A Flame Amidst Darkness

Awakening

Tyrian Callow liked to think he didn't lack compassion, in his own, special way. Making a child suffer? Well, he'd do it with a smile on his face if his Queen ordered it, but that wasn't the case today, leaving him free to exercise mercy. Which is why when he dropped in the middle of the trio, dual wrist blades at the ready, he went for the kid's throat first. For wasn't that the merciful thing to do?

Unfortunately, the huntress's instincts kicked in, causing her to react at the last second by swinging her rocket launcher toward him. Tyrian danced around the blow but had to jump back when the other huntsman slashed at him with his sword. The white-haired huntsman followed up his strike by drawing a revolver from under his coat, releasing a shot in a deafening blast. The scorpion faunus simply flicked the projectile away with a gesture of his tail before shaking his head in sadness.

"What a pity. I could have spared this young boy the pains of the living, but you had to prolong his suffering. Huntsmen and huntresses are truly heartless."

"Who the fuck are you?" the white-haired huntsman snarled. Meanwhile his companion took aim with her launcher, making sure she remained between Tyrian and the child.

The faunus simply laughed. "Does it really matter? The question you should be asking yourself isn't who I am, but what am I doing here, wouldn't you agree?"

The huntress narrowed her eyes. "You're the reason the other team went missing."

Tyrian let out a low chuckle. "Such perspicacity. I wonder if the ones they'll sent after you will have the same insight."

The white-haired huntsman took a step forward. "Listen, pal, if you think-"

"He has a tail!" the boy behind them blurted out, stupefaction clear on his face.

Tyrian made a point of mockingly examine his own stinger. "So I have. Never seen a faunus before, child?"

"What's a faunus?" the blonde boy tilted his head in confusion, visibly more curious than scared.

"Not the best time, kid," the swordsman in front of him growled.

Tyrian tsked. "On the contrary, this is the only time! After all," his smile grew, "you can't learn once you're dead."

To their credit, his foes were ready for his sudden charge. It didn't change the fact that they were simply too slow. He easily dodged the rocket fired his way by tilting his body to the side, then went under the follow-up sword swing from the huntsman. By the time they realized the situation, Tyrian was already on the huntsman's left flank, ready to strike. The white-haired swordsman managed to twist his body at the last second, turning what was intended as a crippling blow into a simple scratch.

Good. It was even better when they struggled.

"Angelo, duck!"

The huntsman reacted to his partner's instructions by spinning to the side, making way for the three missiles fired straight at the faunus. What cute teamwork. Yet too slow once again. Jumping in the air, Tyrian twisted and twirled between the projectile barrage, charging straight at the huntress. Which was when he heard the voice.

"Blades of heaven's will, pierce mine enemy!"

The child was floating a few inches above the ground, surrounded by a circle of light. Well that was peculiar. Tyrian's curiosity turned into concern when he noticed the glyph that appeared directly beneath his own feet.

"Divine Saber!"

The faunus jumped back just in time to avoid the worst of the rain of lightning that struck the position he was in a second ago. A bolt still managed to graze him, sending shivers through his whole body. Before he could shake the effects off, the boy started another chant.

"Gaze upon my fiery mirrors! Kaleidos Ray!"

This time, Tyrian didn't hesitate before jumping away a second before several mirrors appeared out of thin air all around him, firing incandescent beams inward. Once again, the faunus was saved by his quick reflexes, a single ray managing to sing his cheek. Still, that child was proving a lot more bothersome than expected, and given the wide eyes of his partners, that came as a surprise for them too.

"Shit, kid, how are you doing that?!"

"Not the best time, Angelo!"

Tyrian could appreciate the ironic echo, but would have liked an answer too. Instead he got another chant.

"Dark and light! Bright Shade!"

This time it was a projectile of swirling light and dark energy that came straight at him. At least this one was easy to dodge. By this point, Tyrian was beginning to feel a pattern. Short chants for limited attacks, while longer ones covered a larger area. The solution was obviously to keep moving and not stay in one spot. He might as well break the boy's concentration while he was at it.

"Swirling black quagmire, no escape!"

Another big one incoming. But this time he was ready. Running in an arc, he switched his wrist claws to submachine gun mode before peppering the blonde child with shots. The tactic proved ineffective when the huntress jumped in front of him, using her rocket launcher as a makeshift shield. Tch, annoying.

"Void Mire!"

