"Remind yourself that overconfidence is a slow and insidious killer." - Vacuoan proverb
Suffice it to say, Violet was less than thrilled at having Oobleck of all people accompany his team on a mission, but that was just his luck. No, not luck, Ozpin set them up because of their history. Did he think he needed monitoring? That he would join the White Fang in front of his teammates? Was he hoping to find out some new information about his identity? If so, he's wasting his tim-
"Vio?" Pyrrha tugged at his sleeve, "Are you okay? You spaced out again."
He forced a smile onto his face, "Yeah, I'm good." He then turned to Oobleck, "I'm glad to have you accompany us today, Professor. Hopefully your assistance won't be necessary."
"Much as I wish to agree, my good student, you have chosen a most perilous destination. Mount Glenn is a dangerous place even for senior huntsmen. It's a miracle Ozpin allowed first years like you to go there."
"We know," Nora said, "But I'm sure we can handle it!"
"I don't care how talented you may be, carelessness out there will lead to a swift death. I don't wish to intimidate you, just don't treat this excursion like a game."
"We very much understand the gravity of the situation," Ren said, the rest of the team nodding in agreement. That seemed to be enough for the Professor as he led them up the bullhead's ramp. His team was looking to hit a White Fang target along the way, so of course everyone took things seriously and stocked up on ammunition. Even Violet grabbed several high quality dust grenades from the Black Knights stockpiles. They were prepared.
A few minutes later and they were in the air. During the trip, Professor Oobleck started explaining the mission in more detail.
"Before we get into the objectives of the mission, a reminder that due to Mount Glenn's history, you may encounter sights of a rather gruesome nature. The last breach in that part of Vale was never cleaned up." he looked at the three confused Mistrali students sitting opposite him. "Vale?" Pyrrha asked, "But the flight is supposed to take at least twenty minutes. It simply couldn't have been part of Vale City."
He sighed, "Guess those history grades don't mean much these days, but in all fairness I only mentioned it in passing. See, Vale is situated in a very defensible position, with two thirds of its perimeter being protected by the mountains and the sea. But that arrangement has its drawbacks as well. Namely that expanding the city extends the vulnerable length that needs protecting."
"Mount Glenn was founded in a similarly good position, and connected to Vale via a rail line cutting through the western mountains. But the line would not stop there, it carried passengers and freight even further to Mistral, making the project practically pay for itself."
"Obviously, that didn't quite work out," Violet said.
"Indeed, now it is totally overrun by the Grimm. It was overextended and could not stand on its own during times of crisis. A monument to mankind's often fatal ambition."
"Time of crisis?" Violet sneered, "That's an interesting way of saying invasion."
Everyone suddenly tensed up at his words, with his teammates silently sighing and Ren making a mock display of a headache.
"By all means Violet," Oobleck began in a calm, scholarly tone, "You can argue where the ultimate blame lies forever, but the fact remains that after numerous Grimm breaches, the council of Vale decided to continue pursuing its war despite the risk to its populace."
The others looked on in interest, but Violet was unimpressed. The Professor continued, "It took a massive breach to get them to withdraw to the underground metro area, and even in the last months of the war they refused to seal the tunnels. A Grimm incursion into the metro and eventually into Vale city itself finally brought them to the negotiating table."
"It broke the government's legitimacy," Ren said, "The first duty of a government is to protect mankind from the creatures of Grimm."
"Correct, Mr. Ren. Today these things are formalized in international treaties, where we also elevate other values like freedom and individuality to stand alongside them. For without them, survival is meaningless."
Violet tried not to make a retort at the blatant hypocrisy. No, that's not what it was, it was cowardice. Weakness. It made him even more mad, but it also made him feel strangely sorry for him. Ren paid it no mind though, "Perhaps," he said, "But in practice, people tend to care more about security."
Oobleck looked as if he was going to respond, but pulled back at the last moment. There was an odd atmosphere to the conversation, and Violet was confused until he remembered Ren's file said he was orphaned at a young age. Grimm attack was a likely cause, so Ren's stance was understandable, though personally frustrating.
"Alright," Violet said, "It's as you said, I didn't come here to argue. What will we be doing when we land?"
The Professor was relieved at the peace offering, "We will be surveying the east edge of Mount Glenn for Beringels, seeing as the creatures are known for their ability to occasionally climb over the mountains and approach Vale if large enough negative emotions are felt. We had to station a lot of huntsmen on the mountains a few months back when the Knights made their debut.
The students all shivered a little at the idea of facing such creatures. Violet never cared much for fighting Grimm, but he knew a Beringel was supposed to be out of their league, "Are we expected to engage them?" he asked.
