The fatigue began to catch up to her as Sienna yet again avoided another strike from a nearby Fang initiative. Considering the fact that most were brand new and not even properly through training she saw it as a testament to how sloppy they had gotten.

Most of the others ran as any sane person would do when a riot began, but a good few of them had the stomachs to actually try and fight. The dodge she took swiftly transitioned into a brutal knee to the unsuspecting attacker's gut causing him to crumple in on himself as she took his head in hand and threw him to the dirt. If they were willing to fight for murder then Sienna decided she wasn't holding back.

She pounced over one who tried to charge her - a move that seemed all too common in their ranks - and landed with a roll, which lead into an uppercut from below as she forced another poor sob off his feet. It gave her a quick second to catch her breath. In that instant before returning to the fight Sienna let her vision sway over to the others; in particular Weiss.

The Schnee was a surprise for sure, especially with the current state she was in. It was downright monstrous how violent each of her movements seemed, and how Fennec could barely keep up. Every strike, swing, and dash covered the distance between the two as Weiss practically clawed at the man on the back end. He kept up, dodging and blocking each of her moves, but for every counter he threw out the vengeful princess would just shrug it off.

After all one scar hardly mattered among a sea of lashes.

Her focus restored Sienna caught the arm of another unlucky fool and threw her into a swarm of approaching foes; all of which quickly toppled into a mess of limbs as they tried to untangle themselves. One ripe bastard however caught her from behind as he took hold of her around the midsection.

"Oh shove off will you!" Sienna's shout was accompanied with a brutal crunch as her skull forced itself into the face of the man behind her; the sound alone told her she at least busted up his nose.

Upon the quick release Sienna drove her foot into the knee of the man cradling his face, buckling the limb in ways it should never bend before she sent one final kick to his chest which forced him down. With him out of commission Sienna focused back on the fight. Her aura may have been low, treading near downright empty, but she still had a bone to pick with the several headed her way.

And then something flew by her.

Before she could really register what had happened a fight had broken out between the group before her, and she saw something flying between them. As she focused Sienna realized it wasn't so much a thing as it was a person; a man to be precise, and one she recognised.

"Lapis." Sienna watched as he bounced off of them like stepping stones. She knew of his gravity based semblance, but she never knew he could use it in such a way. Walking along walls and ceilings was one thing, but hopping between people was another.

Lapis would land on their sides and jump between them, giving a pseudo-kick each and every time which threw them off guard. However each one he stood on didn't topple immediately; it was as if he never even touched them, as if he had no weight. She only noticed when an opening showed, but he would kick and stomp on individual limbs and parts, and as they crumpled or shook from the impact he would jump to a new target, his direction and supposed 'gravity' changing along with it.

Standing on the back of an incredibly confused grunt he was practically swung around as the man turned and shook himself, desperately trying to get his attacker off. Lapis however didn't seem bothered, and stood perfectly fine protruding from the back and actively being flung around. In fact Sienna felt a sense of amusement as Lapis pulled out his weapons and began firing at the surrounding goons in a spray of gunfire.

Several went down easy, and Sienna saw he wasn't aiming for any vital points. He was set to down, not kill; something the ex-leader only saw as a good thing. The shots fell silent and Lapis leapt from his final target with one last stomp, downing the grunt as he landed next to Sienna.

"Apologies for the wait, I'd just returned from home when I heard the noise."

"Noise?" Sienna asked as they both readied themselves; Sienna swore as she heard rustling from behind them and they turned to witness several more Fang break from the shrubbery.

"You're not exactly keeping quiet here."

"Smart ass." Sienna shot back playfully as the two separated.

.

.

Sun didn't expect Weiss to be so violent, but he had to admit...

He was loving it!

"So cool!" He whispered to himself as he slipped between the blades of two guards.

Make no mistake he was perfectly aware of how dire the situation they were in was, and he was sure if he took his focus away from it for even a second he would die, but even as he focused on the guards trying their best to kill him he couldn't help but admire the girl for her apparent hidden ferocity. Sun, of course, quickly realized just how weird that was.

Why do I always have a soft spot for the crazy ones? Was it the sense of danger, the unpredictability, the fact that she could kick him around; probably a mix of all three when he really thought about it. Either way he was caught in her allure.

The blade which barely traced his side brought him back into the fight.

Right, battle, got to focus! Sun bent away from the swipe aimed at his neck only to duck towards the man and send several fists of pain straight into his opponent's chest, followed by one to the throat.