Once again Tyrian rolled out of the way just in time to escape dozens of black tendrils coming from the ground. That... was looking uncomfortably similar to his mistress's favorite medium of punishment. Seriously, where did this boy come from? He could only think of one kind of being wielding powers somewhat similar to this, but that was impossible... right?"

"Child... you aren't secretly a girl, are you?"

"W-what? No!"

Oh, so he could still be flustered in the middle of combat. How adorable. Also, convenient. The boy was still stammering when Tyrian dove for him, licking his lips at the sight of his wide-open prey. Only to have the kid grabbed away by the huntress, who used the blade under her weapon as a grappling hook to take the child with her to a safe distance. Before the faunus could follow, the other huntsman was on him, his blade darting left and right in a furious assault.

"You got a jacked up notion of fair play, pal... and it's beginning to piss me off!"

With a turn of the handle, the sword roared as the blade burst into flames, the next blow managing to scratch Tyrian across the torso. The faunus somersaulted back only to see five rockets coming up from above. With no room to get entirely out of the blast radius this time around, the assassin crossed his arms in front of him as his aura flared up to protect him from the worst damage. The concussive force of the explosion still threw him several meters away.

Well. This wasn't going as well as expected.

"Give it up," the huntress called, voice hard as steel. "If you come quietly, there might still be a chance for you to not spend the rest of your life in prison."

Tyrian low chuckle turned into full blown laughter. "Such fire! Such confidence! But you might be forgetting something. We've been making quite a ruckus, wouldn't you agree?"

As if to illustrate his point, that was the precise moment that a beowolf chose to jump out of the bushes toward the white-haired huntsman. With a sniff of contempt, that latter simply swung his blade, cleaving the wolf-like creature in half.

"What, you think a couple of stray Grimm butting in will change anything?"

Tyrian's smile was positively manic by this point. "Who said anything about a couple? Did you really think I chose this place to fight on a whim?"

Low growls could be heard all around the clearing, making the trio freeze. Another beowolf entered the field, then another, then another. Monsters were coming one by one, walking at a slow pace as their glowing red eyes fell upon each living creatures within sight, visibly picking their targets.

"Would you look at that. Did I forgot to mention that I picked this place for my ambush because of the nest nearby? I hope you like killing Grimm, because there are plenty more where it come from!"

"Are you insane?" the dark-haired woman shouted. "They'll attack you too!"

"And doesn't that make it more exciting!" answered Tyrian. "Although... They tend to focus more on those with negative emotions. And I have to say, you people seem rather... stressed."

As if the word had been some kind of signal, the leading beowolf released a loud howl. Every monster charged at the same time Tyrian jumped back into the fray.

The battle took a chaotic turn. The faunus ducked under a beowolf's paw, and slashed at its head without even slowing down. Further ahead, he could see the huntsman tied up by a score of Grimm. They were dying in droves from the man's flaming sword, but that didn't slow them down in the slightest. Noticing Tyrian rushing toward his companions, the huntsman tried to stop him by firing his revolver, but once again the shot was deflected by a simple flick of his stinger.

The boy was busy incinerating three monsters that charged straight at him. The woman, however, did notice Tyrian charging, yet her weapon was currently empty, having just unloaded a salvo into the oncoming horde. Without any other options, she swung her massive weapon toward him with surprising strength, the bayonet missing his face by a couple of inches.

Tyrian immediately returned the favor, his left pincer blade darting toward her eyes. The huntress managed to throw her head backward, but still wasn't fast enough to entirely dodge it, the edge of the blade ripping against the back of her nose, leaving a trail of blood behind. That was going to leave a scar.

Before she could recover her balance, Tyrian had already turned, going straight at the boy. To his credit, the kid realized the danger and started his next chant almost immediately.

"Blast away the shadows of darkness! Blessed Drops!"

A wall of water rose from the ground to protect him. However, by the time he finished his incantation, Tyrian had already somersaulted above him, bypassing the entirety of the protective spell in the process. Before the blonde boy could turn around, the faunus lashed out with a roundhouse kick catching him on his side. The child went flying under the impact, hitting a tree with a loud thump.

"Leave him alone!"

The huntsman had apparently managed to extract himself from the drove of beowolves, charging straight at Tyrian with a snarl on his face. Ah, the recklessness of the youth. Tyrian straightened in anticipation.

Up until now, he had refrained from using his tail as an offensive tool. It was a handy trick that never failed to catch huntsmen and huntresses off guard. Even if they knew on an intellectual level that the stinger should be dangerous, after a few minutes of fighting without it coming into play it was only natural to stop watching out for it. This one was no exception. He dove to the side when Tyrian raised his left pincer, deflected his right one with a massive swing of his sword... and left himself wide open.

