Chapter 3: The Iron Horse Has Afterburners
It took some digging through the sands, but eventually Sienna was able to find an intact tent. No sleeping bag, but they would just have to make do. The two moved away from the site of the destroyed camp before finally coming to a stop under the eerie silhouette of a dead tree—too dry from the scorching desert sun to ever have the chance of rotting away. Despite the moon scarcely offering any light, Sienna moved with ease as she began expertly pitching up the tent without so much as an issue.
She has night vision too, Violet observed.
While the tiger-faunus attended to building the temporary shelter, the Hunter kept a watchful eye to their surroundings.
Grimm. Creatures made of pure Darkness. The ones we just encountered didn't seem too impressive. But who knows what else is out there. I need to report this to Ikora and figure out where they come from.
Violet crossed her arms in thought, beginning to go over what she learned so far. I still have the Dust crystals from the mine on me. Once I'm alone, I'll have Yewan scan them to see what exactly they are. Which reminds me, I heard SDC come up earlier regarding the mine. I'm not sure what it stands for yet, but it sounds like an organization of some sort. They used it in terms of the mine and the security team, so I believe this SDC is the company that owns the mine.
If Dust is used for weapons, then there's no doubt that they're being used to combat Grimm. From what I heard from Tukson and Sienna, huntsmen serve as some sort of law enforcement as well as fighters against Grimm. In that regard, they don't sound too different from Guardians. It would serve us well if we could cooperate. Perhaps if I could encounter one of these huntsmen, I might be able to learn some more.
Violet exhaled slowly through her nose. Until I have confirmation from Ikora, I can't reveal my origins. It would be better to continue to blend in as much as possible to gather information. If it's anything like those pre-Golden Age movies, they might be suspicious of aliens on principle. Violet chuckled quietly at the thought.
"What's so funny?"
Violet turned to the source of the voice, where she found Sienna standing in front of the now fully set-up tent. "Nothing. Just something I was thinking about."
Sienna shrugged. The tiger-faunus took a few paces towards the tree before climbing up with little effort. Violet watched her curiously as she began breaking off branches and tossing them onto the sand below. "Can you find some rocks for the fire?"
"Will a fire not give away our location?" Violet looked around them.
Sienna snickered. "To who? No one's looking for us. As for Grimm, we're better off warm and content than cold and miserable."
Violet couldn't argue with the logic, although she didn't exactly feel the cold. Guardians were quite resilient, and extreme temperatures on both ends of the spectrum were little more than uncomfortable inconveniences.
The Hunter put her survival skills to use with the mundane task, quickly finding a number of appropriately sized rocks to maintain the fire. She placed them in a circle, where Sienna met her and bundled the broken branches in the center. Before Sienna could begin to start the fire, Violet picked up one of the twigs in her hand. Just as Sienna was about to ask what she was doing, she watched a fire light from within Violet's palm, spreading to the twig before casually throwing it into the rest of the bundle.
"How does your semblance work?" Sienna asked.
Violet looked up from the slowly spreading fire. Sienna was once again met by her own reflection in the visor, along with the occasional red flicker from the flame.
"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to. A lot of people keep their semblances secret." Sienna turned away from the visor to watch the flames instead.
From what she could gather, Violet could light things she touches on fire, and if she so chose, those objects can even explode as she saw from the flurry of knives. If that were the case, then she would have the ability to blow up the stick in the campfire if she wanted to. That should have unnerved her, but Sienna doubted that Violet would go through so much effort to save everyone if that was her goal.
Sienna quietly watched the fire, waiting for the woman in black to say something. Instead, her vision was suddenly obscured as she felt something tossed over her. The tiger-faunus pulled it off, finding a hefty black cloak in her hands. With a cocked brow, she turned to Violet, who was now standing next to her. Sienna didn't realize when she had even stood up.
"I'll watch for the rest of the night. I can't sleep, anyway." Violet casually waved a hand with her other against her hip.
Sienna frowned as she looked between the cloak in her arms and Violet. "I'm not a child, Violet. I am more than capable of taking a watch as well, and I have certainly had sleepless nights in the cold." The tiger-faunus stood up, annoyed, motioning for the woman in black to take back her cloak.
