A/N: A Ninja in Beacon. Who could have seen that coming? Sakuya came to Beacon just to hunt Akira for fun, but the real reason is that she is seeking Patrick for aid. What's more, it involves "The Abductors". Something that he can't resist.
Chapter 38: The Shadow Tread
After their private conversation, Patrick frees Sakuya, and he and his team, as well as Team CPER, send her off. Akira has a hard time sending her a goodbye given the hard time Sakuya has given her.
Peter on the other hand... "You know, I never did get that kiss you promised me."
Peter leans in puckering his lips. Clawdia becomes steamed and attempts to grab his ear, until Sakuya stops Peter by grabbing his arm, bending it backward, and pinning him face flat to the ground. "Sorry, pretty boy. I don't date Pervs."
"Whoo. I'm starting to like her." Clawdia says.
When Sakuya releases Peter, she gives everyone a final 'Goodbye' and then leaves. Both teams start returning to the dorms. "By the way, Patrick, what did she want from you?" Marlene asks.
"Nothing important. Just ask me to help out on a job. But I turned her down." Patrick says.
But that is a lie.
Flashback
Sakuya is still tied to the chair as she explains the situation. "Five Days ago, my clan had a visit from the Abductors. I believe that they are the exact same group you've been chasing after and not just some small fry gang."
"The Abduction Agency." Patrick says. "What did they want?"
"They hired us to kidnap a value target: A Schnee Daughter." Patrick raises an eyebrow hearing that. It's no surprise to him. "They offered us dozens of bags to pull off the job. But given their history we refused the job, knowing they wouldn't offer us the reward and may try to abduct our sisters in the process."
"Which they probably would have. And did, didn't they?" Patrick says.
"Indeed. On the second nightfall, they raided our hideout with an army. Not just soldiers, but Grimm too. They kidnapped all of our sisters, I was the only one who escaped. They slaughter several of our brothers, the rest, aside from two, are greatly wounded. Their leader told us that they are not returning to their master empty-handed. If we don't pull off the job, they'll take our sister's instead." Sakuya says. "Brother Hikari and Brother Wallace and I are among the highly elite, but we can't pull off the job."
"I am not going to help the Agency kidnap one of their targets," Patrick says, his tone turning aggressive.
Sakuya chuckles as she smirks, which confuses Patrick. "Oh, I know. But the job isn't to kidnap the Schnee girl."
End of Flashback
It's late at night and all the students in Beacon are fast asleep. Patrick awakes in the night. He sits up in bed and looks to see his team, they're all deep asleep. Quickly but quietly, he loads up on his weapons and devices, opens the window, and starts climbing up the outside wall. Patrick reaches to the roof and waits. And waits, and waits, until a Sai comes flying in and pierces the wall, and Sakuya appears.
"Glad to see you're joining us." Sakuya says.
"Let's just get this over with, I wanna get some information out of them while the window's still open," Patrick says.
"Same old, aren't you?" Sakuya takes out a hand. "Grab on." Patrick takes Sakyua's hand and he pulls him, holding him close to her. "Hold tight, Shadow Boy."
Sakuya throws her Sai, and both she and Patrick vanishes. The sai flies through the air until it hits a lampost. As soon as they both reappear, Sakuya aims her Sai and throws, she and Patrick wrapping again in the process. Sakuya repeats this method all over town until she reaches the end of the Kingdom of Vale. In the moment they have, Patrick is able to collect himself and feels dizzy.
"Good grief. I forgot how unpleasant is it traveling by your Semblance." Patrick says.
"Man up, this is nothing." Sakuya says.
"Easy for you to say," Patrick says.
"Just use your vision Semblance to locate the airship." Sakuya says.
Patrick steadies himself as he activates his Night Vision. He looks around until he locates an airship with its side door opened. "There." Sakuya aims for where Patrick points and then throws her Sai. The Sai flies directly to the airship. It pierces to the side of the airship and Sakuya and Patrick appear on the wall of the airship, where they both fall and end up grabbing hold of the landing gear.
"Nice aim, Sakuya!" Patrick yells through the loud wind.
"You try aiming at a faraway object at night, Mr. Vision Semblance." Sakuya yells back.