"A full team of first years should barely be able to take one out. With your exceptional talent and my aid though, we could do it without major risk. That's assuming no other Grimm join the fight, so only engage if I make the call. We are here primarily to survey and pass intelligence. Understood?" They all nodded.
"Not that I'm complaining about going," Nora said, "But couldn't the survey have been done using aircraft?"
"Unfortunately, no. Beringels tend to be stealthier than most Grimm, and the sound of aircraft engines causes them to hide in the buildings, or under the trees if they are already scaling the mountain."
"Makes sense," Violet said.
Oobleck looked at him, "You'll be expected to lead everyone. I'm here to monitor you and provide broad directions, but I retain the authority to override your decisions. Am I understood?" He received a curt nod in response.
The rest of the trip passed without much fanfare. As the abandoned city came into view, they prepared themselves for a drop. As the Bullhead lowered itself at a crossroads clearing and they got out, several Beowolves already spotted them.
"Six, no, seven Beowolves," Violet said as he looked around, scythe already unfolded.
"The Alpha is bound to be close by as well," Oobleck added, drawing his characteristic thermos which unfolded into a staff.
The Aircraft flew away, leaving them to face the Grimm threat alone. The Beowolves charged in a scattered formation, not giving them time to organize. Violet shouted orders, "Ren, start shooting. The rest, conserve your ammo." Nora made to protest, but he didn't give her a chance, "Conserve your grenades for now. We can handle them in melee." She gave an affirmative nod.
The Grimm had already reached them, and the first was already taken out by Pyrrha's semblance enhanced javelin, and Oobleck kept another one at bay until she could retrieve it. Ren assisted The Professor, taking out the monster with several well placed shots.
"Ren, switch fire to Grimm in the back, delay them!"
By the time more of the creatures caught up to them, they were more than ready. Ren shot at some of the further away Grimm, slowing them down while Pyrrha, Violet, and Nora each took on one of the creatures.
Pyrrha pummeled her target by repeatedly launching her shield into its face, retracting it, and launching it again. With the creature concussed, she easily bypassed its claws and stabbed it through a narrow opening in its faceplate.
Nora used her hammer to break the Beowolf's arms, her immense strength matching that of the Grimm. Once it was thoroughly smashed, she went for the head, cracking the bone. She struck again and again, turning its head into a gruesome fountain of Grimm ichor.
Violet showed no patience in dispatching his target, immediately defaulting to his dust enhanced attack to take it by surprise. His strike failed to kill it on account of the Grimm's blocking hand, which was now decapitated. But he didn't waste any time, using the sharp back end of the Mordred to deflect its second hand from striking. The loss of its arm and the force of the failed attack caused the creature to fall off balance, giving Violet plenty of time to lift his weapon and land a precise strike at a vulnerable side area, eliminating the threat.
The remaining two wolves, though hurt by Ren's earlier barrage, were still marching on. Oobleck tasked himself with delaying them, expertly deflecting their attacks with his staff. Nora and Pyrrha flanked each of the Grimm and started making short work of them in melee.
Violet didn't miss a beat "Keep vigilant, there could be more." The streets looked empty, though he knew Grimm had a dash of cunning, especially the older Alphas. As he looked carefully around the street, he was startled by Pyrrha's shout, "Above!"
Sure enough, a massive alpha was dropping from one of the concrete towers right onto him. He barely had the time to brace his scythe end against the floor to not be crushed. Even so, the force of the fall made the Alpha's tackle successful, greatly bruising his aura. Still, he and his weapon remained in one peace. He could hear automatic fire coming from the side, and the Alpha got off him and pursued Ren.
Pyrrha launched both of her weapons at it, but it was undeterred. Nora Transformed her hammer into a grenade launcher, but before she could fire the creature put a hand on its barrel, making Nora unable to fire without hurting herself and her weapon. It raised its second hand to strike at Nora, but Professor Oobleck leapt at it, striking its face with his staff before a stream of flaming liquid poured out of it and set the creature aflame. It became frantic and disoriented as its fur ignited like dry grass. It thrashed around, causing everyone to get out of its way.
After a few moments, it regained its senses and charged Violet. He'd barely recovered as it was and didn't have the time to swing, so he brought up the Mordred as a staff to prevent it from closing in. The beast pushed against it, and though it couldn't break through his guard it managed to knock Violet down. It prepared to bite at him, only to be met with a grenade to the face. It fell next to Violet before dissolving.
He got up, looking over the team, "Good work everyone. Let's get out of here, we've drawn too much attention already."