Violet raised a palm to stop her. "I don't doubt that. I'm doing this because I want to, and for no other reason."
Sienna stared at the emotionless visor before giving up. "Tsk," she sounded in annoyance as she began to wear the cloak around her shoulders.
"It's not a sleeping bag, but it'll do, right?" Violet made conversation, but didn't receive an answer. "That cloak has gotten me through a lot of nights like this. Not exactly for warmth, since…uh, my suit can handle that. But it's always been with me."
Sienna looked up at the standing Hunter. Without the cloak hiding her form and the light of the fire, she was able to get a better look at Violet's attire. The black bodysuit was quite form fitting and she looked incredibly athletic. "How long have you been alone?"
Violet tapped her fingers against her thigh rhythmically. It was something that she thought about more often than she would like to admit. After all, being "Ikora's best spy" meant being on deep-infiltration missions more often and longer than any other agent. And that meant having a lot of time for herself to think. There were times she thought she should retire from The Hidden and return to the City, but she knew that she would grow weary of that too. It was the place she was supposed to call home, but she hardly even knew it. So, she kept taking on mission after mission, with Ikora reminding her that she could refuse them if she wanted to. However, being the best at what she does also meant a looming sense of duty—and with it, isolation.
"Longer than with others," Violet said evenly, seemingly without pride nor regret, though Sienna noted the coldness. "I'm going to get a better view," she said as she jumped up to the branches above them, sitting in the tree to get a better vantage point along with rest.
"Listen," the Hunter said slowly out of view. "I've had to do things by myself for a very long time."
"Hey," Yewan interjected jokingly.
"I'm used to just doing things myself, without—" Violet cut herself off as she absentmindedly drew Whisper from its holster, twirling it by the trigger guard on her finger. "It wasn't my intention to insinuate that you couldn't do something."
Sienna nodded slowly to herself as she considered her words, pulling the cloak around her tighter as she sat by the fire. She had to admit, the warmth was quite comforting against the cold desert night. "No, it's fine. I shouldn't have snapped at you like that." Sienna felt awkward, apologizing like this. "Running the White Fang is complicated. Ghira is…a lot of people are looking at me right now. I can't afford to look weak." The tiger-faunus let out a slow breath.
"I get it." Violet leaned back against the tree. "You've mentioned Ghira before. They are the High Leader of the White Fang, right? What are they like?"
Well, if I'm going to be here for at least a year, it would serve me well to get to know the world and its politics more, Violet reasoned.
"We owe the White Fang to Ghira." Sienna began thoughtfully. "Unless you grew up into it, you probably wouldn't know this. Even most of the new recruits aren't caught up on the history. And why would they? Everyone has their own reasons for joining." She sighed.
"The initial High Leaders got lazy after the Revolution. They were either too stupid or too complacent." Sienna's brow furrowed. "Or maybe they were just tired of fighting," she drawled tiredly. "Because of that, it was one step forward and two steps back. Until Ghira took charge. He finally got the White Fang organized properly, and for a time, it seemed like it was working. That's why I joined."
The tiger-faunus sighed deeply. It seemed that she was doing a lot of that lately. "Ghira had a presence. When he spoke, people stopped and listened. I really thought that he might've been able to bridge the gap between humans and faunus."
Violet stared out into the dark night, but she was clearly able to hear the disappointment that colored Sienna's voice. "What happened?" she asked.
"Time passed," Sienna chuckled scornfully. "It doesn't matter how good of a speaker you are if people can plug their ears or just walk away. People can't be bothered to actually do something if it doesn't directly involve them. It was all too easy for humans to just turn a blind eye, and that's just as bad as the supremacists," she growled.
"And Ghira hasn't changed tactics?"
"I think there was a time when he might have considered it." Sienna leaned back until she fully laid down in the sand with the cloak wrapped tightly around her. With her face toward the sky, she could see one of Violet's legs casually hanging off the branch above her. "But he's since had a kid. It's been years of us telling him that something needs to change, but he insists that we have to keep using peaceful means of protest to show the children that we can be better than how humans treat us. At this rate, the only future these children will know is one where they can be walked all over," she said bitterly.
"And that's why people have been looking up to you now?" Violet looked down, unexpectedly meeting amber eyes below.
