A/N: This story is being crossposted to AO3 under the same handle, LionheartedWritings. I love reading your reviews, but there is no way to create discussion on this site. I will continue posting to both FFN and AO3, but the best way for me to respond to your comments are on AO3, so hope to see you there!
Chapter 6: Nightstalker
Ghira sent the necessary files to Violet's scroll—or rather scroll function. After Yewan confirmed that everything was in order, Violet thanked him and took her leave. Apparently Sienna had no further business with the Belladonnas as she followed her out. The two said their farewells to Kali and Blake before exiting the manor. That was when Violet realized that the painting behind Ghira's desk was the view of Kuo Kuana from their front door.
"The Belladonnas have a great view, don't they?"
Violet didn't realize how long she was staring. She looked to the source of the voice next to her, who likewise was gazing upon the city with a tenderness she didn't expect.
Sienna wondered if Violet found the city as beautiful as she did. When she turned to look at her, she was once again met with an emotionless visor. "This is your first time here, right?"
Violet nodded. "Yes. Come to think of it, I've never been anywhere quite like this."
"You won't find anywhere else that is quite like this," Sienna said through a half suppressed laugh. "Well, there are some places in Mistral, but…" she trailed off before shaking her head with a sigh. "It's not important."
"Are you from Mistral?" Violet asked curiously.
"Yeah."
Violet waited for her to continue, but it quickly became clear that she had no intention of speaking any more on the subject. Not wanting to loiter on the Belladonnas' porch any longer, she began walking. Sienna seemed to follow next to her.
"You don't have to leave immediately, do you?" Sienna asked. If Violet didn't know better, she would have thought there was a hint of hopefulness in her tone. "The gala is in two days, so why not stay for just a little longer? I'll even buy you a drink."
"The offer is tempting, but it already takes sixteen hours, give or take, from here to Atlas. I want to do some scouting before the night to see what I'm dealing with, too," she said. "
"So it would've been a yes to the drink then?" The tiger-faunus smirked.
Violet's shoulders jumped in what Sienna came to recognize as a laugh. "Was this just a devious ploy to get my helmet off?"
"Can't blame me for being curious." Sienna shrugged. "This might be the last time we see each other, you know?"
"Hmm," Violet hummed. She hadn't considered that. She thought little else of what to do after establishing the comms link with Ikora. At the moment, she was just going to await her next orders. "When you say it like that…I suppose you wouldn't mind walking me back to the docks?"
Sienna smiled. "We'll take the scenic route."
And so Violet allowed Sienna to lead her on a walk through Kuo Kuana, in a rare instance of not taking the most efficient path forward. She took in the sights as they passed her by, making her think of her home planet. She had been all over the solar system, but she saw shockingly little of Earth outside of the City and Old Russia. According to Ikora, missions at home were better left to other Hidden and their fireteams. Violet's skillset and tendency to work alone made her ideal for longer term missions off-world. Last she heard, Hawaii was overrun by a Fallen House.
"What's next for the White Fang in the meantime?" Violet asked.
"We're currently on standby," Sienna answered. "Ghira doesn't want us acting on any operations until we see how the SDC responds to our demands. For once, I agree with him. If we remain active before Schnee even responds, then it only signals that we will attack his Dust mines anyway and nothing will change. If he decides to ignore us…well, at least we didn't give him a reason. Until we get a response, the White Fang is to cease activity."
"Fair." Violet nodded. "Will you be bored? You don't strike me as someone who likes to relax."
"You think you know me now, do you?" Sienna side-eyed the Hunter with a smirk before chuckling. "You are only half right. It's not that I don't like to relax, but how can I when there is so much work to be done? It's more like…I can't afford to be idle," she sighed. "I'll have to figure out how to make myself useful for the next few days."
"Remind you of someone?" Yewan said rhetorically from within the helmet.
"I think I can relate," Violet said evenly.
Sienna looked at her curiously. "What do you usually do to relax?"
Violet paused. What did she do? "I…I'm not sure. I'm usually occupied with something to do. Sometimes that something to do takes time, like waiting on this CCT info. When that happens, I catch up on sleep." Violet raised a hand under her chin in thought. "Sometimes research. Clean my equipment. Personal hygiene?" she asked into the air, not particularly directed at anyone.
Sienna snickered. "And Tukson says that I have a problem."
Violet shrugged, but unlike Sienna, Yewan could see his guardian's expression. She was still thinking about it. "Do you?"
It was Sienna's turn to shrug. "Likewise, personal hygiene." She chuckled. "Catch up on sleep…" she trailed off as she thought how similar they were beginning to sound. "Sometimes I go out to drink with Tukson," she quickly added.
That seemed to peak her interest, as Sienna watched Violet's visor turn slightly towards her.
"It's not like that, if that's what you're wondering," Sienna said through an amused smile. "I'm not exactly into men." She shrugged and moved on. "Kali likes to have a girls' night, as she puts it, whenever I'm in the city. It's nice, but somehow she always manages to steer the conversation to what a great guy Ghira is. The last thing I want to talk about, but it's hard to get through to her a few drinks in."
Violet chuckled. "That sounds nice."