"Yes, we should find a good vantage point from which to observe the rest of the city," Oobleck added. They hastily made their way out of the area before searching for a suitably tall and sturdy building. There were surprisingly few Grimm wandering about, they only encountered two Boarbatusks and a Creep on their way, dispatching them as silently as possible. Violet thought they'd at least get the opportunity to enjoy the views, but the whole place was offensively bland. Concrete blocks as far as the eye could see, only broken up by the occasional collapsed building, pile of rubble, or moss-covered surface. Such utilitarianism would make even the most stuck-up of Atlesians blush.
They found a suitable vantage point eventually. It was a long climb, about fifteen floors according to Nora, and at the end of it they found themselves in an abandoned office space. The place was decayed but good enough for their purposes. The windows have long since shattered, but they provided adequate views of the mountainside at the city's edge.
"I want this floor thoroughly searched for Grimm, same for the roof." Oobleck said, "We've got only a few more hours of sunlight here, so hurry up."
After the area had been secured, the professor handed them binoculars and went about teaching them how to properly survey the area for Grimm and estimate their numbers, while also practicing species identification. Violet liked to imagine he was on a battlefield, scouting enemy troop concentrations instead. He would often sneak looks elsewhere, searching for traces of White Fang personnel in other parts of the city to no success.
"Say, professor," Violet began, "Is the amount of Grimm here within expectations?"
"It seems to be lower than the last time I was here. Though we can't conclude anything yet, they could be in hiding or otherwise distracted by some other passerby. Their activity can be highly variable, so we'll remain another day to investigate further."
"If it's not as dangerous as we assumed, we could get closer."
"That shouldn't be necessary."
"Why not? You said it yourself, Beringels are sneaky and if we got closer we could perform our mission better."
"You're still inexperienced, and while your initiative is commendable I must ask you to be cautious. This is your first mission after all."
Violet glanced in the direction of his other teammates who all gave him knowing looks. Ren interjected, "Respectfully, professor, we have all had previous practical experience. And we're here to learn how to complete missions like real huntsmen."
"And are you real huntsmen yet?" Oobleck asked, "You shouldn't be risking the lives of your teammates so carelessly."
Ren sighed, "Yes, I understand."
After a pause, Oobleck continued, "You all seem very eager to throw your lives away. Why is that?"
"Huh?"
"Why do you want to become huntsmen?"
Pyrrha spoke up, "We're here to fight monsters and protect people."
"That's what you do, I'm asking why you do it?"
Pyrrha seemed to be taken aback by the question, "It's just that... well… tournament fighting starts to feel pointless after a while."
"That doesn't strike me as something worth dying over though."
She thought on it more with some embarrassment, sneaking a few glances towards Violet, "There are higher callings out there, and if I've been blessed with such fighting skills I should use them to their fullest."
His eyes seem to glaze over Ren and Nora, "And what about you Violet?"
This again? "It is my wish to leave the world better than I entered it."
"Then you should try to survive so you'd get a chance to do so."
"Faulty information is the source of the most fatal mistakes, is it not?" Violet said, "Huntsmen are people of principle, and I don't want to start my career by doing things halfheartedly."
"Very well," he acquiesced, "We will decide on a route near the eastern edge of the city, and we'll do a pass before calling in a bullhead. If all goes well we should be gone by noon."
Violet jumped at the opportunity, and they spent the next hour carefully plotting a route that would pass by the most likely hiding locations of Beringels while also checking out what Violet thought to be prime locations for White Fang hideouts. He found the game of adding detours to the route in such a manner as to not alert the Professor to his ulterior motives quite fun. But once that was done the sun had already set and they prepared to nap.
Sleep did not come easy that night. He found it strange as he was not so anxious before his battles, save for perhaps his debut as Zero. Maybe it was the fact he was isolated from his Black Knights, or maybe it was his reluctance to let go of his temporary White Fang allies. He decided to get up and try to take over watch duty from the Professor. It took some convincing, but he relented and let him guard the stairwell.
He ended up calling Blake. It didn't take long for her to pick up, "Vio? Aren't you supposed to be on a mission?"
"Yeah, but the CCT has a good connection here and we're resting."
"Yeah…" she yawned, "Are you calling for something specific?"
"Yes." She knew what he meant he meant by that. He didn't want to quite state everything over the phone, even if he could hypothetically delete the records passing through the CCT.
"You need us to do it? Now?"
"Be ready for it. I could order it tomorrow or the day after when I return. We will be heading for the suspected location of their base in the morning."
"Alright. Just be careful. I don't know what we'd do if you disappeared."
A smile snuck onto his face, "Oh, my. Is someone concerned for my wellbeing?"
"Don't flatter yourself."
He chuckled, "Oh relax… Your team also had a mission today, right? How'd it go?"
"Well enough. We were supposed to search and destroy Grimm near a well traveled path. Nothing special, really. I was more annoyed at how they're treating us like infants. But Ruby convinced Professor Port to extend our stay, so we only returned recently."