Sienna averted her eyes, for some reason not being able to meet the gaze of a visor. "The White Fang is more than Ghira, and right now, the White Fang needs change. It's more than being tired of waiting—we can't wait anymore. We have to make people listen. Isn't that why you hit the Dust mine?"
Violet didn't answer.
Sienna looked back up towards the Hunter, though all she could see was her leg now. "What's stopping you from joining us?"
Violet let a slow breath escape her. "There's something I need to do first." She knew that most guardians were free to do whatever they wanted. Even though the Tower had its leadership in the Vanguard, it was impossible to tell immortal warriors what to do. In fact, Violet was well aware of quite a few Lightbearers who never even joined the City. However, there was a sense of duty that she just couldn't shake.
What else would I do?
"What do you need to do? I might—the White Fang might be able to help you." Sienna took in a deep breath. She didn't realize until just then that the cloak didn't carry so much as a scent.
Considering her status as a criminal as part of the White Fang, I could probably tell her my current goal without repercussions. Unless somehow what I'm about to ask is that reprehensible, which I highly doubt. Having more information on those towers will make infiltration much easier if I know what I'm dealing with. Violet reasoned in her head.
"I need to get to a communications tower," Violet said carefully, glancing down below for a reaction. Sienna looked surprised, but not threatened. That was good.
"You need to get to a CCT tower?" Sienna cocked a brow. "Anyone can visit them, but that's not what you meant, is it?"
Violet didn't answer.
Sienna snickered. "Thought so. Well they're all heavily guarded…" She trailed off.
Violet patiently waited for her thought to continue, but after a few moments of silence, she frowned. "Sienna?"
"Ah," the tiger-faunus sounded. "Yeah, sorry. I was just thinking about something. I am getting pretty tired though. We'll talk in the morning."
Violet looked down, finding her laying back with her eyes closed. "Hmm," she hummed. The Hunter sat back upright, twirling Whisper again.
"You probably could infiltrate any of the towers by yourself if you really wanted to. If they're being guarded by the likes we've already seen, then they pose very little threat to you. You could also probably sneak in. We still have a stealth drive we bought off Cayde," Yewan commented.
"Those guards were weak, but we don't know if that will remain true in the future. If they're being guarded by the likes of Sienna or Adam, it would be much harder to fight without relying on Light, and we don't know how durable they really are. It would reflect poorly on us if we kill them, especially when it seems like we have a common enemy in these Grimm," Violet mumbled within the helmet. "I would prefer to sneak in. We probably could do it now, but the less surprises, the better. Let's see what Sienna knows and figure out our next step from there."
Sunlight hitting her eyelids rose Sienna from her sleep. She sat up with the cloak still wrapped around her, feeling soreness in her shoulders. The tiger-faunus grimaced, before turning to look at the tent behind her. "Why did I even bother?" she grumbled.
"Good morning."
Sienna heard the cool, even voice and turned to find the woman in black casually leaning against the tree.
"Did you sleep well?" Violet pushed herself off the tree, walking over to Sienna. The tiger-faunus noticed how even now, Violet's steps were silent. Trained. Habitual.
"Better than you," Sienna joked as she stretched out the kinks in her shoulders. With a yawn, she stood up and began collapsing the tent, though she was wondering how necessary it would be for the rest of their journey. After successfully packing away the tent, she realized she was still wearing Violet's cloak after feeling how warm she was getting.
Sienna took it off, handing it back to the Hunter. "I don't know why you thought wearing all black in the desert was a good idea."
Violet threw the familiar black cloak over her shoulders and pulled the hood up once more. "My suit regulates temperature, so I'm not really affected by extreme temperatures one way or another." A partial lie. It wasn't the suit that did it, though it did help. Guardians learned to use their Light to protect them from all the different elements they would find in the solar system.
"Right, you did mention that." Sienna nodded. "That's a really nifty suit. If you're trying to hide that you're from Atlas, then you're doing a horrible job of it," she chuckled.
This is the second time she mentioned Atlas, Violet thought. I assume it is a more advanced country, or something equivalent, if my gear could be mistaken for theirs.
"So, where is this steed of yours?" Sienna shielded her eyes from the sun with the palm of her hand as she scanned the horizon.