She never had a night like that. Ever since her first resurrection, she had been fighting like hell. To this day, she can't explain just how instinctual using the Light was and is to her, but she remembered what her first kill—or rather kills—were like. A band of Fallen Vandals. She knew that if she wanted to survive, she would have to kill them. So she did. And she did that many more times as Yewan guided her to the Traveler. When she finally reached the floating enigmatic spherical entity, she met Zavala. He described himself as just one of the Titans building the walls of a new city, but she knew he was so much more by the way people looked at him. He was and is a natural leader.
It was through Zavala that she was introduced to Ikora, who immediately took to her. Apparently the Warlock saw something in her that she didn't. To this day, Violet still didn't understand it. Together, they honed their skills and while the Titans built the City's walls, they went into the wilds. Ikora was and still is odd for a Warlock. A researcher with a violent streak who wanted to know the enemy to better destroy them. That was how they eventually formed the Hidden. Ever since, Violet had been taking on assignment after assignment without any long term breaks. She wondered what it was like to sit with someone and share a drink with no talk of business. No agenda in the air, nothing to look out for—just words to fill the night.
Thankfully she had Yewan as a persistent companion over these centuries. She knew many guardians who got into spats with their ghosts. She remembered that time when Ikora and Ophiuchus didn't speak to each other for sixty-one years. If it weren't for Yewan, she was certain she would have gone insane at some point during these years-long solitary missions. He was her best friend, but he constantly reminded her that it wasn't healthy to only rely on him. Unfortunately she hadn't found the time to make a new friend. She got along well enough with the Vanguard and even other Hidden like Eris and Chalco, but their conversations always began and ended with business.
"Violet?"
The voice broke her away from her thoughts. She turned to look at Sienna, who was looking back at her quizzically. "You okay? You got really quiet there."
Violet nodded. "Ah, I'm fine. I was just thinking about something, that's all."
"Mmm," Sienna sounded. "So, what's next for you after the CCT tower?"
"I have an idea," Violet mumbled. "But I won't know for sure until after."
"You know," Sienna began, almost hesitantly. "The offer still stands after this whole thing. The White Fang could really use somebody like you."
"I think you're the only person who thinks that," Violet snickered. "I definitely remember more than a few members in your ranks who didn't seem that keen on having me around."
"Don't mind them." Sienna shook her head. "Most of them have their hearts in the right place, but that doesn't mean they know how to use their brains."
Violet chuckled. "I do appreciate the offer, but—"
"Say no more." Sienna raised her hand. "At least let me have the illusion that you might come around," she said amiably.
By the time the two reached Violet's ship, Sienna let out an impressed whistle. "That's some ride. Way better than that sparrow of yours."
The Kestrel let out a loud hiss as it depressurized from the blast doors opening. The metal ramp slowly extended out to the ground. Violet looked at Sienna, reaching out a hand. "Thanks for walking with me. I hope our paths cross again."
"No need to sound so dramatic." Sienna smirked and shook it. "I hope so, too. Besides, you still have my contact. No need to be a stranger."
"Is…that an invitation for me to call you?" Violet said, uncharacteristically hesitant.
Sienna shrugged. "Sure, why not? I'll answer, so long as I'm not busy."
Violet paused for a moment before nodding. "Thanks. See you around."
Sienna waved her off, watching the woman in black walk up the ramp. "Hopefully."
Sienna backed up as the engines spurred to life, watching on as the ship resealed itself and rose off the ground. She was impressed with how quickly the ship was able to take off into the air. Only a minute had passed and the ship was already a nondescript silhouette in the sky. Sienna sighed to herself as she massaged the back of her neck. What now, she thought.
"Sienna."
She turned her head to the source of the voice, finding a redheaded boy approaching her. It took all of her power to not sigh again. "What brings you here, Taurus?"
"I see that Wei left. How did the meeting go?" he asked. There seemed to be no hints of malice in his tone, but Sienna couldn't help but feel suspicious. Perhaps she had been too wary and critical of him lately, but he also seemed to find her awfully quick after Violet had left. Adam was not typically the curious sort.
Her gut told her that something was off for him to find her so quickly as soon as Violet was gone, but she had no reason to not say anything. After all, no part of the mission was secret between them. She already announced it at the tavern in Vacuo. "It went well. Ghira approved of her and the mission."
"And he gave her the CCT information in exchange?" His brow furrowing slightly betrayed the perfectly calm demeanor he displayed.
There it is, she thought. "If it's of any consolation, he only provided what we have on the Atlas Tower. No real loss for us," she informed him. When she heard no pushback, she raised a brow. "Isn't this the part where you argue that Ghira shouldn't have done that?"
Adam shrugged. "I see little point in wasting any energy on this. What's done is done. Any aired grievances would only leave the both of us upset."
Sienna snickered. "Right. Is that all?"
"Do we have any new orders from the High Leader?" Adam shifted his stance, seemingly more relaxed.
"We are to remain on standby until further notice," she answered, watching the boy's expression twist. She shook her head with a sigh. "I don't like being idle either, but it is the right thing to do at this time. We will know our next move after seeing the SDC response."
