The silence was suddenly broken, Kagami grunting heavily as her back struck the concrete ground below. She took several deep breaths before rolling over onto her side and clenched her eyes shut tight. She laid there still, her teeth grinding against each other as she breathed through the gaps between them. That last blow had done it for sure.
"I believe you just lost the last of your aura." Valentine was smiling as she crouched down next to her captive. "You lasted much longer than I thought you would too. I'm rather impressed." She simply smiled more, standing up as she heard footsteps behind her.
Walking in was Eri, her skinny arms crossed over her chest. "You're still toying with her?" She raised an eyebrow, glancing up at the pink haired woman. "Why not just kill her already and get it over with. The longer you keep her here, the more of a chance you'll have of someone coming here to try and get her." Her eyes slowly trailed down to the floor, locking on the girl who figured out her semblance.
"I could," Valentine moved her arms back, stretching out her shoulders. "But there is no fun in doing that." She gave off a soft demonic chuckle. "Why do you like to let someone or something else kill your victums rather than by your own hands?"
The small blonde blinked a few times befor sighing, her arms dropping down as she nodded. "Alright. Fair enough."
"Plus," She knelt down besides Kagami, holding out a hand. Her long pink nail slowly trailed across the young girls cheek. "Her mind and body can only handle so much. Sooner or later she'll have to give in. And when she does submit..." She gripped the side of Kagami's face, getting a few strands of the jade hair. "She'll become a fine pawn for me and for Her."
Inside her head, Kagami could feel her heart pounding. It was one thing to be in a fight, but it was another to be sitting around and unable to see. Her anxiety and stress was as high as it could possibly be. Her stomach was twisting into knots, not from pain but from the fear coursing through ever nerve in her body. She had already been pulling on the ropes binding her wrist enough to cause intentions from the rope onto her wrist. She was starting to give in, that was until she heard the word submit.
"Like hell..." The Huntress in training mumbled, her voice low and raspy. In an instant, she jerked her head to the side and clamped her teeth down on the hand holding her face. It was small. Half the palm as well as two fingers were inside her mouth before Kagami heard a cry followed by a jerk on the limb she was biting down on.
Hissing like a snake, Valentine rubbed her right hand with her left, small red marks left behind in teeth marks. Her golden eyes were narrowed like daggers, glaring down at Kagami.
Eri blinked once before she burst into laughter, her hands on her stomach. "Oh yeah! Shell be great once she submits! Totally great! You just may have the problem of actually getting her on your side!" She reached up, rubbing her eyes as she started to calm down.
"Quiet!" The pink haired demon snapped, her head shooting back at the blonde before she looked back at Kagami with anger burning in her eyes. "My daughter has told me many things about you." She walked over, standing above the exhausted and aching girl. "One of them being that you're from Vytal."
Kagami gave off a soft groan, not to her captor, but to the fact that she only told Elise she was from Vytal. And apparently, that brown haired farmer spoke what was on her mind as always.
"I know a lot about them. Expecially on how corrupt they are now. How's their motto go now a days?" She gave a faint smirk. "Wasn't it... bushido, isn't it? Vytal has a very special ancient language, doesn't it? Could you tell me what the word means?" She licked her lips, smiling down at Kagami.
The jade haired girl tensed, shifting ever so slightly. "The way of the warrior..." She mumbled as low as she could.
"Right, right." She knelt down, brushing her pink hair behind her ears. "What's another word from that old language... seppuku, right?" A grin started to form. "I've always loved that word but have trouble remembering what it means. What is it again?"
"Death... before dishonor..." Kagami spoke even quieter, breathing through clenched teeth.
"Ah, yes." She nodded back, resting her chin on her left hand. "Death before dishonor. Doesn't that mean it would be better for you to kill yourself rather than have me actually harm you? I mean, without aura, it will be pretty easy to do so."
There was a silence before Eri's chuckling slowly came across the room and echoed back. "You know, you're rather good at twisting people around with words."
Valentine smiled at Kagami's silence before she slowly stood up. "I can always let you commit suicide if you don't want to break your Vytal code. Or we could just continue and you bring dishonor to your whole family."
"That may work..." Kagami started to softly breath before she gave off a soft groan and sat up. "But the thing is..." She inhaled deeply, tilting her head up towards the voice speaking to her. "I couldn't care less about the stupid ideas of Vytal. I hated it there. I don't give a damn about bushido or any of that worthless crap." She flashed her teeth, her body tensing up as her hands urned into fist.