Yewan opened up the map on Violet's HUD. It was largely empty, as Yewan has only been able to map out where they've been so far. He provided a waypoint to mark out where she left her sparrow.
"Thanks, Yewan," she mumbled in her helmet. The Hunter aligned herself with the waypoint before pointing a finger in that direction. "Due west of here. If we make good pace, we should be there before the sun goes down."
"This is going to be a long walk," Sienna grumbled, slinging the packed tent over her shoulder.
And the two walked.
"What's the story behind your piece?" Sienna made conversation as they began their long journey.
Violet pulled out the black hand cannon from its holster with her finger off the trigger, pointing the barrel towards the ground as she stretched her arm out to show it off. "What makes you think it has a story?"
Sienna took note of the taurus emblem on the grip of the gun before pointing at the gold engravings along Whisper's barrel. "Are you going to tell me that you put wyverns on your gun for no reason?" Sienna wondered if Violet engraved images of those legendary Grimm for the same reasons the White Fang have begun wearing Grimm masks.
"Not wyverns, no." Violet shook her head as she holstered the gun. "I call the piece Whisper. I had it commissioned after…a story. It's said that there are powerful creatures called Wish Dragons that could grant you anything you desire. The wishes never went the way you wanted it though," the Hunter snickered. "I wanted a gun that could kill one."
Sienna looked at Violet curiously. "I've never heard of that story."
"Yeah, probably not," Violet chuckled before continuing. "The dragons had a tendency to whisper all sorts of things to you—if you listened to them, the dragons got stronger. So I whispered back."
"You're saying this like it's a true story." Sienna's brow furrowed.
Violet shrugged. "Is there a story behind yours?" She gestured towards the chains wrapped around Sienna's wrist.
Amber eyes flicked down to the weapon wrapped around her, raising her wrist in front of her as if looking down at a watch. "This old thing? This is Cerberus Whip." She looked at Violet's whose emotionless visor stared back, seemingly expectantly.
"The story is definitely not as epic as yours," she grumbled. "Saying it out loud is kind of embarrassing. I was young when I had it made. Whips are often associated with oppressors, so when I joined the White Fang…" Sienna felt heat rise to her ears. "I thought it would be poetic. Rising up for myself."
"I think it's a good story. Certainly more noble than mine," Violet assured.
Sienna scratched the back of her head awkwardly, feeling the embarrassment fade away. "Thanks."
"Alright, here it is," Violet said as she stopped in front of a tarp. They had been walking for hours and by now, the sun was just beginning to set. In that time, they largely fell into a comfortable silence—occasionally making idle conversation of little importance. She reached down to grab one edge of the tarp and lifted with enough strength to pull the anchors out of the sand, revealing only more sand underneath. Violet stared silently at the space of her missing sparrow.
"Huh." Sienna nodded slowly with her hands on her hips. "That's a nice looking vehicle you got there," she said dryly.
"I don't understand," the Hunter mumbled with a frown. "It should be impossible for anyone other than myself to operate it." Most guardians had encryptions in place on their vehicles that made it largely impossible to unlock without the help of a ghost. Violet was certainly no exception in this regard.
"I don't think anyone operated it exactly," Sienna said as she pointed somewhere in the sand. "Look."
Violet watched the tiger-faunus take a few paces to the side and crouch down, pointing out faint footprints in the sand that ran parallel to a long line that was dragged along. Not even the Hunter noticed it at first. Sienna had sharp senses.
"If we arrived any later, the wind would have completely blown away the tracks. Lucky us." Sienna stood up and began following the tracks. "Let's hurry, before the wind picks up again."
Violet tossed the tarp aside as she followed in tow. The Hunter looked down at the tracks. The footprints were smaller than expected. She raised her head, following the line until she was looking at the horizon, finding a dot that could have been a settlement of some sort. "Why would a child come all the way out here?"
"For any number of reasons," Sienna said casually. "Living in Vacuo doesn't mean an easy life. Unless you're from one of the cities—and I say cities lightly—then you probably lived nomadically. And when you're living like that, you have to figure things out as you go."
"You sound familiar with it," Violet commented.
She shook her head. "Not really. The White Fang just has a number of members from all over, and Vacuo is no exception."
"That reminds me," Violet began. "You wanted to continue the conversation from yesterday?"