"Fine," he grumbled. "I suppose I will find something to do with this time." Adam turned around and walked away.
Sienna let a slow and steady breath escape her as she looked back up at the sky. The silhouette of an airship was nowhere to be seen. "Me too."
"I'm still not used to flying so slowly," Yewan yawned, though they both knew that he didn't necessarily feel sleepiness.
"I know," Violet sighed. "But we don't know how well the kingdoms track airspace. I'd rather not have governments on the lookout because of a UFO moving at mach speeds."
"Yeah, better safe than sorry," the ghost said, sounding less than enthused. "By the way, Ghira was not what I expected."
"What do you mean?" Violet asked curiously as she passively flew the Kestrel towards their destination.
"He seemed quite reasonable. His desire for peaceful means stems from more than mere pacifism. Not to mention that his hesitation for this mission was sound. Ghira was more tactically minded than I thought he would be," Yewan nodded, though it was more like floating up and down.
"He would have to be if anyone were to accept him as their leader. No one would follow him for so long if he wasn't. Though his reluctance for violent resistance is what is causing the rift that we're seeing," she said, recalling her conversations with Sienna on the matter. "He might be right in this instance, which works out for me—I don't want to kill anyone I don't have to, especially if it has nothing to do with our mission at hand—but he will have to keep being right for people to continue to accept him. We see this with the Vanguard. The Hidden were originally created because we saw a need to do things that the Vanguard weren't willing to do."
"I have a feeling that he won't keep being right," he said cynically. "But for our sake, let's hope he does. Our time here would be a lot easier without violent political strife."
Violet rolled her eyes. "Wow, you inspire such confidence."
After a little over sixteen hours, the flying capital city of Atlas was within sight. Under the cool moonlight of Remnant's shattered moon and the city's blue hues, Violet had to admit that it held a certain majesty about it. Though that thought quickly perished upon seeing the reality of the grand flying city floating over the crater it left, where dark slums took its place. There couldn't have been a better metaphor to reflect such blatant classism.
"Eyes up, Violet. There is a security check for all entering vehicles into the capital," Yewan informed her.
Still helping us Hunters out, Cayde, she thought to herself as she pressed a button in the cockpit, engaging the stealth drive she bought off the old Hunter Vanguard. She listened for the quiet hum of the stealth drive activating before the Kestrel was completely cloaked. As the jumpship pulled closer to the city, she took note of the odd forked spires that surrounded the island.
"Any idea what those are, Yewan?" Violet asked.
Though she didn't specify what she was referring to, there was only one thing that would stick out about this city to his guardian—other than that it was flying, of course. "Those spires generate an anti-Grimm hard-light barrier. Just like everything in this world, it is powered by dust. Quite literally hard-light dust."
"And what, the city is flying because it's powered by…air dust?" Violet guessed.
"Close. Gravity dust." Yewan's onyx shell shifted upwards, in what was the ghost's equivalent of an amused smile.
Violet raised a brow skeptically. "And how long has the city been floating for?"
Yewan's eye flickered a few times before returning to its normal solid icy blue. "Most reputable sources report that the city separated from the rest of the kingdom sixty-seven years ago."
Violet's expression fully shifted into a frown. "How have they been managing to continually supply gravity dust to keep the entire city afloat for that long?"
"Atlas is widely considered the leading kingdom in innovative technologies, and they are the primary producer of dust—though that is largely because of the SDC and Jacques Schnee's placement on the Atlas Council. It is entirely plausible that they discovered an efficient way to utilize gravity dust to power the city. Not to mention that with Jacques Schnee on the council, it would be no surprise if they worked out some deal for the SDC's support," Yewan explained. He watched his guardian, whose expression remained skeptical. "You don't buy it, do you?"
Violet shook her head. "It doesn't add up. Jacques wasn't even born sixty-eight years ago, and we know that the SDC wasn't nearly as successful under Nicolas. Surely they didn't have the resources back then."
"Now that you mention it…" Yewan trailed off in thought. "You may be on to something, but we don't have a better explanation at the moment. Unless we can just chalk it up to outright magic."
Violet hummed thoughtfully. "There might be more credence to that than we might think. If the Darkness is here, who's to say that the Light isn't? We can't pretend to understand these paracausal forces."
"Now you're starting to sound like a Warlock," her ghost commented.
Violet sighed. "I'm just saying that we can't rule it out. They do have abilities like their aura that are similar to our own shields."
As the Kestrel drew closer, nothing tried to contact them and there didn't appear to be any security teams closing in. It seemed that their cloaking was a success. Violet piloted the jumpship into the city, scanning the city from above for Schnee manor. All she had to go off were pictures, as their address was conveniently—and probably for their safety—off of any public databases. Yet nothing seemed to match.
"Uhh, Violet," Yewan sounded to get his guardian's attention.
"What is it?"
"Take a look over at that mountain range."
She turned her head to look at the mountain range in the background, where she saw the proud and sprawling manor, even from all the way in the city. "That's actually convenient for us. I was worried the stealth drive wouldn't last long enough for both the manor and the tower. Now we can hide the ship somewhere along the range."