"Sounds like something she'd do. Go get some sleep now, you'll need it."
"Yeah, bye. Stay safe." She hung up.
His anxieties were temporarily relieved, and Ren took over the watch a few hours later. He'd only managed to get some 3 hours of sleep that night. He was drowsy, but he had worse. He hadn't realized just how much his commitments to the Fang constrained him until now. He felt liberated and pumped for battle when he woke up.
"Everyone ready? The morning saw no movement either." Professor Oobleck said.
"Ready as we'll ever be. Let's get moving."
The trip to the city's edge was relatively quiet. There were a few stray Grimm here and there, but the Beowolf pack they encountered upon landing was probably the toughest fight they've had thus far. Even though he didn't enjoy fighting them much, he was a little disappointed. But mostly he was unnerved at the silence.
"I know we've been quite fortunate thus far," The Professor said, "Don't take this to mean the Grimm have simply disappeared. But I see you're all on your guard. Excellent."
They reached the place where the drab buildings gave way to forested hills and they traveled along the edge of the city. Bartholomew was looking around for Beringels, but his team was looking for something entirely different…
"Human, 9 o'clock. Hide." Ren said as he dropped to the floor.
"That's preposterous, there can't be…" The professor spotted the humanoid silhouette in the distance and hurriedly dropped behind a dirt mound with the rest of the team, "Curses. It must be a Geist. But here? A new development, certainly."
"I don't know," Ren said, looking out with binoculars, "It looks very human to me. And a Geist doesn't possess humans, ever."
Oobleck took out his own binoculars, "Well I'll be damned, it is. That mask though…"
"A White Fang member," Violet said, not even bothering to look.
"Quite the guess you've made there, Violet," his eyes narrowed at him.
"I heard the rumors, and there are very few organizations with distinctive masks in Vale. No wonder there's barely any Grimm, they must have a base set up here."
"And you've kept this information from us… why?"
"I didn't," he lied, "I just knew there were rumors and kept it in mind. Besides, Ozpin personally approved of this mission. He'd have informed us on any other lawful human activities taking place here."
If he wanted to argue further, he didn't show it, "We should go and report this as soon as possible. A proper team of huntsmen should handle this. Maybe even the army."
"We ought to go after him," Violet said, "Follow or take him into custody. We should figure out how many of them there are before reporting back."
"You're taking a wholly unnecessary risk."
"We came here for a surveillance mission," Pyrrha said, "We have to follow through."
The rest of the team nodded in agreement. He sighed, "I can't believe I'm doing this. Alright, but be very careful not to make too much noise."
They nodded before formulating a plan to shadow the figure.
"Will this count towards the next semester's stealth classes?" Violet joked. They were already some one hundred meters away, hiding out on the ground floor of an apartment building.
"Probably not, but I have no doubt you'll perform flawlessly there… assuming you actually attend your classes."
After some twenty minutes, it became clear that the White Fang member was just patrolling the area in very regular patterns.
"He won't lead us anywhere," Ren said.
"Seems so," Violet said, "Maybe it's best we capture and question him. Then Vale can assemble a force of adequate size to deal with the threat."
"They might realize he's missing before that happens," Oobleck argued.
"They'll chalk it up to Grimm. So may we?"
"Ordinarily I wouldn't, but this is a very serious situation and we should make haste. I'll be the one to do it. Watch and learn."
He climbed up the building, and team PRVN looked on as the soldier wandered close by. He was some 30 feet away from them before Oobleck dropped from the fourth floor, hitting the man in the head with his staff.
Amazingly, the faunus was not knocked out, but he was severely concussed and so was apprehended without much struggle. He was dragged inside by the Professor before having his hands tied. By the time the man had regained enough sense to speak, he was looking up at 5 angry huntsmen with their weapons drawn.
"I- I can explain," he said in a panicked voice. He was a deer faunus with a slender build. In his early twenties, maybe less if Violet had to guess.
"Explain what?" Violet asked, "Why you were wearing a White Fang mask? Well, let's hear it," He raised his scythe for a strike.
The man, or perhaps boy, took several sharp breaths, his face becoming pale, "Please, I didn't mean you any harm."
"A likely story. We are familiar with how the Fang operates."
Oobleck gave Violet a condescending look but refrained from saying anything in the captive's presence. Violet figured that he'd try and stop him and he'd have to fight the Professor for every step of this. Did he suddenly grow a spine, or was this some kind of ridiculous personality test Ozpin put him up to?
"Please, just don't hurt me," the faunus was tearing up.
"Having second thoughts? Your fate will depend on what you say, so you better be honest with us. How many of your men are here?"