Patrick knows this isn't the time to argue. He activates his Dust Bracers with Gravity Dust and plants his feet on the bottom of the airship. When in place, he grabs Sakuya and holds her as he walks on the airship to the open door.
When inside, Sakuya closes the door behind him. "Sister Sakuya." A Male Ninja with spiky brown hair and blind eyes approaches, holding a hand out. "It's good to hear your voice once again."
Sakuya shakes his hand. "Brother Wallace." Sakuya pulls Patrick in front of her. "And I'm sure you remember our friend, the Shadow Hunter."
Wallace feels in front of him until he finds Patrick. "Ah, the Mercenary Boy. Sister, are you sure he will be a valuable addition to the mission?"
"His Semblance is what we need to sneak in undetected. And besides, he knows the Abductors better than anyone. Trust me, we need him." Sakuya says.
"I don't trust outsiders any more than you do, brother." The second male ninja puts the airship on autopilot then leaves the pilot seat and meets up with the team. "But I trust sister Sakuya's instincts. If she says he's cool, he's cool."
"Thank you, brother Hikari." Sakuya says.
As the airship flies, the team of Ninjas and the hunter go over the plan. Sakuya explains to Patrick that she tracked down the kidnappers to their base. An Abandoned Dust Factory near the docks. She tells them the plan is to sneak in undetected and seize the control room. There, Patrick can hack the system and activate the Lockdown, and Hikari can use his Intangibility Semblance to get everyone through the sealed hallways to free the prisoners, and by Patrick's request will raid the base of operation to take out the leaders.
The airship is approaching its destination. Patrick suggests he takes control of the airship while the three of them drop out. Patrick flies the airship low, when they drop off Patrick flies high and away from the airship. Sakuya and Hikari observe the abandoned factory from behind the bushes, moments later, Patrick shows up from his Lightning Dust Speed.
"Okay, so what do we got?" Patrick asks them.
"Atlesian Droids guarding the front entrance, and patroling the yard and the walls," Sakuya says.
"They're most likely programmed with an alarm. If we alert one, we alert the while Agency." Patrick says.
"So we sneak in undetected," Wallace says. "What's the inside like? Can your semblance do that?"
Patrick activates his X-Ray Vision. "Droids patrolling the hallways..." Patrick looks around observing the inside. "Okay, there's a hallway on the side where two droids are backturned for a minute. We sneak in the second they're turned."
Patrick and the ninjas get into position. They wait out of sight while Patrick keeps his X-Ray active. "There's an opening." They wait for the outside patrol to make their around, and once it's clear they rush in quietly. Hikari puts a hand on the wall, activating his semblance. One by one, everyone walks through the wall Once inside they quickly move to hide on the ceiling beams. The droids detected the movement and looked around, but saw nothing. After a brief moment, the droids resume their patrols.
Hikari uses his Semblance on the ceiling, and Sakuya sticks her head through it to take a peek. She signals to them that it's clear and they all climb to the second floor. The Shadow Tread moves swiftly and quietly, remaining undetected by the droids patrolling the factory. Patrick uses his Semblance to see through the walls, and Hikari uses his Semblance to allow everyone to walk through them.
They finally reached the control room. There are two droids and a single human running the controls. He carefully observes the security cameras. When the Shadow Tread arrives, they swiftly take out the droids, striking them on the heads and bodies to quickly shut them down before they even have a chance to respond. The soldier hears the ruckus and becomes suspicious. He gets up and turns only to notice Sakuya in his face, blowing powder right at him.
The soldier reacts disgusted, then instantly passes out. "Phase 1 complete," Sakuya says. "All right, Shadow Boy, do your thing."
Patrick sits in the chair and starts working on the system. "I'm a little rusty, so this may take some time."
Patrick gets to work on the computer system while the ninjas keep an eye and ear out for any enemies. As the minutes pass, they begin to grow anxiously impatient. Sakuya checks on him. "Are you almost done? This mission is a bit time-sensitive."
"Don't rush me," Patrick says. "I'm almost there. Just need a little more time." Sakuya watches the monitors closely as Patrick begins the activation code, and once he finishes, an alarm blares, and thick metal doors begin sealing off exits and hallways. The Soldiers of the Abduction Agency in Central Command are on alert.