They managed to find a natural landing site in the mountain range, where the Kestrel now found itself sitting. Once again, the Hunter found herself standing in front of her armory, preparing a loadout for what was ahead. As always, she drew Whisper—her signature piece that she never left without. She placed the black hand cannon in its holster before drawing Quickfang and sheathed it opposite to her piece. Unexpectedly, she picked up a Tex Mechanica lever-action shotgun to complete her loadout.
"No sniper this time?" Yewan asked.
Violet shook her head, inspecting the shotgun to make sure it was still in working order. "I'm not expecting any engagements anyway. I shouldn't have a need for a weapon with that kind of range for the manor. If everything goes perfectly, I won't need to draw a weapon at all. This is just preparing for the worst case scenario." Satisfied, she loaded the shotgun before slinging it around her shoulder.
Leaving the jumpship, the guardian and her ghost made the precarious journey to the Schnee manor. There was no trail or path to follow, as the Schnees only expected guests via airship. Fortunately, braving the elements and taking the path less traveled by was the least of Violet's worries as she deftly moved along.
After some time, she finally climbed to the summit of the mountain where the manor was located, looking upon stone walls that surrounded the estate. It was only fifteen feet high. Nothing difficult for her to jump over, but she needed to be unseen. She wasn't sure if invisibility stemming from Arc Light would be enough. It was good enough for most things because it was easy to use and was consistent. What it was not was long lasting. For that she would have to tap into the Void Light within her, but it was not something she liked to do if she could help it.
Cayde warned her about the perils of walking the path of a Nightstalker.
Picking it up is the easy part, Hunter. Putting it down again, well, you'll find that it's addictive, that power. This weapon is something special. Your light gets twisted. Changed. You find the power to punch through and borrow something from the other side. The Void opens up a hole, and draws from the deep. Go ahead. Carry it a while, Hunter. You'll feel how heavy it can get.
He was right. It was addictive. It was powerful. And sometimes that power was necessary.
She steadied her breath, focusing on her own heartbeat. Her other senses deafened until all she heard was the rhythmic thump inside. The time between each beat grew. The Void revealed itself. She let out a gentle breath, and with it, her very form disappeared. With supreme focus, Violet jumped on top of the wall, finally getting a view of the manor. It was massive, sprawling, and ostentatious to say the least. Keeping in theme with the rest of Atlas, the estate had a white theme about it. In the courtyard were two fountains—one much larger than the other—that had the snowflake logo of the SDC sitting atop each. With decor like that, it was no wonder most people saw the company and the Schnee family as one and the same.
The invisible Hunter scouted the perimeter of the manor—an endeavor that took quite some time considering the size of the estate. She took note of all the possible exits and planned her route in for the next day—an odd balcony that did not match the symmetry of the rest of the architecture. Its seclusion was perfect, away from the courtyard where she could already picture car after car being valeted. Now it was just a matter of waiting for the distraction of the gala to roam its halls.
"General."
James Ironwood looked up from the mountains of paperwork on his desk at a saluting soldier. He saluted back, allowing the soldier to return their arm back to their side. "What is it?"
"We received an anonymous tip. We have no way of confirming its validity. Special Operative Cordovin ordered that I inform you."
Ironwood massaged the bridge of his nose. He needed to attend the party at the Schnees tomorrow night, so he was trying to get as much work done as possible since there was no chance he would have time for it the next day. Ever the professional, he did not vent his woes to his subordinate. "What is the tip?"
"The individual said that they have it on good information that Atlas Tower will be infiltrated some time tomorrow by a woman named Violet Wei. We have no record of such an individual on any of our databases. According to the tip, we should be able to recognize this woman by her entirely black armor. It could be another false tip, however."
The General's brow furrowed. "Maybe. This is more detailed than most anonymous tips—even describing an attire to expect." Normally he would feel compelled to keep an eye out himself, but tomorrow was a special occasion. He couldn't in good conscience miss it. "This goes without saying, but keep an eye out on the cameras. Inform those stationed at Atlas Tower. If anything abnormal occurs, send in the Ace Operatives. I will have them on standby in my absence."
"Are the Ace Operatives necessary, sir?"
"If a single individual successfully infiltrates the tower, that means they are exceptionally skilled. We won't take any chances." Ironwood let out a sigh. "Let's hope that it's nothing."
The next night, Violet was back at the estate, invisible just as before. When she returned to the Kestrel from the previous night, she slept like a log. More than needing rest for the next day, she also just felt a level of exhaustion from using her Light abilities for an extended period of time, especially that of the Void. There was a reason there were far less Nightstalkers than of any other class of Hunter. It was difficult to use, and even harder to master.
She stood atop the wall once more, looking at the courtyard. Just as she predicted, there were a series of vehicles wrapping around the fountains, as all sorts of individuals slowly made their way inside. They all had one thing in common—flagrant wealth.
Violet silently made her way on the path she planned the night before. She looked up at the balcony, still finding no light being shed from it. The Hunter carefully scaled the building, easily gripping onto a brick here and a ledge there until she was just below her goal. She listened carefully for anyone that might be inside, only climbing up once she was certain that she was alone. Violet allowed herself to become visible again, conserving her strength as she pulled herself up onto the balcony.