"I'm… I'm not sure. Everything is very secretive down there. I know my squad is made up of 10 people, but members go to and from here all the time. I honestly don't know."
Violet snarled, "And where is 'down there' supposed to be? Where are your people stationed?"
"It… It's underground. I've never gone past the entrance, so that's all I know."
"How convenient," he racked the bolt on his scythe, making the boy wince. His teammates gave him concerned looks, but he continued.
"For what purpose is the White Fang here? What are they doing? You've given me non-answers thus far, so you better start telling the truth."
The captive panicked, "I told you I know nothing. All I ever saw them do was bring in supplies. Please… I didn't have a choice in joining," he looked them over again and his panic seemed to lessen, "Hold on, you're… you're Beacon students," relief washed over him, "Thank God. I know you can't hurt me, no matter what you say. I want a lawyer."
The nerve of this kid. Violet's voice cracked, a barely suppressed giggle bursting into psychotic laughter, "You sure you want to test that theory? There's no one around to bear witness to this act of divine justice."
"Hold on Violet!" the Professor said.
He swung the Mordred dangerously close to the faunus' head, the scythe cutting a few hair strands and making the kneeling boy whimper in fear.
"That's enough," Oobleck intervened, pulling him back, "If he doesn't want to cooperate he'll get his just sentencing. There's no need to resort to torture or maiming."
Nora looked down at the boy, who appeared to have soiled himself and was refusing to make eye contact, "Y-yeah. I get that where you're coming from Violet, but this feels wrong."
"Does anyone here have a spine?" He looked over at his teammates. Ren glared at him, presumably for slighting Nora. Pyrrha wasn't that enthusiastic either, "Anyone?"
"You're not hurting him," Oobleck said firmly.
"I wasn't. I was going to get information out of him, but now you've ruined it. Besides, he absolutely deserves it." Yet more silence, "What? Don't tell me you've fallen for his sob story? A cornered creature that will do anything to free itself. Anything… except betray the pack."
"You… You can figure out the truth without threatening him," Pyrrha said, looking at him with pleading eyes, "Can't you?"
Yet more questioning looks. Why couldn't they just let him do what he knows will work? The guy was a total wimp, he would have folded in no time. But now he's dug himself too deep. If they could just see that this person was as evil as the worst of them they'd understand him. He'd get to discredit the Professor's squeamishness and even if he doesn't get to kill the bastard, he'll land him a huge sentence.
He sighed, "I see you've forced my hand," His teammates tensed up, but he merely knelt next to the boy.
He cupped the faunus boy's chin and forced him to look Violet in the eye, "You will tell me the truth. What are you people doing here?"
He answered in a calm voice, "I was told this was an operation of utmost importance. I don't know the specifics, there is a lot of secrecy surrounding it. But I did see a lot of dust being brought in."
Violet glanced at the rest of his team, taking a moment to delight in their astonished looks.
"And where are they bringing it? Where are you located?"
"In the underground metro system. Probably the central hub. There are guard posts at each entrance that hasn't been collapsed yet."
"I see. And how many do you estimate are inside?"
"From the food supplies delivered every week, at least a hundred."
Violet turned to them, "I told you he's a liar. Just like the rest of them. Ought to be disposed of without a fuss."
"Now hold on," Ren interrupted.
"He will face trial and get an appropriate sentence," Oobleck said, "And it's doubtful he will get the death penalty based only on his membership in the Fang."
He had to do it again, didn't he? No matter, they'll understand soon, "We'll see about that," Violet said before turning to the captive, "Tell me, when and why did you join the White Fang?"
"One… one year ago. Everyone around me wanted to join, it just felt natural. My peers, my friends, my… uh, crush."
Pathetic, but it's not damning evidence. "What did you do while at the Fang? List me your crimes."
"I provided security to White Fang facilities. Other than that, I haven't committed anything else that would be classified as a crime."
"You've got to be kidding me. Just my luck to get stuck with saint outlier over here."
He could feel Pyrrha's hand on his shoulder, "It's okay, not everything needs to turn into a bloodbath."
How can they have so much sympathy for the enemy? Do they mean to interrogate every single White Fang member before engaging? Who was he kidding, of course they do.
He growled in frustration, swatting her hand away, "Tell me, captive, what would you want done with the humans after you won?"
"I… I hadn't thought of it much. I suppose I would want them exiled to some other land where they would never bother us again. Similar to what was done to us with Menagerie."
"See?" Violet shouted, "He wants to throw you all out of your homes and send you to some inhospitable wasteland to rot!"
His words did not have much of an effect, though none wanted to start an argument. They were still stunned by the revelation of his semblance.