"Hmm?" Sienna raised a brow before recognition painted her face. "Right, the CCT towers. I'd love to get into more detail, but it won't do you any good until we're out of here. Let's get your bike, or whatever it is, and then we can talk about it."
I'm not sure why she needs to get to a CCT tower so badly, but it looks like we have information that she doesn't. It wouldn't paint me in a good light to the others if I give this information for nothing, so I want to make a deal. I'll have to sort out the details later, Sienna thought to herself.
Violet sighed. "Fine."
The two followed the unexpected detour until the settlement was clearly within view. It appeared to be made up of large dome-like tents and a series of non-descript wagons. Some of them were once painted, though their vibrant colors have long since worn away. The most notable part of the settlement was the massive sinkhole only two dozen feet away from the closest tent. As the two drew closer, it quickly became clear to Sienna that this place lacked liveliness, even for a Vacuan settlement.
"This place feels off," Sienna muttered, eyes darting left and right as they entered.
"Hmm," Violet hummed.
Fortunately for them—and likely unfortunately for the settlement—the place was small and easy enough for them to navigate, which made spotting the sparrow easy. The black, double pronged vehicle sat unceremoniously on the ground with a number of tools around it that clearly scratched parts of the sparrow in attempts to take it apart. The only concerning part was how it was surrounded by a gang of faunus. It didn't take keen senses to see how they hoarded all sorts of supplies around them while the rest of the settlement seemed barren.
"Welcome to Kenyte!" one man exclaimed as he approached. His hair was gray and unkempt and he wore a patchy beard. His clothes were thin and timeworn and his brown leather jacket was clearly too small as it hugged his shoulders even without being zippered. "How can the eminent Grant Gundy help you?" He waved a hand over himself in the laziest bow as he referred to himself in the third person.
Violet and Sienna stopped side by side in front of the man. His gang behind him strutted up in turn. The two briefly glanced each at each other, giving silent nods as they understood the circumstances. "You have something of mine." the Hunter said evenly as she nodded towards the sparrow behind them.
"Oh yeah?" Grant boldly looked away from the two in front of him, glancing back at the vehicle on the ground before turning back. "Well it was so graciously donated to us by lil' Fox o'er there."
Violet glanced in the direction the gang leader nodded towards, finding a small child poking their head out of one of the tents. The boy had dark skin and a mop of copper red hair. He couldn't have been older than thirteen years old and most striking were his milky white eyes, indicating blindness. And yet, the kid seemed focused on them. The Hunter looked back at the gang leader. "It wasn't his to give."
"Is that right," Grant said slowly as he scratched his beard, feigning deliberation. "Listen friend, I don't know what your situation is—but fact of the matter is that it's mine now. So y'all," the gang leader pointed at both Violet and Sienna. "Can either fuck right off or start showing me some lien. Y'all look like you can spare the money," he said as he looked them both up and down.
Violet tilted her head to the side ever so slightly. "You don't seriously expect me to pay for my own stolen goods."
The man shrugged with a smug look painted over his face. "New to Vacuan business?"
"Don't pretend that all Vacuans are scumbags like you," Sienna growled.
"Huh?" Grant narrowed his eyes as the men behind him straightened up, seemingly trying to look as threatening as possible. He took a few steps closer towards the tiger-faunus, having to crane his neck up to look at her—though that didn't seem to deter his confidence. "Lady, I don't think you understand the situation you're in."
Sienna smirked. "Do you?" With a single flick of her wrist, the chains loosened around her forearm as Cerberus Whip unraveled to the ground with a clink. "Do you want to find out?"
Violet quietly observed the gang. They were tense. Their stances were far too rigid. She could already see the nervous beads of sweat forming on their foreheads. Grant defiantly held Sienna's gaze before his eyes darted between their weapons. Violet had three weapons on her person that were clearly well maintained, while Sienna had a chain-link whip with detachable Dust-blades attached at the end. Meanwhile, the gang and their leader had run of the mill revolvers—more than half of which were rusted—and a series of improvised weapons.
Grant looked back at Sienna then at Violet, peering into the emotionless visor as if trying to decipher something. He looked her up and down, unable to gather much about the rest of her gear as the cloak that wrapped around her covered much of her form. Finally, the man relented with his arms raised in surrender as he took a few steps back. "Y'all ain't worth it. Boys, step aside," he called out as he stepped out of the way.