She looked past the glass doors and into the room. It was a large bedroom, but she would not necessarily describe it as lived-in. Against the middle of one wall was a sizable canopy bed with pale blue sheer curtains. Across from the bed on the other end of the room was a fireplace with a coffee table and two chairs in front of it, though not even so much as a cup decorated its surface. Nothing decorated the walls, save for some shelves that contained books that looked untouched. The room was indeed elegant, but Violet felt a sense of coldness about it. It didn't feel like a home.
The Hunter pushed gently against the balcony doors, finding it unlocked as they slowly swung open. She gingerly stepped forward, closing the doors behind her as she investigated the room. As she did, it became apparent that the room did not belong to Jacques Schnee. An opening of a wardrobe showed it belonged to a girl. Too small to be either Willow or Winter. It had to be Weiss's. Violet made her way to the door and turned her head to listen out. Certain no one was on the other side, she carefully opened the door and looked both ways. The hallway was empty. Only the distant sounds of the party could be heard. She closed the door behind her and began investigating.
Sienna was right. The party was plenty enough distraction as she was easily able to move about and take a brief look from room to room without any obstacles. Occasionally she would hear someone begin to approach, but that was nothing invisibility and pressing herself against a wall couldn't help. In order to investigate the other wing of the manor, she would have to pass the main stairway. Violet tapped into her Void Light again and allowed it to encompass her form from sight. As she passed, the Hunter looked down to the main hall, where she once again saw all sorts of individuals flaunting their wealth. Most notable of all the individuals was the man himself, Jacques Schnee. The mustachioed man wore a tailored white suit with a powder blue shirt underneath, and he was heartily greeting each guest as they came in, and the guests greeted him back in turn. It reeked of corporate falsehoods, but they all seemed to enjoy playing this song and dance.
Curiously, she noticed that each of the guests held wrapped gifts in their hands, but none offered them to the Schnee head. Instead, they were all going to a long table, where a small girl was standing by. One by one, the guests handed off the wrapped presents to the girl, who thanked them each with a bright smile. That brightness did not reach her eyes. The only guest who took the time to speak to her was a tall, broad shouldered man. His hair was beginning to gray in some parts and he strangely had a metal plate above his right eyebrow. He also only wore a glove over his right hand. He looked at her sympathetically while offering his gift, and for a moment, the facade of ease on the girl faltered.
Violet knew there were more to the Schnees than met the eye, but she couldn't linger any longer. She walked on to the other wing of the manor, continuing her search for the bedroom of the Schnee patriarch. Once she was out of sight, she allowed herself to become visible once more.
It took some time, as she searched room to room, but eventually she found one that was significantly different from the rest. Unlike the rest of the manor, this room had dark wood floors instead of tile, and one wall was lined with matching wooden bookshelves. The wall opposite to it had a fireplace that faced a coffee table and a pair of loveseats that sat across a sofa. On the coffee table were stacks of papers, which on closer inspection, detailed various contracts. Finally at the other end of the room was, unbelievably, a portrait of Jacques's younger self when he still had black hair. Though the bed was large, there was no indication that Willow slept in this room as well. Either one of them was a horrible sleeper that warranted this kind of separation, or the tabloids were more right than they knew.
Violet shook her head at the portrait before walking over to the bed. She looked between the bed and the portrait, thinking about what Sienna told her. The Hunter stepped on top of the bed and reached into Solar Light until a dagger formed in her palm. With the other, she placed a hand on the portrait and focused on the Arc Light within, shooting jolts of lightning through her nerves until they reached out into the portrait, singeing a large symbol of the White Fang over it.
"Wow," Yewan said in a surprised tone.
Violet chuckled. "Sienna did say to make it theatrical."
She placed the list of demands from the White Fang against the portrait and stabbed the dagger to hold it aloft. Satisfied with her handiwork, she stepped down from the bed and made her way to the coffee table.
"What are you doing?" her ghost asked.
"Just curious," she answered, picking up a stack of papers and skimming through them. It was no wonder the SDC were able to maintain their dust empire. Many of the contracts detailed buying out smaller businesses in the industry. She sighed and allowed her Solar Light to burn it into cinders.
"You know all he needs to do is write them up again."
"I know," she sighed. The Hunter looked back at the portrait behind her that now had the symbol of the White Fang over it and the paper in the center. "He's just annoying."
Violet retraced her steps, becoming invisible when she needed to until she made it back to the room with the balcony. She froze as she approached the door. She knew she closed it. It was cracked open. The Hunter let the Void take her form again as she carefully opened the door a little wider to allow her to step in. No one was in the room itself, but she saw the silhouette of a young girl sitting on the balcony, doors open, holding her knees into her chest as her shoulders sporadically jumped with quiet sobs. She looked back at the door, considering finding another exit. As the muffled sobbing continued, she sighed and quietly closed the door.
"Are you sure about this?" Yewan asked within the helmet.
"Whatever happens…we'll deal with it," Violet mumbled. With a quiet exhale, she became visible once more as she approached the balcony. The girl didn't notice her, as she had her face shoved into her knees.