"What is this?" The leader leaves the room to find doors and the hallway being sealed. He slams the door shut and returns to his men. "We have intruders. They've taken over the control room. Order all droids to location and destroy."
One of the soldiers looks at his Scroll. "It's no use, Lieutenant. The Signal's jammed."
The second soldier approaches the lieutenant. "Sir, I believe this might be the Shadow Tread at work."
"I agree on that, Sargeant." The Lieutenant said.
Patrick and the Shadow Tread start running through the hallway. Atlesian Droids are on the march searching for them. Whenever the droids locate the Shadow Tread, they begin shooting at them. Sakuya and Wallace dash forward while Patrick stands back and shoots his arrows. Patrick's arrows pierce the droids by the shoulders in arms, staggering them for moments allowing Sakuya and Wallace to reach them and deliver the finishing blows.
"All right, now for phase 2. Wallace and I will reach the Prison Hold and free our sisters. Hikari, you take Patrick to commend central and deal with the Abductors."
Patrick cracks his knuckles, proudly. "Gladly."
They split into two teams and went their separate ways. Sakuya and Wallace make their way to the lower levels while Hikari uses his Semblance to help Patrick walk through walls to reach his enemies. Atlesian Droids stand in the way of both teams, but they don't stop them for they cut down any droids on their path. Patrick is especially fired up.
Sakuya and Wallace arrive at the Basement level. The hallways are filled with more droids than anywhere else. They fight their way through the droids, Sakuya dodging shoots and hits while cutting down the droids with incredible speed and using her Warp Projection Semblance to strike far and close at the droids.
They arrive at the entrance to the prison hold. All the women within, who are mostly stripped and in chains, are pleased to see Sakuya and Wallace. "Sister Sakuya! Brother Wallace!"
The droids and soldiers are on alert hearing the intruders and ready their weapons. "Intruders!" And then start shooting.
Sakuya and Wallace dodge the incoming blasts. Sakuya takes out her Sai's. "I'll handle this. Do your thing, Brother."
Wallace makes his way to the bars. He reaches into his pocket and takes out his tool kit. Wallace feels around until he finds his lockpick. He places an ear on the bars and starts picking. Sakuya is fighting off an army all on her own. She destroys the droids she comes in contact with, and the soldier she fends off by dodging attacks and striking with jabs to the stomach or sweeping the legs.
All the loud noises from the conflict make it hard for Wallace to focus on the sounds of the gears and wires of the lock. He begins to grow frustrated until finally, he shouts; "QUIET!" Just like that, Sakuya and her enemies just freeze in place, dead quiet too, all looking right at Wallace with surprised faces. With nothing but silence, Wallace resumes his work on picking the lock. Until he finally succeeds. "Resume." Sakuya and the soldiers continue their brawl.
Patrick and Hikari cut down any droids standing in their way as they rushed through the hallways to the control center. "I'll go for the leader, you'll take out his henchmen." Patrick and Hikari finally reach the command central. Hikari tries to open the door but it's locked, then decides to use his Semblance. Patrick draws out his swords. "I'm coming for you, monster!" Then he walks through the door.
Inside, the Soldiers are surprised to see Patrick, then Hikari. "The Intruders!" The Lieutenant draws out his mace and his henchman their guns. As Patrick suggested, Hikari takes care of the two soldiers while Patrick is focused on the Lieutenant. Patrick does the first strike with a leap attack which the Lieutenant blocks with his mace. Patrick and Lieutenant go all out against each other. Patrick is delivering swift slashes only to have them blocked. The Lieutenant only attacks once he has an opening. Patrick dodges his swings and takes a hit twice.
Hikari fights off his enemies with his swords, each of them held in between each of his fingers. When he's all warmed up, he loads his weapons and they glow in a blue color Hikari strikes his enemies and causes parts of their bodies that made contact to become frozen in ice. His enemies tried their best given the conditions to fight Hikari but were eventually defeated.
Sakuya and the other Female Ninjas have the soldiers all tied up. "That'll hold them. Let's regroup with Patrick and Brother Hikari."