Violet and Sienna watched the gang part, allowing access to the sparrow.
Grant Gundy stretched an arm out towards the vehicle. "Go on, get your shit and get the hell out of Kenyte."
Violet and Sienna shared a look once more and nodded in understanding. The Hunter approached her sparrow carefully while Sienna stayed put, keeping a watchful eye on the others with her hand still on her weapon. Violet stepped over the sparrow and as she sat down, the vehicle hummed to life as it levitated off the ground. She heard some suppressed sounds of awe from the gang. Even Sienna seemed impressed.
Violet carefully drove the jet black sparrow past the gang until she was beside Sienna. The tiger-faunus took one last scan of the crowd before looking at Violet with a brow raised. "Where am I supposed to sit?"
The Hunter scooted forward on the seat, giving barely enough room behind her. "To be honest, this is really supposed to be a single-occupant vehicle. It's going to be a tight squeeze."
"No kidding," Sienna grumbled. She stretched a leg over before plopping down behind the woman in black, uncomfortably saddling her legs in tow with Violet, who tried to make as much room as possible with varying levels of success. Sienna leaned back, gripping the seat behind her and relying on her feline balance to avoid being completely pressed against the woman in front of her.
Violet looked at her passenger behind her. "You're ready?"
Sienna shrugged. "I guess."
The Hunter looked at the way Sienna was sitting and chuckled. "I'll try to just cruise." She carefully drove the sparrow forward until they were a comfortable distance away from anything behind them so she could engage the boost. "Alright, I'm about to—"
"Hey, Copper!" They heard Grant shout out.
Violet and Sienna looked over their shoulders, finding the gang approaching the tent they saw the boy in. A few other residents began poking their heads out of their tents as well to witness the commotion, but none dared to come out. Sienna looked at how scared the humans were of this faunus gang. She wondered if that was how people saw the White Fang. It made her feel sick.
"That boy of yours fucked us over!" Grant shouted for the whole settlement to hear. "So why don't y'all come on out? We're owed."
A middle-aged man with tanned skin and sun bleached hair stepped out of the tent. Despite standing tall with his chest pushed forward, it was easy to tell that the man was putting on a brave face. He clenched his jaw tight as he met Grant's gaze with a glare of his own. "That's enough, Gundy."
"Oh, c'mon now, Copper," the gang leader said with a cocky smile. "You know the rules. We gotta collect some taxes for the good of Kenyte."
Copper grimaced. "You and I both know it ain't for the good of the people here." He nearly spat.
Grant merely held the same arrogant smile.
"We don't have nothing left, Gundy. You made sure of that last time. Fox already paid up with that bike. It ain't our fault you couldn't keep your hands on it," Copper said as he balled up his fists at his sides in defiance.
Grant's face twitched at that. "You've got some fuckin' nerve," the gang leader muttered as he drew his revolver from its holster.
I've seen enough, Violet thought to herself as she shook her head, stepping off of the sparrow. The levitating bike slowly floated down to the ground. "I'll be right back," she whispered to Sienna before silently making her stride towards the confrontation.
Sienna smirked as she shook her head. Hero-ing again, are you? She thought to herself, amused. The tiger-faunus stood up from the sparrow as well, following quietly behind.
"If you don't got nothing to pay, then that means you're breaking the rules." Grant cocked back the hammer of his revolver with a resounding click. He lifted the revolver until it was pointed straight at Copper's chest. "And you know what happens to those who break the rules."
Copper's throat tightened as he swallowed. With a clenched jaw, he closed his eyes. "Just leave Fox out of this."
A gunshot echoed against the silent desert. Copper winced, but no pain came. He opened his eyes, finding Grant clutching at his wrist in pain as the revolver laid in the sand next to him, smoking and in pieces. They all turned to the source of the gunshot, finding the cloaked woman in black pointing her sleek hand cannon between them, standing only ten feet away. Violet let out a slow breath as she holstered her piece.
"What the fuck are ya doin' pokin' your nose into our business?" Grant hissed as he massaged his wrist. He looked at his ruined revolver in the sand and tsked before reaching a hand out towards his men. In a heartbeat, he was provided with another gun. "You already got what you wanted, so go on and git."