"Weiss? Are you okay?" She felt silly for asking that. The girl clearly was not. But Violet never was in the position to comfort anyone before. Another first she was experiencing on this planet.
The girl looked up, bewildered to see another person there. "W-who are you?" she stammered between breaths as she clambered back. "Did my dad send you to check up on me? He can't even come h-himself?" Weiss wiped the tears streaming down her cheeks.
Violet raised her hands passively, moving very carefully and telegraphed as to not panic the girl any further. The Hunter sat on the balcony across from the girl, taking a similar position as she pulled her knees close to her chest, hoping to make herself as small and unthreatening as possible. To her credit, it did seem to ease Weiss somewhat. "Why are you here all by yourself? There's a party waiting for you downstairs, y'know?"
"What do you care?" Weiss said scornfully, wiping away at more tears, though her breath was beginning to steady. "This is supposed to be the one day in the year for me, and I can't even get someone to talk to me face-to-face?" she cried out, exasperated.
Violet paused for a few moments before pulling her hood back and placing her palms on her helmet. The suit depressurized itself with a hiss as she lifted the helmet off her head, letting straight black hair fall to her shoulders. "Sorry," she said apologetically as she placed the helmet next to her on the balcony. "I wear the damn thing so much, I forget I even have it on sometimes." Violet paused again. "I probably shouldn't curse in front of a kid, huh?"
Weiss studied the woman in front of her between sniffles before looking away, staring out the balcony with her cheek resting against her knees. "Probably not," she said with a stifled laugh.
Violet chuckled. "So, what are you doing here? People are waiting for you downstairs. It's your special day, isn't it?"
Weiss looked back up, staring daggers at the woman in black. "Is it?" she said in disbelief. "What kind of birthday is this?" Tears began to fall down her cheeks again. "People I don't know come here and give me presents that don't matter, then just go talk to my dad about who knows what. I can't even get him to wish me a happy birthday. I-I just thought…I don't know why this year would be any different."
The girl buried her face into her knees again. "Not even mom said it this year. And I'm telling all of this to someone I don't even know…"
"I hear that it's usually easier to talk to people you don't know about your problems." Violet said evenly. "I'm sorry this is happening to you."
"Why? It's not like it's your fault," Weiss sighed heavily, trying to steady her breath.
"Yeah, I know, but…" Violet searched for words to say. It was her first time attempting to comfort anyone, and it was showing. "People can feel sorry, even if it isn't their fault. I feel sorry for you because I know you deserve better."
Weiss frowned, failing to find the logic in that statement. "What do you mean? You don't even know me."
Violet smiled gently. "I don't have to know you to know that you deserve to be treated with kindness. You're a kid." She thought about the children of the City, who had experienced far too much. "Children deserve to be loved by their parents, no matter what. It's the bare minimum. Life is hard enough as is," she sighed. "I get the feeling that you think that kindness is something that needs to be earned. It's not. It's how people should be to each other."
"That…" Weiss trailed off. "That's not what my parents taught me."
"Your parents aren't always right. I think you know this already. You said it yourself. They should've wished you a happy birthday today."
Weiss didn't say anything, but Violet could see a weight fall over the girl.
"I heard something I wasn't supposed to two years ago," she said, finally breaking the silence. "Mom and dad were arguing loudly, so I came to see what was going on. Dad said he only got married to mom because he wanted the Schnee name." Weiss looked out the balcony again, not being able to bear the eye contact. "I told Winter. She said she couldn't stand the family anymore, so she's going to try and get out."
Another thing the tabloids were shockingly right about, Violet thought.
"Winter will join the military soon. I don't know what I'm supposed to do once she's gone…" she cried, though she was all out of tears.
"It's okay. Just think slowly," Violet assured. "What do you want to do? You probably have tried to think about this before, but I find that having someone to bounce off of helps."
"I don't want to join the military." Weiss shook her head. "But…I don't want to be here." She looked up at Violet. "Are you a huntress?" She said slowly as an idea began to blossom. "If…if I become a huntress, I can go anywhere I want."
"If that's what you want to do." Violet nodded. She smiled as a semblance of optimism seemed to take root in the girl. "There was something you said earlier that I was thinking about. How today is supposed to be your one day in the year. I want you to know that you don't have to wait for your birthday for good things to come to you. And for what it's worth…happy birthday, Weiss."
Weiss stared at the woman quizzically before her lips curled into a faint smile. "Thank you."
A knock at the door caused both of them to turn their heads to the sound. "Weiss? Are you in there?" a feminine voice called.
"Winter? When did you get home? I'll be right there!" Weiss quickly stood up. "Hey—" She turned back to the woman, but cut herself off when she saw no one there. She spun around, looking in every direction, but she found herself alone in her room.
"Can I come in?" Winter's muffled voice asked from the other side of the door.
"Y-yeah, I'm coming." Weiss walked over to the door and opened it, revealing her older sister.
"Happy birthday, Weiss," she said with a gentle smile before it turned into a look of concern. "What's wrong?"
