a conflicted look in her eyes. When he gets there, Ghira is forced down on one knee in order to keep the balcony from falling on himself now. Oxon threw his weapon to the floor behind him as he acted both hands under the wooden structure. The weight was enormous, how the man had managed the feat he had, Oxon didn't know. All of a sudden, two glowing clones of Sun appeared on either side of him, helping the two of them lift.

Slowly, they were bringing it back up to where they would be able to let it fall safely without crushing the large man. That was until he heard the frantic yell of the eared faunus. Shit, Sun needed to be stationary for his semblance, Oxon was busy holding the broken balcony along with Ghira, and Blake was in the ground last he'd checked.

The shrieking got louder and Oxon pushed all his aura to his back in preparation for a blow to it. Something grabbed him, but not what he was anticipating. The coil of Ilias non-electric whip wrapped around his waist and pulled him back. He looked back just in time to see Blake do the same for her father.

Fennec whiffed past them both with a scream just before Sun dropped his semblance. Causing the large chunk of house to fall on the man. The explosion that follows was not expected, but it must have crushed the active fire and wind dust daggers.

Can't say I'm sad to see him go…

Immediately after the explosion settles, Kali enters the room, dragging an unconscious Yuma. She'd done what he had recommended and tied the bastard's hands behind his back, though Oxon probably would have tied his wings as well. He didn't know if the guy could fly or use them to fight, but hopefully he wouldn't get the chance before he gets turned in.

Blake, seeing her unharmed, ran over to her mother with vocal happiness. "Mom!"

Kali drops Yuma like a sack of mulch so she could hug her daughter. The touching embrace is touching, yet seeing the happy family gives Oxon a sharp stab of envy. The moment is cut short as a voice gains their attention.

"What have you done?" The group turned to see the tailed brother, Corsac, stand up and speak in a dark tone. "You ruined everything... EVERYTHIIIIIIING!"