The Hunter remained unmoving. "No."
"If you're gonna stay here, then you're gonna follow the fuckin' rules." The man holstered his revolver as he walked over to the clearing in the center of Kenyte. His gang seemed to understand what was going on and stood out of the way, while Copper retreated into his tent. The gang leader finally came to a stop and squared his stance, with his hand hovering at his side. "You got a problem? Then turn off your aura and draw."
"A man after my own heart," Violet said dryly. She looked at Sienna, who remained a few feet away. She seemed more curious than concerned. The woman in black only offered a nod before walking over to meet Gundy, putting ten paces between them. Honoring the terms, she willed her shield away.
"Are you sure you want to do that? Who's to say that he even turned his off?" Yewan questioned from within her helmet.
"We both know I'm much faster. Besides, I wonder if that antique of his can even get through my armor," Violet muttered as she came to a stop.
Yewan sighed. "Hunters."
Sienna watched their stances. It was clear that Gundy had done this before. It was probably how he lorded over these people. And yet, she didn't feel a hint of worry. Why should she, when Violet stood as casually as though she was queuing for coffee.
One of Gundy's goons walked over with a coin in hand. "Draw when this coin hits the sand," he called out. "Ready?"
He was met with silence. With a resounding flick, the coin flew into the air. Time itself seemed to slow. Grant Gundy squinted at his opponent's black visor, unable to get a read on her. It infuriated him to no end to be met with nothing.
I'll shoot her right in the gut where there ain't any plating, Grant thought. She's not going to have time to regret that when she's laying dead in the sand.
He watched the coin from the corner of his eye. 3…2…1…
The coin hit the sand.
BANG.
This was the second time Kenyte heard that gunshot. Before he could even react, he was already staring down the end of a barrel. The gang leader looked down at himself and didn't see any blood. What just happened? That was when he realized that he felt lighter. He looked at his hip, finding his holster missing. Behind him, laying in the sand once more, was his holster along with the revolver in it—no doubt ruined as there was a smoking hole coming out of the leather. He turned back to his opponent in disbelief.
Violet returned Whisper to its holster once again. "Give it up, Gundy. The people don't want you."
Grant looked at his surroundings, seeing the people of Kenyte poking their heads out. Instead of fear, they looked in awe of what just happened. He grimaced as he turned to his men. "One of us was supposed to die here! She broke the fuckin' rules! So all of you go on and give the fuckin' rule-breaker what for!" He roared.
To his credit, Grant Gundy did seem to have the loyalty of his men, as they jumped into action. Whether that was out of fear or genuine respect, Violet did not know. She doubted it was the latter. The Hunter reached into the Light to will her shield back around her as she met the goons in the middle. To the first she greeted with a simple high kick, though it had enough strength behind it to send the man flying up six feet in the air before crashing back down.
Another tried to tackle her into the sand, but she smoothly stepped to the side, kicking into their heel with a side hook to put them off balance while grabbing their shirt to force them into the ground. As she did so, she heard a number of gunshots. Just as quickly, she heard the bullets get deflected and the sound of chains. She looked up to see Sienna in front of her with Cerberus Whip in hand, staring down the gunmen.
"As if I'd let you have all the fun," the tiger-faunus said without looking back at Violet, who could practically hear the confident smile that Sienna was wearing.
"No one dies," Violet said plainly as she punched the man she took down across the face, knocking him out cold.
"Whatever, hero," Sienna said coolly as she flicked Cerberus Whip at the men in front of three dived out of the way, but the point of this attack wasn't to hit them. In that time, the tiger-faunus closed the distance and kicked one of them in the head when they landed on the ground, before a single flick of her wrist redirected the chains to wrap around the other two. With a single pull, the two slammed into one another before they collapsed, unconscious.
Five down, seven more to go, Violet counted. She watched two others scramble to draw their guns, panicked. The Hunter shook her head, disappointed that they would fire when she was so close to their friend who had their aura depleted. Sloppy. She kicked off from her crouched position and in a single stride was able to get within range of them, uppercutting one before roundhousing the other. They dropped like flies. She took this chance to observe the four she managed to incapacitate so far. She felt their auras shatter under her blows. It seemed like that was enough to completely wear them out.