"Uh…" Weiss looked around her room once again, but it was just the two of them. "It's nothing."
Violet sat back into the pilot's seat of the Kestrel with a sigh, her helmet back on over her head. "What am I doing?" she mumbled as she leaned her head back, staring at the dark of night outside.
"That was…unexpected," Yewan conceded.
"Yeah." She nodded slowly in agreement. "It felt hard to walk away. I've always thought about why I do what I do, Yewan. About the people who count on us, even if they don't know it. But it feels different when someone needs help right then, right in front of you."
The onyx-shelled ghost silently observed Violet, who was still contemplating to herself. She led the life of a Hidden for her entire career. He knew how she never got to lead the typical life of a guardian. Though, what did a typical life mean for fiercely independent immortal warriors?
Violet shook her head as if to shake away her thoughts before taking control of the Kestrel. Before long, the jumpship was in the air, taking cover behind the mountain range to remain out of sight from the Schnee manor until they reached the city. Unlike finding the manor initially, spotting Atlas Tower was a much simpler endeavor. All they had to do was look for the highest point on the flying island of Atlas, and it was attached to the Atlas Academy.
"Thoughts?" Violet asked her partner.
"We're looking for a terminal room. Since they have a lack of satellites, all of that technology instead needs to be packed here, so it would likely encompass an entire floor. That would mean no windows, but it would have to be close to the top. That excludes that very top floor, but perhaps just under it?"
"Sounds good to me," Violet said as she engaged the stealth drive and flew closer to the tower. She pulled the Kestrel to a stop once she was only a hundred meters away.
"Let's make this quick. We don't want the stealth drive to run dry," she said as she stood up, taking a few steps away from the pilot's seat to have some clear space. She took in a deep breath and as she exhaled, her form disappeared into the Void. "Ready, Yewan?"
"Ready. Transmatting you inside the top floor."
In a grid of light, Violet went from looking at the interior of her ship to that of an office. She looked around the room for any cameras, but didn't spot any. Fitting that whoever got to have an office at the top of the tower overlooking the entire city probably didn't need supervision. Satisfied, she allowed the invisibility to drop as she took a better look at her surroundings. It was a circular room that, much like the rest of Atlas, bore a white and blue theme. Of course there was the beautiful view from the top-to-bottom glass windows behind the desk, but most curious to Violet were the constellations depicted on the floor. If it weren't for the Kestrel idling with the stealth drive on, she would have lingered for longer.
The Hunter looked behind her, finding elevator doors at the other end of the room. It seemed hazardous to have an elevator as the only exit, but she wasn't here to inspect the building. Violet pushed a button on the wall next to it, opening the sliding metal doors. She walked in and let the elevator take her to the floor below.
"I was right," Yewan said, pleased with himself as the doors opened to reveal what was clearly a terminal room.
Violet took to the Void once more and became invisible, walking out and looking to the ceiling and each corner. Just as she expected, there was a camera overlooking the entire room. "Yewan, loop," she mumbled as she silently walked underneath the camera's blindspot.
"Got it," he affirmed as he transmatted himself into view, scanning and then proceeding to hack the device. "Done," he said after only a few moments.
"That was fast," Violet commented, becoming visible and walking over to what she assumed was the main terminal that stood proudly in the center of the room.
"Security cameras are easy compared to Fallen and Cabal tech," Yewan snickered as he floated over, studying the terminal. He began scanning it, humming to himself as he did so.
"How long will this take?" Violet asked as she looked around. It was bizarrely empty. This felt too easy. Though, she imagined that they had to worry about people trying to climb up the tower rather than down.
"No more than ten minutes, maybe faster. The data is not complex by itself, but I'm working with the entirety of Remnant's network here and converting it to a readable signal to Earth."
Violet nodded and leaned against a wall, allowing her partner to work in peace. After only two minutes, she frowned. Listening closely, she heard the hum of an elevator. Violet immediately looked at the one she came from, but there was no indication that one was coming up from there, which meant there was another in the room that she wasn't aware of.
"Shit," she cursed, turning to her ghost. "Yewan, come back."
"If I stop the conversion now, there's a chance the entire network gets corrupted. That would destroy this entire planet's only form of digital communication," he cautioned.
Violet tsked, pulling out Whisper from its holster. "Eight minutes?"
"Seven. You got this, Violet. I trust you."
On the other side of the room, a seam suddenly appeared from the steel wall, opening to reveal a hidden elevator as five individuals stepped out, immediately drawing their weapons or activating their semblances. Violet stood between them and Yewan, not yet pointing her hand cannon at them.
"Drop the weapon!" said the man who appeared to be their leader. They all wore matching white uniforms with red and navy blue accents, but his lacked sleeves altogether. On the lapel of his uniform was a four-leaf clover pin.
Violet quietly observed the others. One man had a shaved head and a tattoo of a third eye on his forehead. Instead of wielding weapons, his arms were encompassed in a yellow aura.
A woman whose most striking feature was the massive hammer she wielded.
Another woman with shaved sides and an exoskeleton covering her arms.
And a stocky man with green hair, wielding a glossy shield that had the same pattern as a tortoise's shell.