"Done with the daydreams?" Ilia called as he looked over to see her deflecting from both sides. "Don't just dance around them, fight!"

"I got this don't worry. What's a little battle without the fun?"

"We'll die if we make any mistakes." Ilia swept low and threw the enemy off her feet. "I fail to see the 'fun'."

"Life is way too short to sweat every life threatening bit." Sun avoided a fist, taking hold of the arm as he turned and flung the goon off into the distance. "We can die at any time being hunters anyway. If I'm going to die I want to do it with a smile."

"Relaxed pessimism, I have to admit you don't seem the type." Ilia commented as her whip pulled in a grunt for a quick kick to the side of the head.

"If everything's already at it's worst then the only place it could go is up." Sun replied as he took hold of two heads and jammed them together; both men dropped like rocks.

"Senseless optimist; never mind you're exactly the type I expected." Sun had a small chuckle at that as she delivered a flurry of kicks into the man who tried to blindside her.

He was glad they could hold their own, but as his eyes trailed over to Weiss again he couldn't help but wonder if she was alright. She held her own just fine, but the mark along her neck sent a shiver up his spine.

There was just something wrong about it.

.

.

Weiss found herself in an odd sense of harmony. She could see what was going on, from the way her captor dodged to the way her body moved, but none of it felt normal. At first she was guided by fury, but that quickly passed into a dark calm which permeated her mind. Back at the Vital Festival she was told of how she fought, but she'd been stuck in an odd dream and never got to see how it went.

This time she saw everything.

It wasn't that she couldn't control herself, each of the movements were her own, but rather that she just suddenly knew how to fight this way. Weiss knew she was never taught how to do such rugged and downright animalistic hand to hand combat, but it just felt so... natural to battle in such a way. Each strike was aimed to kill, and not an ounce of restraint lay in either attack.

As if death and destruction were the only true path.

The man before her, 'Fennec' as Sienna called him, only held his own by pure luck alone. She would cut off each and every counter he threw effortlessly, and the few that did land she brushed aside as nothing more than a slight kiss to her already battered skin. Weiss felt as though she was on fire, and deep down something within her relished in the moment of pure chaos.

There were no distractions left; it was just her, Fennec, and the inevitable finale.

He slipped up; his movement was off; in that moment of shock, that pure second of realization for his own mishap, Weiss went in for the kill.

.

.

Sienna watched with horror as the last grunt fell, not at those before her, but at Weiss. She moved with such speed directly for Fennec, but the man was cleaver, and worst of all he wasn't alone. Just below the platform Sienna saw someone crawling around who she quickly realized as Magenta.

Sienna never ran so fast in her life, not when the Fang had her on the run, and not when she was a little girl fleeing the mobs. Fennec leapt from the platform as if to try and escape, but a twist of his lips brought forth a vile grin. Weiss followed with a calm that showed her assurance in victory. Magenta vanished into nothingness which drove the ex-leader into a flurry.

Soon enough a pain rocketed up her arm as Sienna saw a wound suddenly open across her forearm. Her aura had finally been drained, and knowing this she'd decided that majorly wounding her arm was probably the best outcome to end the scenario. The gasp behind her proved Fennec hadn't been expecting that, and the shouts from Sun, Blake, and Ilia showed they didn't expect it either. Sienna cast a quick glance up to them and saw that they had finished off the remaining few Fang.

"What?!" Magenta was rightfully confused, and Sienna couldn't help but taunt.

"Cheeky little bitch." Said Sienna, Magenta's visage had broken and the girl was visible once more. "You really need to learn how to pick your battles."

"And you your friends!" Magenta with form revealed hopped back and took her stance, all the while Lapis swiftly returned Sienna's side. "A Schnee of all people. And you!" She looked to Lapis with a hateful glare. "You've betrayed us as well!"

"I've betrayed no one. I have, and always will, stand at Sienna's side. It was because of her we first took this path."

"And what has that got us? The abuse and hate keep on growing, the SDC continues to expand, and the suffering of the Faunus is still forgotten and ignored." Magenta prepared herself as Blake, Ilia, and Sun quickly moved to surround her. "Sienna lead us into a downward spiral where nothing ever changes."

"Is Adam any better?" Lapis countered. "He seeks to war with the world. If that comes to pass we may as well be dead already. The chances of victory are less than slim."