The other five were not so foolish as to draw their guns when their allies were so close and vulnerable, instead opting to use a myriad of improvised weapons—including clubs, crowbars, and pipes. Violet smirked as the five rushed her, only for two of them to hit the sand face first as Sienna wrapped Cerberus Whip around their ankles before pulling them toward her. The Hunter met the last three in kind, slipping between swings of their weapons before returning with blows of her own. Two of them were knocked out with single strikes again.
The last roared as they swung down their crowbar toward Violet's clavicle with all their might, only for her to casually grab it as it came down. "What?" he said in shock, as he watched the woman before him pull the weapon out of his grasp with unimaginable strength.
"Sit down," she said.
And so he did.
Violet turned to look at Sienna, who was stepping over the unconscious bodies of the two she pulled. She smiled at the Hunter before it quickly disappeared. Something seemed to catch her eye. She flicked her wrist again, shooting Cerberus Whip past the woman in black, where she heard a yelp behind her. With a pull, the gang leader landed in front of Violet with his face in the sand.
Sienna approached the man, who turned his face to look up at her, spitting out sand. She merely shook her head. "You're a disgrace to faunus." With a kick to the face, Grant Gundy's aura shattered and the man was out cold. She looked down at the thirteen unconscious bodies in the sand around them, her mouth twisting in an unsatisfied expression. "If we leave, they'll just become a problem again."
"I don't think so." Violet shook her head. The both of them watched as the people of Kenyte began to come out of their tents, observing the aftermath of the skirmish. "The only thing Gundy had over them was fear. And look at him now. What do they have to be scared of?"
"Hmm," Sienna considered.
"E—Excuse me."
Violet and Sienna turned to the source of the voice, finding Copper and the child, Fox, sheepishly hiding behind him. "I can't thank you both enough," Copper said graciously. "If it weren't for you, I'd be—"
Violet raised her hand to stop the man from continuing. "Don't mention it." She looked at the blind child behind him, who seemed to be looking right back at her.
Copper looked down at the boy and ruffled his hair with a gentle smile. He looked back up between Kenyte's saviors. With a grin, he stretched out his hand. "We'll remember you forever."
Sienna looked at the man curiously before shaking it. "Good luck. Take care of your kid."
"I will." The man turned to look at the rest of the settlement. "It'll be much easier to do that now that everyone's spirit is back. We'll be able to kick these hoodlums out for good."
Violet waved farewell as she turned to make her way to her sparrow. Sienna followed next to her.
"I've never been thanked by a human before," Sienna noted after they were out of earshot.
Violet glanced over. The tiger-faunus was looking straight ahead, seemingly mulling things over in her head.
"It was…nice."
"Good." Violet nodded.
"This is Vacuo, though." Sienna shrugged, seemingly trying to battle her own satisfaction. "It's the other kingdoms where the discrimination is rampant." She recalled how the Vacuan members of the White Fang had told her that they largely joined because of the Schnee Dust Company rather than treatment from their communities. Apparently making a life out here earned you respect enough.
So this world has kingdoms and Vacuo is one of them, Violet thought as she looked out to the barren desert. Not much of a kingdom.
The Hunter sat back into her sparrow once again, with Sienna mirroring behind her, sitting back into that awkward position. Violet looked back at her passenger, chuckling at the sight.
"I didn't know Atlas made hoverbikes too. I've only seen the cars." Sienna sounded impressed.
"Yeah…It's called a sparrow," Violet said carefully.
"Is this you finally admitting you're from Atlas?" The tiger-faunus cocked a brow in a playful manner.
Violet ignored the comment. "You know, this thing has one hell of a boost. You should probably hold on to me. It's not like this thing has seat belts. It's not even meant for the both of us."
"I think I'll manage," she said as she gripped tightly onto the seat.
The Hunter shrugged before looking forward. "If you say so. Ready?"
"Ride on, cowboy."
Violet chuckled and engaged the sparrow's afterburners. The vehicle thrusted forward, causing Sienna to yelp and wrap her arms around Violet's waist to avoid falling off.
Violet's chuckle turned into a loud laugh as the sand sailed past them.