Valentine gave a growl, glaring down. In an instant, her leg shot up and her heel collided with Kagami's jaw. "You have to snap at some point!"
Kagami fell back, groaning softly. She spat out red while tasting iron in her mouth. She would snap at some point, she knew that. But she would only snap when she lost hope. And she still had faith in her friends coming to find her, so that hope wasn't going anywhere.
"Well, I'm bored with Dion gone so..." Eri looked up at Valentine while crossing her arms. "Need another set of hands?"
Glaring down with hateful gold eyes, she slowly nodded. "Find me a baseball bat. I'll make this brat submit one way or another."
Sitting in the back of a moving van driven by Beacon staff member, Glynda, Elise softly sighed while running her finger across the back of her rifle where a heart spray painted in green was. She put that on years ago. It was her attempted projected to be artsy. She tried to make a pair of deer antlers in the shape of a heart, not that it worked very well. Her father laughed for hours when she showed him.
She took a deep breath, saying again as she leaned her head back. "Are we there yeeeeet?" She groaned out, shutting her eyes. "It's boring just sitting in here and waiting!"
In an instant, the older Huntress shot her head back. She glared, her green eyes narrowing before she looked away. Immediately, Elise went silent as she clutched her weapon tight.
Cheyenne softly chuckled, hiding it as much as she could. "You really shouldn't say whatever comes to your mind. It's going to get you in trouble one day." She whispered.
As the brunet rolled her eyes, Kris stared out the window and watched as the buildings rushed past. She glanced dow at herself, checking her inside pockets for toys before she looked back up. The buildings were slowly starting to get a more grim look to them. It was like an olden darkness started to come upon them. Even the sun started to fade, turning the sky dark as the group entered a more shady side of Vale.
"Hey, Aunt Glynda?" She looked forward. "Say Kagami is in trouble for real, then what?"
The blonde woman glanced in the rear-veiw mirror before she looked back at the road, eyes narrowing. "No one came in or out of Beacon from what we saw." Her voice was still filled with authority. "Whether she ran off on her own or if some perhaps took her, Ozpin nor I have any recognition of it. Understood?"
The small girl sighed, leaning her head against the window. "Yeah, yeah."
Elise sighed back, her shoulders dropping some. "Are we there yeeeeet-!" She was cut off, yelping as the van came to a sudden stop.
Kris glanced up, chuckling softly with a faint smile.
"Now." Glynda turned around, eyes glaring at the three girls. "You three do exactly what I say and do not make any unneeded noises. Do you understand, Miss Spruce?"
The farm girl grumbled softly, slwoly nodding. "Yes ma'am."
"Good." Ozpin's second hand opened her door, stepping out and walking away.
"I see why no one wanted to work with her." Cheyenne mumbled, throwing her Atlas rifle over her shoulder.
"Dido." Elise muttered, slowly sliding out of the van as Kris followed.
Minutes later, on the rooftops of a building next to an old worn down factory. With her rifle raised, Elise was looking around through her scope at the entrance and other doors. She chewed on her lip a bit before she caught a glimpse of a few Faunus in White Fang uniforms. "It's definitely a hideout for some WFs alright." She gave a nod, lowering her arms down, looking at the full fledged Huntress next to her. "So what's the plan? Dive right in? Jump through a window? Stealth?"
"No." Glynda shook her head, arms crossed. She gave glanced down at the front door, eyes narrowing.
"Then what?" Kris looked up at her aunt. "Dropped in from the roof? What about climbing through the vents?"
"No." The blonde simply shook her head more.
Cheyenne blinked a few times, looking at where Glynda was looking. She blinked a bit more, staring at the front door before her eyes went wide. "Oh... no way..." Was all she let out.
Inside the building, a male Faunus holding an Atlas rifle looked over at his partner. "Hey, Ralph, you seen the new lady who joined us?"
Under his mask, the other raised his eyebrows up and looked over. He was leaning against a wall. "No. Is she pretty?"
"Oh yeah." He gave a nod with a smile. "She has some pretty vicious claws too if you know what I mean."
He chuckled back, looking back towards the front door they were guarding. "I love a woman who is fierce, don't you?"
His smile grew a bit before he stretched his shoulders. "I love a woman who owns a nice bed even more-" He was cut off, the front door flying right off the hinges and between the two of them. They both looked down at it, blinking a few times before looking at each other. They then looked up, blinking rapidly at the door. The both caught a glimpse of purple before the two of them were knocked out cold.