"At least it's something." Magenta whispered just loud enough for them to hear, and like that she was gone again. Despite this everyone kept up their guard, doing their best to focus on the environment around them for any clues as to where she was.

"You can't hide forever." Sun called as he backed up to Blake, joining with her to make anything but a direct attack impossible.

"Who's hiding?" The voice came from his side, and yet the woman remained hidden as he faced the side. He was ready for anything, and after a few seconds he received nothing.

"If you're going to fight then fight already!" Ilia called as a chill swept up her spine; something brushed across her cheek.

"Why, if I strike now I'll be seen." The voice was near Blake. "But I guess that doesn't matter now anyway; none of us are backing down."

"It doesn't have to be like this, you can still step away." Sienna called out as Lapis backed her up.

"She speaks the truth, we do not have to fight."

"Oh but we do." The sly voice breathed between them. "There's nothing left but to fight. Adam plays his games, killing all who stand against him; all for the sake of revolution."

"It'll never come." Sienna spoke grimly. "No matter how much he fights the Humans won't relent, they'll just fight back harder."

"They need to see their own faults themselves." Blake added somberly. "They need to come to that understanding on their own or they'll never accept it. We can't force them to adapt it, but we can at least have them question those beliefs themselves."

"They never will. Humans are far to arrogant for that, and the current state of the world only fuels it further." The voice slipped past Sienna and her head turned. "The only way to change that is to fight!"

Weiss stood over Fennec, breathing heavily and having seemingly calmed somewhat, all the while Fennec cowered below her. The mark on her neck dulled slightly, but Sienna never had time to focus on it as she started to dash. Time seemed to slow for her as the adrenaline exploded. Maybe it was a mix of pain, or perhaps the words Blake had spoken, either way she knew Magenta intended to finish the execution.

Sienna wouldn't let her.

No aura, no energy, and a gaping bloody arm adorned her. Sienna had no chance to actively stand against anyone in a fight, and yet she couldn't stop herself from trying. Weiss, despite being a Schnee, had shown some level of respect and acceptance towards the Faunus, even as she was kept prisoner and tortured. Somehow, someway, one of the most notorious families known for Faunus abuse had shown kindness, and it proved to Sienna that no matter how far gone they seemed, no matter how hopeless it was...

People could change.

There! Sienna saw it, a small shift of the dirt. Magenta had forced her boot down hard, most likely in an attempted dash, and Sienna was having none of that. She threw herself forward violently, arms outstretched as she felt herself collide with something. Her arms locked around the invisible target and immediately Sienna felt the woman struggle.

Weiss turned having heard the noise, and upon quick notice of the struggle moved to help. There was no need however as Sienna through the remaining burst of her adrenaline forced herself steady, took to one knee, turned, and chucked the woman back towards the others. Magenta's invisibility broke as she hit the dirt and rolled. The woman came to a stop, only to immediately find herself besieged by the other three. Sun held Magenta tightly in his grip as Blake and Ilia stood guard on both sides. Sienna let out a sigh.

"That was rough." She slipped as Weiss walked ahead of her tiredly.

"Yeah." She looked to Sienna for a moment, appearing to focus on her arm. "You need to get that covered.

"Don't need to tell me twice." Sienna replied as Weiss sighed and started towards the others.

"Just come on then. You need to get looked at, and I need a set of clothes." Sienna laughed a little at that.

"Yeah, right behind you."

Sun held tightly as Magenta struggled, with both Blake and Ilia heaving all their focus on the new prisoner. Weiss was tired, more so than ever, and yet she felt relieved to be out of the gruesome situation she'd been stuck in for the past few weeks. Sienna stood, overlooking the others and felt a sense of peace. For the first time in a long while she'd actually saved people.

Despite the numbing of pain, most likely due to blood loss, Sienna felt as if everything might finally work out for them. Even if it was only a small victory the ex-leader now believed wholeheartedly that they had a chance at making real change; that the Faunus could find equal footing with Humanity. At least with a Schnee by their side Sienna was willing to take that gamble.

A draw for a a brighter future.

A warm smile eased it's way across her face as she looked out towards the others, and as a sharp pain spread throughout her chest the world faded completely.

Author's note

...

A shorter one this time, but at least it's on time.

This chapter was entirely a single battle, which I hope was at least somewhat interesting. As I said before battle scenes aren't exactly my specialty, but at least we got some progress.

Menagerie is at the peek now, and the question lingers as to how it all wraps up.

See you later.