"We can take care of ourselves from here, Sister Sakuya." A Female Ninja says.
Sakuya and Wallace rush off, leaving the Ninjas behind to watch over their prisoners.
Hikari has his enemies ensnared in ice while Patrick is fighting off the Lieutenant. Patrick is quick with his attacks but the Lieutenant overpowers him. In his last blow, he manages to disarm Patrick and then knocks him back. Patrick's Aura begins the flicker as he gets back up, unarmed. The Lieutenant approaches ready to deliver the final strike.
"You're finished, intruder!" The Lieutenant says.
Patrick doesn't give up. He readies his Wrist Flamethrower and shoots fire right at the Lieutenant. The Lieutenant shouts in pain as he stumbles back from the flames. Now his Aura is weakening, and the Flamethrower only left his body slightly singed. Patrick loads his Dust Bracers with Combust Dust and delivers a devastating kick. The Lieutenant is knocked back and slammed against a wall, which completely depletes his Aura.
Before the Lieutenant has a chance to do anything, Patrick quickly pins him against the wall, a sword as his throw to threaten him. "Where is he!?" Patrick barks.
The Lieutenant looks at Patrick with a serious fearless expression. "Who do you speak of?"
"Rufus Zero!" Patrick says growling. "I know you're working for him! Tell me where he is, or you'll die!"
The Lieutenant chuckles deviously. "I'm a dead man, either way, boy. And you're a fool if you think I'll ever betray the master." The Lieutenant gives Patrick one final stern look. "Long live the Agency!"
The Lieutenant crunches his teeth. Suddenly, electrically flows and overwhelms in his mouth then collapses, dying in the process. "NO!" Patrick shouts as he watches the body fall lifeless. Sakuya and Wallace regroup with Patrick and Wallace to see the scenery of two mostly frozen soldiers and a dead leader.
Meanwhile, somewhere dark and far away, the vital signs on a monitor suddenly die. A man sitting at his desk takes notice of it. He doesn't look surprised at all, but he does type on the keyboard and speaks to his headset. "I've lost the Lieutenant's Vital Signs, General. The Mission was a failure."
"That is quite unfortunate. Did he report the situation?" A voice says from the headset.
"Negative sir. It was most likely a sudden ambush."
"I see. I'll report this to Master Rufus. In the meantime, send in a scouting team to investigate the matter."
"Yes sir."
After a very long night of travel, Sakuya and her team return Patrick to Beacon an hour before dawn. Patrick is pretty much disappointed the whole time. He finally had a connection to location Rufus and it just slipped away from his fingers. Sakuya Escorts Patrick through the courtyard.
"I'm sorry that you didn't get your information, Shadow Boy." Sakuya says.
"It's nothing for you to feel bad about. I should have known that finding where he is won't be that easy." Patrick says, still in his upset state.
"I'm glad to hear that, but we did promise you'd get the information as a reward for helping us, plus you and I and your team know why it is you are after the Abductors. " Sakuya says. Patrick stops his walking, and after a moment, Sakuya stops and turns to look back at him. He notices the silent expression on his face and catches on. "Your friends...They don't know...do they?"
Patrick's fist tightens as his body tenses up. "How can I tell them? Especially to Se-To Sherry?"
"Well, I can't say that this surprises me. You are pretty secretive about your life. I and my brothers and sisters only found out about it because we were shadowing you during your time as a Mercenary."
"Yeah, I really appreciate being reminded of that." Patrick says sarcastically.
Sakuya can't help but chuckle hearing that. "Well, you can't be too careful as a Ninja, gotta know who are your allies and who are your enemies. Still, the Shadow Tread are in your debt. If there's anything you need for us to return the favor, let us know."
"Right now, I only care about finding that monster Rufus Zero. If you or your Brothers and Sisters find out anything, let me know." Patrick says.
Sakuya nods, then salutes. "Until we meet again, Shadow Boy." Sakuya throws her Weapon and vanishes. Patrick only watches her Sai fly away until it's out of sight, then lets out a disappointing sigh and starts walking towards the Beacon building.
Little did he know that he was being watched. And all Selena could do, as he silently hides behind a lampost, is standing there with a hand over her mouth with a surprised expression on her face.