The scorpion tail struck like lightning, easily piercing the huntsman protective aura and tearing through his right arm, shredding muscles in the process. No more two-handed swings for you, Tyrian grinned happily while the swordsman howled in pain. And as soon as the poison fully took effect, no more anything for him.

"Get away from him!"

The huntress prevented him from dealing the finishing blow, her rocket launcher crashing down onto the ground with the force of a sledgehammer. Tyrian hopped back before considering the situation. The huntsman was on the ground, clutching his injured arm; doomed in a few hours if the Grimm didn't get to him first. The child was still conscious yet disoriented, slowly standing up in a daze. The huntress was still in fighting shape despite the blood on her face, but her short breath told Tyrian she was approaching her limit too. If he kept pressing his attack, the faunus was reasonably certain he could dispatch them all in short order.

But then there were the Grimm. By now, dozens of beowolves were flooding into the clearing with numbers that kept increasing. Tyrian's own aura had taken quite a beating in this fight. If he stayed too long, there would be no escape for him either. His queen still needed him; there was still a lot of work to do. He couldn't betray her by dying now, as much as he wanted to finish off his prey. It's not like they were getting out of this alive anyway, not with this many Grimm around.

His decision made, he jumped back, dodging a beowolf's claw in the process. "Well, it has been fun. But it seems our time together is sadly cut short. Take solace in the knowledge you're dying for the glory of our Goddess."

"What the fuck," the huntsman on the ground managed to speak through gritted teeth, "are you on about?"

"No time to explain, I'm afraid. Farewell, huntsman, huntress, child. You did manage to make it interesting for me."

Truth be told, he regretted not being able to snatch the boy and bring him to his mistress. His semblance had been highly unusual – in fact was it even a semblance? Alas, sometimes one had to content himself with the small victories. He would just have to settle with leaving people to be devoured by Grimm. As he rushed out of the clearing, cutting down the couple of beowolves that tried to stop him on the way, he couldn't help but be satisfied with how things had gone, nonetheless.

The real important thing was to love what you did, after all.

Phi watched their opponent jump from tree to tree with supernatural agility until he was out of sight, leaving him and his two companions surrounded by those scary wolf-monsters. This was bad. This was really bad! Angelo was down, Mary was injured, and the kick Phi received earlier hurt. But more importantly, the concentration of malevolence in this clearing was rising at an alarming rate, making his head dizzy.

Still, he had to do something. Rushing by the huntsman side while his companion did her best to provide covering fire, he took a look at his injured arm. That... didn't look good. Besides, weren't scorpions venomous? If that held true for the strange hybrid, then curing that took priority. Ignoring his own pain and the malevolence building up inside him, he focused on his next artes, the explosions of Mary's canon mere background noises.

"Through troubles receive life's blessing... Elixir Vitae!"

The torn flesh began to mend itself, although there was little Laphicet could do about the blood already lost. He hoped this would also be enough to take care of the poison, or at least to slow it down. Angelo blinked through the pain, looking at his healing arm.

"Damn, you can do that too? You're full of surprises, huh?"

"Don't speak! Save your strength!"

Despite the urgency of his tone, the malak couldn't help but smile. It seemed like he did it! However, his good mood didn't last long.

"Damn! Out of ammo."

The huntress' announcement sounded like a declaration of doom. Dozens of monsters had been torn apart by her barrage, yet more came their way, and they no longer had the strength to fight or flee. Angelo did his best nonetheless, pushing himself back up by using his sword as support, but it was clear he was on his last leg. Mary was forced to use her canon as a melee weapon, and while she managed to stab the first wolf with its blade, it wouldn't be enough against the oncoming horde. And Phi... Phi could feel his flesh crawl as the malevolence began to consume him.

He was turning, he realized with horror. He was going to become a mindless dragon, with no hope of ever coming back. No... no! It couldn't end like that! He still had to learn about this world! He still had to see Velvet and the others again! He still had to live!

"Hey, the kid's a wreck. It was just a joke to help calm him down."
"I'll protect you until you find your answer."
"I've changed how I view malakhim. I know that's true, because I can think of him as a brother."
"You control the rudder of your life. Your hands on the wheel."

...

"Its a name. Your name."

Something burst inside Laphicet, pushing away the malevolence threatening to overwhelm him. And with a scream, the world burned silver.

Notes: "Hey, he stole my thing!" - Ruby, probably.

Once again, thank you to CloudFry for editing this mess.