"Hmm," Violet hummed. "I didn't think I got so sloppy."
The green-haired man snickered. "You got sold out, bud."
"Tortuga," the woman with the exoskeleton said his name in a warning tone.
Violet's brow furrowed. Who was it? It didn't make sense for Ghira or Sienna to sabotage me. Tactically, they would gain nothing. Sienna was also just asking me to still join her organization, and I didn't get the sense that she would become so bitter as to pull off this kind of stunt. But now was not the time for her to give it much more thought. Right now, she had to deal with what was in front of her.
The Hunter sighed. "Any chance you can turn a blind eye to this?"
"No," the leader said plainly. "But you're more than welcome to give yourself up, peacefully."
Violet nodded. "Yeah, I thought so." She stood perfectly still.
"What is that? A drone?" The woman with the hammer frowned, looking past her and at the terminal.
"I got it," the exo-skeletoned woman said, taking a runner's stance. In a single burst, the woman was already next to her, leaving a trail of yellow lightning in her path.
Fast! Violet thought to herself, instinctually shooting Arc Light through her nerves, reflexively grabbing them by the throat and slamming them into the ground.
"Harriet!" Tortuga cried out as he rushed forward with his shield held up. The hammer woman leapt over him, reeling the hammer back to slam it down on Violet as though she were a nail.
The Hunter took aim with Whisper, shooting at the fingers wrapped around the shaft of the hammer, causing the woman to wince in pain and veer the weapon off course, slamming into the floor next to her.
Harriet glared up at Violet, attempting to force her grip to loosen, but was shocked at the strength of the slim looking woman. Instead, she reeled an arm back as best as she could and attempted to punch into Violet's side, but she acrobatically rolled out of the way, leaving behind a metal puck that exploded into smoke.
Violet springboarded herself off of the floor, kicking up at the woman who was just picking up her hammer. Despite using her full strength, the woman only winced, but not so much as moved. She grabbed Violet's leg, holding her in place long enough for Tortuga to slam into her with his shield, throwing her a few feet into another terminal.
She looked up, seeing golden translucent arms reaching for her. Unslinging the shotgun from her shoulder, Violet fired two shells into each, dispersing the energy apart, though they seemed to quickly repair themselves. The leader ducked underneath the arms, stabbing forward with what appeared to be a fishing rod with a billhook at the end. Violet stepped out of the way just in time, before she quickly snaked around his arm in a grapple, simultaneously disarming him and taking him down the floor. Miraculously, his weapon discharged as it hit the floor, sending the hook into Violet's side. That pause gave them enough time for golden arms of aura to forcefully pick up Violet and baseball her into a giant hammer.
Violet was slammed into the ground, winding her for just a moment before her conditioning kicked in to take control of her breathing once again. Wasting no time, she manifested a series of knives and threw one at each of the five before her. They each deflected or blocked them outright rather easily, but Violet intended them only as a distraction, and distracted they did.
Violet managed to reset the flow of combat as they stared each other down, with the Hunter standing in between Yewan and the five again. After a short pause, their battle continued again. They were far and beyond the guards she had faced in the dust mine. Their skills were quite exceptional and their teamwork made them that much more threatening. Not to mention that Violet's arsenal of weapons and skills were limited here. Not only did she want to avoid killing them, but the space was limiting her abilities, lest she risk interrupting Yewan or accidentally destroying the terminal. The most problematic of the five she was facing was the one known as Harriet. Her speed was nothing to scoff at. Violet could match it and then some if she used Arc Light to empower herself, but she feared what effect it might have on the terminals around her if she used too much. Solar Light tended to be explosive, which would not benefit her here either. All that was left was the Void.
The fight was long and arduous, but with so many limitations, the five got the best of her. The one known as Elm was on top of her, keeping the shaft of the hammer over Violet's neck as the others surrounded her.
"Get the drone while she's down!" Clover directed.
Tortuga nodded and prepared to throw his shield at Yewan.
"No!" Violet roared, unleashing the Void from within.
"...iolet. Violet!"
Violet blinked, breathing heavily. She looked at her ghost, who was floating in front of her face without so much as a scratch. "Are you okay?" she asked, worry coloring her voice.
"Yeah, I'm fine. But…" he trailed off.
Violet looked down, seeing that she was crouched over Tortuga with a Void dagger buried into his chest. The man clutched hopelessly at her wrist, lacking any strength to fight back as the Void Light began to take him, disintegrating him into the universe's spiteful nothingness.
She looked at her surroundings, finding the other four all sprawled out in various places, though all bloodied and ragged. Clover was unconscious against a wall, likely from hitting his head against it. The others weren't so lucky. Vine was missing both of his forearms. Elm was surprisingly conscious, but all of her energy was devoted to keeping her innards from spilling out of the gaping wound in her side. Harriet was missing one of her legs and was staring at Violet in horror as her team member was sent into the oblivion.
"Tortuga…" she cried before passing out from blood loss.
Violet stood up, letting the Void dagger fade away as she looked at her handiwork. "Yewan."
"Yes?"
"Did you establish the link?"
"Yes."
"Good."
And the two transmatted away.