The group goes on the defensive, Blake standing by her mother, gun out. Oxon deployed Virginiana and stood in front of the down adult, keeping him out of danger. Corsac didn't even bother with a strategy, he just angrily ran forward. Oxon, Blake, and Sun all raised their weapons except for the energized whip wrapping around the deranged man's body, electrocuting him and knocking him unconscious. With her voice made, Ilia started to cry and fell to her knees as she went through some rough emotions.

~~~(L)~~~

The group made their way out of the smoke filled building, gathering wounded and unconscious guards and terrorists alike. It seemed nobody wanted to witness anymore death tonight. Ghira led the little post battle parade with a guard on one shoulder, and an enemy on the other. The man really was something else, both in strength and spirit.

Once outside, a guard in a fancier uniform rushed over while yelling out to his men. "Get in there! Search for any stragglers!" The group walked out after Ghira, Oxon was keeping Corsac restrained while the rest helped others walk out to safety.

"We came as soon as we got the call." The man with buck teeth noticed Oxon forcing the White Fang officer to his knees. "And Fennec?"

The man sighed as Ghira shook his head, telling him of the man's death. The guard walked up to the two of them before kneeling in front of a despondent Corsac. "Was it worth it?

Corsac lowers his head, defeated. Oxon heard more footsteps and sees Blake going down the steps of her home. He himself had chosen his spot to remain out of the eyes of the large crowd that had gathered. He wasn't one who enjoyed being seen and talked about.

"Blake!" Apparently her father was still concerned and went to stop her, but was stopped by his wife. They all watched as Blake then stopped at one of the lower steps and begins to address the crowd of faunus.

"Humans didn't do this. Blake angrily pointed at the smoke coming from her burning house. "We did this: Faunus. We did this to ourselves. We are just as capable of hate and violence as the humans, but I don't think any of us would jump at the chance to point that out. So why are we letting Adam do it for us?!"

She was making great points, and he could see the people gathered below were taking it all in. "By doing nothing and staying silent, we let others speak and act in our place. And if we're not proud of the choices they make, then we have no one to blame but ourselves. This is the message that Adam Taurus will bring to the world if no one stops him. But we can stop him! You have to understand that all of you are looking for simple answers to a very complicated problem. And I can't give that to you. I don't know how to make hate go away, I don't. But I know that this kind of violence is not the solution."

"I understand that to ask you to leave your homes and protect Haven Academy is asking you to put your lives at risk. But that's what's at stake. So I'm going, and I'll stand by myself if I have to."

"I'll stand with you!" His head whipped to the right to see Ilia standing up and staring at her. "If… if you'd have me…"

Oxin felt a smile forming on his face. She was turning herself around before she did anything she'd have regretted.

The guard captain stepped forward and clamped am hand down on the girl's shoulder, stopping her from moving forward. "You're not going anywhere!"

Blake didn'iss a bear in giving the man an order to let her go. This seemed to greatly confuse the man. "Huh? You're just going to forgive her? After everything she did?!"

Blake didn't budge. "I am."

The man looked to Ghira, who nodded, telling the man to listen to his daughter, to let Ilia go. Ilia continued to walk down the steps to stand next to her friend. Something that made Oxon himself feel like he could step forward too.

Standing to his feet, Oxon walked to the top of the stairs to look at Blake. Could… Could I as well?" She turned to look him in the eyes as she read his face.

"I-I know what I did before, but please, let me make things right!" She held his gaze for moment before smiling at him. The relief he felt… it was something indescribable. His shoulders and back sagged slightly in relief before he squared them in pride.

He walked down the steps to stand next to Ilia. Once closer tonthe crowd, hewas able to hear the people talking to each other.

"Is that a human?"

"What's one of them doing here?"

"Wait, I think one of the seafood merchants talked about how there was one on the island."

"Really? That's rare, ain't it?"

Ugh, people were staring… He should have just waited to speak to her in private. Away from the curious eyes of the faunus nation.

"I'll go!" From the crowd, a ram Faunus pushed his way forward and raised his hand.

A woman with fish traits stepped forward next, waving her own hand. "I'll go too!"

Various others began to state their support as well.

"I'll stand with you!"

"I'll go!"

"Yeah!"

"Me too!"

"Let's go!"

"Yeah, let's go!"

As more Faunus start to give Blake their support, Sun walked down the steps to join the three. The crowds cheering increases in volume as a majority agree to volunteer. Maybe they really could pull it off. They could stop Adam and save Haven.

He looked at the three then to the loud crowd in front of them. "Looks like we've got work to do."

"Thank you."

Sun turned and pointed to the chameleon faunus. "You stabbed me." She glanced at the floor, seemingly guilty over wounding the man.

"I-" she was Interrupted when the monkey boy reached over and pinched her arm. "Ow!"

Sun just grinned at her. "There. Let's just call it even. And you…"

Oxon shrunk a bit at the look Sun have him. "Look, Sun, I'm so sorr-"

"Prove it." Huh? "Prove what you said earlier by helping us save my school. Do that, and we can try and start over."

He let out a deep, shuddered sigh and nodded his head. He would. There was no way her would let another academy and potentially another kingdom be destroyed. If Adam was attacking another one, then hopefully Cinder was with him, and he could make them both pay.

Ghira and Kali then walk down the steps to join their daughter and the rest. He addressed the group with a stern look on his face. "We have about two weeks before Adam's attack on Haven. We're going to need shields, training, whatever we can do to protect as many people as possible."

Oxon deployed his shield at the man's words. "Allow me, sir, I know my way around defensive tactics and combat. If I can, I'll ensure they have the strength to protect themselves and any others around them." He got a nod from the man and a smile from his wife.

The motherly woman turned to look at the others before speaking as well. "We'll need transportation too. For everyone."

Blake and Sun shared a look before she grinned at her mom. "I think I know a ship captain who owes us a favor."

~~~(L)~~~

Poor house, that place didn't deserve to get damaged so badly.

After a few days of driving, I've finally moved into Yellowstone, land of geysers and bison. Can't wait for a fun summer season! 150th anniversary! This signals the end of the rapid updates unfortunately since my busy season begins.