Gripping the edge of the doorframe, Elise popped her head inside the building. "Well, I definitely see where Kris gets her attitude from."
"Come on." Cheyenne grabbed the back of Elise's camouflage jacket and pulled her inside. "Before Kris shows her the insanity that runs in her family."
"Just wait till you meet my mother." The red head mumbled, reaching behind her and grabbing her candy cane weapons. "When you meet her, everything insane to you will become sane. That's how insane she is."
"That made... zero sense." Cheyenne muttered. She quickly snapped her head up at the sound of men yelling in the distance. She reached down, gripping her rifle.
"Well here we go." Elise swung her own weapon off her shoulder, holding it up. "It's time to clear this place out."
"I hope you girls are ready." Glynda spoke in a hushed tone, twirling her riding crop around in her fingers.
"Freeze!" A White Fang member shouted, holding up an Atlas rifle. "Don't move!" His eyes narrowed under the Grimm mask her wore. Seeing movement from the intruders, he pulled the trigger hard.
Cheyenne gave a faint smile, holding up her own gun. "Sorry. Mine's modified." She squeezed the trigger, sending off a stronger blast. She then looked back at her teammates and teacher. "Might want to shut your eyes."
As the two blast connected, Cheyenne's blast shot up into a bright white light. A shock wave went all throughout the room, sending each of them stumbling back. More than that, the White Fang members each dropped their weapons and reached up to rub there eyes with complaining cries.
Cheyenne looked up, smiling ever so slightly. "Modification are cooler." She mumbled under her breath.
"They really are..." Elise mumbled before looking over at Kris. "Bet I can shoot more of them than you." She held up her rifle as the disoriented Faunus.
"Please." The red head held up both her candy canes. "I have two ways to shoot."
One by one, each of the lower ranking White Fang members fell. One of them started to get their barings back. He glanced around, eyes going wide as he watched his comrades collapse. He then stumbled back himself. He glanced down, seeing a dart in his chest. A second later, he was flat on the ground unconcious.
"Got six of them." Elise smirked, resting her rifle on her shoulder.
With a smile, Kris walked forward, stepping over the unconcious Faunus. "Nine dropped down because of me."
The brunet blinked a few times, her shoulders dropping down. "Darn it." She mumbled faint before Glynda nudged her onward.
This lasted far into the night. Endless hours of fighting and running. The group of four cleared the whole top two floors and main floor, finding grates of weapons stacked up as high as the ceiling could go. Exhaustion was starting to hit the three young girls as they made it to the basement.
"Kagami has to be down there." Cheyenne quietly spoke to Elise as they went down a flight of stairs. "I've heard enough to come to the conclusion she is."
Nodding softly behind her, Elise gripped her rifle tight as she gulped. "I hope she's okay..." She glanced up. "Do you... think she's okay if they did take her? And how would they even do it?"
"I don't know. Beacon is one of the most well guarded places in Vale. To sneek in undetected and sneek out with someone too. It sounds impossible." The Faunus glanced back at her as they reached a door. She glanced back at her friend before back at the door. "Hang on, Kagami." She raised her foot, kicking the door in.
Immediately, Elise charged in with her rifle raised. "Hands-!" She stopped herself, blinking rapidly. Her arms then lowered down at the sight of merely wooden crates lined up. "...up..." She mumbled quietly. Her eyes lit up in concern before she glanced back up at Cheyenne who was walking around with wide eyes.
"I could have sword she would..." The Faunus then sighed, lowering her head down. "Maybe... she did run away from us. Maybe the dance was too much for her."
"No." Elise swung her rifle over her shoulder, looking all around the basement before she turned on her heels and stormed up the flight of stares. "I know her. She wouldn't."
Up on the main floor, Kris was helping her aunt in assisting police with taking White Fang members into custody. The second she saw Cheyenne and Elise, her head shot up and she smiled. That look quickly faded when she didn't see a sign of Kagami. "Where's-" She stopped herself, watching as Elise stormed passed her. "Huh?" She looked over at the farm girl.
In an instant, Elise picked up a still drousy Faunus by the collar and held him up. Her eyes looked with his. Without his mask on, she could see gills on his cheekbones. "Alright. I'm going to ask this once and only once before I actually get upset." Her eyes locked with his, anger boiling deep behind them. "Where's your main hideout?"
The Faunus struggled a bit, his eyes going wide at the young girl in front of him. "I... don't have to tell you anything."