Finally, Professor Oobleck recovered enough to speak, "In any case, extrajudicial execution is strictly forbidden. He will be put on trial and if his testimony is accurate he'll be given between six months and a year in a rehabilitative facility assuming this is a first offense."
What foolishness. He still enabled the crimes, he shouldn't be treated with the kid gloves just because he's young.
"I will call a bullhead to pick us up and I'll explain to Ozpin and the council the urgent need for people to clear out the underground. We will talk about your attitude later."
"I don't care what you think about my attitude so long as you're taking action."
The faunus' semblance-induced daze wore off and he started panicking again. The Professor rushed to calm him with sweet words. He couldn't stand to watch it, so he went back to look after the entrance.
Not long after, he was joined by Ren. "Are you alright?" he asked.
"No. I just can't understand how you can be so…" he sighed in frustration.
"I think I understand. Even so, that boy doesn't deserve to die."
"Perhaps. Perhaps I'm just angry. I've interrogated dozens of White Fang members and I just had to stumble on some naive low ranking pawn. You should have heard the sorts of things other members said."
"I believe you. If anything, this proves you can't 'set up' the results, so to speak."
Violet was a little surprised, "You're not angry about my semblance?"
"I guess I am a little disturbed. But I understand why you didn't want us to know. Pyrrha told us the details when you left. To be honest I'm a little surprised you revealed it here."
"Same. I guess it was somewhat impulsive," he was disgusted with himself for such weakness.
"Hey, It allowed us to locate what appears to be a major White Fang base along with its strength and purpose. If anything, keeping your semblance a secret here would be selfish."
"Right."
Pyrrha's voice joined in as she entered the room, "Cheer up, Vio. As far as surveillance missions go we did pretty good. We should be proud of ourselves," She smiled at him, and he couldn't help but return the favor. He wanted to remain angry, but it all felt so petty in the moment.
But like all good things, the moment was never meant to last. It was rudely cut short by the crack of gunfire. A bullet shooting right into Ren, his aura flashing a blinding green to halt it. Immediately after, it was followed up by automatic fire coming in from the windows and through the walls from all sides. They were surrounded without knowing it, and their auras were dropping at an alarming rate.
Pyrrha instinctively pushed all the nearby metal she could sense, save for the weapons of their teammates. The fire stopped for but a moment and Violet took the chance to charge upstairs with his scythe, Ren and Pyrrha following along.
When he reached the second floor, he saw three White Fang militants had already somehow made their way there. He was horrified at how they managed to set up an ambush this thorough. They'd already recovered their weapons and were aiming for him. He deftly dodged their fire, triggering his scythe to cut through the cranium of one of their members. He used the dead man's body as a shield, but their rifles could fire through it anyway, causing his aura to further deplete.
His teammates caught up though, and Pyrrha's shield struck one of them in the head, causing their frail aura to break and him to stumble. She wasted no time, launching her javelin right through his neck, ending him instantly.
The third guy was shot at by Ren, but his aura held out enough for him to find cover and return fire. A few of the shots landed on Ren, but he was quickly flanked by Violet who ran him through with the Mordred.
"Aura status?" Violet asked, "I'm at about 25%"
"35%," Pyrrha said, retrieving her weapons and transforming the javelin into its rifle form, "That burst of magnetism took so much out of me. A huge spherical attack with enough focus not to shred you guys. It wasn't easy."
"That first shot was definitely some kind of special weapon," Ren said, firing his guns at a building down the street where he saw some muzzle flashes, "It knocked my aura down by a lot, I'm at 50%. How in the world did they find us?"
The shooting returned from various nearby buildings. "Damn it all," Violet said, "We can use Pyrrha's semblance to stage a breakout."
"We wouldn't last long with the fang on our tail," Ren said.
"We can call a bullhead."
"First things first, Nora and the Professor are still down there. We need to come back for them."
Though Violet knew it was risky, he also knew Ren wouldn't budge on it, "Fine, you two provide covering fire while I get them out."
Ren didn't look too happy about Violet doing it, but he trusted him enough to not argue.
When Violet descended the staircase he found himself staring down four more members of the White Fang. They were firing in the direction of the room where the captive was, and the place was already covered in smoke from the Professor's retaliatory flamethrower burst.
He couldn't rely on fighting them with his aura drained so badly. Once he got their collective attention he activated his semblance, whispering coldly, "Halt."
The attackers froze in place, not resisting him as he cut them down with ease. He hoped the professor hadn't somehow figured out what was happening, but when he got to the room he found it empty save for the tied-up boy. Nora seemed to have busted a hole in the wall through which they escaped. But he couldn't chase after them, Ren and Pyrrha were waiting for him to come back.