It only took Elise a few seconds to let go of the Faunus and load a hunting dart into her air compressed rifle. A moment later, it was pressed up against his head.
"Miss Spruce!" Glynda snapped, taking a step before she stopped at the arm outstretched in front of her.
"It's fine." Cheyenne muttered, looking up. "She swore never to use that dart on a person. It's fine. She wouldn't do it."
"I can vogue for her too." Kris looked back, arms crossed before she sighed. "She only uses that dart for Grimm or hunting for food."
Giving a slow nod, the blonde woman glanced down at Cheyenne. "So I'm assuming Kagami wasn't down there?"
"Yeah." The deer Faunus sighed, looking down. She then blinked, looking up. "How did you-?"
"There are moles in Beacon." Glynda interrupted her. "Ozpin and I know of them. We just do not know who they are or what they are planning. All we know is that they are inside of our school. Waiting. Watching us." She watched as the Faunus Elise was threatening started to shake. "Besides, Ozpin and I have both met a family member of your friend. She wouldn't just leave without a valid reason."
The light haired brunet nodded, looking back over at Elise who dropped the Faunus. She then walked over, slinging her weapon over her shoulder. She glanced between Kris and Cheyenne before she looked up at Glynda. "Miss Goodwitch?"
The Huntress blinked a few times. Elise had never been someone to call people by their full names or in a more formal way. "Yes?" She crossed her arms.
"May my friends and I be excused from our school mission now?" She locked her eyes with Glynda's.
Nodding slowly, the older blonde looked between Cheyenne and Kris before back at Elise. "And where will you be going?"
"Just for a walk around the city of Vale. Maybe stop by a place down on the west end of the city near the coast." She adjusted her jacket a bit.
"I see." She glanced at the Faunus with gills before back at Elise. "Be careful on that side of town. Scrolls were made for communication. Got it?"
"Understood, ma'am." The brunet let out, taking a deep breath as she looked at her friends.
Meanwhile, with her jaw clenched and deep breathing, Kagami was on her knees. She groaned deeply. Aside from the small red line coming from her mouth, her knees felt like they were on fire. She took a deeo breath and with extremely shaky legs, slowly forced herself to stand back up. "You don't deserve... to have someone bow to you..." Kagami repeated for what felt like the hundredth time.
With narrowed eyes, Valentine glared while standing in front of the young girl. "You will submit and kneel." Her voice hissed as she jerked her head towards Eri.
The small blonde smiled, twirling a baseball bat around before it struck the back of Kagami's knees. "Whoops!" She giggled softly at the bruised skin she was hitting.
Kagami cried out, dropping back down to her knees. She grunted heavily as her kneecaps hit the hard floor below. She grinded her teeth together, holding in her screams of pain. This was becoming more than a fight for her life and the faith she had in her friends. This was becoming a fight on what little pride she still had inside her. Not to mention the few details she was leaning. Just because she was blindfolded didn't mean she couldn't hear. And from the four voices that came in and only, only one of which was male, she came to the conclusion of some things.
First, there was plenty more people to this criminal revolt. There was some other crime lord in town helping someone else. And while the ones here were after weapons, the others were after Dust. Second, their informant in Beacon was a first year transfer from Haven and a female. Also, apparently, she was the woman in front of her's daughter. And third, there was more to this than just stealing from the military. There was something far worse planned, but with how vague they spoke, it was impossible to put details together. and also the fact these people really did not like her. If only she was able to see.
"I..." Kagami took a deep breath, grimacing in pain as she stood back up slowly again. She panted, her chest rising and falling rapidly. "I will not kneel down... or submit... to you or anyone..." She held her chin up slowly, clenching her eyes shut. Rather than hearig words though, she felt pain in the back of her knees firsr. She gave off a quick scream, dropping down. She could feel tears starting to swell up in her eyes.
"Elise... Kris... Cheyenne..." She spoke under her breath so no one else in the room could hear her. "Hurry..." She gulped, holding in a whimper as she went to stand again.
As her pained cries echoed throughout the room, the rest of her team stood several blocks away from a large factory building in the distance. "Is that it?" Cheyenne asked quietly.
Glancing over at Kris, Elise gave a nod and looked back up. She was worried. Beyond worried. She had already been bargaining with the great Lord Oum that if they found Kagami, she would stop with all this messing around and actual focus on school for once. "Sure is." She mumbled. All she wanted was her friend back.