A consolation prize then, the boy that had frustratingly slipped from his grasp. He knew it was over the moment he stepped into the room. He tried getting up on his feet and running away, but Violet tripped him and he fell face first into the concrete. Since his hands were still bound, he had no way of getting up so he tried crawling with his legs.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, please spare me I beg you. I'll put in a good word for you if they capture you I'm so so sorr-ack" His begging was cut short by a stab to the neck from the Mordred's back end. From this position, he noticed a peculiar device clipped to back of his belt. He recognized the brand instantly, and realized the Fang employed trackers here. Smart. He'd wasted enough time though, and there was still much gunfire outside, though it seemed to be focused elsewhere. He noticed another handful of White Fang soldiers charging towards his position from the streets and he bolted it to his teammates.
"We have to go now," Violet said as he finished climbing the stairs
"Wait!" Ren said, "Where's Nora?"
"They made their own exit, we can call them once we're safe. Status?"
"I'm almost empty," Pyrrha said as she was shooting from her rifle form, "We need to go."
"Same," Ren said before shooting at the stairwell from where they came from, as some Fang soldiers were trying to follow Violet. His burst of fire caused them to pull back, but it wouldn't be long until they tried another assault.
"Pyrrha, we'll go to the roof and you'll use your semblance to jump far away and then help us land. Can you do that?" She nodded and they were off.
Once they'd made it to the roof, a mere three floors up, Pyrrha braced herself against a metal railing and launched herself into the air. She landed some 100 feet away, and when Violet tried jumping she used her semblance to pull him by his scythe toward her, then reversing the direction of her pull to cushion his fall. She did the same to Ren and they wasted no time in fleeing.
But try as they might, the terrorists surrounded the place with a massive number of soldiers. It took only a minute of running through the alleyways for them to stumble upon a White Fang squad. They were fired upon immediately and they all took several hits before running in another direction. Violet let loose a dust grenade behind them to cover their retreat.
"Damn," Ren said, "We won't be able to escape like this. What the hell do we do?"
Violet still had one charge of his semblance left, but he couldn't afford to let anyone find out its true power. He could try saving it for if he was captured. He could also use it to cause chaos in order to escape, but he'd have to separate himself from Ren and Pyrrha somehow.
He chose the latter option, "We should hide in one of the buildings around here and call the Professor. We're too depleted to fight."
"They're close by," Ren said, "It'll be risky."
"That's alright," he pulled out another dust grenade. He only had two more left, "I'll distract them. You find a good place, I'll be back in a few."
They found a random building to take shelter in while Violet went half a block over to perform his 'distraction.'
He came upon a wide street where he heard the sounds of gunfire. Hoping to reunite with Nora and the Professor and not use his semblance, he followed the sound, only to find a trio of patrolling soldiers battling against a stray boarbatusk. He hid behind some rubble and threw the grenade as they were distracted by the creature.
Not only did the fire dust explosion kill them instantly, but it also produced a deafening sound and flash that was sure to draw a crowd. Sure enough, a minute later he had no less than 8 men gathered to inspect the bodies and look for the perpetrator. He glanced around for any other witnesses- he'd usually be more careful when using his powers but he had little choice now. He holstered his weapon and stepped out with his hands raised at shoulder length.
"Welcome, everyone!" He jovially said as they raised their guns at him.
The man who seemed to be the leader glared at him, "You think we'll accept your surrender after this? Hah!"
"No mood for chitchat? Fine. Then follow my command: You shall seek out other members of the White Fang and embed yourselves in their ranks. When their backs are turned to you, slaughter them all in the name of Sienna Khan!"
He watched them casually depart with a smug grin. He doubted they'd wipe the Fang troops out, but they'd give them something else to focus on while he escaped. He could later head in with the Knights or even better, he could just let the military deal with them. Even if some members fled, the war cries of his thralls will feed their growing animosity against the supreme leader of the Fang.
It took him some time to find his way back. After all, the buildings were all utterly identical. Worse yet, he heard more footsteps nearby. For the first time in a while, he felt very naked without the assurance of his powers. He tried to dismiss the fear, he was far more than just a powerful semblance. His greatest victories were achieved with little to no use of it. It was a point of pride for him.
He eventually found Ren and Pyrrha's hideout by the sounds of battle- they were under assault by the White Fang. The building was littered with bullet holes and he could see a wounded man being dragged out of the battle and a whole squad closing in on the building. There had to be at least 10 more men providing fire support as well. They were hopelessly outnumbered, and his thralls still didn't seem to have found this group.
But he couldn't abandon them either. He felt his mind go there, heard it whisper how sometimes one needs to cut his losses and that they'd understand. He crushed those thoughts before they could threaten to consume him. Despite everything, he was still a huntsman. He would put his fate on the line for those that would do the same for him.
He took out his last dust grenade, threw it in the direction of the assault team, and ran after it. The explosion already killed several of the men and Violet charged into the smoke cloud it made. The fire teams couldn't get accurate shots of him as he spun around the battlefield, effortlessly cutting through the confused troops.
Before long, suppressive gunfire joined him from a rooftop, and Pyrrha herself descended into the fray to shield Violet. Once they mopped them up, he sought cover behind some rubble alongside Pyrrha. They gave each other looks of grim determination, a readiness for whatever may come.
Unfortunately for them, they heard a familiar whirring sound of something approaching from the distance. Something they'd heard only once before. Turning around, they saw the massive frame of a Paladin round the corner and fire a devastating barrage from its dual machine guns. Pyrrha summoned her semblance, giving it her all to suspend the bullets in the air before launching them back at the machine.
They both knew it wouldn't do much damage, so Violet led Pyrrha through a nearby alley. It was a large machine, so it couldn't go through the narrowest of city passages. They'd almost made it to a turn, but the Paladin pointed its artillery gun at them through the alley and fired. His aura shattered, he felt himself soar into the air, and all went black.
Violet awoke with a jolt of searing pain in his back. On instinct, he reached for his weapon only to find his wrists tied behind his back. His eyes started to adjust to the darkness of the room, it was totally empty, even lacking any windows. Before he could make any more conclusions there was a crack and another jolt of intense pain that caused him to scream his lungs out.
Turning his head, he saw the perpetrator. A young woman with spots on her face and a whip in her hand that radiated sparks of lightning. She looked at him with disgust, but he was relieved that they hadn't yet executed him or Pyrrha, who he'd just noticed was laying unconscious at his side.
Before he could say anything, the girl powered up her whip again before sending another lash at him. He used his aura to stop it on instinct, and though the hit was absorbed, his aura seemed to have broken again.
"What the hell do you want from me?"
"There," she said in a shaky voice, "Now we're sure you can't use your semblance." As smart as the move of attacking him while disoriented to drain his aura might be, it was just unfortunate enough that his semblance took so little aura that he didn't even feel it. Not that it mattered since it was out of charges, and depending on how long he was unconscious for, it might be many hours before he could use it again.
He saw the interrogator go up to Pyrrha and ready her whip. He wanted to yell at her to stop, but he knew it would be useless. On the other hand, he could really use Pyrrha and her semblance right about now. So when the electric whip did strike her, he launched into action.
"Pyrrha!" he shouted over her scream, "Use your semblance, disarm her!"
"W- Wuh?" she mumbled before another lash came from behind her. As with him, she raised her aura to block, a flash of red flaring to halt the intrusion.
"Don't use it to defend. Attack! Kill her!"
But his warning was for naught as another strike came and shattered her aura. Another one and she collapsed on herself in pain. He cursed himself as the girl now set her sights on him. In a fit of anger, she lashed out at him, literally. She struck him with the electric whip and he screamed again. She struck a second, a third time. His body and mind were so overwhelmed he could muster no retort, simply falling on the floor in agony. He felt tears form in his eyes and a trail of blood going down his nose.
She was looking over her weapon which had run out of charges, before discarding it and continuing to kick at him as he laid there.
"Hey…" came the timid voice of Pyrrha, "Stop it. What are you doing? Please stop…"
But her kicks only increased in power, striking his stomach again and again until he coughed up blood.
The door opened all of a sudden, and a very familiar and very pissed off bull faunus entered, "What the fuck is all this noise? It's bad enough we've taken so many casualties but I've got another emergency on my hands now."
"Adam," she gulped, "They were resisting me."
He took a look at the two beaten down captives before smiling, "Good to see at least you haven't gone soft, Ilia. I planned to have them interrogated personally, but I think we've got bigger concerns now."
He grew serious, stepping towards Violet and drawing his katana, his intent clear, "Impudent student. I'm told you killed my men. Tell me why I shouldn't just execute you right now."
Violet gulped. He was tied-up and about to be killed, if Adam's furious expression was any indication. He knew that look all too well, for he held it not long ago when he executed a prisoner in a similar position. The irony was not lost on him.
He had no semblance, no aura, and no Black Knights to protect him. But he knew what Adam was like, what he wanted. Blake spoke at length about him. He'd want Violet to beg. He had no such plans. But he wouldn't invite death out of pride either. He met Adam's steel gaze with his own burning glare, and for a moment confidence surged in him. A certain fatalism overtook him. Death was a near-certainty, so he could just relax and do this.
He spat out blood from his mouth, "Because we know each other, Adam. And we need to talk."